4 Traits of Top Rental Real Estate Professionals

Here are our top observations of the Real Estate professionals who have figured it out:

1. View Objections as Opportunities

As with pretty much any situation, there are all sorts of things that can, and will, go wrong. The great agents not only know this, but already know what is likely to go wrong and are ready to turn these issues into deal leverage. When something happens, these agents are ready! Here are some common things that great agents expect to happen when doing rentals:

1. The rental unit is no longer available. When the agent calls to set up the showing, the rental is already off the market.  
2. The agent’s client doesn’t like the rental and voices this during the showing.
3. The client applies for a rental, but their credit/income/etc. is an issue.
4. The client applies for a rental, but someone else gets the rental.

There are numerous ways to handle these issues, but it starts with the knowledge that these are common occurrences. Top rental agents have a gameplan to (avoid or) address these!

Want to know the dos and don’ts of handling above?… Check out this video.

2. A Lead Response Plan is Required

When a rental lead comes in, your outreach plan should be triggered into action immediately. A good plan will involve quick and persistent outreach. It may also involve multiple outreach methods… calls, emails, and texts. Great agents will continue to test variations of their outreach plan in an effort to improve contact rates.

Rental Beast has an internal team that handles thousands of inbound renter inquiries. Our engagement rate stays around ~40%. How do we do this? We have found the sweet spot is attempting contact at least 15 times, over the course of 5 days. While many renter leads respond immediately, there is also a sizable chunk that we don’t hear back from until the second day, usually on our 3 or 4th outreach attempt. You can check out our lead contact plan here.

3. Protect Your Position

It is unlikely you will have any sort of exclusive agreement with someone looking to rent. A couple things to watch out for in this situation. Make sure you are not cut out of the transaction by another agent. And, make sure you are not cut out by the landlord!  

To make sure you are the agent of choice, you must immediately establish your value. (Check out our top tips here)  

As for a landlord, you want to make sure your client knows that you are working for them. A landlord is trying to get a vacancy filled and it’s unlikely they would have the best interest of your client in mind in the same the way you do. You should also be mindful of staying between the landlord and the renter. Always act as the intermediary. You should not facilitate any sort of direct connection between these parties.

4. It’s Only Sort of About the Commission

When you close a rental deal, the commission is certainly nice. However, the rental transaction lends itself particularly well to acting as a “stepping stone” for other business opportunities. Here’s how:

1. Throughout the deal, you might interact with both the landlord and the renter. Make sure all parties know you can help them in the future, regardless of who your actual client was during the deal.
2. Renters move frequently. Renters move every two years on average. Stay in touch and you will have a nice recurring deal flow.
3. Renters are often roommates. This means when they decide not to renew a lease, you may be working with multiple renters, if the roommates branch out and go their separate ways.
4. Renters are future buyers, so make sure you incubate the relationship! Our agents report converting around 30% of their renters into buyers if they have a nurture plan in place.

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