John.  When I'm calling a referral agent, I'm calling agents that I know, have already been added to my list of agents through personal referrals, check of production, experience, reference, web site, etc., etc.  These are agents in my circle that aren't answering their phone when I call.  These aren't strangers.  THAT is what is so confounding. 

Catherine.  I always answer my phone when I'm here.  Sure, I get sales calls too, but I'm not going to let them control my business.  I get rid of them quickly and then check my messages quickly.  Now, if the caller is a salesperson who wants to make me #1 on Google, I may have some fun with them before they leave feeling that they have just gone over a waterfall.

Mary.  I would, of course, but my referrals are all local. 

Teri.  Folks who live in areas with poor cell service are handicapped.  In those cases, the agent who is making the referral would probably know and understand.  We don't have much of that around here.  I do know an intersection in PG County that is a "hole" in the Verizon system.  Southern MD can be a problem too, but we know about these things.  When I refer to So. MD, I call the office and have the office contact the agent.  We do what we have to and I go the extra mile to get a good referral agent for buyers.  But, the bottom line is, agent who PRACTICE letting their calls go to voice mail are going to lose business.

James.  Everything in balance.  But, agents to whom I refer to regularly, send me a note when they are going to be "out of touch" on business, away from the area, or whatever.  What's the big secret.  It might save me 10-15 minutes trying to track them down. 

Jennifer.  Hopefully, MD and VA agents will read your post.  Thanks for the ideas. 

Jim.  Agents who accept buyer referrals from me, check their phone when they are in a meeting or just about anyplace (rest room excluded) and return my call within minutes. 

My post isn't about the times when an agent CAN'T get a call, it's about how to increase referral business and about not making a practice of letting calls go to voice mail. 

Bryans.  Thanks.  That is the agent I'm talking about.  They believe that their's is the only important schedule.  They are wrong.  I had an agent a few years back that insisted that I leave a message for him.  I figured out that he was playing "King of the Hill" with me.  He lost.  I fired his butt, when he cost me a $1,250,000 buyer.  That guy was making $125,000 a year and couldn't answer his phone.

Monika.  Calls from me show my name and phone number no matter which number I call from.  Agents who don't answer my calls just can't put much importance on buyer referrals. 

Tina.  That's funny. I get the same thing when buyers call and I answer the phone.  Give me 5 minutes with a buyer on the phone and they are MINE.

Elaine. The "I return calls between . . . . " is the least helpful message anyone can get. 

Ginger and Roger.  The agents I'm referring to make it a practice to use their cell phone for their own convenience, but, even though it's the only business phone they use, they let all calls go to voice mail.

Debbie White wrote:  Wow, Lenn.  I use over 7000 minutes a month on my phone.  I guess I'd better hope you don't call at the wrong time.  I do answer the phone when it rings, and please know that if I don't answer, it's because I'm either already talking on it, or I'm out of the service area.  Much of Alaska is without coverage, even here "in town".

I would have to wonder though... you get the first person who jumps on the phone.  Is that necessarily the best agent?  Or just the one who doesn't have anything to do at the time?

Debbie White.  My post clearly says that I'm referring to brokers and agents that I know and know to be experienced.  These area agents and brokers that I've worked with before and are a part of our referral "group".  My post was clear that I'm not trolling for referral agents.  I already know the agents.  I just want them to ANSWER THEIR PHONE. 
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"WHO ARE OUR REFERRAL AGENTS?  Agents and brokers to whom I refer buyers, and an occassional seller, or buyer with a home to sell, are all experienced and, just as important, nice folks.  I know their personality and I know their experience.  That is already done.  I know their track record.  I know their dedication to helping consumers of real estate services.

Agents left are some of the wonderful referral agents that accept my referrals.

Most of my referrals go to brokers I've known for some time and have a record of success helping my buyer referrals.  One broker in Northern Virginia sells between 30 to 60 of my referrals each year and has done so since 1999.  Others are former agents in my brokerage who "graduated" and, after getting their own broker license and opening their own company still receive most of their business from my buyer referrals.  I value these agents and brokers and go to them first with a buyer referral * *  * * "
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Now, does that sound like I'm looking for the "first person who jumps on the phone"?

Jeff Geoghan wrote:    Lenn, if you need a referral agent in Lancaster County, PA then I'm your guy.  I try to answer all my calls...especially now that I'm getting more and more out of the area leads from my AR involvement.  I'm impressed that you've done 300 referrals - that's a lot of contacts for only half a year.

Jeff.  I don't get a lot of contacts for the Lancaster area and it's not well covered by MRIS.  However, I do get inquiries for York. 

Give me a call and we can chat. 

Thanks for commenting. 

Carol.  I appreciate your thoughtful post.  What's missing is the buyer, sitting at their phone/computer waiting for a call back from an agent who will help them find a home.  Of course, the agents that let their phones go to voice mail are agents and brokers who have ASKED for my referrals and understand fully the importance of a timely response to the buyer. 

Kathy.  We're not in Alaska.  We're in a urban area with a Verizon tower on every corner.  That said, if I have a buyer for a Southern Maryland area, I may tell them that if the agent isn't in their office their cell may not get the call.  I try my best to make these connections with buyers and agents work.  I just sometimes need a little help from the agents. 

Carole.  I understand your arguments.  However, it is centered around your schedule and procedures for handling your phone.  Buyers looking for real estate services don't know or care about your schedule or telephone habits.  They know one thing and one thing only.  They searched the Interent for real estate help and they got me on the phone.  We're 50% home.  Now, once I speak with them for a few minutes they are sure that I or "one of the experienced buyer's agents that specializes in the home type and location they are looking for will call you back as quickly as possible."   They are excited.  They feel like their problems are all over.  They will wait.  But, they will NOT wait and wait and wait. 

