Part Two: Review the Apartment Leasing Process
Mar 2nd
Anyone Can Lease Apartments
If you can read this, you can lease. If you have the desire to, you can lease. If you learn, practice and apply the necessary skills, you can lease! Leasing is just like riding a bike, playing tennis, and swimming, using a computer or any other skill that can be acquired. You can learn the skills necessary to be a successful leasing professional, and I promise that it isn’t even as difficult as it might appear!
Succeed with Confidence
When you rode a bicycle for the first time, you might have been afraid of falling and scraping your knees on the sidewalk. When you entered the swimming pool for the first time, you might have been afraid of going under. When you took your first tennis lesson, you may have become frustrated because it wasn’t as easy as it looked. The first time you sat in front of a computer you may have been afraid that you were really going to mess something up or make some important bit of information disappear forever. Once you learned, practiced and applied the new skills that each of these pursuits required, you found out that they weren’t as difficult as they appeared at first! You learned that if you fell off your bicycle, you didn’t break into pieces. After a couple of gulps of pool water, you learned that if you relaxed a little, you could float and then actually swim! The same will hold true in Relationship leasing. You’ll find that even if everything goes completely wrong on some of your early attempts, you can pick yourself up and go on to make a great leasing presentation with the very next future resident!
Practice Makes Perfect
In learning to ride a bicycle, swim, play tennis, or use a computer, you probably developed the basic skills fairly quickly, and with a little practice, then became quite comfortable with the new activity. The same will hold true with relationship leasing. If you learn proven techniques, practice and apply, you’ll become very comfortable leasing in no time at all!
Of course, it’s also necessary to put those acquired skills into action with the right attitude. I’ve found that the perception of leasing as a “sales” business and the negative stereotypes attached to sales as a profession can make it difficult for leasing professionals to place themselves in a positive and confident mindset. The word sales makes many of us think of fast-talking used car sales people or some guy on TV selling snake oil, using every trick in the book to talk people into buying a car or gadget that they don’t really want at a price they can’t afford! In fact, sales has gained a pretty bum reputation over the years – great news for comedians and movie producers, but not so great for a sales professional’s self-image. Fortunately, there is absolutely no need to use fast talk and gimmicks to be successful in leasing apartments.
This series of articles is going to show you how to use the opposite approach — integrity, honesty, and an attitude that conveys a willingness to help the future resident — to show you not only how you can increase your closing ratio, but also how powerful this leasing strategy truly is. I’m not suggesting that you merely pretend to help the future resident or to be their best friend. I’m proposing that if you simply treat the future resident just the way you would want a salesperson to treat you if you were looking for an apartment, you’ll realize an immediate increase in your closing ratio, and will be well on the way to achieving your personal best!
The golden rule is only one important ingredient in leasing success, but the others are no more complicated. In this book you are going to learn that Relationship Leasing is the easiest way to succeed at increasing your closing ratio. You will learn how the Resident and the Future Resident’s needs and wants can actually help guide you through the leasing process. In addition you will learn how to work with the future resident as the most valuable key to closing the lease, instead of against the future resident as an opponent who must be “sold”.
I can just hear you thinking to yourself right now, “If this relationship leasing technique is so great then why aren’t more leasing professionals using it?” The answer is very simple: most of us don’t begin our careers that way, and the skills and philosophies that we absorb earliest in our training, when we are most impressionable, are those that tend to follow us for the remainder of our careers. Most of us begin our leasing careers focused on ourselves and our own performance – doing all we can to just get that lease! Instead of focusing on the needs of the future resident, you probably spent the first several months of your leasing career thinking I need to get all the information on this guest card or my supervisor is going to get mad at me. Can I get them to visit the community? Will they like what I show them? Can I convince them to lease? Can I even do this at all?
Once this initial fear has passed, new leasing professionals then tend to focus on the apartments, community and services – still largely missing the needs of the future resident. “Let me tell you about our great community.” “Our service is better than the competitions.” “ We have ______ & _______ & ________ and our competitors don’t.” The truth is, our future residents don’t care if we need to fill out guest cards or what you perceive to be your competitors’ shortcomings. They are much more interested in finding out if your community offers what they’re looking for in a new home, including the lifestyle that they expect or aspire to.
