A customer doesn’t want a drill bit.
He wants a hole.
That’s what Home Depot’s founder reminded one of his team members when they got stuck selling features instead of purpose.
We do the same thing in multifamily.
When a prospect walks into your leasing office, they are not looking for 900 square feet and an in-unit washer and dryer.
They are looking for confidence.
They are looking for stability, identity, independence, maybe even reinvention.
They want to sleep peacefully at night.
They want to wake up to light pouring in through oversized windows and feel proud to invite their parents over.
They want a place that makes them feel alive, not a floor plan that fits their furniture.
You’re missing the point if you walk them through amenities before asking what their life looks like on a Tuesday at 7 p.m.
We have to stop selling the drill bit.
Stop talking about features and start talking about outcomes.
People don’t lease apartments—they pursue a feeling.
That feeling could be relief.
It could be status.
It could be safety.
Your talk about your community should mirror the story already unfolding in their heads.
When we align with their story, we become guides.
And guides win trust faster than any feature pitch.
“They’re not buying square footage. They’re buying how that square footage makes them feel.” — Mike Brewer
Next time someone walks in, don’t ask how many bedrooms they need.
Ask them what they want their life to feel like.
And then—give them the hole.