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Facing Failure: Why Excuses Never Lease Apartments

Mar 15th, 2011
by jameswb.
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OWN IT

At some point in my career I realized that owning up to my mistakes made sense.  I am a perfectionistic over-achiever so this was not an easy thing for me to do.  I always want to do it right and to be seen as doing it right—there is a fair amount of pride attached to that.

However, I saw that covering mistakes or covertly fixing them after-the-fact involved more blood, sweat and stress than I was comfortable with.  Invariably, when I admitted my omission or mistake, my boss would offer direction or advice.  (Both of these responses helped me grow.)  Rarely was it anything to cause my boss’ blood pressure to rise.  In fact, it would allow for constructive dialogue and open communication.

I also realized that when I failed at something I had to face the failure head-on.  I had counseled employees that failure is a course in the University of Life.  We pay the tuition, learn from our mistakes and move on.  In addition, as a supervisor/mentor/coach I couldn’t help my team if they didn’t bring the problem to me. 

 

REFRAIN FROM THE BLAME GAME

Another great temptation is to play the blame game.  “I didn’t get that report to you when you wanted it because accounting didn’t deliver the revised numbers on time.”  “We didn’t hit our occupancy goal for March because traffic is slow/the ads are bad/no one is qualified.”

No one is to blame except for me. 

Conversely, no one can fix it except for me.  When leasing apartments (as in every other area in life) success is all in our approach and mind-set.  Sure, your ad might be bad but your job is to figure out what is wrong with it, shout it to the world and see that it gets fixed.  Or take matters into your own hands and start a rotation of Craigslist ads.  The same is true for slow traffic:  what can you do to generate more?  Who do you know?  Who can you call?  Can you go through old guest cards and start making calls?  How about the guest cards from last year?  Chances are your old prospects are facing renewals wherever they landed and perhaps are regretting their decision NOT to rent from you last time.  As for all of the unqualified traffic (there IS a lot of it and we will see more) make sure your prospects understand your Resident Selection Criteria.  If someone is close to being approvable, help them clean up their credit (NOTE:  We are not credit reporting bureaus and cannot reveal what is on their credit reports; however, you should refer them to whoever does your checks so they can see what is on it.)  Prepare a handout with resources for credit counseling; discuss policy changes to allow for co-signers, etc.

Or you could wait for someone to fix it for you.  But be prepared for a long wait.

ASSESS IT

Facing failure means being honest with yourself.  Step out of your head for a second.  The goal is to strip the emotions away.  It’s just you—no one is watching this and recording it to use against you later!  Honestly ask yourself:  How could I have done this better?  Why didn’t I ask for the sale?  Was I afraid?  What am I afraid of?  Be relentlessly truthful with yourself. 

If you are responsible for leasing apartments at your property, the fastest way to success is to stay at 95%-plus (depending on your company philosophy).  In the world of apartments, bonuses are based on income, the ability to make upgrades to your property is based on income and salary increases are based on income.  It is all a numbers game.  If you close 30% of your prospects, and you have nine apartments available, you need 30 prospects.  (If you are closing at 50%, you just need 15.  Sadly, if you close at 15% you need 60!  Has anyone figured out that life gets easier—meaning you have more free time—if your closing ratio is higher?!)  If your closing ratio is low, ask yourself why?  Research closing techniques, ask your company experts for help and advice, and ask someone with a great closing ratio to mentor you.  The only one who can do this is you.

You will find that if you are in the mindset of blaming and shifting responsibility you will be unsuccessful and unhappy.  I love loving to go to work!  We spend a lot of time there.  Why not face your frustrations and failures squarely, address and fix them so you can love work again?  Oh—and as a result you will rent a lot of apartments and then your team will love having you at work too!

Cheers!  Jim Baumgartner | Rent Soda

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5 Things To Do NOW to Deter Crime From Your Apartment Community

Sep 1st, 2010
by daisynguyen.
3 comments

Crime is an issue in any apartment community. Because apartments communities are denser populations, your apartment complex can be appealing to criminals – in a short amount of time, over a short distance of space, they have access to a higher number of “opportunities.” What are some affordable tips that you can implement NOW that can help deter crime from your apartment communities?

