CLASS Leasing: Creating A Blog For Your Community

Creating a website can often be very time consuming, as well as extremely expensive for many businesses to produce on their own. Often times an individual must be hired to actually design the page for a company, taking some of the personal touch out of the companies hands. An alternative to getting an expensive website designed is for the company to produce a daily blog.
Blogging is extremely user friendly and best of all, it is absolutely free. There are many benefits to creating a company blog, including: quick and easy; very inexpensive to setup; provides easy access to company news; its search engine friendly; it makes the company appear easily accessible; it allows the company to appear authoratative; its a relationship building opportunity for the company; it allows the company to gain insight to their customers; it's very easy to update and maintain.
Here is the website to get your blog started. In addition, there are many things that you can blog about, especially when it involved talking about apartment related issues/events. There's no right or wrong way to blog, so have fun with it and get to blogging!

Enjoy!

CLASS Leasing And Craigslist

I did a blog about a month ago about utilizing Craigslist as an effective marketing tool for any community in the country. Craigslist is without a doubt one of the easiest and most cost effecient ways to market any community, because it is totally free! Here is an interesting article in regards to Craigslist and some things to keep in mind while posting on this website. The last thing you want to have happen is put all of that hardwork into designing ads and not have they make it to the prospects eyes.

Enjoy!

Technology Then And Now

Everyone that has been alive for at least 20 years has been apart of the most technological advancement time period in history. Computers have become smaller and smaller while the capabilities of these same computers has become larger and larger. This simple picture really puts things into perspective where technology was just ten years ago and where it is now. Kind of crazy.

Enjoy!

Innovating CLASS Leasing And Apartment Communities Nationwide

Unless you completely just don't use a computer, which if you didn't you wouldn't be seeing this blog, then you have probably searched something in Google recently and noticed something different. Now, as you type in Google's search bar, the search actually begins the second you begin typing. You've been witness to Google's new innovative enhancement..Google Instant.
Google implemented this new search technology on the basis that individuals normally type slowly, but read quickly. Therefore, by allowing the search to begin the second someone types a letter in the search bar, Google is saving that person 2-5 seconds per search by predicting what he or she are looking for. Google estimated that with this new abbreviated search innovation, Google will be saving searchers a total of 3.5 BILLION seconds a day. That's 11 hours saved...EVERY second!
Reducing the search time for a user is without a doubt a plus, but how does this effect what each individual will select when search results appear before the person finishes typing? This is a question that will ultimately be brought up when websites that would normally be clicked on are not visited as often, due to the searcher clicking on websites that appear before they are finished typing. This is why the wording in businesses websites is so important, in order to ensure that their website appears immediately once any initial relevant typing is entered. Experiment with this new feature of Google by pausing after typing each letter of your search and see what search results you get each time. You'll be surprised.

Enjoy!

Success From Two Of The Best

Success is ultimately what drives people in everyday life. No one wakes up in the morning not wanting to take that next step towards bettering his or her self at work, or in life. En lieu of the Forbes list just being released for this year, here is a great article from two individuals that started at the bottom and made it to the top through their own personal drive.

Enjoy!

Creative Ideas Article To Get The Day Started

Here is a great article to start the morning that offers 21 creative ideas for renewal time for residents. Although the article is geared towards current resident retention, many of these very inexpensive ideas would also be great for prospective prospects as well. In addition, making a good impresssion and keeping current residents happy is extremely important when it comes to resident referrals. If the individuals living at the community are not happy, then resident referrals will become nearly nonexistent, because no one will want to recommend the community!

Enjoy!

NOI...What Does It Mean??

