Are you having trouble finding new tenants for your property, even after you schedule property tours with them in-person? Well, when it comes to securing a new tenant, a solid follow-up email is often the key to success.

Studies show that, in general, only 2% of leads end up closing after the first meeting. This applies with rental homes, too.

While giving a prospective tenant a tour of the unit is necessary, it’s not always enough to convert leads into residents.

That’s why, after a potential tenant visits your vacant rental home, you need to be sending a follow-up email. Think of your follow-up email as an incredibly useful tool to help you close the deal.

Sending an email post property showing will help you build a positive relationship with a prospective tenant. It will also allow you to answer any questions or concerns they may have about the property.

This email is the best opportunity to turn a prospect into a tenant.

In this blog post, we will discuss the best methods to use when contacting your prospects via email, common mistakes to avoid, and how to stand out in a competitive market.

Email Structure: DRIP

When you’re crafting your follow-up email, there is a specific structure that you will want to follow. It’s called the DRIP marketing structure.

DRIP is an acronym that stands for:

D - Description

R - Review

I - Invitation

P - Promote

Using DRIP as a general outline for your email is an excellent tool as it'll help you know what you should include in each follow-up.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make when following up with a prospect is to forgo a planned outline of communication.

With a clear follow up strategy, you will be able to turn prospects into residents in no time.

So, here is the DRIP structure in more detail:

#1: Description

Your first follow-up email should be sent about 4-6 hours after your first meeting.

The email can start like this: “Thank you for considering this apartment as a new home for you and your family.”

After that, you can include a reminder about the rental unit. For example, you can say: “The apartment on the third floor with the spacious bedroom and a walk-in closet is available. Once our team receives your application and deposit, we will be happy to reserve it for you.”

Finally, you will want to add a call to action at the end of the email.

This can look something like the following: “We know that you are still interested in looking at other rentals in the area. We look forward to hearing from you soon so we can reserve this home for you and your family. Don’t hesitate to contact me if I can help you in your decision making process.”

#2: Review

The second email you send to the prospective tenant should happen within 24 hours.

When writing an email in the review stage, you will want to find a way to restate the content of the first follow-up without being repetitive.

This email should serve as a gentle reminder about your unit, but you also want to make it personalized. So, you can say something like: “Just checking in! I remember that your work commitments have you busy this week.”

Summarize the prospective tenant’s visit again. Offer them a call to action to finalize their decision and rent your unit.

Offer convenient links to your online application, and give more information regarding which methods of payment you accept.

Here is an example:

“I know that our tour of the apartment was able to check off everything you were looking for in a new home. I would love to reserve the unit for you as soon as possible. Here is a link to our online application!”

In short, your second email should concisely summarize the visit, as well as offer them an easy way to finalize their decision.

#3: Invitation

This stage is the 3rd time that you will contact the prospect, and it should be within 24-28 hours.

At this stage, it may seem like the prospective tenant will need some more information about the rental unit in order to make their final decision.

This is when another invitation to come and view the property in-person can be useful.

Try to schedule another walk through tour of the property. This will give them an opportunity to see your property again and ask you any additional questions they may have.

Alternatively, you can offer the prospective tenant a virtual tour of the property. This may prove to be just as useful when it comes to helping them make their final decision.

Be sure to ask the prospective tenant what they would prefer, and cater to their wants and needs.

If there was a move-in date suggested in your previous conversations, building a loose timeline around that date can help create a sense of urgency in the decision making process.

As with the previous emails, it is important to include a strong call to action and continue maintaining a personalized approach when communicating with the prospect.

This will increase the likelihood that your prospective tenant will respond with interest in the property.

Here, you have an opportunity to provide the prospect with specific information that can make a real impression. This is where many rental property owners may make the mistake of being too vague in their follow-up emails.

Avoid generalized statements such as “Just following up, let me know if I can help.”

It is also important to remember that making the decision to move into a new apartment can be a large and impactful choice in a tenant’s life.

Moving can be expensive and time consuming, and many prospective residents need to carefully consider their options.

This means that you must be patient if a tenant is taking for extra time to finalize their decision. You have to understand that a late response does not necessarily mean a lack of interest.

#4: Promotion

This email should be sent 4-5 days after their initial visit to the rental property.

In this stage, your follow-up information should get more specific regarding the property and what it has to offer.

Describe any amenities that are offered on the property, including services or positive aspects of the neighborhood.

Mention social events that are happening in or around the property.

Focus on how this rental home can benefit the prospective tenant if they choose to move in. Your property could be the individual’s dream home, and in this email, you want to convince them of this!

What Happens if the Prospect is No Longer Interested?

