Why There Are So Many Listing Agents Who Do Not Answer the Phone

Ignoring phone calls is a trait of listing agents who do not answer the phone.

First, let me say I am not one of those listing agents who do not answer the phone. I always try to answer my phone, regardless of whom is calling. And yes, I have Caller ID. I know if it’s a private caller, an anonymous caller, a local caller and if the phone is registered, I get the name, too. But I still answer the phone. I’ve had private callers hire me to list their property. I don’t judge anybody by their phone number.

But in Sacramento, there are many listing agents who do not answer the phone. One of the main reasons is they don’t want to talk to buyer’s agents. You would think they would because they want to sell the home, right? Yet these listing agents feel they don’t have to engage because they’ll get an offer one way or another so why pick up the phone? Especially if they are bothered by nonsense. And much of the time it is nonsense.

I feel the pain of talking to some buyer’s agents because there are a huge number of agents who either cannot read, don’t read, misread or are just too plain lazy to figure out what’s going on. I try to be very clear in my listings. If the showing instructions are call first lockbox, I might also repeat the showing instructions in the confidential remarks. I might write: Call the seller and go. But agents will still call me to ask if they can show the home.  Oy, can’t win.

When I reply that they need to call the seller, then they will ask me to look up or text them the phone number. When the phone number is right there in MLS, staring them in the face. How lazy is that? Maybe I’m driving and I can’t look it up? I wish I could light up the phone number in blinking-call-to-action strobe lights for them, but I can’t. I’d gladly pay 10 bucks extra in MLS to have that feature. Some agents insist there is no phone number and no occupant’s name, either, when I know it is prominently displayed. This happens almost every single day.

I wish there was a way all buyer’s agents could be trained to study the MLS information and not view the plethora of data as simply a property address with pretty pictures. MLS is not Google Maps. But if wishes were horses beggars would ride, and I don’t even know what that means. What I do know is I will continue to answer my phone and go with the flow. I will never be one of those  listing agents who do not answer the phone. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759 to represent you as a listing agent.