Are your property management company’s phone practices costing you business? To answer this question, you’ll first need to pause this blog and call your own company. Approach the phone call with the mindset of an owner, and ask yourself, based on that phone experience, would you choose your company over all of the other property management options out there? If you say no, or even hesitate, it’s time to re-assess your phone practices. If you have a quality internet marketing campaign, you will be getting phone calls on a regular basis. You don’t want to miss any of these leads, especially considering you’ve paid good money to get them.
Answer Every Phone Call
The first thing your company must do is to answer every phone call. Communication is the foundation of any property management business. If you don’t answer every call, you may be losing business right now. If you’re not reachable to people who need answers right away, you’re losing leads to your competition. So: Answer those phone calls!
If you absolutely can’t answer the call, be sure to get back to people rapidly – hopefully within 10 minutes. Think of it this way: you basically have until your competition answers their phone to get that business. Someone looking for property management services is probably going down a list of names and numbers. If that owner prospect talks to someone else while waiting to hear back from you, they will likely do business with the first company that answered the phone.
Automated Receptionist Systems
If you have an automated receptionist, make sure it is programmed to respond to the caller’s needs rapidly. If there is 45 seconds of recording before the first option is given, you’re going to lose business. An owner prospect will go elsewhere. The first option on your phone menu should be “owners looking for management.” The second option should be “owners looking for sales” (if your property management company handles sales.) After that, you can go into tenant options and maintenance requests. Individuals calling for those reasons will be willing to wait. Owners looking for management and sales will not necessarily wait, so you need to get to those time-sensitive callers first.
Overstuffed Voicemail Inboxes
This happens more often than you think – the message inbox is full and the person calling cannot reach anyone. If your system is full, you have no way of knowing or tracking when opportunities come in. Get this fixed right away. Periodically check your voicemail capacity, if it’s getting full, clean it out!
Employees Who Answer Phones
Finally, if a live person answers your phone (this is the best option – good job!), make sure that person knows your business inside and out, back and forth. If an owner prospect is calling your company, they will want answers now. If the receptionist cannot get ahold of a salesperson right away, it’s best if they can answer basic questions. If a prospect feels like the person they are talking to cannot help them, you’re making a terrible first impression. Property owners and investors have too many other options. People answering the phones need to represent your company well and they need to be trained in how to talk to potential customers. You might think of offering a bonus or finder’s fee to receptionists that help you close deals. It will encourage them to do a good job.
We would be happy to call your property management company and see how your phone practices are attracting or repelling new business. If you’d like help with that or you have any other questions, please contact us at Fourandhalf.
If you need help systematizing your sales process and setting up email campaigns for your past and current prospects, we’ve got your back.
