July 2008 Newsletter
Why Sunrise Management Believes in Shopping Its Communities
We admit it - we use Joanna Ellis and her Partners in Mystery Shopping to keep our managers on their toes. They evaluate the leasing process and report any problems back to us. FAST!
Why does Sunrise hope to gain by using mystery shoppers? Accountability! Because if there’s a concern in the leasing or customer relations end – the side that most directly (and immediately) impacts the owners we represent, we need to know about it – we need to know about it before it becomes a problem.
Here’s our promise to every property owner we work with:
1. We’ll Maintain High Standards
We have the responsibility to owner/investors to maintain competent onsite Leasing Professionals. Like we said - it’s all about accountability! An accurate and comprehensive “shop” provides documentation of leasing excellence on all of the communities we manage. And the Shopping Report we’ll provide to you is proof that we’re committed to providing a strong sales and leasing effort.
2. We’ll Document Ongoing Portfolio-Wide Leasing Excellence
More and more often we are under a high-degree of scrutiny from investors, asset managers, and/or advisory groups. We need to regularly show we can and are performing. Those Shopping Reports verify how dedicated and competent our leasing staff is.
3. We’ll Monitor Performance and Training Efforts
At Sunrise, we recognize that we’re not the only game in town. We need to grow as a business and as individuals. And like you we’re always looking for ways to expand our professional expertise.
That’s why we like the concept of mystery shopping. It allows us to measure ongoing performance, and continuously see whether or not we’re improving against our own benchmarks. We see measure of any training program in the measurable results of the folks who participate…in this case those who are being shopped. And at the end of the day, we know a shopping report results in better leasing skills, overall effectiveness, and bolsters the performance of our entire leasing operation.
4. We’ll Troubleshoot and Identify Potential Challenges
A mystery shop can uncover problems and challenges onsite. Beyond leasing and sales skills weaknesses, shopping reveals concerns about curb appeal and office environment issues (i.e. staff attitudes).
Let’s face reality – unpleasant as it may be to consider, some people shouldn’t interface with potential customers. We’ve found mystery shoppers help to root out such problems, helping us to document a situation and then eliminate the issue. We can then guide the unhappy employee to a more productive work environment and put a more customer-centric individual at the leasing desk.
All with an eye towards improving the owner’s bottom line.
5. We’ll Train and Report
Probably the best reason to use mystery shoppers is the insight we gain for employee training and client feedback. We see our onsite sales evaluations as the quintessential training tool, since we firmly believe it’s impossible to understand what’s really going on in the leasing and sales process of any property until you’ve examined it up-close.
After we examine your leasing operation, you’ll receive a Shopping Report on strengths and weaknesses, as well as an indication of our plans for future training that will be developed and implemented. These plans, in turn, should result in more rentals and rental income for you.
Sunrise COO Tina West is ready to help you utilize mystery shoppers for your own property –
just ask her how.
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