Real estate is no different, as we can attest: The ShowingTime Appointment Center handled more than 11 million appointments in 2017 while servicing more than 900,000 real estate professionals with a high level of customer satisfaction, as noted below:
- “The appointment center makes it so much easier for me to set appointments. ShowingTime is such a great company.” – Robert Kobus, Berkshire Hathaway Home Services
- “I really enjoy your service. I am not computer savvy and am very thankful you are all so patient and kind while walking me through how to set things up on my listings.” – Debra Mangiardi, Keller Williams Capital District
- “(You’re) hitting it out of the park.” – David Nathan, Hunt Real Estate
However, we still hear from some real estate professionals who say they’ll never use an appointment center for their listings.
The reasons vary, but there are a handful of common myths about real estate appointment centers that we’d like to debunk so you have a full understanding of what the service entails and how it can benefit your business.
1. “I’d lose my personal touch with clients.”
Your personality, experience and market knowledge are part of why you were chosen by your clients. But do they really want a call from you while they’re at work regarding scheduling showing appointments? Or would you rather keep personal communication to sharing good, important news, such as positive feedback or a new interested buyer?
The idea of communicating though technology is becoming more prevalent, as 94 percent of agents prefer to communicate with clients through email, according to NAR, with 90 percent preferring texting.
For those agents, buyers and/or sellers who prefer a human voice, however, the ShowingTime Appointment Center offers professionally trained appointment specialists who are well-versed in real estate scheduling. They’re also solely focused on scheduling — with no other office tasks — so they can quickly and promptly schedule showings and share the details to all involved parties.
Plus, for the aforementioned percentage of agents who prefer email or texting, both are a big part of the ShowingTime Appointment Center offering, with a bonus: the ShowingTime mobile app.
2. “Clients will know it isn’t really my office contacting them.”
All of our professional appointment specialists answer incoming calls and make outbound calls as if they were part of your office, such as:
- “Hello, this is Joe Smith calling on behalf of Office XYZ to schedule an appointment for Wednesday at 2:30 p.m.”
- “Hello, this is Joe Smith with Office XYZ. How can I help you today?”
Our appointment specialists are an extension of your office and personal brand — and just as friendly!
Likewise, all emails and notifications sent via email or through the ShowingTime mobile app are branded with your company name and logo, just as if it came directly from you.
3. “Many of the call center specialists I’ve previously dealt with are poorly trained and unfriendly.”
Our appointment specialists are not only seasoned customer service representatives, but also receive extensive training once they’re hired. Rest assured that they’re prepared, willing and able to handle all of your showing request calls and appointment-scheduling needs.
4. “I don’t have enough listings to warrant your services and can handle calls on my own.”
Appointment services aren’t only for real estate offices or single agents who have to juggle multiple showings. They’re also perfect for the single agent who handles just one or two listings a month.
Think about how much time you can waste playing phone tag trying to confirm showings with fellow agents and homeowners. Or how often you’ve had family gatherings, dinner with your significant other or a quiet night ruined by multiple phone calls.
If you hire an appointment center, those are things of the past.
Plus, you’ll not only have more time to do fun things like spend time with family and friends, you’ll present yourself as an efficient, cutting-edge real estate professional offering premium service. And, you’ll have more time to spend prospecting, marketing your listing and growing your business.
5. “I’m not ready to make a long-term commitment.”
The ShowingTime Appointment Center charges on a monthly basis, depending on how many listings you have, and can be cancelled at any time.
And, if you’re an office that already uses ShowingTime Front Desk, you can start using the ShowingTime Appointment Center on a part-time basis; you handle calls during normal business hours, we’ll answer them nights and weekends.
6. “Appointment centers aren’t worth the money.”
Every office or agent has different budgetary needs but, if you break it down, hiring an appointment center could actually be the most cost-effective way to handle showing request calls.
Do you spend too much of your day scheduling and confirming showing appointments? Learn how the ShowingTime Appointment Center helps free up your time to focus on other tasks to grow your business.