📱Answer the Damn Phone!
Happy Monday!
Here is an Idea, an Action, and a Question to consider this week.
Idea
Responsiveness should be a cornerstone of your personal brand, especially if you’re starting out without much personal experience to lean on. Whenever someone contacts you, make it a priority to quickly answer the call or send a brief text promising a prompt follow-up. I strive to respond to every call, as each one could be a significant opportunity—like landing a major client. For this reason, never dismiss calls from numbers you don't recognize.
Early in my career, I was driven to be ultra-responsive to potential clients. Whether contacted through BiggerPockets, social media, or my own website, my goal was to reply within 30 seconds. Driven to excel, I scheduled property viewings, shared videos, and met with clients on the same day they reached out. My aim was to demonstrate my commitment and availability, distinguishing myself from competitors.
As a more seasoned investor-agent, I still strive to be full throttle. Responsiveness is just as important to me today as it was back then. Despite my “I’m the kind of agent who responds immediately” attitude, I recently fell prey to the Goblin of Negligence…
Recently, a fellow investor-agent gave me a referral for a listing in my area. It was a quick sell situation. The sellers needed to sell their home before they could buy, so they were eager. The agent who referred me told me to call the sellers either that night or in the morning.
But my morning was busy, and by the time I called them, it was 2pm:
“Sorry, Matt. We expected you to call way earlier. We’re ready to sell, so we already contacted another agent to sell our house..”
Ughhhhhhhh.
I lost the deal, and it was an easy one, too. All I had to do was be responsive, and I wasn’t.
Goblin of Negligence: 1
Roar: 0
This one hurt, but it reminded me of the power of responsiveness. Going forward, I’ll remember this lost deal and:
RESPOND
RESPOND
RESPOND
Action
If you’re in the habit of letting your calls go to voicemail because you don’t have time for a full conversation, consider this instead:
When someone calls, answer. If you have time to talk, talk. If you don’t, thank them for the call, and tell them when you’re going to call them back.
They want to hear a real person on the other end of the line, so give them a real person, even if you can’t devote more than 20 seconds to them at that moment.
Don’t lose a deal just because you’re short on time.
Question
Are you as responsive as you could be?
See you next week,
Matt “Roar” Gardner
Real estate investor-agent, Author of Supersonic Real Estate: Light Your Afterburner to Accelerate Your Investor-Agent Career (Coming Soon!), and keynote speaker
