Apartment Leasing
Every Leasing Desk Should be Round
I have read on more than one occasion that a square desk lends to the idea of authority over subordinate because a round desk typically raises active participation.
I have also read on more than one occasion that all transaction based discussions are better conducted at a round table.
It all makes sense to me.
How about you?
Your considering installing round leasing desks from now on Multifamily maniac,
M
The Anti-Pushy Sales Approach
Today’s guest post comes to us from Crystal Gluszek over at ZenRoommate.
Be Unforgettable
In my 15 Years of Multi-Family Management I have perfected what I like to call the “Anti-Pushy” sales approach.
I tour my clients like a best friend who is visiting from out-of-state. Not only do I show features and benefits of my community I also sell “that” feeling.
The feeling that I want them to live here but I don’t need them to live here because I am cool, confident and secure that my sales approach will close the deal.
I even like to add that “we don’t use any high pressure sales techniques here, because we don’t have to” which by proxy says that communities who do…need to for some reason and it’s not good. (Insert diabolical laugh here)
I feel the bond between the client and myself being made and I know that they’ll sign the lease now or be back tomorrow. I send a quick follow-up asking about how their cat or dog feels about the apartments they have narrowed down. Maybe even say “Fido called me and wants to live here” so I add a sense of quirkiness to what can be a mundane process and this becomes my approach.
I tell my agents to stay professional and stay fun and create an experience. After all isn’t everything we do about creating an experience your clients will relate to being home.
So my message is Be Unforgettable.
Crystal Gluszek
Zenroommate.Com Co-Founder and Multi-Family Fanatic
Zenroommate
What we do is simple. We help you search for roommates using several different areas of compatibility, providing the opportunity for a more streamlined match.
We also allow Landlords and Realtors to list units that would be perfect for a roommate setting; condos, rooms for rent, house shares and more can be seen by people who may have an interest in filling that vacancy.
LIKE us at WWW.Facebook.Com/Zenroommate or Follow us at WWW.Twitter.Com/Zenroommate
Distractions
There are distractions all around us. How easy is it to get lost in a status or tweet stream review? How easy is it to get caught up in a conversation that is not really moving your business forward? How easy is it to get into the busy and forget about the important stuff?
What do you spend your time on?
What is the first thing you do when you get up in the morning? If you are like most you grab the phone sitting beside your bed. Or you scramble to find it buried between the sheets because you fell asleep reading something.
Focus is fast becoming the number on asset of excellent knowledge age worker. Property management professionals everywhere – it’s time to raise the stakes. It’s time to lay the phone down and get some serious quality work done.
Now before you start defending your opinion on the subject – let me say this. I’m not suggesting you put the phone in the drawer and ignore for the full day. I am suggesting you set blocks of time whereby you ignore the incoming text messages, emails and phone calls. Ignore the status updates and the urge to kill the next round of angry birds or fill in your word for a friend.
Raise the stakes and make some good work happen.
My guess – if you are looking to differentiate yourself from the pack; the skill of focus will be your linchpin.
Your always raising the stakes multifamily maniac,
M
Abolish Leasing Commissions
I am 100% convinced that leasing commissions need to go away.
They are a long survived sacred cow and serve no real purpose in the way of motivating people to lease more apartments or more importantly – serving people.
My solution – pay people a fair wage and tie 10% of that to your companies year over year same store revenue growth or some like kind metric.
Leasing Consultant Question of the Year
“Can I move these people?”
This is the question of the year. Posed in Daniel Pink’s newest book: To Sell is Human – The Surprising Truth About Moving Others.
Bob the Builder
If you have children – you likely related to this section heading. Bob the Builder is an animated children’s program where Bob is the lead character. And to cut to the chase, Bob employs a practice that every leasing consultant on the planet earth should blend into their sales routine. It’s called interrogative self-talk.
Interrogative Self-Talk
Before you run off and starting talking about how Mike Brewer drank the kool-aid. It’s not that look in the mirror and tell yourself how you are so smart you are Stuart Smalley “…and doggonit people like me” kind of stuff.
It’s the, “what the hell am I going to do to move these people to love and transact with me?” kind of stuff.
Can I Move These People to Lease?
Short and sweet why behind the what. When you pump yourself up, you may or may not win. You may or may not get the sale. You may or may not endure for the day. When you question yourself, your mind has no choice but to produce answers.
Daniel suggests that you ask yourself if you can move the people headed in to partake in your apartment demonstration experience. The otherwise positive answer to that question is – Yes. And your mind has no choice but to get access to the data banks for every reason that is true.
The critical step for you is – write that stuff down. Write down the answers to the interrogation. Dan says to list five reasons – I say overdo it. Go for ten. Include #gameon as the default #1 answer. Do it to humor me and to help you!
By doing so, you will remind yourself of the very things you need to do to make the experience so fitting that the person has no choice but to lease from you.
Your interrogate the stuffing out of yourself this year multifamily maniac,
M