No, NOI is not an acronym that you would associate with text messaging, which has slowly expanded, but at the sametime shrank the English language. NOI is a very important business associated acronym that you may not hear about very often.
NOI stands for Net Operating Income and is basically how a business measures their success. NOI refers to a company's operating income after operating expenses are deducted, but before income taxes and interest are deducted. If this is a positive value, it is referred to as net operating income, while a negative value is called a net operating loss (NOL).
You might think of NOI as the number of dollars a property returns in a given year if the property were to be purchased for all cash and before consideration of income taxes or capital recovery. By more formal definition, it is a property's Gross Operating Income less the sum of all operating expenses.
Essentially, in the real estate/apartment community world, NOI is the net cash generated before mortgage payments/taxes with housing and after specials are taken into consideration wit apartments. Therefore, the higher the NOI, the better for the apartment community, or homeowner.
Now you can say you know what NOI means.
Enjoy!

Megacommunities: Too Much Of A Good Thing?

Very interesting article about the complicated issues involving "megacommunities." Do the positives of these massive structures outweigh the consistent negatives?

Enjoy!

First Impressions: Don't Blow It!

It takes just a quick glance, maybe three seconds, for someone to evaluate you when you meet for the first time. In this short time, the other person forms an opinion about you based on your appearance, your body language, your demeanor, your mannerisms, and how you are dressed.
With every new encounter, you are evaluated and yet another person’s impression of you is formed. These first impression can be nearly impossible to reverse or undo, making these first encounters extremely important, for they set the tone for the all the relationships that follows.
Just like individuals have first impressions about people, prospects have first impressions about properties before they even walk in the leasing office door. Therefore it is so important to have a property that is well kept, especially the pathway leading from the front entrance of the property to the leasing office. Any unsightly things can cause a prospect to do an immediate 180 before they even see the actual product.
The leasing office is going to be portrayed by the prospect as something that is similar to the actual apartments available, so keeping a tidy office is of great importance. It's the little things that mean the most in the office: have the office staff professionally dressed; keep the office clean and orderly at all times; make sure the office smells good.
First impressions are such a critical part of the apartment industry, because once that first impression is made by the prospect, it's nearly impossible to reverse their opinion.
Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Traffic Down? Drive More Leads To Your Property!

There is no such thing as getting too much information about a community out into the public ear. Oftentimes, a community will be experiencing a very limited amount of traffic, but will also be doing a very limited amount of work to drive that traffic in. There's no big secret behind these two things being correlated. If the work is done to drive traffic in, the amount of prospects coming in the community's doors will increase and the amount of leases generated by the community will increase as well. It's that simple. Here is an article about some great ways to begin generating that all important traffic.

Enjoy!

Starting Your Day Right

I had the pleasure to meet Coach Bobby Bowden last night, who for those of you that don't know, is the face of Florida State University football and is also one of the most genuine human beings I have ever met. Coach Bowden was apart of football for nearly sixty years and never approached his job as something he had to do, rather he approached every day as another day to make an impact on one of his players' lives. Coach Bowden was a very inspirational person and one speech that he used every single year with his players is one that can be applied to every person's life. This speech is called "Holding The Rope."

["What does holding the rope mean? You are hanging from the edge of a cliff five hundred yards in the air. The only thing between you and falling to the ground is a piece of rope with the person of your choice on the other end.
Who do you know that you can trust enough? Who do you know has enough guts to withstand rope burn, watch blood drip from his hands, and still not let get?
Look around and ask, "Who can I trust to hold the rope?" Who will let his hands bleed for me? If you can look at every member of your team and say they will hold the rope, then your team will win!"]

Re-evaluate how you approach each day and don't view it as just another day to go through the routines of everyday life. Be the person on the other end of the rope that others can count on when it comes down to crunch time in the office when things must get accomplished. Take advantage of every opportunity presented before you and make the best of it!

Enjoy and have a great Wednesday!

The Model Apartment: More Than Just A Staged Apartment

A well-furnished apartment is an essential part of the marketing program for apartment communities and the great thing about an attractive model is that it expresses a lifestyle that cannot be verbalized. A model apartment could be the missing piece to any communities lease up puzzle, but there are some important details to remember when setting up a model apartment in a community:

1. Determining the number of models to setup.

• Often times it is beneficial to setup multiple models, depending on the community’s budget, if the community has numerous floor plans. Setting up multiple models could also allow for multiple decorating schemes, as well as make smaller apartments look more appealing with a creative furniture layout, or make those non-traditional floor plans (i.e., 2 Bedroom/1 Bath) have a more practical appeal.

