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TOP 3 Qualities of Successful Multi-Family Apartment Careers

Nov 23rd, 2010
by daisynguyen.
2 comments

Here at RENT SODA, we’ve been talking about success A LOT. From our recent article (Build on Your Strengths: Build Success by Jim Baumgartner) to our Profiling Your Way to MORE Success sales classes, to every day conversations with our clients (“We want our manager to be more successful,”), it seems everyone is talking about “SUCCESS.”

It begs the question:

Do You Have What it Takes To Be Successful in the Multi-family (Apartment) Industry?

or better yet:

How About – What DOES it Take To Be Successful in the Multi-Family (Apartment) Industry?

We have been pondering this over the last few weeks. We’ve decided to do a series of articles on individual SUCCESS in the Multi-Family Apartment Industry. We’ve started researching and interviewing successful people – you’ll want to read what they have to say – so check back weekly as we post those articles!

First, we looked for individuals who were successful in the following categories:

  1. Someone who has had multiple career advancements and now holds one of the top positions in their company. (i.e. someone who started at the bottom and worked their way up to VP, CEO/COO/CFO or founder of a company in the Multi-family industry.)
  2. Someone who started in property management and has made a successful transition into a vendor role.
  3. Someone who started in a vendor role and has made a successful transition into a property management/development company.
  4. Someone who started at the corporate-side of the multi-family apartment business and has successfully transition into an on-site (at the apartment community) position.
  5. Someone who started on-site (at the apartment community) and has successfully transitioned into a corporate position at their management company.

We asked our network for recommendations on those people that they feel were successful in the categories defined above, interviewed them and asked them how they became successful. We heard lots of GREAT stories, uncovered GREAT tips, and gained WONDERFUL insights into these successes – and we’ll share these stories with you over the next few weeks.

We found some commonalities in our first round of interviews – we’re going to share those with you to wet your appetite for success. We’re still in the process of finishing up our interviews, but believe these 3 qualities aren’t going to change:

TOP 3 Qualities of Successful Multi-Family Apartment Careers

  1. Successful individuals in ALL categories EMBRACED change. Sometimes they were thrust into the changes, sometimes they instigated the changes, sometimes they recommended the changes, and even at times, they were initially against the changes, but whatever the reason for the change, they EMBRACED it. ALL of our interviewees talked about change as the ONLY constant in their careers > and embracing changes was one of the keys to their success. NONE of our interviewees said, “I just wanted to go to work and do my job.”

    2. In fact a couple of them mentioned that complacency within any position is a red flag that you’re not doing the best job you could be doing > which could eventually lead to failure.

    Change can mean anything – change in market/economy, change in responsibilities, change in supervisor, change in ownership, change in technology, change in location, change in portfolio, change in team members. - you have to always be pushing that envelope, embracing change, and figuring out how it can benefit you, your property, your goals, and your apartment owners.

  2. Successful individuals in ALL categories said YES. They were problem solvers for their supervisors/companies/sites/etc – they said YES to challenges, they said YES to change, they said YES to responsibility, and ultimately, YES to success.

    3. We’re not talking about being a YES man/woman. We’re talking about a positive attitude of “Yes I can – I’ll find a way” rather than a negative attitude of “No, I can’t, NO that can’t be done.”

    Who would you rather work for? Who would you rather work with? A “YES I CAN” person or a “NO I CAN’T” person? People who are promoted aren’t known for saying, “NO, what you’re asking us to do can’t be done,” they are known for taking a seemingly impossible situation/challenge and saying “Yes, there’s got to be a way – it’ll be tough, but I’m sure I can figure it out.” If you can solve a seemingly unsolvable problem for your supervisor/your company/your industry – you will be noticed.

  3. Successful individuals in ALL categories were active communicators. All of our interviewees were articulate, well-spoken, individuals with an ability to clearly communicate their thought process. We noticed this in our interviews – it was easy to follow their stories, understand their frame of mind, and see the natural progression of their career successes. Have you ever talked to someone who is hard to understand? Jumps from topic to topic? Someone who doesn’t tie in all their points – perhaps their communications have no point? Perhaps they are long-winded? Our interviews could have been explaining the complexities of rocket fuel – but they would have found a way to make it easy to understand and pertinent to what we were talking about. HOWEVER, this is not the case with all individuals in life.

    4. Let’s not forget the word ACTIVE.

    We noticed that all our interviewees were active in communicating their goals to their teams, active in communicating their processes to their supervisors, active in communicating their needs on a project, active in communicating their career desires. The key word is ACTIVE. None of our interviewees were passive-aggressive and hoped they would be noticed for promotion. None of our interviewees hoped clients would pick up the phone and call them to buy a product. None of our success interviewees hoped a job would land in their lap. No one we spoke to was hoping someone else would tell them what to do/how to do it. Not a single one of our interviewees hoped to get the budget they needed in order to complete a goal/challenge that they had been given. They were all active at communicating their wants/needs/processes/responsibilities/etc – so that everyone knew where they stood, and how to help them get to their goals. This seems like common sense, but how many of us know someone who works hard and hopes that someone notices and gives them a raise/promotion/award? Do you know someone who doesn’t ask about the expectations of a job? How about a boss who expects that everyone can read their mind? How about someone who is given a challenge but doesn’t ask for the parameters of the challenge? We have all been that person, or know that passive person. Don’t be a passive communicator and hope your actions talk louder than words. Be an ACTIVE one! COMMUNICATE!

These are just the tip of the success iceberg.

Join us after Thanksgiving and read about the STORIES, heartaches, struggles, tips that these successful individuals have to share with RENT SODA.

Be ready to be moved to greater success.