Don’t just think about the features and benefits of your community. Put yourself right in the resident’s shoes. What living solution can you really provide to them? What are your apartments and community going to do to make their apartment living experience better? And also, why should they even listen to you? In the remaining articles you will learn how to totally focus on the future resident; how to adopt the future resident’s perspective; how to build the future resident’s trust; how to get the future resident to not just be willing to listen to you, but to want to listen to you, and even to guide you right through the entire leasing process. We will also review each component of the leasing process in great detail and show you how you can put the relationship leasing approach to work. This article has been provided to give you a quick overview of the entire process. We’ll begin by addressing the basic steps involved in presenting your community to future residents. We’ll continue with a list of questions that we intend to answer along the way, with the ultimate goal of helping you to become the very best relationship leasing professional you can possibly be!
Review the Apartment Leasing Process
Mar 2nd
Part One of Three: Review the Leasing Process
Over the years, several different leasing approaches and philosophies have come and gone. Our industry has changed, and more importantly, so have the people we serve. Though many of the techniques that we used in the past are still valid, many others are no longer effective. Where people once wanted to be sold, they now prefer to be served, and today’s leasing approach must fulfill this desire in order to be effective. In other words, we are no longer in the business of simply selling the features and benefits of our apartments and communities. Today’s most successful leasing strategies call for demonstrating how those features and benefits are in keeping with the lifestyle expectations and desires of our future residents. The difference isn’t as subtle as it seems on the surface. Where it was once enough to simply close a lease on an apartment that met the future resident’s immediate needs; today’s resident wants and expects a longer-term commitment. If you really want to succeed in leasing apartments you must move beyond “leasing apartments” to helping the future resident solve their moving and lifestyle needs and wants.
Information is one of today’s most valuable commodities, and as a leasing professional, you possess a wealth of information about one of the most valuable decisions an individual can make — their choice of a home. Naturally, the future resident who has gone to the trouble of contacting you has done so because they want you to help them find the new apartment home that best meets their wants and needs. Needs are easy — most of the old leasing approaches can handle needs, hands down. Wants are a little more personal. Determining what they are requires that you win a future resident’s confidence; and satisfying them means that you’ll have to develop an effective rapport. As you can imagine, conveying a committed, resident-oriented attitude while successfully satisfying the future resident’s wants and needs requires a comprehensive approach. This approach is known as relationship leasing.
Focusing on the needs and wants of the future resident is only one of the skills that relationship leasing requires. Leasing Professionals must also develop the skills to exercise personal judgment, build a long-term relationship in order to improve resident retention, ensure the ongoing satisfaction of both residents and future residents, and connect with them personally as a true professional in the apartment home decision-making process. This means knowing your resident’s needs and wants, and then positioning your community, apartments and services to remain their number one choice.
Relationship leasing involves focusing on building a relationship with the future resident. Closing ratios and leases are increased because instead of pushing apartments, you are presenting a more comprehensive commitment to improve their lifestyle and serve them throughout their residency. Relationship leasing emphasizes the intangible side of every lease. It includes not only the apartment, community and services; but also the real value that each of these offers the resident, and what you personally bring to the mix.
Relationship leasing requires leasing professionals to understand where they are coming from, to maximize their strengths, to learn new skills, and to take full responsibility for managing the leasing process. It’s your responsibility in leasing to fully understand your future residents and how you can help them before you lease them an apartment. With Relationship leasing, you are in the driver’s seat at all times. You have a clear understanding of where you are in the leasing process and what it will take to have this person as your newest resident. The days are gone of closing hard, offering a concession and overcoming objections and then hoping for the lease. With relationship leasing, you create the relationship and mix in the leasing techniques that work. The rewards of being resident-focused are increased commitment, loyalty, referrals, and of course increased occupancy and reduced resident turnover! Relationship Leasing Professionals are top producers because they are connected to their Residents beyond the scope of their apartments and services, and way beyond their competition. The key to success in relationship leasing is to understand what happens during the future residents’ decision-making process and how you can positively influence their decision.
Relationship leasing helps you differentiate yourself from the crowd of competitors first by the approach you’ll take and finally by the results you’ll obtain. Your future and new residents will view you as a true professional expert. The relationship between resident and leasing professional is powerful, and it is your responsibility to foster that relationship so that both sides win. Many of you have already experienced the power of relationship building in the leasing process with future residents who have leased from you and prefer to continue to deal with you personally when they have a service request or a problem to be resolved. The reason for this is that you did a great job of relationship building in the leasing process!
Strengthening Your Apartment Community’s Fitness Center Strategy
Feb 26th
There was a time when being able to boast an on-site fitness center afforded you a distinct competitive advantage. Unfortunately, those days are gone. Today, most (if not all) of your competitors have fitness centers, and some might even be better than yours.
