(#501) SELF-GUIDED TOURS

Daily Dose: Make your self-guided tours more efficient and effective with these tips from Barbara. Find them all in the audio from her podcast! Play it here, directly from your browser below.

Have you hopped on the self-guided tours train yet, Sprouters? Self-guided tours are a great way to get more tours done in less time and it appeals to certain demographics that prefer to do it themselves! Check out how you can spice up your self guided tours with some designs to point your prospects in the right direction!

The Secret to Closing More Leases From Your Apartment's Self-Guided Tour

Sprout Marketing

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MAKE SELF-GUIDED TOURS A BREEZe

INSTRUCTIONS: 

• Provide instructions for how you will facilitate self-guided tours.

• Is everything done alone and through a lockbox or will a prospect need to come into the office to show ID & receive a key?

• Draft an email template with instructions so you can just plug and play when someone schedules a tour. 

DIRECTIONAL SIGNAGE: 

• Have directional signage every step of the way. Think of this as a museum tour where you are choreographing the experience.

• Place signage on how to find your leasing office if they need to come there first.

• A-frame signage to help start the tour.

• Model home signage pointing out all the amenities.

• Floor decals are a great way to tell prospects where to go.

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Self-guided tour signage

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Create your tour guide

Digital Brochures:

• Think of your digital brochure as your modern-day tour guide outlining stops in the tour routes, things they should take note of, and highlights of your surrounding neighborhood.

>>>Check out a few options below>>>

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customize your digital brochure and tri-folds

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MAKE SURE the TOUR UNIT IS SHOW-READY:

A few of the same rules apply whether you are there or not:

• The unit should be clean and fresh

• Lights should be on

• Put on inviting, universally-appealing music

Keep a checklist as part of your leasing binder to make sure you never skip a step. 

Take it up a notch: 

If you know what time your prospect is coming, leave them a welcome pack including:

• Handwritten welcome note inviting them to refreshments in the fridge

• Your business card

• A goodie pack to go.

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Business cards

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Shout it from your social media

get your social media accounts working for you!

Click to download these social media graphics and use them to:

• Announce that your community has self-guided tours available.

• Remind prospects to take advantage of your self-guided tours, on their own time and at their convenience!

• Encourage prospects to use them! Finding a dream home doesn’t have to be difficult. They can feel comfortable and already at home at your community with a self-guided tour.

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Social Media graphics and instant download flyers

Click to download

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PRINTABLES FOR SELF-GUIDED TOURS

Just click to download or customize

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Hear from an expert:

Allison Moledo, Director of Training [West Region] for Windsor Communities shares how Windsor Communities successfully launched a self-guided tour pilot program in 2019.

Q: WHAT ARE SOME OF THE RESULTS YOU’VE HAD WITH YOUR SELF-GUIDED TOURS PROGRAM? 

A: Overall we’ve had tremendous success with our program. When our pilot phase completed, we determined that a large percentage of self-guided tours were during business hours, which is the opposite of what we predicted. This showed us that a lot of our customers, particularly Millennials and Gen Z, like to tour the properties alone and 95% of our customers like to have some time alone during the buying process. We’re able to provide multiple options to all the different personalities that we cater to. 

Q: IN IMPLEMENTING THIS PROGRAM, DID YOU GUYS HAVE ANY HICCUPS? HOW HAS IT EVOLVED OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS?

A: We are constantly evolving, but we really have not had too many hiccups up to this point. We are really trying to communicate with our teams on a regular basis to discuss successes and opportunities because we’re always striving to be better with this process. With our communities, we’re a relatively low tech process but as we evolve we want to explore more technology. The biggest question I get when I speak on this subject is security. We try to really go out of our way to focus on those concerns. We request a photo ID from anyone over the age of 18 and then we also require them to sign a “tour release form.” This is essentially a form that releases us from all liability. In that agreement, we state that we’d really like for people to keep their tours around 30 minutes. We have our teams monitor the cameras and make sure the tour is moving along, and we also make sure the door is locked after the tour. Overall, because of our low-tech approach, we haven’t had a lot of hiccups.

Need a rundown on Self-Guided Tours? Check out the full podcast audio with Allison Moledo from Windsor Communities below!

““Offering self-guided tours at your company will 100% set you apart and elevate the experience for your customers and will give you the ability to secure more rentals in your community. All in all, it’s a win-win!” ”

— Allison Moledo

Self-Guided Tours: Everything You Need to Know

Sprout Marketing

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