If you know someone who you feel has been successful in our defined categories above, please send us an email and recommend them for an interview!

Don’t GET IT? RENT SODA! GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota MN

CEO/President

RENTSODA-small

Offering Apartment Marketing, Apartment Business & Operations Consulting & Apartment Industry Training

Web: RentSoda.com Email: Daisy {at} RentSoda(.)com

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Leasing Agent Compensation?…First a word about VACANCY!

Jul 14th, 2010
by daisynguyen.
2 comments

As a consultant to the apartment industry, I am asked a LOT, “What’s fair leasing agent compensation? Is their a leasing commission structure you would recommend?”

There is no easy or short answer to this question, so let’s take a round about way of discuss it, and then my next article will zoom RIGHT into what I recommend.

I find it a little backwards when people want to know what OTHER properties or OTHER management companies are doing when it comes to leasing agent compensation. I never say it out loud, but I’m always thinking, “What’s it worth to YOU?” (as owner/manager) AND, “What’s it worth to THEM?” (your leasing agent/leasing specialist)  What do I mean by that?

FIRST, let’s first talk about the REAL problem – VACANCY.

I don’t have a vacancy problem!

Well, then, you shouldn’t worry about leasing agent compensation then!

OK, OK. Let’s talk about vacancy…

TO make it easy, let’s say we’re talking about ABC Apartments. They have 100 units. Their average rents are $1000.00/unit.

Prior to the rental market taking a downward turn, ABC Apartments has been running along great, apartments never took very long to lease, and they had been at 97% occupancy for many years.

Fast forward to today, they are at 88% physical occupancy, which means they are at 12% vacancy. All of the sudden, they are struggling with just staying ahead of the renewals and turnover. Increasing the occupancy in the midst of the resident turnover looks very daunting.

Let’s do the math.

At 97% occupancy, the vacancy loss is:

(Average Rents) x (# of Vacant Units)

$1000.00 x 3 vacant units = $3000.00 of vacancy loss monthly. This is what they are used to operating at. Annually (x12), this amounts to $36,000.00 of annual vacancy loss.

TODAY, at 88% occupancy, the vacancy loss is:

$1000.00 x 12 vacant units = $12,000.00 of vacancy loss monthly. Annually (x12), this amounts to $144,000.00.

The different in vacancy loss monthly is $9000.00! ($12,000 – $3000) And annually, the difference is $108,000.00! ($144,000 – $36,000)

How much does the $108,000.00 mean to the site? The Owner/Investors? The manager? Now that we have things in perspective, it brings up a WHOLE bunch of other questions, like:

  1. Do you have the right staff in place? If your maintenance guy is doing showings – you may have a problem.
  2. Do you have a plan in place for resident retention? If you have vacancy problems, you HAVE to have a plan in place to close the back door to your vacancy problem.
  3. Is your staff properly trained? Not just in customer service, but in closing on leases?
  4. Is your staff properly motivated and positioned to succeed? (This question leads into the real TOPIC: What’s a fair Leasing Agent compensation package?

Do you have other questions? Other considerations? Leave me a comment in the COMMENTS section!

My next blog article, will discuss different leasing compensation programs, and how to pick what works best for you, your site, and your staff.

Don’t GET IT? RENT SODA! GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota MN

CEO/President

RENTSODA-small

Business, Operations & Marketing Consulting to the Apartment Industry

Web: RentSoda.com Email: Daisy {at} RentSoda(.)com

Become a fan of RENTSODA on facebook.  Connect with RENTSODA on LinkedIn!

Follow RENTSODA on Twitter!

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New to the Apartment Industry/Job/Career? 4 Stages to an Epiphany!

Jul 13th, 2010
by daisynguyen.
1 comment

Are you new to the apartment industry? New to your employer? New career? New promotion? On a new project? There are 4 stages that every NEWBIE goes through before becoming comfortable in the new position.

When I first started at Dominium Management Services several years ago, I was lucky enough to take a class called “Managing for New Managers,” taught by a wonderful human resources mentor named Claudia. I took away a few lessons from that class, that not only helped me in my new job - I still remember those tips to this day and pass along this info to all newbies I meet!

Before we get started, I first want to mention for anyone who is new to the apartment industry: CONGRATS! You have just joined the most exciting, most demanding, most fun, most fullfilling, most intelligent, most rewarding industry – EVER! If your manager hasn’t prepared you, I’m preparing you now:

