The ability to overcome objections is one skill that sets great salespeople apart from all the rest. And in case you didn’t know, every effective leasing agent must be a true salesperson at heart. How well the objections of your prospects are handled has a direct impact on the occupancy rates of your apartments.
In order for any objection to be overcome it must first be identified, as there are some objections prospects will voice, but others they might not communicate. It’s therefore essential to get to know your property from an objective point of view, identifying anything about it that a prospect could consider to be a drawback.
Even for those apartments that your leasing agent has struggled to fill can be leased simply by overcoming the objections that it often inspires. Understand that it’s not always about how much you invest in maintenance and improvement, but the sales strategy used that counts.
Educating Yourself on Your Property
One of the reasons some find an objection so difficult to overcome is that it takes them by surprise. They become stuck, having no idea how to effectively satisfy the prospect’s concerns and move forward with the leasing process, instead losing their potential resident.
Proper preparation is what allows you to avoid unpleasant surprises, giving you a chance to come up with ways to handle the deal-hindering concern before the prospect ever even approaches you with it. This preparation requires you to get to know your property and its strengths and weaknesses very well.
The assessment allows you to uncover potential objections that you might not have noticed otherwise. As well, be sure to perform an assessment on nearby competitors in order to understand how your property compares with theirs, as there is always a chance that your prospects will visit them either before or after they visit you.
Developing Ways to Overcome Potential Objections
Once you have identified a list of factors and features that prospects might consider to be the disadvantages of leasing from you, then you will be ready to develop ways to overcome those hindrances. For each objection, be sure to prepare at least three ways to overcome it.
Having multiple ways to overcome a single objection increases your chances of success because different points work on different people. What convinces and converts one person might not do the same for the next.
A great way to overcome any objection is to simply acknowledge that it’s a disadvantage and then compare it to a benefit. For example, a prospect might not like the lack of closet space, but be won over if you point out the merits of the school district, if they have children.
If there is a way to resolve an objection for once and all, such as an upgrade or repair, then be sure to take care of that matter as far as your budget will allow. However, know that objections are bound to arise, even when it comes to the greatest properties.
Having the foresight to identify and address any potential objections empowers you to increase occupancy faster than ever before. Overcoming objections is a skill that can have an even bigger impact on your ability to get apartments leased than your marketing efforts can, making mastery of this skill is one of the best investments you could make.