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Responding to Emails - Immediately or Daily?

Today, I read an interesting post at the National Association of Realtors Technology Blog. Chris McKeever was pointing how how he loves the opportunities that emails, being accessible from practically anywhere, provide for him in his business.

As a REALTOR, you are in the service industry. If you were your own client, which of the above two would you appreciate more? A single, delayed, response with the information, or two emails, one acknowledging that you got their request and the other returned in a timely manner with the relevant information? I know which I would rather have.

I find myself to be very tech-savvy compared to others around my office, and find that I attract clients that are the same way.

In no way am I saying that customer service is not one of my priorities, though I feel that a quick emailed response to a question sent is not always the best thing to do. I do advocate returning all emails on a daily basis, and returning emails that are very urgent immediately.

What I will not do is send a response back immediately to a general question. Why? For two main reasons: Doing so will possibly throw me off of a particular mode I am in at the moment. This is usually lead generation mode. Second, doing so trains in the minds of my clients that you will be there to answer that email 100% of the time. If I am always firing off emails to clients on a moments notice, they will begin to expect this same behavior in the future and this is not always the case.

As real estate agents, we must learn to allocate our time among various clients. There may be days that have been in meetings all day, showing homes half the day, and have simply not had a chance to sit and check our emails as our normal routine intended.

When days like this arise, and you are the type to send emailed responses very quickly on a routine basis, the clients that have come to expect this of you begin to wonder, "What's going on? He's not emailing me right back for some reason today..."

This has happened to me before, and is the reason I choose to be selective in my response times to various emails. I'm curious to think what you, as a real estate agent, have learned in the past in scenarios such as this one.

When do you respond to emails - Immediately, or Daily?

Steven Castaneda, Realtor, is a real estate consultant with Keller Williams Realty specializing in Houston Texas Real Estate. He has been consulting on Houston Real Estate transactions for over 2.5 years, and focuses on coaching his clients to make the most informed and intelligent decision possible with their real estate investments. His site features a great tool if you are looking to find homes using the Houston MLS.

Posted by The MyHomeHouston Team on 04/12/2007 09:41 AM

Comments (50)

technology for agents

50 Comments on Responding to Emails - Immediately or Daily?

APR

2007

I agree with your comment about not responding immediately unless the email is of a very urgent nature. If you respond immediately a few times the expectation is that you will always get back to them immediately which is not always possible. I tell clients upfront that although I do try to respond to emails and calls as quick as possible I cannot always do that because I am with clients (they appreciate the fact that you will also focus on them during the time that you are with them and not be distracted unless it is an emergency).

I check my email on a regular basis throughout the day and respond to inquiry's as soon as they are received.

I think a quick response is best as long as you send it yourself as opposed to an autoresponder.

"If I am always firing off emails to clients on a moments notice, they will begin to expect this same behavior in the future and this is not always the case."

Good point. The only people I try to respond to immediately are the people in my family.

The risk of waiting to respond - to an initial contact - is that the longer the time lag, the more opportunity for them to go elsewhere. For existing clients - as soon as possible - but at least daily.

Interesting to think about. I have a reputation as a quick responder on email-my clients love it and talk about it all the time-so if I don't respond quickly, they know I'm out and about and will wait for me to get back to them. I've found that if you aren't responding rather promptly (say within an hour) to email inquiries from prospects, they're on to the next agent. Internet leads are more time-sensitive than anything else. But you're right that it can throw you off course-i have to get better about that, myself-but I can't since I have this reputation...what to do?

I think you should see your emails at least 2 times a day and respond then. Wouldn't you return calls asap? Email is another communication mean and should be responded to asap.

I respond immediatly via blackberry.

Excellent post, and your concept of not setting expectaitions unrealistically high makes great sense. However, I think when to answer is a function of the stage of the client in the buying cyle. For example, the first e-mail probably should be rsponded to personally as quickly as possible, because you are building a relationship. Late in the process, as their decision grows near, I would hope they would use the phone, but if they do use e-mail, a prompt response whenever possible makes the most sense.