4 Stages to an Epiphany in the Apartment Industry

  1. STAGE 1: UNCONSCIOUSLY INCOMPETENT: You read it right. INCOMPETENT. In this stage, you’re feeling good. You just landed a job – especially in this economy, this is quite a feat! You beat out the hundreds of other applicants and you were chosen as the best fit for the job. CONGRATS! You’re being introduced to everyone, your resume is being passed around, people are oohing and ahhing. Everyone LOVES  you and can’t wait for you to get started. YOU can’t wait to get started! You feel important, after all, you’re working for ABC Apartments/ABC Management Company and they own millions worth in real estate. The honeymoon’s just begun. This feeling can last anywhere from a week to a month before you head into…
  2. STAGE 2: CONSCIOUSLY INCOMPETANT: This is when you start to feel a little insecure. There’s SOOOO much to learn! You’ve just started to realize you are in charge of this multi-million dollar asset, and no one’s ever trusted you with even $100 before, let alone an asset worth millions! Then there’s Fair Housing – oh my! They expect you to market, lease, understand financials, manage people, respond to residents, live on site, deal with maintenance issues, vacuum on occasion, AND all with a smile, please and a thank you. Budgets? Maintenance? HAP? HUD?  OOOOOHHHHH MY. You’re ready to pull your hair out and rethink this whole new industry, whole new career, whole new job thing. BUT STOP! This stage is perfectly NORMAL. I tell ALL new job applicants, and all new hires, give it 90 days, and if you don’t feel better by the end of 90 days, let’s have a serious talk. The good news is, EVERYONE goes through this, it’s perfectly normal, and it WILL get better. I’ve done takeovers where I’ve had people cry in my office because of how overwhelming it is – and they’re not use to the chaos of change. Give it 90 days, and those same people are skipping, having a good old time, and thanking me for letting them know – IT’s OK. This stage usually lasts anywhere from 90-120 days, with some relief right around 90 days.
  3. STAGE 3: CONSCIOUSLY COMPETENT: At this stage, you’re starting to GET IT now. It’s not easy, but you know where to find the answers, and you’re starting to kind of like the job/industry/career! You understand what your job entails, and you’re starting to understand not only where you fit into the equation, but the whole bigger equation of the APARTMENT industry. Things that seemed like a foreign language to you, terms like, gross potential rent, RUBS, HAP, HUD, NOI, cost per lease, marketing cost per unit, traffic, replacement reserves, Yardi, MRI, multi-family residential – terms once alien, are starting to roll off your tongue. Things that used to bother you (residents coming into your office and interrupting your line of thought, vendors vying for your time, overly dramatic leasing agents, non-communicative maintenance technicians, etc.)  – are now an everyday part of your life. You’re drinking the koolaid, and it’s starting to taste good. You see light at the end of the tunnel, and you contemplate taking a day off – soon.
  4. STAGE 4: CONSCIOUSLY COMPETENT: EPIPHANY! Then one day, all the sudden, you’re walking along, multi-tasking with your blackberry in one hand, maintenance work orders in the other hand, picking up trash/stuffing it your pockets, and just as you round the corner, your leasing agent and maintenance guy are waiting with an angry resident in tow. You have 10 minutes to compose yourself and your office before your apartment owners/asset manager/big-wigs come for their annual visit. You smile, look at your crew, and say, “What a beautiful day outside. Let’s talk about what’s bothering you so you can enjoy the rest of the morning!” An epiphany hits and you realize, I LOVE this crazy industry/job/career, and if not for the variety, people, experiences, life could be SOOOO boring! I’m GETTING IT! WHOOHOO!

Loss of new hires usually occurs at STAGE 2. Before you give up or before you allow YOUR new hire to give up! Realize, IT’s OK. Give it time, and you’ll GET IT.

Since I’ve started to tell every new employee I hire about these stages and open the door for honest discussion, give them permission and encourage them to vent to me during STAGE 2, my employee turnover has dropped significantly. In addition – those people will come vent, talk and sometimes cry in my office – but 90 days later, they are laughing with me, hugging me, and asking for new projects and challenges. I LOVE this crazy apartment industry!

Don’t GET IT? RENT SODA! GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota MN

CEO/President

RENTSODA-small

Business, Operations & Marketing Consulting to the Apartment Industry

Web: RentSoda.com Email: Daisy {at} RentSoda(.)com

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RENT SODA Welcomes Jim Baumgartner!

Jul 6th, 2010
by daisynguyen.
2 comments

It’s July, and RENT SODA is shaking it up once again – with groundbreaking news: (drum roll please!)

WELCOME JIM BAUMGARTNER to team RENT SODA!

With the addition of Jim, we are adding more texture to the RENT SODA landscape through rich experience & ideas. Our end result will remain the same: striving to help RENT SODA clients achieve excellence and success in the evolving marketplace.

And now, a note from JIM:

The Year of the Tiger!

Last February several friends commented that this year—the Year of the Tiger in the Chinese calendar—was my year.  They predicted a year of change!  I had my doubts but they were right.

My last day as Vice President of Operations for Bigos Management was June 25th.  After over four amazing years it was time to move on to new challenges—the urge to shake it up struck!  I am thankful for the amazing people and experiences I have enjoyed.  During my time at Bigos we built several new projects—including the amazing Lowertown Lofts in Downtown St. Paul, The Gables at Park Pointe in St. Louis Park and a new office building in Golden Valley.  We also started a new quarterly training/personnel development program, maintenance zone restructure, implemented energy-saving measures and came through the recession several percentage points better than industry average.  It has been good!

Now for the change—I have joined Daisy Nguyen at Rent Soda where I will be developing training programs, assessing the feasibility of new developments, creating marketing programs and assisting clients in achieving excellence amongst many other exciting things. 

Please take a moment to update my contact information:

Cell:  612-710-0546

Email: Jim {at} RentSoda(.)com

Web:  Http://rentsoda.com

Look for me on Facebook/LinkedIn/Twitter: JimWBaumgartner

Watch for exciting new updates and announcements over the next couple of weeks.  If you have any questions or would like to learn more about Rent Soda please feel free to contact Daisy or me.

Don’t GET IT? RENT SODA! GET IT!

-Cheers!

Jim Baumgartner in Minneapolis, MN

Senior Vice President, RENT SODA

 RENTSODA-small

Business, Operations & Marketing Consulting to the Apartment Industry

Web: RentSoda.com   Email: Jim {at} RentSoda(.)com

DON’T GET IT? RENT SODA!GET IT!

