VoIP Phone Systems for Estate Agents

Enterprise phone systems used to be complex, rigid and hard to maintain. With the advent of VoIP technology, businesses are finally able to take their voice communication network to the next level. Since earlier PBX boxes did not have much flexibility, most of us got used to dealing with their limitations and working within the confines of analog networks. We tend to forget that phone systems – or any other piece of equipment/software – should work for us and not the other way around.

VoIP Is More Flexible Than Traditional PBX Systems

People often debate whether hosted VoIP is more flexible than SIP trunks or vice versa. But the fact of the matter is that both alternatives offer more customization options than traditional phone systems. It may be surprising to some people but we can modify the same VoIP phone service to serve the needs and requirements of a small business, a freelance contractor or a nonprofit organization.

Unfortunately many organizations overlook the inherent flexibility of VoIP and use it in much the same way as they do with PSTN equipment. Since the individual circumstances of different businesses can vary quite a bit, we should not simply recommend the exact same VoIP solution for everyone.

For instance, an art supply store with ten employees in a single location will have different issues than a landscaping service which may have small teams often on the road or at client sites. VoIP may be the solution for both businesses but each company will use the various tools in different ways and not all features will have the same value to the end users.

VoIP Phone Systems for Estate Agents

To understand the flexibility and mobility that VoIP systems offer, let us take a look at the requirements of a real estate agency. Such a company might have several locations scattered throughout a particular geographical area (city or state). Each office might not be particularly big but serves as a home base for several agents.

In contrast to a typical office, the branches might not need all the bells and whistles of a typical business phone system. However, mobility is an important factor for real estate agents. The company wants agents to be connected to the office at all times – even if they are with a client or traveling. As there are multiple small branches that require phone service, the business may prefer hosted VoIP rather than SIP trunks.

How Can VoIP Serve the Needs of Small Teams?

For such a business, we can be sure that certain features will be more important than others. The ability to make and receive business calls on phones and laptops is invaluable for a company that emphasizes mobility. The various real estate professionals can stay connected even though they are out of the office for the most part. It means that they can conduct business transactions from anywhere without having to rush back to their desks all the time.

Regardless of the size of the business, every organization wants to project a professional image and create a good impression on customers. The company can use features such as IVR, auto attendant and call forwarding to ensure that each client is able to reach the person they are calling for within minutes.

There is no need for a receptionist to forward an incoming call to the mobile device of a particular agent or give out phone numbers needlessly. The business or even individual users can easily customize the VoIP service to forward calls (without any human intervention) to a particular number to multiple mobile devices based on time of day or other variables.

Customer Relations

For a real estate company, a good relationship with clients is the basis for long term sustainability and profitability. We can integrate the VoIP phone system with CRM or other business software so that they can share data with each other. For instance, the user can call a client from within the application, instead of having to write down the number. Likewise, any important call details like timestamps or duration are automatically attached to the client record by the software itself. The user doesn’t have to do a thing!

Using a hosted solution also means that the company does not have to worry about maintaining the phones, the IP PBX or any other hardware. There is no need to hire an expert or yet another office employee for mundane tasks. Managers or even the employees themselves can easily configure the necessary feature for their needs or even change them if the situation demands it.

Hosted VoIP solutions are quite affordable for enterprises and it is no longer a huge project to get started with VoIP. A business can try a free trial for VoIP and continue if they are happy with it. Depending on whether they need to buy IP phones or not, a business can start using VoIP within minutes!