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

 

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

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/

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.

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!

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*

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*

Tips On How To Show Your Community To Get That Lease!

You have already created the excitement for the prospect to see the apartment home. The key is to keep the prospect excited about leasing from you while you take them on the tour of your community.  Below you will fined some key items that I have found useful  in any situation and property. But first I want everyone to remember that every person who walks into your office has a dollar sign over their head whether it is a current, previous resident or new guest they equal money. Treat them the way you want to be treated and always keep making the sale to them.


How to start your tour:
Take the prospect to the apartment home first this is what they came in to see. Be sure to talk to the prospect about what they are looking for in a community. Ask the questions why, what, and when while talking to them. Write down their answer on the Guest Card or in a notebook that you have taken with you. Don’t rely on your memory rely on your notes. Use your notes to help you sell the community.

Inside the apartment home:

When you open the door, these words should be popping out of your mouth: “ Welcome to your new home at ________________ “.  Start introducing the apartment to the prospect by showing the key points that they are looking for in the apartment home (you should refer to your notes). Ask the guest about the furniture they have and with the guest placing the furniture in the apartment home. This will help them visualize the apartment as their own. Try to get the prospect to commit right then and there to place the application; you should always have the applications in the apartment home to fill out.

Outside the Apartment Home:

Continue the excitement with showing your amenities that you have to offer. Talk to the guest about the different programs you offer for them, after all, this will be their home - they should know. Plus this will give you an edge to close with if they say, "wow I really like that you offer a home ownership program."

Use the five sense rule:

Touch - Pool “Feel how wonderful the pool is - you are going to love swimming in it this summer.”

Smell - Nature “Smell how wonderful it is outside, you will love going for walks around our community. You can also use smell by putting an apple pie in the model oven and setting the temp at low. This will set the smell of the apartment all day, there just something about the smell of apple pie meaning home.

Hear - “Listen to how peaceful it is here at ____________.” “Don’t you just love the sound of the birds?”

Sight - Play/Park “See our beautiful park or nature area you are going to get to enjoy everyday as a resident here at _____________”

Taste - Put some fruit or cookies on a table at the end of your tour, invite them to taste the food. They will remember the really good food.
By incorporating the 5 Senses they are going to remember you and your property. You have also heightened the experience by  simply incorporating the 5 senses that are sending signals to their brain.

Back to the Office:

Once you have gone back to the office if you have any pictures framed or album of resident activities is sure to show them off. After all this is your community and you should be proud to show it off. This is a great way to lead into the final close. “So Mrs. Barbie, you see that we have all these great resident activities and community, wouldn’t it be great if you became part of our community today?” If the prospect says well I just want to look some more before I commit. Ask where else they are going to be looking at today.

Make sure you are familiar with the other communities in your area. You should have a competition book that has their floor plan, prices, amenities and pictures. Pull this book out and show the prospect start comparing your property to theirs by doing this you are reminding them all the good things you have to offer and they never left your community. The key is to keep the prospect in your office to place the application and lease from you not your competition. After showing them the competition book and pointing out all the great things they like about your community ask them to place the application with you.

Remember you are a sales person and your job is to sale the apartments. Every person you let out your door without placing an application right then and there, you have just lost money out of your pocket and your owners pocket. #1 Rule Don’t let them walk out the door without placing an application! If you maintain the thought that everyone who comes in to view will lease the same day it will happen. Stay excited and positive the entire time you are with the prospect, you will start to see a difference.

Jolene Sopalski
Assistant Manager
Finlay Management,LLC

*Originally Posted On Multifamily Insiders on October 13,2010*

STOP ask yourself do you do your follow up calls or thank you cards?!?!?!?

  STOP ask yourself do you do your follow up calls or thank you cards?!?!?!?

If you answered no to that question then I want you to hold up your right hand and pledge the following “ I will  start following up with my prospects no prospect will go un-followed up”. Good now if you are one of the ones that said yes I do my follow up calls and thank you cards I want to give you a big hug so just picture me giving  you a hug.

