What the Customer Hears: True-Life Sales Phone Calls Gone Wrong (and Right) Forget the fact that only about half of the sales calls to a property ever get answered, this session will humorously explore what happens when prospects call or show up and they actually make contact with a leasing professional. While it’s fun to blame the advertising sites for lead quality, there are clearly opportunities for executives to pay closer attention to training and compliance in the sales organization. Presenters will discuss their own companies lead handling with real examples, and some of the steps they take to ensure that prospects have the best possible experience. This session will use playback of actual inbound prospect calls to frame the discussion.

1. What The Customer Hears Welcome!

2. Lead Prioritization Tina Makssour, VP of Performance Alliance Residential

3. Lead Prioritization & Focus Sales associates are constantly forced to make judgment calls in regards to prioritizing vastly different types of tasks Call centers have the luxury of a singular purpose and clear focus – phone call conversion When the focus is on call performance, the results increase dramatically

4. Focus on Phone

5. How do you prioritize calls?

6. The Psychology of the Sales Associate Cognizant of the administrative burden on our teams How is the prioritization decision made within the larger context of task? Call routing & “call me now” features Conversations have become more difficult as a result of divorce & foreclosure Recruiting the right sales associate and then equipping them

7. Why wouldn’t you want to answer the phone?

8. Don’t box me in! How do we provide a framework & structure for succeeding without creating a stiff, scripted and heavily sequenced approach to selling? Here is an example of a recorded call, conducted by a mystery shopper, in which the sales associate scores 100% for checking off all of the boxes on the shop, yet it represents a poor customer experience. Call Example:

9. Does the shop criteria help you?

10. Recognition & Informal Learning As we simplify and modify our evaluation process, we believe that the best way to learn is to listen.

11. On The Telephone…Are Your Sales Teams Sending Sales Signals Or Busy Signals? Patty Morgan-Seager pattymorgan@seagermarketing.com 614-325-9770

12. National Statistics 73,864 calls from 1,380 communities nationwide: Only 35% of qualified calls were converted to appointments. 2,863 appointment-setting opportunities were missed.

13. National Statistics 716fewer leases Total lease revenue lost by these communities: 8,450,395

14. Wow! Consider This! 9 of 10 future residents call first 4 times more likely to lease! 2:56 average call duration 3:00-5:00 minutes =50% visit Make The Cut!

16. Getting Connected

17. Power Questions

18. Value Selling

19. Personal Invitation

20. Reciprocal Exchange

22. Getting Connected! Asking their name Using their name Listen! ?-Mute-1000 x3

23. POWER Questions Permission Assumptive Connecting

24. Value Selling Save Me… Time Money Energy

25. Personable Invitations Sell the benefitof a SPECIFIC time First on the list I’ll be ready and waiting for you Create urgency

26. Reciprocal Exchange Even exchange

27. MEMORABLE Finish “I know you have many choices when it comes to apartment living…” THANK YOU for calling us!

28. Be A Telephone Rock Star!

29. Tapping Your Phone Lines Presented ByAMY EARPDirector of Marketing and Employee Development The Donaldson Group

31. Lease-up companies

32. Consultants

33. Training, training and more blanket training

34. Additional advertising

35. Bigger banners

36. Tastier cookies

37. Gimmicks

38. Balloons

40. a sales/business office

41. a call center & needs to be treated as such

42. Must be closely and effectively managed-otherwise our businesses can suffer

45. 73.5 leads that went unanswered!

46. If 30% of that traffic converted into walk-ins = 22 additional prospects!

47. Closing 30% of that would have led to an additional 6.6 leases for the month

48. Multiply that $1000 – Their average rent

50. Break it down by time of the day and day of the week

51. What are peak call times/days?

52. Is there a correlation between peak time and missed calls?

53. What does your staffing look like at those times?

55. Remember we are selling long term commitments. One night stand conversations don’t work!

56. We need to invest the time in mentoring/training our people to actively engage our prospects in conversation.

58. Database

59. Call Scores – Report Card Grading

60. Reports on training opportunities/needs

61. Individualized coaching and feedback or group training

62. Company policy and standard with published and marketed goals/expectations

63. Do the site teams know what is expected and why?

65. COMMUNITY TPA

66. INDIVIDUAL TPA

68. TDG “Top Ten” List – published monthly to publically praise!

69. Bottom 10 list is distributed to Regionals and senior leadership.

70. Scores below company expectations are treated with:

71. Coaching

72. Performance Improvement Plan

73. Official Write Up