{"id":12022,"date":"2015-03-26T05:00:50","date_gmt":"2015-03-26T12:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/?p=12022"},"modified":"2020-12-24T03:09:48","modified_gmt":"2020-12-24T11:09:48","slug":"superstar-leasing-agents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/superstar-leasing-agents\/","title":{"rendered":"Superstar Leasing Agents"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Deena Howell\u2019s granddaughter sells an uncanny amou<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-12024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2015\/01\/shutterstock_162825002.jpg\" alt=\"shutterstock_162825002\" width=\"387\" height=\"276\" \/>nt of Girl Scout cookies. \u201cThat\u2019s because I taught her everything she knows about sales,\u201d Howell smiles with a twinkle in her eye. \u201cThat\u2019s why she\u2019s so good at selling those cookies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For nearly a decade, Howell worked as a leasing agent before becoming a trainer with her company. The skills she learned in the field benefited her throughout her entire career and well into her retirement as a leader in her granddaughter\u2019s troop. Through her own experiences and training others, Howell has discovered seven pointers that help decent leasing consultants become stellar.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Practice Empathy in Action<\/strong> Rather than selling from a script or promoting things that you like about the community, take the time to understand prospects\u2019 needs and interests. Use those points to present the home that is right for them. \u201cMake that unit seem like it was made for them rather than selling the first available unit. When you understand them, you understand what they need to hear and see.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Learn Active Listening<\/strong> Listening and processing information is vital to <a title=\"Communicating with residents\" href=\"http:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/insight\/resident-retention\/11476.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">effective communication<\/a>, especially with investments like a home. \u201cListening is the single best way to learn what the prospect really wants and how to sell it to them,\u201d says Howell. \u201cEven repeat info back to them to clarify. They will appreciate that you\u2019re trying to understand them and they\u2019ll trust your insights later on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sell Value, Not a Product<\/strong> \u201cWe don\u2019t just sell a unit,\u201d says Howell. \u201cWe sell a home, a lifestyle and possibilities.\u201d The floor plan may encourage prospects to call but selling the lifestyle and the future possibilities will get them to sign the lease <em>and <\/em>renew later.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Keep Learning About the Community <\/strong>This is especially important if you commute to work. \u201cTaking the same route each day will only show you certain areas of the neighborhood. Take the time to drive around, see what\u2019s new,\u201d says Howell. Your knowledge of the community and what it has to offer will be helpful when you\u2019re trying to customize a sale. Updated knowledge also makes it easier to stay excited about your job.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Be Disciplined <\/strong>Howell shakes her head wearily, \u201cDon\u2019t get lazy, no matter if things are really bad or really good. Apathy kills your mojo. Always present your best smile. Always know your product and its changes. Always <em>always <\/em>follow-up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Reward Yourself for Goals Achieved <\/strong>Set your own goals and give yourself little rewards for meeting them. This is especially important if you\u2019re in a work environment where you don\u2019t think your efforts are being acknowledged. \u201cIt\u2019s too easy to feel underappreciated and either kill yourself working too hard or lose motivation. If you set your goals and rewards, you can keep a healthy balance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Learn to Avoid \u201cNo\u201d <\/strong>Once a prospect loses interest, it\u2019s an uphill battle to win them back. The persistence needed to win back a client who has rejected a property could do more harm than good. \u201cDon\u2019t be annoying. No means no,\u201d says Howell. \u201cSo a stellar leasing agent tries to avoid that no, that disconnect, in the first place. Listen. Always address their needs. End every encounter on a good note so they know they can return to your property\u2014and to you\u2014at any time in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Deena Howell\u2019s granddaughter sells an uncanny amount of Girl Scout cookies. \u201cThat\u2019s because I taught her everything she knows about sales,\u201d Howell smiles with a twinkle in her eye. \u201cThat\u2019s why she\u2019s so good at selling those cookies.\u201d For nearly a decade, Howell worked as a leasing agent before becoming a trainer with her company. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":440,"featured_media":12024,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_s2mail":"yes","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,3354],"tags":[38,220,589,341],"class_list":["post-12022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","category-team-yardi","tag-customer-service","tag-leasing","tag-multi-family","tag-property-management"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.4 (Yoast SEO v24.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Yardi Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Deena Howell\u2019s granddaughter sells an uncanny amount of Girl Scout cookies. \u201cThat\u2019s because I taught her everything she knows about sales,\u201d Howell smiles\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Superstar Leasing Agents\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Deena Howell\u2019s granddaughter sells an uncanny amount of Girl Scout cookies. \u201cThat\u2019s because I taught her everything she knows about sales,\u201d Howell smiles\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/superstar-leasing-agents\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Yardi Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-03-26T12:00:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-12-24T11:09:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2015\/01\/shutterstock_162825002.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"650\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"463\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Erica Rasc\u00f3n\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Erica Rasc\u00f3n\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/superstar-leasing-agents\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/superstar-leasing-agents\/\",\"name\":\"Superstar Leasing Agents - 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