How Does An IP PBX System Help Real Estate Businesses Thrive?
In today’s competitive environment, effective communication is imperative for business success including real estate and this can only be achieved by investing in modern software like IP PBX System.
There’s no denying that the way in which business owners, realtors, and salespersons communicate with their potential customers determines the business’ long-term success.
And to give an edge over the competition, real estate businesses require a reliable, adaptable, and feature-packed telephone system. It would be correct to say that the ease and effectiveness of communication are the keys to success in the real estate industry.
As per the Hosting Tribunal report, an estimated 61 percent of businesses have switched from traditional phone systems to VoIP solutions.
Therefore, when it comes to real estate businesses that require frequent site visits, traditional landline or mobile phones aren’t just sufficient as business owners, realtors, or agents can’t be present in the office all the time.
This is where IP PBX Software comes into the picture and enables real estate professionals to manage their business communications in an effective and efficient manner.
Challenges Real Estate Businesses Face
In terms of communication, the real estate sector faces many challenges. Here are some of those:
1. Low conversion rates
The conversion rates in the real estate sector is a bit of an issue. As per Ruler Analytics data, the real estate industry has an overall average conversion rate of 2.4 percent.
2. Lower outbound call volume
As per a research by Snapforce, the real estate sector accounts for only 6.59 percent of the total outbound call volume, which is significantly less than industries like lending (29.23 percent) and insurance (25.93 percent).
3. Shorter talk times on average
According to the Snapforce research, real estate agents have an average talk time of 1.55 minutes per call, which is relatively short compared to industries like engineering (14.42 minutes) and energy (3.35 minutes).
4. Lack of follow-up
Did you know that two out of every five real estate agents don’t follow up with prospects as they should? This might be a startling fact, but as per recent data, 44 percent of real estate sales people give up after their first attempt.
What is an IP PBX System?
An IP PBX system stands for Internet Protocol Private Branch Exchange and is referred to as a communication device that offers voice connectivity to a desk or landline phone within the business premises. As the name suggests, an IP PBX phone system has the capability to make and receive phone calls over the internet connection while maintaining analog phones throughout a branch. Also termed as PBX, Unified Communications System, or Business Phone System, an IP PBX phone system acts as the central switching system for phone calls within a business.
Given that this VoIP IP PBX allows businesses of all sizes to streamline their complex operations such as call handling and call routing, it’s known to be one of the most important and effective solutions for companies, especially in the real estate sector.
This is because, in the real estate industry, it’s not feasible for real estate agents or realtors to remain available in one place as this business requires a lot of traveling and site visits. By using an IP PBX phone system, businesses can take advantage of features like voicemail, auto-attendant, and message recording in order to ensure that no call gets missed, and as a result, no customer is lost.
Undoubtedly, IP PBX Software has gained a lot of popularity among several businesses in the past decade. Not just that, this system is known to be one of the best Unified Communications software for businesses that deal with a huge volume of customer or client calls on a regular basis. However, it’s not just the large enterprises that can reap benefits from an IP PBX Phone System, even small-scale businesses or young startups can also reap benefits of this software. Real-estate business owners who’re looking for the best PBX phone system to streamline their business communications, then read this blog further to understand how a PBX Phone System can help you make your business communications effective and increase your business profitability.
Why Do Real Estate Businesses Need an IP PBX Phone System?
For businesses in the real estate sector, mobile communications play a significant role in generating and converting leads. An IP PBX Software provides these businesses a flexible and scalable option to manage all their business communications effectively and achieve better results. Some of the reasons why a real estate business needs a VoIP IP PBX System are as follows:
1. Supports IVR and ACD
An IVR (Interactive Voice Response) can help realtors save businesses from redundancy. This functionality of PBX Software allows agents to greet customers and provide them with an option to connect with different departments. And by the time the call gets connected with the appropriate agent, the caller gets to hear some music while being on hold. This feature makes it easier for the customer to be patient while waiting. In addition, when an IVR is paired with ACD (Automatic Call Distribution), it becomes very helpful for customers calling from different locations or regions. With the help of the ACD functionality of the IP PBX System, the customer call gets automatically transferred to the right extension.
For example, if a real estate business has both English-speaking and Hindi-speaking customers, the routing can be set up on the system in such a way that all the English-speaking customers are connected to the English-speaking agent. Furthermore, the calls from Hindi-speaking customers are automatically routed to the Hindi-speaking agents.
Not only do IVR and ACD features of the VoIP PBX System make a business appear more professional, but also enable customers to act in a more collected way.
