1/27/2015. Welcome to the NALP Course: Bringing in New Residents: Be Prepared! Bringing in New Residents: Be Prepared

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1 BRINGING IN NEW RESIDENTS: BE PREPARED Welcome Welcome to the NALP Course: Bringing in New Residents: Be Prepared! 2 Welcome Course Schedule NALP courses may be taken in the classroom or online. The classroom and online courses share a structure, activities and all media. This course includes four modules and will run for approximately three hours. Each module will include a mix of activities, discussions and watching videos and slides. The complete set of NALP courses is: 1. 2.Marketing and Maintaining Your Community 3.Why Your Competition Matters 4.Relevant Laws and How to Apply Them 5.The Sales Process and Building Relationships 6.Effectively Meeting the Needs of Current Residents 7.The Market Survey Presentation For more information about this program or any of NAAEI's education programs, ask your instructor, contact your local apartment association, or contact NAAEI at (703) or education@naahq.org. The approximate time structure of the course will be: Component Module 1 - The Prospective Resident's Point of View Module 2 - Professionalism and Teamwork Break Module 3 - Organization, Prioritization and Time Management Module 4 - Using Your Technology Time 35 minutes 45 minutes 10 minutes 45 minutes 45 minutes 3 4 Introductions Learning Goals Introduce yourself to the group, and answer one or more of the following questions: Why did you choose to work in the apartment industry? Why did you choose to become a Leasing Professional? In what work-related projects are you currently involved? At the end of this course, you will be able to: See things from a prospective resident's viewpoint. Be organized. Know how to prioritize. Be professional. Use your technology effectively. Work in a team with your co-workers

2 Module 1 - The Prospective Resident's Point of View The Prospective Resident's Point of View When a prospective resident is looking for a new apartment home, what factors really affect someone's decision? In the video you're about to see, apartment residents tell us what matters to them. After you see the video, we will discuss what you heard. Watch the Video 7 8 The Prospective Resident's Point of View: Question 1 of 2 The Prospective Resident's Point of View: Question 2 of 2 Think about the video you just watched. What stood out to you as the most surprising things you heard? Name at least ttwo things. Think about the video you just watched. List 2 comments or issues you heard in the video that may relate to you and your own community. What are they and how do they relate? 9 10 Module 2 - Professionalism and Teamwork Module 2 - Professionalism and Teamwork "One Band, One Sound" The Essence of Teamwork

3 "One Band, One Sound" The Essence of Teamwork "One Band, One Sound : Question 1 of 2 Watch this video about teamwork and what that concept really means. After you see the video, we will discuss its message. How would you define teamwork? List three characteristics of a good teammate. Watch the Video "One Band, One Sound : Question 1 of 2 Some Ideas "One Band, One Sound : Question 2 of 2 How would you define teamwork? List three characteristics of a good teammate. Here are some ideas: Supporting your teammates. Going out of your way to help your teammates. t Putting the team goals ahead of your personal goals. Being reliable. Communicating clearly. Listening to others. Treating others respectfully. Who is, or was, the best "teammate" you have ever worked with? What did that person do that made you feel that he or she was such a good teammate? Give specific examples, if you can "One Band, One Sound : Question 2 of 2 Sample Answer Module 2 - Professionalism and Teamwork Professionalism Who is, or was, the best "teammate" you have ever worked with? What did that person do that made you feel that he or she was such a good teammate? Here s a sample answer: At my old job, I worked with Kate, another Leasing Professional. Kate was always a pleasure to work with--she was incredibly helpful! Once, I got a flat tire on the way to work, and I called Kate--she met with a prospective resident for me since I couldn't get there, and when the prospective resident signed a lease, Kate made sure that our manager knew that I had done most of the work to bring him in! Kate would do anything to help out, and that made me want to help her, too

4 The Impact of the Leasing Professional The Impact of the Leasing Professional - Activity Leasing Professionals are critical to the success of the community because they show and lease apartments, deal with and serve residents and market to prospective residents. They enhance the value of the community by marketing and selling the apartments at the most achievable rent rates to qualified prospective residents. Refer to the list of duties in your text and take a moment to check those that you are performing now. Discuss those duties and any with which h you may not be familiar Professionalism Image and Behavior Prospective and current residents--and coworkers and management--expect a lot from a Leasing Professional: Friendliness. The Human touch. Accuracy. Honesty. Follow-through. In short - they want to work with a Professional! A professional image is more than just a polished look -- it's expressed in pride, competence and integrity in your interactions with all the people with whom you come in contact. It includes: Professional dress. Use of appropriate language. Ethical conduct. Treatment of others the way you would want to be treated Specialized Knowledge Added Value To be a successful Leasing Professional, you'll need to have a lot of specialized knowledge: Market Knowledge. Product Knowledge. Resident Profile Knowledge. Your prospective and current residents turn to YOU for specialized knowledge in these areas! Your role has two key components: 1.To assist people in finding appropriate housing that meets their particular lifestyle needs 2.To add value for your community s owner. By assisting the prospect and meeting their needs, you can reduce vacancy loss and add value for your community s owner!