5 Things YOU Can Do NOW to Deter Crime From Your Apartment Communities:

  1. Take care of graffiti as soon as possible. Leaving a graffiti tag on your building only sends the message that your management either doesn’t care or is lax in the maintenance of the building. If you are lax with the maintenance of the building, would be thieves may believe you will be lax with the security of the building, the legal process, etc.
  2. Install good lightening around the perimeter of your community/apartment building. When I spoke with the Minneapolis police department, they don’t recommend motion lightening in favor of lightening that is turned on a dusk and off at dawn. Their reason: crooks will run into a dark alley, along a dark street and look for opportunities. Even if the lights come on once they on that street or alley, you’ve invited them in. Rather, light the streets and alleys, and those same crooks will avoid your street/alley way altogether.
  3. Leave windows to public areas unobstructed & lighted. Again, the best deterrent in crime is the appearance that the entire neighborhood could be watching. Especially where your community space may face a busy street, make sure the view into the space (i.e. community room) is not obstructed by potted plants, trees, etc. Thieves don’t want to be seen when they are thieving. Where possible, install motion lightening in your interior public spaces – if someone were to break into your community room or office after hours, the space will light up, and with the windows unobstructed, any activity going on in your community room has the possibility of being seen by all.
  4. Plant thorny vines or plants along walls or fences to deny access & prevent graffiti. If you have an area that is frequently tagged with graffiti, have an area that attracts unwanted activity, or have a wall that you want to keep people off – plant thorny vines or bushes. Nobody likes to be pricked by rose bushes or thorny vines – even toughened criminals or your harmless neighborhood juveniles.
  5. In parking areas, like garages & parking lots, post signs to remind residents and guests to lock their cars and take their valuables with them.

Don’t be a willing victim. Without the right “opportunities” for criminals, they WILL move onto greener pastures – that don’t include your apartment buildings.

These are my favorite cost effective, affordable, easy to implement crime deterrents - what are yours?

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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“I’m So Glad You Called Today” – 4 Phone Tips to Turn a Call into an Apartment Tour

Aug 26th, 2010
by daisynguyen.
2 comments

Phones have been around for over 140 years, so answering the phone is nothing new – or is it?

Having a great telephone conversation is one of the best and most powerful apartment marketing/leasing techniques in our industry.

It sets the stage for the rest of the leasing experience for your apartment prospect. Are you putting your best foot forward?

In the apartment business, a successful prospect call is one where we turn the telephone apartment inquiry into an appointment. What are the best ways to turn a phone call into a apartment tour appointment?

These are  my

top favorite tried and true phone leasing techniques

to turn that apartment telephone inquiry into an apartment tour appointment:

  1. Once you have identified yourself, find a way to let your phone prospect know how happy you are that they called TODAY. – If your caller says they are looking for an apartment, you should respond with, “I’m so glad you called today!...” and follow-up the comment with your specials or other related comment. “I’m so happy you called today,” is a great way to pause the conversation and inject some personal positive attention to your caller.
  2. What’s in a name? EVERYTHING. If the caller gives you their name – use it. If they don’t, ask them for their name – and use it. People love to hear their names – it acknowledges the fact that they are an individual and not just another caller. It will help you bond with the person over the phone. Using someone’s name is very intimate. Get the name and USE it.
  3. If you are comfortable, assume that the caller wants to set an appointment, and give them a couple of choices of times you have available for an appointment. With all the information available on the internet, most of your callers already know enough about your apartment community/complex to be ready to set an appointment for the leasing tour. – Assume they want the tour and work on scheduling it. If you are not comfortable with assuming your caller wants an apartment tour, then ask them if they would like to schedule a tour.
  4. At the end of each call, always thank your apartment prospect by name for calling you!

Your call should go something like this:

RING RING!

You: Thank you for calling ABC Apartments, how may I help you? (smile!)

