From Zlatko Bogoesvski, CEO and Co-Founder of BetterBot: “It is my pleasure to announce that Debbie Sehorn has been appointed as the new Chief Operating Officer (COO) of BetterBot effective immediately. Debbie has been an integral part of our team for the past four years, and her contributions have been instrumental in driving the company’s success.

Debbie joined BetterBot as a finance manager and quickly demonstrated her ability to manage complex financial operations. She also took on the additional responsibility of overseeing HR, where she implemented policies and procedures that have helped us attract and retain top talent.

Most recently, Debbie has been leading our efforts to improve operational efficiencies. Her keen analytical skills and strategic thinking have been invaluable in identifying areas where we can streamline processes and reduce costs.

As COO, Debbie will continue to oversee finance and HR, and will take on additional responsibilities, including managing our day-to-day operations and ensuring that we are meeting our growth targets. With her strong leadership skills and deep understanding of our business, I have no doubt that she will excel in this new role.

Please join me in congratulating Debbie on this well-deserved promotion.

From Robert Turnbull, President and Co-Founder of BetterBot: “I love it when people are promoted and everyone thought they already had the job.  That means you just promoted the right person and Debbie Sehorn has proven time and again she is absolutely the right person for this job.

With Debbie focused on improving operational efficiencies, it allows me to focus solely on our product evolution, go-to-market strategy, and revenue growth for BetterBot. With the exponential leaps and bounds AI is taking right now, we plan to keep BetterBot well ahead of the curve and solving problems before now not attempted.” 

At BetterBot, we constantly enhance our products to offer the best automation solution in multifamily. One feature that is often requested is the ability to communicate with prospects via text message. We’ve been listening to our users and now with our NurtureSkill, the bot will follow up with prospects via SMS in response to leads that are sent through ILS platforms. 

How it works

When a lead that contains a phone number is received by through BetterBot’s NurtureSkill, the platform will respond initially with a text message. If the individual does not engage with that message, they will automatically be sent a follow-up to ensure the lead is still being attended to. The nurture platform will continue to try to engage the prospect by both email and text until the prospect engages in one channel, which will then be the preferred channel for communicating with the prospect.

This skill is powered by BetterBot’s NLP engine and any texts that may come back to BetterBot are responded to promptly. If the user decides to call the number that is being texted, BetterBot ensures those calls are directed to the property so that there is no way of missing any lead that may be interested. 

How to set up SMS

Whether you’re a current BetterBot customer or you’re interested in learning more, setting up is an easy process. Simply contact BetterBot and set up a quick chat with one of our team members. We’ll make it as painless as possible, we promise. Want to see what else is new at BetterBot? Learn more about hosting surveys within your bot or how utilizing FAQs can help enhance your bot’s performance. 

Written by CEO & Co-Founder — Zlatko Bogoevski

Over the last few years, we have seen a massive change in how people look for new homes. Year over year, we’re seeing an increase in the number of renters that choose AI assistants as their preferred method to get answers to questions ranging from pricing and availability to neighborhood, amenities, and reviews. Over the last four years, BetterBot has served over 1.4 million multifamily units. At our scale, we have gathered some valuable insights along the way. Here are four lessons we’ve learned from serving over 1.4 multifamily units and automating over 4,000 leasing operations. 

Value Proposition Matters

The value proposition for automation is stronger than ever. Property managers are forced to operate with skeleton on-site teams due to labor shortages. Post pandemic potential on-site employees prefer jobs that are remote and offer flexible hours.  Investing in a good AI automation platform can bring 10x to 20x in savings for every dollar invested.

Human Interaction Can’t Be Replaced

Humans are still very important and will be an essential part of operations for quite some time. During Covid, many properties had to close their offices and experiment with tech that took leasing staff entirely out of the picture through reliance on automated tours and call centers. Now that things are back to normal, we know that people prefer visiting a property before making a choice on a place to live. They still want a guided tour by an experienced agent that can solve potential application problems and answer nuanced property-related questions.

Automation Has Become Mainstream

AI automation has moved into the mainstream in the multifamily industry. For the last three years, AI automation was for innovators and early adopters, while many PMCs waited for proof on the sidelines. There has been a fast shift in thinking to where property managers are no longer considering whether to implement an automation solution but rather which one.

It’s All About Experience

There is no replacement for a good product experience. Many AI automation products demo well but in practice, are confusing, error-prone, and don’t deliver results. Renters want fast and accurate answers to their questions in a 24/7/365 fashion from their mobile devices. Property managers prefer easy-to-deploy and manage products and can scale across a portfolio of different unit types like conventional, student, and affordable. 

Over the last four years, it’s been essential for us to reflect and make sure we are learning along the way. Since BetterBot was formed in January 2019, we have been striving to deliver a low-friction experience that provides fast and correct answers with every interaction. We’ve been incorporating these lessons along the way and will continue to learn along the way. Learn more about what we’ve been able to accomplish over the past year, and stay tuned to see what we have up our sleeves.