3 Tips on How to Get a Prospect to say YES!

During the spring, staff members from apartment communities strive to put their best foot forward.  We anticipate that many prospective residents will come through our doors and tour the community. Recently our staff discussed how to deal with prospects who can make the tour challenging. These tours can be difficult because every apartment community has its negatives.  Here are some tips on overcoming the obstacles that prospective residents have, so that they can say Yes!

Don’t Give up, Keep trying…even after the First Impression

People always say that first impressions are everything, but I believe you can make more than one impression during a tour. Staff members should break up their tours into three sections.

·         The initial greeting and presentation of the community.

·         The showing of the apartment home and amenities.

·         Finally the closing when you ask the prospect to put in an application.

When a prospective resident walks into your office they expect that you will give them your full attention; however, during a busy day this can be challenging. Their first impression of you may not be great if they have to wait, but you still have time to win them over. Use your time during the second half of the tour to find out what they need in their new home. Showing that you care can change the tone of an irritated prospect.

 Positive Thinking- People Move with Positive Thinkers

People like to move with positive thinkers! Regardless of how unpleasant a prospect can be during a tour you must maintain your positive thinking. Do not get upset or defensive when a prospect brings up something they do not like about the apartment community. Although they may have some unkind things to say, they will look to see how you respond. Your answer to their questions is vital because it could determine if they will rent or not. Try to turn their negatives into positives. Never become defensive or disregard their concerns. Always address it, but give a positive spin on the issue at hand. This shows the prospect that you are sincere and they may start to change their way of thinking as well.  

Believe in Yourself and Your Team—Be Confident!

Remember, when a prospect walks into your office they are looking to you for answers. You are the expert!  Believe in yourself and your staff. You must feel confident that you are the best at what you do and that your team is fully capable of serving the needs of your current and future residents! Don’t let your product speak for itself. You should speak for your product. If you have a state of the art fitness center or your office has just received an award, brag about it! Prove to everyone during a tour why living here would be the best choice for them. Confidence in yourself will translate to your future resident. Even, if they had initial doubts they will see they made the right decision to tour and rent at your property.

-Jeff's Team

Week 8 Playoff Results

The winners this week were Bradley, Duke, Stanford, ULV and Indiana and they will receive movie tickets!

Stanford will be facing off against Bradley for the Grand Prize next week. It was a close race this week. Duke and Bradley tied with 13 leases so we had to award the championship slot to Bradley as they have more overall leases.

Week 7 results are in! (Playoffs)

The winners this week were Bradley, UCONN, Stanford and Duke!  They receive a $15 starbucks or Dunkin Donuts gift card.

The winners bracket in next week's playoffs, eligible for the grade prize will be:
Bradley vs. DUKE
Stanford vs. UCONN

And the following teams will playoff next week and are still eligible for the weekly prize:
USC vs. UNLV
Indiana vs. Butler

Motivational Communication From The Top Down And All Around

            We’ve all had “that” day - a Friday before a long weekend, you’re caught up on work with not a worry in the world.  Why push everyone to make follow up calls or emails?  Why push your team when everyone is tired from a long and busy week?  The easy answer to making someone do something is to say, “Because I said so.”  However, that is the wrong answer.  That answer will not motivate the team to strive for greatness.  That answer indicates that your team is not important enough for an explanation.  And that answer will create a level of animosity that will eventually hurt job performance.  Instead, coworkers, especially managers, should make all work related decisions inclusive among their peers.  This does not mean that the final decision has been relegated to someone other than the manager, but rather that the manager has effectively communicated the basis and reasoning for such a decision.  Strong communication reduces confusion in the office, it keeps everyone well informed and better apt to make knowledgeable decisions.  Strong communication provides a sense of worth, happiness and value as being part of a team.  This team feeling will reduce employee turnover, as well as resident turnover.

     

       In order to effectively communicate, managers must avoid creating a parent-child relationship with their team, and instead create a peer-peer dynamic.  With a peer-peer dynamic, everyone respects each other as an equal.  This effectively allows those in “lower” positions to feel comfortable presenting effective ideas for improvement.  When you entrust your team with a sense of ownership in the decision making process, it will naturally motivate them to want to perform at a higher level.  Recognize and praise their great performance -and really mean it! 

        

    Equally important is the inter-office communication between office and maintenance staff.  Constantly cross-training each other in their respective positions will help both departments understand the restraints and issues the other may be facing at any given time.  As part of a team, each department must know where the other is heading in order to function effectively.

        

    Finally, establishing staff events can help open up the channels of communication.  In a comfortable and laid-back environment, such as mini-golf, bowling or simply eating out for lunch, everyone can relax and freely communicate.  Sometimes the best ideas come to fruition when the pressure is off, and everyone is engaged in a completely unrelated activity. 

         

   The bottom line is, there is no “I” in Team, but there certainly is an “I” in Winning, Productivity, Improvement and Competitiveness.  Cliché, yes, but also true.  Effective communication will yield these results, so listen up!

-Team Bradley

UTILIZING FACEBOOK TO PROMOTE YOUR BRAND, EDUCATE CURRENT RESIDENTS, AND PROMOTE YOUR PROPERTY TO PROSPECTS

FACEBOOK

Facebook allows us to create an effective online marketing tool that reaches out to current customers, potential customers and the community. There are simple, yet effective methods of social media optimization to start increasing visibility for your business.  

