By Matt Donnelly, Buildium, Boston, MA

If you’re a property manager, how can you encourage your tenants to support local businesses? Create a rewards card.

This is the approach taken by LLC Property Management, based in Los Angeles and Dallas. They offer each tenant a card they can use to get discounts at local shops. The tenant saves money and local shop owners get more business.

“Tenants usually save about 5-10% with each purchase. For example, every time they shop at their local markets or grocery stores, they can show their LLC Rewards card and receive the discount,” says Stefanie LaRue of LLC Property Management. “Dollar stores are very popular too. The vendors appreciate us directing local business their way, and the tenant’s savings adds up over time to where they truly value being a part of the program. They never leave home without their cards.”

This is just one of many ways that property managers can add value for their tenants. For example, Gallagher & Lindsey Property Management, based in Alameda and the East San Francisco Bay Area of California, rewards some long-term tenants (12 months or more) with a cash rebate that can be applied when those tenants buy a home through Gallagher & Lindsey REALTORS.

Another example comes from the Barrington Group, which manages properties in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Georgia, and Florida. It has created a Residents Reward program in which tenants are rewarded with points for doing things such as paying their rent on time, helping orient new tenants or donating to a local soup kitchen. The points can be exchanged for apartment upgrades such as granite countertops, new carpeting or custom painting. The objective is to increase tenant loyalty, foster a feeling of community and ultimately reduce turnover.

There are numerous other rewards programs offered by property management companies. What programs does your company offer to your tenants?

By Matt Donnelly, Buildium, Boston, MA

Property management software isn’t just for the big guys. It’s for any landlords or property managers who want less stress, more free time…and a growing business.

Most property management software runs in the cloud, which is just a fancy way of saying you don’t have to install anything — just go online and log in to access your information at any time and in any place. Think of property management software as a personal assistant that’s, well, not a person.

More than just managing your properties, property management software is designed to make your life easier. It’s designed to help you easily perform those routine tasks like collecting rent payments and handling maintenance requests. It also lets you maintain records and run reports, which are always helpful at tax time!

Death by spreadsheets

I know what you might be thinking: I’ve managed my properties on paper or in Excel for years, so why should I use property management software?

It’s a good question. This takes us into a discussion of the benefits of property management software.

Only half joking, one landlord once quipped, “Without property management software, I would actually have to work.” While property management software can’t automate every aspect of property management, it can be an affordable and simple solution where property managers and landlords can manage properties, accounting and marketing all in one place — anywhere, anytime and on any device.

Let’s look at some of those property management tasks you might be having trouble with and see how property management software can ease your pain in each area.

• Doing the books: What would your life be like without having to manually update Excel spreadsheets? With property management software, you can get a complete financial picture for your properties and owners. Track income and expenses, and run key financial reports on demand.

• Payments: Imagine the tenant in 3C claims he gave you his rent check, but you have no record of it. It takes precious time to deal with the resulting hassle. But with property management software, you can allow tenants and association owners to make payments online, via EFT or credit card. And you can pay your bills online too. Trips to the bank will be a thing of the past.

• Maintenance requests: If the tenant’s dog chews through the fence, you don’t need to get called at one o’clock in the morning. With property management software, you can accept and respond to maintenance requests online 24/7. You get instant notification of the request, an easy way to assign tasks to your maintenance staff, status updates and a clear paper trail in case your tenant with a peckish pet gets litigious.

• Access to your information: Property management software is going mobile, so all the features are available to you and your tenants 24/7 on PCs, phones and tablets. No longer do you have to drag around your laptop and find a Wi-Fi hotspot in order to check on maintenance requests, rental applications or rental payments. Spend more of your time meeting with tenants and growing your business.

• Advertise for and screen for new tenants: Many property management software options will allow you to largely automate the process of advertising vacancies to sites like Craigslist or Zillow, handle rental applications and even facilitate background checks. Then, once the applicant becomes a tenant, the property management software will let you manage that relationship so it benefits both you and your tenants. You can also save your ads to use whenever you have more vacancies.

Depending on the property management software you use, you might have access to other time-saving features, including the ability to run credit and background checks, file tax forms and even outsource mailings.

