Real estate brokers are frequently on the go, moving from one property to another and then back to their agency offices again to regroup and plan next steps. Throughout their busy days, they will make and take many calls.
Perhaps a prospective buyer is looking for an update about an offer they made, or a lawyer is relaying a last-minute message about the exact location of a property closing. No matter the subject in question, real estate professionals need to be reliably reachable — and that’s where a hosted VoIP system plus unified communications (UC) can make a transformative difference.
To see why hosted VoIP solutions can make life easier for real estate agents, let’s consider the limitations imposed on their work by older on-premises private branch exchanges (PBXes).
A traditional PBX is costly to set up and maintain. A real estate company not only has to pay upfront for all of the equipment involved but also continually add capacity to it in the event of any increases in the number of users. This upgrade process can be complicated and may require costly on-site vendor visits. Ultimately, the high costs of maintaining the system can strain an agency’s budget, leaving less money available for core tasks like connecting with buyers and sellers.
An aging PBX can result in always-on-the-go agents having to juggle multiple phone numbers as they move from site to site. A buyer partnering with that broker might need to dial one number for the agent’s office and another to reach them when they’re elsewhere. They might even have to call a number from a faraway area code, which makes the agent seem less associated with the local market. All of this increases complexity, along with the possibility of mixups and missed connections.
Agents end up with a fragmented presence — i.e., there’s no consistent way to contact them — and this reduces the perceived professionalism and reliability of their firms.
As the real estate industry evolves, so too must the communications tools that brokers and property managers use. Unfortunately, an on-prem PBX doesn’t typically lend itself to easy modification.
Setting up a new branch office or bringing additional brokers on board? Looking to integrate your PBX with your CRM software, or simply make your corporate email, voicemail and fax play nicer with your business phone system? The necessary work involved with a PBX can be time-consuming and expensive.
The limited flexibility of traditional PBXes also means that real estate professionals miss out on relatively newer features that help them connect with customers as well as come off as experienced professionals.
For example, automated attendants allow every caller to reach a standardized menu no matter which number they call an agent on and then choose from the most relevant options. Accordingly, they can consistently find the right points of contact and also feel that their agents are running a highly professional and dependable operation.
Both hosted VoIP and UC solutions are delivered through, and managed in, the cloud. As such, they require far less upkeep from real estate companies, which can instead focus on running their actual businesses. At the same time, VoIP and UC vastly expand the capabilities that real estate agents have at their fingertips, giving them a wide range of features that they can take advantage of in and out of the office.
A hosted VoIP system routes calls through the internet and allows for straightforward moves, adds and changes from a web-based console. While that is happening behind the scenes, real estate professionals benefit from:
Whereas VoIP primarily modernizes voice communications, UC delivers an upgraded experience for video conferencing, messaging and more. Real estate professionals can rely on a UC platform like Telesystem UC-One for:
Telesystem is here to help your real estate company find the right communications solutions and infrastructure for its requirements. From VoIP and UC to dedicated internet access and managed services, our team can provide you with the modern tools necessary for reaching buyers and sellers and sustaining your operations. Learn more on our real estate solutions page or by contacting us directly!