Week 8 Results & Prizes

The prizes for the final week are as follows:
GOLD: 1/2 a day "Paid Time Off"
SILVER: 2 hours "Paid Time Off"
BRONZE: $10 Starbucks/Dunkin Donuts Card

Team Canada (Keith's team) took home the gold again this week for a total of 66 leases in weeks 7 & 8.
Silver goes to Kenya (Debbie's team) with 61 leases and Nigeria (Derek's team) got Bronze this week with 55.

The Grand Prize Winners will receive one of the following prizes ($100 value) as well as lunch:

·         One Day “Paid Time Off”

·         Spa Treatment

·         Round of Golf

·         Sporting Event Tickets

·         Tickets to an Amusement Park

·         Restaurant of Your Choice

·         VISA Gift Card

·         iTunes Gift Card

·         Amazon Gift Card

GOLD goes to: Canada (Keith's team) with 234 leases!

SILVER goes to: Nigeria (Derek's team) with 218 leases!

BRONZE goes to: Kenya (Debbie's team) with 208 leases!

Great job everyone!

Internal Outreach Marketing

Outreach marketing really should be divided between two categories, Internal Marketing and External Marketing.  Internal Marketing is the “resident fulfillment factor” for resident referral.  When we think of outreach marketing, we typically do not focus on our current residents.  Instead we simply put them in the resident retention category, but are we missing out? 

Here are some ideas that you can use for Internal Marketing because even the most clever and creative ideas for marketing apartment communities can become stale in less than six months. We need to make sure we stay on top of industry and economic trends. One thing that never changes or becomes stale is the importance of promoting a resort-like feel that comes with the community. Remember that “home” is the # 1 travel destination. This idea should also reinforce the thought that Property Managers should identify specific needs and tastes of their residents and act accordingly.

• More than 1/3 of those who have a pet, own a dog. So, host a “Yappy Hour” instead of a “Happy Hour”.
• Track the type of retail packages delivered to the leasing office. If an abundance of them come from Avon, host an Avon party.
• Communities should promote many of the basic maintenance duties they already perform. This creates an impression of even more amenities.
• A community’s web site pages could offer a clickable link that translates the text into Spanish.
• The most popular welcome gifts today are computer memory sticks, laptop lights and cell phone covers. Surveys show that more than 80 percent of those who receive valuable gifts remember who gave them the gift.
• Valuable coupons and gift cards for things such as gasoline are a better alternative to rent concessions.
• Mr. Wake-Up is an actual web site you can use to take your customer service to the next level. Many of us have hectic schedules and could use a little help in the morning getting out of bed. Now residents can use this unique resource to wake up and smell the coffee a little easier. www.mrwakeup.com
• Early Bird Winners can really help you with your resident referrals. Instead of giving money off the rent or movie tickets, get more bang for your effort with a pizza delivery to your winning residents work. Now everyone will want to knowwhere they live!
• Value Recognition Payments, otherwise known as RENT, can now take some direction from the food service industry. Why not take your service to the next level for that very busy time of the month and start Curbside service on the 1st of the month, with breakfast-to-go bags!
• If a picture paints a thousand words…then why not give our prospective residents a disposable camera to take with them as they look for a new home?! This company can even print a 4-color message at the bottom of the photo. When the prospect gets the film developed, the message from you appears! Call 818-772-4528 for details, or email: captioncam@earthlink.net.  
• Build a referral program. All sales professionals will confirm that the hottest leads come by way of referral. The trick is to develop a strong relationship with your residents. Every referral you make today is a potential referral coming your way tomorrow. Once a quarter have referral party for all residents to invite a friend and enjoy the community. Whether you have a BBQ, cocktail hour, seminar or buffet, encourage residents to bring their buddies!

Remember, one of the keys to a successful apartment community is a happy resident who would not think twice before referring one of their friends to be their neighbor.

- Team Kenya (Debbie's team)

The water doesn't know your age.

If you're feeling stuck, Olympic swimmer and motivational speaker Dara Torres offers some great advice: the water doesn't know your age.

Think of "the water" as your workplace. While some of us may be chronologically older than others, it's essential to remember that each of our team members brings a unique experience and personality to the office every day, and those combined experiences and personalities create the teams that our residents rely on. Our age isn't nearly as important as what we bring to the table: knowledge, enthusiasm, professionalism—the list goes on and on.

As we approach the end of our leasing contest, consider this: How can we work together to make the most of our collective backgrounds? How can we provide our prospective residents with the very best experience, and how can we extend that same level of service to our residents?

Happy leasing!

