Customer Story

Cortland Accelerates Leasing Performance and Cross-Sell Outcomes with AI-Powered Simulation

Cortland case study Logo
8914
4X
increase in cross-sell attempts
9306
6
3484
4%
improvement across key behaviors on live calls
3026
6
4073
3%
improvement in assessing customer needs
5735
5
4950
0%
improvement in customer rapport
As call volume increased, we knew we couldn't rely on improvement happening on its own. Investing in structured, realistic practice allowed us to accelerate performance at a critical moment, while also improving efficiency.
Joe Dell
Vice President of Talent Development
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Company size
1,001 to 5,000 employees
Products used
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What is Cortland?

Cortland is a real estate investment, development, and management company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 2005, the company has grown into one of the largest multifamily operators in the United States, with a portfolio of nearly 80,000 apartment homes in over 200 communities across markets across the US, primarily in the Sunbelt and Mountain West with regional offices in Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Orlando, and Phoenix. 

With a growing portfolio and increasing call volume, Cortland sought a scalable way to strengthen the quality and consistency of prospect conversations. Leadership wanted to ensure that every prospect interaction reflected the company's standard of service and value proposition by blending empathy, clarity, and consultative selling with confidence.

The Problem

Bridging the Gap Between Training and Live Performance

Cortland’s Leasing Hub associates, those responsible for initial communication with prospective residents, operate in high-impact conversations every day. Each interaction with a prospective resident requires empathy, clarity, and confidence: associates must uncover preferences, review rental criteria accurately, build rapport, guide prospects toward tours, and confidently present pricing and options.

While traditional onboarding and roleplay provided some preparation, Cortland needed a more consistent and scalable way to strengthen consultative selling behaviors across teams. Leadership wanted to ensure that associates could:

  • Practice realistic scenarios before speaking with live prospects
  • Build confidence in high-stakes moments
  • Improve cross-sell and quote conversations
  • Demonstrate measurable improvement in live performance

Most importantly, Cortland wanted proof that training translated into real-world behavior change, not just improved knowledge.

The Solution

Turning to ReflexAI

Realistic Prospect Simulations

Cortland implemented AI-powered simulations designed around real prospect conversations. Associates practiced handling inquiries, uncovering preferences, reviewing rental criteria, presenting pricing, and guiding next steps in scenarios that mirrored live interactions. This allowed teams to refine tone, strengthen consultative language, and build confidence before speaking with actual prospects.

Structured, Skills-Based Practice

Each simulation focused on clearly defined competencies, including building rapport, discovery, cross-sell attempts, customized solutions, and closing behaviors. Rather than generalized roleplay, associates engaged in targeted reinforcement of specific skills, leading to much more consistent execution across communities.

Immediate, Objective Feedback

After every simulation, associates received detailed scoring and feedback across each competency area. Managers gained visibility into performance trends and skill gaps, enabling more focused coaching conversations. The structured performance breakdown transformed feedback from subjective impressions into measurable, actionable insights.

Scalable and Repeatable Enablement

Because the platform is self-serve and easy to deploy, Cortland was able to launch quickly and drive consistent engagement across participants. Associates could practice in a safe environment, reinforcing high-impact behaviors without the operational complexity of manual training. This created a scalable approach for ongoing skill development.

Results

Rapid Competency Gains

Measurable Competency Gains Following Deployment

Within two weeks of simulation practice, Cortland associates demonstrated clear behavioral improvement. High-impact skills saw significant gains, including a 2X improvement in quote offering and a 71% lift in driving customer solutions. Foundational consultative behaviors also strengthened, with customer rapport improving 50%, assessing customer needs rising 33%, and contact information capture increasing 33%. These improvements reflected stronger structure, confidence, and alignment in leasing conversations.

Sustained Performance at Higher Level

Analysis of live call performance 30 days before and after deployment showed a 64% overall improvement across key behaviors. Attempts to cross-sell increased 4X, assessing customer needs improved 63%, and effective call summarization rose 38%, among other meaningful skills gains. The data confirmed that simulation practice translated directly into measurable, long-lasting behavior change during real prospect interactions.

High Adoption and Strong Learner Confidence

The first deployment also generated strong adoption and positive learner sentiment. 92% of participants agreed the platform was easy to access and navigate, with the average recommendation score was 9.2 out of 10. Participants said they would recommend broader adoption of the tool to drive even stronger results in the years ahead.