You might be thinking this is a no-brainer; you’ll just head to an internet job board, type in the type of position you want, and search through the hundreds or thousands of results. Maybe you’ll apply to all of them, I mean… the more you apply to the better your chances, right?

To quote one of my favorite plays, Death of a Salesman, “It’s who you know, and the smile on your face! It’s contacts, Ben, contacts!”

Sure, applying to any and every position that even slightly resembles what you’re hoping to do, does seem to make sense, statistically. But, you’re going to burn through a lot of energy sending dozens of resumes and cover letters, why not put your time to a little better use and start networking, instead?

NETWORK

The multifamily housing industry affords us so many places to connect with likeminded professionals. From peers to potential supervisors, interacting has never been easier. Have great ideas? Share them… people will take notice.  Super smart firecracker? Let your personality & knowledge shine… and attract people who are looking for someone as dynamic as you are! Are you a great coach? Help others out with their questions about the business, potential employers frequent the message boards and someone who’s always there, lending a hand to other industry professionals might just be who they’d like on their team! As the quote above mentions, It really is, often times, about who you know (or who knows you, or of you).

IMAGE

Christine Schoellhorn, one of my mentors and Managing Director of Real Estate at Greystar, told me a long time ago that “Presentation is EVERYTHING”. I took that advice to heart and think about it when I get up every morning, I think about it when I’m choosing what to share on my various Social Media platforms, I think about it when I craft a blog (like this one), I think about it when I’m preparing a presentation, I think about it when I take photos I intend to share, I think about it when I reply to the message board posts. In a nutshell, I think about it before I do just about everything and with good reason. Everything I put out there, is a reflection of my character, my work ethic, my professionalism… it’s me! I personally want it to be the absolute best representation possible, because that’s who I am and who I continually strive to be… the best! With a smile on my face (it really is always there… I’m a happy person).

When you’re thinking about getting to that next level and you decide to wisely spend your time networking, be sure to represent you in the best light possible. Choose the right photo, check your spelling and grammar, craft a signature that is professional and interesting, stand out by being involved and become a subject matter expert on the topic that you’re the most passionate about, let your hair down (while remaining professional, but by showing your personality a little bit, you’ll attract potential employers who appreciate YOU and your style. Resulting in a better fit, overall, and longer employment).

CONNECT

Connect with people and do it with flair! When asking to connect on LinkedIn, don’t use their pre-written “connect” message. Craft your own, make it personal, if it’s with a company you’d like to work for, say that! Every single connection I request, I customize to that specific person. Sadly, I’ve received MANY connection requests and not a SINGLE one has been customized. This is a huge area of opportunity, if you want to stand out from the crowd. The little things matter, never forget that. Same thing goes for other sites that you connect on, send a personalized message or note. If they’ve accepted, engage them. There’s nothing worse than connecting for the sake of connecting. Be proactive and start a dialogue. They’ve already accepted you, so take the bull by the horns and speak.

KNOW WHAT YOU WANT

When considering making that leap to the next level, do it cautiously. What’s the fire in your belly? Are you an operations person or is training more your speed? Do you want to eventually run the company? Then maybe your next step is a Regional Manager. Are you a mathematical genius? Perhaps accounting is your ideal career path. Do what makes you happy, because coming to work every day, in a position you aren’t passionate about takes its toll on you. Really think through what your career is going to look like and then take the steps to make it happen. You can always revisit your path, if you find it’s not what you hoped it would be… but consider what you like doing now, chances are good that it’s what you’ll like doing later. Craft a plan and then work it.

DO YOUR HOME WORK

Finally, another consideration is the company itself. Before jumping into a new role at a new company, do your homework and make sure it’s also going to be a good cultural fit. Some companies are very formal and require suits every day. If that’s not in-line with you and your personal “culture” you won’t feel comfortable there. Are you someone who is big picture and likes to contribute or have a voice within the organization? Then make sure your company is one that’s receptive, open to ideas and values a colleagues input. Never be shy about asking questions related to the culture and atmosphere of an organization. Remember, you’ll be spending a very good portion of your week, every week, within the confines of the company and if there’s a clash in your style are “theirs”… you won’t be happy long and they probably won’t be happy with you, either.

BE YOU

Trying to be someone else won’t last long. Every company and every role at every company has its own personality. When trying to get to the next level, make sure that your personality and that of both the company and the role is a match. Making it a match, will only result in being dissatisfied and you’ll be back to “looking”, once more.

Is getting to the next level on your list of 2012 resolutions? It’s not too late to start networking and attain your goal!

Let’s connect!

http://www.multifamilyinsiders.com/home/u/tarafuriani

http://community.naahq.org/myprofile/profile/?UserKey=78e7b2d7-0104-411c-9bb0-75a7a9c37fdf

www.linkedin.com/in/tarafuriani

www.facebook.com/tarafuriani

www.twitter.com/tarafuriani

In that song is a verse that really speaks to me and inspired me to write today’s blog, it is:

“Who I am, Who I’m Not and Who I Want to Be”

And it got me thinking about those things and how easy it is to not really know… especially in a business that WANTS YOU to be so many things… it’s easy to lose yourself. Sounds ominous, right? It really isn’t… it’s about self discovery and your true professional passion. Let me explain…

Who I am… When was the last time you asked yourself who you were? Have you defined, YOU? In order to grow, in my opinion, you need self awareness and understanding. This means being totally honest with you too. Look in a mirror and see you… just you.

