Virtual Phone System for Real Estate? Look No Further!"/> 
The Beginning
When you’re in real estate, your phone is one of the main tools at your disposal. Real estate agents getting started or agents who’ve been flying solo for some time might lack the infrastructure and human resources needed to effectively manage a stream of incoming calls.
This thought dawned on Jeremy, an aspiring entrepreneur from New Jersey. Unsatisfied with his experience in law, he made the pivotal decision to dive into the real estate market. Armed with nothing but his wits, his enthusiasm, and a partnership with his brother, who was still studying in university at the time, Jeremy launched a start-up real estate agency without clear expectations of the agency’s future.
At first, the business only dealt with a small portion of the local clientele ― legal consultations on real estate deals and negotiations, as well as organizing visits to prospective properties. But even with this smaller workload, Jeremy found that he was always on the go; however his call flow wasn’t very big, so his personal cell phone sufficed in the early months.
Early Challenges
As time passed, using a single mobile number for both his personal and business contacts started to feel cumbersome. Apart from the impact on his privacy, this approach interfered with effective call management ― there was no way to collaborate smoothly between he and his brother. A lot of calls went unanswered simply because he was busy and his brother didn’t know about it.
«Receiving personal and business calls to one number wasn’t very convenient. I wanted to separate them somehow and to manage the business line independently. I didn’t want to carry an additional device, though ― a flexible call-processing system is what I needed. The business slowly developed and soon we had enough money to launch a local promotion campaign. However, putting my personal number on advertising materials seemed like a terrible idea…»
As the agency began servicing more and more customers, accessibility became a big concern. Jeremy decided to search the market for a virtual phone number, placing an emphasis on:
- Cloud technology ― he had neither a wish nor the finances to buy, install, and maintain additional equipment. He wanted the system to be accessible via a web portal or, preferably, a mobile application and 100% compatible with smartphones;
- Reliability ― guaranteed uptime and the high quality of sound combined with seamless overall performance;
- Flexibility ― the system needed to be flexible, allowing someone to add or remove features effortlessly, and every key feature should be customizable enough to meet his company’s individual needs;
- Scalability ― the system needed to work for him and be easily changed if his business needs shifted in the future
I was searching for a phone system that offered a virtual business number and allowed me to transfer calls according to a customizable set of rules. Additional features like [a] voice menu and mobile apps would also be nice. I tried several services and decided on MightyCall — their mobile app is really cool and it works equally well on my iPhone and my brother’s Android device.
Going Forward with MightyCall
Completely unfamiliar with virtual phone systems, Jeremy started with a basic plan to get the feel of things. Within minutes of signing into his MightyCall account, he was relieved to see things weren’t so complicated after all, and began to customize the settings to his liking.
With the flow-chart design I was able to get the hang of and set call flows in no time. As a result, calls were forwarded to my phone during business hours, while my brother ― a student ― helped out when his studies were over. We also divided the regular customers between us. My brother’s clients got an opportunity to reach him directly, while my clients’ calls were automatically forwarded to my device. That was incredibly convenient to us and our customers alike.
Within the next year, the brothers’ hard work started to yield results—the business was growing more than even they anticipated. They decided they needed to hire another employee, and to accommodate their newest team member, they upgraded to MightyCall’s standard plan (which features up to 5 phone numbers with unlimited extensions).
Ramping Up the Business
As business continued to rise, the brothers even hired a 4th employee to handle an ever-increasing call flow. But they also felt like they needed to do more for their market, so they began exploring how to establish an internet presence.
[Mightycall’s] Standard plan offers complementary website widgets that work well with the phone system. The ability to receive VoIP calls from the website directly on my phone seemed so appealing that we decided to overhaul our internet page, even though it required a lot of work.
They opted for WordPress, one of the most popular and user-friendly website-creation platforms on the internet. Once the site was up and running, they installed MightyCall’s click-to-call widget, which let website visitors send messages or call the agency directly from the site.
Updating the site was not an easy task. We had heated discussions on the design and features ― a website is somewhat like your business card, only the exposure is much wider. But we wanted to divert from using it solely as a source of information about us. If we have to maintain this online asset, why not make it work for us?
Although the website initially didn’t bring in much business, after continued exposure it eventually began to complement the agency’s search for new clients.
Now & Into the Future
With their business established, Jeremy’s mentality has pivoted a bit to keep things running smoothly, as he no longer has to chase down every lead like his life depended on it. All in all however, MightyCall has become the agency’s singular communication center.
MightyCall works perfectly for us. It’s very handy to have all the lines connected to your mobile and it keeps you on top of things. We also use additional features, because ― why not, if our customers benefit from it. We actively send text message notifications about appointments and other useful information. Clients appreciate it, when you keep them in the know. For holidays we even record special customer greetings to congratulate the callers on the occasion—a little personal touch, you know.
MightyCall helped the brothers streamline their agency’s communication into one easily-managed platform. With a more convenient and efficient work flow, they were able to achieve their dreams and take their real estate agency from a slow out of the gate start-up to a thriving business.
