Save Money with VolP Phone Systems for Brokers and Agents
In the real estate industry, where talking to people is everything, bad customer service will end your career, quickly. Enter VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), cloud software that provides you with a business phone number and transmits phone calls through Wi-Fi. How exactly can that improve your customer service? By bridging communications between you and your clients regardless of your location for cheaper than your monthly phone bill.
VoIP is more efficient while also having significantly more telephony features than traditional phone providers, with the added benefits of not needing to carry a second phone around and keeping your personal number private. Thanks to its combination of accessibility, reliability, and convenience, VoIP’s market share will soon cross the $100 billion thresholds, so now is the time to jump in.
A standard small business VoIP bill is around $15-50 a month (depending on the number of users and high-level features enabled). With it, you’ll have the tools to manage client calls nearly anywhere. Thanks to Wi-Fi coverage and (in some systems) the ability to use traditional phone network infrastructure, you’ll stay connected in 99.9% of places across the U.S.
To take full advantage of the flexibility VoIP offers, opt for a provider that doesn’t require any hardware, so you’ll be able to download the software and start using it within minutes. Here are common but key features to get/use once you choose your VoIP provider:
- Multiple phone numbers: Having multiple business numbers lets you better arrange all your incoming calls. Realtors who are already using VoIP generally have separate numbers for things like leasing, listings, agent recruiting, or even a dedicated line for a particularly important client
- Business hours & Call flows: Call flows are easy-to-set flowcharts determining how you answer incoming calls. By setting business hours (i.e. your working schedule), you better ensure that calls during that span come directly to you, and calls outside that window either go to a colleague or voicemail rather than simply dropping. This is especially useful for companies trying to split work between multiple realtors.
- Auto-attendant: The auto-attendant is your own personal receptionist, except it never tires and can fulfill its duties 24/7. The auto-attendant is the front of the system that helps route calls fast and efficiently based on the call flows you set. You can also upload customized greetings to your auto-attendant to always deliver the most relevant and up-to-the-minute information to callers.
- Call history: Lacking a uniting industry term, your VoIP provider should have a central hub in the system. This is the place where all of your customer communications are logged and noted so you can see which matters you’ve settled and which still need attention (like unanswered calls or follow-ups).
With VoIP, you’ll avoid a real estate professional’s worst nightmare of looking unprofessional due to frequently missing calls or having your phone line clogged. By using the features above, answering and managing client communications will be more precise than ever, no matter how far off the beaten path the property is.
Author Bio
James Grieco is the Content Marketing Manager for MightyCall.