Week 7 Results

Kenya had the most leases this week with a total of 35.  Prizes will be awarded next week for the most leases combined in weeks 7 & 8 as well as the grand prizes!

Weekly Totals

Grand Totals

Week 6 Results & Prizes

Prizes awarded this week goes to those teams that had the most leases over weeks 5 & 6. Winners this week will win the following prizes:
Gold: $50 VISA Card
Silver $25 VISA Card
Bronze: $10 VISA Card

And the winners are....
Gold: A tie, Nigeria (Derek's team) and Canada (Keith's team) with 59 leases.
Silver: Germany (Nick's team) with 41 leases.
Bronze: A tie, Jamaica (Jeff's team) and Sweden (Tim's team) with 40 leases.

Weekly Graph

Grand Total Graph

Reaching Out When it Comes to Outreach

It’s almost as dreaded for some as selling over the phone…showing up to businesses you have never been armed with pens and brochures.  You run in, tell the business all about YOU and then leave, only to repeat the process to 10 more companies.  But what is it we’re trying to accomplish when completing outreach marketing and why do we so seldom see it pay off? 

There’s a great book by Dale Carnegie (written nearly 100 years ago) called “How to Win Friends and Influence People”.  The premise of the book is as simple as its title; being likeable, praising others and getting people to produce YOUR desired result by putting THEM first.  Carnegie believed just by asking others questions about themselves and showing genuine interest had the power to open limitless opportunities both professional and personally.

The next time you head into the local chiropractor’s office, the nearby Gold’s Gym or the government contractor you’ve been trying to break into, try these examples and see if it doesn’t help you build a lasting relationship and help put your community at the top of their “preferred” list:

• Hi, how are you today?  I work at Northgate Apartments and I was curious if you have any information we can include in the move-in packets for our future residents?  People are always coming into our office asking where the best chiropractor is, and I would love to be able to pass along your information to them.
• Good afternoon, I work at Crofton Village Apartments.  We do not have a fitness center, and our residents always want to know where the best place to work out is.  Do you have any literature we can pass along to our residents as your gym is the nicest around?
• Hello there, I work just down the street at Mission Place Apartments and we have so many residents that are always asking where a great veterinarian is.  Would you have any information available that we can include for all current and new residents?  We’ve read your reviews on Yelp and this is where we know our resident would trust to bring their pets. 

While the dialogue would go on much further and more questions would need to be asked by you to show an interest in them, notice how each time, the question is how we can help get their name out to our residents and not the other way around.  This is where relationships, the lasting ones at least, are formed.

Remember how good it made you feel the last time someone asked how your vacation was, or told you how you were the best at something?  Please keep this in mind the next time you are out completing outreach.  And it certainly won’t hurt to bring some bagels or a fruit basket to hand out because after all, food is the way to anyone’s heart.

-Team Nigeria (Derek's team)

Don't forget about resident retention

Resident retention is always important, however, during the spring and summer months where most properties have the majority of their lease expirations is the time of year where your efforts really pay off. With the improving economy several of our properties are now asking for substantial rent increases on renewal. If you want them to stay you must be providing your residents with superior service. You avoid the expense of re-renting the unit and the associated turnover costs involved when residents renew their lease....This is a big savings to the property.

A percentage of your residents are going to leave due  to purchase a home or a job transfer. No matter how good your service is there is no saving these residents. However, there is a portion of your residents that will renew  if they are happy with the property and its service. Industry data indicates that excellent maintenance is the #1 most important item residents want at their property. Conversely, poor maintenance is #1 reason residents choose not to renew their lease.....So make excellent maintenance of the property your top priority!

There are several cost effective ways to offer little incentives to residents at renewal time. Carpet cleaning and lighting fixture upgrades are very popular among our properties. In addition, with the high price of gas right now, pre-paid gas cards can also be a nice gesture. Does anybody have some other good ideas?

As mentioned earlier, many of our properties are getting large rent increases at renewal. Because of this there are times where  a resident will resist renewing because of the increase. This is a great opportunity to expound upon the value your property offers such as its great location, its resort style amenities, or its top shelf maintenance staff! If price is still an issue you can educate the resident on all the costs and the hassle associated with them moving from your property. When a resident factors those costs into the equation, the rent increase you are asking for may not seem as big as they previously thought. Does anybody have any other ideas on overcoming objections to rent increases?

- Team Jamaica (Jeff's Team)

Week 5 Results

The team bringing in the highest amount of leases this week was Canada (Keith's team) with 28 leases. Next week prizes will be awarded to the 3 teams that scored the most leases combined from this week and next.

Weekly Totals

Grand Totals