The Demand Solutions Blog

Overcoming the 13 Most Common Objections at Renewal Time

by Donald Davidoff | Jun 6, 2016 12:00:00 AM

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Handling objections can be one of the most stressful jobs for any community manager or site associate responsible for dealing with renewals. We never hear anyone tell us how great a deal they think an increase is, or that they understand the balance of business imperatives and customer care make it hard to come up with appropriate renewal rents. Instead, we hear emotional pleas, attempts to personalize the situation and pretty much anything that gives the customer leverage or make us feel bad. Heck, we don’t even know for sure they believe what they’re saying…it could just be a tactic.

What we can do is arm ourselves with knowledge and experience to prepare us for empathetic yet fair-minded renewal discussions. In my career, I’ve identified what I believe are the 13 most common renewal objections:

1. “My neighbor is paying less than I am.”

2. “I’ve been a loyal resident for xx-years…How can you do this to your good residents?”

3. “The apartments across the street are less expensive...”

4. “The rates in this letter just aren’t fair.”

5. “I just can’t afford these rates.”

6. “You’re raising my rent, but you’re not giving me anything extra in return – no new services, nothing new added to the community.”

7. “I've seen your ads…you’re offering new people XX. Why can’t I get the same?”

8. “First you screw up my move-in and now you thank me by asking me to pay XX to stay another 12 months!” (or any generic service complaint)

9. "I’ve had to live through construction (or renovation) mess for the last 6 months!”

10. “Why do I have to pay so much more for a short lease term?”

11. “When I moved in, I got … Why is the price so high now?”

12. “I’m unhappy with the rent increase you are asking me to pay. . . When I asked the Leasing Associate to consider decreasing it, he/she told me that [fill in the name of your pricing system] won’t let you change it. What is [fill in name of your pricing system]?”

13. “I don’t care about your explanations. I don’t agree and want to speak with an executive about this.”

If we spend time now thinking about how to answer each of these, then we’ll be more prepared and more professional in our responses. That will in turn improve our success. As you think about how you might (or have) answered each of these, keep the following in mind:

  • Recognize this “pre-work” will make renewal conversations better, not easier.
  • Fairness is in the eye of the beholder…but it does mean fairness to you as the operating company as much as to the resident.
  • Housing has a social contract component.
  • Resist taking on the resident’s emotional state and their attempts to make it personal.
  • Find your own voice.

The webinar slides cover specific ways of responding to each and every one of these. 

A glimpse into the presentation slides, here’s what you should think about and some sample responses for the first objection, “My neighbor is paying less than I am.”

How to Respond What to Say
  • Express understanding and empathy
  • Acknowledge the resident’s feedback as potentially correct
  • Explain the variables that contribute to price differences for each apartment. The variables may include: apartment type, feature, floor premiums, view premiums, timing and lease conditions
  • Explore the causes in a non-defensive and positive tone
  • Don’t discuss or confirm what other residents are paying for their apartments
  • I understand why you would question the rate difference. May I explain the variables that cause the differences to occur?
  • Your observation could be correct. It isn’t unusual that similar apartments are priced differently.
  • Rates constantly fluctuate. At move in, your neighbor may have leased at a lower rate or received a move-in concession based on market conditions at that time.
  • If a shorter or longer lease term is selected the rates will be different.
  • Location and interior amenities also create price differences. For example, a balcony or a view will increase the apartment’s value and the rate will be higher.
  • The variables create a wide array of prices for similar apartment types. Does this make sense?
  • To protect the privacy of our residents we don’t discuss what others are paying or why.

 

 

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