2. Offers Flexibility
The “Find me, follow me” technology of the VoIP IP PBX Software provides real estate agents with the flexibility to operate from anywhere in the world. With hosted phone systems, real estate business owners, realtors, or agents can easily create groups and enable ringing all the phones at the same time. Besides, this feature also allows agents to set up the “follow me” functionality so that the calls are automatically redirected to you in case you’re not around your desk phone.
To be precise, when a customer makes a call, in this setup, firstly an agent’s office or desk phone will ring, then the call will be forwarded to other devices connected to the group, respectively. This feature of “Find me, follow me” ensures that call center agents / real estate agents don’t miss out on any customer call, and makes all the customers feel valued. Therefore, for those who wish to handle all customer calls and never want to miss any call, opting for the best IP PBX Software such as HoduPBX is the ideal solution.
3. Provides Cost-Effectiveness
Managing finances properly and saving costs is essential in every business, especially real estate. When it comes to reducing operational and communication costs for real estate businesses, it’s critical to invest in Hosted IP PBX Phone System. An IP PBX Software is known to be a more cost-effective communication solution for businesses than traditional landlines. It comes with budget-friendly plans and scalability features that enable businesses to only opt for features that are required.
The providers of this system allow realtors to customize and scale the phone system based on business requirements. In such systems, companies can add or remove phone numbers, devices, and more whenever and however required. Since access to the internet is quite affordable and less expensive in this digitally-advanced world, opting for such business communication solutions is no less than a future investment.
4. Easy to Use and Manage
There’s no denying that the IP PBX Phone System is highly secure and easy for businesses of all sizes. It allows businesses to customize their features and functionality at any point in time based on the requirements.
Also, it comes with a dashboard and user-friendly controls that make usage and management easier even for the customer-facing staff. As the system supports various exclusive features like call recording, real-time analytics, call barging, call forwarding, and many others, it enables real estate call center agents to gain maximum efficiency and improves their overall productivity by 77 percent, which ultimately results in an increased ROI for businesses.
How to Handpick the Right IP PBX Software for Your Real Estate Business
Selecting the right IP PBX software and the right software provider for your real estate business can mean the difference between success and failure. Here are some ways to handpick the right IP PBX software for your real estate business:
1. List Necessary Features
First thing first, list the necessary features that you want in your IP PBX software. This is extremely crucial as it enables you to know what features are extremely important for your real estate business. Some of the must-have features are:
- call routing
- mobile apps
- video conferencing
- call recording
- auto attendant
- sip trunking
- intelligent call routing
- skill-based routing
- and many more
Make sure that you list all features that are important to you. Let’s say, the auto attendant feature is extremely important for your real estate business, it should be in your shortlist.
2. Set a Reasonable Budget
After listing all important features it’s time to set a reasonable budget. It’s extremely important to help you invest in a prudent manner. With a sound budget, you will steer clear from over-investing or under-investing.
3. Search online
The quickest and the easiest way to find a wide range of IP PBX software providers is to do a quick search over the Internet. Use some high-intent search terms such as “best IP PBX software solutions for real estate business,” “top IP PBX software solutions providers for real estate sector,” “affordable IP PBX systems for real estate professionals,” top 10 IP PBX software for real estate industry,” and more.
4. Visit websites
After getting the results on the search engine result page, visit some promising websites and look at various aspects. Feel free to visit websites of reliable and reputable IP PBX software providers as well as third-party websites such as G2, SoftwareSuggest, Gartner, and more. If you visit the former, look at individual IP PBX systems and listed features, go through the company’s mission and vision, skim through testimonials and awards, and check if the company provides a free demo. If you visit the latter, compare features, pros and cons, pricing plans, etc.
5. Contact shortlisted companies and ask for free demos
After considering factors such as compatibility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness, contact the shortlisted companies and ask if they provide free demos. If they deny, then move on to the next software provider and repeat the process till a software provider agrees to provide a free demo.
6. Use the free demo and make an informed decision
After getting the demo version of the IP PBX software, introduce it to your team and ask your team members to give their feedback. Make sure that all the features such as mobile apps, call recording, video conferencing, auto attendant, sip trunking, intelligent call routing, etc, work as expected. If a majority of things tick the right boxes, make an informed decision.
Invest in the Best IP PBX Software for Real Estate Industries today
Now that you know investing in IP PBX Software is a smart decision for real estate companies, make a switch today! If you’re looking for the best IP PBX System, look no further!
HoduPBX is a powerful business telephony system software that comes packed with various cutting-edge features to help you connect with your customers securely and seamlessly. Moreover, HoduPBX entails functionalities like multi-tenancy, music on hold, speed dial, integrated payment gateway, DND, and many others that make it easier for you to communicate and collaborate with your customers and drive growth.
