How can an estate agent stop losing valuation enquiries to missed calls?
Make sure every missed call gets a text within a minute or two that says who you are, asks whether they’re selling, letting, buying or renting, and offers a time to call back or a link to book a valuation. Vendors often ring several agents in the same afternoon, and the agent who responds first gets the first chance to win the instruction.
By Sammy Morgan, who runs M1 Studio in Chichester. Updated .
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- Industry
- Estate and letting agents
- Problem
- Missed calls
- The fix
- Missed-Call Rescue, £800
- Do it yourself?
- Yes, the first steps below
Why it happens to estate and letting agents.
- Out on viewings and valuations
- In a small independent office, the person who would answer is often at a viewing or a valuation. The office line rings out.
- Vendors think about moving after work
- Evenings and weekends are when people talk about selling. If the office is closed and voicemail says nothing useful, they try the next agent.
- Buyer calls hide vendor calls
- Most calls are buyers asking about a listing they saw on Rightmove or Zoopla. On a missed call list, the one vendor who wanted a valuation looks the same as the rest.
- Vendors ring round
- Many sellers ask a few agents to value. An agent who hasn’t called back by the next day may not get through the door.
What to do, in order.
Check what callers hear out of hours
Ring the office at 7pm and on a Sunday. If it’s a generic voicemail, that’s the first fix.
Sort callers in the reply
Ask one question: selling, letting, buying or renting? Buyers can get the listing link; vendors and landlords get a call-back time.
Ring vendors and landlords first
A valuation request is worth more to the business than most buyer calls. Put those at the top of the call-back list.
Link to your valuation page
Let vendors book a valuation from the text, with a short form asking for the postcode, property type and timing.
Automate it
Missed-Call Rescue sends your text to every missed call, keeps each enquiry in one list and reminds you who is waiting.
Where M1 can do it for you.
Fixed prices, or a fixed quote before any work starts. No VAT is charged. Any running costs are listed before you agree.
- Missed-Call Rescue £800
It texts back every call you miss on a viewing and keeps vendor, landlord and buyer enquiries in one list.
Missed calls get a text back, automatically.
- Website Chat Assistant £1,800
It answers evening questions about your fees approach, areas and valuations, then hands vendors to you on WhatsApp.
Questions answered day and night, then passed to you on WhatsApp.
- Growth Build from £6,500
A new agency website built around valuations, with a CRM, missed-call text-back and a chat assistant in one build.
Turn enquiries into bookings.
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Before you decide.
Something else? Ask Sammy on WhatsApp.
What should an estate agent’s missed-call text say?
For example: “Thanks for calling Smith & Co, we’re out on viewings. Are you selling, letting, buying or renting? Reply and we’ll call you back today, or book a valuation here.” Use your own agency name and a real call-back time.
Should buyers get the same text?
They can get the same first text, then a different reply once they say they’re buying. A link to the listing and a viewing request is often all they need.
How much could missed valuation calls be costing?
Try the missed-call cost calculator with your own figures, such as how many vendor calls you miss a month and your typical fee. The missed-call text-back guide explains how the text works.
Keep reading.
Know what to fix. Then decide.
Sammy writes down what’s holding your business back and what to fix first. The Foundation Blueprint is yours within 5 working days of your answers.
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