Your phone is the cash register.

If you have been in any of my classes, you will know I speak about the phone being the cash register often and with passion.

It is shocking to me that so many agents do not role play answering the phone, calling clients and of course how to handle certain situations that come up with their assistant. It is real estate and it is people – everyday can result in a new script being developed!

An assistant should always answer the phone with confidence and make out-going calls to clients with the voice of confidence and knowledge.

A very simple rule – never say “WE CAN’T DO THAT” or “I DON’T KNOW…”.

Here is the only script to use when not knowing an answer to a question: “Let me check on that, I want to give you the most accurate information. May I please call you back in 30 minutes?”I have always had the following affirmation to help everyone understand and have a great visual when the phone rings is:

“THE PHONE IS MY CASH REGISTER, WE MAKE IT RING, CHICHANG!"

This of course is the team version. My goal is to have every assistant not cringe when the phone rings – instead, the assistant will feel grateful and excited for the opportunities that are on the other end of someone dialing into your office.

When I train assistants, I help them realize the phone is the most IMPORTANT piece of equipment in the office.

So here is a checklist for you to consider to see how your office is doing:

PHONE CHECKLIST (How do you rate your team and yourself on a scale of 1-10?)

____ 1. Is the phone greeting the same and used every time by the person answering the phone?

____ 2. Is there energy when the phone is picked up? You can probably feel the energy with this type of greeting – “Thank you for calling Monica Reynolds Office, this is Stephanie, I can help you!”

____ 3. Does the phone ring more than 3 times? If so, why? Do not let that happen! In my office, the phone does not go past 3 rings, period.

____ 4. Is your assistant trained to handle all incoming calls? I hope you have a phone script book for assistants.

____ 5. Is your assistant trained to handle all the $$ money calls (a potential buyer or potential seller call) if you are not there? Immediate attention and answers are imperative to your conversion rate. Do calls go into voice mail? Yikes!

____ 6. Does your assistant realize the true value of every call? If your average commission is $8000, then that is an $8000 phone call. Not really, it’s more! If the call is handled correctly in the next 5 years, you should have at least 4 more transactions from that client, possibly another personal transaction and of course referrals.

____ 7. Do you role play with your assistant on the “potential buyer” and “potential seller” script so they can do a great job and set up the return call for you? Do you role play anything? How about role playing challenging situations, an angry client, asking for referrals, and another one asking for Zillow / Trulia reviews? Practice makes perfect.

____ 8. Does your assistant track all incoming leads and the source of the lead? Wow! This would mean you would have a business where you can see the ROI.

Rate your team and make changes! Real Estate is the greatest career, we help people every day with the American Dream.