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Five Easy Phone Tools to Convert Your Phone Leads into Appointments!

Mar 31st, 2011
by jameswb.
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When your phone rings, the goal is to set an appointment so the prospective resident comes out to see you and rents an apartment!  While attitude is key; there are some things that you can do to make your phone interaction more successful.

  1. Smile on the phone.  It sounds simple and it is.  People can hear the warmth of your smile over the phone.  Remember, the majority of prospects have already narrowed their choice down to a final few.  Their goal now is to find the right ‘chemistry’. 
  2. Use the name exchange:  “By the way, my name is Jim and you are….?”  End with an upward inflection and then just wait.  The vast majority of the time your customer will fill in the blank.  Once they do, use their name in conversation.  Every time you use their name it brings their focus back to the call and it takes the conversation to a more personal level.
  3. Sell the benefits:  Take some time to write down a list of everything your current residents like about your property.  Then note why they like that specific item.  This is the benefit to them.  For example, many of your residents comment that they like your Indoor Pool with an adjacent outdoor tanning deck. Help your customer understand why this is a good thing.  “Our residents love the indoor pool because you can always use it—not just during the warm weather months.  And tanning is a dream because it’s steps away.  You know how it works…’Bake, dip, flip, dip!’”  Not everyone will want the same features so think about who is attracted to which feature and keep a list close to your phone so you are always prepared. 
    1. Other items that people want to know about include anything that makes life easier:  washer and dryer in the home, ice maker, self-cleaning ovens, etc.
    2. Convenience factors including bus stop nearby, adjacent parks, fitness facilities, free cappuccino in your lobby, etc.
    3. Social opportunities:  happy hour by the pool on Thursday nights, free movie nights, yoga classes, etc.
  4. Discover hot buttons:  your job is to ask questions.  This will help you better know and understand your customer.  Examples include:
    1. Is the home just for yourself?
    2. Is there anything special you are looking for in your new home?
  5. Ask for an appointment.  “You have to come see us!  Would 5:15 tonight or right now be better for you!”  (The goal is to get them to see you as soon as possible.  The longer they wait to visit, the less excited they are.)

Start integrating these tools into your telephone technique and you will be surprised at how positively your customers respond.  These tools will increase the number of appointments you set—and more appointments mean more opportunities to lease an apartment!

Cheers!  Jim Baumgartner | Rent Soda

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Better Retention through Grocery Carts*?

Feb 15th, 2011
by jameswb.
10 comments

In the past, one of my frustrations with new construction is that within 37 minutes of moving in your first residents, ugly beat-up old grocery carts from neighborhood shopping centers start appearing in the common areas.  Grocery carts may be the wire hangers of the multifamily industry:  they reproduce at an astonishing rate.  Why not streamline the look, modify them to protect your walls and elevator cabs and get some marketing oomph from them?

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon working with my friend Linda Kelley, CEMG (Chief Executive Marketing Guru) at City’s Best Marketing (http://www.c-b-m.com/)  in Minneapolis.  She and her team continually work towards the goal of cutting-edge marketing innovation.  I walked into her office and was blocked by a sleek gray cart.  Linda is a lover of fine food.  She ensures that the kitchen in their employee lounge is always fully stocked and has been known for spontaneous acts of culinary.  My first reaction was that perhaps she was trying to efficiently transport food.  But no!  It was a sample of their latest concept:  customized grocery carts!  Now instead of seeing the name of your local retailer emblazoned on your site grocery carts, you can have your site name or company website imprinted on the handle.  As we started brainstorming together (practicing creative one-upmanship) we tossed out other ideas—placards along the walls of the cart featuring discounts for residents at area restaurants and shops; resident referral signs; or flyers announcing resident events, directing folks to your Facebook page, etc.  Why not make these utilitarian tools—items that we don’t even notice when we see them—work for us?

*Or for our friends on the East Coast—Carriages, or in Denver:  Buggy.

Cheers!  Jim Baumgartner | Rent Soda

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Eight Tips on Renting an Older Property

Oct 6th, 2010
by jameswb.
4 comments

Prime 70's Mansard

A client recently asked, “Do you know of any information on how to rent older properties?”  Her property was built slightly before most of us were born. 

