Tips for improving phone calls between real estate agents and clients

The foundation of real estate is communication. You can’t sell or buy a home for a client if you can’t effectively communicate. So while there may be a lot of tips for real estate agents, there is no better one than being an effective communicator.

The phone call is still one of the most essential cornerstones for any real estate agent. Being able to field calls efficiently and successfully will help your sales more than anything else.

In this blog, we’ll go over how you can master phone calls with clients and what makes for an effective phone call. Let’s go.

What is an effective phone call in real estate?

The answer boils down to effective, clear communication at every point during the sales process, and the best way to do that is with a phone call. Any real estate call that clearly outlines what’s happening and leaves the party satisfied is a successful phone call.

Effective phone calls mean your client has the information to make the best decision for them, and could even result in good word of mouth that gets you more clients.

How can you make real estate calls more effective?

Clear, friendly communication is the cornerstone here. You have to relay information in a way your client will understand, and you need to be calm and patient as they work through it. If you’re negotiating price, you need to give them all relevant information in a concise way. Remember that they’re making a huge, life-altering decision.

It’s perfectly OK for them to get cold feet or feel anxious at different steps in the process. Using empathy and clearly outlining what every step and possible decision means will go a long way.

If they’re asking questions and you don’t know the answer, be clear that you don’t know, but that you’ll do your best to find the answers and get back to them when you can.

Make great phone calls part of your work culture

Great phone calls and great communication are a pillar of any sale.

Whether you’re part of a larger real estate group or are on your own, make sure phone skills are at the corner of what you do. When new clients call you, be ready with some quick introductory scripts. Be sure to know your story and can explain what you bring to a new client, and prepare some quick talking points you can go through with them.

This consistent storytelling can help you stand out for new clients. When you’re dealing with current or regular clients, you simply need to be able to practice proper communication on the phone.

Avoid sounding like you’re too busy when you’re on the phone with clients. Keep paper rustling and other noises to a minimum. Real estate agents tend to be on the go a lot, whether it’s preparing open houses or scouting new listings, so being able to appear professional on the go is essential to a client feeling like they’re valued.

Second, if you’re expanding staff, make sure you have training documents so that you present a unified front. Good real estate communication is consistent, as it helps your firm appear professional.

How to take phone calls to the next level

Clearly communicating over the phone is a great first step, but there are more tools you can use to improve how you handle phone calls. This can make your clients feel better cared for.

Specifically, you can take advantage of technology to up your game. A VoIP phone system offers many advanced business features to not only train your staff, but foster effective phone calls with clients. Here are some of the many tools available in Ooma Office:

Record calls for training

Use Call Recording to better train your staff. You can record calls to review later, allowing you to hear how your staff communicates with clients, take notes and circle back with tips from real situations so they can diffuse difficult situations, calm nerves, educate and offer support.

Don’t leave callers hanging

If you’re busy and you don’t want your clients left hanging, Virtual Receptionist has your back. You can set it up to answer basic questions, like hours of operations. You can even create a call tree to quickly route your clients to the right staff member.

Stay connected on the go

Scouting new listings? No worries. With Ooma Office, you can stay connected to your clients no matter where you are. Turn your computer into a powerful phone with the Ooma Office desktop app, and stay connected to your business on the go with the Ooma Office mobile app.

Reduce call waiting time

Want your clients to have their phone call answered quicker? With Multi-Ring, you can have phone calls ring on multiple phones and devices at the same time, allowing the first available person to answer and help.

Send important documents with eFax

Faxing is still an essential method of communication for real estate. You can easily send a Virtual Fax, aka eFax, with just a couple taps.

Help clients reach you on busy days

Don’t forget to get ready for the busy home-selling times, like spring and summer, with Call Queuing. You can create a simple call center and automatically place clients in a virtual waiting room that can be enhanced with recorded announcements until a staff member is available to answer their questions.

Add some video to your real estate communication

You don’t need to limit your communication to one-on-one phone calls. With audio conference calls and videoconferencing, you can assemble your entire staff together to discuss issues—no matter where they are. You can even make quick video calls with your clients if one of you is out of town.

You’re ready to improve your phone calls

Now that you’ve got the basics down, you’re ready to begin making phone calls between you, your agents and clients more effective. Start an action plan and implement some of the ideas and strategies we’ve talked about here. If you need an advanced, affordable business phone system to take you to the next level, Ooma can help.