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GET OUT of HERE! How To GET IT When You’re In A Rut

Jun 28th, 2010
by daisynguyen.
4 comments

It can be hard to always be ON. It can be hard to GET IT all the time. Whether that means being CREATIVE, ENERGETIC, FRESH, SUNNY, SOCIAL, PATIENT, or POSITIVE. When you go to the same office (apartment complex/corporate office/etc.) everyday, talk to the same people every day, or drink the same kool-aid every day, you can get into a rut. All of the sudden, you don’t get it anymore! You are in a perpetual Ground Hog Day movie. From there it’s downhill – you become bored, you question your career choice, you drag you feet, you complain, and you become reactive rather than proactive. Next thing you know, you’re blaming others for you lack of motivation and not taking responsibility for your predicament. What stage of this slippery slope are you in? Does this sound familiar? Just coming back from the National Apartment Association (NAA) Education Conference, my brain if overflowing with ideas, there is an extra hoppity skip in my step, my fingers are flying over the keyboard at lightening speed, and images of sugar plums are dancing through my head. Seriously, I am just electric right now! I am once again reminded that a change of scenery, meeting new people, listening to new ideas, being reminded of great old ideas, making new friends, and having FUN – can do WONDERS for your creativity, productivity and energy level. If you have the opportunity, I HIGHLY recommend attending conferences in your area of expertise/interest and surrounding yourself by this type of energy. It can be a national conference, or a local conference. Don’t just ATTEND – fully IMMERSE yourself into the middle of all that positive activity, fully ENGAGE and SOAK up as much as your head and your heart can handle. It does wonders for productivity!

And if you can’t attend a conference or two here and there – create your own opportunities to feel excitement. Leave your office for 30 minutes (when you can of course) and immerse yourself into something TOTALLY different, have lunch with a colleague, look at art, eat something mouth watering, go to the gym, or do whatever it takes to get your heart pumping and energy level up. Feel ALIVE, and watch how “work, work, work…” becomes “fun, fun, fun!”

If you’re a cynic and this sounds like too much work for you, too far out, or <insert your excuse here> , here are my favorite quick fixes to get out of a rut:

Want to get motivated? Check out Gary Vaynerchuk CRUSHES it! …here’s a short excerp, “…There’s no reason to do SH*T you hate…you can loose just as much money being happy as hell!” httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhqZ0RU95d4

Check out this little girl in How To Stay Positive…here’s a short excerp, “…I like my WHOLE house…I can do anything good…better than anyone.” Not only does this one make me feel good, but if a 4 year old can do it, so can I! httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR3rK0kZFkg

I Want To Be a Billionaire – Travie McCoyMusic Video - forget about the profanity, but this song just makes me snap my fingers and skip along no matter what’s going on! httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aRor905cCw

I have several exciting blog posts coming out of this my trip to NAA in NOLA – watch for them to follow shortly. I’m TOTALLY pumped. Are you?

Don’t GET IT? RENT SODA! GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota MN

CEO

RENTSODA-small

Business, Operations & Marketing Consulting to the Apartment Industry

Web: RentSoda.com   Email: Daisy {at} RentSoda(.)com

Become a fan of RENTSODA on facebook.  Connect with RENTSODA on LinkedIn!

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Good Customer Service is Dead! Where is the LOVE?

Mar 8th, 2010
by daisynguyen.
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You read it right -GOOD Customer Service is DEAD. Where is the LOVE?

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpYeekQkAdc

(Video: Black Eyed Peas – Where is the Love?)

This is actually good news – If you are one of the few apartment communities that consistently provides good customer service, you are WAY ahead of the game. Even if you THINK you’re doing a great job, this article will be an EYE OPENER. Read on! (This blog-post was inspired by a recent blog post and discussion initiated my Brent Williams – read his original article here.

In today’s market, the BEST way to control vacancy is to close that back door – meaning KEEP your current residents! Don’t let them leave! We all know it costs us a WHOLE lot less to keep a current resident than it is to turn an apartment and find a new resident! The few prospects that ARE in the market for a new apartments – they KNOW they are a WANTED commodity, SO they are shopping for the best deal. Our current residents? They want a good deal too – however, more than wanting a good deal – they want to feel good about choosing to spend their money with YOU.

GOOD Customer Service is Dead! Where is the LOVE?

So why is this good news? Good customer service can be IMPROVED. It’s not like a location or an expensive amenity.

YOU have the power the improve this! 

Not only do you have CONTROL over this, based on some recent experiences (See Brent Williams blog about his renewal experience here), it wouldn’t take much these days to stand out from everyone else.

I LOVE shoe shopping. My favorite place to shop for shoes? Nordstrom’s shoe department. They tend to have pretty good customer service overall - but NOT all customer service is created equal. I have found that when my regular salesman, (let’s call him Adam) helps me, I will leave the store with at least 3 pairs of shoes. And when it’s someone else – most times I leave empty handed. Why? Everyone is extremely helpful and cheerful – its Nordstrom’s after all! But when Adam helps me, he makes me feel like the ONLY person who SHOULD be wearing THOSE shoes, should be ME. (“Darling! Those shoes were MADE for you!” or my favorite, “I won’t be able to look at those shoes on someone else’s feet the same way EVER again. And I have 6 pairs left back there!” It’s partly how he treats me when I am trying on shoes, but in the course of getting to know me, he has gotten to KNOW ME. He knows what my style is (knows the labels that typically appeal to me), he’s gotten to know what my preferences are (LOVE PINK, RED, GOLD), he knows my foot size. AND he tells me when something is NOT right. (“Friends don’t let friends wear THOSE out.”) I’ve learned from my shoe experience and have singled out a GREAT sales person in each department or store that I frequent. I don’t put up with bad customer service, and believe me. BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE happens to GOOD PEOPLE – ALOT more frequently than we care to admit – especially when it comes to our own communities!

Learn from Nordstrom’s – in a time when EVERY other store is having a sale EVERY WEEK, they seldom have sales. I pay full price every time I shop there – but I feel GOOD doing it.

THAT’s what your current residents want from you – make them feel GOOD about spending their money with YOU. SHOW THEM THE LOVE.

