Contact Forms - Writing better questions

[coastal]

I get a dozen contact forms a day that say "Please tell me more about this listing"

Well, what is it they are really looking for?

Do they want to know more about the area? More about the community? Do they have a specific question about the house? Do they want to know what type of heat the house has?

How can I get more of this information from them it the contact forms?

I'm thinking of adding a number of selections to a pull down list or a list of check boxes and would like input as to what some of the best options would be.

1. I'd like to know more about the community.
2. I'd like to know more about the town.
3. I'd like to know about financing for this property.
4. I'd like to know about taxes for this property.
5. I'd like to request a showing of this property.
6. I'm ready to make an offer on this property.
7. Do you have more photos of this property?
8. Please be specific with your questions so I can give you the answers you are looking for!!!

Any suggestions?

[Scott.Hack]

Perhaps you could encourage people to give a phone number so that you can answer ALL of their questions about the house?

[coastal]

Still, I like to be prepared when I make that phone call.

Even though I have every property on my site I have not been in all of the 5000 listings nor have I visited every one of the communities in person.

I typically do a little research before replying by phone or e-mail to most clients and it would help a good deal if I had a better idea of what they really wanted to know.

[The Koitz Group]

Mike - along Scott's lines, if you can manage it, maybe you could put your phone number in the inquiry form again with a small CTA ("have a question about this property"...). But I think you're also on the right track with a drop down "inquiry type" instead of the "additional remarks field". Even if you don't cover all the bases, it sets an expectation...that if they could be as clear as possible, you'd appreciate it :-)
- Kevin

[CherryCreekPro]

Mike, I really like the drop down idea. I agree, it would help if you had a little more information to prepare for the call back or response.

Currently, unless they fill out the comments box, the only way I can figure out what they might be after is by looking at the url of the page they submitted the form form, i.e. relocation package page.

As the contact pages are another source for lead generation I think this is a good area to spend some focus and time on.

[First Time Home Buyers]

Build Rapport while answering their questions.

Be personable and knowledgeable. And if you don't have the answer to a question say something like, "That's a great question. Let me make a call to xxxxx and contact you back. What's the best time and phone number to reach you?"

[Bigtoe]

No matter how many questions you ask they are going to check off on all of them and then ask "Please tell me more about this listing" .

[scottiegrace]

Perhaps you could encourage people to give a phone number so that you can answer ALL of their questions about the house?

I find the phone number is the hardest thing to get out of someone but once you have it then you pretty much have them.

[Del Mar Homes Pro]

That's a tough question. I try to give a quick reply to get a phone number... "I'd be happy to answer your questions about the property. What's the best number to reach you?" Otherwise I've found that I spend too much time putting together info and often never hear from these folks again.