by 
“Where did you get our phone number today?”
Let’s talk about the phone. With all the new AI assistants, chatbots, and automated answering strategies, it’s easy to think the traditional phone call is a relic of the past. You might even have let your telephone presentation skills get a little rusty.
Let me tell you something: There is nothing more powerful in this industry than an on-site leasing professional in a direct, live conversation with a rental prospect.
When that phone rings, it’s not an interruption—it’s a golden opportunity. And there is one critical question you must ask every single phone prospect before they hang up:
“By the way, where did you find our telephone number today?”
Why Ask When We Have Tech?
I know what some of you tech-savvy managers are thinking. “Rick, we use dynamic tracking numbers on our ILSs and our community website. Our dashboard already tells us where the call came from.”
Yes, it does. But data dashboards only tell you part of the story.
A lot of callers are still pulling your number directly off a Google business listing, an old flyer, a drive-by sign, or from a friend. When you ask the question, you aren’t just cross-checking your digital tracking; you are uncovering your buyer’s true behavior.
Digging Deeper: The “Drive-By” and “Friend” Trap
Here is where you need to be a marketing detective. When you ask where they got the number, a prospect will often give you a lazy answer like, “Oh, I just drove by,” or “A friend told me about you.”
In the Ellis playbook, “drive-by,” “friend,” or “word-of-mouth” are not acceptable traffic sources. They are too vague to help your marketing budget. You need to dig deeper—politely, of course—to find the real source:
- If they say “Drive-by”: “That’s great! Did you grab our number off the big banner out front, or did you pull over and look us up on your phone while parked?” (You need to know if that $500 banner is actually working!)
- If they say “A friend”: “We love our resident referrals! Which friend gave you our number so I can be sure to thank them? And did they text you our link, or did you look us up online after they mentioned us?”
Usually, even with a referral or a drive-by, there is a secondary digital source where they actually captured that phone number. Find it.
Smart Data Drives Smart Dollars
Why are we being so meticulous about this? Because traffic does not equal leases.
By tracking the exact source of the phone number all the way to the property visit, the application, and the move-in, you discover which marketing channels produce paying residents and which ones just produce noise.
If Source A sends you 50 phone calls a month but zero move-ins, it’s a waste of your time and resources. If Source B sends you only 5 calls, but 3 of them sign a lease, that’s where your marketing dollars belong.
Be the Professional
Asking this question shows you are a business professional who cares about the details. It bridges the phone conversation into a deeper dialogue about how they found you and, ultimately, what they are looking for in a home.
Dust off those phone skills this week. When the line rings, Be the Calm, answer with enthusiasm, and don’t forget to ask: “Where did you find our phone number?”
KWIK Tip EXTRA! Get my full telephone cue card to enhance your telephone leasing. Just click HERE