As I mentioned previously, BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE happens to GOOD PEOPLE. I have noticed that in this economic time, it is EXTREMELY hard to find good customer service. Many times, when I am out and about, shopping, dining, etc. Mediocre or bad service is so common – in fact it IS the norm. Customer service people are talking to each other, ignoring customers, acting as if somehow, the presence of a customer waiting for service actually is a nuisance! At some restaurants, especially during non-peak hours, the service is downright poor. Why is this?

A recent discussion at my local apartment association, MHA (Minnesota Multi-Housing Association) zoned in on the fact – it’s NOT that we (as customer service providers) don’t KNOW what GOOD customer service is. Bad news & bad attitudes are everywhere. It’s a depressed market. WE feel it, we are stressed, we are strapped on time, our budgets have been cut, our payroll hours have been limited, pay freezes. YOU name it, we’ve all experienced more bad news than most of us have ever experienced or care to remember. We’re not the ONLY ones this is happening to! Our residents, prospects, clients are experiencing this TOO. 

Back to resident retention and good customer service at your community. The one place where your resident spends the majority of their time is at HOME – at YOUR apartment community. The biggest check they write EVERY month is a rent check to YOUR community. The ONE place where we don’t want to feel the everyday pressures of a bad economy, depressed market, bad news is at HOME. Your community is HOME for every one of your residents. It’s not enough to say “good morning,” or “how are you?” when your resident comes home in the evening. Get to KNOW them! Have a genuine interest in your residents. You should know who are the frequent fitness buffs, which ones are early starters, which ones have pets, etc! Talk to your residents, engage in positive interactions with your residents, get their input. Get to KNOW them! Even if YOUR community has 500 or more residents, it is nowhere near the kind of traffic Nordstrom’s gets on a weekend. Learn from the best and forget the rest!

SHOW YOUR RESIDENTS THE LOVE.

If the only conversations you are having with your residents is when they sign their lease, when they are late on rent, and when they renew, SOMETHING IS WRONG. Where is the LOVE there? If you’re only dealing with “customer service issues” (i.e. complaints) instead of receiving letters or thanks and praise from your residents, the customer service at your community is lacking. There are hundreds of ways to have positive interactions through-out the course of a resident’s lease term. Create THOSE opportunities, and make it a part of EVERYONE’s responsibility on site.

SHOW YOUR RESIDENTS THE LOVE.

Don’t GET IT? RENT SODA! GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota MN

CEO

RENTSODA-small

Business, Operations & Marketing Consulting to the Apartment Industry

Web: RentSoda.com   Email: Daisy {at} RentSoda(.)com

Become a fan of RENTSODA on facebook.  Connect with RENTSODA on LinkedIn!

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Lack of Motivation? Leasing Stalled? How to Change Your Tune

Feb 24th, 2010
by daisynguyen.
11 comments

All this talk about a depression, soft market and price drops. OH MY! Not to mention pay freezes, working twice as hard for half as much traffic, it’s not a wonder that there is a lack of motivation out there. How do we change this and re-invigorate our teams, win leases, and enjoy our jobs once again? The apartment industry is an awesome industry – how do we stop singing the blues and bring that skip back into our step?

If you talk to my friends, business partners and co-workers, they will tell you I am a HAPPY person, always with a smile, a laugh, sunshine in my eyes, and a skip in my step. How do I keep the skip in my step, even in the midst of all this bad news?

It’s as simple as changing your tune – literally.

Have you ever noticed when you walk into a fitness facility, there’s upbeat booty-shaking music piped through the gym? Or visit a spa, and they have relaxing music with wind chimes or the sound of water? Different retailers like Gap, Express, The Limited all have specific soundtracks they play in their retail stores. At Nordstrom’s, depending on the department you are standing in, there is different music – all eliciting a different mood.

(Picture provided by William Hamon on Flickr through Creative Commons license.)

Music is one of those things that can instantly put YOU in a different mood. If you’re in a bad mood – why not change your tune and get into a GOOD mood? Feeling a little slow? Put on some finger-snapping upbeat music and see how long you stay groggy. Feeling like nothing is going your way? Listen to something that lifts you UP. Change your tune, change your mindset, and see where it takes you!

Here are a couple of my favorite mood enhancing tracks:

If I just need to get moving in the morning, Gigi D’Agostino’s La Passion gets me going! (actually, anything Techno can do that to you!)

Disney’s Hakuna Matata always makes me laugh.

Hawaiian Iz’s Somewhere Over the Rainbow is uplifting…

If I need to add some attitude to my day, I listen to Michael Jackson’s Beat It.

If I have a LONG project, OR if I’m coming into a tough meeting and need some motivation, I listen to Survivor’s Eye of the Tiger.

When dealing with tough situations or dramatic people, I listen to Craig David’s I’m Walking Away. (I DO come back to address the problem, but it’s nice to know you can walk away – at least for a little bit!)

I listen to these songs while I’m getting ready for my day, in the car, where ever I can, or whenever I need a quick change in tune.

We normally associate mood-alteration with drugs – why not music?

I recently wrote an article about setting intentions. In conjunction with setting your intentions for a successful day, a successful week, and a successful career. Music is one of those small adjustments you can make to GET you in the right positive frame of mind to GET THERE. You can read my article on setting intentions here.

What do you listen to that changes you mood and sets the tone for a productive day?

Don’t get it? RENT SODA. GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota MN

CEO

RENTSODA-small

Business, Operations & Marketing Consulting to the Apartment Industry

Web: RentSoda.com   Email: Daisy {at} RentSoda(.)com

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Being Shy About Business Won’t Win Leases – How to Take Your Competition OUT!

