How do Vendors and Property Managers feel towards donation/sponsorship request?

Have you ever wonder what your vendor is feeling or thinking when you ask for a donation/sponsorship request? As a vendor have you ever wonder what your property management company that you service is thinking or feeling when requesting a donation/sponsorship? Great then I need your help by taking a quick survey that is completely anonymous. I will keep the surveys up till 9 a.m. Friday September 9, 2011 for you to take and share with all your friends. Once I have reviewed the results I will share them in an article on Multi Family Insider for everyone to see. Thank you in advance for taking the time out to take the survey. Have a wonderful day and I will catch you on the FLY side of leasing or doing business with you.

Vendor Survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BSJFCPN - Vendors Only

Property Management/Employee Survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Y2WLJVZ -Property Management Only

Thank You,

Jolene Sopalski

 

How do you deal with racism when it is you being attack by the resident?

This is going to be a touchy subject for many, but one that I realize we do not talk about enough in our industry. Today I experienced for the first time in this industry, racism towards me in front of a room full of people. I did not know how to handle it and it took all the strength I had to not cry or go off on the resident. No one ever trained me to know what to do when a resident is racist towards you!  I was trained on what to do when a co-worker or a vendor is rude or racist. What was even more embarrassing was the fact that I was the only one of my race in the room and the others were either speechless or giggling about what was being said.

So what do we do when this happens to us? Do we ignore it or address the issue right away? Would it even matter to the resident? I chose to calmly ask the resident to please leave my office.  I was told that I was denying them their right of freedom of speech. They did have the right of freedom of speech but not in front potential residents. This only added fuel to the fire and after several minutes of telling them to leave, they finally did. I turn around to see the astonished looks on my leasing specialist’s and the applicant faces.  I noticed that two prospects were giggling about the whole thing. I apologized to everyone that they had to hear that and then headed outside to pound on the doors of delinquent residents with my new leasing specialist in tow. 

The feeling I had of shame and anger was new to me and I did not know how to handle it. My ancestors were Jewish immigrants from Russia and Poland in the 1920’s. I know that they would have been appalled to have heard the comments that were made to me. How do you deal with ignorance like that and why does it still exist in 2011?

While I had my new leasing specialist with me I explained to him that the residents would treat me in a completely different way than they would him. True to my statement only 10 doors into my collection efforts I was given attitude and then when they noticed him they started to smile and actually were being nice. In the past when this behavior would happen I would tell myself that it had nothing to do with my race but had to do with my title of Assistant Manager aka the Rent Collector. But after the incident in my office and seeing what was happening while knocking on doors I no longer think this way. This made me angry and sad at the same time.

I know I have lived a somewhat sheltered life growing up and was taught to love one another as you would want them to love you. But what happen to this part of the world that I find myself in that is only 25 miles from where I started my multifamily career in. Did they not pay attention in school about the results of being raciest? Were they taught as children to automatically hate those who were different than they were?

I wonder who protects the property managers, assistant managers, leasing specialist and maintenance teams from raciest residents. How do we deal with the hurt of having horrible raciest things said to us by our residents? This has really bothered me today and I wanted to know what do we do about this? Our residents have fair housing set up to protect them but what about us, what do we have?

Professionally edited by Gerry Hunt

Are we as an industry automatically prejudice against those on Section 8?

Are we as an industry automatically prejudice against those on Section 8?

I recently participated in a Facebook discussion about how we stereotype those who receive section 8 or any type of government housing assistance. I will admit, I have been guilty of this and have to constantly remind myself that because of where I work and the person that I strive to be, that I cannot think like this.  It is very hard.  I had found myself resenting the fact that all or partial of their rent is paid while my partner and I work our butts off to support our family and are barely making it. There have been times that I let that resentment affect how I view these residents. However, no one wants to be resented no matter what their status in life is.

As professionals who are working with section 8 vouchers it is not our place to judge the person who is applying for our community solely based on the fact that they are receiving state assistance. Trust me, it is hard to do when you have the young parent in your office with 6 kids and can barely write a complete sentence. However, we do not know the type of life they have had, our position is to give them a decent home. That is the bottom line.

Do you offer incentives to your residents to improve themselves so that one day they may be independent of section 8?  Would you even want to try to make the difference in someone’s life that is receiving section 8? Would you continue to view them as beneath you or with resentment because you are the one not receiving the benefits?

Offering benefits to improve one’s self is a great way to make a difference for a family and it can affect the entire morale on your property and with the entire onsite team. Will you have a ton of people come to your classes? Probably not, but the handful that you do come will always be grateful to you.

My aunt heads a non-profit company that places women in affordable housing. She was telling me of a woman that was on state welfare and worked her way off of state welfare and into a property manager position. My aunt worked with her for several years to help her achieve this goal and feels very blessed to have been able to be a part of this property manager’s life personally and professionally. 

I hear comments all day regarding section 8 voucher holders and realized that it is resentment on all levels. We need to remember that even if a person is rich or homeless they deserve respect and not to be stereotyped.  If your property allows section 8 but you have looked at the person with annoyance, maybe rethink how you can affect their lives when they walk into your office next time.  A little help can make a world of difference to someone who is struggling.

Treasure Hunt Anyone?

My apartment community where I live inspired me to write this quick blog.

See, I started seeing these signs up around the community about a Treasure Hunt and did not really pay much attention until I came home on Friday and saw a red flyer on my table about a pool party.

The flyer had a pirate girl on it that said “Come Walk the Plank at ABC Pool Party. R.S.V.P on Facebook” okay that is new and I’m thinking finally my apartment community is coming to terms with social media and engaging residents.

When I went to the mailbox, I saw a treasure hunt sign that said “join the Treasure Hunt on Facebook by Liking us.”

I realized then that the pool party and the treasure hunt were the same.

So naturally I came home hopped on my laptop and searched for ABC apartments on Facebook. I could only find the places check-in.

There was no company page to be found so then I thought well maybe it’s on the flyer or the signs?

Nope, not a single flyer or sign has a link for the facebook page or a QR codes so we can find the facebook page. Maybe the real treasure hunt is finding the facebook page?

The idea of the treasure hunt is excellent. The only problem is the management team failed to direct the residents as to where one can find the facebook page.

We have to remember that if you do not share the link on your print ad or internet marketing people will not be able to find you.

Now I know you may be thinking, Jolene, why don’t you just go to your management office and ask for the facebook link?

The thing is, I do not have to time to call or go in and ask for the link and get a silly response of “I don’t know” and at this point I’m so frustrated that I do not even want to participate in the treasure hunt.