Despite your best efforts, sometimes a prospective tenant can end up choosing a different rental unit to call home.

While this may not be the ideal outcome of your hard work, there are still many things to be learned from this! The best way to approach this situation is to learn from it.

If a tenant indicates that they have decided not to rent your property, ask them why.

Doing this can offer you valuable insight that you can use to strengthen your next follow-up approach with a prospective tenant.

Knowing what factors influenced their final decision can help you to learn from any mistakes that you may have made and improve on them going forward.

Without being aware about how your competitors may have been able to meet their needs more effectively, you won’t be able to adjust your approach to provide a better service to future prospects.

Other General Tips for Following Up With a Prospect:

While the DRIP method is an excellent place to start when it comes to creating a plan for your follow-up emails, here are a few extra things that can help boost your success with prospective tenants:

1. Personalize your emails: When you are contacting a prospective tenant, be sure to use their name and any other relevant personal information. This will help you stand out compared to other property owners.
2. Keep your messages short and to the point: At the end of the day, most people who are looking for a rental home do not have the time or energy to read an email that is too lengthy. Make sure that you are able to get your point across quickly and concisely.
3. Make your emails relevant to the individual prospect: When you met with the tenant, did you learn about some of their interests? For instance, did they say they enjoy swimming? If so, in the email, remind the prospect that your apartment complex has a swimming pool, for instance. You want to include facts that highlight how the rental unit is right for that specific tenant.
4. Focus on the prospective tenant instead of yourself: When communicating with a prospect, focus the conversation around their needs and interests. Avoid centering the conversation around yourself, as this can often drive prospects away.
5. Always include a call to action: In every follow-up email, make sure to include a clear call to action. This will help you finalize the deal quicker. This can be anything from a link to your online application to an invitation for a second viewing of the apartment. By including a call to action, you are actively encouraging the prospect to take the next step in the leasing process.

Optimize your Follow-Up Emails With Strong Subject Lines

Now that you understand what to include in the content of your emails, let’s discuss how to ensure your prospective tenants are seeing them.

Typically, the average person’s email inbox is cluttered, so it may be easy for your messages to go unnoticed.

This is why it is important to always use strong, eye-catching subject lines in all of your follow-up emails.

Here are 2 ways that you can create a strong subject line for your next follow-up email to a prospective tenant:

2. Include an unanswered question: While it is important to include as much information as possible in your initial interaction with a prospective tenant, a great way to boost interest in a follow-up email is to include a question as the subject. This will make the prospect curious to discover the answer, so they will be more likely to open the email.

3. Good News: “Good news, the apartment you wanted can be yours!” This is one of the most simple, yet effective email subject lines you can choose. By not including too much information, you are generating interest with your prospect and that will most likely lead them to read your message.

Mistakes to Avoid With a Follow-up Email

Now that we’ve gone over some useful tips on how to effectively follow-up with prospective tenants, let’s talk about which mistakes to avoid.

Here are the most common mistakes that many rental property owners make when they are trying to initiate further conversations with a prospect after showing them the rental unit:

2. Taking too much time: When following up with a prospect, it is important to do so quickly. The longer you take to follow-up with a potential tenant, the less likely it will be that you will receive a response. Your goal should be to contact a prospective tenant while your property is still fresh in their minds.

3. Following up too quickly: While you don’t want to wait too long to follow up with a prospect, following up too soon can also hinder your ability to close the deal. Follow the suggestions mentioned in the above DRIP method: these are often the best times to send your follow-up emails.

4. Not following up often enough: Following up with a prospect once is not enough. By following the DRIP method of communication with prospective tenants, you’ll be able to send the right number of emails to successfully turn leads into tenants.

5. Not tracking your metrics: As you send out your follow-up emails, it is crucial to track how they are performing. If you don’t, then you will have no way to determine which emails are working and which ones aren’t. The only way to improve your business is to keep track of what is effective and what is not.

6. Not using a prospects preferred channel of communication: Most of the time, prospects prefer to be contacted via email. However, some tenants may prefer a phone call, text message, or another form of communication. Be sure to ask your prospective tenant how they are best reached, and at what times. This will increase your chances of getting a response from them.

Bottom Line

Effectively following up with a prospective tenant will increase the chances of them becoming a paying resident.

Be sure to use the DRIP email structure with prospects to successfully move the leasing process forward and maintain a positive relationship with each and every one of your prospective tenants.

If you want to learn more about how to create the most effective follow-up emails, don’t hesitate to contact the team of marketing professionals at Upkeep Media.

In addition to helping you close more leads with follow-up emails, we can help you grow your property management company.

Reach out today for more information.