I'm sure you've experienced calling a business person, only to hear the "professional" on the other end say "wait a minute" or "hold on, I have to look for a pen and a piece of paper." I can't tell you how many times a Realtor has said this to me, when I'm returning his or her call to provide the information they have asked for. Right away that tells me that this person was not prepared to accept any calls. That means they aren't ready to do business.

We REALTORS® are in business, and we need to be prepared. We need our in-bound callers or persons trying make contact by voicemail or e-mail to know that we are really interested in receiving them, by whatever means they are trying to make contact. We need to re-assure them that we want their business. They made the original choice to make contact with us. The very least we can do is have the welcome mat out.

The Internet has provided us with a new means to communicate that can save time, effort and provide a record of the communication. At our brokerage firm, we believe in e-mail so strongly that you can see a second e-mail on our signature page, as referenced on our site, specific to the area we service. People only have to recall my first name, or the city in which we are located to remember our email.

We use e-mail extensively and we network with other Realtors using email, almost exclusively, now. We have found that many Realtors as well as members of the public will only do business with Realtors who use email.

And we make it a point to respond as soon as humanly possible. No one expects you to drop everything and answer their e-mail. But, drop everything just long enough to send a one line response, letting the writer know that you have their mail, and that you will get back with them soon. And, don't forget you said you would "do it later." Follow up and follow through. Leave yourself a note in your to-do box.

I believe that telephone etiquette applies in the E-commerce world, too. If you would let a phone call go unreturned for days on end, chances are you only check your e-mail every now and then, as well. Get in the habit of checking your e-mail several times a day, as well as your voice mail. I can't tell you how much business I've acquired off the Net, just because I was the first one to respond. Timing is everything.

I also suggest writing in short paragraphs. Reading a computer screen is hard on many people's eyes. This makes your e-mail more likely to be read and answered. If you need to know for sure that your mail got to the recipient, then click the "receipt" button, and just like "registered mail", the system will send you back a receipt. The receiver has the option of not returning the receipt, however.

Our email address is on every piece of paper that moves through our office -- our fax reply sheet, our letterhead, our envelopes, the cheques we use to pay our bills, our business cards, our labels, and every piece of marketing material. We recommend creating a signature page, and monitoring it to make sure it works. Send yourself mail once in a while, to double check. Enter a link to your web site on your signature page, but be sure to place the < > signs before and after it, so when people click on it, it works. Remind people to book mark your site for future use. Make it easy for everyone.

Get with the e-mail program -either the one that comes with your provider, or download, or purchase one. Don't be intimidated. Just get started and it will grow on you and with you. Work on a "as-need-to-know" basis at first. You'll get the hang of it.

Create mailboxes, and folders. Do your filing every day, or you will certainly become overwhelmed trying to locate mail. You think you won't - but you will. Start before the mail becomes unmanageable, just like in "real" life.

I can't stress enough the importance of getting a good provider. Ask colleagues who they use. Do not stand for poor service. There is plenty of poor service available. What works well in one area does not necessarily work well in another. Keep changing companies till you get with people who work "your" way, or think "your" way, and who have equipment that is compatible with yours. Not all servers are compatible. I discovered that some US Robotics modems don't blend well with some Livingston mechanics. Trying to get our phone lines to stay open proved to be a nightmare, and a very expensive proposition. Apparently service to some areas is better than to others.

The choice of e-mail name is paramount! No funny business or weird names if you want people to take you seriously. Choose either the name of the city or area where you work, and your own "personal id" and/or add in the name of "the company" where you work (only if the company name is already easily recognized, otherwise it just wastes space and creates a too-long address line).

My personal preference is that you should probably not identify the name of the company in your email, since many people work for a large company, and, if a member of the public has had a personal unsatisfactory experience with another firm member, this could jeopardize your opportunity for a chance to show the person your own personal marketing savvy.

If you have ever worked for a large company where you had any sort of difficulties monitoring your messages, having a personalized e-mail address will put you in a much better control position. Give your e-mail address to each and every client, in fact, give it to everyone you meet. Draw their attention to the fact that they can be sure to reach you "personally" by using your e-mail. There will be no danger of your message going to the wrong person at your company, such as the other Mary or Joe.

Real Estate, in particular, will always be a people business, but it is still a business. It is time that more people took REALTORS more seriously.

E-mail can help us create that environment.

Published: July 16, 1998

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