Are you using your website properly? Does it motivate people to leave their email address and / or their phone number so you can contact them? Does it display your telephone number and email address prominently - so they can contact you? If not, then its only purpose is stroke your ego - or perhaps to serve as a Chamber of Commerce site for your geographical location.
I realize that money is tight across the board, and if you're out meeting with a customer, you may not be able to afford to have a secretary on hand to answer every phone call.
But that's not an excuse for ignoring potential customers.
If you must use an answering machine, be sure to speak clearly and show your appreciation for the call.
Then, assure your caller that you will return their call.
If possible, let them know how soon to expect to hear from you.
You might ask them to let you know how late you can return the call and assure them if that if you're not back in time, you'll call them first thing tomorrow.
Whatever you do, don't just send callers back to your website and expect them to get their own questions answered by searching through your web pages.
If they wanted to do that, they'd have stayed there.
When they call, it's because they want to talk to you - a live person who can give them in-person service.
The same goes for e-mail.
If someone visits your website and takes the time to try to contact you, for Pete's sake - reward them with a return e-mail! That's one task you can take care of at midnight if need be - so they'll have your reply when they log in the next morning.
A case in point: About two weeks ago I received an email asking me for a quote on re-writing some web pages.
So I went to the site and, finding that the information was all very straight-forward, wrote back with an estimate, links to my samples, and an offer to telephone at a time convenient to the customer.
We did get that call arranged, and as we were talking it became clear that he had already decided to hire me even before we spoke.
I was curious about that, so asked him why.
He told me he had looked over my website and samples, and liked my work.
I was feeling pretty good about that.
But then he told me the second reason and burst my bubble a little.
He had done a web search and chosen 4 copywriters to contact...
and I was the ONLY one who had bothered to answer his inquiry.
After we chatted a while about manners and professional courtesy, I came to a conclusion.
Had he not liked my work, or had we talked and he decided that I probably wasn't the right person after all, he would not have made a second attempt to contact the writers who ignored him.
By not responding, they burned their bridges and eliminated any chance that he might hire them in the future.
If you get a customer inquiry - by phone or by email - take the time to respond the same day.
If that's impossible because you're going to be away, make it clear in your phone message or in your email autoresponder.
Let those potential customers know when you'll be back and when they can expect a response.
Then carry through.
What about the people who leave their names in exchange for a free report? These contacts aren't as time sensitive, because they haven't specifically asked for your personal attention.
But timely follow up is still important to your career.
When they're there, looking for information, they are thinking of taking action.
In fact, they might be ready to find "their" real estate agent within the next day or two.
So contact them today, even if you have to miss a TV show or stay up an hour past your bedtime.