by Donald Davidoff | Jan 19, 2016 12:00:00 AM
We spend a lot of time sharing our thoughts on how sales has changed and what that means for multifamily operators. The very nature of how residents engage, shop and make purchasing decisions has changed, yet the way the vast majority of operators sell is no different than what they did in the 1980s and 1990s (as a matter of fact, we’ve even seen some sales processes that are still in use that we developed during that time).
What’s more interesting is that this phenomenon doesn’t exist in any other function within operator’s organizations. Operators have changed in almost every other key component:
- How they manage pricing decisions.
- How they manage leasing logistics and property management.
- The way they hire and even manage employees
Operators have partnered with marketing to embrace how renters start their decision journey by adopting more effective marketing approaches and utilizing ILS, SEO, PPC and other online marketing strategies.
Yet from a sales – and sales management – perspective, little to nothing has changed.
Given that we’ve just entered the new year, we thought it was time for one of those “out with the old, in with the new” list approaches. So, we broke down the traditional approaches that should be thrown out, and more importantly what should replace them.
| The Traditional Sales Approach |
Today’s Effective Selling |
| We hold all of the information |
The customer researches online and comes 'armed' with lots of knowledge (including $) |
| We lead the prospect through our process |
We typically have to quickly catch up to the prospect and where they are in their decision-making process |
| Guest card interrogation |
A conversational approach where we learn things and note them for our 'systems' |
| Tour all of the vacant apartments |
Pause to ask questions and learn wants and needs and then tour relevant couple or few apartments |
| Everyone sees 'the tour path' |
Provide a customized tour based on expressed interests |
| 10 Ways to Close |
An authentic conversation where we ask for the business after we know why they should lease from us |
| “Always be closing” |
“Always be helping” |
| Script based |
Principle based |
| “Follow-up” stack in desk drawer (aka “dialing for dollars”) |
Advance the conversation with purpose |
| Marketing and lead generation is separate from sales |
Marketing transitions to sales through common story threads and a written SLA |
| Price conversations can be difficult |
Price conversations are very matter-of-fact |
| We wait to present price so the prospect knows all the benefits before we talk price |
The prospect already knows the price from their research |
| Overcome objections |
Discuss decision reluctance |
| Selling styles |
Buying styles |
| All about our process |
All about their decision |
| We shop our associates for compliance with our mechanics and our scripts |
We shop our associates for how well they identify need and connect with prospects |
| We judge our sales team on occupancy and gut feel |
We judge new associates on time to proficiency and established associates against targeted volume goals driven by exposure |
| We get more excited while prospects get more discouraged/frustrated |
We guide prospects through the natural emotional challenges of big decisions |
| Community and apartment home |
Community, apartment home, and neighborhood |
| Fear of fair housing |
Understand where the prospect is coming from and meet their individual needs |
| Features & benefits |
Insights |
| Talk |
Teach |
| Talent |
Skill |
We encourage you to read through this list and determine which changes you need to make. Please don’t make the mistake of thinking you can change just one piece of the puzzle and leave everything else the same. And remember, if you change how you sell you must also change how you measure and assess performance as well!