Holiday Ideas
Let’s start a list of ideas to use during the holiday season.
Recent Updates RSS Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
-
followaptpros
-
followaptpros
Moving Beyond Concessions
How do we move beyond concessions as “business as usual”? Points of discussion might include: are concessions ever the right thing to do; how to stand above the crowd; focusing on value vs. cost; using your reputation to best advantage; etc.
-
followaptpros
Appealing to Renters Without Using Rent Concessions. By Charity on November 5, 2009
http://2witterbug.com/2009/11/appealing-to-renters-without-using-rent-concessions/ -
followaptpros
Avoiding or Offering Concessions the Smart Way
By Tami SiewrukI wrote an article that addressed the issue of offering concessions. Actually, it was more of a rant, but you can believe that I meant every single word of it. The truth is that at the time, I was face to face with a tough decision to toss my convictions aside and offer concessions at McNeil House, or continue receiving only three or four new leases per week, while around twenty new apartments per week was completing construction and ready to lease!
Anyone who knows me can attest that “concessions” is practically an expletive in my vocabulary. Choosing whether or not to offer them in my very own community was probably the toughest decision I’ve had to make as a developer – well, the second toughest. The toughest was whether or not to build in the first place!
The fact that I had to approach the issue from all angles, or even approach the issue at all instead of dismissing it without a second thought, opened my eyes a quite bit to the many factors involved. Now, don’t get me wrong – I’m still up on my same old soapbox. Concessions are NOT the answer to your occupancy problems. The whole reason why companies and communities offer concessions or incentives is to gain a competitive advantage, right? So, let me ask you this… if everyone in the market is offering concessions, then where’s the advantage? It only puts us all right back where we started, on a level playing field. We all end up giving away the moon rather than educating our prospects and residents, and playing the never-ending game of one-upsmanship that some of us have been trapped in since time immemorial. Concessions are one of those things that works well in theory, but actually creates a world of, well, concessions (I was going to use a four-letter word there, but the one I used is worse).
Hey, I understand that there’s something to be said for a level playing field, but remember when Mom used to ask, “If all of your friends jumped off of a cliff, would you do it too?” Mom was giving you some amazingly valuable marketing advice there, and you didn’t even know it. Very recent experience has given me a much clearer understanding of the facts that have to be carefully considered where the concessions issue is concerned. If you find yourself in a similar situation, I hope you’ll take the time to consider these factors with an eye for the “big picture”. I had to think, and rethink the issue before making my final decision, and I’ll let you in on all the factors that I considered and the steps that I took to sensibly approach the issue of offering concessions. Next, we’ll discuss my final decision, and the results we received. We’ll answer the important questions: Would I do it all over again? What would I change? What did Lori (the community manager) have to say?
If your community occupancy falls below a profitable level, or you find yourself with more supply than demand, perhaps this common-sense approach will help you as much as it helped me!
Review the Overall Picture
• Meet with the entire staff, and ask for feedback from everyone on what they feel is happening. (Actually, you should do this regularly anyway, whether you perceive a problem or not. Some of the best and most practical insight comes from your “front line”.)
• Have your entire staff shopped along with your top three competitors. Use a third party independent company so that you’ll be able to compare the whole apartment shopping experience from your prospects’ perspective, and make adjustments if needed.
• Meet with the staff again. Review the shopping reports together, make the necessary adjustments, and arrange for one-on-one training where it’s needed. In our case, we found that our staff was doing a great job, and our prospect’s experience in shopping our community was great, if not better than our competitors.
• Review each floor plan independently, and consider its pricing carefully. Make any necessary adjustments to the rent based upon the floor plan’s strengths, weaknesses, and competition within the marketplace (compare your floor plans to your competitors’ similar floor plans and pricing). In other words you need to do a side-by-side, floor plan-by-floor plan comparison of your community versus your competitors’ floor plans. Jennifer Nevitt of Bravo Strategic Marketing has created a comprehensive and widely used method for doing exactly this. Since then, Jennifer and I have worked together to create the ultimate evaluation tool! The Finer Points of Floor plans.
