How to Sell a Prospect on Your Rental Property — without a Big Sales Pitch!
By Amber
If you’re like many people who’d prefer to avoid the hard-sell approach to renting a property, take heart. There are some simple, direct and effective ways to help the features of your property speak for themselves.
Read on for tips on how to sell a prospect on your rental, seemingly without selling at all!
Forget the pitch
Whether you’re in sales or screenwriting, all anyone can ever talk about is the pitch. But the beauty of providing something that someone needs is that you don’t have to force it. In fact, avoid hyping your property; rather, get real and focus on having a conversation with those who might want and need the rental property you have. Whether the communication is in person, via email or on social media, make the focus on how you can help that person add value to their housing search, rather than merely trying to make them like what you have.
Be a great listener
In a conversation, the value of this trait is clear; we love talking to people who take the time to absorb and respond thoughtfully to what we’re saying. But when it comes to promoting rental property, a lot of your conversations won’t be face-to-face; they’ll be via email or a messaging platform. So how does listening work in those other realms?
To start, become an avid researcher, an eaves-dropper on other people’s conversations about their renting needs. You might start by reading threads on rental websites, for instance. What do you hear renters looking for or hoping they could find more of? Is it amenities, friendly neighbors, quiet communities, busy communities or more parking?
Do your best to take the pulse of the prospects who could be your residents and consider how your properties fit their needs. Perhaps the needs of potential residents trigger you to make changes to your rentals to better serve them.
Provide targeted information
Once you’ve set your compass for service and spent time figuring out what it is your prospects are looking for, begin your “anti-sales pitch” process. Focus on informative content, along with the details of your property, which should highlight those things that renters want. If renters in your area need easy parking and recreation access, for example, be sure those are your top points. Depending on your main demographic, deliver additional information those people can use: a list of late-night eateries for students, links to parks for families, an activities guide for older residents, for instance. Be as active as time allows in posting useful and timely information and responding to prospects’ questions.
Cultivate trust
While you are interacting with prospects, both in promoting your properties and providing relevant information they can use, you’re building credibility. When you make customer service a priority in your work, even for prospects who are not yet your residents, you also generate trust. Go one step further and, if you can, help those for whom your property is not a good fit by referring them to someone else. The goodwill you generate from both your colleagues and residents may well come back in positive ways.
Present perfectly
When it gets down to it, regardless of the conversations you have about your property, real or virtual, there is no substitute for curb appeal and for delivering the goods beyond the front door. That means your property, luxury rental or more modest abode, must be immaculate and in perfect repair, with well-kept yards. Once your prospect tours the place, nothing else matters but how well your rental presents itself.
Relax, and worry a little less about a sales pitch. Most residents are looking for specific things in a rental, and you need to tell them how your property just may fit the bill. Focus on service — even for those who aren’t yet residents — and you’ll be at your most persuasive!