It takes more than a smile and product knowledge to succeed in leasing and too many sales are being missed simply because of ineffective follow-up.

Did you know that 95% of sales happen after the 5^th attempt?

How do you follow-up with your prospects after your first conversation or after your first appointment?  Do you get so tired of chasing people down that you lose focus and take the lazy approach of calling to "touch base,” or to "check-in,” both of which bring little value?

Here are a few tips to help you create a follow-up strategy that will help you increase the number of leases you’re getting:

1. Commit to Timely Follow-Up-

Follow-up with everyone who visited that day. Don’t let the follow-up, well… pile up. Follow-up works best when it’s fresh in their (and your!) memory and they remember who  you are.

2. Follow-Up Needs to be Consistent-

Not only does follow-up need to be frequent, it needs to be consistent. As with any marketing strategy you choose, if you do not do it on a regular basis and do it haphazardly, then that’s what you’ll get in return – haphazard results. Remember that follow-up is about building a relationship and if people hear from you a couple times and then not for a few months, they’re not going to get a warm, fuzzy feeling about you. Consistently following up shows people that you value them, are reliable and committed to  providing a service to them.

3. Organize Your Time and Keep Up Your Momentum-

Plan a time each day that you will make your calls, send e-mails or follow up notes. Keep going until you set that appointment. Stay focused on your goal. Put your follow-up activity in your day timer or contact management system. I love to use Outlook- I may "snooze" a reminder several times, but my goal is to complete the task before I leave for the day. When you succeed, give yourself a pat on the back for sticking to your goals because creative follow-up takes time and effort.

4. Set a Goal-

In order to set more appointments, you need to commit to a daily goal. Challenge yourself to set one appointment per day from your follow-up calls and watch the leases start coming in.

5. Vary Your Delivery Methods-

Keep your follow-up interesting and keep people intrigued by using different methods of delivery. Incorporate email, telephone, mail, and text to provide variety in how you connect with people and grab their attention.

6. Use a Contact Management System-

The most effective way to manage your follow-up is on the computer— whether it’s in Outlook, ACT, or your company’s property management software, this will allow you to have all your notes in one place and a regular reminder system to keep calling.

7. Be a Stand Out-

I highly recommend shopping other apartment communities to see what they are doing with follow-up and how “unique and different” they are being to stand out from the crowd. A community located across the street from the beach sent little bags of sand with a business card attached to all prospects. Another community sends a lottery ticket with a note saying “Thanks a million for dropping by to see our beautiful apartment homes…”  I love to contact communities in other states through For Rent or Apartment Guide to see what kind of email response I get.  I then take the most creative examples and use those as a guide to update the content I’m sending out.

8. Be Creative-

Do you have a newsletter?  Does your prospect have a dog?  When following up, send a community newsletter to touch base.  If your prospect mentioned their pet, invite them to your next “Yappy Hour”.  Use the information you gleaned from your prospect to continue marketing as a way to continue your follow-up long term without feeling (or looking) like a pest.

9. Customize and Personalize-

In today’s world of high tech, it is so refreshing to get something one of a kind. Make sure you refer to something you talked about or had in common with your prospect in your follow up letter or email. Don’t send a generic, emotionless follow up note; instead take the time to connect with your prospect. Be sure to include a “PS” at the bottom to warm it up!

10.   Gratitude Wins Every Time-

Think about the last time someone expressed gratitude or appreciation towards you. Was it in person, on the phone, via email, or maybe you received an unexpected thank you card? Think about how this small act of gratitude made you feel. This is the same feeling you create with your prospects when you appreciate them. This feeling creates a stronger relationship with your prospect.

Following up with prospects is more than just a process - it's an art. In order to be effective, you need to design a follow up system, and stick to it, EVERY DAY!

Do YOU have what it takes to make extra sales in 2011?