Well, that’s wrap! After two massive days earlier this year at the Annual Principals and Property Professionals Summit (ALPPPS), event organiser Jo Oliveri provides the top eight business, technology and leadership takeaways to help your property management business achieve game-changing success.
- COACH YOUR TEAM
When it comes to leading your team, act like a sports coach. This differs from simply being a ‘boss’. When you act like a boss you lead from the front and, as a result, are not in control of what your team are doing behind you. Instead, sports coaches lead from behind as they nurture and direct their team towards achieving their season’s goals. To coach your team, work with each player on their personal strengths, weaknesses, PBs and KPIs. Coach them one-to-one and one-to-many to ensure that you celebrate success at both an individual and team level. That way you build respect with each individual and develop a united team. - TECHNOLOGY THAT GLISTENS IS NOT ALWAYS GOLD
Just because there is new technology it does not necessarily mean it is right for your business. It’s important that you plan your property management business vision first, before choosing the technology you need. When choosing technology consider the following: what is the real cost? Where is the data stored? How will it create value? How will it impact security, and what is the exit strategy? When licensing or integrating technology consider whether it will scale with your growth or simply be obsolete before you start. Don’t just jump on the bandwagon when it comes to new technology. Instead, be strategic and selective and you will stand out far more than competitors using lots of shiny, costly and, ultimately, ineffective gadgets. - BUILD YOUR DIGITAL PRESENCE
Your property management business’ digital presence is one of its most valuable assets, so it’s important that you invest in building it. To do this, ensure that you design a ‘responsive’ website – one that detects the device and changes size accordingly. Providing this optimal viewing experience for your clients will make it easier to lead them through your sales funnel. Next, invest in Google AdWords. Doing this not only helps bring highly targeted traffic to your website, but it helps grow your rent roll too. And finally, select social media platforms that best align with your brand. Delivering high-value content on a few platforms is far better than trying to be across all of them. In essence, ‘build it and they will come’ best sums up what a digital presence can do for your property management business. - LOYALTY IS CHEAP
It’s a well-known fact that keeping existing clients is less expensive than acquiring new ones. So why are more property management businesses hiring BDMs instead of rolling out loyalty programs? While it is important that your team spends time prospecting, more time should be spent ensuring that your current clients feel satisfied. Your goal should therefore be to retain more existing customers. You can retain clients by, for example, implementing an ongoing client induction process, using set maintenance providers, providing purposeful communication and asking for feedback. Making your clients feel valued is not exactly a new concept, but with so many unsatisfied property owners and tenants out there you do begin to wonder! So why not stand out by being the agency known for rewarding loyalty? - SYSTEMISE, SYSTEMISE, SYSTEMISE!
Systemising your property management business’ operations is the only way to achieve sustainable success. To do this you must design every process, document each one as a program, procedure or template, and then teach it to your team. This is how you can achieve service consistency, increase productivity, recruit with ease, and know that even when you are away from your business it is still operating efficiently. Implementing a system therefore not only puts you in control of your business, but allows your team to feel in control too as they’re able to make decisions according to the process they are following. - MARKET YOUR MANAGEMENTS
You should market your managements in the same way that sales agents market their properties. To do this, invest in professional, high-quality photography, floor plans and copy. Your photos should showcase a property’s distinguishing features and benefits; it’s a good idea to use props which help highlight them, including people who represent the property’s target market. The description and headline should also promote the main features and benefits, using suitable pronouns to help prospectives visualise themselves enjoying these advantages. Start marketing your managements like sales agents and you’ll start attracting the right tenants. - SAFETY IS SERIOUS
Everyone agrees that safety is a serious matter, but few principals prove it. With the increasing number of reported incidents where property managers have been exposed to danger, it’s time you stepped up and invested in keeping your team safe. To help minimise the high levels of risk your team could be exposed to, you should invest in a GPS tracker app. Such apps provide personal protection for your employees when working offsite by ensuring you know where they are at all times. Another way to help protect your team is to invest in self-defence courses. Such courses give your employees the tools to escape high-risk situations should they arise. You know safety is serious, so prove it by protecting your team. - BE UNSTOPPABLE
As you know, building a successful property management business is hard work. But the difference between success and failure ultimately comes down to your attitude. Successful principals choose to be unstoppable. This means they are solutions-driven, proactive and persistent, no matter what. Successful principals know what they want to achieve. They visualise their dream and take the necessary steps to bring it to fruition. It’s a simple message, yet one so many forget. The bottom line is: if you want success then be unstoppable and your hard work will pay off.
Implement these top business, technology and leadership takeaways into your property management business and achieve game-changing success.
