The Rule of Thirds

• Welcome to the property management blog, where we keep our eye on the property management business. The Rule of Thirds in selling rental space. Are you familiar with the “rule of thirds”? It is a rule in selling rule that assumes a third of the people who call will rent from you in any case, as long as you don’t do something to drive them off. They have already pretty much decided on renting at the property they called and are really calling to see if there is any reason they shouldn’t rent there. Anyone who answers the phone or greets the potential renter in person in a friendly and inviting manner will rent to these people even if all they do is answer questions in a friendly and knowledgeable manner without using any selling skill. Another third of callers are not going to rent any time soon, no matter how well you work the call or how well you use your sales tools because their situation will change, the timing won’t be right for them or they will become distracted by a competitor. But the middle third could go either way. This is where your ability to catch a rapport with the prospect and your skill in selling makes all the difference in the world. These are the people that increase your occupancy and contribute to your bottom line. A person who is friendly and knowledgeable without selling tools will not rent to these people in the middle third, because you have to work at these rentals. However, someone who carefully, patiently and sweetly takes control of the selling situation can help these people to talk themselves into renting now. Any one who is at least a little bit friendly can manage not to drive off the easy third. You don’t have to be a great sales person. If you are very good, you will at least give the impossible third a good experience and they will rent from you at some point in the future, should they ever need waht you offer. If you are not very good, the impossible third will slip away and rent somewhere else, and the middle third will, too. Even if you use a selling system, you can loose the middle third. You can’t just ask them once for the sale. You have to understand why they are not ready to decide “Yes” now and you have to help them realize that renting with you is the best option. You have to ask for the sale a second, third or even fourth time. Of course it needs to be done skillfully with patience and professionalism. But this is why building good sales skills and hiring a call center like ours that practices a sales culture are worth doing. The extra rentals you pick up by not giving up on the difficult middle third is well worth the effort and expense. The payback is in a higher conversion rate of potential renters and a longer average length of stay from current renters. You can use the rule of thirds to help you work a telephone inquiry. If the caller is in the easy third, make sure he or she doesn’t slip away. Assure the caller that it was a good decision to call you and get that person in your door. If the caller is in the impossible third, give the caller a good experience and hope you rent to him or her next time. If the caller is in the middle third and could go either way, you’ll need to pull every sales tool you have out of your sales kit and put it to work. The reward will be immediate. You’ll rent more units. Good luck and good selling! Tron

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rule of thirds- The Other Third- What are the points?- How do the calls flow at the call center?- Hiring a sales savvy staff- get the number- Self Storage and selling- Sales and Training Topics- Sales Skills- Selling Self Storage

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Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

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