voicemail or answering service ??

[Jovan Johnson]

hey everyone! i was wondering if i do have enough money to have a answering service could i use my voice mail. and if so what should i say? i intend to wholesale deals any advise will be greatly appreciated.

p.s. does anyone know of any great answering services?

[Harrison Painter]

A live person answering the phone will ALWAYS be more effective.

Take a look at any of your local "virtual office" type of companies for pricing.

You could also hire a virtual assistant to answer the phone. I believe there is an association of VA's, so a quick Google search should find that for you.

I have used a great website "Elance" where you can post what it is you want done, and people will bid on your request. I highly recommend it for odds and end tasks. Elance has served me very well.

Good luck!

[Jason Wheeler]

This one is inexpensive and you get a lot for what you pay for on the monthly service. No I am not an affiliate just a user

http://www.simplebiztools.com/

[Curt Davis]

Jovan,

You will want to answer every call that comes in. You will never need an answering service. Besides, people do not like to deal with an automated voice recorder. People always would rather deal with a live person. Most will never leave a message, they will just hang up and call the next property listed for sale.

[Jovan Johnson]

thanks everyone for the quick replies. and if anyone have anything to add to this please feel free

[Mike H]

Originally posted by Curt Davis:
Jovan,

You will want to answer every call that comes in. You will never need an answering service. Besides, people do not like to deal with an automated voice recorder. People always would rather deal with a live person. Most will never leave a message, they will just hang up and call the next property listed for sale.

It seems the majority says a live person should answer, preferably you, correct? I would be more than happy to speak with every seller that calls me, but I don't feel comfortable leaving my personal number for the world to see. What do you guys do? Get call forwarding? A second line? A second phone?

[Rachel H.]

I answer all my calls personally. If I miss their call, it goes to voicemail but I call them back right away. If there's a seller/buyer calling, I want to talk to them! :)

[Mike H]

So you leave your personal number on your business cards, flyers, mailers, website, bandit signs, etc?

[Nicholas .]

You definitely should have a live person answer, but you definitely should NOT answer them yourself. Are you a real estate investor or a call center?

Most of your calls aren't going to be prospects. They're going to be suspects. Let your answering service prescreen out the suspects, and you call back the handful of prospects.

As an investor, you're looking for the people who NEED to sell, not just WANT to sell. Those people will not have a problem talking to your answering service.

I use PATLive. And they're already set up with scripts from Ron LeGrand. You can get a discounted account at www.patlive.com/ronlegrand

[Rachel H.]

Yes, I do Mike H - it's a local #. It's the best way for me to screen people out - see if they are a good fit to work with. It's an art learning how to screen people but a skill well learned.

I had a fellow investor friend using a call center answering service and they would email him the leads - however, he found they didn't get all the info, he had to train them and by the time he called these people back they had already talked to another investor. I think most people want that personal touch.

People have different styles of doing things. Some people have a calling service, some do it through their website, etc. For me, it's faster to take the calls and if there's a seller/buyer out there who wants to work with me - I'm there!

Hope that helps!

[Mike H]

Thanks Rachel!

So what it basically boils down to is, find what works for you. I can dig that!

[Rachel H.]

You've got it, Mike H! :D

[Mark Yuschak]

I follow the same school of thought as Rachel. My cell phone number is plastered everywhere and I give it out all the time. I personally take every call and have never used an answering service.

I don't have anything to compare it against, however, I want to be the first line of contact with potential buyers, sellers, perspective tenants, and even current tenants.

[Jonathan Rexford]

I have used 800 VM systems, Pat Live, Voice Connect and also local answering service companies..

After all these years I have found that I am better taking my own calls. Selling houses still go to property hotline. But if they are in front of one of my homes then they call me direct to get inside.

If I miss the call then call back.

[James M.]

Another option you may have (depending on your budget) would be to set up a virtual PBX. Setting up a virtual PBX makes your business sound much larger than it really is. With a virtual PBX, when someone calls, they will get a virtual receptionist which gives them directions such as "Press 1 for Jack, Press 2 for Sam, etc." Of course, you can change the numbers and messages to whatever you want.

While these virtual PBX services are pretty much fixed throughout the competition (both in regards to price and features), it is pretty cost effective. But then again, that all has to do how much time you plan on spending on the phone.

[Nicholas .]

I should clarify...I use PATLive, but I ordered a MagicJack (which comes with a local phone number), and I just set up that phone number to forward to my 800 # at PATLive. I don't want my potential sellers seeing an 800 #. I want them to think I'm just a consumer when they call.

Actually, I remember receiving an e-mail from PATLive sometime last year that they have local numbers now, so I guess you don't even need the MagicJack. But I already have it, so there's no need for me to switch now.

