Is the Messenger as Important as the Message?

If you were asked to jot down the characteristics of your best leasing professionals or the best salespeople that you know, what characteristics or skill sets would you list? Likeability probably would be near the top of the list, along with the ability to listen, empathize and not be afraid to close. A great leasing agent can sell skin to a snake. What does that say about the importance of product? Great salespeople can sell anything.

People who know how to sell understand how to create trusting relationships. While having the right amenities or in the case of an apartment community the right service mix is a given. If you don’t have the right services, even the best leasing agent can’t have staying power. 

What is vastly underrated is the messenger delivering the message. This same conclusion was reached by a research project to determine why some ideas go viral and others do not. In an HRB Blog, Julianne Wum related the results of her survey of attendees at TEDx conferences in 50 countries to determine why ideas spread. The survey found that the messenger is equally important, if not more important, than the message. 

Great messengers are like great leasing agents. They sell ideas instead of simply a place to hang your hat. They know how to tell great stories. But that alone, according to Wum, does not cause an idea to spread. “People want to like the carrier. When people feel good, they want to share – that good feeling is what they want to spread.”

Robb Best once pointed out at a PMA seminar that people use all five senses to make purchasing decisions. Robb explained that prospects make a movie in their mind that visualizes them living in the community. The same basic mental processes are attributed to making ideas spread. People feel connected to the idea and therefore want to share them with others almost as if they originated the idea themselves. Plagiarism is not the issue. It’s about making people feel good when they share good ideas. The same can be said about leasing apartments. It’s not about the amenities or even the size of the unit. It’s about the ability of leasing professionals to spread ideas that make prospective residents feel good about coming to the property, signing a lease and taking advantage of the opportunities presented to them. It’s about how well the messenger delivers the message.