It goes right back to building a relationship! Although "love at first sight" is possible, the average relationship needs to be nurtured.
Relationships worth keeping are those where trust has been earned through effort and hard work. We expect our team members to be a leader in building this kind of relationship. Multiple contacts will add up quickly when you want the relationship to work! With this kind of nurturing, it won't take long for anyone to realize that you're in it for the long haul and not just the instant gratification of "a sale".

It is much harder to close today then it was a year ago. I've found that people are going out of their way to look for the best deal that they can find hence visiting more properties. It is up to us to make it look like that our deal is the best(whether it is or not).

Following up has never been as important as now, call them back, send them a thank you note/email and take that extra step that needs to be done to get them in if necessary.

I was recently reading an article on how disciplined the consumer is today - from sticking to shopping lists to dedication to find the best buy. You are absolutely on point that a heavy close is not the answer. We have to change up the message and then follow through.

So to your post, I say, "Amen!"

I couldn't agree more. Our prospects are smarter than ever and do not want to be "closed". They can smell it a mile away! A great leasing consultant in today's environment will inject soft closing messages that lead the prospect to a final decision while letting them feel like they drove the process. We must respect that they can and want to make decisions for themselves.... or at least let them think they did!

I personally, am a big fan of the unconventional. I'll just share a little bit of personal experience. My best leasing agent, is also the one that gets the worst shop reports. Sounds odd, doesn't it. But the truth is, the way we teach our leasing agents to treat people, often is not the way those people actually want to be treated. The reason my number one leasing agent scores poorly on shop reports is because she doesn't spout off a memorized, scripted sales pitch. She doesn't pressure people to close them and she doesn't "create urgency" with made up "facts". The reason she is a highly successful leasing agent is because she is the absolute nicest person, she's sincere. She makes the people feel important & like she's glad they came in. Instead of feeling like they're on a tour, they feel like they're visiting an old friend. When they come for a return vist, she actually remembers them & usually remembers LOTS of details about them, where they work, their pets, etc. In short, these people have likely shopped numberous complexes with leasing agents that are little more than vultures swooping down on them and when they come to my property, this particular leasing agent is like a breath of fresh air & she makes them feel safe. Quite a concept...treating people like friends.

Kay - I completely agree... Hasn't anyone spent more money than they intended to on a car, or their nails, or anything else because the sales pitch wasn't a pitch? We say it all the time - the prospects will rent from you and in a market where value-added selling is the only way not to sink... I personally, am willing to spend more from the value of someone I like and trust. It's why I continue to go to the same garage for oil changes even though they are more expensive - the guys there know how to treat me as a valued customer because they have spent the time to learn about me and the needs of an SUV that sees more monthly mileage than most people do in 6 mos. - and it doesn't hurt that they smile the entire time.

Kay- Kudos to you leasing consultant who is sincere and going the extra mile to make people feel important and welcome and to you for backing her! Regarding shopping reports, I remember years ago being so excited about getting shopped! I loved leasing and worked all of the items from the report into my tour but still had the ability to customize each tour to my prospect. We wanted to be shopped, to be recognized for our Top Shops! Lately I am discouraged to see this tool that was once used to groom our consultants into stronger sales people being used as ammunition to terminate employees, the fate of many consultants reliant on the subjectivity of a shopper.