They'll just go back to the Internet and retrace their steps and find another web site that promises help.  FUNNY THING IS, THEY ARE LIKELY TO FIND ANOTHER OF MY WEB PAGES.  So, they keep looking until they find someone. 

If I call an agent and get voice mail, I leave a message.  Fine.  How do I know when the agent will return the call?  I have no way of knowing what they are doing or even where they are.  Wait 5 minutes to 1 hour, you say.  Am I supposed to keep my phone open waiting for your call??  Suppose another buyer calls.  Should I tell them that I must keep my phone clear because I'm waiting for a call return from an agent??? Buyers don't care.  They want help and information and they want it NOW. 

Now, I'm about the most independent cuss you'd ever want to meet.  But, when it comes to bringing business in, I know who gets priority and it is the consumer contacting me for our services.  No, they will NOT wait.  I found that out 12 years ago when I started Internet advertising. 

I have no interest in how an agent handles their phone.  I do know that if they want my business, they will ANSWER their phone and not let calls go to voice mail. 

When we have an agent meeting, I always remind agents, "Don't call me and tell me that I called you."  Which is what some agents do when they see that I have called but didn't leave a message.  Not necessary.  I know I called.  If you missed a call, you missed a buyer.  If it's an hour or two hours or 10 mintues, I have gone to the next agent.  I have several good experienced agents for every niche of my market area and most have learned to take my call.  Smart agents who have a settlement or training scheduled and can't take telephone calls let me know in advance that they will be unavailable between ___ and ___.  I respect that and, if I get a buyer call during that time for which that agent is the best call, I can handle that.  But, I may have 3-6 good referrals in a day and if agents don't help by being available, I can't ask all of those buyers, not to mention me to play telephone tag all day long because agents want to live on voice mail. 

But, if the agent simply uses voice mail for their own convenience and the rest of the world evolves around their schedule, that's fine too.  They just won't get referrals from me.  It's up to them.  Agents who have worked with me for some time and know that my telephone calls mean are going to make a good $100,000-$150,000 by simply from my referrals.  Seems to me that it's not too much to ask to just answer the phone.

Kathy.  I do "give agents a chance" until they learn to take my calls.  But, I know that if I start trying to satisfy 10 agents' schedule, I couldn't possibly get my job done, that of connecting buyers with good agents. 

If I had only one buyer and one agent to connect, it would be easy.  I have a number of buyers and a number of agents to get together daily.  Agents have to cooperate if they want the buyer referrals.

Every once in a while, I give a referral to an agent and then the buyer calls me back several hours later complaining that no one called.  How do we look then?

Timely response is the only answer. 

Sharon.  I'm sure you arrange to be covered. What I'm reading from some comments is that some agents handle their phone for their own convenience.  That's fine.  Doesn't help to sell real estate.  But, so be it.

Rita.  Thanks Rita.  We have pretty good coverage for that area. Lenn

Carol.  Rather than call an agent, get voice mail, leave a message and then wait and hope the buyer waits, I would simply go to another agent.  I have no desire to chase agents to accept referrals.  I want agents who want buyer referrals and if they do, they make it easy for me to make contact and give them the buyer information.

Good buyers and sellers don't grow on trees and they take considerable time and resources to bring to our network.  Buyers especially need to be engaged quickly if we are going to make them clients.  If agents put up barriers to the stream of communication, they could cost me a good buyer.  I don't want agents in my network of referral agents who make my job harder than it needs to be. 

Since it's clear that I couldn't rely on your to check Caller I.D. and answer my call which you know is going to be a buyer or seller referral, you simply wouldn't be an agent in my referral network.

Gee.  That was easy.

Margaret.  Thanks for the kind words. 

I wish I had it down perfectly.  But, I do work hard at it.  Thanks for the agent referral. Helen is a jewel and just settled one of my referrals. 

She answers her cell phone.  If she's with someone, she tells me when she'll be making a call back and I call the buyer and set it up.  If Helen didn't answer her cell, that lead would have gone to someone else. 

Carole.  Where did I say that my criteria is to "take an agent who hasnothing better to do than watch for YOUR number to pop up"??  I didn't say that and you know that is false. 

Inventing criteria for me isn't going to work.  My criteria, as has been stated, is experienced agents knowledgeable about the area of interest to the buyer.  To help that buyer, I need agents who can do so quickly. 

I don't know why you're so freaked out by a broker who appreciates folks who answer their phone. 

I never said your way is wrong.  I said that if agents want referrals from me, they'll answer their phone. 

You seem to have some pathological bent to justify NOT answering the cell.  I merely say, fine, don't answer your phone.  It is your phone.  It is your practice.  It is your way of doing business. 

My way of doing business is to give timely service to buyers and agents.  Having 1/3 of a team jerking everyone else's chain by putting them in voice mail and making them wait for your return call is arrogent and dismissive.  Agents and brokers fight the voice mail merry-go-round daily because agents like you believe that they are too important to be helpful.  I don't know if agents send calls to voice mail because they don't care or simply don't know any better.  If timely responses were not important, I'd just send everything out by e-mail.  I call because I need an IMMEDIATE response to whether that agent can help that buyer or NOT.  If it's NOT, I can go to the next agent.  That concept doesn't take a Rhodes Scholar to understand.  We all suffer in contract negotiations dealing with agents who don't answer their phone.  They are the bane of our existance.  Some agents don't return calls for hours, days or ever.   How are we to know when you'd come down from the mountain and make return calls????  I for one am not waiting nor am I making a valuable buyer wait.   

I'm obviously not going to be sending any business to you, but the message is the same to folks in my market area.  If you have your cell calls go to voice mail, you won't get messages from me.