Generating or receiving a lead is just the beginning of the rental journey. Learn how to correctly contact a lead, convert that lead into a client, and build a long-lasting relationship with them!
As a real estate professional, you know how difficult it can be to get in touch with new rental leads. That's why the key is having a regimented contact plan, that is different from your buyer or seller contact plan because rentals are a different beast. If you don't know where to start, consider giving this one a try. It delivers, on average, a 40% contact rate!
The contact plan was built and refined during tens of thousands of outreach attempts to real rental clients. The plan's cornerstone is using a multi-medium contact and continual follow-up. Just because a lead doesn’t answer their phone the first time doesn’t mean they aren’t serious or interested!
Stick to the contact plan, and you will see results.
PRO TIP: Set up your Lead Intake to send a first point of contact email within the first minute of accepting to make a great first impression!
After you make contact with your lead, it’s time to introduce yourself, sell your value, qualify the client, and schedule a showing.
Once you connect with the client, it's important to communicate how you received their information and why you are calling them. Since every Rental Beast lead is generated on a Rental Beast listing, it's helpful to reference the listing itself in the conversation. Something as simple as, “Hi, my name is [your name], and I got your request on [listing address]” can go a long way in building trust with the client at the start of the call. This also cuts down on the likelihood that they think you're a scammer.
You are an unbiased source. Most owners only care about finding a tenant to fill their vacancy. Does that make them unbiased? Most likely not. All you care about is helping your clients find a place to rent. Your incentives are aligned with the renter. Make sure they understand this!
You will save them time and effort. Once you understand their search criteria, you will search the largest verified rental listing database on the market, find listings that fit their criteria, and coordinate the showings. They don’t have to do anything other than attend the showing and tell you if it's a nay or yea!
Lastly, you are the expert in the rental market. Real estating is your full-time job. You know the local market, you know where to find those rare dream listings, and you have helped many renters. Make sure you establish yourself!
Doing the upfront work of qualifying the lead ensures you will not waste your time. As mentioned before, handling rental leads is different than working with potential buyers. As you ask your qualifying questions, you might determine the client may be a potential buyer instead of a renter. This is a great situation to be in! Review our best practices for converting renters into buyers to ensure you know how to handle this situation.
You have conveyed your value, qualified the lead, and determined you should continue to work with the rental client. Great! Now you need to schedule a showing. Work with the client to schedule at least one or two dates that work for showings. Many properties utilize virtual showings, which makes this part of the process much more flexible for busy schedules. Always confirm the upcoming showing at least a day in advance. People’s schedules change, and giving yourself the most advanced notice will help you reschedule, keep them as a client, and avoid souring contact with the property manager or landlord.
You have the largest off-MLS, verified rental listings database on the market through Rental Beast. Use it! Check out the Rental Beast database article to learn how to utilize the database to find listings for your client. Once you find listings that fit their criteria, easily send them over to the client for approval. Then, track their activity in the Client Activity Hub, so you're always in the loop.
Today's renters are tomorrow's homebuyers. Build a relationship with your rental clients because there's a chance they'll be repeat customers and a source of referrals. Regularly check-in to build that relationship. Consider sending them a new local restaurant that just opened up in their area or alert them to an upcoming event.
