I bet your 24-hour callback policy cost you over $10000 in lost commissions last year, and will cost you even more this year.

“But my customers expect me to get back to them in a reasonable time frame.”

You’re right, they do - and in this day and age, 24 hours is an eternity for that hungry customer wanting information NOW, NOW, NOW! Not so long ago the big ate the small - the rich Realtors® had the resources and advertised the small players out of the market. Times have changed - these days, THE QUICK EAT THE SLOW!

If there’s one thing you do today that will put hundreds of thousands of dollars into your pocket during your career it’s this:

• Drop that 24-hour call back policy
• Followup with that customer immediately

That’s a mouthful isn’t it? You’re busy showing property, writing deals, coordinating lawyers and mortgage brokers - how will you be able to followup with these people immediately?

Well, where you might see a problem, top producers see opportunity. Here’s what they do:

• They enable their customers - giving your buyers the ability to do their own property searching will save you massive amounts of time - and considering that 87% of buyers use the internet already, it’s a no brainer - get a website that let’s them search on their own.
• They are choosy - if you’re working with B-Grade clientele, you’ll be a B-Grade Realtor®. Top producers make sure they qualify their customers, and when they’re not qualified, they automate the qualification process (automated followups, qualification email campaigns, mailing list, etc.).
• They are mobile - when a customer contacts you - via email, phone, or through your website - you need to know immediately. If your website doesn’t text message you when a new customer signs up, or you only check your email once a day, then you’re not mobile.
• They are honest - if there are times during a day (6:00pm - 8:00am) that you’re not going to be working, MAKE SURE YOUR CUSTOMERS KNOW IT. Put it in an email auto-responder, or as part of your phone message - and always direct them to the information they are likely looking for (you’ll need a good real estate website for this).
• They have an A-Grade team - if your assistant is tardy and your mortgage broker is slow, fire them. Top Producer’s team members are experts in their fields, and know what they know: customers don’t wait.

Incorporating these techniques into your business will take work (if it were easy, everyone would be a top producer) - but it’ll pay off big time!