It’s also easier than you think. Property management software companies spend a lot of time listening to their customers (people like you). They know you have an extremely busy job with no time to dedicate to learning a product. That’s why most of the software is designed so you don’t even need a product manual. Support is always there to help you out along the way and make sure that you are being as efficient as you can possibly be.

Do you use property management software? How has it helped you? Please share a comment below.

By Linda Day Harrison, theBrokerList, Chicago, IL

How do management companies typically respond to new business inquiries?

1. Phone interview with a request to tour the client’s property.
2. Follow up with a brochure and cover letter.
3. Suggest the prospective client visit your website for more information.
4. How about a lunch meeting to discuss the business opportunity?
5. Or do you receive an RFI that requires you respond to a series of questions to be considered to bid?

In any or all of these scenarios your properties and corporate office should strive to think that every time there is a new business inquiry, it will result in a live tour of your office or properties and you can confidently say, “Why not stop at some of our offices or properties? We would love you to see our operations first-hand!”

You need to think that each potential new business opportunity will be predicated on a behind-the-scenes tour of your operation and back offices, and you are always ready! Does that give you a warm and fuzzy feeling, or does it make you want to panic and run for the exits?

The question you need to ask yourself each day is: Are you ready for that tour?

When it comes to day-to-day property management or leasing, so much of our day can be filled with inefficiency, busy work, and interruptions. Reflecting on the daily drama, you will soon see that most of what is important isn’t even the focus — how we appear to the public and/or the customers we serve should be the focus!

What the customers and general public see when they step inside our properties or offices is our curb appeal. It is vital that we keep them up to par every single day.

If you think that your property is going to be toured, what do you do? That should be your mindset every single day. We know the world is not perfect, but customers or the general public should not be exposed to the ugliness or the behind-the-scenes issues — those are our problems, and should not to be publicly aired.

You need to show the world, or your customers, what they want to see.

• Smiling faces, friendly greetings
• Clean entrances
• Obvious issues attended to
• Neatly dressed & groomed staff
• Easy to navigate facility and grounds

Now think about Disney World as an example. Disney World has an exemplary manner of treating their guests. When the show starts at Disney World, you do not see messy stacks of paper, litter, uncut grass, weeds, torn uniforms, or grumpy faces. Even if the Disney people are grumpy, you would never know it!

There is no difference with property management and leasing. What goes on behind the curtain, before the show at Disney, may be very ugly and hectic and full of drama. Costumes may not fit, pins may hold things closed, etc., but when the show starts and the curtain is pulled open, the show is well done and rehearsed.

The same should hold true for our industry. When the door opens in the morning, greet your day just like you think Disney World would do it. Each face should be required to smile and it should be all hands on deck to strive for excellence with curb appeal, common areas, and behind-the-scenes mechanical areas. Just remember when a new business opportunity arises, your team is ready to be showcased to help your company grow. No need to prepare, no need to worry, just let the show begin and feel free to invite any prospective new client to tour your properties and offices — you will know your team is Disney ready!

By Linda Day Harrison, theBrokerList, Chicago, IL

It is a tough time of the year for us property managers as many of us are in the process of planning our budget for next year. However, it’s also a perfect time to poll all of your property owners, vendors, customers, and staff to see what might be on their wish list!

What is a wish list you ask? Well a wish list is a reminder of all of the things your customers, staff, vendors, or property owners have wished for that can help your property to improve, save money, or maybe even provide a new service idea!

Simply create a friendly form and title it 2013 ABC Property Budget Wish List. Leave a blank page of lines and explain that you are interested in feedback for ideas to make your property better, greener, or more efficient. Ask them to share their wish list items and suggestions because you may be able to incorporate some of the ideas into the budget for 2013, or into your long range planning for 2014, 2015, 2016! There is no time like the present to start looking out beyond next year’s budget!

Everybody understands budgeting and cost containment. People know that you cannot purchase everything all at one time. But, if you offer everyone on the property team a chance to contribute to the future you are not only giving everyone a chance to be heard, you are also holding them accountable to planning and strategizing for their department or focus area! It is amazing what ideas you can glean from such a request. The wish list for your customers may take the form of a Facebook poll, website newsletter post, or online form. For your staff, you may send an online email form as well! Give everyone a short window of time to respond, say a few days or so, and see what feedback you get.

