EPMEPM: Leadership

7 Ways to Raise the Bar In 2017

WHEN IT COMES TO AIMING high in your property management business, dare to be different and think big. Here are seven ways you can raise the bar this year.

1 DARE TO BE UNTRADITIONAL
Raising the bar in 2017 starts with daring to be ‘untraditional’. As you know, clients engage property management agencies to gain better returns and increased capital growth on their properties. As such, all agencies appear to be the same to property investors. So how do you stand out in this market of sameness?

Start providing untraditional services in addition to your traditional service offering. To do this, look to your competitors and identify gaps in their service offering that your agency could fill with new and valuable services; for example, market analysis reporting or investment logic mapping. Take a risk and deliver something untraditional to your clients this year.

2 HIRE FOR ATTITUDE AND ADAPTABILITY
To raise the bar in your property management business you need the right team. To do this, hire employees based on their attitude and adaptability, rather than their experience. This allows you to assemble a team that aligns with your company culture, shares your vision, represents your brand, readily adopts your systems and is on board with raising the bar. What’s more, creating a team with the right attitude and adaptability usually leads to loyalty and longevity, which can save you time and money in the long run.

3 GIVE YOUR BUSINESS A UNIQUE PERSONALITY
Understanding what makes your business special can help you raise the bar. Since most agencies look, sound and feel the same, you have the opportunity to stand out by giving your agency a unique personality that your clients and prospects come to know, like and trust. To do this, reflect on who you are as a principal, why you decided to offer property management services and what makes you special. This then translates to a unique personality for your business.

Injecting this heart and soul into your agency is the best way to attract the right clients and team.

4 ACT LIKE DISNEY AND MCDONALD’S
Another way to raise the bar in your property management business is to act like Disney and McDonald’s.

What does this mean and how can it help your agency? As you know, Disney is renowned for creating a magical customer experience. Likewise, McDonald’s is known for its consistent customer experience. Both companies have built their success on effective processes. By modelling your operations on these companies, you too can re-engineer and recreate processes which ensure consistency, compliance and completion in your business. As a result, this will allow you to provide a memorable customer experience and win more business in 2017.

5 USE TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE YOUR HUMAN CONNECTION
Another way to raise the bar is by enhancing your human connection with your clients and prospects. The key is to understand how the latest software, apps and gadgets can support your systems and, ultimately, improve this invaluable connection. That’s because, with the threat of disruption, the best way to remain relevant is by continuously improving your main point of difference: the human connection you can offer. Ironically, this is where technology can step in and help.

6 SET THE BAR FOR HIGHER LEARNING
To ensure your property management business delivers the best results, you need to raise the bar when it comes to your team’s ongoing training. You should hire property managers who are willing to undertake higher learning, or have already earned qualifications. This not only ensures you have a knowledgeable and up-to-date team, but demonstrates to your clients and prospects that they are dealing with experts who know how to achieve the promised results every time.

7 BE RELENTLESS IN YOUR PURSUIT OF REMARKABLE
In today’s fast-paced world, being good is not good enough. Clients are demanding more and more, and it is those property management businesses that raise the bar and deliver the results that will achieve long-lasting success. In 2017, you should aim to be remarkable in every way – through your service offering, team, personality, processes, systems, human connection, training and results. Being remarkable ensures you remain relevant and valuable to your clients and win more business.

If you want to raise the bar in your property management business in 2017, dare to be different and think big.

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Jo-Anne Oliveri

Jo-Anne Oliveri, CIPS, TRC, Founder and Managing Director of property management business solutions company ireviloution intelligence. She is an international real estate identity who has trained over 500 agencies and thousands of agency owners and property managers worldwide. Visit ireviloution.com to find out more.