Early in my career I was spoiled rotten.  I did lease-ups of new construction luxury sites.  When I had to do an analysis on an aging Class C property I turned my nose up and sniffed, “They should just invest in a flame-thrower.”  My cronies and I were amused; however, several years later I had several of these little flame-thrower targets in my portfolio.  Imagine my shock (and embarrassment) when I realized that these were the assets that threw off the majority of cash in our organization.

So what do you do when you find yourself adrift on an aging property (not old enough to be charming or cool but too old to be hot and trendy)?  Do you wallow in self-pity and stare in envy at your new, amenity-rich neighbors?  No way!  Beat up the new kids on the block with a stripped down, value approach!

  1. Rent the basics—not the bells and whistles.  Why pay for what you don’t need?  Remind your customer that they are not paying for amenities that they will never use.  (How many people actually use the pool or cardio room?  They may say they will but end up not having the time.)  Remind them that “The money you save on rent can be applied to the things you really want!”
  2. Buy the upgrades you will actually use:  Want a kick-butt health club with spin and Pilates classes and machines that actually work?  The health club industry is suffering just like the rest of us and they are offering deals!  You can get a membership very inexpensively.  Better yet, negotiate a property or portfolio discount and create resident clubs (boot camp, spin, Pilates group, yoga group) to go to the health club together.
  3. Mature landscaping is GREEN!  Highlight the fact that you have mature landscaping that adds beauty to your residents’ world.  Older properties often have extensive grounds; do you have an area that could be dedicated to a community garden?  Garden plots and compost piles are easy and inexpensive to create.
  4. Focus on design plusses: 
    1. In the Pre-ADA years room sizes tended to be larger.  While unit square footages may have stayed pretty consistent, where space is allocated has not.  New construction design mandates larger bathrooms and kitchens to allow for wheelchair access.  This has resulted in smaller bedrooms.  Families and roommates will appreciate more space in these rooms.
    2. Older properties tend to have larger balconies.  In some communities this is not an issue but many people enjoy the opportunity to step outside—whether for a cigarette or fresh air break.  Due to the costs of balconies, often these are value-engineered out or downsized today.
    3. Galley kitchen?  We have heard a lot lately about ‘foodies’; however, consider your demographic:  do they eat in or out?  Many of our residents never use anything but the refrigerator and microwave.  So if they comment on the small size of the kitchen, determine if they are asking out of habit or if they do like to cook.  If they are foodies, all is not yet lost—advise them on how they can extend their kitchen into an adjacent dining area through the use of butcher blocks, microwave carts, IKEA islands, etc.
    4. Focus on what you can do to be better than your competitors:
      1. Focus on EXCELLENT customer service.  Can you get your work requests done faster?  Can you offer custom painting at renewal time?
      2. Add conveniences for your customers:  free use of the fax machine, selling stamps, free movie rentals or free photocopies.
      3. Create regular resident events like book clubs, biking, a sand volley ball team, etc. to encourage community.
      4. Solid construction is an older feature you should brag about!  It is unlikely that any of your parts were pre-fabricated off-site.  Everything was carefully handcrafted with pride right there!  This means that your building is probably solid and relatively quiet.
      5. Older properties tend to be in great locations closer to business and entertainment centers.  Promote neighborhood ‘walk-ability’, convenience to business centers, nearby green spaces, entertainment venues, transportation and key arteries.
      6. Got charm?  Sell it! Anything that is different sets you apart from your competitors.  Your job is to draw attention to it and tell your customer why it matters to them.

Maximize what you have!  Be proud of the value you represent!  And don’t forget to ask for the sale!

Cheers!  Jim Baumgartner | RentSoda

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“I’m So Glad You Called Today” – 4 Phone Tips to Turn a Call into an Apartment Tour

Aug 26th, 2010
by daisynguyen.
2 comments

Phones have been around for over 140 years, so answering the phone is nothing new – or is it?

Having a great telephone conversation is one of the best and most powerful apartment marketing/leasing techniques in our industry.

It sets the stage for the rest of the leasing experience for your apartment prospect. Are you putting your best foot forward?

In the apartment business, a successful prospect call is one where we turn the telephone apartment inquiry into an appointment. What are the best ways to turn a phone call into a apartment tour appointment?

