To Put On Hold, Or Not To Put On Hold - That Is The Question

In almost every sales training class I have ever attended or presented, participants ask a question regarding the appropriateness of putting customers on hold.  Many are concerned about missing potential sales calls, others not wanting to do it because they feel it is rude and others feeling forced to do it due to being under staffed.  No matter what the motivation, because the topic comes up so often, it is evident our employees are pondering the question and are in search of the answer.

Putting customers on hold is definitely tricky.  We live in a very fast paced immediate gratification society.  We want everything NOW, with no waiting.  We no longer go into the bank and have a conversation with a bank teller, instead we execute immediate withdraws and deposits through an ATM machine.  We no longer wait in a long grocery store line to purchase our groceries, instead we execute our own transaction in the Self-Serve line.  We no longer drop off our pictures at the photo lab and wait a week for their development, instead we print them out on our home printer or better yet view them on our wide screen TV.  We don't like to wait!

It has been said that every 10 seconds on hold feels like one minute.  As I listen to taped sales calls where customers are put on hold, it quickly becomes evident that frustration sets in at warp speed.  If the caller is on hold for 90+ seconds, I have found they typically hang up.  This means, if we do choose to put someone on hold we need to be dedicated to making it an extremely minimal hold.  Below are some of my suggestions for evaluating if customers should be put on hold.

1. I personally do not believe Prospective Residents should be put on hold if at all avoidable, especially if it is to answer another call.  Prospective Residents are like a bird in the hand, you have them on the phone, they are interested, and you do not want to interrupt the sales flow.  Therefore, I would let all other calls go to the voicemail/answering service.  (I might reconsider this opinion if I were 100% occupied, 100% leased and had a huge waiting list)
2. Often existing residents realize how busy our offices can be and tend to be a little more flexible.  Provided you have one of those understanding residents on the other end of the line or in front of you, then I think it is ok to put them on hold for a quick minute.  However, I think you definitely have to limit the number of times to two or less, otherwise they we fell less important.
3. Angry residents absolutely cannot be put on hold.  Putting a frustrated resident on hold only adds fuel to the fire.  They need your undivided attention, expecting you to be fully focused on solving their customer service issue.
4. Family and friends need to be trained that between the hours of 9:00 to 5:00 you are off limits other than for emergencies.  If they do happen to call during business hours, it is perfectly acceptable to put them on hold as many times as required.  In fact, if you put them on hold enough times, you might actually train them, calling you at work isn't worth it and they will think twice before dialing your work number next time.
5. Vendors should be considered part of the family, needing to understand you are at work and have to focus on the job at hand.  Putting vendors on hold or asking them to call you back at a different time when you are better staffed and less busy is perfectly acceptable.

I much like the rest of the world hates to be put on hold, it definitely is not a customer service focused choice.  However, sometimes it is a necessary evil, so be sure to evaluate who you are putting on hold before making the decision by using the five points above as your guidelines.  Most of all, remember 10 seconds is equal to a minute.  So as quickly as you put them on hold, you need to remove them from hold - or at least check in every few seconds.

Also remember, having to leave a message is typically not considered frustrating by the customer - especially if the office person gets back to them rapidly. 

Good luck, and remember, never put your commission on hold!

An EXTREME Maintenance Service Story

Upon my official entrance to the multi-family housing world I was hired by one of the largest players in the REIT (Real Estate Investments Trust) industry at the time.  Having one year of leasing experience in the private sector, I was naively awarded, and naively accepted the position of Marketing and Training Director.  It was truly baptism by fire, nine states, and 25,000+ units.  Luckily, I was young, dumb and equipped with a yet unscarred ego.

One of my states was Michigan, and one of my cities in Michigan was Ann Arbor.  My employed REIT owned multiple assets in the surrounding areas of Detroit, but this community was by far their unrecognized gem.  A beautiful community, off the beaten path, exceptionally well maintained and managed by a delightful staff.  When you walked this community, you couldn't help but feel great, feel happy, feel refreshed, feel .......... HIGH???

So, for those of you who do not know about Ann Arbor, Michigan, sit back and relax, you are in for a treat.  Ann Arbor has very lenient laws regarding the possession of marijuana – a $25 fine for your first offense, a $50 for your second and $100 for your third (and subsequent) offense(s).  More notable, if caught, it is a simple civil infraction rather than a criminal offense, such as misdemeanor or felony.  In fact, the first Saturday of every April at high noon, the Hash Bash festival is legally held, also known as the Monroe Street fair.

Oops, I must have spaced, back to the maintenance service story.