• Walk all of your floor plans with a critical eye for weaknesses. Create a training list with tips and techniques for overcoming objections and selling the strengths of each floor plan as compared to the competition.
• In existing communities, I would also take the “less desirable” locations and floor plans and determine if there is anything within budget that we could do to improve the interiors. I’ve used this technique repeatedly with great success.
• Create / Evaluate the model. We completely upgraded our model with added crown molding, optional paint color, special plumbing fixtures, special lighting fixtures and ceiling fans, closet organizers etc. In other words, we dressed the model up with all of the added options that were available for our residents to choose from. This showed our prospects what they could do with the apartment home if they chose to. We priced each option by adding only a 15% mark-up to our cost. Five percent of the mark-up is given to the leasing professional who sells the upgrade, and the additional 10% is administrative income. We call this our “Custom Home Apartment™. Several companies, including ZOM Residential and Post Properties are using similar custom upgrade programs with great success.
• Photograph the entry of your community and your competitors’, and compare them. Make yours more inviting.
• Look at your advertising. How does it stack up against your competitors? Do you sound different? What do you offer that they don’t? Are you advertising the floor plan with the highest availability? Are you showing both photos of your community and lifestyle photos too, or are you showing the same thing as the competition?
• Have you tried offering an incentive (i.e. a washer/dryer, ceiling fan, or upgraded fixtures). The best incentives are stay with the community long after the resident is gone, and create added value in the long run.Determine if you have a leasing problem or a marketing /advertising problem.
Don’t let the formulas scare you. Once you’ve filled in the blanks, you’ll find the process to be fairly straightforward:
Objective: To reach your leasing objectives, they must be qualified in terms of numbers, time to lease up, and people. Complete the information below to determine your objective. Remember to be realistic.
Leasing Objectives
Number of occupied apartments desired (ex: .97 x NO. Units)
Number of apartments currently occupied -
Pre-leased (vacants and on-notice) -
Subtotal additional apartments needed =
Estimate Skips +
Current Notices +
Estimated Canceled preleased apartments -
Lease expirations +Lease renewals expected (include residents going month to month) -
Subtotal number of new leases needed =
Estimated canceled and rejected leases +
Net Total Number New Leases Needed =Traffic Needed to Reach Objectives
Leases needed closing ratio = traffic needed to reach new lease goal.
____________________ ___________________ = ____________________
* Average closing ratio including unqualified and cancelsNote: By increasing the closing ratio, you will be able to decrease the amount of traffic necessary to meet the objectives. This greatly saves your marketing / advertising dollars.
Rentals Per Leasing Professional Number of new leases needed per month
Number of leasing professionals
Number of new leases needed per month,
per leasing professional =Leases needed per week ( 4.3) =
Telephone To Traffic Ratio
Total appointments kept total phone calls = Telephone to Traffic Ratio
____________________ ___________________ = ____________________
* Goal = more than 60% of all appointments kept
* Goal = 25 -50% of closing ratioCost Per Traffic & Cost Per Lease
A. Monthly or weekly cost of a specific media or traffic source traffic generated by
this source = cost per traffic$______________ ____________ = $ ____________ Cost Per Traffic
Monthly or weekly cost of specific media or traffic source total new leases
generated by this source = cost per lease$______________ ____________ = $ ____________ Cost Per Lease
B. TOTAL of all Traffic Sources expenditures total traffic = average cost per traffic
$_____________ ____________ = $ ____________ Average Cost Per Traffic
TOTAL Traffic Sources expenditures total new leases = average cost per lease
$_____________ ____________ = $ ____________ Average Cost Per Lease
Do you need to increase traffic?