Why is this important? Because in order to be who you want to be, you have to first understand all about who you’ve become and who you are today. Are you bubbly and outgoing naturally or because of your job? Are you analytical in life, or just because you’ve been doing your variance report all day? Are you someone who can easily talk to others and sell, or do you just have really solid product knowledge? Are you the kind of person who enjoys leading a team, or did you just work your way up to becoming a Regional Director and so it sort of fell in your lap? Do you genuinely have an interest in the growth & development of others, or were you just great at your job so it was assumed you should train?

Ask yourself the tough questions, answer honestly and you might just surprise yourself. From there…

Who I’m Not… I remember asking myself this question back in 2003, when I was faced with a tough decision on which career path to take… and who I’m not, is someone who wants to manage multiple multimillion dollar assets. I have no interest in writing several budgets, being called out in the middle of the night because a building is on fire, or getting bids and supervising cap-x projects. Being a Regional Manager (though I have done it), is not the fire in my belly. It’s not who I am or who I want to be. But, it took me a long time to learn that… I abandoned who I was and what I was passionate about to give it a try. Someone once told me that “I’ll never run a multifamily management company, being a trainer”… but the thing is… running a management company is not who I am or what I want. I wanted to run the training and development for a multifamily company (which I do now), but running a whole company was not in my area of interest. So I know pretty clearly, who I’m not. Do you? Last up is…

Who I Want to Be… I’ve often met other professionals whom I admired and I’d like to think that I’ve taken a little nugget or two from them along my journey, really trying to mold together exactly who I want to be. But, as with most things, this is an evolution. Who I wanted to be a year ago is different than who I want to be today. My personal life has changed, so it makes sense that my professional life would as well. What was important to me then may not be important to me now, so who I want to be is ultimately different. Who I want to be will continue to be different, but the beauty of it is… that I’ve recognized it. So I won’t be chasing a dream or working toward a goal that isn’t important anymore, I’ve renegotiated my goals and I’m chasing different dreams. Have you defined who you want to be? Recently?

Ask yourself… “Who I Am, Who I’m Not and Who I Want to Be”… and remember the only thing holding you back, is you.

Do you remember the movie, Glengarry Glen Ross? If not, I suggest you get it and watch it immediately (great sales movie).  Alec Baldwin’s character, Blake, makes a statement that has resonated with me to this day…

“PUT THAT COFFEE DOWN, COFFEE IS FOR CLOSERS ONLY. I DON’T SEE ANY CLOSERS IN HERE”. Blake from Glengarry Glen Ross

And as a Starbucks enthusiast and sales trainer, every time I take a sip, I think about that line and I consider how it’s going to affect my day. Because, we’re all sales people and we all must “close” in order to succeed, professionally.

Think about it… as a Trainer, teaching sales, I have to win each learner to my way of thinking (by demonstrating, sharing success stories, utilizing facts, encouraging participants to try it, etc…). It’s my job to make them realize that what I am telling them (ahem, selling them)… will in fact work. This is “sales”… is it not?

As a Regional Director when you’re pitching the need for that front cover of Apartment Guide, redecorating that model, going outside the budget for a new manager’s salary, etc… aren’t you “selling” an idea to your boss? Providing reasons behind it, net effect of it, etc…?

Then obviously as a Leasing Consultant, it’s your job to get those prospective residents to “Sign on the line which is dotted” Blake (another Glengarry Glen Ross quote, I can’t help myself), right?

What I often find missing during the sales process (no matter what the “sale” is) is the close. Asking them to live at your community, asking the learners to commit to trying something new, actually asking your boss for the money to spend… we give tons & tons of information and we think we’re “selling”… but we’re not actually selling until we ask for a commitment. Whatever that commitment might be!

So let’s discuss the steps involved, shall we? We’ll use leasing as an example, because that is the primary focus of our business.

First, we have to have product knowledge. We cannot sell what we don’t know. Now, by product knowledge, I don’t mean knowing that you have beautiful 1-2-3 bedroom apartment homes. I mean knowing what you have available right now and what is special about it. You’re never going to “paint a picture” of a specific home, if you just regurgitate the fluffy marketing words listed on your website. Have you spent time in the homes that are vacant? Do you know what kind of light they get? What they face?  How they feel? You should! That’s what I am talking about when I say “product knowledge”.

Second, we need to have competitor knowledge. How can you compete when you don’t know what you’re up against? When that prospect says they’re going to XYZ Community and they don’t have garages (but the prospects #1 thing they wanted was just that), you now have an opportunity to help that prospect not waste their valuable time. Know your comps, have comp info (because just telling a prospect that they don’t have garages will only get you so far, SHOWING them their brochure/flyer/info that you have in your leasing notebook… or hey, turn your computer around and show them online… will get you a lot further).

Third, utilize trial closes. What are trial closes? They’re questions… they’re temperature checking… they’re designed to help you continue to understand that what you’re showing the prospect is in line with their needs and wants. It allows the prospect to give you feedback along the way and if that feedback isn’t favorable, it allows you to come up with a new game plan (quickly). By asking tons of open ended questions, you’re allowing the prospect the opportunity to tell you what is and isn’t working. No feedback is never a good thing… you’ll be scratching your head when they leave and didn’t lease.