So, I am visiting this cozy little property, and I tend to have the habit of asking residents how they like living at the community I am visiting.  I first venture out to the pool, where I see a lovely middle-aged woman relaxing in the sun enjoying a novel.  I introduced myself and posed the pending question of her resident enjoyment level.  She quickly provided neutral and positive comments about the environment and staff, but rapidly related the EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE that a specific maintenance technician by the name of Larry provided.  I thanked her for her invaluable input, and moved on to walk the property.

I met another young lady walking her dog on the grounds, again introduced myself and posed the question leading to her community approval rating.  Again, I was presented with neutral and positive feedback regarding the property and staff, but was quickly redirected to the awesome service that a certain maintenance technician by the name of Larry provided.  Again, I expressed my thanks and moved on.

During my walk I witnessed a woman struggling to get groceries out of her car in an attempt to carry them to her apartment, I offered my assistance.  She accepted and during our trek to her apartment, again I posted the rating question.  Without fail, I received the neutral to positive answer regarding community and staff, but received the standing ovation for maintenance technician Larry.

As I left her apartment home I could not stop myself from wondering what made Larry so popular with the residents.  Unfortunately my mind wondered to the negative; is he the pot provider to the community,  is he the community gigolo and exceptionally gifted at it, is he the king of free and unreported upgrades, what is it that makes Larry so notable among the residents?

While walking, as all property management people do, I soon found my hands full of garbage that I had unconsciously collected during my pondering stroll.  In the short distance I noticed a maintenance golf cart, so I headed for it to deposit my collected garbage.  I was greeted by a short, horizontally challenged older man with a Cheshire cat grin that quickly extracted the contents from my hand stating he would take care of it.  Upon noticing his captivating smile, his substantial girth, his balding head and his untrimmed eyebrows ... I then noticed his name tag, Larry.  Sorry to say, I quickly ruled out resident gigolo and moved to pot supplier or unreported upgrade provider at warp speed.

Soon I found myself walking along side an elderly woman who invited me to see her lovely apartment home that she had been living in for 13 years.  Minutes later I was on her balcony chatting, having coffee and missing my grandma.  The only difference being, my grandma grew geraniums on her balcony, not marijuana like this resident grandma.  Having been offered a cookie or a joint, and selecting the cookie, I once again posed the satisfaction question.  As she took a long drag off of her freshly rolled treat, holding it in for maximum enjoyment, expelling the smoke intoxicating me and anyone else within 20 yards of her - she moved directly to Larry.  A few puffs later from her, and a few peanut butter cookie nibbles from me, I found out that Larry had a maintenance customer service program he had put in place.

After Larry completed work orders, he would leave a miniature roll of wild cherry Life Savers and a note that said, "I am your personal maintenance Life Saver Larry, call and request for me if you need anything".  WOW ... no wonder everyone loves Larry!  I quickly excused myself and made an immediate dash to the office.

Upon arrival to the office I spoke with the community manager about Larry's customer service program, she was clueless, but noted that an uncanny amount of people requested his services.  We got on the radio and requested Larry to come in the office.  Upon questioning him about the program, we found out that it was one of many "Larry Programs".  He had large orange stickers, that his wife ink stamped with the words, "Larry went the extra mile for you today".  While he was in the apartment, he would search for other things he could fix and leave the sticker on them.  He had laminated cards that he would put under windshields in the winter saying, "Have a safe warm drive to work, your windows were scrapped by Larry today".  OMG! OMG! OMG!  If only maintenance staffs were made up of Larrys, we would never have to worry about renewals.

Suddenly, I forgot that he may have been the pot dealer, the free upgrade provider or the over  weight furry eyed gigolo ... all I recognized was, that he was my EXTREME MAINTENANCE SERVICE provider.

Wherever you are Larry, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE ... start writing your own maintenance blog.  I will be your first dedicated follower, because you were the first maintenance dude to ROCK MY EXTREME MAINTENANCE SERVICE WORLD!  You truly became my Maintenance Service Life Saver.

Are You A Demonstration "SUPER STAR"?



I love shopping apartment communities and meeting Leasing Consultants.  I wish I could tell you that nine out of every ten are awesome, but unfortunately it tends to be exactly opposite.  During most of my visits it becomes obvious that they were hired because they were nice, not because of their sales savvy.  In today's economy, we need effective commission driven sales people.