If I feel like this, imagine how the other 344 residents (not to mention all the drive traffic that see those signs) feel.

If you are going to have an effective facebook marketing campaign you must provide your residents and prospects with the proper tools to find you.

Printing Flyers or signs without the proper information is a waste of time and money. Please comment and tell me you agree?!

If you are planning on using social media to promote your campaign, make sure you put your plan into action.  You don’t want to give people a call-to-action and then not have it set up where people cannot find you!

The goal of facebook marketing is to engage with your residents or prospects not to frustrate them.

Hopefully, my apartment community mistake will prevent others from doing this.

Don’t take the fun out of treasure hunts by not letting the fun even begin by not being able to be found.

By: Jolene Sopalski

Professionally Edited by: Alisha Krueger

Is Your Apartment Community "The Voice"?

Recently NBC launched a new show called “The Voice” and it inspired me on so many levels. From the shows concept, marketing with the use of Social Media, to the coaches them selves.  While watching this fantastic show, I could not help but see how I could use this as a learning tool.  I also saw so many ways that the Multifamily Industry is similar to The Voice.  The makers of the show and NBC seriously had the formula down pat on the marketing side and knew how to keep your attention.  How does this work for our industry?

‘The Blind Audition’- This is my favorite part—before they ever get to your community or even call, prospects judging you from your advertising.  One of the things about the Voice that really impressed me was how they used Twitter, FaceBook, Blogging, YouTube and ITunes to market their show and artists. Each media was different so it kept you going from one media to another, to read/see more about the show.  They kept it fresh and exciting all at the same time. Do you stick to what everyone else is doing or do you jump out of the box and become different?  It is very important that the way you advertise, immediately sets you apart from your competition. Can your community advertising pass the Blind Audition?

‘The Battle Round’-Congratulations you have passed the Blind Audition now instead of 32 properties you are up against 8 other properties. How you answer the phone will determine if you move to the next round. This is very important! Are you upbeat, positive and willing to answer your future resident questions? Many of us get so busy with the everyday stuff that we forget that we are auditioning for an audience with a future resident every time we answer the phone.  Stop what you are doing, breathe, and smile before you answer the phone! Your prospect will hear the smile and feel your undivided attention.  (For great tips on “Leasing With a Smile” visit The Training Factor, Jonathan Sarr's blog.) Make sure you answer all the questions your potential resident may have. Push to make the appointment. This is your moment to shine. If you don’t make it through the ‘Battle Round’, you will lose the prospect.

‘The Sing Of’- Whew that was tough but you did it you made it threw the battle round!  Now it’s time to compete with the top four communities your future resident is going to look at. At this point anything can happen, you can make it to the semi-finals or you can go home. I prefer to make it to the semi-finals and then take it to the finals by winning. You have succeeded in scheduling the appointment during your phone call. Did you immediately follow up with an email, text message or a hand written thank you card?  I know you’re thinking, ‘why would I do that before they came in to the property?’  Simple you want to make a statement; you want to stay in the front of their minds! With all of our awesome technology why not use it to our full ability?  Instead of sending a regular email, why not send a video email of you or team in front of the community sign with balloons or in the apartment they will be living in?  If you do this, include a shot of one of the things that the future resident said was important to them~~like big closets.  This will help increase the comfort level of the future resident when they finally get to the property.  You are continuing to build a rapport with them. How you follow up to your phone conversation, prior to the appointment sets the tone for their visit.

‘The Semi-Finals’- GREAT!!  Your future resident just called and they are on their way to your community! Now it’s narrowed down to the final four communities!  They loved your video follow up. (If it was on ITunes you definitely would be number 1 on the charts!)  Your future resident comes in and they are ready to get the show on the road. Put a smile on your face and get to working on making sure these future residents do not leave with out placing an application. You know the tour will be awesome because you made sure the apartment you are going to show them looks great and smells great. In fact, the entire property looks like it could be on a postcard! The best part is you have a special gift just for them in, waiting the unit.  People LOVE surprises especially if it is a free one! Who says you have to wait until they move in to give a gift?  Keep it simple, something small, like a candle or pot holders with your community name on them, just something that will remind them of the Community and you.  Be memorable! Remember the video follow you did pre-tour well now it’s time to create the video tour. Yup, you are going to give the future resident the video camera and ask them to record their tour of your apartment home so they can show it to their friends and family when they leave.  When the tour has ended make sure you record THEM holding the gift in whatever room it would most likely be used.

‘The Finals’- WOW!!  This is it! You made it from the Blind Auditions, the Battle Rounds, to The Sing Off, and the Semi-finals to The Finals! Your future resident just told you they loved the community and the apartment! But wait~~they are saying that it is between you and one other apartment community! They want a day to think about what they were going to do. You try one more tactic~~ the Look and Lease Same Day Special.  They tell you they appreciate it but really want to make sure they make the right decision, after all, this is where they will live for the next 12 months. So what do you do now to make sure you come out as “The Voice” of all the communities?  Remember that video you recorded of the tour? Put the video up on You Tube make sure you mark it private and only the future resident has access to this. Then send an email/text message to the future resident saying that you have a special video that you wanted to share. The future resident will be able to review how they felt and see what they loved about the apartment all over again! Yup, I know crazy and brilliant at the same time!  Give the future resident some time but make sure you call them before you leave for the day to see if they have any questions. Keep following up with the future resident. Be memorable!  In the end only one community can be “The Voice”.  It is your job to make sure it is your community more often than not.

What are you doing to make this happen? See what is working and what is not.  Sometimes it can be something as simple as the way you answered the phone, to the apartment appearance, or even how you are advertising.  Remember the first thing people see is your advertisements.  If you have a ‘boring ho-hum just like everyone else’s’ advertising approach, then you have already lost the blind audition. Do not be afraid to stand out and be different. Be memorable!!

Why are we afraid to collect rent from our residents?

Why are we afraid to collect rent from our Residents? By Jolene Sopalski

Delinquency is such a dirty word in our industry that sometimes I feel like my mom should have washed my mouth out with soup for saying Delinquency! How did we come to feel that Delinquency is such a dirty word for us?  It’s a word that keeps Owners, Management Companies, Managers, and Assistant Managers awake at night for fear of it. Here's how I think it happened!! We started freaking out when occupancy started falling and the bottom fell out of the economy!!  We didn't want to offend our residents for fear of losing them, so we just ignored the late rent! And our residents learned to pay their rent later and later!! We as property management, owners, and managers set up a cycle that is unacceptable!!  In some weird wacked out way over the past two or three years we have given the residents the power over us for fear that if occupancy drops we will be in financial ruin, fear of a Fair Housing Lawsuit or our jobs will be threatened (I see this more often than not in this industry but that is a whole other issue in itself!).

