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Reading Room Articles
When you hold any position in property management that requires you to answer a telephone, chances are better than good that when the phone rings, there's either a resident or prospect on the other end of it. For those of us that are Leasing Professionals, with leasing in the first line of our job descriptions, leasing is our number one goal no matter how we come into contact with the prospect - but the odds are overwhelmingly in favor of that contact first occurring over the telephone. The fact is, at least four out of every five of your residents first came into contact with your community over the telephone. This is so important; I'm going to say it again. AT LEAST FOUR OUT OF FIVE OF YOUR RESIDENTS FIRST CAME INTO CONTACT WITH YOUR COMMUNITY OVER THE TELEPHONE! Let's put the numbers into perspective and take a closer look. The statistic is that four out of five residents began their relationship with you via telephone. Out of the scores (if not hundreds) of calls that your community receives in a week's time - resulting typically in several visits, at least an equal number of lost opportunities, and a few signed leases - at least four out of five of those few signed leases first began as one of those scores (if not hundreds) of phone calls. How might your telephone-to-traffic, and ultimately your leasing ratio, be affected if you were to truly concentrate on turning more of those scores of calls into visits (with less lost opportunities). How much more effective might the resulting visits be if they're built on flawless first impressions? The answer is that your closing ratio can skyrocket, and your presentations can be enormously successful, if you use the telephone to its best advantage. Are you taking full advantage of the opportunity that each telephone call represents? Do you start selling the minute you answer? Is the telephone's ring an interruption to your day? Do you answer just to make it SHUT UP? Do you take the time with every prospect to schedule a visit to your community? When you're busy, do you rush the conversation just to get back to whatever you were doing? Do you try to get to know the prospect? Build rapport? Get his or her telephone number? Qualify them? Ask how they heard about your community? Grab your prospect's full attention? Make the conversation memorable? Few of us can honestly answer "yes" to every one of the questions that I just asked, but I think I've made my point clearly: there's more to answering the telephone than merely saying, "Good morning, Magic Apartments, this is Leasing Linda." Leasing Linda's SECRET # 1: Catchy answering phrases seem to be all the rage with businesses lately. "This-is-Blah-Blahblah-at-XYZ-apartments-where-blah-blah-blah-and-blah-blah-blah!" To be honest, I never remember the person's name, much less what else was said - if I even understood it in the first place because they said it so fast! Don't you hate that? Let's take a moment to understand what actually happens when someone makes a phone call. While the telephone is ringing, most people daydream or their mind wanders. Does yours? When the telephone is answered and a voice is heard, our attention then goes back to what we were doing. Keeping this in mind will help you to use your opening phrase to its best advantage. Try, "Hi, (short pause) this is Linda at XYZ Apartments. I can help you!" This phrase yields several positive results: 1. The "Hi!" followed by a short pause, grabs their attention. 2. By the time the community's name is said, the person calling is ready to start remembering. 3. "I can help you" says that you are competent and ready to help. I don't know about you, but I'm tired of calling people who aren't sure right off the bat that they can help me. If I didn't want help, I wouldn't have called! "I can help you!" is a positive statement, whereas "Can I help you?" or "May I help you?" imply doubt on the part of the professional, and leave doubts in the caller's mind. Leasing Linda's SECRET # 2: A prospect will more than likely ask you one of these questions: 1. How much are your ___ bedrooms? 2. Do you have a ___ bedroom available? 3. I'd like some information about your ___ bedroom. 4. I'm interested in a ___ bedroom. Any of these questions or any question that is asking for your expertise should be answered with: "Great, I'd be happy to give you that information! My name is ___, and yours?" WRITE IT DOWN AND USE IT! IT WORKS! This lets the prospect know that you are going to give them the information that they are asking for, and places you in control of the conversation. Secondly, you'll easily obtain the prospect's name. It's important to roll your R's on the word Yourrrrs, and say it in a friendly, curious tone of voice. This leads the prospect into giving their name. Don't ask "What's your name?" or "Who am I speaking to?" because both statements tend to sound inquisitory in nature, no matter how friendly your tone of voice, and you probably won't get much in return but a flat "All I want is the price." SECRET # 3: Keep a pen and paper handy. Write down every detail that the prospect gives you, throughout your conversation, and use it. Your goal is to set up an appointment. If you listen carefully, you'll also learn plenty about the prospect that will help you to personalize your presentation and/or follow-up. SECRET # 4: The first four sentences you speak will determine whether your prospect will want to listen to your presentation, so select those sentences carefully. I dislike scripts, BUT… the first four sentences should be well thought out, and rehearsed to the point that they sound quite natural when spoken aloud. Practice with a friend or fellow Leasing Professional who can offer an objective opinion. SECRET # 5: Ask permission to ask the prospect questions. I have a favorite phrase that I like to use as my second or third sentence: " ___, If you'll give me just a few minutes to ask you a few questions, I'll be able to tell you about an apartment that may fit your needs, but first, may I ask how you heard about our community?" This allows you to explain why you need a few minutes of their time, asks their permission to continue, and lets the prospect know that your goal is to make certain they find the apartment that is right for them. This act of consideration puts you steps ahead of the competition and puts the prospect at ease - and it helps you to determine the marketing source while you're at it! Use the personal approach… it works every time! SECRET # 6: Qualify. This is the most difficult part of your telephone conversation because the selling effort has already begun. Qualifying will help you determine the needs and wants of your prospect and will also give you an idea of whether this prospect will meet your community's requirements. Here are the qualifying questions I use, and I recommend that they be posed to the prospect in this order: 1. ___, Would you prefer an upstairs or downstairs home? 2. Do you have any oversized or extra furniture? 