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Building Apartment Revenue: Yield Management

Apr 15th, 2011
by jameswb.
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It is no mystery that the past few years have been tough on the multi family industry.  We are seeing pockets of recovery while other regions are still suffering.  Despite overall vacancy issues, you often will see certain floor plans or views maintain high demand.  This is where market rate properties can boost revenue by practicing yield management. 

I first started practicing yield management when I worked with a client that primarily owned hotels.  They taught me a lesson that I would never forget.  When occupancy is high, the prices go up.  When occupancy is low, prices drop.  Basic right? The key; however, was to look for opportunities to grow revenue even when overall occupancy is down.

I was curious as to what Wikipedia had for a definition and really like what they had to say:

There are three essential conditions for yield management to be applicable:

  • That there is a fixed amount of resources available for sale.
  • That the resources sold are perishable (there is a time limit to selling the resources, after which they cease to be of value).
  • That different customers are willing to pay a different price for using the same amount of resources.

Airlines jumped on yield management after deregulation.  In essence, they cannot manufacture more seats just as we cannot add more rental units.  Hotels quickly jumped on this trend as well.  We all sell space for a specified time frame.  We have a time limit—and if we don’t maximize that time we lose money.

There are software programs available that will help you to do this; however, if you want to experiment without the investment, gather your front-line team, take a look at your property and ask, “Which styles always rent the fastest?”  Every property has apartments that rent quickly.  This is an opportunity to create revenue where there was none before.  Push the rents on those styles. 

Create a base price.  This may be as simple as taking your current pricing and adjusting from there.  However, if upon review you find that some unit styles are always full and you have occupancy issues on others, you may have a pricing problem.  If you aren’t already doing so, do a market analysis to compare your pricing with your comps.  Are their rents higher or lower than yours?  (You can look at rents per square foot; however, most customers do not take the time to analyze this.  They are more concerned with “What do I get for my money and how much will it cost me each month?”)  Are their amenities better or not as nice?  Is the location comparable?  Put yourself in your customers’ shoes.  Be as unbiased as possible.  If you were your customer, how much would you pay?  As a result of this exercise you will discover where you can push rents and perhaps where some should be pulled back a bit.

Increase rents for value items.  Increase the base price for amenities such as fireplace, vaults, extra windows, upgraded finishes (appliances, carpet, remodels, etc.), which floor it is on (top floor is generally premium—unless you do not have an elevator, walk-outs are a premium due to convenience for dog owners and active residents) and views (pool or nature views).  (One of the benefits of going through this exercise with your team and manually adjusting rents is that everyone understands the reasoning behind the pricing and can therefore explain it to their customers.  This has been a frustration with yield management software.)

Invariably, when we have gone through this process we have ended up creating the equivalent of several units worth of revenue.  So, on a 100-unit site, we have ended up with revenue generation equivalent to 103 to 107 units (based on former average rents).  At the high end you can end up with almost an extra month’s worth of revenue per year!

You will also find that you have enough income to more than offset reduced rents on the apartment styles that typically do not move quickly.  This gives you the benefit of a lower ‘loss leader’ for advertising purposes as well.  There is also snobbery on the upper end of the market so this increases your total range and broadens your appeal to a larger slice of the market.

At the end of this process you may find that you love the extra income that yield management brings you.  (Undoubtedly your ownership will!)  At that point you will want to look at the benefits of utilizing a yield management software versus doing it yourself.  There are pros and cons to both.  Regardless of which you choose, you will grow your asset and hopefully increase bonuses and your career growth!  Seize the opportunity!

Jim Baumgartner is Senior Vice President of RentSoda, a consulting company offering apartment marketing, business & operations consulting as well as industry-specific training.

www.rentsoda.com |8 blog.rentsoda.com| jim {at} rentsoda(.)com | 

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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

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

Follow RENTSODA on Twitter!

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TOP 10 TIPS to Get the MOST Out of CRAIGSLIST Apartment Ads

Jul 12th, 2010
by daisynguyen.
8 comments

Craigslist, when smartly used as part of your marketing/advertising campaign, can become one of your apartment community’s top traffic generators. If it’s not, you’re not getting the most out of your Craigslist ads.

