Real
estate agents are missing out on a lot of new clients because they fail
to respond promptly to Web inquiries, says a Canadian e-business
company that has devised a solution to the problem.
Consumer research has showed that 75 per cent of
would-be home buyers will do business with the first agent who calls or
e-mails them back after they make an inquiry through a website, says
Roger Noujeim, spokesman for Point2 Technologies Inc. of Saskatoon and
Vancouver.
Almost half of consumers want to be contacted
within half an hour of making an inquiry, and 65 per cent expect a
response within four hours. Yet 45 per cent of on-line inquiries are
never answered at all, according to the company.
“Agents are often on the road and can’t access
their e-mail as often as they should,” Mr. Noujeim says. Point2
Technologies has launched a wireless alert system that sends a text
message to an agent’s cell phone whenever his or her website receives
an inquiry.
The agent also can set parameters that distinguish “hot” leads from “passive” leads, the company says.
The feature will be available free to all North American agents already subscribing to Point 2 Technologies’ website assistance.