Feb 22nd, 2010
by daisynguyen.
2 comments

Everyone knows – being shy about business – especially leasing, won’t win you any leases. Have fears or doubts? Your prospects can smell it a mile away -and so can your competion. So what WILL win you leases? 

This is a picture of me in 2nd grade. I had just transferred to a new school. I was a toothless, innocent, unsure and extremely SHY child with ONE WISH: More than anything in the world, I wanted to make friends. Being shy didn’t win me any friends. And to make matters worse, I was the smallest child in the class. Who gets bullied around the most? Well, the weakest link of course – MOI. How do you win friends in this environment? 

Fast forward to today’s apartment leasing world: That toothless, SHY, unsure child pictured is YOUR property. The bullies out in the world are your competition. They’re bigger, better, faster, have deeper pockets, YOU name it, they’re IT. You’re feeling overwhelmed, underappreciated, and more than ANYTHING, you not only WANT new leases, you NEED new leases. How do you win leases in this environment? 

As a child, I had one thing in abundance – IMAGINATION. In my mind’s eye, I imagined that I came into school one day, and I had all my teeth! I then imagined that I approached all the students in my class and introduced myself. I imagined skipping out to recess holding hands with my new friends. I imagined being picked FIRST for the dodge ball team. For some reason, DOUBT, FEAR, UNCERTAINTY, would find me even in my imagination! Even in my wildest dreams (Being picked first for dodge ball? Little ole me? THAT is a WILD dream at best!), my bully was THERE. And he had the ball, had it aimed RIGHT at me. 

If you know the rules of dodge ball, you know there are only 2 ways to take someone OUT: 1.) You hit them with a LIVE ball. 2.) You catch a LIVE ball that is aimed at you. And you better believe, my big bully had mastered the art of whipping that ball quick and hard – at ME! He liked to get that ball first, and take me out – as a warning to everyone else that he was coming for them NEXT.

Day after day, even in my imagination, my bully was there, whipping the ball at me. He’d always hit me, and I’d always limp off in pain. Then one day, I IMAGINED that I caught that ball. What an epiphany! AND BOY did that feel good! I imagined it again and again. I replayed it in my mind. In slow motion, in fast motion. I dissected that moment of impact. And I planned like an obsessed mad scientist, exactly how, when and where I would catch that ball. Until finally one day, that doubt, fear, and uncertainty was gone. In its place, was my INTENTION: I was going to take that bully OUT. 

I’m NOT going to tell you it was easy, OR tell you that the next day, I went to recess and immediately caught that dodge ball – because that’s not how it happened. BUT, what I DID: I started trying harder. I stopped being shy and afraid. I reached out and made new friends. I smiled; I was charming, I was no longer afraid. As a coping mechanism, I actually avoided my bully as much as I could. I was hit many times by that bully’s dodge ball – but I was no longer afraid of him. It wasn’t until the 4th grade in gym class that I finally turned around, looked him in the eye, and caught that ball and took him OUT. Not only did I take him OUT, I took him out in the first minute of the game. THAT was the highlight of my entire 4th grade year.

What does this have to do with apartment leasing? That bully is all your competition. Those dodge balls are all your objections. And believe me they are YOUR objections to YOUR own success. It could be that you don’t have amenities to speak of, it could be that your building is dated, it could be that you are forced to compete in a world filled of concessions and yours aren’t worthy of the competition, or it could be YOUR own self-doubt about your selling abilities. Whatever IT is – you’ve bought into those objections hook, line and sinker. 

Now, as an adult, this might be harder to do, but IMAGINE your prospect walking in. Imagine how that leasing process SHOULD occur. Do the objections come up? That’s OK. In your mind’s eye, take care of those objections. Dissect it, play it in slow motion, play it forward, whatever it takes. Don’t just glaze over or erase those objections – take them ON head-on. Address them! Imagine your leasing process until it becomes one that feels GOOD to you – and you see yourself WINNING that lease. Once you have THAT process in your mind down, imagine THAT winning process over and over again. Imagine that you WILL WIN. Take that competition OUT!

 And as an adult, I no longer call it a WILD imagination. I call it setting my INTENTION. I’ve gotten much better at it over the years. It doesn’t take me 2 years to figure out how to be successful. Whatever the challenge is, I let my imagination run wild, set my intentions, and WIN.

Believe me when I say, that 2nd playground was a lot harder to overcome than most of the hurdles in my life, but it taught me how to win. I keep that struggle and triumph close to my heart, and pull from that experience many times in life. How about you?

Don’t get it? RENT SODA. GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota MN

CEO

RENTSODA-small

Business & Marketing Consulting to the Apartment Industry

Web: RentSoda.com   Email: Daisy {at} RentSoda(.)com

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Apartment Jobs: From Resume to Job Offer: How to get the CALL!

Feb 10th, 2010
by daisynguyen.
No comments yet

I LOVE American Idol. At the audition stage in the game, when the judges are trying to find the best talent in each city, in 10 seonds or less, they can tell whether someone MIGHT have what it takes to “Be The NEXT American Idol.”

In some ways, American Idol is very similar to the resume-interview-callback-job offer process. The end result is the same: Every company is looking for their NEXT rockstar. Are you IT?

(Picture provided by nickel.media on Flickr through creative commons license.)

Not feeling so much like a rockstar? For every apartment jobs listing I post, I receive somewhere between 100- 250 resumes. How do you stand out in the sea of paper, shine at your interview, get called back for a 2nd interview and land that job?

YOUR Resume = The Audition

Receiving over 100 resumes is not fun. I’ve got it down, much like the American Idol judges, in 10 seconds or less, I determine if the candidate is ”qualified” enough to get to the next stage. How do you stand out in 10 seconds or less?

