Are You Effectively Delivering Rental Prices Over The Phone?

I often call and shop competitors and am consistently amazed at how easily they deliver the rental amount for a specific floor plan at the beginning of their apartment description.  Equally as shocking, as I do training sessions for apartment associations, I am amazed at how defensive leasing consultants become when I attempt to provide tactics on how to avoid immediately providing the rental amount.  Like an angry demon escaping during an exorcism Leasing Consultants tend to yell out, "It doesn't work, they just want to know the priiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice!"

Unfortunately this is not true.  As I am phone shopping the competition I never ask for the price, I only ask for a description of the floor plan.  Yet, like a bad case of verbal diarrhea, they first and foremost spew forth the price.  "Our 2 bedroom apartment rents for $1685."  This all followed by a litany of interrogative questions and strict instructions relating to multiple money orders that I need to bring if I choose to pursue the honor of renting with them.

The fact of the matter is, most prospectives have found us on a website or in a guide book and actually have the rental information in front of them.  In a sense, they are actually calling for a description of the floor plan and amenities in order to justify the price.  In today's economy, I am finding more people are calling asking about specials and are not focused on base rents.  No matter what they are calling about, we must do some justifying of price through amenity descriptions before we deliver the monthly rental amount.

You have to think of it like retail shopping.  You go to the store to by a sweater with a budget of $65.  You find a great sweater but the price tag is $125.  You immediately look at what it is made of hoping to justify the price.  It ends up being made of a pure wool and silk mix, therefore justifying the price.  You like it, the material is worth it, so you go out of your budget and buy it.  In leasing apartments our amenities, granite counter tops and ceramic floors, are our wool and silk.  These amenities collectively justify our rental price.  These items must be introduced, prior to announcing the monthly rent.

In the case that the prospective resident does demand just the price, we still want to control the delivery of that information.  The best way to do this is to start by providing a price, like a deposit or an application fee, any price that is equal to your competitors so you are not immediately ruled out.  By giving these types of prices, the prospective renter gets the subconscious feeling that you are willing to deliver all prices as requested, so their price demanding demeanor calms down.  The next step is to verbally commit to giving the exact rental price, but letting them know, in order to do so you just need to ask three quick questions.  At this point, your questions need to contain amenity choices.  "Do you prefer a ground floor apartment with a spacious patio, or an upper apartment with a grand balcony?"  "Do you prefer an apartment with a serene lake view, or one with a view of our resort style pool?" and finally "Do you prefer the floor plan with the open loft like kitchen, or the one with the galley style kitchen?"  By implementing this technique, you are actually introducing amenities, all of which they believe are allowing you to come up with the exact rental amount.  Obviously summarize by saying:  "And for all of that, the monthly rent is only $1685, what time today can you take a tour of your new apartment home?"

In summary, here are the steps of an effective sales call.

1. Listen closely to what the caller is requesting.  Often, it is not price.
2. Always provide a stimulating description of amenities prior to discussing price.
3. If pushed to give price, start with not competitive prices such as:  deposits, application fees, etc.
4. Implement a summary closing statement implying that the loaded amenity package more than justifies the price.
5. ALWAYS ask for a tour appointment!

My hope is that this article can become the cure to Leasing Consultant "Verbal Sales Diarrhea" throughout the world!

So, stop spewing the same sales pitch on your customers!  Mix it up a little bit, customize it to their questions and watch your call to appointment ratio increase.