I agree with you that routine mail probably is best answered in the evening, when it does not take away from more productive daytime work.

I check my email whenever I run into the house. I make sure all responses are sent out.

I became an Iowa Licensed REALTOR in the relatively early days of the Internet, when the importance of attention-grabbing web-sites, e-mailed listings, 360 degree home-tours, etc. was just beginning to be understood...

And blogs were just an ideas in the minds of some computer "junkie" types....

However, even though computers were only beginning their meteoric rise in importance, I was told by other "tech-savvy" agents that it was very important to both check my e-mail, and respond to it immediately, if I wanted to make it in this business...

I always have my computer on at my desk, I check my e-mails (when in the office) on an hourly basis, and respond to the senders immediately.

I have always figured that if I don't do this, my clients will find someone else who will..

It depends on the email, I read everything as I see it, so I respond right away others if non-important can wait till a set time during the day. I have learned from our broker, who is a multi-millionaire, we have to set aside time for everything in our day. We have so much happening daily we have to stay focused or we will accomplish nothing.

I feel that it is important to segregate response times into categories, with each category given a priority. Off the top of my head, I feel that emails can be divided into these categories:

Hot - New prospect - internet lead - Referral by email - Answered within 30 minutes
Warm - Buyer under buyer's rep requesting info on a home - Answered twice daily
Cold - Mom wants to know if you're bringing the family over this weekend - Answered at the end of the week, or with a phone call later that evening

There may be more - or less. What do you think?

As a new agent I was checking my email every hour and I found that it hindered me from getting other things done - especially since email might send you off in another direction like doing an MLS Search. Now that I am "seasoned" (10 months so seasoned is supposed to be funny!) I have that if I check my email first thing in the morning (by 8AM )I catch the early birds and the night owls from the night before. Then I check around 1P-2P and I hit the morning crowd and the people that emailed on their lunch breaks. Then one last time around 8PM to catch the afternoon and after work crowd. I try very hard then not to check between 8P and 8A because some family time and down time is important. I tell my customers my schedule and no one has ever complained. I tell them if they need an immediate response to call my cell phone. This works for me.

@Steve - thanks for the CRT Blog Shoutout!

You definately stirred the pot over here! I like the point about not getting anyone_too_ accustomed to immediate responses. As it does set a precedent, which turns into an expectation.

My main twist on it was more towards 'What do you do when you don't have an answer that will take longer than the end of the day'. That's when I like to acknowledge that I am working on it and also give myself a 'you'll hear from me by X'. This way its clear that they aren't forgotten and you dont mind the followup if you dropped the ball.

Not saying that dropping the ball is good! ;)

For the readers here, you may want to check out some comments I made about 'prioritizing' and 'instant notification' of important emails when you aren't near a desk: http://blog.realtors.org/crt/2007/03/12/keep-your-cell-phone-happy-with-email/

- Chris

http://blog.realtors.org/crt/

Interesting post - I tend to respond within a couple of hours. It works for me. If it's urgent, I respond immediately or call immediately.

I try to respond quickly to emails. If I know that I am going to out of the office most of the day. I will try to let my clients know that and that I will respond later in the evening. I tell them if it is urgent to leave me a voice mail message and I will try to get back to them quicker.

I think we have some great conversation going on here and am interested in taking it a bit further - perhaps using autoresponders.

I personally do not use auto-responders but I do know agents that do. Since this is related to response times to email, what do you guys personally do as far as using auto-responders?

Do you use them; have your experiences been positive or negative?

Immediate if I have a chance.

Daily for SURE. Even if it is very late.....

I know what you mean about attracting tech savvy clients.... but that is a good thing.

I respond the moment I get an email via Blackberry. My customers and clients love this service and I feel it sets me apart from the pack. We live in an instant gratification world and people will ask someone else if you do not answer immediately.