Less is more. Don’t send in a 3 page resume. I’ll never read the entire thing in 10 seconds. With over 100 resumes, my job is to screen candidates OUT. Don’t risk getting screened out too soon by providing me all that information – and much of it being irrelevant to the job I have to offer. Shorten it up. Focus on the relevant points, and shorten up the rest. Oh, and follow directions folks! If the job posting asks for references, give me references. If it asks for your salary range, provide that. If it asks you to enter your entire resume into an online system – do THAT and do it well. If you can’t follow instructions, I might assume you can’t follow instructions…

The Phone Screen = The 1st Round

Out of 100+ resumes, I’ll narrow it down it about 20-30 candidates.  The phone screen is used to help me get some basic information about you, and narrow the scope down to 5-10 good candidates. AGAIN, to screen you out! AND, at least for me, and most of the hiring managers I know, its SOLE purpose is to determine if you’re at least SANE enough, positive/upbeat, courteous. VERY basic stuff, but you’d be surprised as to how many people blow off the phone screen, as if it weren’t important. Just because a secretary, assisstant or HR intern is conducting the phone interview doesn’t mean their opinion doesn’t count. Maybe its going to be your new boss! Whatever the case, be on your best behavior. My first and last question of my phone screeners usually is: How did the candidate treat you? If you are mean, rude, late, eat while you’re on the phone, ask inappropriate questions or say inappropriate things, this information IS passed along to the hiring manager. And if the decision maker is me, treating my assistant like poop is a sure way of letting me know you will probably treat the community’s residents like poop. Just as American Idol has CRAZY people who audition, you’d be surprised how many “qualified” people (on paper) are actually as crazy as some of these auditions! Be sane, positive, courteous, and you’ll cruise to the next phase.

THE Interview = Round 2

CONGRATULATIONS! You made it to the interviewing stage! Now what? This is the time to sing your heart out. Show them what you are made of. Prior to the interview, research the company, and if available, your hiring manager. So much information is available on the internet these days. LinkedIn is AWESOME! Use the information, and use some of the same words from their website, their mission statement, maybe the LINKEDIN profile, as you are talking about yourself & your work. KNOW your strengths & weaknesses, and be honest about them! Employers like honesty, and they like to see a candidate that knows what they bring to the table, as well as where they can use training and support. If your interviewer is talkative, let them talk! If they ask short questions, ask them to elaborate. The longer your interview is, the bigger impression you are making, and the more opportunity you are giving yourself to make a bigger impression! Ask relevant, thought-provoking questions that pertain to the job and the company. Your questions will tell your interviewer what kind of thinker you are. If you don’t ask any good questions, they’ll assume you don’t think much…

The Call-Back = Round 3

So, you WOWED them. Not only were you qualified, you proved to be sane, courteous, on-time, AND TALENTED. There’s a connection, and this is when the BIG guns are called in. Some companies will call you back for a “2nd interview. Sometimes it is with a the boss’s boss (department head) or sometimes it is with a key subordinate. Whatever the case, you need to impress these people. These people are the advisors to the decision maker. If the hiring manage is on the fence about you, the advisor can swing their decision. Again, be kind, courteous, positive. Find a way to connect with these guys. They don’t have their guard up as much as the hiring manager or the phone screener. However, this is not the time to ask inappropriate questions. Any and ALL information WILL be passed back to the hiring manager! Use some of what you learned in the first interview to ask relevant questions and get to know the team more.

The Job Offer = THIS is THE NEXT American IDOL!

CONGRATULATIONS! You’ve made it to the job offer table. THIS is where you can ask more pertinent questions (and not before!) with regards to salary, benefits, scheduling, etc. They’ve made the decision that they want YOU. If you have committments (i.e. I play softball in the summer and need to leave work early on Wednesdays during June – August), this is a good time to mention it, but leave room to move-on. If what they are offering isn’t what you need, request to come in with a list of questions. (Face to face meetings are recommended over email or phone.) Gauge their response when negotiating in person, and be ready to present your counter offer, or negotiate other terms. (In this market, unless you are applying for a top level position, negotiations are not recommended.) Smile, be thankful, let them know how exited you are – even while negotiating!

Whatever stage of the process you are in, wo matter what, always thank them for the call/interview/2nd interview/job offer, and reiterate how exiting it was for you to go through the process with them. If you decline an offer, always do it graciously, and thank them for the opportunity. You never know where your NEXT opportunity will be or who your next interviewer will be! Apartment Jobs – the good ones, the ones that fit your needs, are good to find. Keep those doors open!

Other tips? Leave me a comment!

Don’t get it? RENT SODA. GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota MN

CEO

RENTSODA-small

Business & Marketing Consulting to the Apartment Industry

Web: RentSoda.com   Email: Daisy {at} RentSoda(.)com

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What Kind of Job are YOU Looking For? Anything Less Than the Best is a Felony!

Feb 8th, 2010
by daisynguyen.
3 comments

Apartment Jobs: Phone screens & job interviews have 1 purpose: to screen candidates OUT. Yes, you read it right. It’s to screen YOU out. Of course your interviewer is trying to find the perfect candidate for their job opening, but with hundreds of resumes per job listing, the #1 priority of a recruiter/interviewer is to screen candidates OUT so that what’s left is 2-3 great candidates. 

If their goal is to screen candidates out, what is your goal when interviewing? How do you GET IN? 

I have spent the last several weeks helping a couple of clients find the PERFECT candidate for their job listings. In the past 10 years, I have conducted hundreds of interviews – hired LOTS of great folks (and a handful of not so great…but that’s another article) I have refined my interviewing techniques, and know EXACTLY what to look for in a candidate, what are the red flags (the CRAZY-loo’s), what to ask, how to drill down to the truth (and how to use those questions/answers as a future training tool), etc. Believe me when I say this: YOUR interviewer has perfected these skills too. So again, the question is, how do YOU land the perfect job for YOU? 

