Start with the support problem
Property enquiries arrive by website, portals, email and WhatsApp, and they go to whoever happens to see them first. Agents are out at viewings, so replies are slow, and nobody knows whether a lead has already been called. The goal is a fast first reply from the right person and a clear record of every conversation.
A workflow to put into practice
Step 1
Greet people on the listing
Start a conversation on listing pages after a short time with a line such as "Would you like to arrange a viewing?" Use office hours and an away message for evenings and weekends, and ask for an email address so you can follow up.
Proactive messages and routing →Step 2
Route enquiries to the right agent
Send conversations to the person who looks after that area or branch by website, page or language, and share new enquiries fairly among whoever is online with round robin, so no lead sits unassigned.
Assign and resolve →Step 3
Book viewings without the back and forth
Create a booking page for viewings with its length, the hours agents are available and a time zone. Send the link from the chat; the customer gets a calendar invitation and can cancel, and the time cannot be booked twice.
Booking pages →Step 4
Keep WhatsApp, email and chat together
Connect WhatsApp and your enquiry email to the shared inbox so the whole agency sees every conversation, with private notes for what an agent promised and reminders for follow-ups.
Connect your channels →
Example: an evening enquiry becomes a viewing
Illustrative workflow to test with your own team.
- At 8 pm a visitor on a listing page opens the chat and asks if the flat is still available.
- The away message says you reply by 9 am, and the visitor leaves an email address.
- At 8:30 am the enquiry is already assigned to the agent for that area, who replies from a saved reply and sends the viewing booking link.
- The visitor books Saturday at 11 am and receives a calendar invitation. The agent adds a private note about the budget the visitor mentioned.
Before you go live
- Set office hours per branch and write an away message with a real reply time.
- Create routing rules by area or branch and test them with sample enquiries.
- Make a booking page for viewings and check the hours against agents' real diaries.
- Write saved replies for availability, fees, viewing arrangements and documents.
- Decide who follows up with enquiries that came in outside hours, and by when.
What to measure after launch
- First reply time by branch
- Compare branches and out-of-hours enquiries to see where leads wait longest.
- Enquiries without an owner
- Check the unassigned view daily; a lead nobody owns is a lead you lose.
- Viewings booked from chat
- Count bookings that follow a chat, to see whether the link and greeting work.
Questions about this setup
Can chat enquiries go to the right agent automatically?
Yes. Routing rules assign conversations by website, page, language or anything you know about the visitor, and round robin shares new enquiries among whoever is online. Routing and automation are included from the Essentials plan.
Can people book a viewing themselves?
Yes. A booking page lets customers pick a free time in their own time zone, with a confirmation, a calendar invitation and a link to cancel. Booked times cannot be taken twice, and you can send the link from the chat.
Can we answer WhatsApp enquiries from the same inbox?
Yes. Connect WhatsApp through the Cloud API and its conversations arrive next to website chat and email, so the agency sees one history per customer. WhatsApp has a reply window and approved templates for starting conversations.
What happens to enquiries when nobody is in the office?
The chat shows your away message and a way to leave an email address. The enquiry waits in the inbox, can be assigned by your rules, and your reply reaches the visitor by email if they have left the website.