A few months ago I was visiting a community in central Florida and received such a thorough tour that the leasing professional even presented me with the objections I should have.  Starting with; no ice maker, no ceramic floor tile, no granite counter tops, no ceiling fans and my personal favorite, no water pressure. I do have to admit, while presenting me with the potential objections she immediately presented well rehearsed answers to over-come them, but I could not figure out why she brought them up in the first place.  So of course, curiosity killed me and I had to ask.  Her response was that she doesn't like dealing with objections (oh yeah, this is a good hire), so she just puts them in her tour demonstration to get them out of the way.  Upon our return to the office, I came clean as a shopper and asked to talk to the community manager.  I was told by the community manager that they were in a very tough market, they were offering up to two months free rent on new rentals and one month free on renewals.  I was then told, that even with those concessions they were barely holding on to an 89% occupancy.  We had a conversation regarding tour to lease closing ratios of which she stated were in the 20th percentile, solely due to the tough market, none due to sales talent.  When quizzed about the demonstration strategy of building the objections and answers into the tour process, she quickly stated how well it worked and that the trick was handed down to her from her regional manager. 

Once again, my mother's words echoed in my head, "The fish stinks from the head down"!

I happen to think that the tour or demonstration of the model and/or vacant unit is a skill that must be taught, coached and fined tuned to perfection.  Following are some of my favorite tips for effective apartment home demonstrations.

1. Be a demonstration "SUPERSTAR".  Check your attitude before meeting with your clients.  Dig deep, find an energy source and rev up for the tour.  An excited, positive, fun tour is one of the best closing tools you have in your leasing arsenal.  Your tour and demonstrations should be an academy award winning performance every time.  So know your lines (your product), know your fellow actors (your clients) and know your villains (your competitors) and keep a happy commission ending in mind.
2. Welcome them to their new apartment home.  Never enter the apartment first, always open the door, motion for your prospective residents to enter and say, "Welcome to your new apartment home".  This suggestion gets them to subconsciously consider the surroundings as their new home while touring.
3. Do not announce the rooms.  Never say, "This is your living room" or "This is your bedroom" or "This is your kitchen", etc.  These announcements are insulting; they can identify the purpose of the rooms independently.
4. Get them to decorate.  Upon entering the rooms ask questions like, "Where would you place your sofa", or "Where would you place your favorite piece of art", or "How would you decorate your dining room", etc.  There is an old saying in the real estate world, "If you can get them to decorate, you can get them to move in".
5. Know interesting facts about the rooms.  "Notice, our kitchen has 22 cabinets and 4 utility drawers", or "Notice, our living room has cable connections on both walls" or "Notice, every main wall in your bedroom has an electrical outlet".  All of these items are important, but my not be noticed by the typical prospective renter.  However, when recognized and reviewed, may be just what you need to tip the scale your direction and away from your competitor.
6. Actively involve the customer.  Be sure to ask them to open appliances, explore closets, step onto the balcony, test water pressure, etc.  Tours should be interactive and interesting, you do not want to turn your clients into little puppy dogs following your lead.
7. Hide special visitor surprises.  During your tour have your guests find gifts with your community logo and phone number, thanking them for their visit.  Possibly mugs in the cabinets, t-shirts in the closets, bottle opener key chains in the drawers, travel tooth brushes in the medicine cabinets, etc.
8. Always carry a tape measure.  Know standard furniture sizes and demonstrate how the specific floor plan you are visiting easily accommodates furniture with space left over.  "A standard sofa is 8 feet in length, and end tables 2 feet in width.  As you can see, our main living room wall is 16 feet long, easily accommodating your required 12 feet and providing you an additional 4 feet ... possibly for a beautiful decorative plant or tree".
9. Customize the tour to their needs.  Don't give the same verbal tour to everyone, customize the tour using their names and knowledge you have regarding their lifestyle.  "So Jennifer, you said you love cooking, check out the 23 linear feet of counter top space you have in your new kitchen" or "Suzy, come check out your new room, look at all of the shelf space you have for your stuffed animal collection you told me about" or "Jack, step out into your new attached garage, perfect for your new Mustang convertible".
10. Avoid taking them back to the office to close the deal.  The office is full of chaos, ringing phones and unpredictable residents.  Have applications and pens available in your model units and let them fill out the forms in solitude.  If you do not have models, be sure to put them by the pool with a cool drink or in a clubhouse amenity away from the actual leasing offices.

To be a "Demonstration Super Star", you have to have the closing ratios to prove it.  That means each of you have to step up your demonstration skills by implementing new ideas and creating a personalized experience that wins your clients over.  If they don't fill out an application and write out a check, it will be hard for you to become a box office hit at your company.  So I ask, are you and your product ready for your close up?