It’s time to take a stand and regain control of our community. In reality we ~the management team ~ are sort of like parents and our residents are like our children, who we guide and discipline. Seriously, think about it and you will totally get what I’m saying in regard to that statement. In addition we are managing a Multimillion Dollar asset and we as Property Managers, Assistant Managers, Property Management Company’s, Owners should be managing like it is our money is not being paid. After all the money we take in is what pays our paychecks right? And without the rent, we have no money to spend on resident parties, maintenance and office supplies, landscaping, etc. 

I recently started working at a property where the residents were not pushed to pay on time and were allowed to pay whenever it was convenient for them. They were not even required to pay a late fee, I know that is insane! A lot of money was just being let out of the door.  I found this to be unacceptable as did my Property Manager, who had just started a month prior to me. Luckily I have no problem telling someone they have to pay rent or I will file for eviction. I have had the privileged of cleaning up accounts and enforcing the lease guidelines. It has not been easy in fact I spent my first two months working 10-12 hour days just to fix the mess~~yes,  it WAS a mess. At first I was getting called lots of colorful names and a few complaints about my notices.  My favorite was when I put out notices with a moving truck that said “Are you packing yet? Eviction procedures will begin on the 15^th!” I was told not to send that one again because of the very tiny small customer complaints. Let’s just say that after a month of being fluffy, sweet and nice ending with a high delinquency, I now can live up to my nick name of ‘JoJo Soprano’. 

Collecting on your delinquency can be frustrating and annoying but it will allow you to see a growth in your economic occupancy and getting rid of those pesky loud non-paying residents. Sure your occupancy is going to take a hit but it just means your leasing team is going to be challenged more to lease those eviction apartments quickly so they are only vacant for a short time.

Here are some tips to collect on your delinquency:

    1)   Do Not Be Afraid to give a deadline of when past due rent is to be in with late fees. If we keep allowing our residents to brake the lease terms we are not doing them, ourselves, or our owners any favors. In fact we will hurt everyone involved in the delinquency process. You have the right to file evictions on anyone who has not paid their rent per the lease contract.

2)      Use local resources like your banks to set up financial planning classes at your property. I have learned that sometimes residents just do not know how to budget their money so that they are always paying on time. Make sure the class is always at the first of the month, this way if a resident comes to you needing to do a promise to pay you can say I will only accept it if you go to this class. Once they get hooked on the classes and see the changes they will keep going. Make the resident responsible for fixing their budget and paying you on time.

3)      Use Email, Social Media, Text Messaging, Flyers, and Bandit Signs as a way to communicate with your residents.  Send out reminders: rent being due in 5 days, rent will be late in 24 hours, rent is now late, please submit your payment in the form of certified funds with late fees, last day to pay before Evictions are to be filed. All of these can be done and actually work. Bandit Signs at the entrance and exit of your property will be seen by everyone.  My favorite saying to put on them is ‘Stop Did you pay your rent today?’  I’m still trying to talk my boss in letting me get a big flag banner that says this. The point is to use all of the tools you have to collect rent on time.

4)      Remember to say Thank You when a resident pays their rent late or on time. A thank you will go a long way. The more you tell them you are so grateful to them for paying their rent the more likely they will continue to pay on time or start to pay on time.

I know it can be scary to collect delinquent rent and to follow the lease terms because you do not want to offend anyone or have them move out. But we have to do this~~it is part of our job! I don’t know about you but I get a rush every time I see my economic occupancy go up and my delinquency go down. After working really hard to re-train my residents on paying on time, I started the month with 12k less delinquent rent than the previous months. To me that is a big accomplishment and I know that they are starting to hear me. 

If all else fells you can just get a U-Haul Truck with a banner that says ‘This could be yours if you do not pay your rent on time!’  It is time to take back our properties! I challenge everyone to stand up and expect Residents to pay their rent on time. Accept no excuses!!  And evict a resident for non-payment!

Professionally Edited by Gerry Hunt

Why be dull when you can be extraordinary?

I want my property to stand out from everyone else’s in every way from my print ad, social media presence, to my sales pitch, and curb appeal. So how do we do this, how do we make a statement to our prospective renters that we are a different management company or community? It is very easy, so easy that you are going to hit your head with the palm of your hand for not thinking to use a little trick that Lisa Trosien talked about in a recent webinar presented by App Folio. Are you ready? Here is the top secret advice: Care about your residents and their voice by sharing what they have to say about your community!

It’s very simple!  Your greatest asset is your residents’ voice. They already live at your community and know what your management company can offer them. So why do we not use this great asset? Are we afraid to be the first in the market for our area to be different or are we just comfortable being the same?

I like to think that we can overcome our fears of trying something new.  Goodness knows I have tried many new things in many areas of my life. I can tell you what I would do if I had the ability to make my community stand out from everyone else.

First, I would have a testimonial board in my leasing office. I would position this where the first thing the prospect sees is my resident’s testimonial of the community.

Second, in my leasing office I would frame pictures of my residents in their apartment, using the amenities or at a community function. This simple and inexpensive decoration will show that you like your residents; you mean what you say in your sales presentation, print ad, and social media advertising.

Third, I would have additional resident testimonials in the model or mini models. I would put some over the bed in the master bedroom, bathroom mirror, refrigerator and the front door to read as they are leaving the unit. I would even incorporate Toni Blake’s “I Love This” picture book of the residents around town or around the community. I would leave it open on the coffee table as an attention grabber.

Fourth, I would create a slide show of pictures using the testimonials of residents, their pictures and pictures of the community to send as an email follow up.

Lastly and most importantly, I would incorporate resident testimonials and pictures of community events into my print ad, internet marketing, and social media sites.

These five things will set you so far apart from your competitors that you will be remembered. Why would you want to be the same as everyone else when you can be extraordinary? I challenge everyone to do something different with your presentation of your community.

By Jolene Sopalski

Link's To Names Mention in Blog:

Lisa Trosien http://apartmentexpert.com/

Toni Blake http://www.totallytoni.com/

Professionally Edited by Barbara Savona of
http://www.watchyourbusinesssprout.com/

I Got Fired !

This has been an interesting week…in one day alone I was let go from a position that I loved and also honored with a scholarship “Aspire Multifamily Scholarship” from The Training Factor.  Wow. Talk about a high and low both in one day.

