Does it feel like your phone is ringing more than usual? Like it’s getting harder to keep up with new calls, much less return every call awaiting a response? You’re not imagining things. In the last six months, Entrata has recorded a year-over-year increase of calls to properties of anywhere from 11% to a whopping 21%. It’s not just people looking for new homes, you’re also getting more resident calls.

Add this increased call volume to the safety measures that have fewer team members in the office, and it’s easy to see why so many communities are feeling overwhelmed and reaching out for a little help. Call Centers are having a moment as they step in to provide a necessary service to properties, residents, and prospective renters alike. But it’s not as simple as making sure calls are picked up.

We’ve asked around with our clients and our product teams to identify which elements are imperative when considering who you’ll allow to answer your phone calls:

Skill and Professionalism

A call center service must have the ability to maintain the service levels and brand experience you’ve worked so hard to establish. Whether it’s a resident with a maintenance request or a prospective renter asking for an appointment, the experience provided by the agents should be indistinguishable from that provided by your own team.

Flexibility

Each property has its own needs and priorities, so you don’t want to get locked into a service plan that doesn’t let you call the shots. Whether you want the service to pick up every call during business hours, take after-hours calls only, handle all property calls 24/7, or just jump in when a call is unanswered after a certain number of rings, what you need is exactly what you should get.

And it’s not just about scheduling. Maybe you want the flexibility to route resident calls through the service while handling lead calls locally, or vice versa. We think that’s a perfectly reasonable request, and services like Leasing Center will work with you to make it happen.

Efficiency

If your staff spends a good chunk of time returning calls that were originally fielded by your call center, it may be time to reevaluate your service. You want to work with agents that can resolve the callers’ issues immediately. It’s even better if they’re able to work within your property management platform, so the information they provide to callers is current, and so transactions are recorded and visible in real time.

Even Outbound Calls?

Did you know you could use a service like Leasing Center to call prospects back? You can work with your team to establish the parameters within which Entrata’s leasing agents can reach out to leads that have requested new or additional information via outbound email and/or call. Leads that have left their contact information through your website or an ILS will be contacted to set up an appointment to see your community.

Leasing Center, with agents that specialize in Entrata’s platform, does more than answer your calls. It provides the help you need to resolve complaints, answer inquiries, and move prospects forward in the leasing process.