Preparation leads to production

Just like anyone that  is looked at as a professional in whatever they do, preparation is an important aspect.  A baseball player would not stand in the batters box at Busch Stadium in the National League without spending thousands of hours before in a hitting cage and practicing their swing.  When I provide training and education programs I can easily spend over a hundred hours in research and preparation before I ever consider walking into a room of property management professionals to provide a workshop.  Those  of you that know me as a professional magician know I am constantly practicing my craft to be the best I can be.  And those that work with me as a Divemaster can associate with the preparation given to insure my equipment and the equipment we give to guests is ready and in proper working order.  So where is all this taking us you ask?

Being mentally and physically ready when a prospect walks in the door or calls on the phone is essential to any leasing person or managers success (of course this also relates to our valued service associates).  I can always tell when someone is not mentally ready for a prospect, as it shows from their voice to their actions and in the final result.  Maybe they are having a bad day or did not sleep well last night.  Maybe they have personal issues or problems that complicate their ability to focus on the task at hand.  I believe we can help our associates condition themselves to overcome such challenges, however, we seldom provide instruction and guidance which can play a beneficial role in their success.  Leasing is about more than just showing an apartment and taking down some information, it's about relationships and showing your prospects and residents you genuinely care.  As leaders of others, coaching and helping others exceed and excel is paramount to their success and mine as well.  Taking a little time to communicate, ask questions, and get to know the individuals we work with can help you identify if their mental status is conducive to a successful environment and beneficial in reaching the goals we set for them. Physically ready means my work station is neat and organized, my apartment is ready for viewing, I have the physical tools ready to document the visit and sell the apartment, and I also believe my appearance is professional and neat.  Do I have the tools to do the job, and do it at the highest level possible to attain the result expected?

Leadership is about identifying where can we direct preparation to improve production.  It is about focusing on our people, being able to identify with the tasks they are asked to perform, and analyzing what needs to be improved on and directing them to success.  We often are too busy to do these things, and wonder why associates are not meeting goals or fail at tasks.  Taking a little time to help them understand preparation and guiding them through effective leadership can and will lead to higher production.  Just ask any coach and successful athlete as well as any star performer and their leader, and no doubt you will see how being prepared leads to preparation for success.

The decisions we make!

As my Dad used to tell me, "Sometimes things happen for a reason.  You may not find out what the reason is right away."  My father was a very wise person, and I miss him dearly.

As I wrote last week, going back into property management is something I look forward to doing and PM is something I have a passion for.  Going a few months with interviews and being told I was "one of two candidates we have narrowed our search down to," was becoming familiar and in some ways frustrating.  Being told I was "over qualified," knowing if I was looking for someone I would rather have over qualified than under qualified was also a hard pill to swallow.  But, I remember back to what my father said and continue on.

This week I was provided an offer for a position, and a favorable offer considering the task and compensation.  It was also with a very well known and respected company in the industry, and they made multiple efforts to encourage me to come on board with their team.  Unfortunately, there were a couple of things that made the decision difficult and one stumbling block that weighed heavily on my decision to decline the offer.  As I told them, I did not take the decision lightly and even though I am anxious to get back to work full time had to respectfully decline.

Leaders make decisions and one critical trait of a successful leader is being decisive.  When talking with my wife and with friends I have in the industry, the question was raised related to the decisions made and where does the basis for the decision fall if personal or professional?  Tough question, as a former co-worker told me but then reminded me leadership is also about respect for oneself as well as for others.  Never ceases to amaze me how friends can help us see things in a new light, even when we know where the switch is all the time. 

None of us knows what the future holds except for the decisions we make and how they impact our future.  Was this the right decision?  Time will tell, and second guessing can only cloud our perception and possibly have an impact on the next decision we are faced with.  Sometimes your heart says one thing, while your head leads you in another direction.   There again maybe that is why God gave us one of each, and we would probably look really strange with two heads anyway.  I remain confident I will find the right position with the right company, and I am also confident in my ability as a leader.  That coupled with loving family and friends is what carries me through, facing the future with optimism and determination another opportunity to make another decision will be in my future.  Kind of sounds like leadership when we talk about optimism and determination, following the passion for what i love to do....lead others to greatness.  The only fear we should have is not finding the courage to make the decision both personally and professional, and I look forward to the next chapter in the revolving book of life.  As I said at one of my conferences I was presenting on leadership, I would rather have one of my managers make the wrong decision than no decision at all.  After all we can learn from our decisions both right and wrong, we learn nothing from inaction. 

