When customers go quiet, rethink the follow-up

A buyer or seller stops answering texts, and the agent sends another. Then another. At some point, the next step may be picking up the phone.

Knowing when to make that switch is part of an agent’s job, Darryl Davis, CEO of Darryl Davis Seminars, said in Inman. His advice starts with respecting how customers choose to communicate, then recognizing when a different approach would help.

“When someone reaches out to you on one of these paths, answer them on that same path first,” Davis said.

A buyer who texts about an ad should receive a text back, he said. Agents can then work toward a phone conversation, where tone and pauses may reveal concerns that don’t come through in writing.

Davis outlined five ways to communicate, each with a different purpose:

• Phone calls: Talk through important issues and hear how the customer responds.
• Voicemails: Give a specific reason to return the call.
• Texts: Handle quick exchanges and begin conversations in a format many buyers and sellers prefer.
• Emails: Provide numbers, timelines and documents customers can review later.
• In-person visits: Used thoughtfully, check on an existing customer when other attempts have failed and the situation warrants it.

The choice should reflect both the customer’s comfort level and the urgency, Davis said. When there’s no pressing issue, patience may be appropriate. As the need for a response grows, a call may be more useful than another unanswered message.

He described advising an agent whose customer had stopped texting while caring for his wife. The purpose of reaching out was to check on the couple first, then explain the sale’s status and the potential consequences of continued silence.

“You are matching the path to two things at once: the person and the urgency of the moment,” Davis said.

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