Five Tips for Making Your Meetings with Prospects More Effective

You’ve placed ads in the newspaper and on the Internet to market your tax credit site. Your efforts prove successful, and before you know it you’re busy handling phone calls and visits from prospects. When this happens, you should be prepared to make the most of your first meeting with prospects. For example, if you’re not sure how to handle common issues that arise when meeting prospects for the first time, you could fail to get all the information you need and miss out on a chance to impress good prospects.

     You need to ask prospects questions to determine their eligibility for renting low-income units at your site. And prospects, in turn, will want to know whether your site will meet their needs if they’re eligible. So, whether you meet prospects in person or on the phone, you must know how to handle common issues that can arise during the conversation. This way, you can accomplish your management goals while you give prospects the satisfaction of getting the information they need to make a decision about your site.

Tip #1: Use Pre-Application Questionnaire to Get Key Eligibility Information

Instead of putting prospects for your low-income units through the full application process, you can save time and effort by having them fill out a pre-application questionnaire. For a Model Questionnaire, see “Use Pre-Application Questionnaire to Save Time Screening Households for Eligibility,” in the June 2013 Insider, available here.

     Another way you can save time and money by not processing applications for ineligible households is to have applicants “self-qualify” themselves and give them basic qualifying information about your site. At his sites, tax credit expert Steven McDonald provides a cover letter and part 1 of an application to obtain data so that he can quickly determine if prospects are eligible based on household members, income, etc. The cover letter tells the prospects how many units have been set aside for households earning less than the designated percentages of the area median income. It also lists the income limits, occupancy requirements (minimum and maximum number of persons in household), and the current monthly rents. The notice also states that applicants are subject to third-party income and asset verification to determine the household’s combined annual income.

Tip #2: Be Willing to Show Model Unit Before Discussing Eligibility

If prospects want to see your model unit before you’ve had a chance to discuss their eligibility, it’s a good idea to honor their requests, suggests tax credit expert Michael Kotin. You may feel it’s a waste of time to show your model unit to prospects who may be far from eligible. But prospects understandably may want to get a better idea of what they’re applying for before they fill out even a preliminary application and reveal personal information such as their income, he adds.

     From a management perspective, it’s ideal if you can show prospects your model unit only after you have a sense that they’re eligible. But if prospects ask to see the model unit up front, honoring their request strikes the right balance, says Kotin. And if prospects like what they see, they’re likely to be more enthusiastic and cooperative when you talk with them to determine their eligibility.

Tip #3: Don’t Be Too Quick to Reveal that Site Is Mixed-Income

If you manage a mixed-income site, it’s a good idea to avoid telling prospects immediately that you have low-income units at your site. That’s because the prospect you tell could be a market-rate renter who may get turned off after learning up front that your site is mixed-income. Of course, you’ll need to know which type of unit a prospect wants so you can rent the right one. But some market-rate prospects have misconceptions that having low-income units at a site adversely affects the quality of housing, the mix of residents, and how well the site is managed overall. So, if you’re too quick to tell a prospect that you have low-income units, says Kotin, you may drive the prospect away.

     Spend time talking with prospects for a while first, suggests Kotin. The conversation may reveal certain things about them, such as their careers or spending habits, that will give you clues as to whether prospects would be interested in renting a low-income or market-rate unit, he adds. As you get a sense of their interests, you can attract them to the idea of living at your site by stressing attributes that will appeal to them. By casting your site in a light that’s most appealing to the prospect, you may keep the prospect from turning away when he learns about your low-income units.

Tip #4: Tell Prospects You’ll Verify Income

Before you even ask prospects for your low-income units about their income, tell them that you must verify all income information they give you with third-party sources. If a prospect is very eager to rent a low-income unit at your site, the prospect may give you a lower figure or leave items out of his or her income with the hope of getting admitted, says Kotin. But if you first let prospects know that you’ll be verifying what they tell you, you’re more likely to get accurate answers and avoid fraud, he adds.

Tip #5: Use Interview as Training Opportunity

When you meet prospects in person to determine their eligibility, have new or inexperienced staff members observe the interview. If staff members see what’s involved and note your techniques in dealing with prospects, they’ll be in a better position to conduct interviews on their own.

     Some prospects feel uneasy about having a silent observer sitting in on their interview, says Kotin. And if prospects don’t feel comfortable, they may hesitate to give you complete and accurate answers. So always introduce the observer to your prospects as a trainee and ask prospects if they mind if the trainee observes, he adds. They probably won’t object, but if they do, conduct the interview without the observer.

Insider Sources

Michael Kotin: Principal, Kay-Kay Realty Corp., 6908 E. Thomas Rd., Scottsdale, AZ 85251; www.kaykayrealty.com.

Steven M. McDonald, CPM: Vice President and General Manager—Residential Properties, Westlake Realty Group, AMO, 520 S. El Camino Real, San Mateo, CA 94402; www.westlake-realty.com.