Busy leasing season is upon us! From May until August, leasing needs are in full swing in the multifamily real estate world. Luckily, combining virtual touring with your in-person tour strategy can help make this time easier and more efficient for both prospects and leasing teams.
Today’s prospects have a myriad of demands and interests when it comes to the leasing process. You can no longer rely on only in-person tours to get you through this busy time. Teams should be fully equipped to offer a full suite of touring options to meet those demands successfully.
Having the ability and technology to combine in-person tours with virtual touring is going to be key. It’s the most impactful and streamlined way to lease prospective residents today. Here’s a little more about what we mean.
Start Creating Content Now
If you’re looking at ways to integrate virtual touring with your existing in-person touring strategies, start creating content now. Make sure your teams have the videos they’ll need, including those that they’ll need to lean most heavily into during busy leasing seasons.
Start shooting and creating that video content now. Ideally, you’ll have a cloud-based platform where you can house these videos and share them across your entire team. This way, they can be fully integrated into your communications tools and lead management system — allowing an easy and seamless combination with any in-person tours.
Now, there are plenty of ways to create virtual tours for free, or using various DIY methods. But, during the busy season, in particular, you’ll want to create the easiest and best virtual tour experiences. That’s where having a platform that integrates and makes video a seamless part of the process is going to be of most benefit to both prospects and the leasing teams.
So, however, you want to do it, get the camera out and start shooting now to build that library up for down the road.
Use Video Proactively
Throughout the leasing process, find ways to use video and virtual touring proactively. For example, when a lead comes in, send them video tours to look at and get a preview of the property. This is where a quick, free virtual walking tour of the property could come in handy.
Once the leasing agent has a connection with that prospect and understands more about what they are looking for and when they may want to move in, send them video tours of the floorplans that may work for their needs and will be available when they are looking to move.
Building these connections in advance means you can create a more meaningful next step in the leasing process. They may want to do an in-person tour next. Or the prospect may look for a more interactive virtual tour experience. That’s particularly valuable if they are moving from a long-distance or just don’t want to tour in person right now.
Combining a proactive video tour with an in-person tour can help streamline the process and allows that in-person tour to be much more directed at the individual prospect’s needs. That’s because these virtual touring experiences have allowed you to create a stronger connection and learn more about what that prospect really wants.
Video Is Your Best Follow-Up Tool
Connecting via a live virtual tour or a pre-recorded virtual tour is a great and convenient alternative to an in-person tour. But, it can also be a great lead-in or follow-up to an in-person tour.
Send a video follow-up no matter what the next tour experience is. Call the prospect by name and discuss some of what you talked about during the tour. Also, hit on some of the reasons why you think your property is perfect for them. After that, outline the next steps. Making that touchpoint via video is much more personal than through an email or a text.
Plus, when they do sign a lease, use your virtual touring skills to create and send a welcome video, including move-in day instructions. It’s going to be a pretty busy time, so having a video ready, and letting prospects know in advance what to expect, will take a lot of pressure off the leasing team.
In the end, you want to make busy leasing season as easy as possible for teams and your prospects. Luckily, there are so many ways to combine virtual touring with in-person touring that can make it easier — just ask us more about it!
78% of Leaders Agree Video is a Must-Have Tool
Enhancing your video leasing strategy with 1:1, DIY, or pre-recorded videos will help leasing teams WIN more leases! Don’t just take our word for it, reference our recently released report (in partnership with J Turner)!
