Improve Call Skills, Close More Leases

They say there is only one chance to make a good first impression.  So, make sure your leasing consultants are in top form on every call.  As a leasing consultant, they have to juggle many activities like answering calls, giving tours and assisting residents.  So, it may feel difficult for them bring their “A game” on every call.  No worries, we have eight tips to refine and improve your leasing team’s call skills.

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8 Tips to Improve Leasing Call Skills

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1. Create a Consistent Greeting

Make sure every member of your team answers the phone in a friendly and consistent manner. Like, “Thank you for calling ABC Community, my name is Amber, how can I help you today?”

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2. Smile

Think you can’t hear a smile?  Research says otherwise and it can make a difference in the result of the conversation.  Smiling comes through when you are speaking and puts the other person at ease.  So, go ahead and smile, it’s good for you.

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3. Create a Phone Script

Create an engaging phone script that helps your entire team deliver a consistent and engaging experience.  The script is an outline that helps the leasing consultant hit all the right points on the call and gather the information that will help them set an appointment.  Part of the script should be asking for the prospects name and phone number.  Make sure to use their name throughout the conversation.

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4. Build Rapport

Prospective renters are much more likely to sign a lease at a property where they feel an authentic connection.  So, on the call with the prospect make sure to ask questions about things that are meaningful to them.  If they mention they have a dog, ask them what breed and share the amazing pet amenities you have on site.

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5. Be Flexible

Even though you have your script laid out, be ready for things to go in another direction.   Just like all the distractions a leasing consultant deals with, the caller has their own sets of challenges.  So, be flexible and listen empathetically to what they are looking for.  

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6. Role Play

Practice makes perfect and that goes for call skills too.  So, call a leasing team member or friend and practice your greeting and call flow.  You will see what resonates and know what to try next time.

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7. Listen to Call Recordings

Top performers, like professional athletes and musicians watch and listen to their performance so they can identify areas that need improvement.  Having the ability to listen to actual calls with prospects gives you great insight into how well your leasing team performs on calls.  It is also a great way to recognize top performers by sharing a recording where a leasing consultant really nailed it.

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8. Measure Call Performance

Over 60% of calls to properties are pricing and availability inquiries. How effective is your team at handling these important leads? To track your team’s effectiveness, leverage a service that listens to and analyzes leasing phone calls. LeaseHawk does this by using a survey of best practices to measure agent performance and identify the areas that need improvement, so you can quickly identify gaps in performance as well as recognize top performers.

It allows you to track how well your employees perform on every eligible prospect call—without having to monitor countless conversations.

With LeaseHawk you can:

• Measure eligible first-time prospect calls using a survey of best practices, or a custom scorecard.

• See performance trends and rankings of each employee by site and portfolio.

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Leading By Example: PLK Communities

Measuring agent performance can motivate leasing team members and improve performance.  One great example is PLK Communities and their creation of LeaseHawk Flight School.  Leasing consultants with 30 or more scored calls that maintained a certain call performance percentage were invited to become Senior Flyers as LeaseHawk Flight Instructors.  They were then paired with Junior Flyers that had lower call percentages.  The Senior Flyers share best practices and work with the Junior Flyers to raise their scores and soar higher!

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“It feels so good to celebrate the success of our PLK Communities leasing teams! Since we implemented LeaseHawk Flight School in October 2020, we increased our call performance scores by nearly 5% in just two months.” – Melinda Howard, PLK Communities - Director of Training & Development

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Improving leasing consultant call skills can be fun and engaging.  Giving your team the right tools and resources to succeed is within reach.  Check out this blog article with more tips on how to improve your leasing skills while on the phone.