New Friends and New Opportunties

I am getting excited and ready for my visit to the Washtenaw Area Apartment Association in Ann Arbor, Michigan next week.  The topic, "Expect the unexpected...Emergency Preparedness."  Over the past weeks I have received friend requests from both service providers and property management professionals in Michigan, and look forward to seeing them at the workshop.  Our industry is expansive, however, in some aspects small.  We all share common interests and even though there are tens of thousands of professionals in our industry, it never ceases to amaze me how common topics bring us together.  Service providers, site maintenance professionals, and management and leasing members have become new friends on Linkedin and Multifamily Insiders with me.  I will have the honor and privilege to meet some of them next week, and hopefully build new relationships and share information as we discuss this very important topic.  This will be a very interactive workshop, and I promise will be not only informative but also enjoyable.  I have a couple of surprises lined up to make it fun and we'll throw in a few magic tricks to make it memorable. 

It has also been a week for looking at new opportunities.  My friends and many I have worked with in my career know I miss the challenges and opportunities of leadership and management.  One of the managers I worked with a few years ago recently called to check on my status, reminding me how relationships we build can last a lifetime.  I have thoroughly enjoyed doing the training and education, traveling all over the country sharing information and myself learning along the way.  It never fails I learn something as well with every workshop or seminar I either prepare for or present.  As my father once told me, "If you learn something new every day, you become a better person every day."  Sure miss my Dad, as he was not only my best friend but also the wisest person I have ever known.  Anyway, looking to return to property management has been something I have concentrated on for the past few months.  After a couple of months with only a couple of interviews, I have three this week and am very thankful to have the opportunities.   Hopefully I will find a home with a new company, doing what I love and have a passion for.  In addition to the speaking many of you know I also have been a diver for Disney, spending time in the water with sharks when not speaking.  Someone once asked me if I was afraid of being in the water with 9 foot sharks on a regular basis.  My response was, "Have you met some of the residents I have had to deal with?" 

We'll keep you posted on where I end up, and the blog will no doubt continue.  I was extremely proud when I reported week before last I had over 3,000 visitors to my blog page, and as of today I hit 4,000.  An email I received yesterday from another friend and former co-worker told me I was NOT allowed to drop the blog in returning to active management.  Her comments and the others I have received encourage me to continue to share information now matter what I am doing, which is something love doing. 

Have a great week and  remember the key to knowledge is not having all the answers...but knowing where to find them.

Leasing isn't difficult...so don't make it so hard!

First let me say thank you to the now over 3,000 people that have visited my blog site.  I hit that mark over the weekend, and am excited to reach this milestone.  I also have received hundreds of great comments about some of my topics, and a few phone calls saying they appreciate the forum.  Those that know me understand I do this to keep our industry as professional as possible and hopefully help others with subject matter than can help apartment professionals exceed and excel.   Now, on with this weeks topic.

Never ceases to amaze me in the number of leasing associates that do not follow-up or do not follow-up timely.  We review our advertising, make sure our apartments are the best, check to make sure the amenities  show well, and even polish our shoes.  For some reason we do all these things but forget to polish the sales and leasing techniques that create the lease and often discover additional information that can increase income and occupancy.  This is not rocket science people, and often times is what triggers getting the deposit.

Recently I visited properties and was in the "shoppers" world as I made my rounds.  I wish I could say this was a one time problem I have run into, however, we all know the answer is that it was not.  Last week I visited four communities and in the past month have shopped about fifteen sites for various reasons.  The results were not encouraging and I have to say rather disappointing.  One in five sites gave me an email or phone call within 24 hours of my visit.    Three other sites contacted me within three to four days of the visit, and the others I believe were abducted by aliens and the communities are now being leased only to Martians.  Only six of the fifteen sites asked for the deposit or asked if I would like to fill out an application at the visit (guess they were 100% occupied and didn't need my money).  Of those six, only three did a great job of selling me and ones I would consider good leasers (that was until two of them did not do timely or failed to  follow-up).

