Residents are a very stressful mindset when they are inquiring and touring for a new apartment home. They often tour 4 to 6 apartments before they even start to narrow down their search to the 2 they are most interested in. When thinking about following up, treat each type of lead differently and make sure to stand out when you follow up. Now a days, it takes on average 7 follow ups before someone returns a call or an email. Renters are busy, stand out with the tips below! 

1. As video becomes more and more influential in a customers experience, think about capturing their new home on video and using it to follow up.  
2. Stay away from the "I am just calling to follow up with you on your apartment search" The follow up needs to be specific and intentional as your competition is following up with the potential renter as well. Have the mindset of more than let me check the box and just say I followed up.
3. In addition to calling a prospect who has inquired via email and has provided their phone number on their form- follow up in both ways.   A best practice that has always worked well is, if you call and receive their voicemail, email them after you hang up. "I am sorry we missed you via phone, but perhaps email works better..." Many renters don't answer numbers they do not know, but will check their email over 40 times a day.  

There are three types of follow ups that you should take a look at. Alot of times, we feel that no one calls us back when we complete follow ups. I have broken follows down into three categories. 

Follow Ups with an Email Lead - Many times an email lead comes into your inbox from your website and there is not enough information to begin the conversation or perhaps you have been communicating via phone and now you are emailing. Make sure you are intentional in the questions you are asking, be specific and short. Renters prefer to email back and forth multiple times then one long email. A great rule of thumb is to complete your follow up email and then see what it looks like on your mobile device. Most renters will not spend the time scrolling on their phone. Offer two options or just the one that are left for available units, create that urgency and make it ALL ABOUT THE RESIDENT! 

Follow Ups after a Tour - By the time the renter is touring, the options for a new home have began to all run together! The renter may not remember which features where with which apartment, so a great new way to stand out is to send a video follow up. It allows the renter to place themselves back into the home and see themselves living at the community. They can also see the exact apartment home they were interested and not model pictures. Video even allows you as the leasing agent to be on camera and create that report with the renter. Use video to stand out with your renters in follow up emails. (If your using a software that even allows you to track who opened the video, that is a bonus!)

Follow Ups with a Phone Call Lead- This is similar to email leads, but again make sure to be specific of why you are calling. "I am calling from XYZ Apartment Homes and wanted to let you know the price will be going up tomorrow (what is is in for them?) and I wanted to make sure you took advantage of the price we had today." Have a specific reason for calling. If there is no specific reason to call or specific questions to ask (open ended questions) they will have no reason to reply back to you or pick up your phone call. If they do not answer your call and you have an email address on file -  use the email address! If they have given any information, take advantage and use it! They are saying, I am allowing you to contact me in the ways provided. 

If you are a community that has texting message, be sure to implement the option to follow up with renters via text. Renters are multi-tasking and have many things happening in their life, sometimes texting works well for the renter and you can reach them immediately no matter if they are at work, running errands or even out to lunch. 

No matter what type of follow up you are completing, it should be ALL ABOUT THE RESIDENT and make sure to communicate to them WHAT IS IT IN FOR THEM! They are potential renter!