Once you get all of the results you can look at the list and address some of the suggestions and/or share the suggestions that may be incorporated or not incorporated and why. Also, if you plan for the long term budgets, at least everyone will understand your program and your plan of attack for the future! It will also demonstrate how well you have picked up on the property needs over the last year. You’ll find out that you either have a good grasp on the needs of the property, or a little surprised to learn that you’re a bit out of touch with what other people observe as property needs.

In addition to the budget wish lists, an annual Vendor budget letter, which is a more formal request, should be distributed to all contract service vendors, suppliers, utility providers, and professional services, such as accountants, auditors, attorneys, architects, etc. Every property is different so it may not apply for all property types, but it gives everyone a part in the budget, and it also shows them that you are interested in what they think or their suggestions. When polling the vendors and suppliers you are looking for feedback and recommendations as well as the future projections for price increases next year. This letter provides a written response that can be part of your budget presentation. Even your local city water and sewer provider should receive a request for increase information. No one should be left out as it truly saves time and provides a great documentation trail for your budget. It will also explain why you are proposing various increases.

As far as the contract service providers, the request for next year’s contract is another aspect. Each year you prepare your budget you are also evaluating the contract services as well. Why not incorporate that into the request, and ask for the contract too.

Here is an example of a Vendor Budget Letter.

Even if you are not able to distribute and use these ideas for the 2013 budget process, you now have a year to prepare for the following year. Happy budgeting!

By Salvatore Friscia, San Diego Premier Property Management, San Diego, CA

I recently read somewhere that property managers are slowly spiraling down the trust ladder towards the likes of lawyers and used car salesmen. I know this is a strong statement and no disrespect to lawyers and used car salesman, both honorable and needed professions, but once the public brands a group in that fashion it’s hard to shake the stereotype. So, has it really gotten that bad for us property managers?

Well, that might be a bit of an exaggeration and I personally don’t believe it’s accurate. But if you ask a room full of real estate investors if they’ve had bad experiences with property managers in the past, unfortunately you will be bombarded with stories that will leave you shaking your head in disbelief. So how can it be that an industry so reliant upon good management be saddled with so many poor property management experiences? I would like to think it’s just a love/hate relationship but honestly, in my opinion, it comes down to the business basics.

As a widely considered expert in the field, and owner of SDPmanagement, a San Diego based residential property management firm, I’ve had the opportunity over the last decade to witness numerous property management offices that consistently underachieve. As a consultant I will review systems and procedures that lead to less than positive feedback from clientele, and make subtle but effective suggestions that can alter the overall experience in a positive fashion. With social media becoming the new unfiltered Better Business Bureau for the public, a negative experience is just a few keystrokes away from Internet infamy and branding your business as less than stellar. This is not rocket science but unfortunately many property managers are overworked and underappreciated to the point that basic customer service skills sometimes take a back seat when dealing with clients, applicants, and tenants.

Nevertheless, all excuses aside, please understand it is virtually impossible regardless of your business acumen to please all the people all the time, and unfortunately negative reviews will be posted. The point is that any opportunities to self-evaluate your business and make improvements are always warranted. In an attempt to stay away from stereotypes and bolster a strong trustworthy image I ask you to consider the following; are your phones answered by the 3rd ring and your company name used in the greeting? Are your showings scheduled with rental managers who are on time for the showings? Do company representatives wear company branded logo shirts to show unity and cohesion? Is your office tidy and clean presenting a professional atmosphere? Do you handle adversity and problems professionally? And last but not “lease” do you offer property management with a smile?

By Linda Day Harrison, theBrokerList, Chicago, IL

Ever call or visit a business, ask a basic question, and receive an answer of “I do not know?” To make matters worse, there is not even an offer of “I will find out”, or “Let me ask a supervisor.” It is rather scary and it is also profound. In business we work so hard to build our companies, market our properties, or create features and services, all to find out nobody in our own company has a clue!