Here are the TOP 10 Things You Need to Know to Maximize Your Craigslist Ads for your Apartment Community:

  1. Generally, web traffic is highest during the week, especially during working hours of 8:00AM – 5:00PM. For the apartment industry on Craigslist, the highest traffic day is actually on SUNDAY. According to Yield Technologies, their RENTSENTINEL product, a web-based application that manages posting content for rental properties, they have noticed that Sunday’s see much less posting activity for apartments than any other day of the week. Couple that with higher traffic, and your posting efforts will get the biggest audience with less competition! (SUNDAYS have the HIGHEST average views/ad than any other day for our apartment industry!) This is true of every portfolio class, geographic location or market segment.
  2. Although Craigslist is “free,” there are TONS of different services available that can help you manage your content, produce “snazzier” looking ads, track traffic, provide analytics, and MORE – OH MY! Some more common ones include RENTSENTINEL and POSTLETS. Depending on your needs and preferences, these may work for you, are pretty affordable, and provide lots of extra’s to help you maximize your craigslist ads. There are TONS of other services available – if you know of some additional ones, leave a link in the COMMENTS section of this blog post and share with everyone! OR Leave a comment about your experience with the services listed here.
  3. PICTURES PICTURES PICTURES! – And not just any old snapshot – make sure to have good lighting, take pictures of clean, rent ready or model units – try to make an positive impression that gets your target market to pick up the phone and call you! Don’t turn them off with the wrong picture.
  4. Many people ask me, “what generates more traffic? The traditional organic craigslist ads or the jazzed up ones with hyperlinks, pictures, formatting, etc?” The answer is that they BOTH work. The key to a successful craigslist campaign is VARIETY. Switch it up between your traditional craigslist ads and fancier ones.
  5. Speaking of VARIETY, switch up your posts! Make sure you have an ad targeted specifically to attract your 1 bedroom renters, or your pet lovers, or one to attract roommates, or one to highlight the fact that you are near a bus route, etc! Be sure to keep within fair housing rules, but there is nothing that says you can’t switch up your ads and highlight specific features. Variety is the spice of life, and so it is with apartments on craigslist!
  6. Speaking of PETS, whether your building is pet-friendly or does NOT allow pets, there IS a specific market for THAT! Make sure to have a specific ad targeted towards your pet lovers (for those apartment communities that accept pets) or ones that specifically state that you do NOT allow pets. Believe it or not, there are those people who look specifically for pet-free buildings, due to allergies, conditions, fear, etc. If you are targeting pet-owners, be sure to use the Craigslist “Meow” and “Woof” options to state you are pet friendly, in addition to including this information in your title/content.
  7. And since we are drilling down on specific life style choices, a choice that is becoming increasingly popular in apartment searches is “smoke free apartment.” There are new organizations promoting living smoke-free popping up everyday. Here in Minnesota, one that is making quite a splash is LIVESMOKEFREE. Make sure to include those words for the craigslist search engines (as well as all other search engines) to pick up!
  8. While we are on the topic of search engines, make sure to include search engine friendly terms in your ad! If you are near a bus-line, post that. If you are near shopping/retail, make sure to mention the shopping or retail center name. If you are in a highly sought-after school district, name the school district or even better, name the schools. If you are nears parks, name the parks. People search for apartments based on their lifestyle choices, and if those choices are based upon transportation, schools, shopping, food, retail, etc – YOU will get picked up in their search, and your competition might get buried in the masses….
  9. Another question I get asked constantly – “how often should I post?” From my perspective, it’s not a matter of “how often,” but more importantly, CONSISTENCY. According to Eric Broughton of Yield Company’s RentSentinel product, ”the most important global trend is for communities to post their available units on a consistent basis, don’t take a day off from posting an available unit, your competitors aren’t.  Equally important is respecting the craigslist community and not posting multiple ads in a short period of time.  Never post more than 1 ad in the same hour, and never post for the same unit type more than once in 24 hours.  Our analytics show that following these simple rules will provide far greater results than someone that spams a region with multiple ads over and over again.”
  10. And lastly, and MOST importantly, be a good Craigslist Citizen. Common sense folks! Pay attention to things such as knowing the Craigslist Terms of Use, posting only available Units/Unit Types, not over-posting (never more than 1 ad per hour and 8 total ads in a day – this is for LARGE sites – many of you may not have larger enough sites, where posting every other day is more than enough), and posting to only one category and region at a time.  As an industry we can all be more effective and increase our traffic if we use the craigslist environment for which it was intended which is bringing renters and landlords together in an open marketplace. Let’s not ruin the “free” part of craigslist, by over-doing it. In some regions, and some industries, craigslist DOES impose fees. (See Craigslist FactSheet.)

Please leave comments on any tips I might have missed, leave comments about other craigslist applications or services, and your experiences with these services!

FULL DISCLOSURE: I am not affiliated with Yield Technologies or Postlets. Yield Technologies has provided me with information for this blog post. THANK YOU! (Roboblaster, another posting service also provided information for this blog, however, at the time of publication, they have folded.)

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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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!

Follow RENTSODA on Twitter!

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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

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

Follow RENTSODA on Twitter!

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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

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

Follow RENTSODA on Twitter!

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

Feb 10th, 2010
by daisynguyen.
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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

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

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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!

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Personnel/Personal Development: Do You Have a Plan?

Jan 27th, 2010
by daisynguyen.
1 comment

When it come to personnel development – do you have a plan?

How about PERSONAL development – do you have a plan?