These are  my

top favorite tried and true phone leasing techniques

to turn that apartment telephone inquiry into an apartment tour appointment:

  1. Once you have identified yourself, find a way to let your phone prospect know how happy you are that they called TODAY. – If your caller says they are looking for an apartment, you should respond with, “I’m so glad you called today!...” and follow-up the comment with your specials or other related comment. “I’m so happy you called today,” is a great way to pause the conversation and inject some personal positive attention to your caller.
  2. What’s in a name? EVERYTHING. If the caller gives you their name – use it. If they don’t, ask them for their name – and use it. People love to hear their names – it acknowledges the fact that they are an individual and not just another caller. It will help you bond with the person over the phone. Using someone’s name is very intimate. Get the name and USE it.
  3. If you are comfortable, assume that the caller wants to set an appointment, and give them a couple of choices of times you have available for an appointment. With all the information available on the internet, most of your callers already know enough about your apartment community/complex to be ready to set an appointment for the leasing tour. – Assume they want the tour and work on scheduling it. If you are not comfortable with assuming your caller wants an apartment tour, then ask them if they would like to schedule a tour.
  4. At the end of each call, always thank your apartment prospect by name for calling you!

Your call should go something like this:

RING RING!

You: Thank you for calling ABC Apartments, how may I help you? (smile!)

Caller: I’m interested in finding a 1 bedroom apartment.

You: My name is Daisy – Can I get your name?

Caller: My name is Jane.

You: Jane, I’m so happy you called today! We have some great looking 1 bedroom apartments that just became available. Do you have any particular preferences you want to share?

Caller: I want to be on the top floor.

You: Great! I have 2 apartments on the top floor overlooking the park, and …

…(more conversations, get prospect info, bond, etc.)

You: I have appointments available this Thursday at 10:15AM, 4:30PM or Friday afternoon or Saturday morning to tour our apartment community and see the apartments we have available. What time would work best for you?

Caller: Saturday morning at 10:00AM.

You: Jane, thanks so much for calling today, and I can’t wait to show you our community on Saturday at 10:00AM!

There are lots of telephone leasing techniques out there. The objective is to schedule that apartment tour. These are my favorite phone tips, what are yours?

By the way, I’m so glad you read my blog post today! THANK YOU!

Don’t GET IT? RENT SODA! GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota MN

CEO/President

RENTSODA-small

Offering Apartment Marketing, Apartment Business & Operations Consulting & Apartment Industry Training

Web: RentSoda.com Email: Daisy {at} RentSoda(.)com

Become a fan of RENTSODA on facebook.  Connect with RENTSODA on LinkedIn!

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Got VACANCY? Apartment Models – Is it a DO or DON’t or CAN’t Afford It?

Jul 29th, 2010
by daisynguyen.
2 comments

If you have vacant apartments, and thinking about modeling an apartment, you’re probably thinking, can you afford it?

You can’t afford NOT to have a model!

CONSIDER THIS:

  1. All new apartment developments I work with have apartment models. If the apartment has lots of different floor plans, especially if there are any odd angles, or funky spaces, or weird lighting, usually, the question isn’t “Should we have a model?” it turns to “How many models can we have?” Typically, when we do a model, the modeled floor plan leases up MUCH more quickly than other floor plans, leasing activity spikes, and the closing ratio’s rise.
  2. In the real estate world, (for-sale of single family homes), it is widely accepted that A.) Potential buyers make their decision to purchase a home in the first 30 seconds upon entering. First impression is the key! and B.) well staged homes sell for 30-50% faster than their counterparts. (Not only do they sell fast, they usually sell for MORE.) (real estate facts found here.)

Which feels more welcome to you? The vacant room or the staged/modeled family room?

What happened to that school of thought – give them a blank slate, and let them imagine it themselves! The reality is, people have stressful lives, they want immediate gratification, they want EASY. Why is television so much more popular than books these days? Television is easy gratification, no imagination needed. People don’t have to think after a long stressful day. Let’s give them EASY folks! Make it easy for your prospects to imagine living in your apartment community – in one of your apartments. After a long stressful day at the office, or a long day of apartment hunting, having imagination is the last thing on your prospect’s mind. Make it EASY for them! Make the model apartment feel welcoming!

The question always comes back to COST. If you have more than 10 vacant units at a time – you can’t afford NOT to have a model. Consider this example of vacancy loss:

OK, let’s make it easy and do the math. Let’s say we’re talking about ABC Apartments. They have 100 units. Their average rents are $1000.00/unit.

