A brokerage main line takes six kinds of calls and most of them are for someone specific. The listing call wants the listing agent. The new buyer wants whoever is up. The recruit wants the broker. The title company wants the transaction coordinator. Whatever answers that line has to know the difference and act on it in one ring. Here is how to set that up without a switchboard or a front desk that goes home at five.
Key takeaways
- Brokerage calls sort into six buckets, and each one has a different right answer: transfer, book, route to a rotation, or take a message.
- Floor duty and lead rotation can be rules an AI receptionist applies, so the new-buyer call reaches the agent who is up, not the agent who happened to walk past the desk.
- The listing call is the money call. It should reach the listing agent live if they are free, and land as a booked showing on their calendar if they are not.
- An AI receptionist on the main line covers office hours as overflow and everything after, from 39 dollars a month, and can take a deposit or fee by card on the call.
The six calls a brokerage line takes
- Listing calls. A buyer saw the sign or the portal listing and wants to see it. Belongs to the listing agent, and if the listing agent is in a showing, belongs on their calendar.
- New buyer and seller inquiries. No agent yet. Belongs to floor duty, the lead rotation, or whoever the broker says.
- Existing client calls. Under contract, has a question, wants their agent. Transfer if available, message plus text to the agent if not.
- Transaction calls. Lenders, title, inspectors, the other side's agent. Belongs to the transaction coordinator or the agent, and rarely needs an instant answer.
- Recruiting and vendor calls. An agent thinking about moving, a photographer, a sign company. Belongs to the broker or office manager, as a message.
- Everything else. Wrong numbers, solicitations, the neighbor about parking. Answered politely and logged.
A front desk handles this by knowing everyone. An AI receptionist handles it by rules, which is the same thing written down.
Writing the routing rules
Each rule below is written the way you would brief a new assistant. The AI call routing guide explains how the agent turns what a caller says into one of these rules, and what happens when it is unsure.
Listing calls
Match the property the caller mentions to the listing agent. If the agent is available in your hours, transfer live with the caller's name and the address already announced. If not, ask the buyer's questions and book a showing on that agent's calendar, then text the agent. The buyer never hears "she is out, can I take a message." The showings guide covers the handoff script.
A listing call on the main line, 6:50pm
New leads
Qualify with two or three questions (buying or selling, timeline, working with anyone), then route by your rule: round robin across the team, the agent on floor duty today, or the broker for anything above a price point. The agent who is up gets a live transfer or a booked consultation, and a text either way.
Everyone else
Existing clients and transaction calls get a message with a transcript texted to the right person. Recruits go to the broker as a message. Vendors get logged. Emergencies you define, a client locked out at a closing for example, transfer to whoever you name.
Office hours, overflow, and after hours
Most brokerages keep a person on the main line during office hours and want that person. The AI is the overflow: when the desk is on another call or at lunch, the second caller gets answered instead of ringing out. After five and on weekends, the AI takes the line entirely, with the same rules. Nothing about the desk changes except that it stops being the only thing between a caller and voicemail. The receptionist cost breakdown prices the desk, the human services, and the AI side by side, and the outsourced receptionist guide shows how each outside service counts a minute.
Options for a brokerage main line
| Option | Routes by listing and rotation | Books to the right agent's calendar | Covers 7pm and Saturday | Takes payment | Rough monthly cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Front desk only | Yes, from memory | Yes | No | Sometimes | $3,000 and up |
| Phone tree | Press 1 for listings | No | Yes, badly | No | Included with your phones |
| Human answering service | Yes, from your script | Add-on per call | Yes | Add-on per call | $300 for 30 calls and up |
| AI receptionist (callflo.ai) | Yes, by rules | Yes | Yes | Yes, via Stripe | $39 to $997 |
Setting it up
- Write the rules on one page. Agents and their listings, the rotation, who takes recruits, what counts as an emergency, and your hours.
- Sign up and load the rules. Paste the brokerage website, add the agents and their listings, the rotation, and the calendars, and hear the agent take a test call.
- Set overflow and after-hours forwarding from your phone system. The desk keeps answering. Read the transcripts of the calls it could not take.
- Count the week. Calls answered, showings booked, leads routed. No setup fee, no contract, and you do not pay unless you are satisfied.