A friend of mine won a client recently because of his voicemail greeting.
The client had also called another agent, whose voicemail greeting said, “Hey, I don’t check my voicemail, so don’t leave anything.”
The client heard both messages and hired the agent who sounded like a pro.
Professionalism wins business. And I’m going to walk you through five different channels where you could improve your professionalism to win clients long-term.
Unprofessional Habits Will Cost You Business
One of the things I hate the most about real estate is the lack of professionalism from other agents, and I see small habits like this one cost them clients all the time.
Something I’ve learned from my good buddy Luke Acree is that there are six different ways you can communicate with clients: face, voice, text, email, social, direct mail.
Direct mail is a marketing piece. It should look professional, and I’m setting it aside for today.
You use the other five with potential clients every week, and each one gives you a chance to earn their trust or lose it.
Let’s go through how to be more professional in each of them.
#1. Phone Etiquette for Real Estate Agents
The phone is my favorite. Everyone in real estate hates making phone calls, and I hope it stays that way for everyone outside my team, because the phone helps me close a ton of business.
Start with how you answer. “Hello” and “Hey” are horrible ways to pick up a call from someone who might hire you.
A professional greeting sets the tone for the whole conversation. Here’s how I answer:
“Hi, this is Tom Toole with RE/MAX. How can I help you?
When you’re the one making the call, identify yourself and state your purpose before you get into your questions. Here’s an example:
“Hey, it’s Tom Toole with RE/MAX. I’m calling back because you inquired about 123 Banana Street.”
Your voicemail greeting needs the same care. Scott won his client because his greeting sounded polished, and the other agent’s came across as amateur and almost childish.
Here’s the voicemail greeting I recommend:
“Hey, this is Tom Toole with RE/MAX. I’m not available to take your call right now and I will get back to you at my earliest opportunity. If you could please leave a detailed voicemail with everything you need, I will call you back as soon as I can. And if it’s super urgent, you can call my office at 610-692-6976.”
Obviously, if you give callers an office number, make sure someone there will pick up the phone. Sending an urgent caller to a line nobody answers does more damage than having no backup number at all.
A lot of agents overexplain in their greetings with lines like “I’m spending time with my family right now” or “I’m on another appointment.”
You don’t owe anyone an explanation for where you are. Tell callers when they can expect to hear back from you and leave it there. When your greeting says you’re with your family, the caller hears that something else ranks higher than them. I’m not saying it does or it doesn’t.
People will judge you based on that greeting, so keep it professional.
Bad news belongs on a phone call. A text like “Hey, the buyer walked” leaves your client alone with the worst news of their deal and a pile of questions. Call them and have a clear, calm conversation.
End every call with next steps so the other person knows what to expect. I close my calls with something like this:
Here’s what’s going to happen next…
Here’s when you’re going to hear from me again…
For important calls, follow up with what I call a CYA email (as in Cover Your Ass). Recap what you talked about in writing so everyone’s on the same page. If a question comes up a month from now, you’ll have a record.
A couple more phone habits will set you apart. Keep these in mind:
- Return calls the same day. Same-day responses build trust on every channel I cover here.
- Keep your cool. Don’t yell or get angry, no matter how heated the other person gets.
These habits sound simple, and they win a lot of business. There’s plenty of business to be won over the phone.
Real Estate Text Message Etiquette for Client Communication
Text is number two. Have you ever gotten a message from an unknown number that says, “Hey, what’s the lockbox combination?” or “Hey, just tried calling“?
Who is this? Which listing? Some agents have more than one. Messages like these are unprofessional, and they make communication harder for everyone.
Sign your texts. I don’t expect anyone to have my number saved in their phone, so I sign every text I send. Nobody has to guess who’s reaching out.
Drop the abbreviations, too. Somebody sent me a text that said, “We on TMRW,” and I couldn’t tell if it was English. LOL and JK don’t belong in messages to someone whose business you’re trying to win. You can have fun with your people and drop an emoji here and there. But write in full sentences with complete thoughts.
Long, emotional texts from agents or clients call for a phone call. When one comes in, I reply with something like this before I pick up the phone:
“Hey, I saw your message. It sounded important.”
From there, hop on a call and use everything from the phone section. Stay calm and work through the issue with them.
Proofread every text before you hit send, the same way you’d proofread an email. Autocorrect can turn a clear message into a confusing one in a second.
Serious conversations belong on the phone. Some people are going to disagree with me on this, but I stand by it. Serious conversations over the phone help you sell a whole bunch of real estate.