Fourth, uncover hidden objections. What are hidden objections, they are the real reason your prospect didn’t lease. But, you probably didn’t give them a chance to tell you… as sales people, we’re chatty. We can’t help it. But, if we don’t listen, pay attention to body language or get the prospect talking… we’re doing ourselves (and community and company and THE PROSPECT) as disservice. I remember back when I was leasing, I had a great call that turned into (I thought) a great appointment. I met all the needs the prospect told me she wanted, I was charming, engaging, funny, etc… and I even did her one better. I had a fabulous location overlooking our truly, resort style pool. I never actually asked her any questions because I was just so excited that we had, literally, exactly what she was looking for. I created urgency and everything by letting her know this was the only one I had like this (overlooking the pool, but I didn’t say that).

She didn’t lease.

I was floored.

Turns out, after my stalker-ish follow-up (I just HAD TO KNOW WHY), she worked from home and was concerned about the noise from the pool.

DOH!

I had OTHER homes like this, but I was so wrapped up in MYSELF that I didn’t stop to ask her any questions, temperature check her to make sure this would work for her and in doing that, I did not uncover her hidden objection. Learn from my mistakes. ASK! ASK! AKS! The more you can get the prospect talking, the better!

Fifth, the summary close/create urgency is great at reminding the prospect of what they told you (and that you were listening), what they loved and basically; why they should pick you. This is a great opportunity for you to really put your community vs their needs into perspective. If you have what they wanted and you remind them of this… because each home is unique, this is also the time to create urgency because you only have ONE home like the one they saw… so why would they lease anywhere else? And why wouldn’t they lease today?

Sixth, the final, assumptive or alternative close. At the end of the day, you have to actually ask them to live at your community… you can do this a number of ways… so long as you do it! By the time the tour is over it’s up to you to ask them to come back and choose to live at your comm unity.You could ask, you could tell them that they’re going to live there or you could give them a choice between apartments and ask them to pick one. Any way you slice it, it has to be done and you’re asking them to make a decision. Yes or No. This one or that one. If you miss this step, you screwed up. Plain and simple. You whole tour was a waste of time, because you’re not a tour guide, you’re a sales consultant and if you don’t actually sell (and not asking for the sale is in effect, not selling) you’re not doing your job. Not asking for the sale is not doing your job. AND PLEASE… DO NOT JUST GIVE THEM AN APPLICATION AND SEND THEM OUT YOUR DOOR!!!!!!!!!

So do you have to listen to this? “You certainly don’t pal, ’cause the good news is – you’re fired. The bad news is – you’ve got, all of you’ve got just one week to regain your jobs starting with tonight. Oh? Have I got your attention now? Good. “Cause we’re adding a little something to this month’s sales contest. As you all know first prize is a Cadillac El Dorado. Anyone wanna see second prize? Second prize is a set of steak knives. Third prize is you’re fired. Get the picture? You laughing now?”- Blake from Glengarry Glen Ross

When it comes to closing… It’s really nothing more than asking questions and ultimately asking for a commitment. If you follow the steps above, tailoring the information to your style  (we’re not a bunch of mindless zombies who need to do everything exactly the same… you’re unique and that makes you awesome), you will have a better result with your sales efforts (be it leasing, training others, asking for budget leeway, or whatever).

Do you think the following these steps will increase your sales?

Will you commit to trying these steps out and seeing if they work for you?

Thinking about your approach now, what will you do differently in your everyday “sales”?

Let’s get out there and SELL, ok?

I’m WAY more productive at my home office than at our corporate office. Shocked? In disbelief? Think I’m not exactly being truthful? Well, then do let me explain and I’ll make you a believer!

When I’m working from my home office, I’m doing just that… working from a HOME OFFICE. I’m not in bed; I’m not watching TV… I’m at my desk just like a “real” employee. What I don’t have is:

1. A commute (not that I have much of one normally, I live a staggering 3 miles from our corporate office).
2. Morning “hello’s” and sharing with my work friends (come on… we ALL do it).
3. The office “gossip” stopping by… even though you try to politely indicate that you don’t want to hear it (again, we ALL have one… maybe it’s you, ha!) they always outstay their welcome.
4. General distractions… the mail cart coming by, people dropping in to converse some more, etc…

Now, I’ll be totally honest here… I do miss the camaraderie that comes with working in an office setting. I work with some GREAT people whom I consider friends as much as colleagues and working at home has been an adjustment and a bit, well, lonely (shhhh don’t tell my husband). But all of the “what I don’t haves”, mentioned above, translates to one GIANT thing I do have:

UNINTERUPTED TIME TO WORK… and work I do!

I actually START working at 8am (or earlier… I mean, I’m up, so why not?)… How many of us can say we actually begin WORKING at 8am? You don’t have to tell me, but be honest with yourself.

My husband owns a software development company and he works out of our home as well. So needless to say, we don’t converse much… we’re both very busy. So no one is really “stopping by” nor do I have anyone to share my previous evenings activities with (he was there).

I don’t take hour (or longer… and you can’t say you’ve never stretched that hour out some) lunches… I eat while I work; I’m actually eating lunch while typing this blog… I’ve got skills!

