Armed with real-time information, experienced leasing agents create impression of being on site at properties
(November 10, 2004) — RealPage, Inc. has announced that as of October 31, its CrossFire call center division had tripled in size, driven by a winning formula of using experienced leasing agents armed with detailed, real-time property information. The objective is to make prospects feel they are speaking with actual on-site leasing professionals.
CrossFire was designed to be the “Rolls-Royce” of leasing call centers, with the purpose of driving higher conversions of leads to leases than a typical call center. Unlike competing call centers that charge on a per-call basis, CrossFire pricing is based on a flat monthly fee per marketing source or a success fee per lease closed. The CrossFire center uses highly trained, experienced property leasing agents rather than generic telemarketers, with bilingual agents available. Agents have instant access to real-time information about any given property, and can quickly respond with professional-quality marketing information and materials.
“Our fast growth is being driven by results,” said David Carner, senior vice president of CrossFire. “When property owners and managers see the quantity and quality of the leads we give them, and the effect on their bottom lines, they want more.”
The 24/7 CrossFire call center is designed to back up on-site leasing professionals after hours, and during times they are too busy to respond to incoming prospect phone calls, e-mails and walk-ins. “Currently, an average of 40% of prospect calls and e-mails are never responded to,” said Carner. “Our call center reduces this number to nearly zero—and can pay for itself many times over in signed leases that would have otherwise been lost.”
Prospect e-mails are handled in an equally efficient manner as phone calls, with first-class e-brochures and quote sheets going out in a matter of 10 minutes or less—while prospects are usually still online to receive them. This response time is a striking contrast to the 24 hours or more that is the industry average, allowing prospects to “get away.”
The CrossFire system also provides an array of tools to speed and simplify prospect management for the on-site leasing professionals. Leads handled by the call center are fed directly into this system as appointments associated with guest cards.
“CrossFire pays for itself with just one additional lease signed,” said David Carner. “But what we’re seeing is multiple incremental leases each month—a huge return on investment.”
CrossFire integrates with a number of popular property management systems. And because it’s a web-based “on-demand” application, it requires no investment in hardware or software—just the PCs already in use and an Internet browser.
To meet the growing demand for CrossFire call center services, RealPage expects to add an additional 100 call agents in 2005. In addition, CrossFire has immediate openings for another 10 sales and marketing representatives.
About CrossFire
CrossFire is an on-demand property marketing system that streamlines and automates the capture and closing of leads. It also provides tools for managing and retaining residents, including 24-hour call handling. To find out more about CrossFire, please visit www.crossfire.realpage.com.
About RealPage
RealPage is considered one of the pioneers in the multifamily industry, developing comprehensive property management systems for owners and managers. RealPage saw a need in the multifamily industry for on-demand software that could address every aspect of property management, from the operating side of the business to marketing, accounting and asset management. In addition to CrossFire, RealPage offers OneSite©, an on-demand property management system that automates important property management functions while providing real-time access to important data; and YieldStar™, an on-demand asset management system that helps owners and asset managers optimize asset values through revenue management, portfolio management and market intelligence.
Today, more than 20,000 apartment communities across the United States use RealPage products and services.