3. Is there a predominant color in your furniture that we might be able to complement with a specific carpet color? 4. Are you looking for anything special in your new home? These questions will develop a rapport with your prospect and reveal their unique "hot buttons". Most professionals try to qualify the prospect from the start with questions like "How soon do you need it?" etc. Beware of this approach -- qualifying without developing a rapport places you squarely in the "every other community" category. You've heard the old saying: People lease an apartment because of the leasing professional. It's true, so develop the rapport now! 5. How soon will you be moving into our community? 6. Will you be bringing a pet with you? What kind? 7. How many people will be occupying your new home? SECRET # 7: The person asking the questions is in control of the conversation, and you have to be in control before you can effectively set an appointment and obtain the prospect's telephone number for follow-up. Much of your success will rely on effectively using open-ended questions (questions that are designed to elicit more than a "yes" or "no" answer), in much in the same way a doctor does when he is trying to find out why you are sick. Only when you have an full understanding of the prospect's needs can you lease with sincerity and conviction, and you'll only come to that understanding by encouraging them to tell you what they want and need. When you have an understanding of the prospect, you'll then be able to say, " ___, based on your needs and wants, the apartment and community that we have will be perfect for you. Can you visit us today around 4:45?" SECRET # 8: Avoid the temptation to do all the talking. The goals of your telephone conversation are to (1) find out what the prospect wants and needs, (2) ensure them that you can, indeed, meet those specific needs, and (3) schedule a firm appointment so that you can prove to them that your community is what they're looking for. Asking questions, not spouting off features at random, is the only way to uncover the real needs of your prospect. After all, they want you to be able to ensure that your community will provide the specific features and benefits that are important to them -- not the ones YOU feel are important. SECRET # 9: Keep a floor plan in front of you while demonstrating the apartment verbally over the telephone. You must paint an enticing image of the apartment in the prospect's mind order to get them excited and interested enough to visit; and it will be much easier for you to describe the floorplan to them while you're looking at it yourself. Use descriptive and inviting words that paint a picture of them living in the apartment. AVOID the mundane or obvious. (There's no need to point out that the kitchen has a stove, refrigerator, dishwasher, and garbage disposal. Most apartments have them, if yours do not, you certainly don't want to spotlight a shortcoming!) The average telephone demonstration takes as long as five minutes. If you've done a good job in verbally demonstrating the apartment, they'll say YES when you ask, "Does that sound like the type of home you've been looking for?" This virtually seals the prospect's agreement to visit, which is the most important commitment you'll get from them. SECRET # 10: Close, close, close! The most successful sales professionals give prospects the opportunity to commit to the sale throughout the presentation. Pause at several points throughout your presentation, usually every few sentences, and ask a closing question like: "Does this sound like the type of community you've been looking for?" or "Isn't that a great feature / benefit?" or some other question that's likely to elicit a positive response. SECRET # 11: By the time you're ready to set the appointment, they'll have already said "yes" (committed to the sale) enough times that they'd feel foolish denying the chance to see the community and apartment in person. Come right out and ask for the appointment! "Great! ____, I'd be happy to show you this apartment today, or is this weekend more convenient for you? Would you prefer Saturday or Sunday? Morning or afternoon? 1:45 or 3:25?" Give your prospect an either/or choice all the way through the appointment setting process. SECRET # 12: Next, and key to increasing your telephone-to-traffic ratio, is obtaining the prospect's telephone number. This will allow you to confirm the appointment (or reschedule in the event of unforeseen circumstances), and to following-up if necessary. You needn't be afraid to come right out and ask for a telephone number. The worse thing that could happen is that they'll refuse (so what?!?), but the vast majority of prospects are happy to help you help them! Try "Name, just in case something comes up, is there a number where I can reach you?" SECRET # 13: The telephone number was easy, so don't stop there. Now, ask for their address! "I'd like to send you our community's information package so you can see the floor plan I've told you about. What's your mailing address?" If your community is lucky enough to be online, don't miss the chance to obtain the prospect's e-mail address as well! SECRET # 14: Like any finely tuned skill, effective telephone techniques develop with time and experience. Keep these techniques in the forefront of your ongoing training efforts, guard against complacency, and remind your team to view the telephone as the valuable key to success that it truly is! Your telephone is worth its weight in gold, and your telephone-to-traffic ratios will prove it! 
As Chief Imagination Officer of The Sales & Marketing Magic Companies, Tami Siewruk shares more than 20 years of experience in multifamily housing, encompassing leasing, marketing, management, training, authoring, consulting, developing, and Brainstorming! For more information on Tami's newsletter, Sales & Marketing Magic for Apartment Managers; the latest Tools & Forms Catalogue; The Annual Multifamily Housing Brainstorming Sessions™; or to receive Tami's top ideas, FREE, via e-mail, please call 727-784-9469 or visit www.SMMOnline.com. |
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