I get it. You’re busy. We’re all busy, but as real estate professionals one of the main lines of communication is through email and your etiquette tells a lot about you. Your reputation matters. Here are a few tips to ensure you maintain a professional email etiquette when corresponding with your colleagues.
1. Avoid skimming.
Most of our correspondence between each other is actionable in nature. We are usually asking for something. Information, details, feedback. But because we are busy, we often skim through emails and respond hastily. Avoid skimming and take the few seconds more to read the email and respond to what they are asking. By doing so you avoid awkward responses and display a level of professionalism through your attentiveness.
2. Respond.
If you are unable to respond immediately, take a note, set an alarm, flag it or create a system where you know you’ve answered. Whatever it is, just make sure you do it. It’s easy to forget and have emails go unanswered, but there’s a reason you received the email. Respond to it – otherwise, you just look like a jerk.
3. Be timely.
Answering a month and a half later is pretty bad. Not as bad as not answering at all, but pretty bad, nonetheless. Don’t let emails go by for too long. No one asking for a floorplan or status of a listing wants a response three weeks later when their clients have moved on.
4. If you don’t get a response the first time, follow up, politely.
If you send an email out, and you don’t get a response, it’s fine to send a reminder or follow up. It’s not rude or pushy (if you give ample time in between each email). As agents we know we’re busy and it is possible that we may want to respond but weren’t able to and then completely forgot. A well-timed follow-up is a great way to get your response and to help the recipient remember a task they probably forgot.
5. If you miss an email the first time, respond right away if a follow-up is sent.
If you forgot to respond to an email, and the sender decided to send a follow-up, respond immediately. Even if the response is, “I apologize, I’ll definitely reach out to you by the end of day today with what you are requesting.” It just shows the sender that you’re not simply ignoring them.
6. Check your spam/ junk folders.
Spam and junk mail is a regular occurrence and unfortunately mail that should not end up in these files often get mistakenly tagged and redirected, so check your spam/junk folders often to make sure you haven’t missed an important email.
It’s not the end of the world if you are guilty of doing the opposite. I have been known to miss an email, respond too late or completely forget to respond, but if we all take the time to try to be more diligent in our email correspondence, I truly believe we all will have a better experience overall and ultimately, that will result in more deals for everyone.
Kenneth Laroza is the broker of record at PSR Brokerage in Toronto. He has been immersed in the real estate industry for over 16 years. He takes a hands-on approach to his job to see that the company maintains a high level of integrity and works closely with governing associations to ensure the brokerage meets and surpasses industry standards. Visit the PSR website, Kenneth’s blog or email kenneth@psrbrokerage.com.
