How to sell a buget

Why is it this time of year property managers start getting cold sweats thinking budget season will soon be here?  Going to work on budgets next week!  Sorry, I have a root canal scheduled  so maybe you can find someone else to do it.  Managers would rather deal with grumpy residents or walk across broken glass with no shoes on than have to go through the budget process.  Part of the reason our management teams are frightened of budgets is we have failed as leaders in teaching them how to not be afraid of them as well as how to prepare them. 
How many times has this happened to you as a property manager?  You spend days, maybe weeks, crunching numbers, getting proposals for capital projects, only to submit your budget and have it slaughtered like a sacrificial cow.  Or maybe you sit in a room with the other managers in your region in front of a computer over a couple of days, squeezing out a budget you know will get buzzed like a cheap act on Americas Got Talent.  So what can leadership do to prepare out managers?  A few simple steps can make the process less intimidating. 

1.  Give them the goal.  If the goal is a NOI improvement of 3%, tell them this is the goal.  It is impossible if not at least very difficult for a manager or team to hit a target if they can't hit it. 
2.  Set your team up for success.  If you need the budget no later than September 30th, let them know and give them enough time and the resources to meet that goal.   Send "fair warnings" out to the team and your mangers weeks before they process is to begin.  Set up a checklist so the know the steps and processes that will assist them in hitting the target.
3.  Show them what a great budget looks like.  We teach our managers to market, how to hire, how to handle disasters, how to read a financial, and even what hazards to avoid when it comes to fair housing and risk management.  Why is it none of the CAM or CAPS courses or general topics we teach up and coming managers is how to prepare a budget?  What should be included, in what format is it expected, and what should the final product look like?  Again, let them see the target and they have a better chance of hitting it.
4.  Provide the tools that will assist.  How can photographs help tell the story and support what you are budgeting?  Within that photograph what can you do or include that may get a project approved that normally would be cut?  What do you need proposals for and what pitfalls are there in getting budget proposals (i.e. proposal now, project maybe 6 months or more later)? 
There is so much more we can do as leaders to set our teams up for success, and there are just four of the ten major points I have identified to take the fear out of doing budgets and really how to sell a budget.  Naturally there is so much more to each of these points and I could write an entire book chapter on budgeting....Oh wait, I did!  I could also spend several hours covering the key aspects of budget preparation so managers don't run and hide when budget season comes around....Oh wait, I do that in a workshop I conduct.  Just think of it this way, leadership is helping and empowering your management teams so you get a better budget,  and in the long run working smarter and not harder.  Also do not forget budgeting should be a team event where everyone at a site is involved.  If they are involved they will care.  Once they care, there is no stopping them.  Now go lead!