EPMEPM: BD & Growth

Growth: Just a Phone Call Away

The future growth of your rent roll is a simple phone call away – but just picking up the phone and ‘chatting’ is not going to do it, as Tara Bradbury explains.

The old saying ‘time is money’ is very true when you are working at keeping the relationship strong with your client. If you don’t follow up at least every six months, you are wasting your time in your role as BDM. Always make sure your activities are income-producing and generating money for the business. Networking and follow-ups are a guaranteed way of building stronger relationships and producing an ongoing income.

You need to be prepared to get out of your comfort zone and take a chance by asking your clients open-ended questions.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

‘How happy are you with our service; is there anything we could improve on?’

‘Who are some friends or family that may be interested in a free property health check?’

‘How satisfied are you with your current rental income return?’

‘What is your plan for expanding your investment portfolio?’

BDMs are salespeople, and some of the best open-ended questions I have picked up along the way have been from the sales teams I have worked with.

If you are not already doing it, get involved with your sales team and be a part of their weekly meetings.

It’s important that BDMs take responsibility for the current landlords as well as those you’ve signed. Delegating to other team members is sometimes a great solution for busy BDMs, but someone needs to be accountable for this important task.

Maintaining the relationship with the landlord is one of the most important aspects of becoming a successful BDM. You should always build long-term relationships with your landlords, as they are entrusting you with their property –a large investment and a very important part of their financial future.

Many BDMs are great lead generators and convertors, but they fail to focus on retention. Most tend to think a yearly phone call from one of the office property managers to the landlord is a sufficient retention strategy. It’s not. In fact, in most cases, the property manager is too busy to make the call, and the landlord misses out on his yearly phone call.

Touching base every six months with a positive phone call requesting feedback ensures you maintain your relationship with your landlord, but it also ensures you’re top of mind when they think of real estate in general.

Even if, during one of these calls, you happen get some negative feedback you weren’t expecting, it is still better to have made the call. If you don’t keep in contact with past clients, who will they call when they are at breaking point and dissatisfied with their current service? Who will they recommend to their friends or family when they need help? Who will they call when they are looking at adding another property to the portfolio?

The future of your property management business is in the hands of your clients, and if you don’t communicate with them on a regular basis you will watch future leads and prospects walk out the door.

Things to remember when speaking with your clients:

  • Know what you are going to speak with your client about.
  • Make sure you are not distracted and give the client your full attention.
  • Before you call, know what your goal is and have a plan in place to achieve it.
  • Consider standing and walking around while on the phone. This will help keep you focused on the conversation, and you won’t become sluggish in your chair.
  • Be sure to listen. Make sure that when the client is speaking, you are listening and taking in what they are saying. Too many people, including myself, tend to fall into the trap of thinking ahead to what they are going to say next. If you don’t listen, you may lose an opportunity to close the deal.

The future growth of your rent roll is a simple phone call away.

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Tara Bradbury

Tara Bradbury is the Director of the BDM Academy sharing her business development ideas and strategies with property management BDM’s and Principals. For more information visit bdmacademy.com.au.