Caller: I’m interested in finding a 1 bedroom apartment.

You: My name is Daisy – Can I get your name?

Caller: My name is Jane.

You: Jane, I’m so happy you called today! We have some great looking 1 bedroom apartments that just became available. Do you have any particular preferences you want to share?

Caller: I want to be on the top floor.

You: Great! I have 2 apartments on the top floor overlooking the park, and …

…(more conversations, get prospect info, bond, etc.)

You: I have appointments available this Thursday at 10:15AM, 4:30PM or Friday afternoon or Saturday morning to tour our apartment community and see the apartments we have available. What time would work best for you?

Caller: Saturday morning at 10:00AM.

You: Jane, thanks so much for calling today, and I can’t wait to show you our community on Saturday at 10:00AM!

There are lots of telephone leasing techniques out there. The objective is to schedule that apartment tour. These are my favorite phone tips, what are yours?

By the way, I’m so glad you read my blog post today! THANK YOU!

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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Got VACANCY? Apartment Models – Is it a DO or DON’t or CAN’t Afford It?

Jul 29th, 2010
by daisynguyen.
2 comments

If you have vacant apartments, and thinking about modeling an apartment, you’re probably thinking, can you afford it?

You can’t afford NOT to have a model!

CONSIDER THIS:

  1. All new apartment developments I work with have apartment models. If the apartment has lots of different floor plans, especially if there are any odd angles, or funky spaces, or weird lighting, usually, the question isn’t “Should we have a model?” it turns to “How many models can we have?” Typically, when we do a model, the modeled floor plan leases up MUCH more quickly than other floor plans, leasing activity spikes, and the closing ratio’s rise.
  2. In the real estate world, (for-sale of single family homes), it is widely accepted that A.) Potential buyers make their decision to purchase a home in the first 30 seconds upon entering. First impression is the key! and B.) well staged homes sell for 30-50% faster than their counterparts. (Not only do they sell fast, they usually sell for MORE.) (real estate facts found here.)

Which feels more welcome to you? The vacant room or the staged/modeled family room?

What happened to that school of thought – give them a blank slate, and let them imagine it themselves! The reality is, people have stressful lives, they want immediate gratification, they want EASY. Why is television so much more popular than books these days? Television is easy gratification, no imagination needed. People don’t have to think after a long stressful day. Let’s give them EASY folks! Make it easy for your prospects to imagine living in your apartment community – in one of your apartments. After a long stressful day at the office, or a long day of apartment hunting, having imagination is the last thing on your prospect’s mind. Make it EASY for them! Make the model apartment feel welcoming!

The question always comes back to COST. If you have more than 10 vacant units at a time – you can’t afford NOT to have a model. Consider this example of vacancy loss:

OK, let’s make it easy and do the math. 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. (only 3 vacant apartments)

Fast forward to today, they are at 88% physical occupancy, which means they are at 12% vacancy or 12 vacant apartments. 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 Apartment Rents) x (# of Vacant Apartment Units)

$1000.00 x 3 vacant apartment 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, the apartment project is at 88% occupancy, the vacancy loss is:

$1000.00 x 12 vacant apartment 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)

If we apply the real estate facts – that well staged homes sell 30-50% faster than their vacant counterparts, how much does the $108,000.00 mean to this apartment project? The Owner/Developers/Investors? The apartment community manager?

If we can spend a couple thousand dollars (or a few thousand – depending on your budget, your property, and your clientele) and reduce the vacancy by 30-50% over the next couple of months, wouldn’t that model be TOTALLY worth it?

My next blog will focus on budget conscious tips for putting together a model! It doesn’t need to cost a FORTUNE to make an IMPRESSION! Please check back to read all about it!

Don’t GET IT? Make it EASY! 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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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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Apartment Communities: 10 Elements of an Effective Pet Policy

Mar 2nd, 2010
by daisynguyen.
1 comment

With vacancies at 10 year high’s, apartment communities are finding ways to become more appealing to the apartment dweller. An area that you can use to broaden your renter population: Pet Owners!

