Being professional is good for your real estate business. But what about your colleagues? Here are nine steps to take so your colleagues will treat you as a fellow professional.

• Always use proper phone etiquette. Leave your full name, brokerage name, and return number when you call or page a fellow salesperson. Let them know a good time to call you back.
• Keep all phone messages short and to the point.
• Check your voice mail and email messages often during the day.
• Promptly return phone calls and emails from other salespeople. They may have an offer or need additional information to enable them to prepare an offer. Failure to return calls may be perceived as rude, and may also stand in the way of business getting done, possibly damaging your reputation and career.
• Keep your commitments. If you say that you will call a colleague by a certain time, then call by that time.
• Call ahead if you will be late for any meeting. Let the listing salesperson know if you buyers have changed their minds and don’t want to see the property.
• Respect another salesperson’s privacy. Avoid making late night phone calls about things that can wait until morning.
• Don’t make “urgent” phone calls or leave “urgent” messages or emails unless the matter is truly urgent.
• Extend a courteous and positive attitude to the staff in your own office and at other brokerages.

These tips are excerpted from A Mentoring Kit for New Salespeople, produced by the OREA Real Estate College.