Why are follow ups with prospects so important to you and your owners? They are important to us because our prospects are the key to our success in this industry with out them leasing our apartments there would be no need for us. So why would you let them walk out of your office and never make contact again with money? All to often we use the excuse there's just no time to follow up. I really don’t like hearing there is no time to follow up on a potential lease because that is our job. I want to share with you some tips on following up on prospects that will hopefully increase your leases, make your owners happy and make it easier for you to follow up.  Always keep in mined that you are not the only property that your prospect is looking at so you want  to stay in the game by following up with them. You may not get the lease for many reasons but they will remember and either come back after the lease they sign at the other place or refer someone to you.

 Thank You Cards–  Thank You Cards should be sent out with in 24 hours of showing the property. These can be lots of fun to send out and adds a personal touch to your  relationship with your prospect. I love getting greeting cards in the mail especially on my bad days so think of it this way you just put a smile on someones face. The key to the greeting card is to make sure you stand out and they remember you. Include a personal message about your tour what they liked about your community and a picture. Give them a special incentive to come back. You can hand make these cards, go to the dollar tree, vista print or maybe your company has some already. Post cards also work great for thank you cards.

 Phone Calls/Text– Phone Calls/Text should be done with in the first 24 hours, then with in 72 hours and then five days from the initial visit or till they say no I don't want to rent from you (sadly this dose happen). With everyone having texting capabilities it is sometimes preferred way of communicating. I know that when I get home I don't like to answer the phone I prefer texts so I like to do both a phone call within two hours of leaving my property if I’m able to and text by the first business day. When you are making these follow up calls make sure you include the hot points they loved about your community and even try to give them an incentive to comeback. If you have a hard time remembering when to phone or text you can set it up in Microsoft Outlook for a reminder call and your company software program.
 Email– Is also a great way to follow up with a prospect. There are all kinds of free e-cards that you can send to your prospect. This is also good to invite the prospect to any future resident activities that you will have on your property. What better way to follow up then invite them to a resident party?!?! Email is also the most cost effective for your owners but the email follow up may get lost in the spam filter so I advise not to rely heavily on this but to pair this with any of the follow up procedures.

 Now I like to include a few other tips that I do with my follow ups that have work for me. I like to get the prospect birthday from their drivers license and I put on my desk calendar and my outlook calendar their birthday. Depending if I have their mailing address or email I will send them a birthday card from me to them. Every one loves birthday cards and this will still keep you in the forefront even if they did not lease with you the first time. I also like to do a follow call, greeting card or email at the six month point of visiting (again calendar or outlook email) just to see how they are doing and to let them know we still have a home for them when they are ready. Also most of us are on sixty day notices so I will at the 90days before its been a year of coming to our property try to contact the prospect again. So as you can see I have done a year of follow up and the results are phenomenal.

 Making sure that you and your staff are following up on your prospect is so important that it should be mandatory and be held accountable for not doing it. Our prospects equal money and by following up we are going after the money. I hate letting money leave my wallet for silly things so why would we do that to our community or owners. FOLLOW UP with your prospects its that important.

 

Feel free to follow up with me on your thoughts and ideas for follow ups.

Jolene Sopalski

Leasing Specialist

WRH Realty Services

jolene.sopalski@gmail.com

*Originally posted on Multi Family Insiders on September 22,2010*

What Not To Wear!

What Not To Wear!

What exactly is Business Casual Attire or Professional Attire?

These two subjects are commonly confusing especially today more than ever. But what exactly do they mean? Business Casual Attire is a common practice in business to appear casual but presentable (slacks, dresses, skirts, and blouses). Professional Attires is to enable our employees to project the professional image that is in keeping with the needs of our clients and customers to trust us (Business Suits).  We see fashion ads that say be hip and in style for work but is that really right for what we do in the Multi Family Business, in my opinion yes. It is okay to be fashionable but with taste and class in all areas of our appearance. We all know that what you might wear to the club the night before is not business casual or professional attire…right? So why would you wear it to work…trust me I have seen this over the years happen.

