Maybe you don’t like talking on the phone. Maybe you don’t like the sound of your own voice. Maybe you just get too many solicitation calls so you’d rather talk to customers on your own terms, when you’re ready to call them.
Here’s the problem…
Nobody cares what you want.
Your customers care about what your customers want and you know what? So should you.
If you a customer wants to get a hold of you, you should make it ridiculously simple to do so. What’s more, you’d better answer the phone on the first ring. Otherwise, you risk losing that potential customer to the competition (and you will lose them to the competition).
Here’s an excellent example from LoriBee.com.
Notice how her contact information (her cell phone) is placed prominently on the upper right-hand side of her website. There it sits on every single page of her site so that if someone wants to get a hold of her, they know where to look for her number.
But I get too many solicitation calls!
Of course you do. But I’m sorry to say, that it’s part of your filtering process to deal with those calls. If you choose to hide your number because of solicitors, you risk alienating a ton of potential leads.
Better to get a Google Voice number and screen calls that way.
What about you?
Do you screen your calls? How easy is it for someone to get a hold of you straight from your website?
I disagree completely. I think a phone number should be your choice to share – but it also depends on industry. I wrote about why I don’t put my phone number anywhere about a year ago…http://wrightcreativity.com/2010/07/why-i-dont-put-my-phone-number-on-my-website-or-business-cards/
Here’s the way I see it, if I’m on your site, I’m looking to ask about a specific property, I want to know that I can reach you… Sure I can send you an email, but most people, want the information at the speed of NOW!
Can it wait for an email response? Sure. But you risk losing that lead to someone else. In this example, the next Agent who DID have their phone number listed on their site and who picked up on the first ring.
The number one compliment I get from my contacts is that I always answer my phone during reasonable hours (typically 8:00 am to 8:00 pm). And, if for some reason I miss a call (when I am showing clients homes, or on another call), I return their call very promptly. It matters!
Competitive differentiation. You’ve nailed it!
In this case, I think you’re doing the unexpected. Answering your phone, ha! I think Agents are notorious for not answering to calls quickly enough sometimes. The sooner you respond, the better.
In your case, I’d say people come to appreciate and respect the fact that you’re so prompt.
K fixed it. http://www.NeuhausRE.com
Heh, thanks Ed!