Tell me what's wrong with this scenario.....
A leasing consultant just showed an interested couple a model apartment and they're very excited about picking out their actual new home. The leasing consultant sits down with them and says,
"Ok, let me take a look at my detail here.....hmm....ok, it looks like I have a B1V in what we call building 2, which is really 1700 Shady Lane, on notice for August 2nd, but the cleaner, painter and maintenance will have to go in, so maybe we can schedule a move in for August 5th."
Some of you may be saying to yourselves that nothing's wrong. Sounds just like a conversation you have with your prospects every day. Well, here's the thing....this leasing consultant has given them way too much information, included terms they don't even know and taken away their initial excitement for the community! Sometimes we get so caught up in our jobs and don't think about little things like that. We know what we're talking about, but it doesn't mean the person on the other end of the conversation will. A better response for that leasing consultant would have been...
"Fantastic! I see we have a beautiful 2 bedroom home in the Magnolia plan that you just saw that will be available for you to move into on August 5th! It's on 1700 Shady Lane, a popular building with views of the lake!"
See how much better that sounds? The leasing consultant has given all of the same information, yet kept it simple and exciting for the prospect!
K.I.S.S. is something I learned on Day 1 of my first Journalism class in college. It stands for Keep It Simple Stupid. We have a tendency to overthink and overspeak all of the time. But sometimes we have to remember that the person on the other end of the conversation doesn't need to know everything. Sometimes offering too much information or information they're not clear on can just make the real facts get lost in translation. You can apply this rule to every aspect of your job, whether it be dealing with prospects, residents, vendors or co-workers. Think of it when you're on the phone, when you're writing resident communication or when you've got someone sitting in front of you. I guarantee you it's a tactic that will never fail!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
FREE mousepad for your property!
I thought this was kind of cool....Like ArtsCow on Facebook and you'll get a FREE mousepad with no shipping costs. You can place your community's photo or logo on it and place it in your Business Center or Leasing Office. Can't beat a free branded product for your property! Get your entire leasing staff to like them to get multiples! :)
http://www.artscow.com/share-coupon/free-mousepad?ref=fbcw100000026353592
http://www.artscow.com/share-coupon/free-mousepad?ref=fbcw100000026353592
Responding to leads...Leases are walking away!
I noticed throughout my time on site that so many leasing consultants don't respond to leads properly. More than likely, it's lack of training and lack of experience. Lucky for you, both of these situations can be easily overcome!
I recently conducted a little experiment and emailed 10 properties with the same question...."how much are your 2 bedroom apartments?" Here are the responses I received....
4 properties responded simply with their price. That's it! No introduction to their community, no offer for a tour, nothing!
3 properties responded with a good response-introduction to their community, photos, invitation for a tour, etc.
3 didn't respond at all!
So that means 70% of the properties I contacted pretty much let me walk away. Here I was, for all they know, a perfect prospect. I'm already interested in the property because I took the first step to contact them. The rest was in their hands and they blew it!
I don't want you to blow it! Here are a few tips to follow when responding to email leads. Follow these with EVERY SINGLE lead you get and I guarantee you'll see an increase in your leasing!
1. Have a general response already prepared that you send to every prospect. The response should be informative, descriptive, inviting and most of all, grammatically correct! And don't forget to use spell check! Make the prospect feel as if you're genuinely happy that they've contacted you and you're excited to help them find their new home. This is a great place to highlight specials, however, if you have a community on the high side for rent, I don't recommend including it right up front unless a prospect specifically asks. Let them fall in love with your community before they see the price so that they can appreciate everything they're getting.
2. Send them a copy of your e-brochure or if you don't have one, create an Information Guide to attach to your emails. Your Information Guide can be written in Word form and saved as a PDF so that anyone should be able to open it. You can include anything you'd like that will help the prospect learn about your community without actually visiting. I usually make my Information Guides like this:
Page 1. Introductory letter to the prospect, thanking them for inquiring about the community, describing the community, and inviting them to learn more.
Page 2. Create a photo collage of your community. The more photos, the better! A picture is worth a thousand words.
Page 3. Create an informative, descriptive and unique guide to the features and benefits of living in your community. Use your imagination and creativity when formatting your list!
Page 4 (more if needed). Include floor plan images. Under the plans, talk about the unique features of that plan and what makes it special.
Page 5. Create a list of the top 100 reasons to live in your community. I love this one!
Page 6. At the end of your guide, include your rental application and rental criteria.