Jeff

I agree, sometimes they do feel as if they are the only client you are working with and you are waiting with baited breath to respond to their slightest whim. I do try to get to them asap and at least daily.

I respond to emails as soon as I READ them! I'm on my laptop (with an aircard) a lot so generally that means I respond fairly quickly. And I do check email from first thing in the morning until I go to bed. However, if I'm with clients or in meetings, I DO NOT receive email on my cell, so in those cases it might be say 4 hrs before I respond. If a prospect can't wait that long for a response, and they move on, that's OK by me. Clients know that I'm a quick responder and that I will unless I'm busy with other things.

I am, however, very accessible via my cell as my office number is always forwarded to it and I keep it on during all my waking hours. But like the email, that doesn't include the time I'm with clients or in meetings. Face-to-face time with clients always trumps the phone or the email.

I have heard many great things in reference to checking email.....I believe that it was even on AR that I heard

"Treat your email like you would a meal, once in the morning, once after lunch, and once in the evening".

Then I also heard a stat that said if you respond to an email lead within 1 hour of its receipt then you are 75% more likely to hold that person as a customer (For the life of me I can't remember where I heard that).

Personally if I am in the office for the day I will check email every chance I get, but unless it is important----or a fresh new lead...I usually wait until my designated time of the day to send them a response. Timeblocking is very important because email will bog you down if you let it.

I guess I'd have to ask you- do you answer your cell phone when it rings? or do you let everything go to voice mail? In today's world treating email like you would a phone call is the trend of business. I have clients who, for whatever reason, don't know how to pick up the phone. They'd rather send an email. I think one main reason is that they are at work and an email gives them some privacy preveting others from listening into their calls. And they don't have to be accused of making personal calls at work.

If I'm not driving or with clients- I answer my emails immediately via my blackberry. I've also gained clients this way off my website. The one that answers first wins! If I can't answer my clients question- I send a simply email that says- I'm driving or not near a computer or out with clients and will get back to them later today. This is the instant generation. You can still manage your time and met your clients needs.

I don't respond to every email immediately. If I am with a client unless there is a dire emergency, my clients know I will respond to them when I am avaialable. I often send a morning email to active clients if I am going to be away from email -- e.g., showings, inspections, meetings, email, monitoring transactions etc. and let them know I will not be checking emails until later in the day. They are all okay with this -- and they like my undivided time when I am with them - so they understand. I think as long as the clients know when they can expect a response, they are happy. If you don't set some reasonable boundaries you will burn out!

I haven't read all the comments but wanted to add my silly little opinion.

I answer emails just as quickly as I possibly can because I think people feel the web in "instant" and want an answer within a short time period.

Besides, it shows you are on top of things!

Steve,

Some great responses here on this topic. As a guy that started college the year the internet was starting to take off(1994), I also am on email all the time. BUT, I do selectively choose who I respond to and when. Like you and others have said, if you respond every time to a request immediately, you then are expected to all the time. What I have learned to do(as most of my leads, contacts come from the internet), is to try to respond as quickly as possible to the first 1-3 emails back and forth, then push it out from there after I establish they may be working with me. Those first initial contacts I feel are very important to respond to quickly or they will go elsewhere..

I also have a broadband sprint card and have my laptop on all day while I am in my car. I may get emails all day, but I will not always respond immediately.

I haven't read anyone elses comments yet, but, I firmly believe that emails need to be answered in one hour or less. If I know I do not have time to get the information they want in less than an hour, I will respond immediately and give the clients a time frame in which I will respond.

Now, I do not have my email come to my phone, but, I am always able to check my emails at absolute minimum twice a day. Usually though, I am able to check my email at least once an hour (the beauty of being a listing agent and not a buyer's agent).

I do know that it's the early bird that catches the worm. Timeliness is important, very important.

