Leasing 101 - Preparing For Your Busiest Leasing Season…EVER!

In a market saturated with historical concessions and high vacancies, the one amenity and holy grail your competitors don’t have is…you!  That’s right, YOU are the secret sauce, and a major reason prospective residents choose your community over the one across the street. 

It’s a competitive market right now, with brand new apartments in lease-up and intriguing offers such as up to 12 weeks of free rent, $500 - $2,000 incentives via gift cards, parking upgrades and other refreshed amenities.  How are you going to compete with all of that?  Let’s dive in and look at all the resources YOU have available in your leasing tool belt and get back to basics to prepare for your busiest and most successful leasing season ever!

Let’s talk about the 5 P’s of leasing and marketing.  I have leased and managed different kind of apartments all over the country, and every time I take on a leasing assignment and prepare for the busy leasing season, I start with the 5 P’s and start analyzing each category.  When ownership or management asks me, why aren’t we leasing?  I simply ask the team these 5 basic questions, is it our People, Product, Price, Promotion or Place?

Our People 

You are the reason prospective residents will lease or not lease at your community.  A focused, positive and can-do mindset will prepare you for having a successful leasing day.   When you start your day, be prepared and call your scheduled tours ahead of time to know exactly what they are looking for in their new home. Remember the little things that make a huge difference: when they walk through the door, stand up and greet them with a smile and their name.  Offer them something to drink.  Listen and take genuine interest in what they’re looking for.

Open the apartments you will be showing them 1st thing in the morning and have the floor plans ready with pricing already listed for them, so they know you took the time to listen and find them exactly what they are looking for.  

While on tour, ask them what they like to do for fun and build upon that.  Find common ground and their interests to give you genuine talking points throughout the tour.  Use their name throughout the tour and your presentation.  

While on tour explain how the application process works from start to finish.  Remember, we process applications all day every day and they don’t, so slow down and make sure they fully understand how to apply online and how the proof of income process works.  Most communities are using 3rd party income verification systems so please explain how that process works so they know what to expect and it doesn’t feel intrusive when they get the email to upload their paystubs, offer letters and/or bank statements.  

Be timely!  Do everything in your power to process their application within 24-72 hours and notify them of their approval status ASAP.  Once approved, get them their welcome letters and leases out quickly so they know everything is finalized and they can relax and start preparing for move-in day.  

Remember, moving is one of the top 5 stressors in life so do everything you can do to eliminate their stress by communicating with them every step of the way.  

Our Product 

Walk your community, model, amenities and make readies with the same level of detail you would when preparing for an ownership or investor tour each day.  Remember, we were hired to lease and manage their communities to the best of our ability.  Split the opening duties with your teams so everyone is responsible for ensuring your community looks good, smells good and there are no surprises while touring.  

If you have a wow fridge, make sure it is fully stocked and presentable and not half empty.  Make sure your coffee bar and water fridge is fully stocked so you can offer each prospective resident something to drink when they first walk in your front door.  

Remember, we never show apartments that are not ready.  Pick and walk your show apartments each morning to ensure everyone is showing the same apartments and we don’t accidentally show an apartment that is not ready.  Yikes! 

Our Price & Promotion

This one’s a twofer.  Perform a market survey each week to ensure your prices, specials and look and lease specials are in alignment with your market and sub-market.  In an ever-changing market like ours, specials and prices change weekly.  Don’t forget to add a loss leader for apartments that have been sitting vacant the longest to attract more people and attention to your community to bring people in.  

If you need to add a look and lease special to help close more deals, do it!  A ton of communities are offering additional gift cards of $500 - $2,000, free parking options and free groceries or apartment cleanings.  If your base rent pricing is an issue, offer a free parking space and/or garage space or try a reduced rate for a period of time and see how that works. Be creative and test the market to see what works for your community.  

Our Place

Remember that knowledge is power and the more you know about your community and surrounding area, the more leases you will secure.  Create a community info/area conveniences flyer that shows the nearest grocery stores, pharmacies, restaurants, bars, childcare centers, public and private elementaries, junior high and high schools, places of worship, pet groomers, pet boarders, pet stores, post office, public transportation stops, etc.  

Remember when people move, they want and need to know what is close by.  Since we have so many people moving to Denver, your prospective residents may not know anything about your surrounding area.  Be helpful and resourceful when educating them about your community.  This is a big deal, and they want to be comfortable and confident in their choice to live in your community.  You are the expert on your community!  

Have fun and bring the joy to everything you do on the leasing floor and at your communities!  
Happy leasing!