Prior to the rental market taking a downward turn, ABC Apartments has been running along great, apartments never took very long to lease, and they had been at 97% occupancy for many years. (only 3 vacant apartments)

Fast forward to today, they are at 88% physical occupancy, which means they are at 12% vacancy or 12 vacant apartments. All of the sudden, they are struggling with just staying ahead of the renewals and turnover. Increasing the occupancy in the midst of the resident turnover looks very daunting.

Let’s do the math.

At 97% occupancy, the vacancy loss is:

(Average Apartment Rents) x (# of Vacant Apartment Units)

$1000.00 x 3 vacant apartment units = $3000.00 of vacancy loss monthly. This is what they are used to operating at. Annually (x12), this amounts to $36,000.00 of annual vacancy loss.

TODAY, the apartment project is at 88% occupancy, the vacancy loss is:

$1000.00 x 12 vacant apartment units = $12,000.00 of vacancy loss monthly. Annually (x12), this amounts to $144,000.00.

The different in vacancy loss monthly is $9000.00! ($12,000 – $3000) And annually, the difference is $108,000.00! ($144,000 – $36,000)

If we apply the real estate facts – that well staged homes sell 30-50% faster than their vacant counterparts, how much does the $108,000.00 mean to this apartment project? The Owner/Developers/Investors? The apartment community manager?

If we can spend a couple thousand dollars (or a few thousand – depending on your budget, your property, and your clientele) and reduce the vacancy by 30-50% over the next couple of months, wouldn’t that model be TOTALLY worth it?

My next blog will focus on budget conscious tips for putting together a model! It doesn’t need to cost a FORTUNE to make an IMPRESSION! Please check back to read all about it!

Don’t GET IT? Make it EASY! RENT SODA! GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota MN

CEO/President

RENTSODA-small

Offering Apartment Marketing, Apartment Business & Operations Consulting & Apartment Industry Training

Web: RentSoda.com Email: Daisy {at} RentSoda(.)com

Become a fan of RENTSODA on facebook.  Connect with RENTSODA on LinkedIn!

Follow RENTSODA on Twitter!

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TOP 10 TIPS to Get the MOST Out of CRAIGSLIST Apartment Ads

Jul 12th, 2010
by daisynguyen.
8 comments

Craigslist, when smartly used as part of your marketing/advertising campaign, can become one of your apartment community’s top traffic generators. If it’s not, you’re not getting the most out of your Craigslist ads.

Here are the TOP 10 Things You Need to Know to Maximize Your Craigslist Ads for your Apartment Community:

