The backbone of any thriving apartment community is its leasing agents. They are the gatekeepers for the type of residents that will make up the community and also keep the revenue coming in to ensure everything is able to operate at its highest level. A great leasing agent is also a great sales person, although there are certain sales techniques that are unique to the leasing professional.
Below we have outlined the Top 5 Sales Techniques for Leasing Professionals!
1. Painting the Picture for the Potential Resident
The product that a leasing professional is “selling” is the potential lifestyle a resident could live at the apartment community they work for. The leasing professional wants to be able to paint a picture with words of what life is like on their property. This is especially helpful since most initial contacts by future residents are over the phone. If the “picture” is vivid enough, the potential resident is sure to want to come by and see the property for themselves!
2. Pointing out the Things They Want and Not the Things They Don’t
When a potential resident is visiting an apartment community, they are looking for certain things. If you can tell that the prospect is fitness-orientated, you will want to point out the 24-hour fitness center and the age and type of machines along with any other activities they might be interested in. You don’t want to point out the timely maintenance response times your property prides themselves on or the awesome dog-park your property has if they don’t have a pet or seem to care about maintenance issues. By using this method, you make it seem like the apartment community was MADE for them and not that you are giving them a standard tour.
3. Knowing When It’s Not a Good Fit
Not every person that walks or calls into the leasing office is a good candidate to be a future resident. This is a great opportunity to partner with other communities that you can refer people to (more importantly they can refer people to YOU) that would be more appropriate for the resident’s lifestyle. Examples of this include pet-friendly, family-friendly, party-friendly, younger/older, and eco-friendly properties. If your property is great for families, make sure you are partnered with a property that is great for singles so you can refer potential residents back in forth that meet that criteria.
4. Acknowledging Problems
Acknowledging problems is one of the most awkward part of the sales process for a leasing professional. You want to make sure to not cover anything up that can later get you a bad review from a resident that will not renew their lease. If your property is going through some growing pains or has an on-going issue (such as noise level from a neighboring business), make sure you find an appropriate time to mention these things to the potential resident. They will appreciate your honesty.
5. Listening
Listening can be one of the hardest skills for a leasing professional to master. However, it is the most IMPORTANT skill you can have because it allows you to properly implement the above 4 tactics. Without listening, you have no idea who the potential resident is and what they really care about. Remember to take a moment to allow the prospect to speak and make sure to ask open ended (non “yes” or “no”) questions to get them chatting.
By using the above five techniques, the leasing professional is sure to have their apartment community at capacity with happy and thriving residents all year round!