One of the major dilemmas in the modern business world is how to handle phone calls. Despite the use of e-mails and instant messaging, phone calls remain an important way that customers communicate with businesses. In order to run a successful business these days, you have to be able to handle calls in an orderly and efficient manner.

That is certainly true with the real estate business. Potential buyers are far more likely to phone you than to knock on your door. If you are a company that deals with tenant buyers, you often have to field phone calls from the individuals who are living in your homes. From maintenance requests to questions about contracts, they may seem never-ending.

Typically, a homeowner will call the company after seeing an ad in the Yellow Pages or in the newspaper. The calls go to a 24-hour live answering service. Those who staff the answering service work from a prepared script. They must find the answers to a number of questions. What are the caller's needs? What is he or she trying to do? Does the caller want to try to sell the house quickly? Is the caller behind on mortgage payments? Is the caller in foreclosure? About to be in foreclosure? Did the caller just get a new job, forcing him or her to move?

Once we find out about a call from a prospective seller, one of my staff can then go about using a service such as Pace to find out the price range of the house, the size of the home, how new or how old it is. After the company has obtained this information, we can then call back the prospective seller and see if a deal is possible.

An answering service is critical in handling the calls to the company. If you don't have a live person answering calls, about 50 percent of the callers will hang up. People crave the personal touch, and they are often unwilling to settle for voice mail.

If the answering service is effective in its work, it will provide pre-screening of clients for you. The answering service can also find out how the caller heard about your company so that you can determine which means of advertising work best. So far, the system has worked exceptionally well for me, helping to close a number of deals.