Then there’s quitting time… I am RARELY done working. I, quite literally work until its bed time. And even then you’ll find me answering emails on my iPhone (there are others like me, who burn the midnight oil). The last email I sent, from my laptop, yesterday was at 8:02pm… it was an early night. I would say, I work on average, around 60 hours a week consistently and often times the number is closer to 80 (I’m a weekend worker as well… when I can be). Now, I worked over 40 hours a week while in the corporate office too… but time is lost with the above mentioned morning routine and then the drive home and settling in. Being at home gives me a good 2-3 extra hours that were otherwise “wasted”.

Now, some of you might be thinking that I must not have very good time management skills and I need to work this much to stay on top of things… that’s not true. I am exceptionally organized and great and managing my time and schedule (just ask my boss). I could ONLY work 40 hours a week and still exceed expectations… but 40 hours a week, to me, doesn’t equal greatness and I strive for that! I’ve got so many ideas and such great concepts that I want to spend my time crafting these projects and turning them into something exceptional… like a hobby. It’s just that my “hobby” equates to being successful at my job and my company being more successful in general… it’s a win/win really.

So what am I getting at? Well… it’s this… the next time you have an employee ask if they can work from home, perhaps you should consider it. While it’s not for everyone, for some it’s truly a “one up” for the organization while also helping that employee the achieve work/life balance they’re craving (if that’s their motivation). If the colleague has demonstrated the ability to be reliable and meet deadlines, virtually… then what’s the harm?

Things hadn’t really changed much… on one hand, I was glad, because I could get right back into the swing of the “business” without missing a beat on the other hand, I couldn’t believe that evolution hadn’t really happened. It was “the same old”…

Upon joining the Sterling family, I developed our all new Intro to Leasing course in my first month of joining the organization (and 17 other courses since then). The company had lacked any real training prior to my joining the company and it was so welcomed, that I felt a little overwhelmed at its reception (in a good way, of course).

In our Intro to Leasing class, I set out to start the evolution (at least at my company)… covering some pretty advanced stuff and I’d say it’s safe to say that most people haven’t experienced the kind of training I provide, before. Now, I’m not trying to toot my own horn here; however, I’ve discovered that our industry “trainers” are usually people who’ve climbed up the property management ladder and who’d been successful onsite. That’s great… that’s how I started! But, I left our industry for some time and was trained on how to train. Something I recommend everyone who is involved in training do (not leave the business necessarily… but seek out HOW to be a TRAINER).

The decision I made to leave the business was ultimately me investing in myself and our industry (I knew I’d be back); and it made, in my opinion a world of difference when I came finally did return to multifamily. Not only did it open my eyes to what could be done better in the classroom (or on a webinar) but it also inspired me to really get creative with what I believe we do poorly after training.

Here’s what I’ve discovered that could use some improvement and what we can do, as trainers (and we’re all trainers, to some degree… even if “trainer” isn’t in our title or job description):

In training, the learners are excited… fired up… ready to lease… ready to try new things and then they go back to their sites and the rule (there are exceptions, of course) is that the people who’ve been on the site awhile (Property Managers, I’m talking to you)… have their own way of doing things and that basically discounts everything that training teaches.

So what can we do as trainers?

How about implementing team oriented training mini-classes or webinars? Then, everyone onsite is receiving the same information and subsequently everyone is on the same page. It doesn’t have to be long or intensive, but refreshers that are done with the entire team, can be powerful!

What if we include the Property Manager and/or mentor in the new colleagues training plan? Making their direct supervisor accountable or have responsibilities in their learning, can help bridge the gap between training and actual onsite work.

Colleagues come to a training class and then their involvement with training ends.

So what can we do as trainers?

A blended training approach can drastically increase both knowledge AND employee retention. At Sterling, we offer webinar and self paced e-learning courses that mirror (but expand upon) what we cover in the Intro to Leasing class.

Also, having an excellent Learning Management System is vital to the success of your training program and remaining connected to the onsite teams. Ours includes Forums, which allows our colleagues to interact, ask questions (to each other and to the training team) and share best practices. I’ve found that once we opened this line of communication; we have a lot more questions, requests for help, sharing success stories, increased participation in contests and a willingness to help each other out.

After training, apart from an immediate survey of their impression of the class/trainer, we don’t do any other follow-up, skill assessment or survey’s.

At Sterling, we now do a 30 day follow-up with each learner that includes a leasing workbook (that covers things learned in training… that perhaps they didn’t take notes on) and a leasing self-evaluation; which has them self check their skills and makes them assess if they’re actually doing what’s been taught in the classroom **and they are surprisingly honest, as it turns out.

Finally, have a training plan for each position. Ours consists of an initial 90 day training checklist and an on-going plan for the year, by position. This keeps training in the forefront of each learners mind (don’t forget maintenance and the corporate/regional offices). Our LMS sends out automatic reminders of the colleagues’ specific upcoming deadlines and relevant to the learner, course offerings. It helps make my job so much more manageable.

At the end of the day, here are my summarized thoughts… Just standing up and delivering training material is not enough. If you got into training for the same reasons I did… because you love helping people grow and get a thrill out of seeing that light bulb go off… then it’s time we stop just “talking for a living” and instead see training through, for each learner, individually.

