Posted by Luke-MN on April 13, 2006 at 12:57:13:
I have begun to do something similar with just a couple of voicemail box numbers (The company is Max email) Costs $20.00 for three months for each number. It sure has saved me time. I follow up with those folks who leave a message.
Just customized a 24hr rec. msg. to work smarter - Posted by Blake (ID)
Posted by Blake (ID) on April 13, 2006 at 12:03:58:
I was pretty overwhelmed by the volume of calls I was getting from ads in the local nickel paper 15-20+ a day and at all hours from 7:20am-10:30pm. I generally have 2-5 houses for sale at a given time (I sell houses for other lonnie dealers in the area occasionally). I was getting really tired of saying the same thing, directions, 2bd 1ba yes it’s a singlewide… bla bla bla at all hours of the night so I looked into recorded messages.
I had a computer guy customize one for me that would briefly explain MH Financing and then list all the houses I had for sale. If you are interested in a given house you can press the corresponding number to here more detailed information and get directions to the house. When they get there, there’s a sign in the yard with MY NUMBER (now they get to call me) and it says call now for an IMMEDIATE SHOWING. They call me and I say “walk in the backdoor it’s unlocked, what are you looking for, how much down,” etc.
I know recieve only 1 or 2 calls a day from people who have prequalified themselves by driving to the home and then are interested once they see it. I’m sure I lose a small percentage of sales with this method given my hands off approach but it frees up a great amount of time (1hr-2hr of phone time per day) and I enjoy the business a lot more. And I ALMOST NEVER get the oddly timed calls at 7:20am.
The customized system cost $250 to set up and another $35/mo for the phone lines. If you want to listen to it give me a call anytime at 208-639-6085 4am is ok, it won’t bother me.
I wanted to pass this on to those of you who may have grown frustrated with large quantities of untimely calls or those who wish to become more efficient with their time. If you’re interested in setting this up I talked to the computer program who set it up and he can redo it for a lot less than $250 since it’s already been designed. If you’re interested email me at blakeannap@yahoo.com or follow the directions on the recorded message to one of my signs and get my number off of there.
-Blake
Just customized a 24hr rec. msg. to work smarter - Posted by osupsycho (OK)
Posted by osupsycho (OK) on April 14, 2006 at 08:22:29:
I like the system but would add one thing that might help you. I noticed that you said:
“They call me and I say walk in the backdoor it’s unlocked”
I would suggest getting a lockbox and putting a key in it and when they call you can give them the code. Then tell them to make sure and lock up and put the key back when they are done. This will keep your property a little safer from vandals and also give the potential buyers one more little screening. If they can’t follow those simple instructions then they will likely be trouble in the future.
Just my thoughts,
Jad
Re: voicemail - Posted by Nathan-WA
Posted by Nathan-WA on April 14, 2006 at 02:00:25:
may not be as fancy as yours, but I set up a toll free 866 number with 3 voice-mail-boxes, and I just rotate through them as needed.
Did the setup myself (easy menu’s) and my monthly cost’s are something like $7/month for the # and $.02/minute for usage
I use VoiceNation (www.voicenation.com), but I think their rates have gone up some since I enlisted