On-site fitness centers came into vogue as a means of attracting an increasingly fitness-conscious public. They proved their worth as residents realized the benefits of convenient on-site facilities that were comparable to those at the local gym (the keyword here being comparable), without the extra membership fees or hectic commute. They were an “easy sell” at the start, and by and large, we’ve been selling them pretty much the same way ever since.
Meanwhile, the health club industry has continued to ride the wave of the fitness trend to its fullest extent, bringing the workout experience to higher heights. Television commercials for even small neighborhood spas look like MTV videos, with flashing laser lights, shining chrome, supermodel aerobics instructors, and row upon row of mega-machines that look like they just beamed down from the Starship Enterprise. What used to be comparable between our communities and the neighborhood gym isn’t so much anymore.
Among those communities who caught the clue, the race is officially on to design and offer the biggest and best fitness centers around, with more trendy accessories, and newer and more versatile equipment. Where one or two good multi-exercise machines and mirrored wall were once sufficient, many communities are now filling their fitness centers with health club-quality equipment. Existing fitness rooms are expanding to accommodate everything from new machines that look and feel like virtual-reality video games, to juice bars and multiple televisions.
It hasn’t escaped the notice of our future residents that fitness industry state-of-the-art is a tough standard to meet. That’s why simply stating that you have an on-site fitness center in a brochure, on a website or over the telephone is no longer sufficient to grab their attention – even if every other community in the neighborhood doesn’t have one too, the gym down the street is a tough act to follow. Nor is it enough to just point at the fitness center door and mention it in passing during a community tour. If you’ve put effort into ensuring that your fitness center is worth selling, then now’s the time to sell it for all it’s worth!
“Results-Oriented” Presentations
Back when fitness centers sold themselves, Leasing Professionals didn’t have to know much about them. Product knowledge training often goes into minute detail on each apartment home’s interior, but offers only a cursory run-through of the community’s amenities, and still doesn’t include much information about fitness centers beyond that they exist. As a result, we know enough about ice-making frost-free refrigerators and self-cleaning ovens to spout off until a future resident leases or dies of boredom (whichever comes first). The features and benefits of other exterior amenities are still pretty straightforward, but today’s fitness center has more to offer, and deserves to be given special attention in our presentations. A well equipped fitness center represents a significant investment – one that an accomplished Leasing Professional should take pride in presenting as one of the best benefits of living in the community.
Not only does the investment warrant special treatment, but consumer desires also demand that fitness centers be placed in the spotlight. Our health conscious future residents are increasingly savvy about the benefits of various types of fitness equipment, and in turn, demand more from an on-site fitness center. This is why it’s important for Leasing Professionals to be not only aware of the value of the fitness center as a community feature, but to be well versed in the features and benefits of the various types of equipment it offers. Granted, it’s a bit much to expect all Leasing Professionals to be fitness experts too, but a little extra product knowledge can go a long way. For example, there’s a big difference between “We have a treadmill here and a bike over there” and “Our treadmill has a variable incline” or “This bike will also monitor your heart rate”.
On-Site fitness centers may come in all sizes and in many settings, but the one thing they all have in common is that they can be used as a powerful marketing tool. The key, as fitness centers become more commonplace, is to spotlight the features and benefits that make yours unique.
I recently came across this segment in a new fitness magazine:
“We realized that just having an on-site fitness center would not be enough,” says Pamela Hughes, President of South Hampton Property Management, “Our goal was to have a better fitness center than the competition.” For its Monticito development, a luxury apartment complex in Houston, they installed two Textrix VR bikes – virtual reality bikes that feature interactive computer graphics and motion. “When we show our fitness center to a prospective resident, we take them straight to the VR bikes, “ says Hughes. “It really makes an impact. They may have seen seven communities in a day, but they remember that the Monticito had something that the others did not.”
When planning a new fitness center, adding to one, or simply revamping your leasing strategy, focus on what will make your facility stand out from your competition. Your facility’s unique selling point may be a special piece of equipment, like one of the newer VR bikes, a rock-climbing wall, or a treadmill with the latest monitoring technology. It could also be an accessory, such as an individualized audio/video entertainment system or an aerobics area. It could even be an intangible benefit, such as 24-hour access or a beautiful view of the pool or skyline.
No matter what you do to put your fitness center above the competition’s, you have to train your leasing professionals to sell it if you want to accentuate its differences. Keep in mind that a unique selling point is not a replacement for having a good fitness center. It is that special feature which will help you close the lease.
