Call forwarding
If you’re advertising a property for rent and the only contact number you provide is your home number, for example, but you work outside of the home all day, you won’t be available to take the incoming calls you need. If this is the case, you may want to consider using a cellphone where you can be reached during the day, or where you can at least be immediately notified of incoming calls.
If you don’t want to list your work phone number in your advertisements, you can still use your personal cellphone, your home phone (if you have one!), a separate rental property phone line you’ve established, or a pager by enabling the call forwarding feature available through most phone companies.
With call forwarding, you simply set up your phone to forward all calls to another phone number — basically any number where you can be reached.
And you can turn the call forwarding off when you return home.
Caller ID
Another great phone feature you can use to increase your time manage- ment efficiency and lower your costs is caller ID. When you pay for caller ID through your telephone company, your phone displays the phone number of
The telephone’s importance
121
Chapter 8: Handling Prospects When They Come A’Calling
the party placing the incoming call. Caller ID is a great way to get the return phone number of your prospective renters in case they neglect to leave their contact information for you. But remember that when you call your prospec- tive tenants, they likely also have caller ID, so be sure to call from a phone number you don’t mind revealing to them. If you don’t have a number like that, you can enable the feature that blocks your phone number from being displayed.
Why do you need to have the telephone number of a prospective renter?
Having a prospective renter’s number allows you to call her back and follow up with more information or get an update on her rental status. You can also use her number to reconfirm an appointment to see the rental property. And later, during the applicant screening process, you can use the phone number as a cross-check when she submits her rental application to be sure she’s giving you the correct information.
Voice mail
As a rental property manager, you should have a voice mail system or an answering machine that can handle calls 24 hours a day. The outgoing voice mail or answering machine message should provide callers with your digital pager number or your cell number in case of emergencies. (This info is important for current tenants, and it lets prospective tenants know you’ll be there for them if they need you.) You can also record detailed info about the rental property for your prospective tenants; this tactic helps tenants prescreen themselves. They won’t waste their time — and yours — if the property you describe is out of their price range.
Most renters spend quite a bit of time browsing online and looking through various rental housing publications. They typically make many phone calls before beginning the process of physically looking at a rental property. As a result, you want to make the information-gathering process as smooth and efficient for your prospective renters as possible because you’re competing for the top qualified prospects.
Renters are interested in knowing certain basic information up front, allow- ing them to narrow their choices. Many renters may not even be aware of this fact, but subconsciously they’re often looking for any excuse to eliminate your rental property from their list. To keep their attention, you need to develop an information system for your rental property that makes renters feel relaxed, comfortable, and interested in actually seeing your property.
In addition to your name, include on your voice mail system or answering machine recording the following information about your rental:
Location, including directions
Number of bedrooms and square footage Rental rate and security deposit requirements
13_293294-ch08.indd 121
13_293294-ch08.indd 121 7/22/08 11:24:16 PM7/22/08 11:24:16 PM
Qualifying information, such as minimum income and whether pets, excluding service animals, are accepted
Property features and benefits
Provide callers with a Web site address, if you have one. On the site, you can include photos, plus the preceding information, and allow prospective tenants to prequalify if they’re interested in learning more about your rental property or seeing it in person.
As with all forms of communication, if your rental prospects leave messages, you need to be able to return their calls promptly, or you can expect to lose them to your competitor. The most qualified renters are the ones who get snapped up first, and these are the tenants you really want. Don’t let them get away!
Knowing which devices you need
In addition to the telephone, standard equipment for many rental property owners includes the following:
Cellphone: A cellphone is virtually mandatory for rental property owners. It’s an invaluable way to instantly keep in touch with your current tenants, as well as prospects responding to your ads or signs.
Personal digital assistant (PDA): When you’re planning appointments with contractors or prospective tenants, you can immediately record your schedule on your PDA, which is a small, hand-held computer. With many PDAs, you can download and synchronize your mobile database with your main PC back at your home or office.
Digital pager: A digital pager allows callers to leave either a voice message or an alphanumeric message entered through the caller’s telephone or typed into a computer keyboard.
Preparing for Rental Inquiry Phone Calls
Whether you were ever a Boy Scout or not, you’re probably familiar with the Boy Scout motto, “Be prepared.” This motto applies to the management of rental properties in many ways, but one of the most important is being pre- pared when the telephone rings. If you handle rental inquiry calls properly, you not only make your life much easier but you also get the tenants you want. In the following sections, I discuss the importance of preparation and the steps necessary to make sure you’re ready when the phone rings.
13_293294-ch08.indd 122
13_293294-ch08.indd 122 7/22/08 11:24:17 PM7/22/08 11:24:17 PM
123
Chapter 8: Handling Prospects When They Come A’Calling
Even though it may not be the first information your prospects receive about your rental property with so much now found online, the rental inquiry phone call is a critical step that marks the beginning of the rental process. The pur- pose of this call is to get to the next step: showing the rental unit. Master the art of the rental inquiry phone call, and most of the time you can set appoint- ments with only qualified rental prospects. And that’s the name of the game in property management!
Having the basic tools ready
Advertising costs you a lot of time and money, so you don’t want to begin looking around for a pen, some paper, and your notes about the rental prop- erty when the phone starts ringing. You also don’t want to take phone calls on your PDA or cellphone if you’re not in a position to devote the proper attention to the caller. Rental prospects can tell the difference between