  1. Generally, web traffic is highest during the week, especially during working hours of 8:00AM – 5:00PM. For the apartment industry on Craigslist, the highest traffic day is actually on SUNDAY. According to Yield Technologies, their RENTSENTINEL product, a web-based application that manages posting content for rental properties, they have noticed that Sunday’s see much less posting activity for apartments than any other day of the week. Couple that with higher traffic, and your posting efforts will get the biggest audience with less competition! (SUNDAYS have the HIGHEST average views/ad than any other day for our apartment industry!) This is true of every portfolio class, geographic location or market segment.
  2. Although Craigslist is “free,” there are TONS of different services available that can help you manage your content, produce “snazzier” looking ads, track traffic, provide analytics, and MORE – OH MY! Some more common ones include RENTSENTINEL and POSTLETS. Depending on your needs and preferences, these may work for you, are pretty affordable, and provide lots of extra’s to help you maximize your craigslist ads. There are TONS of other services available – if you know of some additional ones, leave a link in the COMMENTS section of this blog post and share with everyone! OR Leave a comment about your experience with the services listed here.
  3. PICTURES PICTURES PICTURES! – And not just any old snapshot – make sure to have good lighting, take pictures of clean, rent ready or model units – try to make an positive impression that gets your target market to pick up the phone and call you! Don’t turn them off with the wrong picture.
  4. Many people ask me, “what generates more traffic? The traditional organic craigslist ads or the jazzed up ones with hyperlinks, pictures, formatting, etc?” The answer is that they BOTH work. The key to a successful craigslist campaign is VARIETY. Switch it up between your traditional craigslist ads and fancier ones.
  5. Speaking of VARIETY, switch up your posts! Make sure you have an ad targeted specifically to attract your 1 bedroom renters, or your pet lovers, or one to attract roommates, or one to highlight the fact that you are near a bus route, etc! Be sure to keep within fair housing rules, but there is nothing that says you can’t switch up your ads and highlight specific features. Variety is the spice of life, and so it is with apartments on craigslist!
  6. Speaking of PETS, whether your building is pet-friendly or does NOT allow pets, there IS a specific market for THAT! Make sure to have a specific ad targeted towards your pet lovers (for those apartment communities that accept pets) or ones that specifically state that you do NOT allow pets. Believe it or not, there are those people who look specifically for pet-free buildings, due to allergies, conditions, fear, etc. If you are targeting pet-owners, be sure to use the Craigslist “Meow” and “Woof” options to state you are pet friendly, in addition to including this information in your title/content.
  7. And since we are drilling down on specific life style choices, a choice that is becoming increasingly popular in apartment searches is “smoke free apartment.” There are new organizations promoting living smoke-free popping up everyday. Here in Minnesota, one that is making quite a splash is LIVESMOKEFREE. Make sure to include those words for the craigslist search engines (as well as all other search engines) to pick up!
  8. While we are on the topic of search engines, make sure to include search engine friendly terms in your ad! If you are near a bus-line, post that. If you are near shopping/retail, make sure to mention the shopping or retail center name. If you are in a highly sought-after school district, name the school district or even better, name the schools. If you are nears parks, name the parks. People search for apartments based on their lifestyle choices, and if those choices are based upon transportation, schools, shopping, food, retail, etc – YOU will get picked up in their search, and your competition might get buried in the masses….
  9. Another question I get asked constantly – “how often should I post?” From my perspective, it’s not a matter of “how often,” but more importantly, CONSISTENCY. According to Eric Broughton of Yield Company’s RentSentinel product, ”the most important global trend is for communities to post their available units on a consistent basis, don’t take a day off from posting an available unit, your competitors aren’t.  Equally important is respecting the craigslist community and not posting multiple ads in a short period of time.  Never post more than 1 ad in the same hour, and never post for the same unit type more than once in 24 hours.  Our analytics show that following these simple rules will provide far greater results than someone that spams a region with multiple ads over and over again.”
  10. And lastly, and MOST importantly, be a good Craigslist Citizen. Common sense folks! Pay attention to things such as knowing the Craigslist Terms of Use, posting only available Units/Unit Types, not over-posting (never more than 1 ad per hour and 8 total ads in a day – this is for LARGE sites – many of you may not have larger enough sites, where posting every other day is more than enough), and posting to only one category and region at a time.  As an industry we can all be more effective and increase our traffic if we use the craigslist environment for which it was intended which is bringing renters and landlords together in an open marketplace. Let’s not ruin the “free” part of craigslist, by over-doing it. In some regions, and some industries, craigslist DOES impose fees. (See Craigslist FactSheet.)

Please leave comments on any tips I might have missed, leave comments about other craigslist applications or services, and your experiences with these services!

FULL DISCLOSURE: I am not affiliated with Yield Technologies or Postlets. Yield Technologies has provided me with information for this blog post. THANK YOU! (Roboblaster, another posting service also provided information for this blog, however, at the time of publication, they have folded.)

Don’t GET IT? RENT SODA! GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota MN

CEO/President

RENTSODA-small

Business, Operations & Marketing Consulting to the Apartment Industry

Web: RentSoda.com Email: Daisy {at} RentSoda(.)com

Become a fan of RENTSODA on facebook.  Connect with RENTSODA on LinkedIn!

Follow RENTSODA on Twitter!

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Apartment Leasing Tips Learned From George W. Bush at #NAA10 – Education Conference

Jul 1st, 2010
by daisynguyen.
3 comments

At the NAA 2010 Education Conference last week in New Orleans, the keynote speaker was George W. Bush.

I didn’t know what to expect and was a little leery how this would fit into the rest of the week. When I walked out from the session, not only did I have a little crush on George W., I had a new-found appreciation for him. As I reflected on his session, I realized, there were many things we can apply from George W.’s speaking techniques that could help us lease apartments! How did he turn me from “a little leery” to a “fan with newfound appreciation?” Here are some of my observations:

1. George talked about his family. He openly appreciated his wife, talked about his struggles with his children regarding his work, and how much he loved his parents. In the first few minutes of his speech, he became immediately human to me - I quickly identified with him. Looking around the audience, I saw that almost everyone could identify with appreciating a spouse, struggles with family-work balance, and love of parents. As apartment leasing agents, sales professionals, or in any business interactions, identifying with your prospect/client/ business associate sets the stage for transition to the next stage of the sale – your pitch.