I'll reply to e-mails as soon as I can. I'll give them all the information I can at the time. If it's going to be a while before I can get them their information, I'll reply and let them know I'm working on it for them. Leaving people hanging is not a good thing...ever! If I am away from the office for a prolonged amount of time I will set up an auto responder letting them know that I'm out off the office, and give them an alternate way to contact me at any time. Of course, when I do reply late I'll apologize for the delay.

I like to respond to e-mails as quickly as possible. EVERYONE wants to feel important, and putting them off will often make them look elsewhere for the answers they seek.

While I have access to email everywhere I go at all times of the day and night on my TREO, I reply only if it's urgent, unless I'm sitting down at my desk, because I like to use my Top Producer account and be sure to have all correspondence included in the Contact history. I tell clients "up front" that they will receive a prompt reply, but prompt could mean "same day" as opposed to "same hour". Knowing that, they have never complained about my response time.

I see that there is quite a bit of opinions in regards to how email response times should be handled. I am finding through everyone's comments that is depends on the business model and systems you've built your business on and have come to inherit as "routine".

I think both approaches - mobile email responses via treo or blackberry - and designated response times to emails other than those that are "hot", both have their advantages and disadvantages.

Would you say that we could go as far as to say that it depends on the type of client you have? Internet savvy clients have a strong attachment to email, and could expect that fast response as they perform this same action in their personal lives. As well, clients that are in tune with technology, but not necessarily "savvy", would be perfectly fine with a response by the end of the day I would think.

I try to response as soon as possible, but in the end it depends on how urgent it is and how long it takes me to get the right answer for them.

Steve,

No matter how important the email, I try to respond as soon as possible! I believe the faster you reply, the better you look in front of your client, business partner or etc. I also have the same personaly belief when it comes to incoming phone calls. I try to answer every single phone call that comes in. I try not to answer the unavailable and restricted phone calls because it is usually someone trying to sell something to me. When I refer leads to realtors here on Active Rain, if I call a realtor and they don't pick up, I choose another realtor instantly. I know everyone runs their business differently but I like doing business in actual time. I hate leaving voice mails for my business partners/clients. If someone is calling you or emailing you then obviously they want your attention so replying to the email ASAP or picking up their call as it comes in is the best bet in my book.

Good luck with the rest of the 2nd quarter.

Your Active Rain Friend and Mortgage Man,

Nima

I think responding to the e-mails immediately will put you in a position when others will start expecting it from you.

I respond immediately via my Treo, unless I am face-to-face with a client. The only time I don't respond immediately is when I'm awake late at night and an email comes in. I'll craft the answer, save it to my drafts, and send it in the morning.

Choosing when to send emails seems to be a business preference. I'd be interested to see what top producing real estate agents think on the best practice for returning emails.

Some good points, Steven. There is a time when a n immediate or quick response is on target, say a new contact (I got one today, who wanted me to call ASAP, and I did, within 5 minutes of the email arriving - he was surprised and commented on it). At other times, due to schedule, time with a client, or the need to research or think things through, a response at a later time is more appropriate. But some folks seem to take that to an extreme and respond days later, or not all all. That to me is more damaging that responding too quickly. Setting expectations with people about how and when you normally respond and so on is smart.

Jeff

I respond immediately via auto-responder thru my website to leads. I have found that if some one sends an email with a phone # or an address (other than an email address) THEY ARE GREAT AND SERIOUS PROSPECTS for me, so I PERSONALLY RESPOND IMMEDIATELY!

I answer emails as they come in. I only open them if I am ready to reply at that time.

Never thought of answering tooooo quickly. I didn't think there was such a thing with the internet.

In answer to one of your threaded questions-I don't use autoresponders. In my experience, they don't make anyone happy since everyone knows it's automated-it gets deleted. Plus, it lets the spammers know that my address is real-and who needs more spam?

