How to extend your opening hours

01 June 2017 4012 Views

Any good estate agent knows that they have to be available for customers when they need them. But many forget that the times homes buyers and sellers want to talk to them can be awkward.  

As any person with a 9-5 job knows, booking appointments has to be juggled around their working hours. And it’s the estate agents who are willing to operate around these hours and accommodate their clients’ needs that make the sales.

Early in the morning, after business hours have closed for the day and lunchtime are when people make time to book appointments, resolve queries and arrange valuations. So it pays for agents to be on the ball at these points during the day and not let any calls go unanswered.

Thankfully, more and more estate agents are realising that they have to be able to handle customer enquiries during these ‘out of hours’ times.

Are you really open for lunch?

And it’s about time too. Even appearing to close for lunch is an antiquated notion. A call remaining unanswered between 12pm and 2pm could even be perceived as rude of the agent. People expect that you will be available when they are; after all they are the ones giving you their business.

Of course, it’s not possible for estate agents to be open 24 hours a day, and often agents are on the road or with clients during opening hours, without the ability to man the phone at the same time. It’s during these busy times that estate agents lean on their telephone answering service, to make sure no calls – and possible sales – are missed.  

Even if the query cannot be resolved straight away, having a real person answering their call will reassure them that their enquiry is important and that someone who can help will return their call. This goes a long way to vastly improving customer service and removes the frustration of clients being ignored at peak times.