Published on February 29th, 2016
By Rachel Jefferson
Generating lead quantity is easy with the right tools. Generating lead quality is another thing entirely. In fact, sorting through a thousand chunks of coal to find that one diamond in the rough drains your resources and frustrates leasing agents. The less time your team spends sifting through the rock pile, the more free time they will have to work with potential renters that may just need a little nudge to commit to your property. The good news is that there are simple ways you can help your on-site property leasing team attract—and ultimately sign—eligible prospects. Occupancy, not interest, fuels growth and financial stability.
Honesty builds confidence.
Give your prospects as much information as they need to make informed decisions about your community. If you aren’t using online reviews to drive interest, you’re missing a valuable opportunity. Many apartment seekers read forums and review sites before visiting a property or filling in an online application. In fact, 80% of Americans trust online reviews as much as they trust recommendations from friends and family. If they don’t find reviews on your site or on Yelp or Google, they will look elsewhere. Sometimes honest reviews reveal things about the property that let your prospect know upfront your place isn’t the best fit for them. It’s better for you and your team to learn potential issues before you invest time and energy showing the property and processing applications.
Real-time content reduces wasted effort.
Most of the time, tenants have a floor plan and location within the community in mind before they schedule a property tour. In a crunch, a leasing prospect looking for a two-bedroom on the first floor may accept a three-bedroom on the third floor if the price is right or if you offer to move them into a more appropriate unit as soon as possible. Posting floor plans on your web pages is a great start, but if you take it a step further and update availability in real-time, you may find you spend less time showing units to prospects that just won’t fit their needs.
Accuracy creates realistic expectations.
Most importantly, make sure your photos are truly representative of your property. Nothing turns off a prospective renter like finding out those professional, full-color photos on a website don’t come close to accurately depicting what they find once they arrive for a walk-through. Altered photos will lead to negative reviews, which brings a host of other problems your management team will have to tackle.
Try something new: Make it personal
If you want to try a truly unique way to showcase your property, along with posting honest images on your web pages, check out Periscope. You can stream your next open house and invite viewers to ask questions about floor plans, rental rates, amenities and other key factors that influence interest levels. This no-cost option allows you to invite all of your leads to take a tour at virtually any time. You can host an interactive Q&A that gives prospects all the information they need to decide whether a tour is worth their time – and yours.
Lead generation will always be important. While your property management team will probably always have to deal with some low-quality leads, these simple tips will help you improve the quality of leads that take the next step and contact you with interest.
You might also enjoy:
When Less Is More — Website Advice & Conversion Strategies from Sprout Marketing
Comments by Rachel Jefferson
How Not to Get Sued in 2017
Hi Adrienne, thanks for your comment. While this webinar is ...
Eat. Sleep. Hack. Repeat. AppFolio Gets Back to Basics with Annual Spring Hack Day
Hi Beverly! Thanks for the feedback! We love hearing ...
4 Growing Property Management Businesses Share Their Secrets to Success
Thanks Ridley!
Homeowners Associations vs. Property Management – What’s the Difference?
Hi Derek, thanks for your comment/question. HOAs do have ...
Is Affordability a Real Concern in the Portland Rental Market?
Jared - According to Axiometrics 2016 market predictions, ...