Regardless of how much you spend in advertising, there’s no purpose to any of it unless the customer signs the rental agreement. It’s kind of like football, getting to one inch of the goal line is of no value unless you score the touch down. So what are some tips to get the customer to sign that agreement and score one more occupied unit?
First of all, ask for them to move forward today
Most customers can be manipulated to sign the agreement if you simply ask. Some managers are too shy to simply ask the customer if they want to sign the contract and move forward. When the customer says “well, thank you for showing me the unit and I’ll think about it” the good manager says “why wait – you’ll not see a better deal than this one if you spend the whole rest of the day looking”. People tend to follow the lead of others, and if the manager pushes to get the agreement signed, then many will do so.
Time urgency – running out of units
Another closing strategy is to use a sense of time urgency. Tell the customer that you’ve had a bunch of calls for units and it’s a first come/first served policy – if they really are interested they better sign it up before it’s gone. This is one of the premier tools used by all industries and is rooted in fact; there’s no control over how many customers will come in the door that day, no policy to “hold” the unit, and the only safe course of action, therefore, is to sign it up now.
Time urgency on a “special” going on
Having some type of “special” is a great tool to help create urgency to sign the contract. Even if it’s not much of a special. If you have a “$25 off your first month” promotion, people are going to sign up because they want that $25. If your manager can say “our special is ending any moment now, don’t you want to take advantage of it?” most people will say “sure”.
Chance to win something if they sign up today
Even more important than some specials that offer money off in the future, are those that give you immediate gratification in the form of something they receive right now. It can be a product like a cooler, or it can be as simple as a grab bag of candy bars. It sound crazy, but people will make large-dollar purchases in exchange for just a few dollars of stuff. If you want to make it even more effective, buy a “roulette wheel” and have them spin the wheel for the prize they win, and put at least one really good one on there. This attracts them both for free stuff as well as a little excitement.
Conclusion
Help your managers attain a higher closing ratio by training them on how to ask for and close the deal. Simple techniques can pay big rewards in terms of higher occupancy.