To succeed in property management, it’s crucial to track four key KPIs: Lead Conversion Rate, Tenant Retention Rate, Lease Velocity, and Tenant Acquisition Cost. By monitoring these metrics, property managers can enhance efficiency, make informed decisions, and boost profits.
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Whether you oversee 200 properties or 20000, a property manager has many responsibilities. Modern property management begins when a potential tenant first considers moving into your building and continues until they have moved out.
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The success of any property management company lies in its leasing cycle. When done right, it’s a repetitive and steady beat that fills vacant units with quality residents quickly for maximum revenue potential. On the other hand, an ineffective leasing strategy can be an expensive drain on the business.
Taking the time to review processes and make sure they are done in a timely, efficient manner is critical. This post will go through ways one can improve lead-to-lease conversions along with some helpful tips that could help increase occupancy rates.
A typical lease-up process can be broken down into 3 stages –
Before identifying areas of improvement, it is important to map out the conversion rates at each stage of the funnel. These numbers would serve as a base against which improvements are measured.
2. Start at the top of the funnel by evaluating all your property listing channels
You don’t have to necessarily pay for leads since, in the rental space, plenty of leads can be generated for free. While there are paid listing sites available, the majority of lead generation comes from open databases. According to research by Tenant Turner on Zillow’s Ad vacancy page they found out that most potential tenants start their search through free methods like Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist — so if your goal is making more money without spending too much then start by listing on these platforms.
Pro Tip: You can save tons of time by syndicating your listings through software that allows you to centrally manage your vacant listings.
3. Timely response to incoming inquiries is critical
You are 40% more likely to connect with a prospect when you respond to them within 4 minutes as opposed to within 24 hours. When renters are motivated, it is a certainty that they are looking at multiple properties simultaneously. It is impossible for leasing managers to make themselves available 24/7. However, there is automation that can be put in place in order to ensure a renter is guided towards the desired next step in addition to having their basic questions answered immediately.
4. Always present alternatives to help improve conversion
Motivated renters are looking to move into a new home typically within a 30 to a 60-day timeline. Property Managers are more likely to improve their conversion rates by ensuring that all prospects are presented with alternatives in case they do not warm up to the property they had initially inquired about. A thorough understanding of the renter’s considerations during the initial interaction is imperative to ensure the right option is presented in a timely manner in order to improve the conversion rate.
5. Virtual Tours are no longer a ‘nice to have but a ‘must have’
Technology has changed the way we live our lives, and now it’s helping leasing managers make their rental showings process more efficient. Automated scheduling tools allow for quick updates to go out automatically based on what properties are available in an instant. 3D camera technology like Matterport ensures potential renters get virtual tours of homes without ever leaving their couch!
Pro Tip: Ensure you label aspects of your unit while getting a virtual tour ensuring renters are able to fully educate themselves and make quick decisions on their own.
6. If you haven’t already, bring leasing online
It’s time to go online with your leasing paperwork. A recent study showed that the percentage of renters who want to apply for a lease online increased by 15% in just the last two years! Employing technology allows property managers to exercise greater control and saves an incredible amount of time, too. Digital documentation also ensures that you don’t have to dig into old filing cabinets and documents are always just a few clicks away.
7. Nothing will replace the human touch
Automations throughout the leasing process are not meant to compromise the relationship between renters and managers, If anything, these are meant to free up more time for leasing and property managers to interact with renters in meaningful ways as opposed to carrying out repetitive tasks that add little value to the customer’s experience.
8. Track your progress constantly and re-evaluate your processes periodically
Once you have made a certain change to your process, it is important to understand the impact it has on your firm’s overall leasing performance. Like everything else in business, leasing also is an ever-evolving exercise that needs to be constantly monitored and revised in order to ensure premium customer experience and success for the firm.
This just about sums it up. We at SoulRooms care deeply about problems pertaining to effective leasing and hope this post adds value to leasing managers looking to improve their conversion rates. Happy leasing!
Since portfolio occupancy is the most important KPI for property managers, tenant turnover inevitably becomes the biggest impediment to success.
Keeping tenants happy has become a necessity for overall success in today’s competitive market. Not only do happy tenants leave positive reviews and send referrals, but they also stay on for extended durations ensuring high occupancy rates are easier to maintain. This reason alone warrants taking the time to review renter journeys and design processes to maximize tenant satisfaction.
This post will go through best practices property managers can imbibe to maintain high tenant satisfaction ratings.
Tenants do not expect to walk into their new home and find flowers arranged on the coffee table or towels shaped like swans in the bedroom. However, since moving-in is hard as is, friction here should be minimized by ensuring all necessary instructions are delivered in a clear and timely fashion.
Pro Tip: If as the property manager, you are able to provide new tenants with a spot to park their moving truck or book the elevator in advance on their big day, you will already be outdoing a majority of your competition.
2. Make maintenance requests priority numero uno
We understand that a request to install an additional hook on the bathroom door is not the same as an HVAC breakdown in the month of January. However, property management teams are encouraged to develop a culture of treating minor inconveniences faced by tenants as important business problems that ought to be resolved in a timely fashion. In the short run, this ensures improved tenant satisfaction and occupancy, however in the long run this can lower operating costs that result from impeccable property maintenance.
3. Standardize communication channels and set expectations from the get-go
At the outset, restrict all tenants to one channel for all communication. The best way to keep tenants happy is by implementing an intelligent channel that readily provides answers to commonly asked questions, is easy to use, and, is accessible on the go.
Pro Tip: Ensure expectations around turnaround timelines are set at the outset via auto-responses during holidays and off-hours. Also, proactive transparency about external intervention leading to potential delays will always be better received than a reactive explanation to a complaint about delays in resolution times.
4. Quaterly feedback forms > Exit surveys
All teams that manage operations ought to do everything in their power to avoid surprises. While exit forms are a good way to show that one cares in addition to gaining an understanding of the shortcomings of property operations, they fail to help property managers with the KPI that matters most, occupancy.
Periodical feedback forms not only ensure one maintains a pulse on their tenant base, but also allow proactive resolution resulting in improved occupancy in the long run.
There is no denying that property management is a tough, often thankless gig. However, incorporating technology and best practices has the potential to have a dramatic impact on the business as well as the overall reputation of one’s brand.
We at SoulRooms care deeply about problems pertaining to rental managers and hope this post adds value to folks looking to improve their tenant experience. Happy leasing!
