ALT Property Management is growing! I was sitting down this December looking at our vacancy list and was thinking to myself that there were plenty of vacancies to hire a second leasing agent. Then January hit and we filled almost 30 units in a month and a half. Needless to say i was stunned from a almost whole page we dropped down to a couple lines.
What were we doing differently?
Advertising has been a very important almost since our conception. I was frustrated with many of the other companies in town that didn't have service after five or took 1 hour lunch breaks so I hired people that I would pay straight commission had a salaried person double check every application and we were off and running. We have been working on streamlining the process as much as you can and feel that we have a pretty good check and balance system in place now. This made it easy for people to know what to expect and took a lot of anxiety out of the leasing process.
Our new phone system allowed people to either contact the agent directly or leave them a voice mail which in turn meant that our receptionist had more time to answer the phone. One of the things that i have found in this new culture of instant gratification is that the first person to answer the phone will get the lead. People do not want to wait and so we removed the waiting. It has taken me by surprise how much this has increased our closing rates.
Our signs have improved as well, I have been a big fan of the corrugated plastic signs and have found a place where I can get them for about 4.95 for single color, but I realized that it didn't have the purpose of the sign highlighted so I changed the FOR RENT to red, now people see it and know what the sign means. With all the advertising congestion of today we can not miss to market to the obvious readers our intent. Make your point clear and legible.
Vacancies are at all all time low and people are looking to move from their foreclosed homes into something comparable. We provide them with quality service. It is high time that we remember what our job is. Tenants are more then inconveniences and many treat them that way. They are our customers and we need to fight to get and to keep them. So ALT is investing in follow up maintenance calls and complete coverage of first time callers. People don't want to leave messages to some voice on a phone they want to talk to people. ALT is up to the challenge are you?
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