In this age of shouting heads on television and service providers telling customers that they will arrive sometime between noon and 4 p.m., it may prove useful to review some items that just may help your business; they will certainly make it more enjoyable for everyone involved.
Out of town?
Everyone needs to recharge to be sure, but please have someone covering your listings while you are gone. Trade with others in your office or if you have a solo enterprise, make reciprocal arrangements with another broker.
Receive a phone call?
Some Realtors like to never answer their phone. They want the voice mail and the message it provides. Regardless of your personal phone policy...how about returning all calls inside of two hours? Know you are going to be tied up for half day or more? Change the voice mail message on your phone to reflect this. It only takes a few seconds.
Set off a house alarm?
Don't take off into a tirade of how the listing agent is an idiot. They only put the alarm code in the confidential remarks, the lockbox electronic message and a little piece of paper wrapped around the key. Oops! Did you fail to check any of these before you entered the house?
Receive a phone call from another Realtor?
In this case, how about adjusting your phone policy to thirty minutes tops? Why not? They may be just trying to help you create some income! Can't call right now? How about a text reply from your Smartphone?
Not using a Smartphone?
Sign up now for the PDA/Smartphone with Dick Betts. Dick Betts rocks! He will be making another appearance in Tallahassee next week! Lucky us!
Received an e-mail?
It is very easy today to check e-mail regardless of your location; again a Smartphone is terrific for this. Please do so several times a day. Again, if you are going to be out of town making the mountainous trek to the boiling lake in Dominica and unable to check e-mail, it is easy to set up an automated reply letting folks know that.
Received a second call from a Realtor?
Please call back immediately! Implement the Golden Rule and do unto others as you would like them to do to you.
Another Realtor contacts you to make an appointment to show one of your listings?
Please be so kind as to do so. Nothing is more frustrating than lining up an afternoon of homes to see with your buyer than having such a request returned to you with, "Give the occupant a call and set it up with them." It is your listing isn't it? Is it not a positive conversation to have with your seller, when you are making an appointment for someone to show their property? Please collaborate in this small way.
Sellers do not wish to sit through the hour when your buyers are signing mortgage documents?
Everyone likes to have their time respected, accommodate them by having them come to closing 30 minutes after the closing begins. Have you ever thought about how your buyers may not like the sellers hearing all about their mortgage details? Just a thought?
If you think a few minutes, you could probably come up with many more common courtesies we should all be using when doing business with each other. We would love to read them here in Tallahassee, please share them with us and have a pleasant week!
Michael Lee
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