Want to increase your sales? Respond faster.

Want to increase your sales?

Yes? That’s what I thought. Here’s a simple technique that can double your sales.

Forget about developing a complex sales and marketing plan, chances are, until you can nail the basics, you’ll give up anyway. Don’t look at video until your images are presentable and plentiful. Don’t go all out on social until your consumers can easily contact you and you are willing and able to respond at lightning speed.

Start by responding to your enquiries faster. That’s it. A study by an MIT Professor demonstrated that by replying in 5 minutes instead of 30 mins can double your sales.

Don’t ignore the basics in pursuit of the complex.

Which tools do consumers see as most responsive, and most likely to make contact through?

1. Consumers prefer live chat over any other contact method and almost 2X as much as email and close to 3X more than social (*J.D. Power). Response wait time is perceived to be the lowest and in a world of instant gratification, is preferred.
2. Consumer satisfaction is highest when communicating through live chat (*econsultancy). They can ask and get a response straight away.
3. Live chat keeps consumers waiting far less than other contact methods. Consumers hate waiting (*consumers).
4. Consumers make multiple enquiries. if you’re not responding, someone else is and you’ll miss the deal. How often have you received an enquiry, thought great, I’ve an enquiry waiting, I’ll respond later. But when you finally respond, someone else has already responded and it’s an opportunity lost. We see users on Soho making multiple enquiries, with different agents, at the same time.
5. Live chat / instant messaging keeps your customers happier, according to a study by econsultancy.A shocking stat: 21% of livechat / instant message requests are ignored! (*superoffice). Even with all the benefits and consumer preference towards live chat / instant messaging, 1 in 5 don’t get a response… This is great for you, the quick responder, as you can hoover up these leads and increase your sales even further.

Soho has instant messaging built in app and web, bringing you closer to the consumer. They’re more likely to send an enquiry and you can respond quicker. Win-win.

What can you do and how can Soho help?

1. Respond as soon as you receive a message, even if you don’t have all the answers straight away. Customer acknowledgement is critical on the first contact.
2. Use platforms that have internal chat to help you respond faster. Like Soho, that has chat built in, with the app installed and notifications enabled, you can respond instantly and share files and relevant information about your properties on the go.
3. Respond and interact with replies you get on social media (including Soho)
4. Equip your website with a live chat program (tawk.to has a free account). There are loads out there and are easy to add to your website.
5. Consider a chatbot to automatically reply on your behalf. There are several designed specifically for real estate, including (AIRE). They can reply instantly and even provide basic details and answers to basic (and increasingly advanced) questions and can be integrated into most of your communication tools.
6. Respond Fast. It’s as simple as that.