The coming weeks will teach me about who I am and where I want to go career wise.  I want to stay in the industry but am not sure if I should go back to school full time. Going back to school has been a dream of mine for a long time but I also have a family and just cannot decide not to work to go to school.  One thing I’m grateful for is that I have the opportunity to take some fantastic online training classes that otherwise I would not be able to. I believe in lifelong long learning. Thank you Training Factor!

Training and Education is something that we all need. Sometimes it just is not in the budget for us on the property management end. It seems to be a fact of life when it comes to budget cuts. However; there is a solution The Training Factor Online Courses and the scholarship they are offering.  The classes are very affordable for individual use and you will actually learn something!

More about the scholarship:

If you love to learn and stay on top of the multifamily industry and your management company just does not have enough training for you, or you are looking to get in the industry this program is for you. I know what it’s like to work for a company that does not have any training due to the size, and trust me it is frustrating but I did not sit back and say oh this is the way it is. I stood up and decided to seek out mentors and learn on my own.  There is tons of training and information out there: some free, some affordable and some expensive but it is out there just waiting for us to grab it and go with it. Every time you take a training class you are learning something that is going to benefit you and your company.

Training is not meant to be a pain but meant to be fun. It is a tool that you can always use. I am so grateful for being able to start in this industry with a company that appreciated training, without that experience I would not be where I am today.

I’m on my third day of being unemployed (I’m not a fan), I have no idea how long our savings will last and pretty sure I will not be able to take my NALP and CAM this year liked I planned but that is okay because I have a scholarship to learn from The Training Factor. They believed in me and I’m not going to let them down. The knowledge I learn from this will last me a life time and for that I am grateful to them.

Please if you have the passion and desire to learn, succeed and to be something then go to this site submit your entry in the comment section. Don’t let an opportunity to learn pass you up because you are scared. If I listen to my fear I would still be the girl who was a high school dropout with a GED.

Jolene Sopalski

Professionaly Edited by Alisha Kruger

It’s a Bird, A Plane, no wait it's a Baby Boomer!

It’s a Bird, A Plane, no wait it's a Baby Boomer! by Jolene Sopalski Edited by Alisha Kruger

Marketing to seniors has to be one of the hardest markets but it can also be one of the most fun!

How do we go from seniors being hard to market to, to being easy?

Ooops, I’m still working on that, if you find out, PLEASE let me know!

I have been working at a Senior Community since October 2010.  (Not very long so I have first hand knowledge-fresh insider look at the struggles & what is working NOW) The senior community is like it's own little world in our industry! Talk about a culture shock going from Multifamily Housing to Senior Housing.

So, how do you market to seniors?  Here are some tips that I have learned and what I have research in. Maybe it will help you out when marketing to seniors!

1) Do not underestimate a senior’s knowledge of the Internet! I have learned this the hard way and let me tell you after getting an ear full from my residents and my grandmother; most seniors today are not Internet and social media illiterates of the past. Today's seniors are one of the largest groups using technology to socialize and for entertainment. Some ways to tap into this market are:

YouTube your seniors having fun at your community: Create a short film or series documenting what you can offer your residents. Remember you want this to be entertaining but stating your message to the viewer. YouTube videos will increase your name being in the top of Internet organic searches. They will always be viewed first before a website.

Facebook your community with a business page: Make sure you tell all your current, past, and future residents of your community to "Like" your page. Include your resident activities on your page in the events section. Have pet photo contests on your facebook page. Put special deals just for your residents to see. The key to a facebook community page is to get your residents talking about your community to their friends etc.

Mobile Apps- Seniors love technology and will buy the newest gadgets out there. Recently when I went into Verizon I was shocked at how many seniors were there (averaging 3 to every 1 young adult.) Make sure your community is accessible via mobile applications. Maybe you can create one that can be downloaded from your community website?

Text Messaging-This is a great way to do an immediate follow up with a prospect. I heard once of a leasing agent sending a video of herself in front of the apartments thanking the prospects by name for visiting her community. Now how cool is that! What a great way to keep it personal and use technology. Plus my residents love that they get a reminder text about their rent and when we are having a resident function.

Community Website- Make sure your website is user friendly and looks inviting! Don't be afraid to put pictures of the interior of your units up or of your staff with cute fun sayings about your community. No one wants to live in a boring community  (FACT!) so why should your website be boring?

2) Seniors LOVE Resident Activities: The first question out of any senior mouth is what kind of activities do you have and how often. I had one phone call where I told a prospect we had resident activities three times a week and the prospect said she was looking for a more active community and hung up. After this phone call, I reevaluated our resident program and it started to make sense why they were not coming out. The activities we had were boring!  Remember, seniors don't like to feel old; they want to have fun & socialize! Give them a party! Make sure your activities are age appropriate yet fun at the same time. Don't forget to include some activities where their children or grandchildren are invited. (WiI or BINGO!)

·        Pet Fashion Show- Almost 50% of my property has pets.  You can host a Pet Fashion Show charity event by featuring the pets in a calendar to be sold for a $2.00 with all proceeds going to a local Animal Rescue Shelter. (or charity of your choice) Your seniors will buy this because they will be proud of their pet featured and they need a calendar to put their doctors’ appointments on. Also, this calendar can be sold to others in the community.

·        Arts & Crafts- Who does not love Arts & Crafts? You have residents with many hidden talents who would love to share them. You can have a Scrap booking day, Jewelry Making, Mosaic Art, Knitting, Crocheting. Whatever you think of there will be people who will come because they like to use their hands and minds. One of the favorite events that we did this year was handmade Christmas cards for the Soldiers overseas. I had a great turn out especially by our retired military who shared great stories of their military life.

·        Science Fair- Have a good old fashion science fair with your residents. See if you can get local celebrities to be judges. The residents will love this I mean who wouldn't love being able to create experiments and show them off.

·        Cook Offs for all the seasons that you can think of. These are fun and are always enjoyed by everyone.

·         Pool Parties- Yes seniors love pool parties during the summer. Have a Luau with hula dancers giving lessons and roast a pig. Have a best Hawaiian shirt contest and a pineapple carving contest. Pool Dive in Movie Night!

·        Farmers Market is also a great way to have your residents involved and let them see local culture also. Remember some may not get out as much so this would be a treat if your community can host one.

3) Know Your Demographics: It is really important to know who you are marketing to. If you don't know your potential clients how can you sell them the value of your community. Seniors want to know what they are getting for the price of rent. Sell your community, company and yourself before you give the price.

4) Follow Up! Seniors are not quick to make decisions it can take them six months and yes they will start looking a year ahead of time. That is why it is important to have the correct information on your guest cards and to follow up with them. You always want to be on their mind, as they get closer to the time of move in. A Follow Up can be a call, text, email or card just saying, “how you are doing?” Something that always makes my seniors happy and I get a return call on is when I send them a birthday card. I don't even stop sending it to them when they become a resident.

