An Apartment Industry Overview Presented by Jon Tull eREI & Lead2Lease™ Lead Management
Lead Management Methods (Internal to Company) s and phone calls sent to property or voice mail after hours s and phone calls sent to property or voice mail after hours s and / or phone handled by “Internet specialist” in management company s and / or phone handled by “Internet specialist” in management company and phones handled by call center in company and phones handled by call center in company Leads ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ Leads ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ On-site Leads ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ On-site Internal Call Center On-site Problem - 45% of apartment phone calls are missed or roll to voice mail. 1 Less than 25% of inquiries are responded to within 72 hours – but is improving. 2 (1 CallSource, 2 multiple sources- range of answers) Problem – The typical online session for an apartment seeker ranges from 11 to 17 minutes. 3 Manual responses to s are too slow – user is already off line. (3 Various ILS companies, generalized answers) Problem – No “passion” or experience with property or market – the call center staff does not know the property nuances and struggles to persuasively articulate property benefits
Lead Management Methods (External to Company) s and phone calls sent to third party provider, particularly after hours s and phone calls sent to third party provider, particularly after hours s answered automatically with a “vacation message” or answer phone calls with a message service s answered automatically with a “vacation message” or answer phone calls with a message service answered with automated “human” response answered with automated “human” response Leads ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ Leads ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ Leads ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ Vendor “Someone will call you soon.” Respond to inquiries and sell benefits Progression reflects “the need for speed” …without sacrificing customer contact quality
Lead Management Methods (External to Company) s and phone calls sent to third party provider, particularly after hours s and phone calls sent to third party provider, particularly after hours s answered automatically with a “vacation message” or answer phone calls with a message service s answered automatically with a “vacation message” or answer phone calls with a message service answered with automated “human” response answered with automated “human” response Leads ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ Leads ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ Leads ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ Vendor “Someone will call you soon.” Respond to inquiries and sell benefits Problem – Not a passionate seller or experienced with the property or market. response times are 3 hours at a minimum – too slow to capture user online. Problem – Canned “vacation message” response that “someone will contact you shortly” and message service call responses are not particularly helpful. Problem – Cannot replace a human response for fluid speech or the range of responses that a person could provide.
Lead Management - Industry Statistics & Notes Leasing agents mention community amenities 17% of the time. Call Source Leasing agents mention community amenities 17% of the time. Call Source Other than providing price, leasing agents mention the benefits of community amenities 4% of the time. Call Source Other than providing price, leasing agents mention the benefits of community amenities 4% of the time. Call Source Many management companies have “company policy” response times ranging from 1 – 4 hours but few are able to deliver on this goal. Many management companies have “company policy” response times ranging from 1 – 4 hours but few are able to deliver on this goal. Poor lead tracking sophistication results in poor media buys and little accountability from marketing channels. Poor lead tracking sophistication results in poor media buys and little accountability from marketing channels. Online only apartment web sites provide between.7 and 1.2 leases per month. Online plus print marketing provides between 1.6 to 3.4 leases per month. Various ILS companies with generalized conclusions Online only apartment web sites provide between.7 and 1.2 leases per month. Online plus print marketing provides between 1.6 to 3.4 leases per month. Various ILS companies with generalized conclusions Lead handling processes (voice mail to auto responders to call centers) that simply capture resident requests and respond to leads will improve lead to lease conversion rates. Lead handling processes (voice mail to auto responders to call centers) that simply capture resident requests and respond to leads will improve lead to lease conversion rates.
Homestore (Rentnet) ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ Apartment Guide ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ Apartment Finder ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ Apartments.com ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ For Rent ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ Homestore (Rentnet) ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ Rent.com ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ Company Website ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ / Phone Lead Sources Step 1 – Respond to Lead Immediately Step 2 – Call Back ASAP Step 3 – Track Success & Failure The speed and quality of your community’s response has everything to do with your lead to lease closing ratio. Phone Leads ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~
Lead Management Tool Providers Tool TypeDescription Call CenterSeveral alternatives are available, ranging from in-house (Internet specialists and dedicated call centers) to outsourced service providers (ex. Message Pro, RealPage) ResponseOptions range from in-person responses (eLeasing Solutions), “vacation message” auto responses, static marketing message responses (WinVisible & features built into most systems) and contextual auto responders (ex. Lead2Lease) Phone Tracking Call Source and Who’s Calling provide summaries of their call traffic and recordings of individual calls. Automated phone tracking (ex. Call Source, Who’s Calling, Lead2Lease) Generic Lead TrackingAll property management systems provide basic lead data entry. Advanced systems include “lead failure” management and better lead life cycle management (ex. Yardi, RealPage)
Lead Management Summary Lead management is a hot topic and vitally important for property managers. Lead management is a hot topic and vitally important for property managers. First rate training and in-person responses to leads is the best way to interact with resident prospects. First rate training and in-person responses to leads is the best way to interact with resident prospects. If time and resources do not allow for more staffing, choosing a lead management technology tool can bridge the resident lead response and marketing analysis gap. If time and resources do not allow for more staffing, choosing a lead management technology tool can bridge the resident lead response and marketing analysis gap.