Unique Selling Point (USP) – A key marketing principle which states that to rise above the competition, you must be perceived as being in some way different from and better than the competition.
Here are a few tips to help you get the most out of you fitness center.
1. Add some pizzazz!
Purchasing equipment is only the first step in designing your fitness center. After functionality, appearance should be the primary goal. This means selecting visually appealing carpeting or flooring; installing mirrors to open up the room; displaying attractive and instructional (or motivational) posters; decorating with plants; prominently exhibiting your accessories; and adding as many extras as possible to distinguish your center from the competition.
2. Talk the Talk of fitness training. Use words that those “in the know” will know.
In your brochure, ads, and presentations, make your words count! Use hot-button terms such as “state-of-the-art,” “user-friendly,” and “results-oriented.” Be specific about your equipment and its advantages. The average consumer is becoming more familiar with the different types and brands of equipment available.
3. Give your future resident a test ride.
If your community is lucky enough to have a VR Bike or other special type of equipment, strap the future resident in and let them have some fun. If you have a great sound system, crank it up. Make your future resident want to come back.
4. Use the Internet
As the Internet has becomes more ingrained in our society, people are using it to gather information before physically visiting a location. This may now be your first line of contact, and is a fitting place for information about your cutting edge fitness center. Include pictures of your fitness center on your Web site and remember to show people using the equipment in the photographs.
5. Don’t Just Answer Questions.
When someone asks specifically about your fitness center, this is an opportunity to close the deal. Unfortunately, the scenario usually goes like this:
Future Resident: “Do you have a fitness center?”
Leasing Professional: “Yes, we do.”
Future Resident: “Does it have treadmills?”
Leasing Professional: “Yes, it does.”
These future residents are telling you that your fitness center is an important issue to them – maybe even the deciding factor! Take advantage of this situation by selling your fitness center and its unique features:
“Yes, we have an excellent fitness center complete with cardiovascular and strength equipment” or “Yes, as a matter of fact, we have 3 treadmills, 2 climbers and 4 bikes!”
6. Use Incentives.
It’s easier to retain residents than it is to replace them – and you’re more likely to keep them if you can keep them using your fitness center. How? Give them more reasons to use it! Many property management companies hold contests, fitness awareness classes and seminars in the center or clubhouse, or feature personal trainers during certain hours. These “fitness-focused” programs not only encourage use, but they help create a center of activity around your fitness center, and lend a fitness-conscious character to your whole community!
7. Be Creative.
Use your treadmills for a “Walk Across America” race, or use climbers to climb the Empire State Building. Open the contest to your entire market area, charge a nominal entry fee, and donate the proceeds to a local charity. Programs and events like these build camaraderie among users and generate great public relations. Use your imagination to discover new ways to use and publicize your facility.
8. Continue Marketing.
Build value in your community by reminding residents of all the great amenities your community offers. I created the Healthy Choices series to encourage residents to use the many healthful-living amenities we offer that they don’t always use to full advantage. Residents who make it part of their everyday routine to use our valuable, fitness-enhancing amenities are likelier to not only live healthier, happier lives, but are more likely to renew!
How do you use your Fitness Center?
Your feedback and comments are welcome! Please leave us a comment and let us know how you’re using your Fitness Center as a strong marketing and retention tool. One more thing — don’t forget to squeeze a short workout into your schedule this week. There’s no better way to get to know your community’s fitness center (and the residents who use it) than to get in there and work up a sweat yourself!
Apartment Marketing: The Art of the Marketing Call
Feb 21st
We all know that one important part of traffic generation is outreach marketing; building relationships with area employers, locators, and other community organizations in the hopes that they will send apartment-seekers our way. We also know that there is much more to successful outreach marketing than simply dropping off some brochures or bringing in the occasional box of doughnuts.
While the best marketers may make outreach calls look natural, like a friend dropping in to pay a visit, there is actually a substantial amount of thought and planning behind every one of these “visits.” That’s good news for many of us because it means that an effective outreach campaign does not necessarily require a special, instinctive “talent” for making marketing calls. What it does require is training and practice!
But what exactly should we be teaching, and how? We asked some training experts their opinions on those questions, and here’s what they had to say.