I hope that this helps you in the journey of marketing to seniors. One of the best things about this industry is the on-going learning! If you have any ideas or comments about marketing to seniors, I would love to hear them!

A Lesson on Sales From Shopping...

 Have you ever been excited to go shopping only to leave disappointed? That's how I felt today after leaving a department store where I was looking for a new television. From the moment I stepped into the store I was greeted by a sales associate who assured me that all of the associates had over 200 hours of product training. The problem was not with how I was greeted or how knowledgeable the sales associates were. The problem was when I went to look at all the new HD televisions.  Now picture this, you walk into the electronics section ready to drool over all the different size televisions an crystal clear picture quality of all the latest an greatest goodies that modern technology has to offer, finding only to your disappointment that all of the televisions are all showing the same Non-High Definition broadcast, Which roughly translates into the formal wear section of the Miss America pageant being down-graded to T-shirts an jeans. None of the TV's were showing off their true potential. The sales associate wasn't even interested in trying to sell, or even acknowledging the presents of anyone other than a rather affluent looking gentleman who was clearly annoyed by him. Needless to say the only thing I left with was disappointment.

 This got me to thinking how can I make sure no one ever leaves my community feeling this way. Even the thought of one of my prospective residents leaving feeling as neglected an unappreciated as I did upsets me, considering we are here to provide quality homes and make our communities prosper. No one cares how knowledgeable you are if the product you are selling dose not look its best. No one will care if you are currently with a prospect as long as you acknowledge them and let them know you will help them as soon as you can. A great sales person is aware of every potential customer and will establish some type of contact. Do you greet every person who walks into your office when you are busy or just ignore them wishing they would go away? I surely hope not, as that negative attitude can often influence your chances for a lease in a very negative way. Sometimes we are so wrapped up in a conversation on the phone, or with a resident, or a prospect that we can't jump up from our seats and say welcome. What we can do is make contact, and let them know that you or someone else will be able to help them shortly. Something as simple as making someone feel at home in your office can make someone want to make your community their home.

 So... are your apartments ready for your potential residents? Is your office warm and inviting? Does your model scream out rent me? These are serious questions that we have to address when we are selling our communities to potential residents. Something as simple as an air freshener can make the apartment your showing more appealing. Having resfreshments in your leasing office can make everyone feel more at home and buy you some much needed time when you are busy. Adding freshs flowers to your office can improve moods an stimulate the senses. Always make sure your community is looking its best. Even the smallest details can set you apart from your competition.

 The bottom line is that consumers want to know what they are getting for their money. If your product looks its best and you are knowledgeable then your sales will reflect that. Don't let someone leave your community feeling deflated by their experience. Take the time to touch up the appeal of your leasing center and apartment homes. Those little touches will make your assets shine and set the standard for potential residents if they view another community.

Your greatest assets as a sales person is the confidence you get when you know your selling a quality product, and that will leave customers confident that they want to buy from you.

Do you appreciate the value of your guest card?

Oh no, the dreaded word GUEST CARD, however; it can also be your new favorite word!  Do you truly appreciate your guest card and all the value it has for you? Do you realize your guest cards are your greatest leasing/marketing tools?

What can your guest card do for you?  It can tell you where your prospect is coming from, how they heard about you, what they are looking for and so much more. You would be amazed at how many people only use the guest card to record the name and phone number. It kills me to see a guest card like this because that tells me you don't care about your marketing dollars and follow ups much less actually selling the community to include your clients’ needs and wants. (This last sentence is a big deal, you should read it again.) J

Instead of thinking of a guest card as an annoying thing to fill out, think of it as your best silent sales agent. When you are filling out the guest card with your future resident, yes I did just say you fill it out with them, ask the questions in a conversational way (not military style). The guest card will allow you to start building a relationship and get important keynotes of what they are looking for that you can use in your sales presentation. Get all of the information you can for example: cell number, Facebook account, email address, date of birth, correct mailing address. These items will allow you to do some awesome follow ups.

One important detail to remember when filling out the guest card is to ask where or how they heard about your community. Don't be afraid to ask a few more questions when they give you vague answers, remember this is your way to track your marketing efforts. No one should ever be putting word of mouth on a guest card - try to get a name or if they saw your flyer somewhere. They heard of you somehow but may just need help remembering “where” or from “whom”. There is nothing more annoying than seeing a guest card with how did you hear about us left blank.  This is one of the most important questions. How are you going to ask to have an upgrade on an account if you can't prove where your traffic is coming from?

There are two ways to keep track of your guest card: electronically and on paper. They both do the same thing. Either way will not make a difference in how you use it.  I do recommend an electronic guest card. I believe that www.apartments.com has a my media program that will allow you to enter guest cards but double check with your apartments.com sales representative.

Your guest card will become your best leasing/marketing tool if you let it and use it effectively. Some other great tools are For Rent Internet Tracking, Apartments.com Media. Toni Blake has a section on her facebook page called Why I LOVE My Guest Card and has a free document of guest card questions at www.totallytoni.com. These are great resources to use. If you are unsure of how to use your guest card just write me a note and let me know. I would love to help you!

Jolene Sopalski

* Alisha Kruger Did the fabulous job of editing this for me!

I just really liked this guest card picture so I thought I would post it!

Dose Direct Outreach Marketing Work For You?

Direct Outreach Marketing dose it work for you? This has been brought up because I was informed that we would not be participating in Direct Outreach Marketing because it was not where our traffic was coming from. That our focuse would be the News Paper, I have had traffic and one lease but do not feel that is enough to say stop direct marketing.  That is my opion at least and I know over time the numbers will show what is working and what is not.

I personally feel you should not rely only on Print Ad's and Internet Marketing. They do make up the biggest part of traffic but I think we will hurt ourselves if we completely eliminate Direct Out Reach Marketing to the public. Building those business relationships are truly essential to our industry, at least in my opion, that is what maters right :)! On a more serious note I have decided to do some research and ask others in the industry to take a survey. Once all the results are in I will write a blog about the findings. We shall find out if my ideas on Direct Out Reach Marketing are so 1999 or right on. Meanwhile I'm just going to sit back and enjoy what may or may not happen. Who knows I may learn something new!

Please if you are able to will you help me out and take this quick survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RFHFBWP

Thank You So Much For Reading!

Jolene Sopalski: Leasing & Marketing Ideas For Multifamily Housing Industry: 8 Marketing Ideas For The Slow Season

Jolene Sopalski: Leasing & Marketing Ideas For Multifamily Housing Industry: 8 Marketing Ideas For The Slow Season: "So I first want to congratulate everyone for making it into the slow season. I bet you thought great we get to relax catch up on some ..."