• Pull your last two weeks worth of guest cards, and call each and every one. Tell the prospect that you’re conducting a third-party audit of the apartment shopping experience, and need to ask them three quick questions. Promise that you won’t take more than a couple of minutes of their time. The questions we ask are:
1. Have you made a decision on where you are going to move, and if so, why did you select that community? (If they say that they’ve chosen your community, community, thank them, set an appointment for the signing of their lease if needed, and move on to the next person.)
2. Did you visit _________ apartments (your primary competitor), and if so what did you think about the community?
3. Is there a specific reason why you’ve decided not to lease there?Increase Closing Ratios!
• Provide continuous motivation for Leasing Professionals to stay focused on the goal (i.e. charts, graphs and incentives placed where all can see).Extend office hours and raise bonus amounts for leases closed during a specific timeframe.
• Establish a rotating bonus plan based upon leasing certain apartment types. For example, “All A-1’s leased this week are bonused at $100!” I typically select the apartments that have either been vacant the longest or have the highest availability. Establish team goals with bonus incentives. Any opportunity to foster teamwork is too valuable to pass up!
• Bring in your company’s very best leasing professionals to obtain their perspective. Have everyone shopped, and review the shopping reports carefully to apply training where needed.
• Provide weekly articles of interest that focus on overcoming concession objections and closing. I faxed our community a new article every Monday morning. Keep the tone encouraging and motivational.
• Ask yourself this: If you increased the closing ratio by ___%, how much more traffic would you need to reach the desired goal? Is this possible? Can you generate that much traffic? Can you handle that much traffic? Here’s my “Feasibility” worksheet:Traffic Increase Feasibility
Is the number of leases needed per month significantly higher than current performance?
How much more would traffic have to be increased if closing ratios remained the same to equal the needed goals?
Needed leases goal. Current closing ratio _____ = _____ new amount of traffic needed less current amount of traffic _____ = _____ amount of extra traffic needed. Is this possible?
How much more would closing ratios have to increase if traffic remained the same to equal the _____ needed leases goal?
Needed leases goal _______ current traffic _______ = new closing ratio needed _____. Is this possible?
What is the monthly goal per leasing professional?
How does this compare with current performance levels?
_____
_____
_____Ask yourself the big question.
Finally, when all is said and done, ask yourself whether it’s really necessary to give away such a valuable commodity as the opportunity to live in your community, not to mention cutting profit from your bottom line! In light of all of the other things that you can do to increase traffic, better motivate your staff, and gain a profitable long-term advantage, should you really give in?
My answer was a resounding (brace yourself), “Yes!” As sick as it made me, I made the decision to give concessions. I actually get chills as I sit here and write this. Can you guess what happened next? As a result of my decision to first consider all of the above, and then give in to concessions, leases increased — by leaps and bounds! The on-site staff is more aware of the competition, more motivated, and more skilled at closing than ever before!
The decision to give away rent took me five to seven months to make. What if I had to do it all over again? I’d follow all the same steps that I took, but I’d do it faster. I should have made the decision to offer concessions about two months earlier than I did, based on my lease-up schedule.
What else have I learned?
1. We could never have truly known whether or not we could have leased-up without concessions if we didn’t try to do it first;
2. My staff is a powerhouse of product knowledge! They’re now more educated than ever before about our product and our competition;
3. Our competitors thought that we were crazy (actually, they thought that I was crazy, and pitied my staff), so we were easily dismissed as viable competition. Now, because we tried it the hard way first, they realize that we’re a force to be reckoned with. They know that we don’t offer concessions as standard practice, and that when we do, they’d better jump!
4. If you have to give something away, ask for something in return. Along with the free rent, we asked the resident to sign a paying lease term of either six months or one year. In other words, their free rent period, although covered under the lease, was not included when the lease term was calculated. For example: with one month free rent, the lease term was 13 months. This enabled us to get full years collection of rent without increasing our operating expenses the next year. If you don’t do this, (as you may be aware), your turnover expenses are divided into 11 months instead of 12, so the concession actually costs you more than a month’s rent.
