CallSource^® Aim Higher

It’s Time to Embrace a Training System that Produces Results!

by Doug Chasick, CPM®, CAPS, CAS, Adv. RAM, CLP, SLE, December 20 2010

How is the average Leasing Professional doing?  According to CallSource’s Third Quarter Industry Report Card (IRC), the average performance is less than stellar. CallSource’s IRC is an objective report on how effectively Leasing Professionals across the country handle telephone leads, set appointments, and close leases.

After identifying and removing general business and personal calls, CallSource reviewed 85,155 calls from apartment seekers in 1,445 communities. Each call was scored using a survey of best practices created by top industry professionals with a combined total of more than 150 years experience. Consider these findings:

• Leasing Professionals obtained the caller’s name only 72% of the time.
• Leasing Professionals asked only 33% of callers why they were moving, and only 69% for their specific needs and preferences.
• Leasing Professionals mentioned features during 53% of calls, but benefits only 25% of the time.
• A Leasing Professional’s primary goal, on a qualified leasing call, is to set an appointment.  Yet, only 74% of callers were even asked to make one.
• Of 85,155 calls reviewed, only 39% were converted to appointments.  
• 4,386 appointment-setting opportunities were missed resulting in 1,097 fewer leases written.
• Total lease revenue lost by these communities: $12,948,653 (based on the industry average).

Every Call Counts
Successful Leasing Professionals get the caller’s name and contact information so they can follow-up.  But as this study reveals, many Leasing Professionals often fail to get even the most basic information. Industry statistics indicate that top leasing performers convert 50% – 60% of their qualified telephone leads to appointments.  How can we improve the performance of the average Leasing Professional from just 39%?

Training: The Key to Leasing Success
First of all, don’t kill your trainers. It’s not their fault. Far too often, they haven’t been formally trained as teachers. They also have too many miles to cover, too much turnover, too many employees to train, and too few tools to reach and teach your entire team. And the rise of “Generation Y” in the workforce has only added to their challenges. Today’s Leasing Professionals encounter expectations and requirements very different from prior generations.

To dramatically improve leasing results, the multifamily industry needs a complete and disciplined system of individualized training that includes full accountability. A comprehensive training system must play a significant role.  When considering training, take the following into consideration:

• All leasing calls must be tracked, recorded, and scored to:

           - Maximize return on marketing investment (ROI)

           - Identify true leasing opportunities versus other types of calls

           - Accurately evaluate leasing performance

• Each employee’s skills must be consistently and repeatedly evaluated and published within the organization under a standardized system of scoring and ranking.
• Training and education, in all forms, must be housed and visible to management and employees within a central database and reporting system.
• Employees must know what training is available and when they are expected to complete it.  This includes compliance as well as skills training.
• One-size-fits-all training is utterly, thoroughly obsolete. Training must be individualized to address the specific skill gaps of each employee.  
• Classroom education must be supplemented by professionally designed eLearning programs.  This should include instructor-led and self-paced courses.
• Training is most effective when it’s ongoing and offers continuous review and feedback.  Training is not about passing ridiculously easy tests or “checking the box” on delivery of required courses.  Real training is about providing valuable skills to Leasing Professionals that measurably improve results.  Real results mean improved financial performance, compliance with laws and regulations, and improved retention of both residents and employees.

At present, there is only one fully integrated system that satisfies and accomplishes all of these requirements and goals. CallSource calls it Results.  Several modules make-up the Results platform:

• Core to the system is CallTrack® reporting and recording. In addition to providing objective proof of whether training is being put into practice, this process improves ROI.
• The next module is LeadScore®. LeadScore provides an analysis of calls to remove non-leasing calls from the calculation of conversion ratios and to stop abuse of your tracking numbers by residents, employees, or vendors.
• Next is Telephone Performance Analysis (TPA). TPA grades how well your staff is applying the skills and techniques you’ve taught them.  Results and trends are charted by individual Leasing Professional, community, region, and company.
• Key to the success of the Results system is Our University®. A central repository of courses offered and completed, job tools, etc. This Learning Management System can be accessed from and is branded to match your corporate website. Its content is entirely up to you. In addition to permission-based executive and administrative tools and views, each of your employees has their own “My Training” web page showing courses of any type and source along with due and completion dates.
• CallSource’s groundbreaking Level 4® Training goes beyond simply training employees to managing and improving their performance.  The real question is not whether your employees liked the training, or even whether they learned something from it.  What you need to know is how it affected your business. Recognized as the gold standard throughout the training world, skills and knowledge are assessed before and after training and results are measured in terms of workplace performance. Level 4® Training is focused on business, and not simply learning outcomes.  It’s the quintessential means by which to objectively measure true performance results.

Need custom eLearning classes developed for you? Let CallSource experts deliver them. Already subscribe to a third-party training program?  Those courses and grades can be automatically imported into Our University®. Naturally, you can include your own courses as well.  Need help converting your traditional training to effective eLearning?  CallSource expert, Dr. Ann Kwinn, co-author of The New Virtual Classroom, can assist you with course development and design.

Proper training plays a key role in your leasing personnel’s success. According to the latest CallSource Industry Report Card, the erosion of revenue within the multifamily industry is directly related to training.  Want your leasing team to convert more leads to leases and improve ROI?  Maybe it’s time to embrace a training system that produces Results!

Doug Chasick is Senior Vice President of Multifamily Professional Services at CallSource.  CallSource’s IRC is published quarterly and available free of charge.  For a complete copy of the Q3, 2010 IRC, or for past issues, contact a CallSource advisor at (800) 500-4433 or, visit: www.callsource.com/research-reports/.