[Michael Culler]

If you are just starting out, your cell phone would be best. You should get practice talking directly with motivated sellers before you have someone else do it for you.

When they have first picked up the phone to call is the best time to make the appointment. You will be better off if you can evaluate if its worth making an appointment, and setting that appointment right away while they are motivated.

If they have to leave a message, or talk to an assistant who does not get an appointment, it is possible that your prospect will continue calling other companies until they have an appointment with another investor.

my two cents.

[Lafi S.]

PAT LIVE

[Shane Wilson]

Live is better. I answered myself until I hired an assistant.

[Matt Mathews]

For those who use a E-Fax 800# or would like too. MyFax.com now has a Voice mail service. Canned or live. They give you a 800# and link everything to mobile and your virtual office.
Mathews Realty Group
Agent/Investor Specialist
Solo 401K plans for Prof. RE Investors.

[Account Closed]

I use a company that I found online that offers local or 1800 numbers that have a variety of features. Including a computerized voicemail (press 1 for ... press 2 for...), forwarding, customized times, and my favorite bit, a web interface to see all the calls that you've received. Some include fax as well that you will receive in your email.

What I do is I have the custom number as my office number and have it forward to my mobile phone during office hours. It shows up on my phone screen in a way that I can tell that it is being forwarded from that number.

Searching virtual pbx in google will yield many of these companies.

[Wil Porter]

This is the age old question from 20, 30 and even 40 years ago. Those who answer calls themselves are convinced this is the only way to go. ( and it's usually after having a very bad experience with an answering service or taking the advice fom a business associate who had a bad experience)
Those that have found a reliable answering service are very happy that no call will ever reach voice mail and think having an answering service is as good or better than having to hire an assistant, even a part time one. It is about what works best for you and can you find a reliable answering service / virtual assistant that can represent your brand ( which in most cases is YOU )
Can someone else represent YOU as well as you ? Not on your life. If you are goign to investigate answering service you will most certainly want to look at those vendors that may not be the cheapest. The whole you get what you pay for is very true.
An answering service should be able to capture all information you need - name - address - e-mail address - caller ID - Source - property they are interested in etc.
An answering service should also be able to follow specific instructions for specific call types as well as instructions when specific people call.
As a sales person for an answering service, no i am not posting my url or other info about it, i have all my calls patched / direct connected to me. My staff has collected the info from the caller and put the call through and then i get all the info texted to my cell phone. Answering Services were the 1st and still the best Voice to Text solution. A message like "Hi this is Bob call me back" is still a bad and nearly worthless message, even if your voice mail sends it by text to your cell.
A good and even great solution is out there and available for everyone. It may take time and it may take some tweeking and you may even switch from one to the other and back again as your needs change. It is about what you feel comfortable with as well as, and probably more important, what makes your customers comfortable doing business with you.
All the best for your continued success

[David Breitzmann]

The phone is another place to set the stage for a customer experience.

A quick takeaway: Be very clear about when you will accept calls in the greeting. "Hey, if you are calling for David please leave a message. I will get back to you at my next opportunity during normal business hours"

It's ironic that so many have business cards and messages plastered with "call anytime" and are surprised when others operate under that directive.

Seting boundaries for your personal life is crucial in any contemplation of beginning a successful business.

[Chris Oshea]

Answer the phone yourself until you get to the point where your time is better spent elsewhere. And buy a couple of LOCAL phone numbers from a place like TossableDigits.com or any other call forwarding site. I think I'm paying 12 bucks a month for 2 numbers, this way you don't have to be putting your personal cell phone number on bandit signs, business cards, flyers, etc., and as another person already stated, you can set what hours you want the calls to go through between. Also a good way to keep track of your marketing to see what's generating calls

[David Breitzmann]

Chris,

A follow up to that would be time management. In an age where the trend is mobile phones, social media and networking via REIA are multiple lines easy to manage?

Updating on this forum, email and turning around messages on Twitter and FB can be a challenge.

What about using Google Voice to port all those numbers to one device without handing out personal contact information.

I ususally don't mind giving out the cell because I've found emails to be much more intrusive. These are sent way beyond normal business and potential clients expect quick turnaround.

[Warren Grey]

For a good answering, have a look at regus.com - they have live people (and offices) all over the country. They can answer calls and patch them through to your mobile (or wherever) or send calls to voice mail. You can give them simple answering instructions as well to help qualify the calls. They can also set you up with a phone number.

... (con't) Regus.com . Just make sure to test their phone answering process and the script you provide them to make sure they're handling your calls the way you want them to. I would allow 1 week to work the bugs out before promoting that phone number ... I've used them off and on for almost 10 years & it just takes them some time to get it exactly right.