If you were to poll a 100 people in the real estate business and asked them what their number one pet peeve with people in the business is, the majority would say failing to call back in a timely fashion. Failing to return a phone call produces more lost business than almost anything else. It is not a stretch to say that incompetence met with immediate regret and a promise to do better would not be as bad as ignoring requests for days. If you are looking to establish or grow your business, you need to keep this simple premise in mind.
Of course there are excuses as to why you cannot immediately respond, but with text messaging there really is no reason not to give a reply. The issue is usually not that the person calling you needs an answer right away, but they want to feel that they and their problem are important. Instead of rolling your eyes or telling them to handle it themselves, you will gain a lot of credibility and business for simply calling back as soon as you can and dealing with the problem head on. You don’t necessarily have to have the answer, but as long as you get the process started you won’t face the resentment if you had ignored their calls.
For many people, the issue is dealing with or giving bad news to someone else. They put off and delay the bad news for the “right time.” The reality is that there is never a good time to deliver bad news, especially in real estate. It is a contradiction to say that most people like others who are honest and straightforward yet fail to act this way themselves. Most of the time, the problem is not with the message but with the messenger. By being as honest and as upfront as possible, even if you are in the wrong, you will gain respect in the long term. If you fail to answer someone’s call for a few days and deliver bad news when you finally get around to talking to them, you will lose any credibility you may have left.
Answering your phone and getting back to people is another brick in building your business. It is not uncommon for a good attorney to lose business from investors because they are never around to answer their questions. This happens in business all the time. If you want your business to grow, you need to remember this. As busy as you may be at the moment, it will take you less than 90 seconds on the phone with someone to put them at ease and maybe a few minutes more to answer their questions. This is a very small price to pay for developing a relationship that could impact your business long term. The next time your phone rings and you decide that you don’t want to talk to that person, know that you could be losing their business forever.