5. Cover your bases. As even further protection, we asked the resident to sign a concession agreement, stating that if their lease is broken for any reason, the entire amount of the concession is due and payable. Where the lease terms and conditions are met, there is no liability.
6. Sometimes it makes sense to spread the concession over the first six months of the lease. We did not use this method, but I have heard of many companies that have used it with great success. I think it’s a great idea, where the market is receptive to it. Because we decided to offer concessions in order to be competitive, we had to also consider that part of our competitive edge involved how and when the concession was delivered. In our case, the market was most receptive to a one-time offer; and you’ll find this to be true in many areas where residents view the concession as a welcome means of offsetting moving expenses – but I think the six month idea is a great one if you can pull it off.
7. You really can increase rents even though you are offering concessions. In fact, it’s probably easier to increase rent in some places, where the market is focused on the short-term benefit instead of the long-term effect. This rings especially true when you are offering the better product. I recently heard of an apartment community in Dallas that leased 100 plus apartments (70%) in two months by giving away 1.5 months’ rent. Unfortunately, they didn’t increase the rents while doing it, not to mention that they weren’t under the gun because they didn’t even have the apartments out of construction yet. Don’t miss the opportunity to raise rents when offering concessions, whenever you can do so sensibly.After all was said and done…
I know your burning questions are (1) how does the community manager feel about the entire experience, and (2) what kind of concession did we finally settle on.
Lori’s last words were “I have learned a lot!” When asked if she would do it all over again, her response was “People can’t believe that we leased all those first apartments without concessions, but I would give the concessions the next time around instead of waiting until we had vacancy loss”.
As for our decision, we first decided to offer the market standard one-month free on a one-year lease, and 2 weeks on a 6-month lease. We quickly adjusted that to $500 on a 6-month lease and $1000.00 on a one-year lease (which is less than a half a month’s rent and a month’s rent, respectively). We also offered concessions only on floor plans with the highest availability. In addition, and this is key, we continue to adjust our rents upward as we lease apartments (see #7 above).
If you’re caught in the concession trap, or even considering giving in to it, please take the time to consider the HOW, WHAT, WHEN, and WHY of it all before you follow your competition over the rail of that proverbial bridge! Depending upon your own unique situation, there is either an economically smart way for you to avoid concessions, or to offer them wisely. I found my answer, and so can you!
-
followaptpros
What’s Your Tiebreaker?
Creating a Clear Reason to Choose You Instead of Your Competition
By Joe CallowayRight now there are potential customers for your business trying to decide whether or not to choose you. Unfortunately, most of them can’t see much difference between you and your competition. You’ve all got good quality products or services. You all seem to have competent, helpful people. It all pretty much just looks the same. That leaves one factor to drive the decision: price.
Welcome to the commodity trap. It’s a place in which lowest price almost always wins because customers don’t see any other difference. It’s not a place where most companies want to compete. To escape the commodity trap, you have to answer the toughest question in business:
Why should I choose you?From banking services and insurance products to fast food restaurants and medical clinics, today’s buyers just don’t see much difference in their choices. Unless you want to compete on price, you have to clearly differentiate from your competition. You have to have a tiebreaker. You have to give potential customers a reason to say, “Ok, that’s the difference. That makes my decision.” The good news is that you probably have one or more tiebreakers right now, you just haven’t developed them as such.
Tiebreakers usually aren’t anything particularly unusual or exotic, but more often the mastery of a basic customer’s expectation. The best way to discover and develop your tiebreakers is to list your customers’ basic expectations of you. Start by choosing one basic customer expectation and stake your claim with it. Improve your performance in that area until it becomes “your turf,” and clearly differentiates you from your competition. Reach the point where you have mastered the differentiator and can confidently say, “Nobody does this like we do.”