While visiting a business recently, I asked a simple question pertaining to a geographic location. Of course, the woman on duty had no clue. She did not know what highway exit she was located at, nor could she tell me east, west, north, or south! That is a huge pet peeve to me. How can you permit your employees to be that completely oblivious of their surroundings? It is unconscionable, but so very common.

Well there is a solution! The solution is so basic that it is hard to believe it is not done more often. Create an on-going FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) for your team. Every single company, and property you manage, should have a FAQ. Employees should have this at their desk or on their desktop. Digital or paper, laminated or in a plastic sleeve, does not matter! No matter what, there needs to be an at-a-glance tool so the most basic of customer questions can be answered. Let me be perfectly clear here, it is not the employee’s job to know this! It is your job as the property manager, leasing director, management company owner, or brokerage company owner to make sure they know!

For instance, if the FAQ is for a building, the top question should be directions (from the north, south, east, and west). The directions should include the address of the property, an easy to explain set of instructions on how to enter your property, and where to park! And for goodness sake, do not ignore public transportation. If someone calls your property and asks what bus to take, you had better know. Think about how insane it would be for someone to call your company, to ask about renting your property, but then not be able to tell them how to get there! Believe me it happens to the best of us, but with an FAQ as a standard across all desks and desktops it does not matter because everyone will be equipped with the knowledge and power to assist a customer!

Consider the most basic questions like:

• How do I get to the property?
• How long have you been in business?
• When was this building built?
• How tall is the building? (feet and stories)
• How big is the property? (acres and square feet)
• Is there a post office nearby?
• Where is the nearest hospital?

If your staff does not have this information at the ready, at the worst it could be the difference between a life or death situation! Everyone should know how to get to the nearest hospital or storm shelter, etc. Sometimes we are so busy with the stuff that comes up day after day and is asked over and over that we forget to learn other important information about our company and properties.

Capturing this knowledge and turning it into an FAQ can make a tremendous tool for marketing as well as day to day assistance when your customers or clients call!

By Linda Day Harrison, theBrokerList, Chicago, IL

When creating an Internet presence and building a new public website, the first thing you’ll want to do is identify a domain name as close as possible to your company or property name. Don’t bother searching in multiple locations for your potential site’s name — you’re too busy for that! Go straight to a search engine like namechecklist.com.

Create your website on a platform such as WordPress. Put in the time, effort, and money to design and plan the site. Consider paying a designer to create a logo and graphics. Add content to the site, such as (in no particular order):

1. About Us
2. Services Properties and/or Listings
3. Team
4. Executive Bios
5. Contact Us
6. Affiliations
7. Blog
8. Testimonials

After all this work is done — content is added, graphics are selected, colors are finalized, fonts, headlines, and widget boxes are chosen — you (and only you, as you spearheaded the project!) can send out an email to everyone in your contact list to say, “Look! We have a new website and blog!” Yippee!

But then, if you’re like most website owners, the site sits, and sits, and sits. From time to time you might add a blog article, or update listings. If you’re smart, you thought to add a live feed of listings from another database service provider that’s integrated into the site. When new employees come and go, maybe you’ll update the site when you get around to it.

Don’t fall into this trap! Your website should be a living, breathing, active representation of you and your company. Make time to promote on social media. Push out your blog articles to LinkedIn and to all of the LinkedIn groups you belong to (maximum of 50 per person!). Encourage your team to tell all of their contacts about your new website or blog. Ensure that the domain URL is on every single thing you publish or post. Place simple share buttons on your pages or blog posts via the admin tools. Anything less, and you’re virtually guaranteeing that no one will ever share anything about you, your firm, or your great content.

While you’re at it, let your employees have access to sites like Facebook, and encourage them to keep an up-to-date LinkedIn profile (the modern-day business card). Your people and properties will be found and links will be out there in Google, where they can be discovered or exploited by new clients. If your website is found, that means traffic! Traffic is numbers, and numbers mean increased chances that you’ll meet a new client, tenant, or even find a buyer.

And get a Twitter page. Twitter is neither complicated nor difficult to navigate. It will bring t-r-a-f-f-i-c to your firm, which is only a problem if you plan to remain under the radar. Remember, you want every client to see your name in the media or an online content stream.

