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The Guest Cards are the prospect filtering system AppFolio has in place. The Guest Cards are prospect pages with information collected from the websites AppFolio syndicates to. You can manually enter a Guest Card in AppFolio, but most of the Guest Cards come from websites. You can find the list of websites AppFolio syndicates to on the Leads & Applications page. The Guest Cards are how we fill vacant units and follow up with prospects. Below is all of the information you'll need to collect, review, and convert Guest Cards.
Receiving Guest Cards
Receiving Guest Cards
To the left are images from various websites AppFolio syndicates to. These are all examples of forms prospects fill out. They enter their information here and AppFolio organizes their information into a Guest Card.
Guest Cards are also collected from the Riva Ridge website from two separate places. One is the "Contact Us" button found after clicking into a property listed on our website. The image to the left is the form prospects fill out on our website after clicking Contact Us.
The second button on the website that collects information for a Guest Card is when they click "Schedule a Showing" after clicking on the property on our website. Even if the showing software is not enabled for a property or unit, it still gives the prospect the option of clicking on "Schedule a Showing" and then entering their information.
You can manually enter Guest Cards in AppFolio under the Leasing Tab --> Guest Cards. The task is on the righthand side under Tasks.
Following Up with New Guest Cards
Following Up with New Guest Cards
There are a few options when following up with Guest Cards. The first and best option is to follow up with the Guest Cards through AppFolio. The second, to use the emails sent automatically from AppFolio with their contact information. This option is a little less efficient, but still gets the job done. For information how using the Scheduled Reports function to receive the Guest Card reports automatically via email, visit the Guest Card Reports page.
First Option: Bulk Follow Up on Guest Cards under Leasing
First Option: Bulk Follow Up on Guest Cards under Leasing
Going under the Leasing tab then clicking on Guest Cards underneath, it will take you to a list of all Guest Cards received. You'll be walked through step by step for an example unit below.
The search function is the first step you want to take when following up with the prospects. Click the "Click here to search" at the top of the Guest Card list.
You have a few different options when using the property search function. You can search using the following:
Management Tag
Building Page
Unit Page
Portfolio
The most common to use is the building page. Depending on the website from where the Guest Card information came from, you'll want to use the building and not the unit. Some websites collect prospect information at the building level and not specific to a unit.
The only other search function currently used is the Inquiry Received date range at the bottom of the search box. The first date box is the start date, the second date box is the end date. It will show you Guest Cards received between the start and end dates you enter. The start date will be the day after your last follow up.
For example: If your last follow up with Guest Cards for a building was 12/27/2021 to 1/27/2022, the start date you'll use is 1/28/2022.
You can always go back further, but to avoid too much overlap, it's best to not go back to the beginning of time. Once you've entered the desired date range, click Search at the bottom.
4. You can sort Most Recent Activity by clicking on the arrows next to the title of the column. Using this sort function will group the Guest Card status together. This will allow you to use the Bulk Actions at the top the list.
5. Once the Guest Cards are sorted and in bulk, below are the statuses you want to look for and follow up with.
Pre-qualification Form Submitted
Auto-Response Email Sent
Pre-qualification Form Submitted
Showing Auto Followup Email Sent
Guest Card Received
Guest Card Created
Statuses you don't necessarily need to send a Bulk Follow Up message to:
Showing
If the Guest Card is in "Showing" status, there is a showing currently scheduled to view a Riva Ridge property. It's not necessary to ask the prospect if they want to schedule a showing when they already have one scheduled. The recommendation would be to follow up with the Guest Card once they are in Showing Completed status. Then you would send a follow up message asking for feedback and sending an application link.
Email Sent
If the Guest Card is in "Email Sent" status, there was already an email sent to the prospect about their interest in a unit or property.*
Text Sent
If the Guest Card is in "Text Sent" status, there was already an text sent to the prospect about their interest in a unit or property.*
*AppFolio does not discern between Property Managers. If another property manager follows up with a Guest Card either by Email or Text, as well as setting up a showing moving the Guest Card to Showing status, the Most Recent Activity will change to Email Sent, Text Sent, or Showing. It will appear you have already followed up with a Guest Card, but in reality another property manager has reached out to them. Unfortunately, currently, there is no work around. The only way to know for sure whether or not you've followed up with a Guest Card is by going into the Guest Card and checking the audit log.
6. Once you've check the desired Guest Cards, using the Bulk Actions between the search section and the list of Guest Cards, click Send Email. Clicking the option will open an email box like below. Make sure you add yourself as an additional recipient so you can confirm the email was sent. If you do not using the showing function in AppFolio, you can include your showing information in that section instead. The example email is as follows:
Thank you for your interest in 1517 Brownsville Rd Apt. 5 in Carrick! I am available for tours on Tuesday, Dec. 3rd at 5:30pm or Wed. Dec. 4th at 4:30pm. Please let me know if one of these times works for you and which one.
If one of these times does not work for you, please suggest an alternate time. I am not available for tours after 6pm or on weekends. Sorry, but I am not able to provide virtual tours.
The full listing with application link and video tour can be found here: https://www.rivaridge.biz/listings/detail/2ebe7f91-db75-43e3-b610-7cc113c66146.
Our application requirements to rent are:
- Credit Score of 620
- Make at least 3 times the monthly rent
- A clean criminal record
- No prior evictions
No pets.
If you do not meet these application requirements, please let me know via email or at the showing and we can discuss. If you are no longer interested in this property, please disregard the message.
Thanks!
Second Option: Follow Up via Emails Received from AppFolio
Second Option: Follow Up via Emails Received from AppFolio
AppFolio sends out automatic emails when a Guest Card is Received for properties your view is currently set to.
New Inquiry on an existing guest card for...
New Lead: ...
New Lead interested in...
These are the different subject lines each email can start with when a Guest Card submits an inquiry. Each of these emails includes the prospects phone number and email address. You can follow up with the prospect directly from those emails. The major downside of using this option is the follow up is not recorded in AppFolio. The only way to know if the Guest Card has been followed up with is by searching your emails or other forms of communication.
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