Hold learners accountable, give the learners’ supervisors and/or mentors a role in their learning plan and hold them accountable, follow-up with your learners (even if only virtually), check-in and provide coaching at regularly scheduled intervals, make sure your content is relevant and working, provide a plan for training, invest in an LMS that’s going to help you attain your goals, the goals of your learners and ultimately make YOUR job easier (if you need a recommendation, just email me), and finally…

Invest in yourself to become a BETTER and more effective training professional. Merely having been successful in the roles you’re now training others in, isn’t enough.

• Communication (with Colleagues & Prospects)- Email, usually Outlook is used in our business
• Learning Management Systems- Does your company offer online learning?
• Property Management Software- On our computers and generally on the internet
• Social Media
• Rent Payments- A good portion of us allow residents to pay online
• Advertising- Our biggest source of traffic, in a lot of instances is apartments.com
• Weekly/Monthly Reports- Excel and Word play a big role in how we relay information
• Performance Appraisals- Many are integrated into our HRIS systems, which are internet based
• Payroll Time Tracking- Does anyone use a manual system anymore?
• New Colleague Orientation- Unless your company is 100% local, the internet is often used
• Accounting- Most accounting departments use our property management software in conjunction with computer and/or internet based financial software
• Payroll- The majority of us rely on Direct Deposit, which uses a computer to transmit.

I could go on and on… I think the writing on the wall is pretty clear, to be successful in our business you MUST have some sort of computer know-how. I’m not talking learning HTML here… I’m talking the VERY BASICS of computer understanding!

Frankly, I’m blown away, nearly on a daily basis; at the lack of computer knowledge so many in our industry seem to be plagued with.

One person comes to mind and the story goes like this… she was replying to an email announcement to enroll in one of our course offerings (before we had our current LMS, which allows the user to enroll themselves, which we provide in-house training on). She’d sent me 4 emails. Finally, at the 4th I called her and let her know I had in fact received her emails and she was enrolled, no need to send anymore. She seemed confused and told me that nothing had happened. I had no idea what she was talking about, so I said; what do you mean nothing happened? She then proceeded to tell me that when she clicked the link to reply back and enroll that after she wrote she wanted to enroll and sent it, nothing happened.

I’m still sitting here, not understanding what she’s telling me… so I took a few seconds and processed. Then it hit me. Oh man…

I started, when you clicked the link, it opened up an outlook email message, right? She said yes. I then said and you typed a message that you wanted to enroll and then clicked send, right? She said yes… and added that’s when nothing happened. So I asked, what did you expect to happen? She said, I don’t know like a confirmation or something, I’ve never done one of these before.

Now, I was very concerned. I said, you’ve never sent an email message using Outlook before (which I knew wasn’t true… I’d communicated with this manager plenty of times, via email… and YES, I SAID MANAGER). She paused and said… well yes, I’ve sent an email before, but that’s not what this was.

I was taken aback… could someone be THIS computer illiterate? Again I paused, remaining the consummate professional, and said… yes, that is what this was (and of course, I double checked to make sure the hyperlink wasn’t wrong). That’s why what popped up when you clicked the link, looked just like an Outlook email message… because it is one.

She was silent for a few seconds, realized what I was saying, probably tried it again for herself and then said… Oops. I’m just not too good with computers!

You don’t say…

The moral of my story is this… If you want to succeed in multifamily housing (or any other industry, for that matter), take your career into your own hands and learn how to be at the very least a computer USER and overtime… maybe even computer savvy. Computer and internet knowledge is no longer a PLUS, it’s a MUST!

At Sterling, we offer our colleagues the opportunity to take the courses that Microsoft offers for free and we provide a link on our company Intranet for them. If your company doesn’t offer any in house computer training classes, then click here: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/support/training-FX101782702.aspx?redir=0

Microsoft offers tutorials on all of their products (which most of us use) and best of all… they’re FREE! Aren’t you worth it?

Let me tell you about the kind of day I had… it started with Kohl’s department store. Many of you know that Paul and I are expecting our very first baby, Luke! We’ve had sort of a tumultuous pregnancy and after a scare we quickly realized we needed to start buying the essentials. On Sunday, I noticed that Kohl’s was having a sale… I also had a coupon for 20% off and free shipping (which ended that same day). While browsing their site I’d found several things we needed and promptly scooped them up (along with some savings). This morning, however, I’d received an email saying that they cancelled my order, with no further information.

I was quickly frustrated.

Not jumping to conclusions, I simply called the number on the email and discovered it was their fraud department. I was unsure why I was directed there, but none the less, I waited in the queue and finally spoke to a live person. I explained the situation, gave them my information and then upon hearing the next few things… I really got boiling. Let me recap the conversation:

Kohl’s: This order was being shipped to a Tara Furiani. Correct?
Me: Right.
Kohl’s: But the card used to make the purchase was in the name of Paul Furiani.
Me: Uh-huh. That’s my husband.
Kohl’s: Well, he needs to place the order.
Me: Umm… what are you talking about?
Kohl’s: Is Paul Furiani there?
Me: Yes.
Kohl’s: I need to speak with him and verify.
Me: Ok. (Hands the phone to Paul)
Paul: Hello?
Kohl’s: Is this Paul Furiani?
Paul: Yes.
Kohl’s: Are you aware that a Tara Furiani placed an order for baby related items using your credit card?
Paul: Um… yes. She’s my wife.
Kohl’s: Can you verify what items she purchased?
Paul: No… she placed the order, can’t you speak to her about this? This doesn’t really make any sense!
Kohl’s: So Tara Furiani used your credit card?
Paul: Ok, first of all… it’s our credit card. She’s on the account too and second, what is the issue here?
Kohl’s: An order cannot be shipped in someone else’s name and billed to someone else.
Paul: Well, what about gift orders? This is ridiculous… it’s the same shipping and billing address that you’re charging and sending to. Here’s Tara.
Kohl’s: What you’ll need to do is have Paul re-place the order and make sure it’s shipping to him, in his name.
Me: Ok, I will re-order and just put his name.
Kohl’s: No, you cannot do that. Your husband needs to place the order.
Me: Right.

