Telephone Tactics for Making a Great First Impression
1. Speak clearly. Superstars make a point of slowing down on the phone, enunciating clearly, and avoiding the shorthand real estate lingo that can often confuse a real estate client. This shows that they are completely interested and engaged in the conversation.
2. Smile. In training real estate agents to prospect, we often use the age old wisdom of “smiling while you’re dialing.” Why? Because when you smile, your whole body, posture, voice, and attitude change. Amazingly, you can sense these subtle changes over the phone.
3. Prepare to take calls. Real estate agents should expect that they will receive hundreds of calls a month from their listing, marketing, and prospecting activities. Wise agents prepare for these calls by keeping copies of their advertising, prospect inquiry logs, appointment books, and any other necessary tools at their fingertips.
4. Give them more. Real estate agents who field calls successfully often find that creating a better first impression is as simple as offering clients more than they asked for. For instance, when talking with buyers about a specific listing, many agents keep a list of similar alternative properties that they can provide information about to prospective buyers.
5. Take great messages. In real estate, any phone call can be of critical importance–a deal breaker or a deal maker. Superstars, therefore, take great messages by recording the date and time of each call along with the caller’s name, phone number, best time to call, and a brief message. In addition, many superstars now ask callers if they would prefer a call back or an e-mail.
6. Catch the name. A client’s name is an important piece of information that should always be written down immediately, lest, like me, you forget it five seconds later.
7. Train your team. Don’t forget that your front office, team members, and assistants can often be a client’s first point of contact with your brand. Thus, your front line must be trained on proper phone etiquette.
This brings us full circle to the last critical component of making a great first impression: having strong content. Imagine watching a singer take the stage. He is dressed in a suit and tie; he jokes with the audience, putting it at ease; the band begins to play; and then, like a broken power saw, he begins to sing the most offensive song you could ever imagine. He has perfect pitch, tempo, and volume, but what comes forth from his mouth would make George Carlin, Larry Flynt, and Marilyn Manson queasy.
Do you stay and listen? After all, he looks the part. He took the time to engage the audience and build rapport. Most of us would be gone before the second verse, which is why content is still incredibly important.
What you say matters.
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