5 Working Toward Your Property's Goals Module 2 - Professionalism and Teamwork Teamwork As a professional, you'll need to keep the property's goals not just your own personal goals in mind at all times. Be sure your professional goals align with the property goals you can achieve both at the same time Teamwork Understand the Team's Goals As a Leasing Professional, your role is to work toward your community s goals. This role requires working with others at your community. The Leasing Professional is not a solo performer, you're part of a team. It is critical that you understand your company and community goals. Sample community goals: high economic occupancy. reduced resident turnover. a good reputation. When you understand your community s goals, you can better understand the role you can play in helping the team achieve its goals. That's what being a team player is all about Understand Your Role Communication should be Clear and Open Most Leasing Professionals have shared roles and multiple responsibilities. How can you use your own unique skills and responsibilities to add value to your community? Do you fully understand and accept your role? Do you know what your teammates expect of you? Do you understand your teammates roles? Make sure you are as open and candid as your position allows. Tips Recognize that others have different views and opinions. Be precise in your language, but use tact and diplomacy. Use discretion in all communication. Be an active listener. Avoid making a team member look bad. Handle problems on a one-on-one basis whenever possible

6 Network Outside Your Team Module 2 - Professionalism and Teamwork Quiz Keep open lines of communication with those people who are outside of your immediate team, yet are related to your team and your work. You are part of an industry that depends greatly on external factors Rate the Leasing Professional Rate the Leasing Professional Watch the clip below. As you watch, think about how Laura, the Leasing Professional, does--or doesn't--display professionalism and teamwork. After you ve seen the clip, you ll be asked to rate the Leasing Professional s performance. In the clip you just watched, how did Laura do in terms of demonstrating teamwork and professionalism? What did she do well, and what could she have done better? Watch the Video Rate the Leasing Professional Best Answer Summary In the clip you just watched, how did Laura do in terms of demonstrating teamwork and professionalism? What did she do well, and what could she have done better? Laura spoke nicely and politely to Ray. However, as soon as Laura got off the phone with Ray, she badmouthed him to her coworker, Sarah! Laura also offered to lie about the size of prospective resident Zach s dog. In this module, you discovered, in "One Band, One Sound"... The Essence of Teamwork, the importance of teamwork. You also learned how to work professionally in your job, including: Your image and behavior. Specialized knowledge. How to add value to both prospective residents and your property's owner. How your team can work together toward your community's goals

7 Module 3 - Organization, Prioritization, and Time Management Module 3 - Organization, Prioritization, and Time Management Big Rocks Big Rocks Big Rocks: Question 1 of 3 Now, we ll watch a Franklin Covey video about prioritization. "Big Rocks." What did the big rocks represent? What about the small green rocks? After the video, we will discuss your impressions. Watch the Video Big Rocks: Question 1 of 3 Best Answer Big Rocks: Question 2 of 3 Big rocks are true priorities, such as taking care of yourself, service to others, strategic planning, nourishing a key relationship things that are highly important, but not necessarily urgent. Why is it often so hard to take care of the big rocks? Small green rocks represent small things that come along and are urgent at the time but may be not really important

8 Big Rocks: Question 2 of 3 Best Answer Big Rocks: Question 3 of 3 "Small rocks" come along all the time, especially in your job as a Leasing Professional. They tend to make a lot of noise. What are the "big rocks" in your work? How can you make sure you find time to take care of your big rocks? There's always something that needs attention, so it's easy to spend all of your time on the "small rocks" and never get to the "big rocks." Big Rocks: Question 3 of 3 Best Answer Summary Examples of Big Rocks for Leasing Professionals might include: creating a new, efficient process to share leads. designing a new, weekly event for your residents. creating a template document to help you better keep track of all of your prospective residents. The key to get them done is to plan and schedule them so that they don t get ignored! You've looked at prioritizing and scheduling through the "Big Rocks" video: Big rocks are true priorities areas that are highly important, but not necessarily urgent. When you plan and schedule the truly important things, less important things small green rocks tend to fall into place. Plan and schedule the big rocks first Module 3 - Organization, Prioritization, and Time Management Planning Job Responsibilities and Goal Setting As a Leasing Professional, you perform a variety of tasks. 1. In order to decide how to best prioritize those tasks, you need to understand the goals of your community. 2. Once you understand d community goals, align your tasks and duties to best meet your community s goals as well as your own professional goals