2. Next, George W. spoke about his beliefs and his values. In this portion, he was passionate and moving. Whatever my position was, I found myself understanding his point of view. In the leasing of apartments, this would be your value proposition. Whatever objections your prospects might have, you’ll need to find a way to overcome them or at the very least, have them believe in your value proposition. Being passionate and believable makes this process an easier transition to the next step – the closing.

3. Lastly, George W spoke about his toughest decisions, and why he made the decisions he made. He was convincing – and if he were selling something, I would have happily signed on the dotted line right then and there.

George W. made we laugh with his humor, nod in agreement with his personality and cheer out loud for his passions. When he was done I GOT IT.

What were your observations of George W. Bush at the NAA (National Apartment Association) Education Conference?

Don’t GET IT? RENT SODA! GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota MN

CEO

RENTSODA-small

Business, Operations & Marketing Consulting to the Apartment Industry

Web: RentSoda.com   Email: Daisy {at} RentSoda(.)com

Become a fan of RENTSODA on facebook.  Connect with RENTSODA on LinkedIn!

Follow RENTSODA on Twitter!

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GET OUT of HERE! How To GET IT When You’re In A Rut

Jun 28th, 2010
by daisynguyen.
4 comments

It can be hard to always be ON. It can be hard to GET IT all the time. Whether that means being CREATIVE, ENERGETIC, FRESH, SUNNY, SOCIAL, PATIENT, or POSITIVE. When you go to the same office (apartment complex/corporate office/etc.) everyday, talk to the same people every day, or drink the same kool-aid every day, you can get into a rut. All of the sudden, you don’t get it anymore! You are in a perpetual Ground Hog Day movie. From there it’s downhill – you become bored, you question your career choice, you drag you feet, you complain, and you become reactive rather than proactive. Next thing you know, you’re blaming others for you lack of motivation and not taking responsibility for your predicament. What stage of this slippery slope are you in? Does this sound familiar? Just coming back from the National Apartment Association (NAA) Education Conference, my brain if overflowing with ideas, there is an extra hoppity skip in my step, my fingers are flying over the keyboard at lightening speed, and images of sugar plums are dancing through my head. Seriously, I am just electric right now! I am once again reminded that a change of scenery, meeting new people, listening to new ideas, being reminded of great old ideas, making new friends, and having FUN – can do WONDERS for your creativity, productivity and energy level. If you have the opportunity, I HIGHLY recommend attending conferences in your area of expertise/interest and surrounding yourself by this type of energy. It can be a national conference, or a local conference. Don’t just ATTEND – fully IMMERSE yourself into the middle of all that positive activity, fully ENGAGE and SOAK up as much as your head and your heart can handle. It does wonders for productivity!

And if you can’t attend a conference or two here and there – create your own opportunities to feel excitement. Leave your office for 30 minutes (when you can of course) and immerse yourself into something TOTALLY different, have lunch with a colleague, look at art, eat something mouth watering, go to the gym, or do whatever it takes to get your heart pumping and energy level up. Feel ALIVE, and watch how “work, work, work…” becomes “fun, fun, fun!”

If you’re a cynic and this sounds like too much work for you, too far out, or <insert your excuse here> , here are my favorite quick fixes to get out of a rut:

Want to get motivated? Check out Gary Vaynerchuk CRUSHES it! …here’s a short excerp, “…There’s no reason to do SH*T you hate…you can loose just as much money being happy as hell!” httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhqZ0RU95d4

Check out this little girl in How To Stay Positive…here’s a short excerp, “…I like my WHOLE house…I can do anything good…better than anyone.” Not only does this one make me feel good, but if a 4 year old can do it, so can I! httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR3rK0kZFkg

I Want To Be a Billionaire – Travie McCoyMusic Video - forget about the profanity, but this song just makes me snap my fingers and skip along no matter what’s going on! httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aRor905cCw

I have several exciting blog posts coming out of this my trip to NAA in NOLA – watch for them to follow shortly. I’m TOTALLY pumped. Are you?

Don’t GET IT? RENT SODA! GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota MN

CEO

RENTSODA-small

Business, Operations & Marketing Consulting to the Apartment Industry

Web: RentSoda.com   Email: Daisy {at} RentSoda(.)com

Become a fan of RENTSODA on facebook.  Connect with RENTSODA on LinkedIn!