Training Idea's & Suggestions for 2011

 Why is training so important?

Training your onsite staff is extremely important especially now with 2011 coming up. This is the year for the Multi Family Housing Industry. We have already started witnessing numbers changing for the good and it will only get better from here. Now is the time to monopolize this by making sure we have well trained staff onsite. A well trained staff that knows what they are doing will make a big difference in your portfolio.

There are different ways to train your staff from using Grace Hill, The Telephone Doctor, Toni Blake, Kate Good, and The Training Factor. But those all cost money and sometimes we just don’t have it in the budget. But I will tell you if you can spring for it at least once Skype with Toni Blake for all the Leasing Specialist in your company or region. It is worth the money and your staff will walk out energized and ready to take on the world. What you have to do as an owner, regional, or corporate leader is decide what will work best for you’re on site staff when it comes to training.

One of the things that I loved and miss about my previous company was our monthly Leasing Classes that the regional’s had for us. Sometimes they would be for three hours or all day depending on what they wanted to train us on to help improve our leasing skills. We went from a region where you did not communicate much with your sister properties to knowing each other and helping each other out. We were train on how to improve on shops, selling our community, telephones, out reach marketing etc. By having this class once a month as an open discussion type setting we were able to learn from each other. Numbers and attitude’s started to improve across the regions. We also learn allot from our regional’s who have been in the industry a very long time. One of my favorite classes was when the VP came in and showed us a graph of our leasing efforts from past and current. It really was nice to be able to see what we were doing and how it was affecting the company.

Now I know as I said before you may not have the money to have a training director or a really great training program. There are ways you can still make sure you have a well train onsite staff. There is always someone in your company that excels at what they do and this can be multiple persons. Why not have them conduct a class on Leasing, Out Reach Marketing, Customer Service, Collections, Telephone, Communication? By doing this you are utilizing the talent you currently have in your company at no extra cost to you. You are also going to create a relationship among your employees to where they know they can go to someone for advice. Essentially you can create a 12 month training program by utilizing your current employee’s talents. This is a great marketing tool for gaining new employees and to gain new communities if you are into fee management.

One of the things that I began to realize when new hires came on board they are as lost as a lamb’s in a field of sheep. So I created a Leasing Guide Book that was filled with all kinds of material and notes that I had collected over the time I was with my previous company. So that when a new person came on they were given by me a Leasing Guide Book on the how to of the company and were able to reference it when needed. Also this would help out the current onsite staff to have someone say the person who is really great at leasing to come over and train the new hire in the ways of the company. If you have someone who can do this then seriously have one created for each office. I know many companies have Directors of Training but they are spread out so thin that they just can’t get to every one. So why not set up a team of two or one depending on the size of your region to go in and train the new hires? This will keep your current and new hire staff from becoming frustrated at the thought of training someone new.

By having a great training program in place you are going to build the tools for success. There is no reason why every person should not have the proper training before coming onsite and while onsite unless we are just too lazy to provide this. They key to a great staff is giving them the tools to succeed and that starts with training.

I would love to hear any other ideas on how to become better at training or other inexpensive ways to train.

Jolene Sopalski

Assistant Community Manager

Finlay Management.Inc.

* oringally posted on MFI on December 27,2010

Leasing Winter Blues...How To Get The Smoldering Passion Back!

Passion, Do You Have It?
How Do We Put Passion Back Into Our Office Staff ? As the slow season begins we tend to lack passion for leasing and the property. It's common for those of us into the industry to get the winter blues. But the question is how do we break away from the winter blues and put the passion back into the entire staff from Property Manager to Maintenance and into the property residents. There are several ways to do this and I want to share a few with you and hear your thoughts. I think we can learn allot from each other on this subject.

Lets get excited about marketing now more than ever. What you do now for marketing is going to set the tone for the spring and summer. You want to get the word out there now before others do, you want to stay in the back of peoples mined. You want your prospects remembering you every time they think about moving this spring or summer. The only way to do this is to market your community everywhere. Spice up your marketing locations by venturing to areas you have never been before. Also get the entire team involved make it a contest on who can come up with the best marketing location, idea, or new business contacts. I was recently just told not to spend money on marketing right now because you would not get any traffic, that right now it would be a waste of money. I beg to differ; now is the time I want to market so that I’m the busiest property this spring and summer in my region.

Time to Get excited about leasing again. Yes you actually can get leases in December. You know the ones who wait till the end of the school term to move. They need places to live and are going to be looking. Set a weekly or monthly goal of how many applications you are going to get. Create a Leasing Bam Board that every time you get a lease you get to grab the number lease you are on and hit the board yelling BAM. It is a blast to be able to hit the wall and see efforts of your work. So if you have a goal of 20 applications then your numbers are going to be 1-20 and they can be in funky shapes. The goal is to get all 20 applications by your deadline. This motivates everyone in the staff. Put the Leasing Bam Board where it is visible for everyone to see. You can also do a Deal or No Deal game. This is a fun one that can again involve everyone. Turn your wall into the brief Cases, have the brief cases number to the amount of lease you want to reach. So every time they get a lease they can pick a brief case and you can make them an offer from FREE Lunch to A Gift Card or whatever, remember you’re the banker. Of course the person who gets the last application will have to make a deal at that time. It’s a blast to play and has been a big success on properties that I was at.

Get excited about resident activities again. I know we all loved the summer for the pool party’s but who’s to say we can’t love the winter. There is so much we can do in the winter. With Christmas coming we can do so many things to help our residents out and give them some fun. For instance take Toni Blake’s Summer Olympics and make it a Winter Olympics. Christmas is around the corner have a kids night at your community so the parents can go shopping together with out having to pay for a sitter. Have a gift wrapping night for the parents only. They can come in drink some wine eat finger foods while you the staff wrap the presents for them. If you are lucky and have snow you can have a snowmen building contest with the residents on a saturday and serve hot chocolate afterwards with cookies. Go christmas caroling in a residental neighborhood or around your own community.  Oooh you can have a ladies night with a makeup person, some beauty techs that need service hours to do pedicures and manicures for free. Serve a nice dinner for the residents. Make it fun to live at your property year round not just the summer. Organize a community service project from stocking stuffers to the homeless shelter or going to the soup kitchen & serve food as a community.

These are just some of my ideas on how to put Passion back into the office and the community. I know there are tons more ideas out there and would love to hear them. I hope everyone has a great winter leasing season and they enjoy it.

