A property management company has unique needs, especially when it comes to phone answering services. On top of the usual nine to five calls that companies receive, your property management also receives emergency calls with needs that should be addressed. It could be a broken door or a busted water pipe. Are you considering hiring a receptionist to handle all business calls? With Best Call Center, your potential client will receive the best customer service. Your clients will also get the assistance they require when they need it. 

Appointment Scheduling Services

Setting appointments is at the heart of the daily operations of every business. Without proper appointment scheduling, much of the rest you do might be for naught. You require clients and other businesses to purchase or lease your property, and scheduling is where it starts.

When a prospect or client calls your property business to book an appointment, their call should be handled accurately and promptly.

To simplify and streamline the appointment scheduling process, consider engaging a skilled call answering service provider. Instead of your phone ringing, it will be that of the service provider, and they will run the business for you. With the assistance of web-based calendars that you can access, you will be aware and updated on the upcoming appointments. It saves time while effectively offering your clients the service they deserve.

You don't have to worry about missing business opportunities because you were busy with other duties or away from the phone. With a call agent by your side, your phone will be answered at any time of the day. That means you can attract as many prospects as possible.

Not having an in-house call center frees up your employees to perform other duties and pay attention to handling clients in person. Moreover, staffing concerns like breaks, vacations, and sick days should not interrupt your business with the call answering service provider.

24/7 Multilingual Answering Services

At Best Call Center, we understand the importance of a business to offer professional customer support to the non-English speaking community. That is why we have well-trained experts who are fluent in different languages. That means you can provide convenient and responsive support to a wide range of clients.

The agents will save you money and time with cutting-edge technology, real-time messaging, voice mail, interactive voice response, and custom scripting. Moreover, according to your instructions, the agent will share your real estate firm updates, among other information with the clients.

Make Rent Reminder Calls

Good tenants pay rent on time, but some need prodding. Although the answering service might not be your collection solution, you can involve the service in sending reminder texts or email notices and making calls to late-paying tenants.

All you need to do is provide the answering service provider with a list of past-due tenants. While some renters might just require the reminder, others should know you mean it and will not tolerate late payments.

Voicemail Could be an Effective Tool for Your Real Estate Business

The role of a voicemail is beyond that of an automated message. Depending on the size of your call volume and the property management business, voicemail services are something you might want to consider.

Voicemail permits you to be as flexible and mobile as you should be on your end. It also allows your callers to leave you messages all day. Any competent answering service could work closely with your staff to develop and configure a personalized answering service package that suits the callers' preference and offer you a set-up essential to running the operation and having a life outside work.

If combined with an auto-attendant, you could customize the voicemail to let specific calls go to a live agent.

Email Marketing

After the answering service agent hangs up the phone call with the caller, including clients and prospects, an email is generated and sent to the email addresses collected on the call.

Typically, the email could contain a call to action and numerous details such as:

  • Links to how-to articles and videos
  • Discount and coupon codes
  • Business details like hours of operations, location, customer support email, and fax number
  • After-call survey about the service, properties among other relevant information
  • FAQs with full details, follow-up advice, and links
  • Confirmation of appointments for showing or registration
  • Pricing and listings

Any other marketing message you want to convey about your business, an upcoming event, or property

Any seasoned call answering service provider will tell you that their clients love email marketing because it helps them communicate further with their clients. You can also send various emails to numerous groups founded on-call script. That way, all content is suited and customized to the caller and their call. To sum it up, it is a seamless process since emails are sent automatically after the phone call.

Call Patching

Call patching is similar to having a virtual receptionist who screens and transfers essential calls to the right department or you.

When the call answering service provider receives your business call, they will screen it and determine if it should be transferred. If the call does, the agent will note the caller’s name, their phone number should the caller get disconnected, and any information you may want. The answering agent will place the caller on hold, dial the patch number and then convey the call information to you. If you are not available, the agent will take the message to be delivered. If you agree to take the call, the caller will be transferred to you.

One of the problems a call patching solves is that it prevents distractions that interrupt workflow, keeping your staff focusing on their duties all day. Most calls do not require your attention.

For instance, if your property management business often receives calls from solicitors looking to sell your firm services or products you aren't interested in, the patching agent will screen out the calls and prevent the interruption they cause. Or maybe your clients have common questions resulting in many phone calls. The patching agent could offer standard responses, saving you the hustle of answering the same questions repeatedly.

Moreover, callers get upset by dealing with an automated system or when passed around departments trying to talk to the correct person. With a patching agent, your client will talk to a real person from the word go who will direct their calls to the right department always.