Follow RENTSODA on Twitter!

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Good Customer Service is Dead! Where is the LOVE?

Mar 8th, 2010
by daisynguyen.
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You read it right -GOOD Customer Service is DEAD. Where is the LOVE?

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpYeekQkAdc

(Video: Black Eyed Peas – Where is the Love?)

This is actually good news – If you are one of the few apartment communities that consistently provides good customer service, you are WAY ahead of the game. Even if you THINK you’re doing a great job, this article will be an EYE OPENER. Read on! (This blog-post was inspired by a recent blog post and discussion initiated my Brent Williams – read his original article here.

In today’s market, the BEST way to control vacancy is to close that back door – meaning KEEP your current residents! Don’t let them leave! We all know it costs us a WHOLE lot less to keep a current resident than it is to turn an apartment and find a new resident! The few prospects that ARE in the market for a new apartments – they KNOW they are a WANTED commodity, SO they are shopping for the best deal. Our current residents? They want a good deal too – however, more than wanting a good deal – they want to feel good about choosing to spend their money with YOU.

GOOD Customer Service is Dead! Where is the LOVE?

So why is this good news? Good customer service can be IMPROVED. It’s not like a location or an expensive amenity.

YOU have the power the improve this! 

Not only do you have CONTROL over this, based on some recent experiences (See Brent Williams blog about his renewal experience here), it wouldn’t take much these days to stand out from everyone else.

I LOVE shoe shopping. My favorite place to shop for shoes? Nordstrom’s shoe department. They tend to have pretty good customer service overall - but NOT all customer service is created equal. I have found that when my regular salesman, (let’s call him Adam) helps me, I will leave the store with at least 3 pairs of shoes. And when it’s someone else – most times I leave empty handed. Why? Everyone is extremely helpful and cheerful – its Nordstrom’s after all! But when Adam helps me, he makes me feel like the ONLY person who SHOULD be wearing THOSE shoes, should be ME. (“Darling! Those shoes were MADE for you!” or my favorite, “I won’t be able to look at those shoes on someone else’s feet the same way EVER again. And I have 6 pairs left back there!” It’s partly how he treats me when I am trying on shoes, but in the course of getting to know me, he has gotten to KNOW ME. He knows what my style is (knows the labels that typically appeal to me), he’s gotten to know what my preferences are (LOVE PINK, RED, GOLD), he knows my foot size. AND he tells me when something is NOT right. (“Friends don’t let friends wear THOSE out.”) I’ve learned from my shoe experience and have singled out a GREAT sales person in each department or store that I frequent. I don’t put up with bad customer service, and believe me. BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE happens to GOOD PEOPLE – ALOT more frequently than we care to admit – especially when it comes to our own communities!

Learn from Nordstrom’s – in a time when EVERY other store is having a sale EVERY WEEK, they seldom have sales. I pay full price every time I shop there – but I feel GOOD doing it.

THAT’s what your current residents want from you – make them feel GOOD about spending their money with YOU. SHOW THEM THE LOVE.

As I mentioned previously, BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE happens to GOOD PEOPLE. I have noticed that in this economic time, it is EXTREMELY hard to find good customer service. Many times, when I am out and about, shopping, dining, etc. Mediocre or bad service is so common – in fact it IS the norm. Customer service people are talking to each other, ignoring customers, acting as if somehow, the presence of a customer waiting for service actually is a nuisance! At some restaurants, especially during non-peak hours, the service is downright poor. Why is this?

A recent discussion at my local apartment association, MHA (Minnesota Multi-Housing Association) zoned in on the fact – it’s NOT that we (as customer service providers) don’t KNOW what GOOD customer service is. Bad news & bad attitudes are everywhere. It’s a depressed market. WE feel it, we are stressed, we are strapped on time, our budgets have been cut, our payroll hours have been limited, pay freezes. YOU name it, we’ve all experienced more bad news than most of us have ever experienced or care to remember. We’re not the ONLY ones this is happening to! Our residents, prospects, clients are experiencing this TOO. 

