I was reading an article in our daily real estate news bulletin and came across this gem:

"A "secret shoppers" test of 100 IDX-powered broker Web sites found that 33 percent of agents do not respond at all to inquiries about other brokers' listings. For those who did answer queries, the average response time was over 10 hours."

My first thought was I'm not surprised. It's one of the most common complaints I hear..."I called 14 realtors and you're the only one that called/emailed me back.".

Well, this is a well-known secret for every realtor...communication is the key to our success. We are communicators and facilitators of both real estate and INFORMATION. Now mind you, I will never throw stones...have I let an inquiry sit in my email box over the weekend? Yes (I am ashamed). Have I put off returning that one phone call on the home that won't sell? Yes (I am ashamed of that, too).

However, I am successful in real estate because 9.9 out of 10 times, I will respond to inquiries as I receive them whether in the office, on the road, at home during dinner, etc. Why? Because it's my job. My sellers depend on my timely and informative responses to successfully market and sell properties.

Many agents forget that THEY are an extension of their marketing campaigns. They spend $1000's of dollars wooing buyers but drop the ball when the inquiries come in. Heck, most buyers are somewhat reticent to call realtors anyway (which I understand 100% - who wants to be hard-sold when they just need some details on a property?).

I encourage buyers and SELLERS to test me. I think you'll like the results...