 I want to share some basic guidelines that I have found to be useful and if you have someone on your team that may not be following the company policy on dress attire this may be a nice helpful way to get them on board!  I have five very simple rules:

 1.) If the valley is showing between the mountains when I bend down or you’re looking straight at me then I need to have a Cami underneath.

2) If I have a plumber’s crack in my pants when I sit down then I need to one; go up a size or two; get a belt.

3) Always have a crease in your trousers (If you don’t know how to then go find someone to show you).

4) Hair is to be tasteful.. I know we all love Rihanna’s Style or Kristen Storm (Twig light girl?) but we need to remember that we are professionals and our hair styles need to be neat and clean.  Hair Color should be tasteful think of where you work before you get your hair done some weird wacky color. Don't be afraid to ask for help in this area sometimes someone else’s eye for color maybe just what you need. Oh please no wet hair to work you look like a drown puppy dog …seriously.

 5) Makeup is never to be over done. If the color looks like you belong at a club (example: black, blue, purple, or lime green eyeliner or shadow) don’t wear to work its distracting to the selling of the community. Ask a makeup expert at the local malls tell them what you need it for they will help you with a nice style. Your makeup should complement your features not cover them up. Ever heard of the saying less is best...

Those are just some helpful tips of mine that I keep in mined. I also feel that every man or woman should have at least two business suits in the closet. I know that when times are tight we don’t have the money that is why Good Will, JcPenny’s, Ross Dress For Less, Marshall’s are great places to fined good quality clothes at a great price.

Remember when our customers walk into the Leasing Office we are the first ones they see. Appearance is everything, how we dress and present our selves is how they view the property. Trust me on this one I have seen it happen. If you don’t believe me try an experiment for a week and see what happens. We tend to buy from those who look professional and put together all the time. Its just human nature!

I have included some links for articles on helpful guidelines and some pictures. Hopefully this helps! I really feel like we need to stand out now more than ever with the summer season coming to a close.

http://humanresources.about.com/od/workrelationships/a/dress_code.htm

http://humanresources.about.com/od/workrelationships/a/dress_formal.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_casual

Jolene Sopalski
Leasing Specialist
WRH Realty Services
www.wrhrealty.comJolene.Sopalski@gmail.com


*originally posted on Multifamily Insiders Jul 2010*

21 Resident Renewal Ideas

Creative Ways To Retain Residents At Renewal Time

So often we focus on leasing and being creative with our marketing that we forget about Resident Retention. We think oh we don’t have to market our current residents they already live here at our community. That is the wrong thought process, marketing does not stop the moment they sign a lease, it’s a continuous thing. So let’s focus on some creative ways to market renewals and to get the current resident to stay a current resident. Especially now in these times when we are all competing for each other residents. I was reading a past issue of Rent and Retention magazine March/April 2006 and discover a fun list of 21 methods to deliver lease renewals. I tweaked some and added a little here and there! I really hope you enjoy this and have fun! There will be lots of more fun and creative ways to market current residents to stay coming your way soon!

•Remember the first initial letter is to have all the information they need to renew their lease. You can still deliver it in a fun and creative way!
1)  Wanted Poster- This is great if you have a picture of your resident. Get some cream color paper to make it look aged. Scan the picture and write “WANTED-YOU to renew your lease!”

2)  “Seems Like Only Yesterday”- Do the same thing with the wanted poster but write “It Seems Like Only Yesterday that you moved in. We’ve had a great year. Please stay for another!” This would also be cute in a card. 3)“We can’t bear for you to leave!”- This would be cute with stuff teddy bears (you can fined them at the dollar store) or go to www.plushinarush.com. Make a cute card tie it around the bear neck and hand deliver to the resident that has put in notice. You can even have a special just for them.