While basic expectations will vary depending on the nature of your customers, i.e. consumer retail or business to business, here are some typical areas that can prove to be powerful tiebreakers to differentiate you from the competition:
• Be the fastest: Quick response and always on time. Become known for returning customer’s calls within one hour, guaranteeing two-day delivery but always doing it in one, paying your customer if you are late for a service call, or responding to e-mails with lightning speed. In today’s “I want it yesterday” world, being known for quick response or always being on time can be a powerful differentiator.
• Be the easiest to do business with: Become the “no hassle” choice. This has been listed as the number one factor with business-to-business customers, and it has equal importance with retail consumers. Look at every aspect of how you interface with customers and correct anything that might make you the least bit difficult to do business with. Are your invoices clear and easily understood? Is your Web site easy to navigate? Do you empower employees to say “yes” to customers without always having to get approval from a manager? Be easy to deal with and win more business.
• Let the customer choose: Offer more selection and customization. Today’s customers want exactly what they want, exactly how they want it. Whether it’s the music mix on their iPod or their “no fat, no whip, double shot, extra hot” latte with a shot of vanilla at the coffee shop, everyone wants it their way. Let the customers decide. Give them what they want, not what you want to give them.
• Demonstrate value: Competitive price and clear value. You don’t have to have the lowest price, but you do have to demonstrate that you’re a great deal. That’s the essence of value. Never take for granted that your customers understand that you’re worth what you charge. Spell it out for them. Educate your customers. It’s not their job to see your value, it’s your job to show them. All it may take is a realization of “Oh, I didn’t understand before how that was saving me money” for you to lock in customer loyalty.
Value can also be as simple as sending seven when the customer orders six.• Be relevant: Take a “big picture” approach to serving your customer. Look beyond the immediate needs of your customers to a bigger picture view of how you can help them succeed, make their lives easier, or create new opportunities for them. One company that sells pipe to building contractors invites its best customers to annual seminars on business development. An auto paint manufacturer offers its body shop customers help with programs on inventory control, accounts receivable and other business basics. A restaurant offers free baby food to customers with infants, making life easier for the family. Look beyond your core product or service and explore how a “big picture” approach can be your ultimate tiebreaker.
• Solve problems on the spot: Empower employees to make it happen. Nothing is more frustrating to customers than hearing the words, “I’ll have to ask my manager” or “I’m sorry, but our policy is …” Train your employees to resolve customer problems fairly, amicably, and, whenever possible, on the spot. Effective problem resolution can win you customers for life.
• The ultimate tiebreaker: Consistency of performance. While it’s great to hear “superstar” stories about employees that go above and beyond for customers, the most powerful tiebreaker in today’s marketplace is consistency. If customers know that no matter who they deal with in your company, they will receive the same level of great service every single time, that’s the most powerful differentiator there is.
Think about your own customers’ basic expectations, then set a goal to improve your performance on one of them by 25 percent. Start there, then continue to get better. The more expectations you master, the better your chances to win the business when your potential customers ask, “Why should I choose you?”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Joe Calloway is a partner in Engage Consulting Group, and author of several best-selling business books including the newly revised edition of “Becoming a Category of One,” (August 2009, Wiley). Corporate heavyweights BMW, American Express, IBM and many more have sought his insight into today’s marketplace. Joe provides consulting to help companies accelerate their strategies and make their visions reality. To purchase his books or hire him as a consultant, visit http://www.joecalloway.com or call (615) 383-2249.
-
-
followaptpros
How has the economic climate shaped our view of revenue management?
How has the recent economic climate shaped our view of revenue management? Points of discussion might include: what we’ve learned about revenue management software; does it perform as well in a tough economic climate as a less brutal one; how might revenue management systems/software be improved; etc.
