According to the National Association of Realtors, 45 percent of home sellers say they expect an instant response from their agent and 97 percent of those say they expect a response within an hour. This was also one of the takeaways, last week, from the annual conference of the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World.
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Real Estate is a competitive market. Buyers and sellers have an endless list of agents to choose from. What will make you stick out? Excellent customer service and turnaround time. Here are three ways technology can help you achieve both of those qualities.
Web Response Time
The National Association of Realtors reports that 90 percent of homebuyers use the Internet to search for homes. This makes it critical that agents have a solid web-to-prospect process. Quickly routing leads to an agent in the right territory could mean the difference between a sale or losing to another agency.
File Storage
It seems odd to include file storage in an article about timeliness. However, having an efficient and secure storage system that allows agents to share contracts, legal paperwork, photos, videos and housing information will give you and your sales team the tools to respond quickly to inquiries from buyers and sellers.
Contact Management
A successful agent has piles of contacts and data to organize. Contact management software can help track clients and listings, enabling you to quickly match sellers and buyers. Utilizing such a tool allows you to build custom reports and set up notifications for clients within minutes. This positions you ahead of your competition simply through quick response time.
Timeliness is about more than just responding to a voicemail or e-mail within an hour. It’s about surpassing expectations and being one step ahead of the competition. Eighty-nine percent of clients will recommend or use the same agent again. This makes it even more important to leave a good impression.