I can only guess they all had so many other prospects coming in the door they didn't need my lease.  In this day of emails, instant messaging, and software that can track my inquiry down to the underwear I was wearing during the visit, we have forgotten some of the basics.  Oh and by the way, I have received ZERO thank you notes or cards telling me they probably failed to order ink for the printer or pens so they could right me a personalized note.  Honestly I expected more from what are supposed to be trained professionals.  There again, possibly training and checking guest cards for things like follow-up maybe have been forgotten because we are too busy twittering and doing financial reports explaining why our income is so low.

I'm sure Lisa, Mindy, Kate, Rebecca, Bill (last names withheld to protect the innocent) and all the other great trainers out there are probably shaking their heads, but not surprised to see the results.   We have so many challenges and difficult things to deal with and follow-up and selling our sites, management, team, and apartments does not have to be one of them...it should be the easiest if we only do what is so easy.

Now go lease!

Follow the money

Never will you hear an owner or supervisor say, "It's about the people...not the money."  That being said, it is about having the right people to insure NOI increases and the property is profitable.  Our job is to increase property values with one of the primary ways being the increase of Net Operating Income. 

We look at how we can improve NOI with the obvious being rent increases.  We do this through several key factors, however, we do not always keep them in mind as our site personnel go about their daily tasks.

*  The first and most important way is through resident retention.  In no other area can we have such a positive impact on income and expenses both.  This is done through exceeding resident expectations, providing "WOW" customer service, effective communications, and insuring all of the team contributes and understands the critical nature of how it impacts the bottom line.  We preach resident retention, however, I suggest we don't practice it on an every day basis.  This is where having the right people, the right training, the right follow-up, and the right attitude will make the difference between success or failure.

* Second, keeping your eye on the market and your finger on the rent button.  Managers for some reason are hesitant to raise rents.  They perceive this and believe it will drive prospects and residents away.  They also believed we would have empty properties when we started charging for water, sewer, and trash, only to find out it didn't happen.  This is where a good regional or district manager through conditioning can eliminate that fear, and then passing on that conditioning to the leasing staff.  Get a manager who resists changes to rents, and you will more than likely get those working with that manager to feel the same way.  By keeping your eye on the market, knowing your product and the product of your competition, you can maximize rents in any market.  Teach your team to be pro-active and the leader in the market, and you will probably find other properties wanting to be like you and following suit.

*  I have said this a million times, resident retention is not an event....it is a process.  Like the first bullet above where I talked about one of the keys being resident retention, if you provide exceptional service and a great product don't be afraid to ask for its value.  Why is it we wait until 90 days before lease expiration to then send a resident a letter or make a contact (maybe for the first time), only to have it asking for more money.  I have blogged about this before and stress the importance of making resident retention a process, which will lead to a higher success rate of retention and higher revenue.

*  Don't be afraid to adjust fees to increase revenue.  Application fees, administration fees, late fees, and of course pet fees are all part of our revenue.  This is especially true for pet owners, as they will pay for their pets.  Now I have never been advocate of pet rent, and find it crazy to expect a pet to have a job to contribute to pet rent.  Pet owners however, will pay a pet fee and few managers would ever contemplate making the pet administration fee for that lease term only or raising the fee to overcome an annual fee.  I can hear managers cursing me now, however, stepping out of the box is often a way of stepping into success.  I heard of a community raising their pet fee by $100, however, they included a free annual checkup with a local vet in the area.  The vet was anxious for new business, and would come to the property four times a year (one Saturday each quarter) to give registered pet owners an exam for their pets.  He got a ton of business and the pet income increased by $11,000 in the first year.  I also suggest we need to do a better job of verifying pet owners are registering their pets so we can collect fees, and you may have heard me talk about my pet amnesty program and how it improved pet income at one property almost $4,000 in one month it was done.


*  Collections are another way to improve income.  Time is money, and insuring your team knows how to effectively and efficiently collect rent and fees can have a huge impact on income.  The basic aspect of this is being consistent, firm, and timely when addressing collection of rent and fees.

* Finally to the expense side of the equation.  Managers are so focused on the numbers, they often miss the meaning of the numbers.  It's kind of like the old saying, can't see the forest for the trees.  We have them doing monthly reports, but do they really know what they are looking at and are they effectively monitoring expenses during the month to be pro-active versus re-active?  My suggestion is they are not, and keeping their eye to expenses (especially turnover and service) and training their team to do the same can have a huge impact on meeting budget or being over budget.