3)  Custom Fortune Cookie Co.- Make cookies with your personal fortunes inside. Example: There are large closets in your future! Renew Today! I have a great recipe for this contact me at jolene.sopalski@gmail.com for it.

4)  Make Posters and Hang them on the resident’s door- Make the posters have a homemade feel so it shows that you really cared about them to take the time to make a poster for them. Example: We really love you & all that you do for our community! Make it a fun poster; you could even tie some balloons to it. Check out your local scrapbook stores for clearance items. You ca also have everyone on the maintenance team sign the poster and write something nice about the resident.

5)  Giant Checks- I know you’re thinking what. Create a Blank Check and write the resident name on it. You can put your renewal special, the cost of a carpet clean, or their rental rate. In the memo section put renew today.

6)  Laminate Place Mat- Put a team photo that says “Renew your lease…Have dinner on us.” It cost less than three dollars and everything can be found at a craft store. Include a gift certificate to a restraint or a night you make dinner for the renewals. Set candled in the clubhouse, put dinner cloths on the tables have a name card with resident name, light music and you serve dinner to everyone.

7)  Recordable Cards- Are a great way to get someone to renew…example have an Elvis card you could record “Don’t be a hound dog! Renew your lease today!”

8)  Inflatable Monkeys, Whales, Smiley Faces, Lions, Guitars- These can be found all over check the dollar stores or party stores. Attach a sticker or card that says “Don’t monkey around! We want you to stay!” or ‘It would be music to our ears if you tell us you’ll stay for another year!”

9)  Balloons( non-Mylar)-This is a great way to deliver you letters, attach some balloons to the letter if the residents not home then tie to the door knob or knocker.

10)  Movie Posters- Get a picture of a movie star, example Brad Pitt attaché the following saying or whatever to match the movie star picture. “It would be the Pitts if you moved. Please renew your lease!” This makes the renewal letter fun and catches attention.

11)  “Whoopee!”-It’s time to renew your lease. Attach this note to a whoopee cushion from a party or dollar store.This will make a good laugh for the resident.

12)  “Any way you slice it…we want you to stay!”- Attach to a pizza box or a gift certificate from a pizza place or an invite to a pizza renewal party.

13)  100 Calorie Pack- “Don’t Dessert Us!” attach this to a 100 calorie snack pack.

14)  Renewal “flex days 7-3/10-7 techs too!”- Come in from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. to renew your lease. We’re open for you!

15)  News Paper-“Great News! It’s time to renew!” put this in the headline of a newspaper…like the daily paper or make your own from a print shop program. I thought it would be great to get the Sunday paper with the coupons and do this with!

16)  Mylar Balloons- Get some cute Mylar balloons from the dollar store and attach the renewal letter. Give this to the resident either in person or tie to the door.

17)  Drive Thru Rent Payment (Two Birds with one stone) - I love this one a lot. Make sure you have all your renewal notices ready to go in the morning. Stand at the entrance to your community and collect rents. Be sure to hand out some breakfast items with a Thank you for paying rent. Have your renewal letter attach to the breakfast items and give to the resident as they leave. Let them know you hope they stay. Be sure to advertise this a week before rent is due.

18)  Sunglasses or Field Glasses- “we’re looking for you to renew” attach to the letter.

19)  Turn a Candy Bar into a renewal notice- example: 100 grand bar, “ You are worth more than a 100 grand” renew today! You can even make a customer renewal letter wrapper by going to http://desktoppub.about.com/od/candywrappers/l/bl_cwbaby.htm there are templates here for you to use.  Side note this works and is a lot of fun!

20)  Renewal Party- A theme party; example a murder mystery dinner is a lot of fun and you can have the papers ready for them to sign. They get dinner, entertainment and you get a renewal. 

21)  Hang Around- Saw this on multifamily pro and loved the idea! Get some colorful hangers ( Dry cleaners-Great way to start a business partnership, dollar store, or walmart) attach a  note that says "We Love For You To Hang Around another year!"