(The happy spirit pictured is my dog, Jazz, one of the happiest, most loving dogs EVER. I would never live someplace that does not allow me to bring this sweetie with me!)

If your community has historically been a no-pet community, or one where there are stringent pet restrictions, this maybe a good time to take a look at your pet policy, and see if there is room to broaden it. Here are some facts about pet owners:

The Humane Society’s statistics:

  1. 39% of US Households have 1 or more dogs.
  2. 33% of US Households have 1 or more cats.

The CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL states pets can:

Decrease Blood pressure
Decrease Cholesterol levels
Decrease Triglyceride levels
Decrease Feelings of loneliness

Increase opportunities for exercise and outdoor activities
Increase Opportunities for socialization

Sounds like a recipe for happy, healthy residents to me!

In a 2006 survey, roughly half of the pet households consider their pets to be family members. 

Family members! – that’s a pretty strong connection!

We have all heard or seen the worst of the worst when it comes to pets - right? Pets that have chewed through furniture, pet droppings, pet smells, pet dander, pet barking, un-ruly pets, etc! Don’t let this sway you. I was once an unruly child too…

Seriously, there are ways to set-up pet rules & guidelines to make pet ownership in an apartment community work for everyone.

10 ELEMENTS of a Good Pet Policy:

  1. Clearly define what kinds of pets you are going to accept. For instance, some communities will accept small dogs upto a certain weight. Other communities will accept dogs regardless of the size – but they may have breed restrictions. Do your research, and set criteria that best fit the needs and expectations of your community. (For instance, in communities where the size of the apartments are small, or where outdoor space for walking dogs is limited, it might make sense to restrict the size of dogs. In other communities where the size of the apartments are larger, and the community was built as a pet-friendly community, it may be a better option to accept all sizes, but decide on breed restrictions.)
  2. Decide how many pets are allowed per apartment.
  3. Establish a pet deposit or/or pet fees. This should be used to establish your community’s expectations of pet owners – let them know they are responsible for any damages inflicted by their pet.
  4. Establish whether or not you community will charge “pet rent.” I see this used in communities that have been built to be pet-friendly – meaning they have a dog park or dog walk area that may need some routine maintenance like weekly sanitation or other cleaning services. The “pet rent” usually helps to offset the cost of keeping those facilities clean and well-maintained.
  5. Establish penalties for resident who do not notify the management office of their pet. If you ARE allowing residents to own pets in your community, have everyone, even non-pet owners, sign the pet addendum. This establishes the fact that your community DOES accept pets, as well as outlines the penalties for not notifying management of a pet household member.
  6. Establish – when outside the resident’s apartment, a pet should be under the complete control of a responsible human companion at all times. Pets are not to be left alone, unattended or tied anywhere outside.
  7. If your community has common areas, establish which common areas pet owners can bring their pets. (I’ve seen pet friendly communities establish “no-pet” zones – like the fitness center, but keep everything else available to pets & their owners.)
  8. Establish clearly defined penalties if an owner does not clean up after their pet.
  9. Take a picture of the pet, get copies of their vaccinations & rabies shots, and keep this information in your resident’s file.
  10. For cats, decide if your community will accept cats that have claws, or declawed cats only.

What other pet rules/guidelines should be included? Please leave your comments & suggestions!

-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 Marketing: Get READY, Get SHARP – Call your ILS Account Rep!

Feb 2nd, 2010
by daisynguyen.
4 comments

1/12 of the year is over, and the clock is ticking. Have you made progress towards your occupancy goals, or have you started the year off already behind? Your PRIME leasing season is coming – are you ready? Whatever the case, the best way to maximize your upcoming leasing opener is to call your Internet Listing Service (ILS) account rep TODAY.

Why?

#1: ILS’s for the apartment industry are your BIGGEST source of traffic.

#2. Because you are UNDERUTILIZING all that they offer.

It’s time to Get READY, Get SHARP, CALL! Work smarter and pull ahead of your competition. Your ILS partner can help.