From here; I hung up and began to cry. I know… I know… I am not even a “crier” but I’m pregnant and hormonal and this just sent me over the edge. I would understand if Kohl’s needed to verify the card, had it been being shipped to another address. But the billing and shipping addresses were the same. The ONLY difference was my name, Tara Furiani, was in the ship to field and my husband, Paul Furiani, was listed in the bill to field. The real kicker came when the Kohl’s fraud person told me that I also would not be able to use my Sunday only promo code.
Suffice it to say, I’m adding Kohl’s to my list of places that I will no longer patronize. I’ll also use it in what not to do, in customer service situations and let everyone I know (which is a good amount of people, both personally & professionally) not to shop with them either.

In a time where America is struggling financially, more and more businesses are going into bankruptcy (and a good number closing altogether) and “nice to haves” just aren’t even considered… why wouldn’t a business do everything it could to keep whatever business they still have? To me, there is nothing more impactful to your bottom line like good, old fashioned, SERVICE.

Word of mouth is powerful… can we say Apartment Ratings? Facebook? Twitter? Google+? Yelp? TripAdvisor? People talk and I know, for one, I’ve been TALKING about Kohl’s all day long and NOT in a good way (obviously). A smile, a friendly tone… heck, some civility at this point… could have totally changed this whole experience for me.
At Sterling, we believe that customer loyalty is achieved by exceeding customers’ expectations.

That is the cornerstone of our business, and the foundation of all we do. No matter the objective of our customer, our goal is to develop and maintain a mutually beneficial relationship.

So, how does a rapidly growing organization stay attentive to their customers’ needs? How do they not only maintain good customer service, but continue to surpass their expectations?

The mission adopted by our colleagues is to exceed customer expectations by providing “+1” service. This involved first identifying our customers’ expectations, achieving those expectations, and then providing something further to exceed them.

This new initiative, called “Sterling 925,” drives our company culture. Why 925? Well, that is the atomic weight of sterling silver, and we are nothing less than Sterling! This initiative will continue to evolve as Sterling does. Customers will always be the heart of our business, and our charge is to embrace the challenge of finding new ways to provide “Sterling Service” and exceed their expectations into the future.

What does your company do to ensure it doesn’t miss the mark, from a customer service standpoint?

I was psyched! I was a “grown up” now… and to boot, I had a 50% rent discount at a very nice community (my primary motivation for becoming a Leasing Consultant, by the way).

My first day of work consisted of being given a really thick “Employee Manual” and I was assigned a “Buddy”. My excitement quickly turned to panic. This community was huge, at 512 apartment homes, I was confident I would never be able to get back when I was out touring. To say that I was overwhelmed and completely scared out of my mind… would truly be an understatement. My “buddy” didn’t have much time for me and I sensed she was going to be no “buddy” of mine. She told me to go shop the comps and tour the models, I was to get “familiar” with the community. I had no idea what she was talking about…

I was never actually trained to lease, believe it or not. My company had no training program to speak of and come to think of it, no training department at that time. Being that I was in school, “training” or being in a classroom was all I’d ever known… working was a slightly foreign concept to me. I was the youngest person at my community and one of the youngest in the company and I knew that if I wanted to “make it”… I would have to just figure it out on my own.

And I did just that…

I wanted to quit just about every day I worked there! It was miserable! I wasn’t doing things “right”, but no one would take the time to show me the “right” way… so I just did it as best I could, and tried to figure it out. Thankfully, I have the gift of gab and have never met a stranger… so leasing came fairly easy for me and eventually I uncovered the “right way” of doing things. After several months, I became pretty excellent at my job… and I was set on helping anyone who was new to my community, learn. I would be the teacher that I never had… a true “buddy”! Sometime in May we’d hired 2 new Leasing Consultants and I was excited at the chance to help out someone who was new. I was assigned one of the girls and MY originally assigned “buddy” got the other.

Before her arrival I made instructions/directions/worksheets/etc… that I placed in a 3 ring binder for my trainee (her name is Danielle). Also included was a map of our community, all of our floorplans, our latest market survey (so she knew who our comps actually were), etc…

I made her, as it turns out, a LEASING NOTEBOOK!

I’d never been given one before… but it contained everything that I’d figured out, through trial and error, that I needed to know. Every time a prospective resident asked me a question that I didn’t know the answer to, I found out the answer and I added that info to my notebook. Needless to say the other trainee was bummed she wasn’t partnered with me, but took the bull by the horns and asked if she could have that info too! I was helping to create a Roadmap for others and let me tell you, it felt good! My only wish is that someone would have given ME all this info when I first started, because if I wasn’t the stubborn, I’m going to show you that I can do this with or without you, kind of girl that I am… I wouldn’t have made it past the first week!

