Would you be surprised to learn that only 40% of people in the market for an apartment will complete the apartment renting process within 30 days? So, if you’re only focusing on the people who tell you they’re looking to rent an apartment within the next 30 days you’re potentially missing out on 60% of your customers! Sixty percent!
Think about it…
I have to admit when I was a front line leasing consultant I’d often get irritated when customers would tell me they weren’t looking at moving in for months after they came in to visit. I’d often wonder, “Why are you here, now??” You see, I wanted to get people to move in this month. Our compensation structure paid me for every move-in I had, not for every lease I secured. So if I wanted to get paid quickly, I needed people to move in now.
This meant that I often put off following up with prospects who were looking to move further out than 30 days. But, as the stats indicate, 60% of customers who walk in your office today will NOT complete the process within 30 days. If you’re ignoring anyone not moving within 30 days you’re leaving money on the table-or more accurately you’re preventing money from being placed on your desk!
What can do you do?
Here is the obvious action step…FOLLOW UP! I know most people want to follow up and know they should follow up, but obstacles get in their way. Here are some things you can do to make it more likely that you will follow up…
- Remind yourself that following up is just as important as helping a customer standing in your office.
- Block off specific times on your calendar to do your follow up. Set calendar notifications to remind you of your follow up time.
- If you work in a multi-person office cover for each other when someone else is doing follow up. In the last community I managed this is what we did and it worked well.
The principle is this…if you don’t follow up with people you’re losing income. If you’re only following up with customers who are looking to move in right away, you’re losing money. If you don’t have a system in place to ensure that you follow up consistently, you’re losing money.
Stop losing money today by making a plan to follow up and then doing it! Trust me, it’s worth it!
