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