Blog Series: Growing Your Residency One Tour at a Time
When it comes to Property Management, tours are one of those things that can’t disappoint. That disappointment leads to an unlikely chance that the prospective resident will ever come back again.
No matter the current condition of the tour, any property can elevate the experience to have the prospective resident leaving better than when they first arrived.
The Sale
Every piece of a tour leads to the final decision of the sale, from making the appointment to seeing the apartment itself. However, no unit sale can be properly completed without the staff who guide them along the process. A leasing professional should have the skills and knowledge to successfully present a property – those skills and knowledge require that the agent does more than simply open doors and give simple bullet points and scripted information as they follow the tour map.
A leasing professional should step into a tour ready to quickly identify what the prospective resident is searching for in a property. This may take form in observing what the prospective resident is focusing the most on, or asking frequent questions about, or it may take form in asking them as the tour begins what is important in their apartment search. Whatever the method, leasing professionals should be aware enough that they can overcome any objections to the unit that may come up.
Making the sale also includes personalizing the benefits of the apartment features. To put it simply, if a prospect is a cook, don’t waste the time explaining where they can put their bike, or how much space the linen closet has, instead highlight the counter space, show space in the pantry and explain the features of the appliances that may pique interest.
The last, and possibly most important thing to do as a leasing agent is ask for the sale. While it may sound like an obvious thought, too many leasing staff members close a tour by handing a possible resident an application and instructing them to contact the property if they are interested. That prospective resident just spent the last hour tour the property; they are already interested. Do not be afraid to lock in the lease as soon as the buying signals are apparent enough. Ask for a commitment or at least ask, “Do you want to rent the apartment today?”
