Does your company force leasing agents to hound prospects immediately after tour?

Our company recently updated policies to force leasing agents to call within an hour of the tour and email within two hours. They also want them to follow up every single day with a phone call and emails as well. Isn’t there a such thing as overkill?

Recently, I was apartment hunting and was totally turned off by a couple communities that called or emailed way too often.

Is there legit data out there that shows today’s prospects truly like this method of constant follow up? It just seems a bit much to borderline harass prospects once they reach out to the community as a possible future resident. Our company wants us to reach out until they say they are not interested in our community or found another home.

What are your thoughts?

That is the quickest way for me to never want to live there. Ever. I don't care how great it is.

Some people would consider that harassment!

I was getting multiple calls and emails when I shopped a community and it drove me nuts! I've now set up a junk email, and I give an old phone number so they can't reach me

Keep calling till they tell you to stop! People get busy and it gives you a chance to build a relationship.

It depends on how the showing goes. If they seem interested and ask a lot of questions, I will follow up the next day. If they expressed no interest or didn't take my card with info on how to apply or even tell me they are going to keep looking, I don't follow up.

That would be a complete turn off for me as a prospect. I had one company do that last year and I ended up blocking their number and sending email to spam.

I would absolutely walk away from a community that did this. I want to feel welcomed, not sold.

I think if you had a great connection and really feel you helped them find a new apartment, the conversation should be easy. “Hi customer, I just wanted to follow up to make sure you don’t lose the home you liked so much. Sometimes when you’ve seen so many places they start to look alike. Feel free to come back and visit. Or, if you’re ready to decide, let me help you walk through the next steps.”

I'm busy. If you become a burden, hindrance, or an annoyance, you may royally F off. Feel free to check in with me once or twice a week but respect my boundaries when I say I'll call you when I'm ready.
Look at it like dating: If you went on a get to know you first date and your date called you an hour afterwards, emailed you on the same day, and continued to hound you, your stomach would churn with each red flag and you'd immediately block them for your safety and sanity.
Court your prospects, but don't make them take out a restraining order against you.

I’m a firm believer that yes you should follow up with a call and email the day of the tour. My calls are usually thanking them for coming in and letting them know that I gave them a lot of information and just wanted to check in to see if they had any additional questions. My follow up email is recapping what we discussed and giving a pricing breakdown. Following up both ways every day is crazy though.

Sounds as irritating as the " I have been trying to reach you about your car warranty " calls!!!!😂😂

People get upset when they are bothered too much. I’m glad I work for a company that doesn’t have these requirements

Wow, that does seem like an unreasonable time frame for follow up. I would caution those that pick and choose who they follow up with to remember that the key to avoiding fair housing issues is consistency. I’ll be interested to know if that type of follow up results in leased units.

If i get hounded too much its a no on whatever it is…apt car house…

A follow up email immediately after the tour and a phone call within 24 hours is becoming the standard. We have to diversify how we’re communicating to cover all bases. But, if a prospect says “this isn’t going to work for me” whether it’s out of their price range or just doesn’t check the boxes, then continued follow up is annoying for the prospect and a waste of time for you. So, phone calls and personalized emails go a long way!

I barely want to talk to my friends on the phone let alone take 20 sales calls. Any company that calls me excessively will get blocked and possibly a bad review for the harassment.
If your company is going to require constant contact it should be via text or email so it can be ignored by the prospect until they are ready to respond. Getting bombarded with phone calls is not the way to go.

I think one or two companies I've worked for required we do this. Some others didn't require it and me personally I will flat out tell teams that me along with my husband are considering living at to please not email/call me right away or we will block them. We will rent from a place we want when we know and usually the team will respect how up front we are.

If it’s a new company policy, unfortunately sounds like you are going to have to do it. However ask the prospect how they would prefer to be contacted and note that in the guest card and follow up that way. Some people prefer phone calls, texts or emails. Ask them when is best for you to make the follow ups so you don’t become a bother. And if they say, thank you for following up but they will be in touch when they are ready, note the guest card. That way you are protecting yourself. I will say as everyone else on this post, whenever I’ve been apt searching and been overly followed up with I want nothing to do with them anymore. Same goes for a community who doesn’t follow up or provide good follow ups. Make sure your follow ups are informative and helpful. Lastly, in my opinion the best way to stay in touch is to follow up same day within a few hours of tour with a text or email. Then next day or day after just asking if they thought of any additional questions and typically like to mention something we discussed during tour to show I care/ listened to their needs. Then at the end of the week, maybe email or call to provide updated pricing/specials and then follow up closer to their move, if further out maybe closer to that 60 day timeframe. Anyways good luck!

If it’s a new company policy, unfortunately sounds like you are going to have to do it. However ask the prospect how they would prefer to be contacted and note that in the guest card and follow up that way. Some people prefer phone calls, texts or emails. Ask them when is best for you to make the follow ups so you don’t become a bother. And if they say, thank you for following up but they will be in touch when they are ready, note the guest card. That way you are protecting yourself. I will say as everyone else on this post, whenever I’ve been apt searching and been overly followed up with I want nothing to do with them anymore. Same goes for a community who doesn’t follow up or provide good follow ups. Make sure your follow ups are informative and helpful. Lastly, in my opinion the best way to stay in touch is to follow up same day within a few hours of tour with a text or email. Then next day or day after just asking if they thought of any additional questions and typically like to mention something we discussed during tour to show I care/ listened to their needs. Then at the end of the week, maybe email or call to provide updated pricing/specials and then follow up closer to their move, if further out maybe closer to that 60 day timeframe. Anyways good luck!

I think a daily follow-up is overkill...I think it's best practice to decide on a follow-up schedule with the person while they are touring.
But yes, data shows the fast the response to the initial inquiry, the more likely to secure a lease.
ALSO, I believe the most recent studies show that people are only touring 2 properties...so lots of follow-up is important.

Lisa Trosien presented a Webinar Wednesday back in the day that I've always kept in the back of my mind - it's not about follow-up to check in and see how things are doing. Instead, it is follow-up to continually add value to their search experience. Information about schools, local eateries, upcoming community events, etc. This builds up an advisory role that people value beyond simply asking, "how is your search going?"