Tenant Outreach

Any experienced call center for real estate firms doesn't have to wait for clients to make inquiries. The proactive service provider will also regularly conduct tenant surveys on your behalf. It helps you identify and address challenges before they become significant issues. When the problems are solved, you create the impression that you are responsive to your clients' needs. The responsiveness makes clients inclined to renew their leases.

After Hours and Weekend Answering Service

If you are not keen on a business, you can be carried away by new tools, techniques, and tricks instead of paying attention to things that make a difference. For almost all businesses, the office phone is one of the sources of leads. Irrespective of whether you are in the office, prospects will call the office any time.

Unfortunately, after hours and weekends, phone support is not a priority for most companies. The businesses allow the leads to go to voicemail, hoping the clients will leave their message and still make a purchase when they call back.

To remain competitive and meet your customers' expectations, you should offer a point of contact outside of regular business hours. To illustrate this further, a BT Business report indicates that small and medium-sized businesses lose millions of money in sales annually due to missed calls. According to the report, the cost of one missed call is approximately one thousand and eight hundred dollars. Missing a single sale from a missed call is not only unnecessary but also unfortunate.

Your clients will have confidence and trust in your company, knowing that they can contact you anytime. If you aren't available, you leave it to chance that the client will not wait for your normal business hours and will contact your competitors.

Moreover, weekend and after-hours call answering services are a must-have for international businesses. Do not forget, while you're relaxing at home; your clients might be taking their lunch on the other side of the world or still in their office.

Also, some prospective clients might not be able to contact you during your normal business hours because they are busy with other obligations. With a live answering call service, you stand at a competitive advantage over your direct competitors.

Signs to know your business require after-hours call service:

  • You are concerned about your customer experience — American Express Customer Service Barometer reports that most customers feel that businesses do not place value on client support. Bearing that in mind, it is time for you to offer exceptional client experience so that your property management firm stands out. Offering after-hours client care services shows that you value every call irrespective of the time.
  • There is a gap in the business—Probably, you have noticed that clients who called outside normal business hours have left you voice messages. Although, understandably, you don't want to forward calls to your phone and maybe interrupted at night, you would like to offer all your callers excellent customer service. According to Salesforce's research, approximately eighty-five percent of clients are not satisfied with the phone experience and thereof, with the business. Offering after-hour answering support increases the likelihood of offering a positive caller experience by ensuring the call is connected with a live representative.
  • You require additional help — Irrespective of how professional you and your staff manage phone calls during normal business hours, having a trustworthy team managing the night shift ensures that no lead is left unsupported. A research conducted by the CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) Council showed that poorly managed prospects and lost productivity cost businesses more than one trillion dollars. How much would your company recover should you close only ten percent more sales because it is more efficient and productive at handling prospects. Engaging a call answering service provider is an affordable strategy that could make a significant difference.

The Call Agent Customizes Call Answering Services to Your Needs

Think about it, how many leads reached you but because they received a voicemail, contacted your competitors? How many unsatisfied clients have you previously handled who believed you should have been more prompt in the response?

With a call agent, these challenges disappear. Each caller receives personalized attention irrespective of the time, and all flat call packages come with a range of services that could be customized to meet your needs. Since the virtual receptionists are part of your staff, they should work with the company schedule and comply with how you like calls managed.

Moreover, when you engage an answering service provider, you should be assigned a direct account agent. The agent will be the contact person whenever you have questions.

Sending Follow Up Emails Following the Operator Interaction

Your answering service allows your clients to interact directly with your company representative. Live interaction is a two-way communication system. To communicate more following the phone call, keep your interaction alive by sending the client an email immediately after the call requesting for feedback.

Your clients will appreciate the fact that you are taking the initiative to reach out to them. As a result, they will be comfortable to respond and ask for assistance. 

Call Filtering and Scripting

After answering, your answering service provider should choose the nature of the client's request. The filtering allows the service provider to follow scripting depending on the state of affairs. The call can fall into one of the categories:

  • Rental inquiry
  • General office
  • Maintenance request

Rental Inquiry Call

A rental call inquiry script is for prospect calling to inquire about your property. The answering agent will take the message and deliver it to you. Moreover, the agent can use your website to answer the caller's questions or get information from the frequently asked questions database.

Maintenance Request Call

Maintenance request calls are for current tenants who are requesting maintenance on their homes. The sample script contains a list of emergency maintenance issues which require immediate attention like:

  • Fire
  • Lockout
  • No heat
  • No water
  • Frozen pipe
  • Water leak
  • Clogged toilet
  • Sewer

General Office

These are calls that are neither maintenance requests nor rental inquiries.