Now the point is to make personal contact with the resident (just like when we go out marketing). So deliver the items personally and if the resident is not home leave a note saying they have a package at the office. Once they come in give them the renewal notice and see if you can get them to renew.. Once the resident renews don’t forget to send them a Thank You Card. It would even be nice at the six month period to send another Thank You Card ( maybe with a lotto ticket or a free appetizer from a local restaurant) for being a great resident! 

Jolene Sopalski
Leasing Specialist
WRH Realty Services
www.wrhrealty.com
Jolene.Sopalski@gmail

* If you would like the nice pretty version with clip art email me at jolene.sopalski@gmail.com* Stay Tune For Much More fun stuff!

* Originaly posted on Multi Family Insiders on Jul 28,2010*

How Important Are Resident Activities to you and your community?

Resident Activities are very important selling tool for us! I remember four years ago when I was on the apartment hunt looking for an apartment community that was going to be home for my self and three children I wanted something that I could find living in a neighborhood but with in an apartment community. I must have look at ten different community's and left each one disappointed. Several times I ask what do you do for the residents and got oh well we have these great amenities. I wanted to feel connected to my community and get to know my neighbors. I know its a crazy thought but I really wanted that.

See I was a single mom going out on my own for the first time sense having kids and previously had only lived in student housing(which trust me there are lots of activities going on it was allot of fun) so I knew that I would need the connection to others and hopefully find a friend or as Anne of Green Gables states, a Kindred Spirit. I finally found what I was looking for in the community that I currently live and work for. I was blown away by the fact there were kids outside playing and the amount of resident activities they had.  I knew right then and there that was where I wanted to be. It also helped that it was close to my employer at the time. As you can see having regular resident activities can make a difference to a prospect. For myself it was very important in the decision making part of where my family and I would live.

Every time I show our community or any community that I'm on for our company I start off showing our resident clubhouse or activity board.  I give the prospect a calendar of the activities that we have going on and invite them to come out to the next one so they can see how much fun we have. I guarantee if you do this then your closing ratio will increase. Having regular resident activities will also help with resident retention. People more than ever want to feel connected to where they live. They want to know that this is a great place to be. So why not start setting yourself apart now from everyone else by offering more resident activities that appeal to your residents. Take a survey ask what they would be interested in. Make them part of the process like they have a say in what you are planning. Start a resident activities committee...oh I really like that idea...just pop into my head. This will also take some of the stress off of you in the office.  Here are just a few idea's for some resident activities to try out:

Fall/Winter/Spring/Summer Festival ( Have local vendors or businesses help sponsor email me if you want a layout for this)

Game Night: Bingo.Bonco,Cribbage,Uno, Phase 10

Hamburger Cook Off: Make this an annual event play it up

Chili Cook Off: Make this an annual event play it up

Breakfast On The Go: Simple Breakfast Items maybe check with your local breakfast place see if you can get a special on items. Also Starbucks will do taste test at your community for Free.

Ladies Night: Make this a feel great about your self event talk to some makeup distributors set up different tables of different local business let them have samples to give. Have a nice dinner

Mystery Dinner Theater: I know they use to sale these years ago but check out a themed mystery dinner.

Movie Night at The Pool

Tutoring For Kids: Contact the High School or Colleges Offer Free Tutoring

Girl Scouts/Boy Scouts: Set up a chapter at your property


These are just somethings that you can do. I know there are tons of  things we can do. I don't know how else to stress that having resident activities are very important to our communities. It is hard work but the payoff is worth it. You will have more resident retention and higher closing ratio. I love to hear what you have to say or other ideas you have!





This is a picture of an event that we had where one of our residents gave a lesson on snakes! The kids loved it!

Jolene Sopalski
Leasing Specialist
WRH Realty Services

* Originally Posted On Multifamily Insiders Jul 2010*