10 Must-Haves of Professional Voicemail for Real Estate
As real estate agents, you’re always on the go. But staying connected to your clients is crucial. Here are the ways professional voicemail keeps you connected!
It’s no doubt that real estate agents are some of the busiest professionals. Whether you’re hosting an open house, staging a home, or showing several properties to prospective clients, you’re always on the go.
Being a busy bee means you’re frequently away from your office phone. Unfortunately, this means a lot of your clients and prospective clients have to reach you through voicemail.
This may be a little concerning to some. Of course, you want to make every customer feel important and that they matter to you.
But, with a professional voicemail, and timely response, you don’t have to be at a disadvantage. Read on to learn 10 must-haves in your voicemail greeting.
- Your Name and Who You Represent
Look, we know these two may seem blatantly obvious. But, they are too crucial (and often forgotten) to not mention!
You should include both your first and last name. In real estate, your name is a key component to your brand. This will help reinforce your identity to customers.
Also, you should include the company you are associated with. Like your name, this will help increase brand recognition and is basic professional voicemail protocol.
- Offer an Apology/Reason
No, you don’t need to go into a great deal about what prevented you from taking their call.
But, it is nice to make your clients aware that you are doing something work-related. This can show that you’re not blowing off their call.
You can say, “Sorry I missed your call. I am staging a home, conducting an open house, etc.”
Or, you could go for a more general statement, that still mentions your work. Try something like, “I’m helping another person find their dream home”.
- The Areas You Cover
Most real estate agents have a very niche market to who they typically sell to. You should subtly mention what area you serve.
Sure, you don’t want to confine yourself to one geographic location. But, you can give prospective clients a little insight into your specialties (read more below) if you mention particular locations.
If you’re open to other areas, you can specify that in your voicemail. If not, feel free to say that you “serve ABC, XYZ, and 123 County (state, city, etc.).
- Your Focuses and Specialties
Do you do a lot of work in suburban neighborhoods to find new families their first home? Or, how about downtown condos for older generations?
Whatever your focus or specialty is, you should make note of it in your greeting. A casual way to bring this up is to say:
“This is [Your Name] from [Your Real Estate Group]. For over X years, we’ve been helping [target market] find homes in [specific area(s)].”
This is free advertising that reinforces your specialty and expertise with every caller, every time they call.
5. Call Forwarding Keeps You In Touch With Your Callers
A professional voicemail is able to forward all or only certain calls to your cell or any other phone. This helps your customers because they’re better able to reach you. But, it really helps you the most because it reduces the risk of losing a sale due to a missed call.
- When You Plan To Call Back
Would you ever tell your client in person that you’d handle their case “when you have time”? I surely hope not.
A true professional voicemail is no different. You shouldn’t leave your customers wondering if and when you’ll return their call.
Especially in an industry like real estate with high competition, your customers need to know you care. They don’t want to feel like you’ll leave them in the dust, and not bother to reach out.
Make a commitment to return calls “shortly”. Even 24 hours is too long. Also, make sure you specify this in your voicemail message. “I will return your call shortly”.
- How To Find You Online
Give your customers the option to go to your website and browse listings online.
Offering your website and social media is an invitation to engage. It doesn’t necessarily mean they are interested in buying, but that they are interested in learning more.
By following you on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram will keep prospective buyers and sellers engaged with you and your business activities. Even posting a little non real estate business information, such as community activities that you participated in, can make you more trustworthy and more of a “person” whom your followers will feel more attached to.
- Invite Them to Leave a Message
Instead of just saying that you’ll return their call, ask them to leave a message.
You should ask that they provide their reason for calling so you’re better prepared later on, when you call them back.
Also, always ask for a callback number, including area code, even if you’re using your cell phone. This will prevent miscommunication down the line.
- Update Frequently
Have you ever called someone and thought, “Yeah, this was definitely created like, 8 years ago,”? Something about the person’s tone or word choice (or, perhaps the loud muffling) just screams ‘outdated’.
Anyway, you don’t want to be this person. This isn’t a sign of a professional, and it’s likely your customers won’t take you very seriously.
Make sure that all information on your professional voicemail is relevant and current. If anything big changes- address, phone, etc.- make sure you correct your voicemail early on.
- Keep It Short
We know, we know. We just gave you all this information and we’re now telling you to ‘keep it short‘.
But, a professional voicemail greeting (or any for that matter) shouldn’t go beyond 20-25 seconds. Any more than that and you’re just being annoying.
After introducing yourself and company, jump right into the core information. Speak calmly and confident, but don’t go on forever. Save the more in-depth stuff for when you’re able to connect.
11. Added Bonus: Now that you’re running your business calls through your cell phone, make sure your cell phone voicemail greeting is as professional as your office voicemail.
In Need of a Professional Voicemail?
American Voice Mail has you covered. Our services go beyond typical business phone providers. We’re truly able to make all the difference in your real estate company.
Contact us to learn more about the types of voicemail systems we offer, all without any equipment to buy, fix or outgrow.