If so, bend down on one knee, put both of your hands in the air, give me the peace signs and say it... "Super Star". 

(And if you have no idea what I am talking about, rent Molly Shannon in "Super Star")

Can You Relate To This "To Do List" Video?

 

“I have too much to do”!  How many times do we utter these self-defeating words in a day?  Well, GET DOWN OFF THE CROSS MARY, SOMEONE ELSE NEEDS THE WOOD!  You have the same 24 hours a day that Bill Gates had to build his empire, the same 24 hours a day that Martin Luther King had to influence Equal Rights and the same 24 hours a day that Benjamin Franklin had to invent electricity within.  The biggest difference probably being, they each had a strategy and a prioritization plan for successful accomplishment; unlike you.

I cannot begin to tell you how many times I visit under-performing assets and when asked what the cause is for their less than adequate achievement levels, they respond at warp speed, "Too much to do"!  I quickly follow up that response with, "Show me your prioritized list of what you have to do today", and they look at me like I am a three headed monster.  The next line out of their mouth is my absolute favorite, "We have a, to do list, but we don't have time to prioritize".  It is so difficult for me to refrain from saying, “Then you only have time for failure - dumb ass".  But being the professional I am, I conjure up a sweet smile and merely say, "Let's take a look, maybe I can give you some helpful hints that will lead you to a higher level of success".  One day I will get the Academy Award for my acting skills.

Every single person I know, who has ever achieved at an admirable level had a game plan.  They evaluated and re-evaluated this game plan every day.  They made a conscious effort to make sure that the items they focused on each day, brought them at least one step closer to their ultimate goals.

Our industry goals are not that difficult to grasp; increase revenue, decrease expenses and create an awesome atmosphere for residents and employees alike.  From an employment/professional standpoint, our prioritization guidelines should be motivated by these three items .  In other words, you have to use these three goals to prioritize the order in which you execute your work tasks.  For instance, on my task list today I have; 1) collect rent, 2) review budget vs. actuals, 3) submit commissions, 4) organize resident party, 5) clean out storage room and 6) buy a new plant for my office desk.  Item 1 clearly impacts revenue, item 2 clearly impacts expenses, item 3 clearly impacts employee morale and item 4 clearly impacts resident retention - therefore these four items must be prioritized in the top of your to do list.  However, items 5 and 6 do not directly impact any of the three company goals, so cannot be considered a justifiable priority.

The problem is, cleaning out a storage room or going out to buy a new decorative plant may be a fun distraction from something like boring yourself with tedious budget comparisons.  This is where will power, discipline and a prioritized attack plan pays off.  It is a known fact 20 minutes of planning each day provides the average person an additional 60 minutes of work time, gained from being organized.  This 20 minute planning period needs to be a time set aside from distractions and interruptions.  Some people like to do it in the evening prior to going to bed, saying it helps them to sleep better knowing what is in store for them the following day.  Others like to do it first thing in the morning, saying it wakes them up and gets them motivated for the day.  As far as I know, no studies have been done regarding a.m. or p.m. planning, but all studies have concluded that it is an ABSOLUTE NECESSITY and that people who do it are happier, reduce their stress levels and achieve more than those who don't.

So, let's summarize the steps:

1. Start with a 20 minute uninterrupted planning period (either end or beginning of day)
2. Create a to do list for the day
3. Prioritize your to do list by using the three industry goals (increased revenues, decreased expenses, happy employees & residents), and put them in order of greatest impact
4. Protect yourself from fun distractions that stand in the way of accomplishments
5. Focus, dig in and remember - you have the same 24 hours as everyone else

I happen to love and surround myself with optimists if at all possible and avoid pessimists at all costs.  I love when I hear my friends and colleagues say, "I got so much done today, I can't believe it"!  Their accomplishments motivate them to do more, their accomplishments make their careers fulfilling and their accomplishments boost their self confidence.  On the other hand, when I hear people say, "I worked my butt off today and got absolutely nothing done", I cringe at the negative energy that comes from them.  I watch them organize their parade of sympathetic followers, playing their one man band anthem of "Woe is Me", all marching to the village of crosses to crawl upon their repetitive place of comfortable defeat.

Life is short, and we spend most of it at work.  So choose to win, or choose to lose - it's actually up to you.  But the moral of this blog is; the ones who choose to win, more often than not, have a prioritized daily game plan!  So tomorrow morning when you wake up remember, you can pick up a saw & hammer for your cross or you can pick up a pen & pad for your prioritization list, the same tools are available to everyone every 24 hours of their career.