Choosing a Place, Time, and Approach
Planning outreach marketing involves first determining who to call on and how and when to approach them. According to our training experts, knowing who to call on requires knowing your resident profile. “They first need to evaluate who their target market is,” says Pam Newsom, Training Coordinator for BNP Residential Properties. “They need to evaluate their property profile and determine where the majority of their residents are employed.” Sandra Barfield, Director of Training for Trammell Crow Residential Services Southeast, agrees. “Track which companies your residents work for,” she says, “and also know what companies are coming into your area.” Calls need not be limited to area employers. Onsite staff should brainstorm other likely organizations and businesses that might be likely to send traffic their way: chambers of commerce, realtors, and local merchants and service providers.
Callers should also be instructed to “do their homework” on their callees before paying visits, especially when calling on an area employer who can refer relocating employees. “They need to know about the company they’re visiting,” says Janis Cowey, Training Manager for CWS Apartments LLC. “How many people they’re bringing in, and so forth.” The caller should also determine which of that company’s employees are already residents at his property, so he can drop them into conversation by name.
The next consideration in planning outreach marketing is how to make the initial contact. While popping in unannounced may work in some cases, many of our trainers suggested getting permission to visit, or even a scheduled appointment, before showing up. “I think it shows respect for the person you’re visiting to actually make an appointment,” says Pam Newsom. Regardless of how the first contact is made, almost all our trainers said the timing of it is important. Callers should steer clear of Mondays, which are notoriously busy. Fridays may also be questionable, according to some of our experts, since it is a day many people take off. Other trainers, however, say that Friday is a good choice. “Fridays are nice,” says Sandra Barfield, “because most people have a more casual and receptive attitude that day.” Time of day is also worth considering when planning calls, with mornings favored over afternoons. “In the mornings, people are in better moods,” says Janis Cowey. “They haven’t had time to have a bad day yet.”
Getting the Supplies Together
In addition to helping trainees devise a plan for their calls, our trainers teach them what to take along on those calls. Carolina Castillo, Training Manager for Western National Group, lists “being prepared” as the number-one essential for making a successful marketing call, saying that callers should go into every call armed with all the available information about his or her product. This might include property brochures, virtual tours on CD-ROMs, floor plans, rate sheets, and leasing criteria, as well as copies of any particularly good press coverage your community may have received. Pam Newsom and Janis Cowey also suggest putting together material on the surrounding community—such as information on schools, churches, shopping, recreation, and so forth. “People are leaning more toward choosing a neighborhood, not just a home,” says Pam Newsom. “They want to feel that they are a part of the community, so it’s important to position your property in relation to the larger community.”
A nice touch is to preface all your material with a personalized cover letter, according to Sandra Barfield. Sandra suggests tailoring collateral information to each specific callee, with a cover page showing specific benefits. If your company offers any preferred employer incentive, that information should also go into the cover letter.
Once all the pertinent material has been assembled, it should be packaged neatly, attractively, and in such a way that it is easy to keep together (i.e., in a three-ring binder, a pocket folder, a display box, or a customized file folder). Keep in mind that there are different ways your material might be used, and plan accordingly. For example, say you are leaving material with an HR representative of an area employer. The HR representative might keep your material on hand in the office, to share with onsite employees or she might send packets of it out to relocating employees. In this case, perhaps you’d be wise to leave a brochure display (or perhaps a three-ring binder with your materials in page protectors) and a number of information packets that can be handed or mailed out. The more options you provide, the more likely it is that your material will get seen.
Many of our training experts also suggest bringing along a small “goody” for callees, preferably something with the community’s name and/or logo on it, such as a customized coffee mug full of candy or snacks.
During the Visit
Training individuals to conduct outreach marketing means first making sure they understand their long-range goal: Building a relationship with the callee. For the caller, that means developing rapport and trust is every bit as important as making the immediate pitch. “It’s all about building a relationship…that’s where you see success,” says Pam Newsom. Janis Cowey agrees. “Continuity is good. It’s good if the same person goes in every time,” she says. “If different people go in all the time, they don’t build the relationship they need to build.”
The cornerstone of a long-term relationship, of course, is the initial visit. That’s why it’s so important for callers to make a good first impression. Our training experts offered a number of tips that novice callers should remember to ensure a smooth first visit:
1. Be prepared. Callers should know what they’re going to say before they make the call. If they feel uncomfortable, they should practice in front of a mirror or with a colleague until it sounds and looks natural.
2. Be brief. Callers should remember that the person they are talking to is probably busy and pressed for time. “Keep the information simple and to the point,” says Sandra Barfield.”