In this job market, when looking for apartment jobs, you might be unemployed, you might be in between jobs, you might be looking for a change. Whatever the case, the MOST IMPORTANT part of this equation is YOU: 

What are YOU looking for in a job? 

 STOP, COLLABORATE, and LISTEN! Do you GET IT yet? The most important part of this equation IS you. What are you looking for in a job? (Oh, and yes, this is a Vanilla Ice reference.)  

Instead of trying to fit into someone else’s job description, why not KNOW what YOU want, what you NEED, and find THAT job? Turn the job hunt upside down and start with the person who matters the most – YOU. My most meaningful and lasting placements are those where both parties are getting exactly what they want. 

To help YOU better determine what kind of company & apartment job YOU are looking for, ask yourself: 

  1. Is career advancement important to me? If it is, you will want to look for a company that offers & believes in career advancement. These will typically be your medium to large companies – as they have those positions available. A smaller company may not have as many opportunities. – But don’t rule small companies out for advancement. Sometimes, in order for the small companies to find get great candidates for their top positions, they invest the most in the current employees. Questions to ask if career advancement is important to you: What is the typical career path for a <insert job title here – i.e. Leasing Agent, Community Manager, etc.> at your company? What kind of training and support do you offer to someone who would like to advance? Pay close attention to these answers, as you will be able to determine if a company truly DOES want to advance their employees, or just goes through the motions.
  2. Does having a life outside of work, a priority for you? (I know some of you are laughing, but this IS a question you should honestly answer.) Many times career advancement (Look at question #1 above) will not work with having a life. Many companies I know that have career advancement opportunities also have the best people working for them. Competition is STIFF for career advancement, and in order to get ahead, you’ll have to put in extra time and effort to stand apart from the crowd. Factor this into your decision. Questions to ask if time is important to you: What is the typical work schedule? What are my expected hours? How many after-hours meetings should can I expect?
  3. Is meaningful work important to you? For instance, do you need to work for a “greater good?” Are you feeling the need to “give back?” If you do, its time you looked into working for non-profit organizations in the area. I see this happen many times after someone has put int 10-15 years of service in the industry – and they want something more meaningful. There are TONS of great non-profits in the industry that could use your expertise. Just because a company is non-profit doesn’t mean that you have to work for free! In addition, some for-profit companies understand this need, and offer ways for their employees to participate in non-profits. If you are interviewing with a for-profit company, but you want opportunities to give back, Questions to ask if ”giving back” is important to you:  Do you currently partner with any non-profit organizations? Are their opportunities to volunteer, and if so, what are they? Questions to ask if you are interviewing with a non-profit organization: What is your mission? What communities/groups do you serve? How do you best serve those communities/groups? What makes your non-profit stand out from others? If you are looking for more meaning in your life, make sure that the non-profit you decide to work for has a mission/value system that you can believe in and support. There’s no meaning, if it doesn’t MEAN anything to YOU.
  4. Do you need training/support because the position you are applying for is a little bit of a reach for you? Be honest with yourself, and ask the questions of your potential new employer, to see if they have the right support system for you to succeed. Be honest with your new employer. Let them know what you bring to the table that is valuable, but then ask these questions if proper training/support is important in order for you to succeed: What will the first 90 days look like? What is the training program for new employees? How often will I meet with my trainer/mentor/supervisor? If you are reaching for a job that you feel you CAN potentially do with the right training and support – be honest and let them know this, and FIND OUT if they DO have the training/support you need to be successful!
  5. Is “having discretion” to make decisions and work independently important to you? Ask yourself this question, and look deep to find the answers. Most people want a boss that will “leave them alone and let them do their job,” but when they do encounter THAT boss, they don’t know how to perform their duties without more direction. OR, they are unwilling to take on the responsibilities or consequences of being the decision maker. Sometimes I hear people tell me they want they want training & support (#4 above) but in the next breathe, they “don’t want to be micro-managed.” To an interviewer like me, this is a schizophrenic employee, and one that will be EXTREMELY hard to manage/train/support. On the one hand they want training/support, but on the other hand, they don’t want someone to tell them how to do their job. Questions to ask if being able to work independently is important to you: What kinds of decisions am I expected to make on a daily/weekly basis? What kinds of responsibilities and consequences do those decision-making powers come with?
  6. What are you good at? What do you enjoy? What do you dislike? We all want to be able to do a good job. YOU should know what are your strengths & weaknesses. And be honest. Find a position that capitalizes on your strengths, and has support for your weaknesses. For instance, if you are great with people, but not so great with numbers, you need to find out how much of your time will be spent managing relationships, and how much of your time is expected with financial responsibilities. If the splits is 80% people-oriented, with 20% financial analysis with the help of a bookkeeper, than GREAT. BUT, if those numbers were reversed, be honest.

The best place to start in a new job hunt is to start with the ONE thing you KNOW best: YOURSELF. Be honest with yourself on what kind of job you are looking for. Target THOSE jobs, and watch how the offers roll in! 

In the words of Vanilla Ice: “Anything less than the best is a felony.” 

Do you agree? Disagree? Are there questions you want to add? Leave a comment! 

Don’t get it? RENT SODA. GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota MN

CEO

RENTSODA-small

Business & Marketing Consulting to the Apartment Industry

Web: RentSoda.com   Email: Daisy {at} RentSoda(.)com

Become a fan of RENTSODA on facebook.  Connect with RENTSODA on LinkedIn!

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