Back to resident retention and good customer service at your community. The one place where your resident spends the majority of their time is at HOME – at YOUR apartment community. The biggest check they write EVERY month is a rent check to YOUR community. The ONE place where we don’t want to feel the everyday pressures of a bad economy, depressed market, bad news is at HOME. Your community is HOME for every one of your residents. It’s not enough to say “good morning,” or “how are you?” when your resident comes home in the evening. Get to KNOW them! Have a genuine interest in your residents. You should know who are the frequent fitness buffs, which ones are early starters, which ones have pets, etc! Talk to your residents, engage in positive interactions with your residents, get their input. Get to KNOW them! Even if YOUR community has 500 or more residents, it is nowhere near the kind of traffic Nordstrom’s gets on a weekend. Learn from the best and forget the rest!

SHOW YOUR RESIDENTS THE LOVE.

If the only conversations you are having with your residents is when they sign their lease, when they are late on rent, and when they renew, SOMETHING IS WRONG. Where is the LOVE there? If you’re only dealing with “customer service issues” (i.e. complaints) instead of receiving letters or thanks and praise from your residents, the customer service at your community is lacking. There are hundreds of ways to have positive interactions through-out the course of a resident’s lease term. Create THOSE opportunities, and make it a part of EVERYONE’s responsibility on site.

SHOW YOUR RESIDENTS THE LOVE.

Don’t GET IT? RENT SODA! GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota MN

CEO

RENTSODA-small

Business, Operations & Marketing Consulting to the Apartment Industry

Web: RentSoda.com   Email: Daisy {at} RentSoda(.)com

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Lack of Motivation? Leasing Stalled? How to Change Your Tune

Feb 24th, 2010
by daisynguyen.
11 comments

All this talk about a depression, soft market and price drops. OH MY! Not to mention pay freezes, working twice as hard for half as much traffic, it’s not a wonder that there is a lack of motivation out there. How do we change this and re-invigorate our teams, win leases, and enjoy our jobs once again? The apartment industry is an awesome industry – how do we stop singing the blues and bring that skip back into our step?

If you talk to my friends, business partners and co-workers, they will tell you I am a HAPPY person, always with a smile, a laugh, sunshine in my eyes, and a skip in my step. How do I keep the skip in my step, even in the midst of all this bad news?

It’s as simple as changing your tune – literally.

Have you ever noticed when you walk into a fitness facility, there’s upbeat booty-shaking music piped through the gym? Or visit a spa, and they have relaxing music with wind chimes or the sound of water? Different retailers like Gap, Express, The Limited all have specific soundtracks they play in their retail stores. At Nordstrom’s, depending on the department you are standing in, there is different music – all eliciting a different mood.

(Picture provided by William Hamon on Flickr through Creative Commons license.)

Music is one of those things that can instantly put YOU in a different mood. If you’re in a bad mood – why not change your tune and get into a GOOD mood? Feeling a little slow? Put on some finger-snapping upbeat music and see how long you stay groggy. Feeling like nothing is going your way? Listen to something that lifts you UP. Change your tune, change your mindset, and see where it takes you!

Here are a couple of my favorite mood enhancing tracks:

If I just need to get moving in the morning, Gigi D’Agostino’s La Passion gets me going! (actually, anything Techno can do that to you!)

Disney’s Hakuna Matata always makes me laugh.

Hawaiian Iz’s Somewhere Over the Rainbow is uplifting…

If I need to add some attitude to my day, I listen to Michael Jackson’s Beat It.

If I have a LONG project, OR if I’m coming into a tough meeting and need some motivation, I listen to Survivor’s Eye of the Tiger.

When dealing with tough situations or dramatic people, I listen to Craig David’s I’m Walking Away. (I DO come back to address the problem, but it’s nice to know you can walk away – at least for a little bit!)

I listen to these songs while I’m getting ready for my day, in the car, where ever I can, or whenever I need a quick change in tune.

We normally associate mood-alteration with drugs – why not music?

I recently wrote an article about setting intentions. In conjunction with setting your intentions for a successful day, a successful week, and a successful career. Music is one of those small adjustments you can make to GET you in the right positive frame of mind to GET THERE. You can read my article on setting intentions here.

What do you listen to that changes you mood and sets the tone for a productive day?

Don’t get it? RENT SODA. GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota MN

CEO

RENTSODA-small

Business, Operations & Marketing Consulting to the Apartment Industry

Web: RentSoda.com   Email: Daisy {at} RentSoda(.)com

Become a fan of RENTSODA on facebook.  Connect with RENTSODA on LinkedIn!

Follow RENTSODA on Twitter!

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