2. Determining which apartment to use as the model.

• A less desirable apartment should be used as the model, rather than the best apartment available in the community. More desirable apartments with great locations will sell themselves without the use of a model staging. Decorating an apartment with a less desirable location will help offset the negatives and make this apartments location seem more appealing.
• Choose an apartment that is close to the office. Doing so will make the leasing agents tour more convenient, as well as make those time crunched prospects less likely to refuse a showing. The last thing a community wants to do is spend all of that money to stage a model apartment and not have every single prospect see it.
• Apartments that are on the first floor tend to be more convenient for model showing. In addition, some individuals have problems negotiating stairs, so the bottom floor will allow for the most convenience and accessibility for the prospects.

3. Decorating the model apartment home.

• Make the decorating and furnishing of the apartment truly alluring to the eyes. While the apartment should be decorated nicely, it should not be so exuberantly decorated that the prospect feels as if the apartment is out of their budget the second they walk in the door. Decorate the model apartment to appeal to the clientele that will be living at the community. If the community is a more modern and luxurious property, then nicer furniture placed in a more ornate setting would be more appropriate. If the community is a college property, then more comfortable furniture in a more laid back setting would apply. Don’t make the prospects qualify themselves out by walking into too nice of a model apartment.
• Don’t clutter the model. Setting up too much furniture in a model can make the apartment feel smaller, especially if the prospect has to constantly squeeze by furniture to maneuver through the room.
• Always make sure the model apartment is clean. Keeping the model in first-class condition should be the top priority with having a model apartment. If a prospect were to walk into an unclean model apartment, then he/she will automatically probably assume the property is one that does not care about its current residents if it doesn’t show its future residents the nicest thing possible.
In addition to these basic things to keep in mind when setting up a model apartment, here is a great article that shows, mathematically, how a model apartment can be beneficial.

Enjoy!

Concession Pros and Cons

To begin the work week, here's a great article discussing the nature of concession offering.

Enjoy and have a great Monday!

Being Positive Is Contagious

Having a positive mental attitude in the office is by far one of the most important ingredients that every office needs in order to be successful. Being positive not only brings the office staff together as a whole, but it rubs off on prospects as well. Prospects coming into a positive office feel more welcome as a result of the inviting persona the office will have. When prospects step into the warm feeling of a happy office, they are more inclined to envision themselves living at the community and most importantly, more inclined to lease! If your office staff needs a pick-me-up, here is a great compilation of office morale boosters:

