Texting Real Estate Leads and Clients: When is it Appropriate?

Text messaging continues to become more commonly used as a way to communicate with real estate leads and clients — but is it always appropriate?

While sending text messages to real estate leads and clients can be convenient, if it's done in the wrong manner it can be detrimental to a working relationship or even appear to be lazy and unprofessional. Real estate agents need to be careful when deciding when to send a text message instead of emailing or calling leads and clients, so we've compiled some pros and cons to help you decide.

The Pros

Quick Response Time:

If your day gets busier than you'd expected and need to follow up with someone quickly, text messaging can be a great way to let someone know you'll get back to them as soon as you can. This way you can also set up a good call time that works for both you and your lead or client.

Nurture New Relationships:

Using different channels to get and stay in touch with leads can help you nurture your relationships. Text messaging can make it easier for potential leads to communicate with you if they aren't yet comfortable with a phone call. Texting can also be very helpful in setting up a call time, checking in or even keeping in touch after a closing.

Keeping up with Millennials:

The millennial generation is a very tech savvy group of future buyers who rely heavily on their cell phones and mobile devices for communication. So if you're not comfortable with texting just yet — we suggest learning how to as soon as you can! Utilizing this form of communication will help your business in the long run.

The Cons

Miscommunication:

One of the major downfalls of text messages is that often times messages can be misconstrued or come off in the wrong tone of voice. Be careful in how you write your text messages to leads and clients in order to come off professional and positive. If you feel like something may be misunderstood over text, it's probably best to set up a call.

Informal Communication:

Text messaging is a very informal way of communicating with someone. When working with leads and clients, be leery of the times you are sending text messages as well as their content, so as not to come off unprofessional. This is most likely the biggest financial transaction in one's life and should be treated as such by a real estate professional.

Finding a good balance between texting, emailing and speaking with leads and clients on the phone will help you nurture your professional relationships and grow your real estate business.

To view the original article, visit the Zurple blog.