Benefits of 800 Numbers for Real Estate Professionals

You see an advertisement on the television, and you think that you might like to try the product. The company gives a website address and an 800-number to call for more information. You’re sitting on the couch and the telephone is right there on the table – and the computer is just so far away.

Studies show that prospective clients are about 65% more likely to call a number if it has an 800 or an 866 prefix. Why? There are several reasons, but here are a few:

1. Professionalism

People want to believe that they are calling a legitimate business. It’s that simple. Even if you operate on a strictly local basis – as most real estate agents do – people still don’t like to call local phone numbers for businesses. Plus, you will have a greater chance of hearing from an out-of-state prospect who is moving to your area.

A professional business uses an 800 number as a method with which customers can contact them from all over the world.

2. Convenience

An 800 number allows a real estate business to offer several different options to incoming callers. They can press “1” to hear information about the latest listings; “2” to speak with a real estate professional; “3” to leave a message; “4” to list their house; and so on.

Many prospects will not call a real estate business because they are afraid of hearing that ever-annoying sales pitch. If you make it clear that they can just leave a message, they won’t fear you keeping them on the phone to be sold a home.

3. Advertisement Tracking

Real estate agents can use their 800 number to track the response to an advertisement. If you release ten different real estate advertisements and give each a different extension of your 800 number, you can easily determine which advertisement worked best so that you can streamline your advertising process in the future.

4. Monthly Call Reports

Many 800 number services offer free monthly call reports that will tell you how many callers you had, how many called during specific time frames, how many left messages, and so on. This will tell you how your call service is working, and will show you where you need to improve.

5. Vanity Numbers

Although many Vanity Numbers are already taken, you can customize your office number to read like the name of your real estate business or some other key word that will help prospects remember you. 1-800-REALEST will be much more memorable than 1-800-732-5378.

Studies show that toll-free 800 numbers increase sales on average by 18-23%. That might sound like a small percentage, but not when you’re selling something like real estate. You have such a large target market that just about anyone is a potential customer; make sure that they call you by using an 800 or 866 number.