-
followaptpros
Digital Marketing Plan
How can we develop the most effective digital marketing plan that incorporates Social Media, and Mobile strategies? Points of discussion might include identifying social networking sites and other internet marketing and sales efforts that are proven to work; determining which sites to work with; gaining attention on these sites; specific viral tactics; measuring effectiveness; is it time to create a position for dedicated, in-house support of digital marketing, etc.
followaptpros 5:50 pm on November 25, 2009 Permalink |
Here is a green idea for your residents! For those who are not LA based we need to find away to offer this to our residents this year! Christmas trees are 1) awkward to transport and 2) terribly depressing when they’re discarded in January. Los Angeles landscape architect Scott Martin has his way ; he founded The Living Christmas Company,which gives LA residents the chance to temporarily rent a living Christmas tree and have it delivered right to their door. Unlike regular Christmas trees, around 20 million of which are felled each year in the US, living trees are transplanted, roots and all, into pots to be enjoyed over the festive period. After the holidays, Scott and
his team pick up the trees, replant them and nurture them until next year.
http://livingchristmas.com/
followaptpros 7:11 pm on November 25, 2009 Permalink |
Deck the Halls!
Start decorating for December on the day after Thanksgiving. This not only gives you plenty of time to decorate appropriately, but helps you and your staff get into the holiday mood. Break out the eggnog and put on some holiday music to really get the festivities flowing!
We all know that nothing smells like a real Christmas tree, but few things are more practical than a realistic-looking artificial one (the key word here is realistic… unless you’re going for retro kitsch, silver foil isn’t an option). A little pine-scented potpourri in a pretty bowl can supply the scent, as can a few strategically placed real pine boughs. (Note: spraying pine disinfectant on your artificial tree will not do the trick. I only say this because I actually know someone who tried.)
Tiered rows of poinsettias make an excellent “tree”! Have your service team assemble a stand made of progressively smaller boxes that stack on top of each other, with a wide enough margin around each to place rows of potted poinsettias. Place a dowel in the center of the top box to attach a star!
Decorate your tree to complement your décor and atmosphere. You can choose a more sophisticated, coordinated set of decorations; or make it a little more “homey” with hand-made ornaments contributed by your staff and / or residents. Add plenty of brightly wrapped “presents” (empty boxes) under your tree. Use the nicest wrapping papers you can find (red, green, silver, and gold foils look great). Your local fabric or craft store should have an excellent supply of ribbons from which to choose, including wire edged varieties that can be shaped into big elaborate looking bows with little trouble.
Remember that the holiday season doesn’t mean Christmas alone. Chanukah
and Kwanzaa are also celebrations of the season. Decorate for and plan
community events accordingly. Find out more about the holiday traditions of
all your residents, especially if yours is a multicultural community. I once attended a holiday party where the host’s decorations included a gorgeous Christmas tree decorated in an African theme for Kwanzaa and a lovely Menorah burning in honor of Chanukah. The guests were inspired by the decor to get to know more about each others holiday traditions. We all
learned a great deal that evening, and felt as though we had truly experienced the joy of the season.
Play holiday music in your Leasing Center, clubhouse, and even models! The staff may tire of them, but they’ll really brighten the mood for your visitors.
Keep a running supply of holiday refreshments (cookies and punch or spiced cider) in the Leasing Center for visitors. A crock-pot full of warm spiced cider makes a great treat for future residents visiting on a cold day.
Lights are a must. The tiny white outdoor ones are perfect for trimming windows and shrubbery .
Don’t forget your models! A miniature decorated Christmas tree on the coffee table or counter, a few wrapped “gifts”, and some pine or cinnamon potpourri is all it takes to add a warm holiday touch to a decorated model, or turns a vacant apartment home into a holiday mini-model! Play a little seasonal music in the background, and you’re ready to welcome your new residents home for the holidays!
Be careful not to overdo it. Simple elegance is best. Plastic figures on the roof or a puny tree can look tacky and convey a tired image. Remember that the holidays can be a stressful time of year for your residents; and are especially trying for future residents who are searching for a new home during the hectic holiday season. Your message of polished professionalism will be well received and appreciated.
