THE MOST DIABOLICAL SKILL IN LEASING
By
Rob Foellinger, President of MarkeTactics Consulting Group
Wouldn’t it be great if you could level the playing field by magically removing the various advantages enjoyed by your competitors? What if I told you it was possible to effectively take away the advantages your competitors enjoy? One of the deadliest and most debilitating of all marketing skills is the ability to totally neutralize or at least minimize the various marketing problems your competitors’ advantages present for you. Fortunately, this is a relatively simple to learn, fun to teach skill.
When I present this idea in live seminars, I can always identify the more devious people in the group. They are the ones who like this tactic best of all and can hardly wait to get back to their properties to try it out.
This brilliant and totally unfair (but in a good way) idea works beautifully even if all your competitors’ properties happen to actually be “better” than yours, at least in some respects!
Even if you are uncomfortable discussing your competitors with prospects, you can still use this tactic. You can even use it without mentioning your competitors by name. Sounds impossible, doesn’t it?
Your primary task is to devise a checklist of questions that you would like to have your prospects ask when they visit your competitors. You present this question checklist to prospects in the form of a brochure entitled something like “20 Questions To Ask Before You Lease An Apartment In (your market area)” or “How To Choose Your Next Apartment”.
Basically, you make a deadly list of the things your competitors would rather not discuss or are totally incapable of discussing. You then provide this list to all your prospects to prompt their memory should they decide to shop around. Almost anything flattering about whatever your competitive advantages happen to be can be used in the brochure. You should also be sure to mention your competitors’ disadvantages, the “fine-print” things they wish nobody would notice. What you are going to do is downright diabolical because it spotlights your strengths while drawing attention to your competitors’ weaknesses. This tactic will also show you facets of your marketing program that may need of strengthening. I guarantee that your competition will hate this.
Imagine the pained expression on your competitors’ faces when your newly-educated prospects show up at their property and whip out your brochure chocked full of questions they do not want to discuss, especially when this event begins to happen every day and they still don't have enough good answers. If you design your brochure well, your competition will not even fully understand the questions! Imagine how silly they will look to prospects as they struggle to field questions they despise or do not even understand. If you can devise questions that your competitors cannot answer, every time your prospect visits another property your credibility increases in the eyes of your prospects and theirs decreases. All the while you are proving to your prospects that you are truly an expert in your profession. Wonderfully devastating!
Of course, the opening paragraph to your brochure will discuss how you are interested in helping all your prospects make the best possible decision as they compare apartment communities. Toward that end, you are providing a list of absolutely crucial questions that the prospect should ask at all apartment communities they visit in this market area. If the prospect does so, they will be able to see more clearly the true differences between properties in this area, differences that might otherwise be less than obvious.
So, what would examples of these questions look like? Here is a batch of interesting (and excruciatingly painful) samples for your review:
• How much MONEY will I need to give you up front to move into this particular apartment type? How does your amount compare to what the other properties in this market area require?
• How do your DEPOSIT AND FEE SCHEDULES compare to the other communities around here?
• How do your LEASE TERMINATION PENALTIES compare to those assessed at other properties near here?
• Are your PET POLICIES as generous as those at other communities?
• How much are the average UTILITY COSTS for this apartment type? How does your amount compare to what the utility costs are at other properties in this market area?
• How many total years of EXPERIENCE does your leasing and management staff possess? How about your maintenance staff? How do your experience levels compare to those at competing properties?
• What is the average DENSITY PER ACRE of the apartments at this community? How does this compare to your competitors?
• What are your charges for PREMIUMS here and how do they compare?
• Do you have performance statistics for various SCHOOLS operating in this area? Private schools too? How do your schools compare?
• What carpet, paint and vinyl CHOICES do you offer? Do your competitors offer more choices?
• What is your current OCCUPANCY? Are your competitors more fully occupied? Why is that the case?
• Do you offer assigned PARKING? If no, why not?
• How much are your CARPORTS AND GARAGES? Is that more or less than your competitors?
• How does your PLAYGROUND AREA compare to those at your competitors’ properties?
• What is the AGE of your community? How old are your competitors’ communities?
• How do the CRIME STATISTICS at your community compare with those at the others operating in this market? May I have a copy of that data?
• How many square feet of CLOSET SPACE do you offer? How does this compare to the other communities in this area?
• Do you offer free RV AND BOAT STORAGE? Do the other properties here offer this?
• Are there TELEPHONE HOOKUPS hookups in every room?
• What SECURITY MEASURES do you offer and how do they compare to what is offered at competing properties in this area?
• Do you have a FREQUENT FLYER PROGRAM? If not, who does?
• How many PARKING SPACES are available for each apartment here? How does this compare?
• What LEASE TERMS do you offer? Compared to competitors?
• What is the COMMUTE TIME to get downtown/to major employers/to shopping from here? How long does it take from other properties around here?
• Do you offer DISCOUNTS for senior citizens/military/major employers? Do others offer these discounts?
• How much ambient NOISE is present here? How does that compare? Have you personally measured the noise level?
• How many EMPLOYEES LIVE ON-SITE? Compare?
• How much is your RENT PER SQUARE FOOT? Comparison?
• What has been your average RENT INCREASE over the past few years? Comparison?
• HOW DIFFICULT is it to use your tennis court/racquetball court/fitness center on a busy day? Comparison?
• How well are your apartments INSULATED? Comparison?
• What is your FIRE SAFETY rating? How does yours compare?
• What is your AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME to maintenance requests? Compare.
• Are you willing to work with future residents that have less than perfect CREDIT histories? Are other communities more accommodating?
O.K., you get the idea. Obviously, the questions you list highlight your community’s strengths and demonstrate your competitors’ weaknesses. Why is this so devastating for your competitors? Well, in addition to the fabulous embarrassment factor, by using this tactic you are essentially controlling the sales presentation agenda, what gets talked about, by your competitors’ leasing staff. You are actually modifying their sales presentation to benefit your community. How sweet is that?
If you do this correctly, your competitors hapless leasing people will seldom get a chance to talk about the reasons their community is better than yours. They may never get to take their best shot. Your brochure-equipped prospects will rarely be influenced by competitors’ messages because competitors are not going to have much chance to convey their message. They are far too busy trying to deal with the excellent questions being flung at them by your prospects.
When your competitors finally begin to catch on and your initial brochure doesn't completely destroy their presentations and derail your competitors, just make a new brochure with even better questions. Do this correctly and you will make the lives of your competitors’ leasing people perpetually unbearable and completely chaotic. It is likely you will notice a marked increase in employee turnover at competing communities.
Does this sound like the kind of questions list you would provide to a dear friend? It sure is and that is the true acid test of this tactic’s value.
This does not mean that you ever criticize or even mention the name of any particular competitor when you hand over the list. You do not need to. The list should be equally damaging to all your competitors. You should never speak negatively about any specific competitor to a prospect because it makes you look weak, desperate and unprofessional. Prospects do not like it when you bad mouth your comps, but they will love your “inside information” brochure.
Try to remember that whenever you talk about competitors, do it in a general, somewhat vague, way. Say: "Unlike a lot of other properties", "Larger properties", "Newer properties", "Less expensive (“cheaper” or “low-end” are even better words to use) properties" or "Properties that need to offer concessions", etc.
I've used this method all over the country in markets where my clients' properties really were quite inferior to their competition. My clients’ competitors are never going to be able to enjoy their superiority again. I have shown "C" properties how to drive their "B" competitors crazy with this stuff...the competitors always end up looking stupid, overpriced, unprofessional and under-equipped. I love this stuff!
I wonder if your competitors have read this article yet.
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