•“Our team meets every Tuesday at 3:00 to compile a list of associates who have gone above and beyond the prior week. They are recognized through a company sponsored program and are rewarded with 30 minutes of time off!” Allison Clark – Tempe, AZ
•“Paying 5 dollars to charity to wear jeans on Fridays” Courtney Eias – Trumbull, CT
•“Put cow bells on leasing desk and "Ring" when new lease or renewal is signed! Even the manager rings her bell in response, so everyone celebrates the achievement!” Jeanne Marie Zublin – Houston, TX
•“When someone on our team is having a bad moment we sing our team song which happens to be "Hello, Good Morning" LeShannon Jefferson – Lewisville, TX
•“Morning coffee runs for the office” Natalie Lozon – Santa Monica, CA
•“Let off early on pay-day Friday. After all quality control issues are addressed - allow them to leave early by an hour or two.” Lori Schultz – Dallas, TX
•“At closing time, play some music loudly that all like.” Catherine Williams – San Ramon, CA
•“We have recently instituted "Fun Friday" & this Friday is "Bead Day"! :)” Stacy Dueker – Stockton, CA
•“Constantly smile and laugh...it's contagious!” Jason Hilyard – Aberdeen, NC
•“Funky fun glasses for prospects & team member when we ride out on golf cart” and “Football jerseys on Fri, Sat & Sun” Sandra Williams – Tampa, FL
•“Flip Flop Friday!” Lauren Pettit – Port Richey, FL
•“Goodie Bags filled with small inexpensive gifts for my staff members to "grab" something from when they get a rental, save a renewal, etc!” Amanda Hall – Vallejo, CA
•“Have an ice cream social for the staff and residents. Grab buckets of ice cream, whip ccream, cherries, etc. and have fun! Include it with a pool party on a hot day.” Diane Christy – Cleveland, OH
•“I get doughnuts for my team every other week” and “After every lease my team gets we have a "happy dance” Tanisha Young – New Carrollton, MD
• “I like to buy goodies a couple times a month, for example, today I bought the staff ice cream! They loved it!” Shannon Lorenzen – Wilder, KY
•“Something positive or a compliment every morning to all of your staff” Jennifer Moreno – Houston, TX
•“Once in a while have the team go out for lunch together to be able to communicate outside the work environment and share ideas.” Jackie Cruz – Plant City, FL
•“Our office does a Youtube video challenge where each week we look for the funniest or most bizarre youtube video we've seen and then watch them on Fridays.” Brad Randall – Salt Lake City, UT
•“Pizza Party” Philip Nieman – Roslindale, MA
•“Secret Pal – Change it up once a month” Helene Konneman – Humble, TX
•“Small gifts such such as candy or new office supplies left on team members desk!” Leah Shay Hartley – Newnan, GA
•“Morning staff meetings for 15 minutes prior to the office opening” Katrina Avila – Richmond, TX
•“We applause each other in the mornings for motivation even on Mondays!!” Robert Torres – Houston, TX
•“We have a wall of fame where residents and co-workers can post kudos to the team.” Lia Smith – Birmingham, AL
•“We ring a bell any time a sales person gets the sale. Of course, after the prospect leaves.” Sherre Helmer – Indianapolis, IN
•“We start the morning stating two things that were uplifting yesterday one personal and one professional.” Karen McLelland – Plant City, FL
•“Manager cooks breakfast for staff 1xm and cooincides with a monthly safety meeting,” and “Pedicures/manicurs for great shop reports and super leasing results,” and “Randomly give out freeze pops to residents at the pool,” and “Big basket of crackers, candy bars, granola bars and drinks for the office staff on the busy days when you can’t get out to get a bite to eat.” Christina Chalifour – Grand Prairie, TX
•“We share recipes with each other for that nights dinner, we give each other good advice and pump each other up... We love our team.” Erica Spence – Fort Worth, TX

Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Prospect Follow-Up

Following-up with a prospect sounds like it would be a no-brainer right? I mean you just spent valuable time building rapport with them, showing them the apartment of their dreams, so why wouldn't you touchbase with them over the upcoming days to remind them of your amazing community? Surprisingly, many leasing agents fail to follow-up with prospects after they walk out of those leasing office doors. It's not the prospects responsibility to contact the leasing agent back, it's one hundred percent the leasing agents job. Prospects may have toured ten properties the day they toured yours, so it's not only the leasing agents duty, but it's their commmon courtesy to call that prospect and at least remind them as to what they saw at your community. Here is a great article with five ways to get those be-backs to turn into leases and guess what those five ways are....follow-up.

Enjoy!

Importance of Phone Calls

Here is a great article about why phone calls are so important. Keep in mind that phone calls are often times your first contact to a potential prospect, so always strive to make the most of it.

Enjoy!

Marketing Fun

Marketing is an extremely crucial part of a successful business and very much so in the apartment community industry. Depending on the location and type of property, marketing can range from the grandiose scale of commercials and billboards all the way down to the more simple things of flyers and newspaper ads.
Regardless of the path chosen, marketing is something that must be done on some level, in order for a property's name to reach potential prospects. Have fun with marketing. Get creative with it. There are an unfathomable number of different venues of marketing, so figure out what your niche will be and watch the prospects flow in!
Here are some great examples, courtesy of Guerilla Marketing Defined, of companies that thought outside the box for marketing and came up with some very fun ideas.
Enjoy!

