Quick Tips for Successful Telephone Presentations By Tami Siewruk

Great Telephone Techniques Require That You Close Each Step of the Way

Close, close, close! Getting the future resident to say yes several times throughout the verbal presentation increases your chances of getting them to say yes to the appointment. The future resident cannot argue with his or her own logic. The most successful leasing professionals give future residents the opportunity to commit to the appointment throughout the verbal presentation. After you describe the apartment ask, “Does that sound like the type of apartment you’ve been looking for?” If you’ve applied your descriptive skills successfully to paint an inviting image, they’ll be hard pressed not to agree. Once they have said “yes!” move on to providing them with a few highlights about the community that they may have expressed an interest in, again, making your description as inviting as possible. Next, ask “Does that sound like the type of community you have been looking for?” Pausing at several points throughout your verbal presentation to asking closing questions lays the foundation for your invitation to visit. If they have said yes to the apartment and then to the community, how could they say no to visiting and seeing both in person?

The Final Close - Setting the Appointment

By the time you’re ready to set the appointment, they’ll have already said yes (committed to the apartment and the community) 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 like to invite you to visit our community and would 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 3:15? Give your future resident an either/or choice all the way through the appointment setting process. Notice that I offered either/or choices for every detail of the appoint except the most basic question of whether or not to visit. I’ve simply assumed that they would, then promptly moved on to setting the date. Let me give you a real life example of the benefits of the either/or choice in action.  At dinnertime, if I simply ask my son Zachary what he wants to drink, the answer is more than likely to be soda. Because I want him to have something healthy, I ask him if he wants “milk or apple juice”. In offering him a choice, I give him the sense of control that is important to him; but by defining his options, I maintain control of his ultimate decision.  Because I want the future resident to visit my community, the choice to visit or not to visit isn’t brought into question at all; but to ensure that the future resident maintains a sense of control over the situation, either/or choices are offered in every other option of the appointment setting process. You will also notice that I used odd times in the options that I presented in my example — 1:45 or 3:15. Odd times are easier to remember than on-the-hour or half-hour appointments, so I use this to my advantage whenever my schedule allows.

Ask For Their Telephone Number

The next step, and a vital key to increasing your telephone-to-traffic ratio, is obtaining the future resident’s telephone number. This will allow you to confirm the appointment (or reschedule in the event of unforeseen circumstances), and follow-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 future residents are happy to help you help them! Try “Nancy, just in case something comes up, may I please have a number where I can reach you?”

Ask for Their Mailing Address, Fax number and/or Email Address

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. “Where would you like me to mail it?”  Let’s say the future resident is going to visit the community within the next 24 hours and there is no way the package will make it to them in time. I then ask for a fax number or email address: “Sally, I would really like to send you directions to the community along with a copy of the floor plan that we discussed today. Is there a fax number or e-mail address where you can be reached right now?” If your community isn’t online, then of course just ask for the fax number.

Providing Directions

Always provide directions to both the apartment community and the leasing center. Directions should be given slowly, allowing the future resident ample time to write them down. Provide the telephone number (even though the future resident called you) so that they can write the number on the same piece of paper as the directions. Whenever time permits, a leasing professional should fax or mail a community information package that includes a map with written directions to the community. Providing the GPS coordinates of your community can also be very helpful, considering that many late model cars now come equipped with Global Positioning System navigation capability. Visit www.mapsonus.com to determine your community’s GPS Coordinates. The same web site also allows you to create a customized map especially for each future resident. This takes just a few minutes and never fails to impress.

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.