3. Be specific. Callers should tailor their presentation directly to the company they are visiting, mentioning employees who already live at their property and how happy they are.
4. Be explicit. Rather than just dropping off their materials and hoping for the best, callers should explicitly ask their callees for action. A simple “Would you include this information in your relocation packages?” or “Would you please pass this along to any employee who is looking for a new home?” should do the trick.
5. Be persistent. Sandra Barfield says that while callers should respect the word “no,” they should not let it stop them. “Try different avenues to get inside the company,” she says.
6. Be confident. This may be both the hardest point to master and the most important! Callers should go into a call filled with self-confidence, expecting to get results. Carolina Castillo sums it up when she says, “Don’t be afraid…just do it!”
Training Techniques
Now that we’ve looked at what trainees must know to make successful marketing calls, let’s look briefly at how some of our trainers go about teaching these essentials.
Our trainers provided a whole grab-bag of techniques, from tele-training sessions to one-on-one role playing. “Most people just need help in getting a plan together, so marketing workshops or sessions are useful in helping them get started,” says Sandra Barfield. “At Trammell Crow Residential Services, we use the brainstorming format for our marketing workshop, which gets participants involved and boosts their confidence. Typically they leave with a set of ideas and a plan in place, plus enthusiasm to hit the ground running.”
Another commonly used method of training for marketing calls is shadowing: getting a “newbie’s” feet wet by sending him or her out on calls with a seasoned pro. Pam Newsom uses a combination of group training and shadowing to get her trainees ready. “Hands-on experience is best,” she says. “So I typically do some group training, then go with an individual on a call. On the call, I would introduce the individual as the contact person for the property, and get a rapport going.”
Whatever techniques they favored, all the trainers’ shared the same end goal: to provide trainees with a plan for outreach marketing efforts and comfort level needed to follow through on that plan. All seemed to agree that being prepared and being confident are the two keys to successful outreach marketing!
Special Note: This article was written a over a year ago so the people quoted may have changed positions within their company or within the industry.
Outreach without Cold Calls
It is imperative, as a Marketing Manager, to consistently come up with new and effective ideas to increase traffic resulting in more new leases. When the property owners asked me to start marketing all the businesses in my town, I wanted to come up with a plan that did not involve cold calling. With any type of direct marketing, it is easier if you know someone and who better than our own residents.
Every Monday morning, the Property Managers at each community fax me copies of applications of all the move-ins from the previous week. I then highlight where they work and I schedule an appointment on my weekly calendar to visit them at their work place. When visiting the new resident, I am able to welcome them in person with a bag of goodies with assortment of colorful balloons attached that say we love our residents and welcome home. The bags have our company logo on it, and it includes a mouse pad, work out towel, cozies, candy and cookies. The purpose of this marketing strategy is threefold:
• Creating a lasting positive impression on the new resident.
• Impressing coworkers that will lead to discussions about our communities.
• Making a contact with the human resource department for future marketing efforts.
Since I have implemented this program three months ago, we have increased our occupancy by 5% and we have experienced an increase in our corporate referrals. We also have had a great response from the residents and the businesses that we visit. Our residents feel very special that we have taken time out of our schedule to make them feel welcomed.
I have been in the apartment industry for several years and one thing I have learned what you need to implement ideas that separate you from the competition. My success in this marketing program has been tremendous, and I know it will be an instrumental tool for this industry.
Contributed by: Gita R. Tollette, Marketing Training and Recruiting Manager
Eight Ways to Improve the Performance of Your Referral Strategy
Feb 18th
Are your communities hearing from friends, coworkers and family of former residents? You should be, but it takes a powerful referral strategy to make that happen.
Imagine this likely scenario: John Doe leased an apartment, and two years later, he purchased a home. Two months later, his brother called to find out about an apartment, and signed a lease. Not long after, a co-worked called to find out about a 2-bedroom apartment, and signed a lease. That co-worker has a family, and friends, and other co-workers, and so the chain continues.
The moral of this story is that the best new business comes from old business; but referrals don’t happen all by themselves. They’re the result of a great referral strategy that’s founded on building great relationships with your residents.
Is your focus on devoting the best possible service to your residents? Are you making meaningful contact with them, and actively managing that relationship to make sure that it stays strong and positive?
We’ve heard from thousands of successful communities who continually receive referrals because they understand that to receive the best possible benefit of bringing a new resident into your community – i.e. leasing an apartment, retaining that resident, and encouraging them to help you find even more great residents just like them – you have to not only lease an apartment. You have to build a strong and positive relationship. Here are a few relationship-building tips to help you fine-tune your referral strategy!
