Estate agents are always busy and for good reason. The property industry involves some high stakes and each sale could make your business thousands. Recently though, with the uncertainty brought about by the pandemic, this has stepped up significantly. Many agents now claim that they are overwhelmed by the volume of calls they receive.
Making things even more fun for estate agents is the upcoming end to the Stamp Duty Holiday. This was introduced to protect the housing market during the pandemic, but it is currently set to end at the end of June 2021. This means that the next couple of weeks will be some of the busiest on record, and we want to help. There is a huge range of technology and best practices that can help teams in this sector to beat the rush. Here’s our guide to communications for the property industry.
Help your team members support each other
Estate agents are naturally divided into branches based on location or the demographics they are catering for. Often these branches are essentially running as different businesses, but this is often not the optimal approach. If your sites cannot effectively collaborate, then they can’t support each other when one is overwhelmed with calls.
A unified communications service can help to bridge the gap between your premises. Through this, members of different branches can message, call, or host video conferences with the rest of their team. Even if you’re working on the go, all through a single app. Through this service it doesn’t matter how far away your team are, they will be working on the same page.
This is further supported by presence and direct routing. Presence is a system included within your UC service that shows which members of your staff are free to communicate at any time. This means if you need a hand, you know exactly who’s around to help.
With direct routing, every time a call comes in an operator can decide who it is directed to. This means that the right person for the job always receives a call. If everyone is busy, direct routing can send a caller to one of your other premises without the customer knowing. This allows the customer to reach someone who can meet their needs, while taking the pressure off your team.
Keep customers engaged at all times
Customers don’t like to be left on hold, but this process doesn’t have to be as dull as we’re led to believe. With a few simple changes this can enhance your customer service process and even take some of the pressure off your team.
Our call management service allows you to maintain a clear view of who has dialled into your business. If they are an existing customer then they will be flagged by your CRM and can be prioritised first. If anyone is missed, then their details are stored and can be called back quickly.
While customers wait, our professional suite of on-hold marketing can come in handy. This is a far cry from the strange, grainy music you’re probably used to on hold. This service can be tailored by our professional voice talent to include messages that are relevant to your customers. This can include everything from your opening times, your latest offers and relevant information on things such as the stamp duty holiday.
Don’t be held back when working on the move
Agents are constantly working on the move, whether they are at home, on their way to a property or conducting a viewing. It is vital that these members of staff can be reached, even when they are on the move. That’s where our mobile app comes in.
The Chrome mobile app is essentially a UC solution you can take with you on the go. This service, which allows you to keep your office number, means you can bridge the gap between office and remote working with ease. The rest of your team knows you are available to call, and your own clients can dial in at any time and reach your mobile rather than an empty office chair.
This is an upgrade on just using your personal mobile number for a variety of reasons. The first is professionalism and your own privacy, it makes it easier than ever to create a successful work-life balance. The second is our CRM integrations. Our communication services integrate alongside a huge range of specialist customer management platforms, including those from the property industry. This means if you’re working on the go and a customer call comes in, your CRM will provide you with the details of that customer straight away. This saves time and allows you to provide a more bespoke service.
We hope that these tips are relevant to your team and can provide a great platform for success in the property industry. If there is anything that your communication service is currently falling short on, give us a call. The Chrome team can help you to find a solution, you can reach us at 03333 212 707