So long story short… my on-boarding & training experience when I was new to the industry, new to my company and new to working in general… was something that I would hope no one else has ever had to, or ever HAS to, experience. It was from that point on that I vowed to help as many people as I could. In time, my self-starter efforts were rewarded by my company. I was quickly promoted, promoted again, and again and finally went on to develop our in-house training department.

At long last, all of our new associates were getting the kind of first impression that we ask our on-site colleagues to provide for our residents (it’s sad how we were asking them to give great first impressions, but yet we weren’t giving THEM a great first impression)! I was able to take what I’d started at my community and roll it out on a global scale! The efforts my company started putting into our associates on-boarding & training boosted both employee retention and ultimately resident retention (we all know how residents cling to certain people… if they are their longer, residents tend to stay longer). It was truly a win-win… and something I’m happy to say that I started.

So let me ask you… Are you giving to your newly hired colleagues an excellent first impression? What are you doing for your newly hired colleagues to ensure they have a seamless first day? Do you use leasing notebooks? Do you assign a “buddy”, “mentor” or “pro”? What does your 90-day training plan look like? Are you making each colleague feel welcome and as though they could make a career in property management? How have your efforts improved your employee retention? Resident retention?

At Sterling, we’re moving to twice monthly hiring and set to start offering an interactive and highly engaging New Colleague Orientation… that’s done live, via webinar (with live and pre-recorded video as well), on a new employees first day.

Also included in their “welcome” kit are their business cards, name tag and all their relevant new hire paperwork.
If they’re in a sales role, they’ll also receive the contents that will make up their leasing notebook and each new colleague, in all positions, will be assigned to a “Pro” (our “Pros” are hand selected and go through PRO Training… truly the best of the best).

In addition, each colleague is given their Sterling Story Career Path, which outlines their training plan for their current role and an additional training plan to get to the next level.

Finally, we also provide each colleague with a Technology Welcome Letter which outlines the websites we use and their user name and passwords for each (including how to access our truly awesome employee geared LMS, so that they can take our required first day courses; Fair Housing & Sexual Harassment).

Our colleagues feel supported from day one and our Mission and Guiding Principles are not just words on a wall… but actually lived through our actions. I’m proud to say that I’m a part of this culture and helping it to continually evolve!

View the article on Multifamily Insiders here: http://www.multifamilyinsiders.com/home/multifamily-blogs/a-roadmap-to-success-one-girls-journey-to-make-on-boarding-better-.html

This might sound like I’ve given up… but I haven’t.

I know, for a fact, that the lack of quality phone sales skills in our industry is not, I repeat NOT, a training issue. I can speak with certainty here because 1. I know that I provide stellar telephone training and the proof is; some of you get it… your fantastic call conversion ratios, rockstar closing percentages and ultimately (and most importantly for you) the higher income you’re enjoying demonstrate that!

What I don’t get is those of you who purposefully choose NOT to try doing things a little differently. I mean if you can do a call that makes me want to bang my head against a wall, is it THAT much more difficult to do a call that might… I don’t know… earn you a few appointments and perhaps an additional lease or two? Crazy I know…

So what’s the difference between a good and bad leasing call? Here are my thoughts:

BAD: Giving the prospect totally useless information (i.e.: We have two different 1 bedroom floorplans to choose from, one is 874 square feet and the other is 918 square feet).

GOOD: Give the prospect information they can understand (i.e.: We have two different 1 bedroom apartment homes to choose from; the first enjoys an open kitchen with breakfast bar, queen sized bedroom, a bathroom that’s just outside the bedroom- so your guests won’t have to go through your room to use it and a generous balcony with an additional storage closet. The second is a little smaller than the first, but similar in style. In this style you’ll enjoy an abundance closets as well as a very spacious island kitchen and relaxing oval tub. Which of these sounds right for you?)

The BAD example gives information that can be overwhelming to a prospect. They don’t care about square footage; they care about their lifestyle and what an apartment can DO for them. It also uses jargon (floor plans, square feet), something our prospects don’t need to hear. I cannot visualize the difference between 874 square feet and 918 square feet, can you? There are also no questions being asked, just information given. THIS IS NOT SELLING! THIS IS TELLING (just like a pre-recorded message will do).

The GOOD example paints a “visit us” picture. It doesn’t mention square feet because that information is arbitrary. Instead, it tells them about the homes themselves. It paints a “visit” us picture, it forces the prospective resident to visualize the two different apartment homes and THIS, my friends, is key! Finally, it asks the prospective resident to make a choice, but notice the way it asks… “Which of these sounds right for you?” It utilizes the assumptive close, in that we’re assuming one of these will work, and lets them know we’re concerned about them and their wants and needs.

To have a successful, resulting in an appointment (and ultimately a lease) phone call, just remember GLAPS:

Greet the prospective resident, with a smile (they can hear it). Be articulate, slow down, display sincerity

Listen to what they tell you (nothing is more annoying then when you ask when they’re moving for the 3rd time).

Ask better questions (yes you need the “basics”, but you need a lot more than that to be successful!) What do they need? What are they looking for? What does their ideal look like? Do they like what you’re saying? Does what you’re telling them about working for them”?