1. Develop a plan. In order to make your relationships yield the most (and best) referrals, you’re going to need a plan. A referral promotion is a great way to remind your residents, and even previous residents, that you’re looking for others like them. This includes regular reminders to not only your residents, but also to previous residents.
Action: We’ve heard from communities who say they’ve received the best referral results by posting and distributing quarterly reminders to their residents, local employers, relocation companies, locators, and human resource departments; and sending bi-annual cards or postcards to previous residents. It doesn’t have to take more than an hour or so per month, but make certain that your plan includes emails, phone calls and handwritten notes. There’s no substitute for the personal touch.
2. Be a Resource. The most successful communities implement this ideal across the board, whether they’re serving someone who just called in a phone inquiry, or a long-time resident. It’s also one of the most impressive ways to set your community apart from the crowd. Know all about your neighborhood so that you’re armed and ready to provide the absolute best, on-the-spot service, information, and advice. Toni Blake calls this the “Village” approach, because your community borders aren’t the end-all and be-all of the lifestyle that you offer. That park around the corner, fabulous café down the block, and the farmer’s market that’s within walking distance are all part of what makes your community special enough to refer others to!
Action: You don’t necessarily need a community concierge to serve as your one-stop information source. Providing information is a job that can be shared among your team, or it can even be the passive function of an “information directory” that sits on the coffee table in your leasing center. Just research, gather, and keep as much information handy as you can – menus, brochures, flyers, coupons, business cards, price lists, maps, schedules, phone books, you name it – for whomever might ask. Share this information with your residents as actively as you can, because the more they know about and use the resources around them, the happier they’ll be as a resident of your community, and the more likely they’ll be to invite others in! Don’t be afraid to ask the other businesses in your “village” to help you spoil your residents with coupons or gifts – every new resident in your community is a new customer for them!
3. Exceed Expectations. Speaking of ways to set yourself apart from the crowd, let’s talk about how to not just make a resident happy, but blow their mind entirely. Providing great service is fundamental to your success, but honestly, residents expect great service. When you exceed their expectations by providing superior service or outstanding attention to detail, it makes an impact on their relationship with you that’s tough to beat.
Action: It’s surprisingly easy to do. Just imagine the appropriate response in any situation, then go one better. Don’t just say thanks – once in a while, send flowers. Don’t just file the finished paperwork – call personally to follow-up. Don’t just smile – give them a compliment and call them by name. Residents are most inspired to tell others about you when your resident-retention efforts (especially where service is concerned) exceed their expectations in at least one of the following ways: by providing service in ways that are faster, more convenient, and possibly fun, or with some added-value benefit your competition doesn’t offer. You’re certain to stand out from any competition when you are the first community to provide some of these points of difference. Competitors who institute your “extras” will be copycats, playing catch-up to you. Once you have accomplished this, you can inspire residents to refer their friends and colleagues to your community. By doing so, they can gain “bragging rights” for showing others what a wonderful community they live in… YOURS!
4. Keep it up. Your relationship with resident doesn’t end with the signing of a lease. It’s just beginning. Make sure they know that you’re in it for the long haul. You and your team are there for them, whether they have a maintenance issue or just need to know which dry cleaner can get a red wine stain out of a silk blouse.
Action: Start big on day one. Don’t underestimate the impact of pizza or sandwiches and cold sodas on moving day. Put toilet paper in all of the bathrooms and paper towels in the kitchen. Leave a bag of ice in the freezer or turn the icemaker on and leave a card that lets them know that it’s fresh ice. One of our favorite tips is to place a sign in front of the closest parking space for 48-hours that reads “This space is reserved for the next 48 hours for your new neighbor”. Make sure that the things that you do are supporting the relationship building process. Take a close look at your move-in gifts, and if they’re not making move-in easier, or enriching the experience of living in your community, make some changes now. Now, here’s the tough part. Don’t wait until their next big event to make that same kind of a great impression, like when they have their first maintenance emergency or worse yet, when renewal time rolls around. KEEP IN TOUCH! Call within 48 hours after they have moved into their new home and ask for feedback. Send a note after they have lived in the community for 2 weeks; contact them again with a note or by phone in three months, and then call or write again three months later. Each note, card, or reason for calling should convey the message loud and clear that they’re appreciated, and that you care enough to make sure they’re happy living in your community.