This is why property management is not a job...it is an adventure.  We can always find way to improve and we can always encourage our people to improve and excel.  I remember a manager that had for the first time exceeded budgeted NOI in several months and seems to have an attitude of "stepping back" rather than looking forward.  I asked her if since she proved she could do it, was there any reason why it could not be done every month.  She looked at me and said, "I suppose I could."  I asked her to review her statement and told her I had faith in her team and her and would not accept "suppose or I could" as a response.  After all, what was done was already history and I wanted her to keep her eye on the future...that my friends is the only thing that matters.  Almost every month after that for the rest of the budget period, she met or exceeded goal.

Hitting a moving target!

Leadership as you know is a topic near and dear to my heart.  I believe there are certain qualities in great leaders, and I also am a firm believer there are distinct differences between management and leadership.  That being said, both management and leadership has a responsibility to insure those that follow or work with them have the tools and knowledge to exceed and excel.  We can complain that someone is not performing or meeting goals, however, what are we doing to insure support is provided that leads to greatness.  That support comes in training.

Training and education is never done, but it is an evolutionary process.  It also means following up on what is taught to insure clear understanding, and keeping an open mind to finding new resources and ways of teaching and seeing the benefits.  The moment we believe we are done with training or supporting from an educational standpoint, we have failed both ourselves and those working with us.  Fair Housing is one example of an area we "assume" our team members know.  We give them an online course to complete or on occasion send them to a workshop if the funds are in the budget.  I have in the past written about the trend witnessed related to this topic.  When interviewing managers or anyone that is already in the business I always ask, "What are the protected classes in Fair Housing?"  I have yet to have more than two candidates in ten able to easily give me the correct response.  Our industry has many resources for education and training from site led reviews, regional workshops, Internet based courses, corporate conferences, and apartment association events.  So why is it our people do so poorly in this and other areas we "assume" they are trained in?

The answer is in several areas all critical to benefiting our teams, creating a motivational environment, and raising the skill levels of our associates.  First is follow-up.  How often do we confirm understanding of what is taught?  What I have found when talking with industry trainers is we seem to be lacking in training trainers and leaders/managers to verify educational success.  We instead assume they get it!  The key to great education is not that they can pass a test on an Internet required course, but they "retain" what they have learned and can use it effectively.  Second, we fail miserably at conditioning the training over time.  Humans for the most part need conditioning.    Our people pass that Fair Housing poster many times a day, why don't they know what is on it?  Because we fail to provide reminders and conditioning over time about the importance.  Third, we fail to explain the importance of the training and what they should expect.  This is to not only insure they have a clear understanding, and they won't be surprised as to why we will be following up with occasional testing. 

These points are also true when it comes to closing, troubleshooting for maintenance, risk management, and so many other areas.  Make education a process and condition your teams to expect it and you will probably find they desire it.  Help them identify with how this will help them move up the ladder of success, and you will no doubt find yourself being more successful.  Great leaders also have willing and great followers.  Since we cannot do the job alone, it is the great followers you develop that will raise your ability to lead further as well.

A New Year

Maybe things are starting to turn around.  As my friends and people I have worked with know, I started seeking a position back in property management.  Training and education has been fun, informative, and good, however, I sure miss the challenge and opportunities being in leadership. 

I went a couple of months with virtually no interviews, and now it's like the flood gates have opened up.  Two phone interviews today, one early next week, and a follow-up interview from one of the phone interviews today already scheduled for next week as well.  What has been interesting about the interviews has been the questions received and how some are only presenting basic questions while others really dig deeper to find out about the candidate (yes, that's me).  One interview today told me a lot about the organization, and did a fantastic job at getting into core areas.  Having written articles on hiring and spoken at NAA and many management company and NAA affiliates related to the topic, much can be said about the interviewer and organization.  As an example, one of my postings on hiring talked about making sure we give not only the good things about why someone should work for them but also give expectations and challenges.  I respect an organization and their interview team who isn't afraid to present what some may feel as "intimidating" questions and comments. 

Yes, they were tough questions and made me think and dig for answers.  That is what an interview should do to make sure we are hiring the right person.  Remember it's not hiring someone to fill a position, it's hiring the right person to fill the position.  I won't mention names or companies, however, I will say one interviewer impressed me enough to write this piece tonight and reflect once again on the importance of getting away from the standard questions. 

Hopefully one of these opportunities will pan out, and once again I'll be visiting properties and doing what I love most and have a passion for.  Make it a great weekend and I'll chat with you next week.