Jolene Sopalski
Assistant Manager
Finlay Management,LLC

This is an example of a Leasing Bam Board. The original idea came from Tammy Burgett.

* Please note that this was orginally written for Toni Blakes Facebook Page Apartment Leasing Ideas - Fabulous Fundamentals where I'am one of her guest co-host. I wanted to share this with everyone on MFI because I know you guys are not all fans of her page, which I'm not sure why you are not :). I hope you guys enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it!*

* Last Posted on Multifamily Insiders on December 7,2010*

8 Marketing Ideas For The Slow Season

Congratulations everyone for making it threw the busy leasing season into the slow season. But don’t breathe a sigh of relief just yet because now is the time to start marketing for the next busy season. I’m very sorry to bring you this sad news that you will not be able to take a big breath & relax or be able to catch up on some things we neglected. Now is the time where we should be marketing more than ever our property so that come the pre-busy (Mid Feb-May) and the really busy season (June-October) we are jamming with prospects and not twiddling our fingers wondering what the heck happened. To help us all out with this I have some great marketing ideas that I have personally used as a Leasing Agent on Affordable Communities. Grab your running shoes & put them on because it’s time to run with these ideas!

Candy Canes Anyone?

1)      The month of December is a magical month that brings joy to everyone. We can be Santa Helpers with providing Day Cares with Candy Canes for when Santa comes for a visit. The past two years I have gone to the Dollar Store or Wal-Mart picked up a bunch of Candy Canes, I really mean I bought out the whole shelf; yes I got lots of really funny looks. Each candy cane had a ribbon with a cute little business card attach advertising what our current special was. The candy canes were then delivered to the Day Cares to be given out when Santa Clause came. Another great place to market using candy canes is your local mall. Every year Santa visits the malls and photography studios. This is a great place to get your community notice by large masses of potential residents by donating candy canes. Every town will have a Christmas Tree Lighting Program and yup you guessed it Santa will be there and towns will need someone to donate a goody for the kids to have after visiting with Santa. With the technology we have today simply incorporate a QR code on the business card this will get the kids asking the parents what the funny square is and who can resist a QR Code?!?! Look for places that Santa will be at and volunteer to donate candy canes with your community information attached.

Santa Makes A Great Human Directional & Paint Ball Target: Using

2)      We are always looking for a way to draw attention from the drive by traffic to our communities and what better way than to have Santa Clause as a Human Directional! I remember about two Christmases’ ago at a property I was working at we convinced our grounds keeper to put on the Santa Clause costume & hold our sign that said “We have Hot Chocolate & Great Rental Rates” out on a busy road by the mall. He did this for two hours every day and would even sing holiday songs and shout out “Merry Christmas” to those driving by. I will never forget the day when he was shot with a paintball gun while standing outside as Santa. That was one of the luckiest days our community had during that month, his being shot by the paint ball brought in prospects because they felt sorry for him and they moved in February!

Photographers Can Be Your New Best Friend:

3)      Portrait Studios are really busy this year; see if you can contact your local Life touch studio to see if you can strike up a partnership with them. Tell the Portrait Manager that will you take their coupons and put them on all your residents’ doors. Remember to make sure they have your property name on them so the manager knows where they are coming from. Don’t be afraid to ask the Portrait Manager if you can stuff the flyers in the portrait packages or tape to the envelopes. In regards to the flyers try to use a flyer that speaks warmth as it will be cold & dreary for many when they pick up their packages. Also if you post an expiration date on the flyers make sure it is over a 60 day period as many wait a month to pick up pictures to avoid the crush of people. The last thing you want to do is eliminate a potential customer with an expired special.

ATM’s & Clubs Are a Great Place To Meet People:

4) New' Year's Eve is the busiest time for ATM’s, clubs, bars & liquor stores. These are all great places to reach large masses of potential residents. I know you are thinking seriously Jolene you really think we are going to give up going out to party just to market our community?!?!?! No I'm not, but here is what you can do to tap into the mass majority of people. If you are going to a club take some business cards and tape them to the back of the bathroom stall doors - this really does work. During the day take all your promotional flyers or business cards and tag the heck out of the ATM's close to busy areas like the clubs or shopping centers. People are going to need money New Year's Eve and New Year's Day; what better way to reach people than at the ATM. Please make sure you have permission from your management company to do this. I have been posting on ATM’s for two years and have seen great results especially on holiday weekends!

Bandit Signs Can Be Your New Best Friend:

5) Bandit Signs are a very inexpensive way to market your community. Your bandit signs should be put everywhere that is going to be busy during the Holiday's- you know those places where you sit in traffic for 30 minutes to turn into the mall.  The key is to get people to see your name and remember you. Keep the signs simple and your phone number large. Stick them at major intersections of shopping centers and the Highway. Also look at the zip codes where you are getting approvals from on your Credit and Criminals, Core logic has this capability to show you. Target those zip codes &  branch out of your general area.

Tax Season:

6) January is 1 month closer to Tax season....yea!!!! This is a great time to tap into your H&R Blocks, Jackson Hewitt etc.  Set an appointment with the regional to see what marketing partnership you can strike up. The key is to make sure you have a special that is exclusively for their customers. Every year I do this I average about ten leases off of this idea and we only did this with H & R Block, they put us in ten different locations in Jacksonville and Orange Park. In-exchange we invited them to talk to our residents and put there flyer's in our newsletters.

Super bowl Weekend:

7) Super bowl Weekend= Pizza and Taco Beal! These are probably one of the greatest ways to reach a large number of people in one night alone! It is going to take some planning about 4 to 6 weeks to secure your of in these stores but it is worth it.  Taco Beal that are franchise will put your marketing material in their bags for free. All you have to do is become a business partner of theirs. Taco Beal has the mega box deals that go fast for Super Bowl Parties & are great for using a sticky note flyer! Remember super bowl Weekend is the busiest weekend for these two restaurants. On average, Papa Johns on Sunday night will sell over 5,000 pizzas. Get in touch with the GM and see what you can work out as far as cross promotional for both companies. This is a perfect time to use these two ideas as you are about to enter your pre-busy leasing season and people will remember seeing your marketing material.

Hearts Are A Blooming For Your Apartments:

8) Valentine’s Day is coming and hearts will be blooming at the stores. Get a bunch of those small heart boxes tag a fun note saying" become our sweet heart at Smith Apartments with a $299 Move In!  Call 904-767-6889 TODAY. “Hit all the local business with these fun really inexpensive items and give to the employees. This is a great way to incorporate Valentines in your marketing and this will remain in the prospect's head.