Professional Email Tips for Real Estate Agents
Email has its own set of rules, and a professional subject line goes a long way.
Use the property address or something clear like “Home Search” so the reader knows what the email is about before they open it.
Your signature should be clean and legal. Some states require you to list your brokerage along with your company and office contact information. Nobody cares about all your designations.
Mine includes four things:
- My name
- My company
- My website
- My phone number
Add a graphic or some color if you’d like, as long as it stays clean and legal.
Write every email with the understanding that someone will forward it to somebody else, and be okay with that. You might be dealing with legal or disclosure issues. Anything you write is discoverable, and your emails could end up in anyone’s inbox.
Following this rule keeps you from sending stuff you shouldn’t.
Answer people’s questions. If someone asks you something, lead with the answer, whether it’s yes, no, a number, or the piece of data they need. Add your opinion or guidance after the answer. This works with agents and clients alike.
A friend of mine gets a steady stream of emotional emails from someone in their market, and the things this person sends are insane. If you feel the urge to write one of those emails, put it to bed. Give yourself a day to calm down and get your emotions out of it before you decide whether to send it.
Keep the big rule in mind: someone else is going to see it.
Finally, use proper grammar. Punctuate your sentences and skip the all caps. Professional communication goes a long way.
How to Stay Professional in Face-to-Face Client Meetings
Face-to-face meetings start with being on time. If you’re running late, tell the client and tell them why.
Silence your phone. Few things look worse than an agent saying, “Hey, that sounds good,” while tapping away on a text.
The exception is when something important could come up, and in that case, tell people at the start of the meeting. I have three kids, and I went into appointments when my wife was nine months pregnant.
Here’s what I told clients at the start:
“Hey, you know, my wife is 9 months pregnant and I may have to leave here in case she goes into labor. So, I’m going to keep my phone out. I know it’s a little unusual. I just want to make sure nothing’s happening.”
The same approach works for any time-sensitive situation. A heads-up like this one does the trick:
“I’m expecting an important phone call and may have to step out.”
Take notes during the meeting. It shows you’re paying attention, and you’re going to forget some of what gets said and agreed to. Put your notes into your CRM (customer relationship management system) after the meeting so you have them for the next conversation.
Also, assume there are cameras everywhere when you’re inside a home or showing one. Don’t do anything you wouldn’t want caught on camera. What goes on in some showings is wild, and assuming you’re on camera keeps you professional.
Basic politeness goes a long way. Shake their hand and look them in the eye when you greet them with something like this:
“Hi, pleasure to meet you.”
Before you leave any meeting, tell the client what to expect. I wrap up with something along these lines:
“Hey, here’s what happens next… Here’s when we’re going to be speaking again. Let’s set up another appointment to go view some homes.”
It shows the client you’re in control of the process and guiding their real estate journey.
Social Media Best Practices for Real Estate Agents
Social media is a tough one. Treat every post like a presentation, because your face and your company’s name are attached to it. People forward and share what you put out there, and you can lose business over the wrong post. Go in with a game plan.
Accuracy beats hype every single time. Real estate agents love to inflate their sales numbers, but sales data is public and easy to find.
Make sure every number you post is accurate and backed by a source, like your MLS or local sales data. Making stuff up and posting it is bad business.
Here are a few more rules I follow on social media:
- Get permission before posting about clients. I’m not a big fan of “just closed” posts, but if you do them, make sure your clients agree to appear on your page.
- Follow the advertising laws in your state. A lot of agents leave their brokerage name or phone number off their posts. In Pennsylvania, you have to include them on all advertising, so know the rules where you work.
- Treat DMs about real estate like texts. Plan to move any serious conversation to a phone call.
- Keep your headshot current. If you’re using a photo from 1980 and it’s 2026, people won’t recognize you when they meet you, and that’s not professional.
- Don’t argue with people in the comments. Stay away from politics and other hot-button topics. It sounds basic, and it’s a great habit.
- Wait to announce a sale until it closes. Deals can blow up, and a premature post leads to an awkward retraction.
Professionalism Helps Real Estate Agents Win More Clients
Everything here is basic, and it’ll help you be more professional in your day-to-day work.
The more professional you are, the more professional clients you’ll attract. Real estate is a professional job, so treat it like one.
If you take one rule from this, make it same-day responses, backed by putting phone conversations in writing so you have a record.
I’d pick two or three of these tips and start to implement them.