5. Create a sense of community. Mailings and phone calls can make a positive impact on a resident, but nothing like the overall experience of being a part of your community. The best thing about building a sense of “neighborhood” among your residents is that you don’t only have to rely on the things that are included within the confines of your community. You have, as a rich resource, the resources, character, and offerings of your surrounding area. Build ties between your community and the surrounding area in order to build and strengthen your presence within your marketplace. This not only makes your residents feel like real neighbors instead of co-inhabitants; but it makes your residents, surrounding neighbors, and local business establishments more aware of your presence – and more likely to refer others!
Action: Get out there and meet, greet and get to know the businesses in your area. Remember, more residents for you means more customers for them. Even your competitors might be willing to work out a referral arrangement, provided it’s a mutually beneficial one. Meet the people who make their homes in your neighborhood! Host holiday parties and seasonal events that are open not only to residents, but to the surrounding community. Work at least one charity event into your schedule that benefits a local organization. Plan resident appreciation events that capitalize on your community involvement (i.e. a plant sale that includes a “Patio of the Quarter” contest). Is it worth the time and dollar investment? You bet! Building great relationships doesn’t cost. It pays… in referrals and more!
6. No matter what it is, do it right – preferably the first time. There is an old adage that we have heard time and time again “you never get a second chance to make a first impression“. No matter what your residents need or expect, do it right. Here’s the rule: give your residents great reasons to refer, and never give them a reason not to! Why are people more likely to tell others about a bad experience than a good one? Because bad experiences make BIG impressions. When your actions and your efforts to prove to residents that you care about them and their home make equally BIG impressions, you can bet they’ll tell their friends, relatives and associates.
Action: From the very start of the relationship building process, listen carefully. Get the correct pronunciation of their name. Understand their wants, needs, and concerns. Make the move-in easier. Keep in touch. Fix it when it’s broken.
7. Come right out and ask. There are two schools of thought when it comes to asking for referrals. Many people feel that it’s a good policy to never overtly ask for a referral, because it makes a resident or previous resident feel used, and nobody wants to be used. The other school of thought feels that happy residents should be happy to contribute to your success; and that it gives them a sense of ownership to know that they have an influence over who might become their neighbor in the future. We hold with the second school of thought. Happy residents will be more than happy to volunteer a referral, if asked… but like all things worth doing, there’s a right way to go about it.
Action: Make it without question that your reason for keeping in touch with your residents is because you genuinely care about them. You want them to be satisfied not only because it’s in your best interest for them to stay, but truly because you want them to have a home that they’ll always be happy with. Do that first, and do it well; and while you’re at it: once in a while, put out a referral door hanger; mention in every newsletter that referrals are always welcome; offer a reward if the local law allows. Make your request for referrals something that you do in addition to relationship building; not in place of it.
8. For heaven’s sake – don’t forget to say thanks! A resident who is willing to refer others to your community is an invaluable resource, so treat them that way! Showing appreciation is not only the appropriate thing to do when somebody helps you close a several-thousand-dollar sale, but it’s the key continuing to receive referrals. Even if you pay a referral fee, send a personal thank you note.Even if they don’t lease the apartment you need to call to say thanks and let them know how the meeting with their friend, family member, or associate went. Make a big, appreciative fuss about the wonderful thing your resident has done. Send flowers, buy a gift certificate for lunch, or give tickets to a show or athletic event; and if you find yourself asking whether the added expense of a thank you gift is really necessary, stop to consider the lifetime value of a happy resident, not to mention one who continues to refer others! The current consumer trend is to reward your residents with a memorable event that they want to tell even more people about. An example of this would be to give them tickets to a “backstage” event. This gives your resident bragging rights about your community.
Here’s one great example of a program that you can use to improve the performance of your referral strategy!
Replace Yourself Program
Contributed by Sara Soleymani
Congratulations on the purchase of your new home! Do you need some extra cash for closing cost or moving expense? All you have to do is refer a friend to Arlington Park to rent your apartment home. If your friend leases your apartment home you will receive a check for $000. It’s that easy!!!
Here’s how the program works:
1. The prospect must tell the leasing associate on their first visit that you referred them.
2. They must lease your apartment home before you move out.
3. You must give proper notice according to your lease.
4. You must provide proof of purchase of you new home.
5. You will receive your check for $000 at your new home within thirty days of your friend moving in. Don’t forget to leave your forwarding address.
See, I told you it was easy! If you have any questions, please call the leasing office at 555-5555.
*This program expires on <Month> <Day> <Year>.