3. Ask every lead when they're available to come in for a tour! You want to seem approachable. Sometimes people are shy and don't know the procedures for renting an apartment. Make them feel comfortable and lead the way. This is your first opportunity to create a rapport with them.
4. Follow up with everyone! Within 24 hours of their first contact, follow up and ask them if they have any questions about the information you sent and see when they're available for a tour. Treat them just like a traffic that's already walked through your door-follow up until you have a result! They already like your community-don't stop until they lease with you or tell you they've leased somewhere else!
I hope you find these tips helpful. You have someone whose already interested in your community by the time they contact you. Take advantage of that! Don't let another lease walk away from your community!
Morgan Oney, CAM
www.getmoreleases.com No set up fees, no monthly fees, no lead fees! Only pay for success!
I recently conducted a little experiment and emailed 10 properties with the same question...."how much are your 2 bedroom apartments?" Here are the responses I received....
4 properties responded simply with their price. That's it! No introduction to their community, no offer for a tour, nothing!
3 properties responded with a good response-introduction to their community, photos, invitation for a tour, etc.
3 didn't respond at all!
So that means 70% of the properties I contacted pretty much let me walk away. Here I was, for all they know, a perfect prospect. I'm already interested in the property because I took the first step to contact them. The rest was in their hands and they blew it!
I don't want you to blow it! Here are a few tips to follow when responding to email leads. Follow these with EVERY SINGLE lead you get and I guarantee you'll see an increase in your leasing!
1. Have a general response already prepared that you send to every prospect. The response should be informative, descriptive, inviting and most of all, grammatically correct! And don't forget to use spell check! Make the prospect feel as if you're genuinely happy that they've contacted you and you're excited to help them find their new home. This is a great place to highlight specials, however, if you have a community on the high side for rent, I don't recommend including it right up front unless a prospect specifically asks. Let them fall in love with your community before they see the price so that they can appreciate everything they're getting.
2. Send them a copy of your e-brochure or if you don't have one, create an Information Guide to attach to your emails. Your Information Guide can be written in Word form and saved as a PDF so that anyone should be able to open it. You can include anything you'd like that will help the prospect learn about your community without actually visiting. I usually make my Information Guides like this:
Page 1. Introductory letter to the prospect, thanking them for inquiring about the community, describing the community, and inviting them to learn more.
Page 2. Create a photo collage of your community. The more photos, the better! A picture is worth a thousand words.
Page 3. Create an informative, descriptive and unique guide to the features and benefits of living in your community. Use your imagination and creativity when formatting your list!
Page 4 (more if needed). Include floor plan images. Under the plans, talk about the unique features of that plan and what makes it special.
Page 5. Create a list of the top 100 reasons to live in your community. I love this one!
Page 6. At the end of your guide, include your rental application and rental criteria.
3. Ask every lead when they're available to come in for a tour! You want to seem approachable. Sometimes people are shy and don't know the procedures for renting an apartment. Make them feel comfortable and lead the way. This is your first opportunity to create a rapport with them.
4. Follow up with everyone! Within 24 hours of their first contact, follow up and ask them if they have any questions about the information you sent and see when they're available for a tour. Treat them just like a traffic that's already walked through your door-follow up until you have a result! They already like your community-don't stop until they lease with you or tell you they've leased somewhere else!
I hope you find these tips helpful. You have someone whose already interested in your community by the time they contact you. Take advantage of that! Don't let another lease walk away from your community!
Morgan Oney, CAM
www.getmoreleases.com No set up fees, no monthly fees, no lead fees! Only pay for success!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
I'm Back!
Hey all!
After a brief hiatus.....I'm back! Sorry to those of you who were enjoying my blog. Life just kind of got in the way! To sum it all up-I'm pregnant-Yay! But I'm also very sick-Boo! I have a condition called Hyperemesis, which is essentially severe nausea and vomiting in pregnancy. I've been pretty much tied to my couch and have done only the bare minimum needed to keep things afloat up until this point. Luckily, things are getting much better, so be on the lookout for new posts, tips and tricks on surviving the apartment industry soon!
-Morgan
After a brief hiatus.....I'm back! Sorry to those of you who were enjoying my blog. Life just kind of got in the way! To sum it all up-I'm pregnant-Yay! But I'm also very sick-Boo! I have a condition called Hyperemesis, which is essentially severe nausea and vomiting in pregnancy. I've been pretty much tied to my couch and have done only the bare minimum needed to keep things afloat up until this point. Luckily, things are getting much better, so be on the lookout for new posts, tips and tricks on surviving the apartment industry soon!
-Morgan
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