Surveys have shown that the top complaint buyers and sellers have of their real estate agent is limited availability. This expresses itself most obviously in agents’ response to phone calls, text messages and emails.
In my opinion, real estate professionals need to be reachable 7 days a weeks, both days and evenings. It’s not that I don’t believe in balancing business and personal life, but it’s only reasonable that agents advertise their cell number, answer their cell phone when it rings and reply to text messages and emails promptly.
Too many listing agents don’t provide their cell number on their listings or on their business cards. Why? It makes no sense to me.
Even though I’m a busier than average Realtor, closing over 50 transactions per year, my cell phone rarely rings during the evening, but when it does, I feel that whoever is calling me at that hour deserves to have me answer my phone. I rarely get text messages in the evening either, but when I do, I read them and reply to them.
Being responsive to emails is equally important. Most of us get emails on our phones, which is helpful, since we don’t have to check our computers.
Some agents will put in their listings that “Seller requests no Sunday (or weekend) deadlines,” but I suspect it’s the agent who doesn’t want to be disturbed. Our clients deserve better!
If you’ve called me and heard my voicemail greeting, you may have noticed that it says “Press one if this is something my assistant Kim can handle.” If it is important enough for you to call me, it’s important enough for me to be available or have someone else available to serve you. (YouMail.com, costing $25/month, provides this and other features I love, including transcription of my voicemail messages.)
In real estate, one never knows when a buyer will call about a listing, and part of what a seller pays for is to have their agent be reachable when a buyer calls about their home.
Published
Aug. 25, 2016, in the YourHub section of the Denver Post and in four Jefferson
County weekly newspapers.
