Having worked with realtors for a long time now, one of the questions I am most frequently asked is how often is too often to call, when trying to get in touch with a pre identified prospective buyer/seller? What rules should you follow?

My answer is simple: try at least once a day, and alternate with emails. Those of us in the realty profession, have to understand that our life job is to deal with/think of realty. What we often forget is that the prospects themselves have almost 100% of their lives outside of the realm of realty. While they may want to buy/sell, they still need to go about their day to day jobs and home lives.

I recommend that if you are notified of a potential buyer/seller that you start by first calling and emailing, and then switch to a call/email alternate routine. Please make sure to leave a message. I do not know how many prospects I have reached, when doing a follow up, only be told that they noticed a number of a realtor we put them in contact with called many times, according to their caller id, but that they didn’t return the call as they were frustrated by said person not leaving a voice mail. The whole purpose of a person having voice mail is so that one can leave a message. Also, we have to think of it in this light, at times we are too lazy to call a blank number that pops up on a machine, but if we have a voice to go with that, as well as a helpful message, it gives a lot more incentive to return the call.

You too must think, how many times have someone tried to reach you, before you called them back. At times, playing phone tag is necessary, and you have to think of the rewards of the end result. Input vs. Output: how many seconds does it take to make a call/leave a voice mail and send an email vs. return on selling/buying a property with a client, having the potential for them to use you again/refer your services to someone they know. It is frustrating to reach endless voicemails, but you just have to hang in there.