Appointment Reminders

A missed appointment could cost you a lot in terms of lost income and overhead expenses. Most people's fast-paced lifestyle causes them to forget the times and dates of their appointment, affecting your business. With appointment reminder calls from your answering service provider, you can contact your clients with the time and date of the appointment and any piece of information that can be forgotten easily.

Message Taking Services

Instead of sending your callers to voicemail, message-taking allows all calls to be answered by a live person. The messages are taken based on the scripting you put in place and delivered according to your instructions.

Customers prefer talking to a person to a voicemail recording or an automated system. Using a call agent provides the callers with a personal level of service while cutting costs. Clients used to voicemails will notice the difference, and the endeavor will bear fruits.

Your message taking service provider should permit you to come up with custom scripting that meets your business needs. If you want to collect information from various parties, the system could be configured to filter the calls and present agents with the necessary message scripting. It makes sure you receive complete messages.

Messages taken could be delivered to you in one of the following ways:

  • Text message
  • Email
  • Phone call
  • Fax

The call agent can also deliver the messages to you individually or combine them into a log that you receive during the day. Additionally, several delivery options could be used simultaneously and messages distributed to various personnel based on their priority or subject.

What are the Benefits of Using a Call Answering Service?

From offering exceptional customer service 24/7, all year long to ensuring you are making profits, with a third-party call answering company, you will also enjoy other benefits like:

Professional Representation

While you represent your property management company out there by showing apartments or condos and working on maintenance requests, your skilled virtual receptionists will uphold the company's name and represent it over the phone. The call agents are your receptionists.

Tenant Retention

From helping your tenants and giving them a voice no matter when they call to answer all your prospects’ questions, your caller will feel appreciated. They could even recommend their loved ones and random people on the street. Remember, word of mouth is free but a useful advertising tool.

All-around-the-Clock Customer Service

Unless you’ve got a lot of coffee, it is impossible to work 24/7. That is where a call agent comes in. While you are busy showing apartments and trying close on new prospects, forward calls to a virtual receptionist so that potential new clients are not put off by your numerous calls or voicemails.

It is Cost-Effective

Hiring a full-time receptionist is costly. When you consider health insurance, paid time off (PTO), among other benefits, these costs can be a burden to your firm. Hiring virtual receptionists is much cost-friendly. You will save money by streamlining the processes and the capability to get a lot accomplished in one day.

Prompt Responses

Your clients want their questions and issues addressed promptly. Your answering service should be in a position to work with your property management firm to offer accurate details during the call. Your clients will hang up with the details they require to make a purchase or book appointments. With what your clients need to know, they will have a purchasing mindset rather than feeling unsatisfied or frustrated. And even when the client does not buy the property, they will have a positive experience with the customer service, which boosts your reputation and possibly result in more business.

Dispatch Maintenance Staff Quickly

A burst pipe could cost a lot of dollars in a few minutes. On the other hand, gas leaks could be hazardous to both pets and people living in the property. Whenever there is an emergency, you should act fast because livelihoods and lives depend on it.

However, dispatching your maintenance staff is not as easy as it seems. Weekend and after-hour emergencies, in most cases, mean rousing workers from the bed. With a call answering service, your tenants can cut through red tape and get the assistance they require promptly.

From there, the virtual receptionist can decide who to reach out to and when. Any seasoned virtual receptionist will learn your property management company policies and procedures, permitting them to make a crucial choice about what is an emergency. Making the right phone call could save you a lot of money.

Maintains Prospects

In real estate, there is always a person moving out or moving in. While maintaining a stable stream of tenants is essential to your company, it requires a lot of human resources to achieve this. From collecting deposits to marketing the available apartments, there are always tasks to perform when minimizing vacancies.

Call answering services make the pipeline easy to maintain. Let the call center schedule show with leads. The receptionists will thoughtfully schedule an appointment with your availability in mind. As a result, it eliminates the phone tag game that accompanies new clients.

Find a Qualified Call Answering Service Provider Near Me

If you are a commercial property owner or residential landlord, using a property management call answering services is both an asset and a must-have. What happens if there is a water, electricity, or plumbing emergency that requires immediate attention, and you are out of town? What if a lead wants to confirm something about your property but cannot reach you? It is time to take your business to another level. Excellent customer support coupled with communication and personalized attention are primary components of retaining clients, and with Best Call Center, your business will stand out. Call us today at 800-385-4656 to learn how we can help you make your business a breeze.