Success comes from within. For an organization to be successful, in order for your apartment project to be successful, the success must come from within. At the very heart of each project, at the heart of every organization, there are people. In today’s market, the only way to THRIVE, not just SURVIVE, is to have a vested interest in the one thing that sets YOUR organization apart from the next. YOU and YOUR people. Processes, technologies, even buildings can be duplicated. The one thing that can NOT be duplicated is YOU and YOUR people. If this is the one thing that sets your organization apart from the next, do you have a VESTED interest in yourself?A VESTED interest in your people? So the question is:

When it come to personnel development – do you have a plan?

How about PERSONAL development – do you have a plan?

“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.”

- Lewis Carroll

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

What’s your PERSONNEL/PERSONAL development plan?

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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2010 Trend: IN-Clearly Defined Job Descriptions; OUT-Jack-of-All-Trades

Jan 25th, 2010
by daisynguyen.
No comments yet

Lately, much of my work has been very operations oriented. In this time of economic turmoil, companies are returning to the basics. Companies that are still alive today are going back to the drawing board and spending some time to clearly define job descriptions & responsibilities.

(picture provided by KateL366 on Flickr through Creative Commons license.)

Why spend time on something so basic? In the apartment industry, more so than many industries, we have many people classified as a “Jack-of-All-Trades.” I hear this term used so much in our apartment industry. But consider for a moment, the translations of “Jack of All Trades” into other languages:

  1. Cantonese: Surrounded by knives, none are sharp.
  2. Spanish: Knows about everything but understands nothing
  3. German: Wise guy in all alleys
  4. Turkish: One who knows everything cannot do anything

(Translations found on Wikipedia.) I don’t know about you, but a “dull knife” sounds like another way of saying, “not the brightest bulb in the pack.” Why classify a position as a “jack of all trades,” or worse, hire a “jack of all trades” or even worse, classify yourself as such? When I hear someone tell me they need to hire a “Jack of all Trades,” I think, this guy has NO IDEA what he needs. When I hear someone say, “I am a Jack of All Trades,” I think, this gal has no idea what interests her/what she is good at.

Each month of 2010 I will outline a trend that I see based on the conversations I have, questions that are asked of me, and trends that I see happening in our apartment industry. If possible, I will also try to elaborate on the trend.

For January 2010:

IN: Clearly Defined Job Descriptions

OUT: “Jack-of-All-Trades”

What makes a a good, clearly defined job description? Every job description needs to have 4 sections: Basic information, Job Summary, Detailed Responsibilities, and Qualifications.

Basic Information: Job Title, Who the position reports to, Job Status (FT/PT, salary or hourly), Expected Schedule.

Job Summary: A short 1 paragraph summary of the job.

Detailed Responsibilities: This can be a list of responsibilities expected of the job. Be as detailed as possible, without getting into the minutia. Be clear, but leave some room for interpretation depending on circumstances.

Qualifications: This would be a short list of the minimum requirements that YOU/YOUR company requires for the job.

Here is a sample of what my job description as a blogger might look like.

Basic Information:

Job Title: Blogger

Reports To: RENT SODA Readers

Job Status: PT, non-exempt

Schedule: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 8:00AM – 10:00AM

Job Summary:

Bloggers are one of the most important roles of a dynamic social community. Bloggers must write good content for their readers, continually mine for new topics/ideas and respond to readers’ comments. Bloggers should foster a community of collaboration through their own participation and readership of other blogs. It is the goal of a good blogger to provide good content, express a point of view, present an examination of facts, or tell a good story. The end goal of a successful blogger is to increase readership, collaboration and community.

Detailed Responsibilities:

  1. Research trends and topics in the industry. Mine for topics of interest to readers.
  2. Write/Post a minimum of 2 blog articles a week to be released on Mondays & Wednesdays.
  3. Communicate to the community the publication of the new blog post through various avenues including but not limited to facebook, linkedin, networked blogs, multifamilyinsiders.com, forums/discussions, twitter, etc.
  4. Meet/network with interesting people at least twice weekly. Mention the blog/other interesting blogs if conversations relate to blog articles.
  5. Read at least 10 other related blogs in the industry. Link to those other blogs as often as possible to create a sense of community within the industry.
  6. Comment on at least 5 other blog articles/week. Provide good comments, with good detail – continue the “conversation” through leaving comments on other blogs.
  7. Keep a running list of “ideas” for new blog articles. When not writing a blog article or networking, gather facts for each “idea” file.
  8. Review & analyze blog statistics to better understand blog traffic, topics of great interest, etc.
  9. Meet with other bloggers quarterly to share ideas, discuss trends, review new technologies, etc.

Qualifications:

Minimum 4 year degree.

5+ years of industry experience.

Above average people skills. (for networking)

Well-developed writing skills. (for writing)

Computer Skills-Excellent computer skills required. Proficient in MS Word, and different blogging platforms.

I hope this description and exercise help those of you working on expanding/clarifying job descriptions.

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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