You asked about top producers-I'm up there in the food chain, not as big a lot of others but still growing. I responded earlier about staying right up on top of email. I figure that the agents who aren't living by email also aren't living on the edge of technology-and I'm sailing past them every day since I'm in this for quite a while longer! Those who keep doing things the way they've always done them will keep getting what they've always gotten...

Can't tell you how many folks have picked me and stuck with me because I responded to them quickly and often. This is a high-touch and high-tech relationship business.

Steve... excellent post. Like Teresa and a few others, I also use my TREO 750 to respond to e-mails. I agree, by responding quickly, some people might get use to this. But that's what communication is for, even though common sense might tell us that someone is busy, if they don't get back to us right away.

I read about 75% of the comments...someone hit the nail on the head and I can't remember now. But in any case, I try to respond when the e-mail is received and or if I have the time. Between lap top and cell phone, there should never be an excuse in responding in a timely manner.

And as a few stated, I would bet that many of us got the business from a client, because our reaction time was quick. As someone mentioned, because of the internet, e-mails, and the use of the phone.... if you don't get back to them, someone else just might. I lean towards the quicker time responses. And as I stated, you can always explain to your client that this doesn't happen all the time, depending on your day.

Take in consideration that some people might just pick 5 people and whoever gets back to them quickly, has the best shot. That's if they sound good when talking to them. I know I have been told this before and why I was chosen. Just food for thought.

jeff belonger

I generally respond quicker to my e-mails than my cell phone messages which may sound strange. I do call e-mailers sometimes when I am sitting down where I can fully listen. I e-mail and acknowledge that I will send them properties or a more in-depth followup when I sit down. I spend more time in front of clients than most agents in my office. I figure thats where you can make the most money. I will rarely talk on the phone when I am with another client. Its common sense to me, be attentive to what you are doing?

Oh yea..... Steve..... I did this for you and forgot to include it. But on another note, CONGRATS on your 1st featured post.

jeff belonger

APR

2007

I generally respond to emails immediately. People are amazed. I remember the HouseValues slogan, which I HATED, but found to be true. "You don't have to be GOOD, you just have to be FIRST." I hated the slogan, but have found it to be too often true nonetheless

Ardell....a very valid and good point. I hate that also... but unfortunately it is so true. So many people are sold on how quick, forgetting the true service instead, thinking that it comes with the first part. We just live in a world that so many people are in a rush... a me me world of thinking.... and thinking that everyone should be professional because of their title that they hold.

jeff belonger

The best advice I've seen for managing email is to read and respond three times a day, just like meals. But if I'm simply doing routine tasks or not involved in some complex research, I generally have email open and can respond immediately if necessary.

Thanks for the award, Jeff! :)

The reason I like assigning categories to emails is that it allows me to maintain my level of focus, WHILE answering emails from new business and urgent situations.

I've found in the past that when I get to the office, hop on the email bandwagon, I'm off searching MLS for someone while calling a title company for another client, and adding a buyer to my follow up program all at the same time.

This reactive way of conducting business just doesn't allow you to get your "big rocks" in the day, with the most important being lead generation. Hence my need to assign a level of priority to all emails that I receive, espcially while I'm concentrating on dollar productive activities.

APR

2007

Steve,

Big pet peeve of mine, that is why I purchased a Blackberry just in case i need to get back to people quickly, I hate lagging follow up in general...I have gotten responses such as...wow that was quick, you got back to me so fast.

By all means, I will respond to emails from new leads immediately. I'm just saying that for emails that are of the "servicing" nature, there should be nothing wrong with daily emails responded to by the end of the day or so. You could answer twice a day, or three times a day, but I don't see the point in being reactive to emails 100% of the time.

Steve-my belief is you should check your e-mail as often as you check your voicemail, people want answers immediately, I think that is why they use e-mail as the point of contact, immediate response. Also be careful with the servicing e-mails, remember a transaction can change in a matter of minutes, from closing to cancelled.

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