MISS MANAGEMENT
carol levey | levey enterprises
Discouraged by Online Reviews
I recently gave a tour to a couple of roommates and it appeared to have went very well. But when I
followed up the next day, they inform me they’ve chosen to go a different direction because of several
bad reviews on the internet of our property and our team.
I’ve been taught that these sites are populated by the rantings of a few unreasonable people. I know
I should not take the remarks personally, but they did just cost me a lease, and possibly many others.
My value as a leasing specialist is judged by the leases I produce so I do take this personally.
I’m a leasing specialist that loves what I do; for my customers, my team and company, so I don’t like
how these remarks make me feel. Am I wrong or am I in the wrong career?
Y
ou are right to take your leasing profession
seriously. Obviously you are not going to allow
someone that states their opinion on the
internet to jeopardize what is likely one of your
best adult decisions; to go to work every day and do
what you love.
However, as a professional you will need to take
such reviews as seriously as any objection expressed
to you during a tour. Let’s review your leasing training
about handling an objection: first, acknowledge it;
don’t be defensive, get it out in the open. Second,
explain it; as important as not being defensive it is
equally imperative that you have done your homework
and put this objection in perspective with a
knowledgeable explanation. Third, reverse it; you are
going to attempt to show, how or under what
circumstances this objection could actually benefit
this particular customer.
Each and every bad review needs to be
confronted like an objection. First, admit or
acknowledge that this bad experience happened, at
least in the mind of this reviewer. If possible, reach
out to the reviewer to clarify the details from their
perspective and to acknowledge, apologize, explain
and attempt to reverse it.
Do your research and you might find out that
some unusual circumstances surrounded this reported
experience that no longer exist. Maybe other events
similar to what the reviewer experienced caused a
policy change, a condition was improved, or the
offending person is no longer there. You might be
Expertise
able to explain to the reviewer that due to their
diligence a better result is now possible. To this
reviewer such a result might become the reversal of
the original opinion.
Regardless, once you have personally
confronted this review with the real person you have
something to say in a written online response. Let’s
say that this process does not make it better for the
actual reviewer, or you can’t confront the actual
reviewer because they remain anonymous, or you
have information but can’t physically contact, or the
reviewer actually is totally unreasonable and the
attempt creates another round of ranting, or you
cannot verify that the events or people described ever
really existed.
Here is where the written response is still useful.
As you illustrate a willingness to confront in a
productive fashion other readers see a reasonable
approach to a difference of opinion. Whether you
satisfactorily acknowledge, explain and reverse for
everyone you will likely succeed to get to either a
positive or neutral outcome for those you are working
with personally. Regardless, you can see how this
process makes you more passionate about being a
professional.
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