Sometimes prospective tenants can’t make up their minds. When they look at your rental property they get excited and say things such as, “oh, this is so cute,” mentally place furniture, and plan where little Johnny’s room would be.
Then they go away. And you don’t hear back from them. Here you thought you had a real prospect for your rental and they don’t call back.
What happened? Did they rent another place? Did they decide not to move after all? Or, are they still unable to make up their minds? It could well be the last one. Lots of people can’t decide until someone helps them decide, or until they’re forced to decide by outside circumstances, such as their moving deadline being next Sunday.
Just because they never get around to doing anything about your rental property, they end up renting a place they don’t really want, and kick themselves for the next year for missing out on that cute place they looked at (yours), but didn’t follow through on. Assuming these were good tenants, you missed out, too. You might end up taking an applicant who is not as good a tenant as these folks are.
How do you make sure these prospects rent from you? Follow up. Following up is the most important technique any salesperson can use. And you are a salesperson when you are renting a unit. Even if you don’t think of yourself as much a salesperson, persistence can transform even a sloppy or indifferent sales presentation into success.
Basic follow up is easy. All it takes is a telephone and a few minutes to call your prospects. Doing a bang-up job of it takes more preparation, though. Here’s the system:
1. You have to get the name, address and phone number of everyone who looks at your units. If you don’t, you can’t follow up. That means you have to ask them for it. Will they always give them? No, but they never will if you don’t ask.
2. Use an “Inquiry Form.” On that, write their contact information and the things about the unit they were interested in. For example, they might have mentioned the fact that it was on a bus line, was in a good school district, or had a large garage.
3. Immediately, as in that day, mail them a thank-you note for looking at the property
4. Call them. When you call them you have something to talk about. “I was calling to touch bases with you about the apartment where I met you at 123 Main St. last weekend. I remember you liked the large garage. What have you decided about moving?” Always ask question that cannot be answered yes or no. So instead of asking “have you decided about whether you are interested in renting my apartment,” ask “what have you decided. . .” or some other question that begins with who, what, when, where, why or how.
5. Your first follow up call should be no more than three days after they looked at the unit. If they’re still waffling, call them back a week after they looked. This time say something like, “I was just following up again. I’ve had several people who looked at the apartment who seemed kind of interested. And I don’t want you to miss out on the chance to get your application in ahead of those other folks.”
Notice that you make no offer to rent to them, only to accept their application. After all, bad tenants are experts at looking like the nicest people you’d ever want to meet.
When you are renting a unit you need to apply as many sales techniques as are appropriate; and following up is one of the most important and effective you can use. That lets people know that you are eager to do business and that you have follow-through. When you take the initiative to get in touch with them, you have made it easier for them to do business with you.