By Jo-Anne Oliveri, ireviloution intelligence, Brisbane, Australia

There are many reasons why we need to recruit. We live in a world where there are unlimited opportunities for advancement and success. So, it stands to reason that your team members come and go based on their own personal career aspirations and opportunities that present themselves.

It’s always wise to know individual team member’s personal goals. You should ask them what these are at the initial interview and then discuss it at monthly one-to-one meetings. By knowing what your team member’s long-term career aspirations are, you are then able to manage your team, business, and service by design.

In some instances you will be able to fulfill team members’ career aspirations by training and promoting them through your business. This must not be in a vain attempt to keep them working for your agency. It must be for the overall good of you and the team member, as well as your business and clients. Remember, the best business philosophy is always “Win/Win”. When someone has reached their peak it’s also usually the time they start to lose interest. The longer you try to hang onto them by giving them all sorts of incentives, the more pain you put yourself and your business through. Whilst the team member is still arriving at the office each morning and sitting at the desk, they may only be a chair-warmer as in their mind they have already “checked out”.

And that’s not a bad thing. It’s all about planning, understanding, and knowing when to recruit a new team member. If you diligently hold your monthly one-to-ones and ensure the meeting is purposeful, you have insight into team members’ long-term goals. And so, their resignation will not come as a shock and you will not have to put yourself through the stress of recruiting by default (I can just see all of you nodding your head remembering the chain of events this type of recruiting causes). Recruiting by default is a costly mistake financially, emotionally, and to your brand and reputation. Put yourself back in the power seat.

By understanding your team and their career aspirations, you grow and nurture loyal team members. Yes, they may come and go and, as I said, that’s not a bad thing. The wonderful thing is that they leave feeling loyal to your agency. They will be long-term advocates because they still love your brand and culture. And, because you have a business by design, you are assured continuity of service to your clients. Clients understand that team members come and go but because you have a business backed up by systems and processes, clients’ histories remain intact. So again no more stress for you, the team, or clients when a team member resigns.

The other bonus here is that because you know your team member’s long term career aspirations, you have a good idea of when they may start looking at other opportunities to fulfill their goals. That means you have the ability to promote from within your agency and the new recruit can be a trainee who started as an assistant or receptionist. The new recruit then has already had the opportunity to learn your business’ culture from the inside out and most likely has started forming relationships with your existing clients. That means when someone “new” is managing their property they already know their name and are familiar with their voice.

I urge you all to slow down. It is always best to recruit for attitude and train for skill. If someone has the right attitude they can learn the skill. By training for skill you are also training them to internalize your business’ culture and service standards so they become your brand, and love it.

By Linda Day Harrison, theBrokerList, Chicago, IL

As managers and owners of property are we not supposed to deliver the best service, and keep our properties as safe and clean as possible? Is our staff learning and keeping on top of latest techniques and the current trends in technology? Do we empower our teams to deliver the best they can to maintain or lease our property? If not, why? What is your excuse?

Are there not enough hours in the day? Are funds tight? Is an emergency, like bad weather or governmental changes stopping you, giving you an excuse for not training, or teaching your team how to be the best?

Let’s try to stop creating excuses and make room for the good stuff! Instead of complaining about how hard it is or how much it costs, let’s take a proactive approach to the teaching and training problem! Now I’m sure you’re asking yourself, “How can I accomplish this?”

How about setting aside some time to sharpen the saw? Why not allow for so many hours per month or per week for training or learning? Call it “Education Hours” or “Education Day”. Whatever you allow for, give it a prominent time in your man-hours and be consistent, setting a standard day or time each month, that way it is expected.

Using your existing pool of service providers is a great way to obtain on-site instructors. Many of our valued service providers are eager to present their knowledge to my team. Bankers, attorneys, accountants, window washers, janitorial contractors, and even elevator experts, have excellent information about safety, security, techniques, and technical processes that your staff can gain a tremendous amount of insight from. If you have the funds, look into online seminars. Schedule group webinars or online instructors for multiple team members at one time. No longer do employees have to drive great distances or stay overnight in order to attend training sessions. Thanks to the internet, the training can now come to you and your company.

