Your Residents Want to Stay

As I begin to write this blog about effective resident retention I am reminded of the Tracy Chapman song, “Give me one reason”. I’ve referenced some of the lyrics below.

Give me one reason to stay here
And I'll turn right back around
Give me one reason to stay here
And I'll turn right back around
Because I don't want leave you lonely
But you got to make me change my mind

While we all know that she’s speaking in terms of a loving and intimate relationship I think it’s safe to say that we can easily apply this to the apartment industry and lease renewal time. What if leasing managers always remembered that nine times out of ten their residents actually wanted to stay?!

We here at Resident Keepers believe strongly in the power of thoughts, intentions and plans and this is definitely a scenario where positive thinking, setting intentions to reclose the deal and having a strategic plan to do so come in handy.

I’d like to challenge you to adopt and maintain the mindset that your residents want to stay and that they are depending on you to constantly give them reasons to. This does not only apply to those that have yet to turn in their notices but those that have already turned them in as well. Notice that Tracy said, “And I’ll turn right back around.” This is an indication that she was clearly on her way out the door.

An ongoing retention plan is an essential piece of your business and should always be a point of focus.

While we could go into specific details and action items I think it’s important to simply remember that your residents don’t want to have to go through the hassle of moving and sometimes it just takes someone taking the time to remind them of all of the inconveniences that they will have to deal with and all of the extra money that they will spend if they were to choose to move.

When this way of thinking is standard throughout your company you won’t have any worries about increasing rent at lease renewal time which should be a daily practice for your property.

This simple shift in thinking and approach can give you an instant boost in resident retention.

Written by:

Talisa Lavarry

Founder

Resident Keepers

www.residentkeepers.com