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

ILS technologies change all the time. In the apartment industry, we complain all the time, and the few people who actually listen to us and DO something about it is our ILS’s. The technology changes constantly, there are new marketing/advertising packages out there, new reporting capabilities. Want to know what is working and what isn’t working? The one person who would know, AND willing to share with you their vast sea of knowledge is your ILS representative. The advice, training, and information your Internet Listing Service representative can bring you could amount to HOURS of research, hundreds of calls, and a TON of reading. Your rep can shave HOURS out of that process and share with you the information YOU need. And the price can’t be beat – it’s usually part of doing business.

Here is a list of things to discuss with your ILS representative so that you can better utilize their technology:

  1. Where are you ranked in search engines in my target market/demographic? Your ILS should (at the very least) be on the first page of google.
  2. What target demographics/target markets work best with your service? Not every ILS is the best in every market or every demographic. Your rep should know what their sweet spot is, and most times, they are honest enough to tell you. Some ILS’s that work awesome in Minneapolis, may not work so well in Houston. KNOW which ones know YOUR market & demographics.
  3. How much traffic should I expect from a listing? Ask for averages in your market, or for your type of demographic. This should be a baseline you can use to analyze if your internet listing is working or needs tweaking.
  4. What search terms come up for my type of property/market? What search terms are over-used? Your representative should be able to tell you what search terms are working, not working.
  5. On average, what techniques will boost the traffic? What techniques will lend to keeping a prospect on my add longer? Your representative can normally tell you what drives traffic, what keeps prospects engaged. On some ILS’s, it could be the number of pictures. On other ILS’s, it could be the presence of a video. Whatever the case, make sure you are asking about it in terms of YOUR market/YOUR demographics.
  6. Do you have someone available to take pictures or video? What is that cost? So many times, apartment communities decide to try a new ILS, and the pictures they use are AWFUL. If you’re going to pay for a listing, spend some time to get the pics/video/details right! Some ILS’s may offer to take the pics for you, or can recommend someone in your area at a decent price. ASK you representative. They may have some creative ideas.
  7. What analytics/reporting do you have available? AND, how do I read/interpret the results? If you are NOT utilizing the analytics of your ILS, you aren’t using your ILS properly. There is A LOT to be learned from analytics. Depending on the ILS, and the detail of reporting provided, you can at least learn how people find you, when they find you, and how many are finding you. If there are advanced report/analytics available (not all ILS’s provide this, but many do), it can tell you the key words people are using, where they are coming from, how long they were on your listing, etc. With this information, you should tweak your ILS listing to boost traffic and keep people engaged on YOUR listing.
  8. Do you have any packages/bundles/specials available? Just like most services, they more you buy, many times, there is a discount. Sometimes the discount if for volume  – i.e. number of properties listed. Sometimes there is a bundle available, whereby you can get the regular ILS service, and for an additional $XX.00 you can also get some of their other premium services as well.
  9. Now that you have your ad written up, and your apartment community’s pictures posted, ask your rep to take a look at it and critique it. They see hundreds of listings all the time – and they can spot a winner from a loser a mile away. THEY are like your Simon Cowell. Listen closely, and you can glean MUCH from their expertise!
  10. Is there anything else I can do to boost my traffic/leads/closing?

With your ILS representative, ask, and you shall receive, you will become more successful, and you’ll maximize your advertising/marketing dollars. And people: Be nice. These are some of the smartest, most generous sales people in the industry. They want YOU to be successful – as in turn, THEY are successful! Work with them, and it will work out well for your apartment community’s marketing plan.

In this market even a small competitive edge over your competition could mean the difference between making your budget and NOT making it. Sharpen your tools now, BE ready, and make 2010 a GREAT year.

ILS: Are there other questions people should ask you? What is YOUR “sweet spot?” What is your advice on how to be SHARP amidst a sea of ads online? Leave a comment and share your experience. Feel Free to leave a link to your ILS service.

Get READY, Get SHARP. Call!

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!

Follow RENTSODA on Twitter!

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