by Donald Davidoff | May 19, 2016 12:00:00 AM
I know I’m starting to sound like a broken record but can you believe the National Apartment Association (NAA) Annual Conference is less than a month away? I’m very excited to be moderating a panel discussion titled, How The Zero Moment Of Truth Requires Us To Change Sales.
Last week, we provided a sneak peek into the discussion from the perspective of an operator – Jason Whittington from Gene B. Glick Company. This week, our sneak peek is from Joanne Chapman-Reps from Effective Leadership Solutions, LLC. Her perspective is from a learning and development viewpoint. We sat down with Joanne last week.
What made you realize sales in multifamily needed to change?
I’ve worked in the multifamily industry for more than 18 years, and during that time I have seen a lot of focus placed on certain areas. One of the most notable is the area of customer service and experience. Many companies have spent a lot of time creating programs to make our residents living experience better. Additionally, marketing has also changed their approach focusing a lot on things like reputation management and ‘voice of customer’ surveys.
However, one area that often does not provide that same level of customer experience in multifamily is the sales approach; in fact, often times it very old-fashioned. Over the past few years, we’ve started seeing prospects come in for tours who know more than our leasing associates. From a learning and development perspective, it left me wondering what we could do to help our sales teams adjust. It became clear that while the industry was focusing on customer experience at the point of move-in and throughout the residency, we were not equipping our teams to connect to the prospect’s very first experience with us – the sale.
What’s different about a sales approach that addresses the Zero Moment Of Truth?
The new approach to sales implemented by Glick focuses on helping leasing teams understand the buying process through the eyes of a prospective resident instead of through the execution of our processes. It acknowledges what prospects are going through when searching for a place to live and equips leasing associates to sell through that lens. In short, it’s about helping the prospect make a good decision rather than focusing on what we want from the process.
How does this approach resonate with leasing teams? What do you observe in the classroom?
Some leasing associates have been frustrated for a long time because they’ve been required to sell in way, and are measured against an old-school approach, that doesn’t feel natural. This new approach is an intuitive, natural way to sell that allows leasing associates to find their own voice and focus on the prospect and not on a process.
It’s evident in the classroom that leasing associates are excited by this new approach to sales. They learn how to quickly catch up with the prospect, identify where the prospect is in their buyer’s journey, and ask the right questions to build trust. The new approach is not designed to be a ‘one-size-fits-all’ robotic selling approach, and it is not scripted. Instead, it teaches leasing associates how to adjust to the prospect to make sure the prospect gets what they need.
What’s the biggest challenge implementing this approach?
Any change takes practice. The biggest challenge is ensuring that associates have time to practice the new approach and receive ongoing reinforcement activities and sales coaching. It is important that every associate learns to ask questions to understand where the prospect is in their journey before jumping into sales mode, and that takes some practice. This approach to sales is very intuitive and easy to implement as soon as the teams learn about it, and it is exciting to watch!
To hear more from Joanne, join us at NAA on Thursday, June 16 at 9 am. I look forward to seeing you there!
