"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?" "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat. "I don't much care where -- ", said Alice. "Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat. --Alice in Wonderland
I still remember my first interview in the Property Management industry when I applied for a position as Leasing Consultant. Instead of your typical face-to-face interview, I was lead to a vacant apartment and was told that I had 5 minutes to prepare to "sell it" to the person that would hire or not hire me. I had no idea what a Leasing Consultant even did, but I certainly could sell and knew what the end result needed to be. So, I did my thing and they hired me. That was 18 years ago, in a way it seems like yesterday. What I knew at that moment was that I needed to sell, but I did not really know where I was going with the customer.
Over the past year, I have conducted several sales improvement telephone training sessions. Different companies, different personalities, in different states with different products. What stood true for many of these individuals was their inability to know where they were going...with the customer. What I mean by this is few of them really understood their role with the customer. What I try to relay to the individuals that I coach is that a customer is simply a person that has a problem. What is the problem? They need a home. Not an apartment, not a unit...but a home. Not the apartment that has the highest bonus or the one that has been vacant the longest...but a home. When you get this, you get what you want and they get what they need.
I learned to see the customer in this way back in August of 1992. I was working at a luxury apartment community in North Miami, when Hurricane Andrew crossed over S. Florida. Winds at landfall were 165mph, gusts to 180mph,10 mile wide eye, and a 17ft storm surge. It devastated the area and was ranked the most costly natural disaster in U.S. history. I clearly remember the first customers that walked through the clubhouse door a few days following the storm. They were like walking zombies, pale and lifeless. Yesterday, affluent fast moving residents of Dade County. Today, homeless and hopeless. All they wanted was a home. A basic essential that a week ago they took for granted while they were driving their Mercedes down A1A heading to their nail appointment. The way I reached out to them that day and the days that followed was different. It was different for all of us in that area, everyone was more helpful, understanding and empathetic to each others needs. As time passed, people rebuilt, moved out and and the customer changed back to their old ways---demanding. However, as a Leasing Professional, I never forgot that period of time and the lesson learned.
Now, this is not to say that we want customers that are in a hopeless state so that we can feel sorry for them. But, how many people do you know that really love to move? Lets face it, the process of looking is not fun and the process of moving is certainly not fun. The reasons for moving can also be a downer; divorce, loss of home, job relocation etc. Again, not a lot of fun here. So, where are you going with your customers? If you don't know where you are going, how will you know when you get there? ML
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