PROMOTE YOUR BRAND

Brand is “a singular idea or concept that you own inside the mind of the prospect.” In other words, it’s the gut feeling a prospect has about your product, service, or company. A brand is a promise: a promise of specific benefits and value; a promise that is meaningful and relevant to your users, and a promise that is different from your competition. Your brand resides within the minds--and hearts--of customers, clients, and prospects. It is the sum total of their experiences and perceptions.~ Michael  DiFrisco

It is our job as Leasing Agents and Property Managers to create this “idea” in our prospects’ and residents’ minds that we are exactly what they are looking for.  Our brand shall consist of the ideal apartment, community space and an excellent overall living situation for those wanting to make our community their new home.  Most importantly, though, we are the face of our brand.  We are the forefront of the product and we need to sell ourselves in order to make the prospects want to come around and our residents want to stay around.

The easiest way to promote your brand is to get excited about it.  If you enjoy what you do it will rub off on the prospects and residents and they, too, will feel your excitement.  Make your community a great place to be!  Promoting with pictures via Facebook is easy and effective.  For the average person, life is busy...taking the time to read details of an upcoming renovation or event that is going to take place is more of a nuisance for most.  If they can take 2 seconds to look at a photo and know exactly what is going on, they will feel informed and included.  Photos are more attractive to the human eye than words on a page and are more likely to be looked at.  They are also tangible proof of events taking place!

EDUCATE CURRENT RESIDENTS

Marketing your community to your current residents is probably different than the marketing that you have done before. Social media participants expect you to engage them in conversation instead of just promoting a product or service directly to them. Keep in mind, the more engaged you make your residents feel, the more likely they will be to renew for another year since they will feel connected to your community! Here are a few ideas for gathering fans:

·         Link your community’s Facebook Fan Page in emails.

·         Become a fan of your own page and suggest it to your “friends” list.

·         Use Facebook to write about the latest events and happenings at your property and in the community.

·         Utilize your local Chamber of Commerce to promote area events.

·         Respond to inbox messages and wall comments as soon as possible. This will not only satisfy the senders of messages and comments but will encourage others to comment on your wall too.

·         “Like” local businesses and post specials and coupons that they are offering. Ask the business  to “like” you back.  Taking some time to interact with other local businesses in your community via Facebook and engaging in friendly conversation will help you reach a wider range of people.  Think of places like the local pet groomer or popular eatery that are also on Facebook.

·         Promote resident events, referral fees that your community offers and Open Houses that you will be hosting.

·         Create contests to get your audience involved. Pet photo contests, trivia games and surveys are always a hit.

·         On the resident copy of each service request, leave a “Like us on Facebook” sticker on it.

PROMOTE YOUR PROPERTY TO PROSPECTS

Facebook is information at your fingertips!  Having a well-managed Facebook page will allow prospects to see what’s happening at your community and your positive interactions with your residents without missing a beat in their daily lives.  Remember, you are promoting a lifestyle to your prospects.  Show them how much they will enjoy making their home at your community.

•                    Post your community website’s QR code on your Facebook page.

•                    Display a flyer in the Leasing Office promoting your Facebook page and encourage prospects to scan the code with their phone while they are sitting in front of you and encourage them to join in the discussion immediately.

•                    Post pictures of your community, staff members, resident events and community happenings that a prospect will enjoy once they move in.

Remember, Facebook is a free but vital and potent tool that we can use to bring new business to us and strengthen the relationships with cllients that we already have.  Use it to your advantage!

-Team USC

Week 6 Results are in!

The winners of 2 hours of paid time off this week and 2 more points are: Indiana, Duke, Bradley and Stanford!

Playoffs begin next week!

Week 5 results are in!

Indiana, USC, Bradley, and Stanford are the winners of a $20 gas card this week and receive 2 points!

Overcoming Objections

Embrace the objection and above all, listen.

Objections are an opportunity to solve your customer’s problem. The more your customer reveals about what they do and do not want, the more information you have on how to solve their problem. Objections can stem from lack of information or misunderstanding about a product or service. If you suspect a misunderstanding has occurred, ask open-ended, probing questions to get to the prospect’s need or concern. Listening without interrupting is a great next step to a quick resolution. It ensures that you don’t appear defensive, and it, instead, communicates your sincerity in wanting to solve the problem.

Anticipate the objection.

Get to know the highs and lows of your community. Every community has great selling points and, of course, a few blemishes - just like everything else in life. Knowing all of the features, benefits and ob­stacles of your community and having the confidence to address them, is often all the renter needs to feel assured. Having that confidence often comes from being prepared in advance for questions or ob­jections. Walk the community daily. Have someone not familiar with your community walk it with you to help point out things you may have overlooked. Spend a couple hours in a vacant unit and know it inside out. Write down 10 objections that stand out to you and overcome them. For instance, if you are located at a very busy intersection, you’ll want to anticipate the objection. You might reply, “It is a lively area, which is why we’ve put some more attention on noise reduction inside each unit with new pad­ded carpeting and heavier curtains like the larger hotels utilize. Was your last apartment in a quieter setting?” Once you have the answer to that question, you can try to find a unit that’s further from the noise or point out quieter areas in the community, perhaps in the courtyard/pool area. While overcom­ing this objection, you can point out other things about the unit and community that far outweigh the noise, highlighting once again the features and benefits. Of course, anticipating the objection doesn’t mean that you need to unnecessarily draw attention to it, as it may not prove to be an issue for every potential renter.

Identify and isolate the core issue.

Objections can stem from a misunderstanding about what your Management Company and community have to offer. Isolate the objection to ensure you are uncovering what is really holding back your potential renter from signing the lease. For example, the prospective renter might say: “I hate coin laundry machines! All the other communities I’ve seen today have a washer/dryer in the unit.”  Explain that although other communities may have a washer/dryer in the unit, their pricing may be higher because of that feature.

Remember:  Objections are easy to overcome if you are prepared!

-Team Indiana