Also, with today’s technology you can act as your own trainer, using your own video stars – your staff! Simply create your own internal video sessions and save those sessions for orientations, recurring training, and cross training. It is always good for everyone to know what is expected when staff members are on vacation or call in sick. If everyone is cross trained using the videos, filling in for other staff members is not as painful since everyone will know what the other person does. Even a video put together using your mobile phone can be a great introduction to a property, the mechanical rooms, and other key areas of the building. Capturing these types of tutorials can save time and add a fantastic tool to your arsenal. They also provide a great selling tool for future business assignments. Videos can be posted on YouTube and categorized as company orientation tools, showing your clients how you work to keep your staff trained. Today, the days of 3 ring binders and manuals are out, and video, audio, and online tools are in!

Now that you have some easy and cost effective ways to train your team, and the way to keep them trained, go out and give it a try!

By Jo-Anne Oliveri, ireviloution intelligence, Brisbane, Australia

Currently, there are many challenges facing the property management industry. I believe the property management industry is unknowingly creating many of these challenges because they are not identifying and addressing the real problem. I consider the real problem to be how principals operate their property management business.

Problem number one comes when principals need to find a new team member, the “Property Manager”.

Principals don’t seem to fully understand the roles in their property management business. Any available position is immediately referred to as a “property manager”. However, what skills, attitude, and knowledge are really required for this available position i.e. what is the role that really needs filling? Many principals do not consider this question and therefore do not recruit the right team member for the job.

The normal process is therefore as follows: The recruitment agency is contacted because recruiting through self-advertising is apparently all too difficult. The recruitment agency is asked if they have any available property managers. Of course, they have a whole database of self-professed property managers. They maintain a wonderful database of property managers to choose from that are all experienced, with many years of service under their belts, and have achieved amazing results so far. They are also highly skilled and trained so they come at a price. Several thousand dollars to the recruitment agency later, you have a “property manager” on a salary in the top percentile. But have you ever wondered on what grounds is this recruitment agency recommending them?

I believe the recruitment agency, just like our industry, bases their commission (fee) on the salary achieved for recruits. So, the higher the salary, the higher the commission you have to pay them for a recruit that in all too many instances only lasts a few months. And then…you go through the process (and expense!) all over again.

I was chatting to a recently appointed general manager of a large property management company last week. The principal, upon the GM’s appointment, told her that he was fed up with the huge outlay and spiraling costs of recruitment. In the last year alone he had spent over $95,000 on recruitment costs. That is the tangible fee i.e. the fee he has paid to recruitment agencies. He has not taken into consideration the non-tangible costs. What are these? Damage to business and reputation, pressure on productivity and efficiency, lack of continuity in management, costs for new business cards, and email set-up. Yes, there are enormous costs for recruiting so it pays to get it right the first time!

This particular principal wanted the newly appointed GM to take property managers out for a coffee and chat to encourage them to work for his agency. Bad move! What this principal must focus on is retention. I’m not talking about retention of managements that naturally occurs as a result of team retention. Think about it. Wouldn’t you, as a business owner, gain far better results by investing in systems, processes, training, and resources, rather than continually paying the high costs for recruiting, especially when you recruit through a recruitment agency?

By having systems, processes, training, resources, and of course policies in place you are in a position to proactively manage and monitor your team and of course your business. It is far less expensive this way (and that’s just taking into consideration the tangible cost alone). Your result is retention of team members, and team loyalty in return leads to client loyalty.

When recruiting for new team members it is usually as a result of growth. Having systems, processes, training, and resources in place means you manage every area of your business, thus allowing you to grow team members, and effectively groom them to be your next property manager when a position is created (due to growth). Knowing your business means that when you need to recruit, you do the recruiting on your terms, at your rate, and best of all, you don’t outlay costs on a recruitment agency that provides you with an overly expensive service and product.

When you’re in control, recruiting becomes easy. Why? Because you can now recruit the right person for the right role as you have designed your business. Therefore the recruitment process will meet your business requirements.

Like all my articles, this topic lends itself to more posts! In the meantime though, please keep in mind one thing – hire slow, fire fast! Don’t be in a hurry to hire another team member just to fill a position. Hire by design and with purpose, and if you make a mistake in your choice of recruit, use the probationary period to fire fast before damage is done to your brand and reputation.