Remember this key point: we as human love to use our sight for everything. Our sight is what helps us decide on what to eat, drink, buy and guess where to LIVE! So if we want prospects to come to us then we need to make sure they can see us! The best thing you can do for your property & owners is to start marketing over the next few months aggressively. Remember you’re not just marketing apartments you are marketing a life style. Now I have shared some of my best secrets for direct outreach marketing during the slow season now it’s your turn to put those running shoes to the test & hit the pavement running- on your mark get set go!

Jolene Sopalski

Assistant Community Manager & Owner of FLY Apartment Leasing
Idea’s on Facebook!

*originally posted on Multifamily Insiders on December 1,2010*

Did You Know This About Most Carpet Cleaning Companies?

So I know this is not my normal positive leasing blog but I wanted to give a shout out to the Carpet Cleaning Industry and maybe educate some one else today. So here is my Did You Know blog.

Recently my significant other ( boyfriend, not legal husband but we call each other husband and wife, children’s father, free thinker, best friend) has become a Carpet Tech for a local Turn Key Company that specializes in Carpet Cleaning- they do a wonderful job seriously even before my honey pie went to work for them. Now if you had ask me four years ago when he was let go from his awesome IT Job would I ever see him cleaning carpets I would have laugh at you because the idea was absurd. But desperate times call for different ways of thinking and well now he is very happy about being a Carpet Tech- he even gave me a lecture on why I can't use Resolve to get my stains out of the carpet anymore... it was quite cute actually. Anyways getting off the subject matter and that is Did You Know That Most Carpet Cleaning Companies pay their techs on straight commission?

I for one did not know this nor did I even care at the time how they got paid just that my carpets in the units got clean at a low price. But boy has my thought process change sense my honey pie went to work as a Carpet Tech. He gets oh lets just say 25% of the sales on the units he cleans. So if he were to do a job that was a set rate of $250 (save unit) he is only getting paid $62 and could be in the unit for more than two hours but lets just say a max of two hours. I know your thinking hello "Jolene he just made $31 an hour that is more than the Property Regional makes so what are you complaining about?" I'm actually not complaining I just thought I would educate the group on some interesting things that I have found out.

Now lets say you have a save unit the guy can do it but you don't want to pay the $250 so you ask for it to go to $150 you just cut his pay in half. He is going to do it because they want your business but know that you just cheated your favorite carpet tech out of his pay because you did not budget properly for saved carpets- can I get an Amen...totally just kidding. So we all know that we just don’t have an extra $1500 around to replace carpet whenever we need to, so we have to rely on these carpet guys to save the carpet. My point is you don't want to work for less than what you are worth, so why would we expect these guys to do the same. So when you complain about the high carpet cleaning bill remember this you may be paying out $1500 but he just saved you 6 apartments that you would have otherwise paid $9,000 to replace the carpet. Also remember if you are cheap on the amount they give you for the carpet clean it will get around and the good guys, you know the ones who know what they are doing and take pride in their work will pass you to the weak one, you know the one who dose not know what he is doing or cares about his job. Then you no longer have a pretty saved unit but an ugly saved unit and you may just end up spending more money on it.

Now let’s address the whole Renewal Carpet Clean Price. We love deals, yes we do! Again never thought about this till my honey pie went to work as a Carpet Tech. So now we are at renewal time and we are giving an incentive to have a resident renew their lease with a free carpet clean and boy do I mean FREE. The carpet cleaning companies have reduced their price for renewals because you give them so much business. Its a give and take relationship but what about the carpet tech that is your favorite and you only want him what dose he get for the renewals...drum roll please...at $25.00 a renewal clean and 25% commission it comes out to $6.00 WOW that is less than minimum wage. So if you have oh say 15 renewal carpets that day your guys is now spending the day there (if not then he a horrible cleaner) and just made a total of $90. I know that I hate working for less than I'm worth so why do we expect others to. I also know we are not going to rush right to our carpet cleaning company and say "gee can you raise your renewal carpet clean price so your carpet guy is at least getting $7.25 a renewal clean" in a perfect world that would be awesome if it did happen. But let’s face it we have a budget that we have to abide by at the Property so if we can get something less than what the normal price is we are going to take advantage of it. So I know what your thinking come on Jolene what is the solution. Don't worry I have some suggestions but it’s up to you if you use them or not.


Suggestion 1: Don't Bargain with the guys to much on your saves. You know what a Save carpet is by now and know that if you make short cuts you’re just going to call them back out to redo it and pay more. If you don't know what a Save carpet is walk the unit with the tech and maintenance supervisor to learn. Pay the carpet tech what they are worth and they will do a great job for you.

Suggestion 2: On the renewals educate the residents to tip the tech. Yes tip him like $5-$20 for coming out to clean your carpet. If they know they are going to get tip they will do a fantastic job better than a normal renewal job. Seriously try to make up for the awesome deal by educating your resident. I did this and it is working.

Suggestion 3: Stick with your carpet company. If you have one that you like use only them not three or four at a time. The reason for this is you will get better deals and service by just using one Carpet Cleaning Company. You may think they don't know you’re using more than one Carpet Company but they do. So if you want to continue your good prices and clean then stick to the one carpet cleaning company.

Suggestion 4: Talk to who ever makes your budgets but giving you more play room in the Saved carpet area. Look at previous years and see where your heaviest saved units were, they tend to stay in a trend. By budgeting for this you are not stressing out over a saved unit and the fact that your favorite carpet tech just made less than he is worth.

Suggestion 5: Emergency Water Extractions...they are considering it an Emergency ( hello you called it in for an Emergency)  so therefore they are going to cost more. When you call out for an Emergency you are taking that Carpet Tech from a current job that they now have to make excuses for and possibly lose money on. Expect to pay for that emergency no matter what. If you’re resident has renters insurance then submit the bill to the insurance company to get your money back. Also you can submit the bill the resident if it is due to their negligence and take the proper procedures. You can also budget for the emergency cleans at budget time; you know that when it’s the raining season there are bound to be leaks or floods so make room for them. Keep in mined when you go to the ER you know that you are going to pay that high bill because it was an emergency so why would you cheat your company out of pay when they dropped everything for you.

I'm not sure if this helped anyone or not, but for me it did. I truly did not realize what I was doing to the guys who come out to get my carpets pretty so I can move in someone when I tried to get them to lower the bill. It's important that we keep the techs happy because hello they in the end save us allot of money. Also with out pretty clean carpet people tend not to move in or just make our lives at the office hell.

Jolene Sopalski
Assistant Manager
Finlay Management, LLC

*Originally Posted on Multifamily Insiders on November 11,2010*