Happy Holiday Activities
Host a tree-trimming party in the clubhouse, and supply all of the materials for
residents to make the ornaments!).
Hold a Christmas tree drawing. Give away a tree, complete with decorations!
Plant a live tree.
Hold a door, patio, or balcony-decorating contest. Award the winners with a special wreath on their door, and / or a holiday gift certificate.
If you community features include fireplaces, deliver firewood on December 23rd with a note offering “Warmest Holiday Wishes.” If you can’t afford to give firewood away, make it available for convenient purchase on-site.
Promote January and February lease renewals by sending out a stocking cut out of construction paper that reads: “Spend another year with us and we’ll put something extra in your stocking! Renew your lease today!”
Hang stocking or wreath shaped party reminders on your resident’s doors the day of your holiday party.
Team up with a local charity to provide a gift-wrapping service to your residents.
Clear out a storage area and offer it to parents in the community as a “Santa’s Hideaway” for gifts. You may want to have residents sign a release of liability, and allow access to only select staff members.
Plan a “Twelve Days of Christmas” party count-down.
Hold a Santa’s storytelling hour in the clubhouse (gives parents a little free time to assemble and wrap presents!).
If your area allows referral incentives, create and distribute a referral flyer that reads “Let us Give You a Christmas Present!”
Host a one-day, on-site Christmas tree sale with a local charity that sells trees.
Print holiday safety tips in your newsletter.
Plan to offer Christmas tree recycling on-site. It makes great mulch, and is a nice way to get some positive press as well!
Hold a drawing for front-row tickets to a local performance of The Nutcracker or A Christmas Carol.
Last Minute Holiday Party Themes
Toyland – A magical world of giant lollipops, candy canes, ornaments, toys
and huge packages wrapped up with colorful ribbons. This fantasy theme will
bring out the child in every resident.
Surfin’ Santa – Tell your residents to leave their heavy coats at the
door and come out to the beach! Set up a volleyball net with beach balls.
Add a “Christmas” palm tree. Hang a bright sun, beach towels, sand pails
and shovels with a sprinkling of Christmas decorations (pink flamingos with
holiday wreaths around their necks, beach pails full of Christmas cookies,
life preserver Christmas wreaths, etc.)
Reindeer Round-up – Bring the spirit of the West alive with Country and
Western holiday music. Decorate with a cactus done up as a Christmas tree.
Use rope around the room like garland, and serve western-style treats.
Last But Not Least – Remember to Stay in the Holiday Spirit
A warm inviting smile from your staff is the perfect crowning glory to your holiday decorating efforts. Greet everyone with a warm welcome, and ensure your faces and attitudes reflect the same joyous message that is presented by your community decor. Nobody wants to lease an apartment from The Grinch!
Don’t be distracted by the Holidays to the point that you forget your
number one mission. It’s more important than ever that our residents and
future residents receive the full benefit of our commitment to provide
quality service.
followaptpros 5:34 pm on November 28, 2009 Permalink |
Lori Konover
Idea/Theme: We implemented complimentary gift wrapping at our primarily single Navy guy property, from Thanksgiving until 2 days before Christmas. They loved it, their families were impressed!!
Estimated Cost: 50.00
Results: Several residents stated that they renewed simply not to have to wrap gifts anymore!
followaptpros 5:58 pm on November 28, 2009 Permalink |
Elsa Centra Asset Partners
Category: Management
Idea/Theme: “Candy Cane Treasure Hunt”
Materials needed: Candy Canes, Labels, Vases, Ribbon,
Print specials/concessions on labels and place them on the Candy Cane, insert Candy inside decorative vase. Offer prospects to participate in the treasure hunt for a special/concession.
Same idea can be used for renewals.
Key Visuals: Candy canes, vases, ribbon, decorative tissue.
Media Vehicles: Fliers, direct mail, My Space, Craig List, Facebook.
Estimated Cost: $85.00