9 Planning Prioritization The 7-step planning process: 1. Set your goals. 2. Build specific objectives and timelines. 3. Identify barriers. 4. Determine the contacts and skills you need to acquire. 5. Prepare a plan with specific steps to meet your goal and objectives. 6. Measure progress on a regular basis. 7. Revise as necessary. The "Big Rocks" approach helps you make sure that you prioritize the things that are most important, both personally and professionally. Lets look at time management tips to help you make room for those Big Rocks! Time Management Tips Time Management Activity Time management is a key component of prioritization. Here are some time management tips: Use tools, such as a calendar or an organizer. Know your deadlines. Focus: focus on it and finish it! Work on similar tasks in a "batch," or group. Minimize your time wasters. Let s make a list of: Time Consumers Time Savers Multitasking Research shows that performance deteriorates significantly when people multitask. The best way to get it all done is to follow the prioritization and time management tips, and work as efficiently i as possible. Module 3 Organization, Prioritization and Time Management Quiz

10 Rate the Leasing Professional - Question Rate the Leasing Professional Watch the clip below. As you watch, think about how well Kelly, the Leasing Professional, does--or doesn't manage her time and priorities. After you ve watched the video, we will rate the Leasing Professional s performance. In the clip you just watched, how well did Kelly manage her time and priorities? What did she do well and what could she have done better? Watch the Video Rate the Leasing Professional Best Answer Module 4 - Using Your Technology Kelly maintained focus on her report when she could, and correctly prioritized tasks that came in: 1.She ed back to a prospective resident. 2.Interrupted that to answer a call. 3.Worked with a current resident. 4.Took good notes to remember where she was. Kelly didn t make anyone wait and performed her tasks well! Module 4 - Using Your Technology Using Your Technology to Bring in New Residents Introduction Advances in technology have changed the role of a Leasing Professional in recent years. The Leasing Professional has to have a sound grasp of the programs and websites you use for marketing, lead tracking, communicating with prospective and current residents and even for checking your community's reputation

11 The Prospective Resident's Point of View: The Apartment Search The Prospective Resident's Point of View: Apartment Reviews Prospective residents do much of their research online before they ever decide to contact you or your community. How does your community look on: your community or management company s website? social media? apartment listing sites? a mobile app (appearance and functionality)? Along with researching apartment communities themselves, prospective residents can find sites that tell them what other people thought of an apartment community. You must be aware of what's being said about your community online. Prospects will likely Google it to find your community and any conversation about it. So you should Google it too! Lead-Generation Systems ing with Prospective Residents Your first contact with a prospective resident will often come via a lead-generation system, a software program that tracks online inquiries from prospective residents about your community. Be sure you know how the incoming i lead should be handled and who is responsible! This is a REAL sales opportunity! As you communicate with a prospective resident via , here are some things to keep in mind: Be clear. Be concise. Check your spelling and grammar. Use a friendly writing style. Follow Fair Housing and Other Laws Online Communication Systems for Current Residents Module 4 - Using Your Technology Quiz Many communities provide online systems, called "resident portals," for use exclusively by the community's residents and staff. Be familiar with your community's system so you can highlight the online system as a key sales point when working with a prospective resident

12 Rate the Leasing Professional - Question Rate the Leasing Professional Watch the video clip As you watch, think about what Mike, the Leasing Professional, does well and what mistakes he makes. In the clip you just watched, how did Mike, the Leasing Professional, do? What did he do well and what could he have done better? After you ve seen the clip, you ll be asked to rate Mike s performance. Watch the Video Rate the Leasing Professional Best Answers Summary Good Job He reviewed online comments. He dug into a local blog. He added the positive comments in his presentations. Not Good The interaction with Jack was too casual. He could have looked up details of the friend s previous visit. He pushed Jack to visit without asking any questions about Jack s needs. In order to work effectively as a Leasing Professional, it's critical to have a complete understanding of the software and websites you use for marketing, lead tracking, communicating with prospective and current residents and even for checking your community's reputation. In this module, you've learned about uses of technology in your role and how to make the most of them Course Summary You should now be able to: See things from a prospective resident's viewpoint. Be organized. Know how to prioritize. Be professional. Use your technology effectively. Work in a team with your co-workers