VoIPandHostedPBXinTheRealEstateSectorRealestateindustrypublicationslikeMarketLeadersuggestthat44%ofonlinehomebuyersprefertoworkwithanagentwho's“mostresponsive,"ratherthanonewho'sacademicallyqualifiedoraggressive.Andwithpropertypricesfluctuatinginresponsetoprevailingeconomicconditions,theabilitytoidentifylikelyprospects,cementrelationships,andclosedealsrequiresindividualsandorganizationsintherealestatesectortohaveaccesstorapidandreactivecommunicationschannelstofacilitatethatresponse.Managingpropertydatabases,clientlists,andagentrostersintroducesanotherelementintothecommunicationsmix,andtheneedforasystemcapableofintegratingandco-ordinatingallthesedemands.Cloud-basedtelecommunicationssolutionssuchasVoiceoverInternetProtocol(VoIP)telephonyandhostedPBX(PrivateBranchExchange)systemscancontributerealbenefitstosubscribersintherealestatesector.

Presence,Mobility&CallRoutingWithrealestateagentshabituallyontheroad,theyneedtohaveanofficeinthepalmsoftheirhands-andVoIPtechnologymakesthispossible.The"presence"functionofVoIPcommunicationsputsapanelonthedesktop(smartphoneortabletscreen,ordesktop/laptopcomputermonitor)ofeachuseronthenetwork,andenablesagentstoposttheirowncurrentconditionsandmonitorthestatusoftheircolleagues("OnACall","Available","DoNotDisturb",etc.).Mobileappsandacentralizedcontrolpanelinthecloudensurethedistributionofcallstowhoever'smostappropriatetohandlethem-andtheAuto-Attendant(virtualreceptionist)featurecanbeconfiguredtoroutecallsbasedonpre-setrules,reducingthepressureonhumanreceptionistsatheadorbranchoffices.

Find&FollowThe"FindMe/FollowMe"featureenablesrealestateagentstoconfiguretheirtelephonysystemtorouteincomingcallstoanydevicetheyspecify,soifaclientisunabletoreachthemononenumber,thecallcanberedirectedtotheagent'scellphone(forexample)ratherthantheirhavingtowaittoreplayavoicemailmessage.

Callsmayevenbesettosimultaneouslyringonseveraldevicesatonceuntilanagentpicksup-severelyreducingthechanceofamissedcallandmissedopportunity.

VirtualNumberingHostedPBXservicesbasedonVoIPtechnologycanalsohostvirtualphonenumbers,whichoperateindependentlyofaspecificcablelinkorhardwaredevice.Withthese,agentscanassigntwoormoreadditionalnumberstotheirphones,assigningeach(forexample)toadifferentclientbase.Realestatebusinessescanalsochoosevirtualnumberstoestablishapresenceincertainlocationswithalocal,regional,orinternationalareacode,ortoll-freenumbersforcustomeraccessviawebsites,directories,billboards,andotherpublicchannels.

CallMonitoring&RecordingCallrecordingandmonitoringtoolscanprovidetranscriptsandperformancestatisticsforevaluatingandeducatingagentsinmorecompetitivesalesenvironments.Fromanoperationalstandpoint,calltranscriptscanalsoprovideclarificationanddocumentationofwhatwassaidoragreeduponbywhom,inaparticulartransaction.

UnifiedCommunications&MessagingTheUnifiedCommunicationsorUCaspectofVoIPtelephonyinvolvestheintegrationofdifferentdigitaldatastreams(voicecalls,officeproductivityapplications,informationprocessing,etc.)onasingleplatform.Soit'seasytoco-ordinatecustomerdatabases,propertylists,andtransactionhistories.Real-timecommunicationbecomespossibleoveranumberofchannelsandmediatypes,suchasemail,SMS,InstantMessaging,livechat,andvideoconferencing.Agentscanalsopullindatafromtheircompany'saccounts,CustomerRelationshipManagement(CRM),salesandmarketingplatforms,withouthavingtoterminateacall.Featureslikeemailtofaxtranscriptionmakeconveyancingandthetransferoflegaldocumentsanintegratedpartofthecommunicationsprocess.

Co-ordinatingBranchOfficeActivitiesVoIPandhostedPBXsystemsmakeitpossibletoeasilyco-ordinateoperationsbetweenmultiplebranchoffices,remote,orinternationalsites.Callsandmessagescanbetransferredseamlesslybetweenlocationsviatheinternet,withthecallerbeingunawareof

thetruelocationoftheagentdealingwiththeircase.Sincecommunicationtakesplaceonasingleplatform,it'seasyforrealestateorganizationstocreateandpresentaconsistentandunifiedbrandimageacrosstheirentireglobalpresence.

EasyManagementOptionsAccountmanagementandprovisioningforcloud-basedtelecommunicationssystemslikeVoIPandhostedPBXtypicallytakesplaceviaauser-friendlysoftwareconsolethatmaybeconfiguredtoassignphonelinesandtelephonyfeatureswithouttheneedtoinstallhardware.Systemscanbescaledupordowninminutestoaccommodatenewhires,staffturnovers,andchangingmarketconditions.

Availability&BusinessContinuityCallrouting,presencefunctions,andmobileappsensurethatworkersintherealestatesectorcanbereachedatanytimeofday,andinanylocation. HostedPBXprovidersshouldalsohaveoptionsinplacetoallowforcontinuedbusinessactivityandcommunicationsintheeventoflocalnetworkoutagesthatmightoccurintheeventofasevereweatherincident,humanornaturaldisaster,orsecuritybreach.Typically,thiswouldincludetheautomaticre-routingofcallstodesignatedmobiledevices,orthetransferofnetworkservicestotheprovider'smirrorlocations.

ReducedCostsThere'snoneedtopurchase,install,manage,ormaintainanin-housePBXwithahostedsolution-afactthatsavessignificantamountsincapitalexpenditure,attheoutset.CallchargeswithVoIPtelephonesystemsaresignificantlylowerthantheirtraditionalnetworkequivalents,withcallswithintheorganizationtypicallybeingfree,andlocalratesapplyingtolong-distanceandinternationalcallsovertheinternet.Withrapidorreal-timeresponsecapabilities,awealthoffeatures,customizablesettings,reducedcosts,andeaseofmanagement,VoIPandhostedPBXservicesareawinningpropositionfororganizationsintherealestatesector.