Follow Ups

I am fairly new to the industry and only been working for my first multifamily apartment community since the end of July. My question here is on follow ups, what are some ideas or practices you all use when conducting them? What questions do you ask when you are calling them back. I have been trying to find an easy and smooth way to go about them but I always seem to stumble with my overall follow up presentation. Any ideas?

This is easy...get a product like Dynamic Lead Solutions or Lead Tracking Solutions....they really make it easy and fool proof to make sure that all leads are followed up on in a timely manner. They can also give you scripts to use....taking care of that stumbling problem......over time, you will surely have your own rythmn.

Robert, most properties train leasing personnel that follow-up with Prospects is vital and necessary. I once had a Leasing Professional contact a potential Resident every day until he finally came in to rent and sign a lease. It almost bordered on stalking, I told her. (It worked for her that time, but I don't encourage that ... though I asked him later and he said she was just so darn cute trying to get her first lease he couldn't let her down. Turns out he was a great Resident!) Anyway, you have to start with a complete contact list, usually obtained from the Guest Card. Always ask the Prospect how he wants to be contacted. Some people going through or THINKING about divorcing their spouse will not want you to call them at home or send them mail.

After a Prospect leaves your property, you need to think about why he did not apply then. It could be that the Prospect is looking to move in three or four months and you told him you have no idea what will be available that far out; or, you had nothing to show in that floor plan; or, pricing was higher than what he wanted. For me, I want the Leasing Professional to understand and analyze reasons "people did not lease" and then this is what I teach:

1. Write a thank you note and mail it immediately (to be received in a couple of days)
2. Send an email/text with some piece of info you "forgot to mention" within an hour (if possible)or a "Thanks for stopping by XYZ Apartments."
3. If you haven't heard from the Prospect by the time they said they "would let you know" then call them!

And here is where it gets tricky, I think. When you are new, sometimes you have not learned to "read" people's signals and body language during a tour. Buying signals occur throughout the tour: it's when they start arranging their furniture in the vacant apartment; when they want to see the exact location of "their" perfect apartment; when they begin discussing what great recipe they want to try out in this kitchen/oven; how their friends will love coming to spend time at the pool, etc. If you have received these definite tips the Prospect wants to live in your community, then you can keep following up with them until they lease (without being obnoxious). But I think you need to know your customer - understand that many Seniors will come kick the tires every month or so until they can commit because they may approach the move carefully, slowly (change is hard) and reverently, so you may need to stroke them for months. Many times, with these Prospects, I write short, friendly letters and talk about one of our common interests and enclose a card each time. By the time they rent, I can tell you almost everything about these new Residents!

One thing I feel to be true now, though, is that many of the Generation X & Y renters make up their minds pretty quickly and if they don't rent right away and you send them a text or email and get no response, I don't waste my time following up every day or week. Those renters usually, in my experience, will come right out and take an application and give a deposit or hold fee at my communities because they understand the apartment will be gone if they don't, plus they want to lease, move in and get on with their lives.

I would also advise you to check with your Manager or Regional trainers and marketing department on their specialized tips specific to your company.

Robert the biggest factor in effective follow ups is timeliness. A huge percentage of leads are lost as a result of waiting too long to follow up. The potential resident will be honest about where they are at in their decision. I would make good notes on the prospects hot buttons and then use those points in your follow up call. We see a huge conversion of prospective leads simply because the leasing professional was more timely in their follow up then the community across the street. Hope that helps!

I LOVE follow ups for the simple fact that I get to learn what works, what does not and I get to practice my sales skills a little bit more on the person. I have learned what my work with an older crowd is not going to work with a younger crowd. One of the keys to following up is to make contact within an hour of them leaving this can be done by text messages, phone call, video message or email. My favorite follow up to do is a video message of me in the apartment they viewed standing in the room or are that was their favorite. This gives them a chance to look at the "hot spot" again and shows that you really were paying attention to what they were saying to you. Keep it sweet/simple about 30 seconds. Also mail a thank you post card in the snail mail only because not everyone does this and it will grab their attention. Remember you want to memorable in everything you do with your prospects and residents. I had to laugh about Mindy leasing agent that was stalking a resident because I have been known to do that. If they don't have a clue on what they are going to do try to make contact with them in some way every day for a week, If they still don't have a clue or have not told you to bug off then I contact twice a week. Sometimes people just need to know that they mater to you. Remember what Mindy said it is very important to ask how they preferred to be contacted. When a person says they decided to go another direction do not hesitate to ask why they chose the other place. Also hold onto your guest cards and go back over them every quarter and do a follow up on those that did not lease with you. This way you are still staying in the back of their minds and if they are unhappy with their current living situation they will come to you first. If you need any more help please feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn, MFI and Facebook (FLY Apartment Leasing Ideas). Also if you want a little extra help in follow ups/retaining the prospects check out The Training Factors business page they have great affordable classes-no I do not work for them I just love their classes and have learned a ton of great things from them. Good Luck!

We make sure to follow up everyday trying to achieve a weekly goal set by our manager. We call them, email them and write letters following up. It is amazing how many prospects still tell me I was the only one to follow up with them. Just saying.