The last 2-3 years have been interesting in our industry. Low-interest rates, high consumer spending, expensive home prices, and a pandemic that detached us from human interactions have all contributed to a challenge - we didn’t really have to sell the renter the way we used to.

It appears that’s changing. Occupancy is down, renters are asking more challenging questions, and (just my two cents) we need to get back in the saddle to engage and retain residents. 

I spoke with Lisa Trosien at Apartment AllStars, and she also has a few notes! “86% of consumers say personalization impacts their purchase decision. Many residents pay $3,000 a month (or more in rent). It is important to recognize your customer and, at the very least, know their name and apartment number. If Starbucks can recognize their regulars simply by their car in the drive-thru or their face in line, you know our industry can do better.”

So what can we do?

Here are three ideas that may help with your approach.

1. Take time to Engage, Motivate, and Train your Sales Teams

Post pandemic occupancy numbers held steady regardless of the teams sales ability. That may not be the case in 2023. Take time and resources to partner with your team members on successful lead generation, negotiation, overcoming objections, and entry level digital marketing skills. 

Our thoughts: Make sure to invest in your teams and measure progress with tangible numbers. If they are successful, everyone is successful. 

2. Customer Services: 

This is a crucial step in building rapport with your residents. The goal should be building positive relationships and a sense of community at your buildings. Train your teams to provide: 

• Clear Communication 

• Responsiveness

• Transparency

• Professionalism 

• Feedback, ask for it and act on it 

Our thoughts: agree on what numbers to measure, same as above. If we can’t measure it, then we can’t define success.

3. Decide on your “unique offering” or Resident Benefits Package

We work with hundreds of thousands of units across 250 cities and have seen some clever creations. These vary by custom services:

• Handyman help (3 hours at move-in for furniture assembly) 

• Pet friendly ($50 in credits every month for Pet Grooming)

• Hotelification ($150 every month for housekeeping services)

In summary - it’s time to get in Sales Mode again, and we think the creative and motivated teams will outperform. What have you seen? Please let us know!