All About Running
Express Delivery
Close Shave
Endless Walk
Red Bull
Small Packages
Air
Rise Up

Utilizing Craigslist To Your Full Advantage

Savvy businesspeople and Internet marketers who market on Craigslist are able to gain a great deal of benefits from this advertising option. There are a number of benefits to advertising on Craigslist. Two of the most important benefits are the affordability and the ability to reach a large audience.
Consider the cost of advertising on Craigslist versus advertising on other websites and there is simply no comparison. The vast majority of Craigslist postings are available free of charge to those who use the website. Advertising on Craigslist becomes even more financially appealing in comparison to other advertising option where the business owner is charged for each time the advertisement appears whether or not it results in a sale being made or even a lead generated.
In addition to affordability another benefit to advertising on Craigslist is the potential to reach a large audience. Craigslist receives approximately four billion page views per month from approximately ten million website visitors. This is appealing because it allows users to reach a large audience with only minimal effort.
Craigslist is a very useful marketing source, but is only going to be as effective as you make it. Posting one ad per day is not going to be advantageous to your community, because after a very short period of time, your ad will be lost in the mix of everyone that posts immediately after you. If you want to see the most results, you have to make sure your ad is always on the first page, which therefore, requires you to post multiple ads (5-10) all throughout the day. You have to make sure that you are creative with these posts, because you cannot post the same ad within a 48 hour timeframe.
Here are a few sites that offer great tips for changing up your posts to make creative ads. Have fun posting and watching the leases roll in!

Tiny MCE
Improve Your Ad
Craigslist Tips

Living Green

Live green. Living in an apartment limits your space and your control over your environment. Although you can't change out your water heater or dishwasher for more energy-efficient models, you can cut your carbon footprint in other avenues and here are some ways that everyone can make an impact, courtesy of eHow.com.

-Minimize waste by finding space for recycling. A common complaint living in apartments is the lack of space. Be creative. Stash a couple of milk crates in the trunk of your car, and store your plastic bottles and newspapers there. Or clean out the floor of a closet and stick a few bins beside your vacuum cleaner.

-Cut back energy. Turn your heater down to 68 degrees F and your air conditioner up to 72. Better yet, open a window and turn on a fan. If you can switch out energy-guzzling appliances, do so. Don't just dump your old machine, either recycle it or sell it.

-Trim down phantom energy. Turn off your computer after using it. Desktop PCs consume a significant amount of electricity as do TVs. Unplug TVs and audio equipment every night. Or plug them into a surge protector and turn that off when not in use. Unplug all appliances when not in use.

-Compost if possible. If you have a yard, start a compost pile to dispose your organic waste. Let the compost decompose thoroughly, and use as fertilizer for a flower bed or herb garden. If you don't have space, try to find neighbors or family that would let you share space.

-Cut back on water usage. Since you can't install a low-flow toilet, decrease the water level by adjusting the mechanism in the toilet tank. If you don't know how or you can't adjust the level, fill a bottle completely with water (leaving no air) and screw on the lid. Then submerge the bottle into the tank. Make sure the bottle does not obstruct the flow of the water or block the movement of the flushing mechanism. This will decrease the amount of water in each flush a little bit. If you can change your shower head, install an aerator. Do the same with your sink faucets.

-Reuse towels and other laundry when possible. Don't be disgusting and dry off with a filthy, mildewed towel, but use it at least twice before tossing it in the hamper. This will cut back on your number laundry loads.

-Take a reusable coffee cup or plastic cup with you when you order take-out. Many coffee shops offer discounts for supplying your own cup anyway.

-Buy organic, fair-trade food when possible. Shop at farmers' markets and local suppliers.

-Don't focus on buying new things to live a greener life. There are so many new green items on the market that people buy these new items thinking they are benefiting the environment, but they don't realize that they didn't even need that item, or their old item can be just as Eco-friendly with a few adjustments. Think twice before buying anything because fossil fuels were burned and materials were consumed to create it. If you don't need it, don't buy it.

Here's an extreme example of living green, but quite impressive indeed.

Enjoy!