Paint a “Visit Us” Picture… don’t just tell them the same stuff they can find in a print ad or online… tell them details
about the home you’ve selected for them and insider secrets about living at your community. EVERYONE has a “resort style pool” and “state of the art fitness center”… do BETTER!

Sell! Remember that this is a sales call and getting them excited about coming to see their new home is key. Keep in mind, people don’t call apartment communities for fun (unless you’re in the biz of course, but we’re the exception). They have seen something they liked about your place… otherwise they wouldn’t be calling.

This is really just the tip of the iceberg of what can make or break a leasing call and just a snippet of some of the training our on-site colleagues at The Sterling Group benefit from.

At Sterling, we offer many opportunities for our colleagues to learn new telephone sales techniques and hone their craft. I’ve developed blended learning programs that include webinars, classroom style learning, self paced courses via our LMS, customized coaching and so much more! Our growing course catalog includes; Ring! Ring! Hi, It’s a Lease Calling, Coffee is For Closers, ‘Til They Buy or Die, Intro to Leasing, Advanced Leasing and so much more! We also include One-on-One Coaching, Call Review & Customized Feedback and Peer Role Play… we encourage our colleagues to continually push themselves and grow professionally, while providing them with the tools to be successful.

What do you do to get your team members more excited about taking calls? How do you work with those who just don’t get it? What approaches do you take to telephone sales training?

After secretly shopping several communities (both within my company and external companies) I found that the response “rule” is to send a generic template email that tells me essentially everything I just found on the website I was just on. Can we say, redundant?

So here I am, shopping for a new apartment home… I found a few I like and now, I need to find out more information (you know, stuff the website doesn’t tell me… most of them anyway; there are a couple really great ones out there which are totally virtual… I’m talking to YOU Archstone, high-five!). But let’s say I’m on a “normal” website that doesn’t tell me which apartment home I’m renting and doesn’t have an interactive map showing me my location. These are things I want to know. I’m picky and I need to find out if you have a 2 bedroom on the top floor with a view of the trees or something and NOT staring right into another apartment home. So how do I find this information out? I don’t like to call… so instead I’ll click the “want more information” button and start crafting my email. It would look something like this:

Hi, I’m looking for a 2 bedroom and I have a couple of questions.

Tara Furiani

and THIS is the response I normally get:

Thank you for choosing ABC Community, where you’ll love where you live. We have beautifully appointed 1, 2 & 3 bedroom homes to fit your lifestyle.

The ABC Community Team

So some of you are wondering what is wrong with the response? Fair enough of a thought, this might be something new for you, but here’s the bottom line it doesn’t tell me ANYTHING I didn’t already know by looking at your website, viewing your online ad, liking your facebook page, etc… I KNOW that you have a beautiful resort style pool and that your apartments have 9’ ceilings and crown molding… THAT’S WHY I EMAILED YOU! Prospects aren’t going into this blind, like they used to back in the day.

In today’s technology driven world, I can clearly see WHAT you have to offer. What I may not know is if you have the one I WANT that also has my additional requirements (see above).

So let’s dissect the email response. 1. Were any of the questions addressed? NO! 2. Was it customized to the situation? NO! 3. Did I learn anything I didn’t already know? NO! 4. Was this email a complete waste of my 30 seconds? ABSOLUTELY! The email goes on to say that IF I want to schedule a tour, I need to call… well kids, if I wanted to call I would have done that to begin with. Get the picture?

How could this have been better? Well, for starters… we could teach our site teams about using email effectively. Do offices get busy? Yes! Does that mean this response will “suffice”… heck no! I wouldn’t call and schedule a tour appointment, and I’m starting to not be the exception here. I don’t have time to call, I want to do it online, just like I do 90% of my other transactions. Templates are fine, they save time… but copy & paste them… then proceed to customize based on the info that was given by the prospect. Like this:

Hi Tara,

Isabella Joseph
Leasing Specialist at ABC Community
ijoseph@abccommunity.com
615-521-3024 office

So let’s dissect this email response. 1. Were any of the questions addressed? YES! 2. Was it customized to the situation? YES! 3. Did I learn anything I didn’t already know? YES! 4. Was this email a complete waste of my 30 seconds? NO WAY! What it also does is ask questions BACK in order to get a reply from the prospect (an often missing piece of our email replies… and then we wonder why we don’t hear from them again). It also creates a sense of urgency and closes them on their terms. The appointment is asked for, IN THE EMAIL, so they can reply and schedule.

We spend so much time, money, effort into leasing/sales training and the majority is spent on phone calls, touring, overcoming objections & closing. But we need to add one more thing to the mix: EMAILS! It’s a trend that’s going to keep getting more and more widely used… are your teams ready for it?
Let’s recap, shall we?

OUT:
Generic template emails that just list out what the community offers
A BOT sending our email responses
Asking a prospect to call to schedule when they’ve emailed to begin with

IN:
Customized emails that are specific to my needs & wants
Actionable emails that encourage a response from the prospect
Using the same techniques we teach for tours/phone calls in an email (urgency, closing, asking questions, etc..)
Allowing the prospect to continue to communicate with you in their preferred method

At the Sterling group we are hosting Virtual Leasing Webinars, including email leasing in our initial Intro to Leasing class, holding random contests for “best email responses” and tracking our email leads & conversion ratios. What are you doing or going to do to get your teams into this new technologically driven multifamily universe?