Cabellas

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Secrets to Higher Occupancy


Image result for magician images


Being a magician I am often asked, "Do you have a wand?"  Apparently some people are too caught up in the Harry Potter  phenomenon to understand you don't need a wand to create magic, especially when it comes to occupancy. There are of course two parts to this equation with the first and most important being resident retention and the second being the leasing side of it.  At this time we continue to enjoy high occupancy in most of the major markets, however, as reports show new construction permits are rising and as our industry is cyclical there will come a time when markets will loosen up.  As expected because the average market occupancy is high so are the expectations for you to remain at or above those statistics.  It's a never ending and evolving industry, which is why many of us love this business.  No two days or months are ever the same.

Why is it over seventy percent of marketing budgets are dedicated to bringing in new residents when it is a fact it costs seven times more to replace a resident than to keep them?  The national average cost of a resident leaving you is high, and you might be surprised to see what it actually is.  Depending on your market and your price points, the actual cost of losing a resident can easily be three thousand dollars and in many cases more.  This includes lost rent, marketing costs, turn costs (paint, cleaning, damage repair, upgrades, floor covering, marketing, and one of the factors most of us forget...time and personnel resources).  Which leads us to the age old question, "How do I keep my residents and prevent them from moving out?"  Here are just a few of the key elements to higher resident retention with the list being a lot more than what we will cover here:
  • Realizing that renewals are not an event but a process and the retention process starts from the day they walk in your office to rent an apartment home.
  • Understanding what residents want which can include simple things like method of communication, expectation of services, to be treated with respect, to solve their challenges related to their apartment home, and the list goes on.
  • A friendly team that makes them feel special and recognizes them as individuals.  Do you great them by name when they come in the door?  Do you follow up even when follow up  is not anticipated? Does your team provide a  cohesive service presence making it feel like they live in a home and not an apartment?  
  • Do you provide services other communities do not setting the bar to a higher standard?  This can include one night a week an office and a service person staying until seven or eight PM just for them and not for leasing.  Maybe they have access from a secondary door and you have beverages and pastries for them to come and enjoy giving your team a chance to get to truly know their residents and provide personal time to get to know them.
  • Does you maintenance team go by the rule when performing a service request or preventative maintenance of finding at least one thing else you could do in their apartment home and letting the resident know they did it.
  • Do you perform renewal visits in their home and not yours.  Two things happen here with the first being on their turf taking away the office environment and giving us a chance to see if you really want to renew them or not or if their might be things that can be taken care of at renewal.  Trust me, I have seen more than my fair share of resident homes who should not have been renewed because they were destroying or not taking care of my asset.  If they are doing that, what kind of neighbors are they?  
  • Does your team know how to handle resident complaints or challenges?  We train them to lease but for some reason we fail to train them on how to handle a difficult resident or situation which in more cases than not leads to a resident leaving. You have heard it we have one chance to make a good first impression. Sorry, but that is bull hockey sticks as the saying goes.  Every day, every interaction, and every interaction we have the opportunity to loose a residents confidence in us, the team, and the management company. We should be reinforcing this but hardly anyone does.
  • Does your community provide services others properties do not? Some time back I recommended putting in a type of mini market supplied with items of necessity at property.  This included toilet paper, hair care and hygiene products, paper towels, dish and dishwasher soap, non perishable goods, etc.  I got a look like a deer caught in headlights and objections such as having to get a retail license, state taxes, etc.  Once they looked into this and discovered it was not difficult to over come these they tried it and the success was beyond their expectations and the residents loved it.  I recently talked to the manager of this site and their regional and they said sales have averaged well over a thousand dollars each month and with the markup have added another income source for other revenue and resident retention is up and surveys say the residents love this amenity. Now with Amazon Prime it is even easier, less time consuming, and more profitable to have items delivered to the office door of your community.  These are items your resident can't wait for Amazon to deliver in a day or two and discover they are out when they come home from work and don't want to venture back out.  Hotels do this, why not us?  Do you have a laminated community identification card and agreement with local vendors for discounts only available for your residents in exchange for their brochures and or information available at your concierge desk? Which raises the questions, do you have concierge services or are you just a leasing office?
  • Do you make contact with a new renewal and thank them for choosing to stay with you, knowing they do have a choice.  
  • Do you have special renewal events for those renewing the previous month including food, beverages, and maybe even a drawing for gift or gift card donated by a local merchant for them attending the event?
The next part of the equation is of course leasing and it begins with the right people, the right leadership, and the right training and expectations.

         T - Train for success for your team, your individuals, your community, and your company.
         R - Recognize potential of the individuals and any areas of needed improvement
         A - Adopt a training plan and plan your training
         I -  Instill motivation through training, leading by example, and having clear expectations.
         N - Never assume training is understood and ask questions to verify the message is clear

Here are some additional key factors related to the leasing process:
  • Perform observations related to leasing and do not depend on shops alone.  
  • Provide critique and not criticism to coach for a higher level of performance
  • Never let technology get in the way of having a personal touch.  There are times that technology is great and others when we need to personalize.
  • The listening and analysis aspect of a guest visit should never be overlooked but often is.
  • Does each member of your team know how to recognize the "moment of truth" when it is time to ask for the lease or to possibly identify we need to change our approach?
  • I personally dislike a leasing agent being behind a desk and having that barrier between them and the prospect.  New concepts such as pod systems and mobile lobby devices versus computers are gaining success.  Imagine sitting at the couch or out by the pool with an IPad and doing the initial interview (both of them and of you) from a relaxed environment or maybe even on the way to the model.  Being able to jot down notes while interacting with the guest, asking and documenting discovery questions and responses, and expediting the leasing process with it being mobile. Come on people, get with the current times.
  • Is there a forty-five point checklist in the apartment being shown or in their apartment on move-in day showing the lengths we go to in making sure their new home is the best it can be?
Does your team send photographs along with the thank you email showing those things we identified as desirable or necessary features to emphasize we have what they want?

The list goes on and I could talk on this subject for hours, which I do when conducting seminars on the subject.  I believe you get the drift and the message of what we can do to improved occupancy and the bottom line, no magic wand required just some magical services.  Now go out and create your own magic and you will no doubt find the incantation to greater success and an awesome team.