Isn't that an often-heard complaint real estate agents get all the time?

What possible excuse can there be to not call back an interested party who clearly took the time to call the real estate agent, only for the caller sometimes to have more chances to win the lottery than getting his/her call returned?

There have been more than plenty of seminars, books, presentations on customer relationship management (CRM) and how one ought to properly treat incoming calls (aka leads). Forget nurturing the client; how about starting off with a (supposedly) basic form of education: call the person back?!

Regardless whether the majority of real estate agents were to get back to their (missed) phone calls, there will still be plenty of agents who won't.

Possible reasons why agents don’t return phone calls…

An agent is not always able to pick up his phone; whether he’s in a client meeting given his undivided attention or trying to sort out important details with attorneys, home inspectors, or other professionals.

However, would it be fair to say that this problem of not returning phone calls might be inherited in the way real estate agents market themselves? What's actually happening 'behind the scenes' that make agents (in)famous for not returning phone calls?

There could be a number of communication interruptions:

Office rookie...

We all have them in our office: the new guy in the office who started last week, who has been doing lots of reading up on real estate ethics, legalities etc but barely knows how to handle an incoming call. With the secretary busy on the other line, he decides to help out and answer your incoming call but, surprise surprise, has no idea what property you’re talking about. Your call did get answered (not by the agent you were hoping to talk to) but will this be sufficient for you?

Office manager...

The following scenario could be where you call the number on the 'For Sale' board and it's the office manager answering, who most of the time will then need to decide which agent will handle your call. All of which takes time and patience on your end. Enough time to go by to forget about your call. Hopefully the right agent will call you back. Ever.

'For Sale' board...

The 'For Sale' board has a number on it that you're dialing, thinking you'll immediately speak to the agent but you end up talking to the general office number instead. The secretary may or may not be present at her desk when you call, stepped off the desk for a quick lunch, smoke break or helping a client on the other line. Either way, every single one’s a recipe for a possible lead being lost. And of course, it’s the agent's fault.

Time of day...

It’s nearly midnight and you’ve decided to call the agent’s mobile number that you found online. Yet, for some odd reason, he’s not picking up?! If he doesn’t have time for you, it’s his loss and you end up going elsewhere! Unreasonable? I invite you to look at my incoming call log past 10pm to see for yourself...

Voice message mysteries...

You called and got the agent’s voice mail, left him a decent message telling him what you’re calling about, yet forget to leave your number or worse, try to leave your 10-digit phone number in 2 seconds flat. Good luck to him trying to decipher that one!

I’m sure there are quite a few more I could list here but it would all come down to the same thing: we tend to hear just part of the story; the part where the agent doesn't answer or returns his calls.

Closing thoughts...

In all fairness to the public, as real estate agents, we try to get exposure and distribute our phone numbers on as many marketing tools as we possibly can. Websites, advertising billboards, ‘for sale’ boards etc all ask (read: beg) to contact the agents if you want more information.

Yet, reality is quite different where many, many, many clients are telling us that agents don't return phone calls. Period.

I can't speak for all the real estate agents out there, nor can I come up with all the possible excuses/reasons why they never got back to your phone call. What I do know is that I personally miss phone calls all the time for any of the above-mentioned reasons but I make very sure to get back to every one of them! I don't want to be included in the list of agents who don't return phone calls!

Without pointing fingers at all, if people were to spend as much time selecting a real estate agent (ie research the company, agent’s background, experience, sales track record, level of customer service, references etc) as they do picking a new paint color for the living room or tiles for the new bathroom, things would pan out quite differently. Sure beats the one hit-or-miss phone call to tell him about your business interest!

Having your name and number saved in his mobile phone will lead to a better service from the agent and less ‘dead ends’ versus calling some random agent at odd hours of the day.

Or, (am I pushing my luck here) people ought to be understanding as to leaving proper voice messages? In this day and age, it shouldn't be that of a surprise if the call isn't answered that you’re very likely going to have to leave a voice message. Dare to guess how many people are caught off guard and don’t know what to say when the beep starts?

As an agent, one of the first things I always ask my clients relates to the preferred medium of communication. The younger generation loves their social media platforms (Twitter, BBM, WhatsApp etc), whereas an older generation still prefers you to pick up the phone and call or even text them. Overall, in my experience, email communication tends to be the preferred choice of keeping clients informed, regardless of their age.

What are your personal experiences as a client or agent with these type of situations? Please share it with us in the comments section below!