Christopher Higgins' Blog

Before you entered property management, you probably shopped for an apartment or a home. It is interesting to consider how different that process is for you today, with the knowledge and skills you have learned, the things that you know to look for, the things you know tend to go wrong, the funny things the leasing agent may say that you would quibble with if she worked for you. But your prospect is still in that place – they still see things from that narrow viewpoint. They are still directed and toured. They don’t have the knowledge and experience that you do. So we need to sell on their terms, not try to bring them to ours. By changing the way they see you, and your community, you can get them to lease.

One way to easily get a prospect to change perspective is to make them comfortable. We have been doing this for decades in our business, with varying results. From the cookies to the espresso machine, we try to fill a tactile need for comfort in our prospects, but this is frequently wasted or done at the wrong time. While many of you can relate to having hurried to make a batch of cookies just prior to a key appointment, only to see them snatched up by the school kids as the bus deposits them at your door, there are many more times when the “comforts of home” are merely implied or suggested, not indulged in. The amount of times I have followed a leasing agent through a leasing center past the cookies, but not been offered one, is unfathomable. It certainly numbers in the hundreds of times. What a wasted opportunity!

When I went on-site, I leased a ton of units. One thing that the managers usually noticed is just how long I was gone. I have gotten into arguments since then with supervisors or managers who feel that their leasing consultants are away from the office too much, probably just wasting time. Certainly a small portion of them may be just talking to the maintenance guy and smoking a cigarette, but those people are found out pretty quickly and their closing numbers are red flags. More often I have found that the ones that are away from the office, spending more time out on the property, or in a vacant or a model, are the ones that LEASE. When I showed apartments, I was pretty different. One thing I would do as soon as practicable was to get the prospects to sit. Somewhere, anywhere. The best is in a comfortable living room around a coffee table with an unobstructed view. Lemonade or iced tea in hand, all the better. I would ask them the stuff that wasn’t on the guest card. What did they think about making this move? What else was up in the air, or was finding the next address all that remained in this life change? What did they hope for, long for in a place to live? These questions led to conversations, conversations which taught me about the prospect and about what it would take to make them come home to us. A funny benefit in this change of view – sitting is the level they will actually live at. You don’t spend most of your time in your own home standing on the tile in the foyer. You sit. We are Americans, we spend most of our awake time in a living room in front of a TV. Have them see their new home from this angle, it is the angle they will be spending much time at in the future. It also really saves you if you have eight foot ceilings. Everything looks a bit taller when you are sitting down!

Back when I was still with a property management company, I used to regularly poll my managers and on-site marketing people to gauge their satisfaction and stress level. I was regularly surprised by the level of stress, or perceived stress, that many of these managers seemed to labor under day in and day out. What was causing it? Was it me, my owner, co-workers, policies, pricing, marketing, competition? The weather? Their hair? Sometimes I was really quite nonplussed. So I decided to go deeper, get more into the root of the problem.

Once I could rule out most of the above, aside from the fact that my owner at that time was quite possibly a lunatic, I came across a completely different cause – the person themselves. Many of these managers had the same basic job, same performance, same salary, similar living situations and family lives as non-stressed managers. What were they doing differently? Freaking out about nothing, for one. Doing many things which caused them stress, for another. Have you ever had a day that just seemed to start off bad, and then get progressively worse? If you sit and analyze that day, somewhat removed from its outcome, it is interesting to pinpoint where things may have gone wrong. Did you wake up late? Run out of gas? Miss an errand, forget an appointment? Drink a few gallons too much coffee? Did you show up to a meeting unprepared or a few minutes past acceptable? Were you short with a person who you should have indulged in conversation, or dismissive of someone whose ideas could have helped you? We have all been there. Many of us have had each of these happen, sometimes all in just one day. But how many of them are avoidable, how many can you prevent? I can’t go into the psychology of why some people self-sabotage, but I do explain to my employees and consulting clients that certain people, certain types, have these instances happen much more frequently than others. Not just unlucky, but people who build their own road blocks and then drive right into them. Repeatedly.

Work stress is avoidable and manageable. Especially in this industry – while not dismissive of the factors and elements that can make it maddening, they are hardly unmanageable. Ticked off supervisors? Please, not a big deal if you can prove that the problem is being addressed or was not yours in the first place. Mad resident? It isn’t that hard to make them happy when you listen and empathize. Eventual eviction is also a tool for the chronic complainer. But there are so many things we can do, in this business and in life, to keep us out of these mood destroyers and time wasters. Wake up early. Plan ahead. Prepare, read up, think a few steps beyond. Surround yourself with other people with good habits, not those that may bring out the worst of yours.

People on the other side of the world are no better at selling apartments than we are. Just in case you were wondering. At a property in Fremantle, a suburb of Perth, I was greeted by an enthusiastic sales agent who was eager to show me around and explain her property’s admirable features. But when I began to ask her about the other communities on her major road, she was perplexed. You could almost see behind her eyes how much she wanted to say “I don’t know, I work HERE, not THERE.” But isn’t that precisely the point? If she works HERE, she should know why she doesn’t work THERE. What do they have that is different, better, worse, similar, or otherwise?

A part of preparing for a leasing job, a potential hire should be doing shops of the major competitors in the market area. When I interview a leasing agent, I want to know that they have a foundation of knowledge about the people who they will be competing with. I often suggest to interviewees, when we set the appointment, to take some time and visit properties A, B and C prior to our meeting. I then ask a few good questions about those properties, just to find out how inquisitive they were on their tour. Why is this so important? Why would I want a person who knows more about the comps than the property I am hiring them for? They have plenty of time to learn all about my community in their training and work ahead. But if they know what the comps offer, and why that item may be a positive or a negative, they are that much closer to closing their first customer.

Selling is all about contrast. In many markets, a property will have such direct, exact competition that it can be very tricky to spell out the differences. But it is all the more important when you have six properties all appealing to the same niche, with the same views, the same amenities, the same basic offering – how do you convince them yours is just a bit better? By knowing the competition, inside and out.

As I was sitting across the closing table from the sellers of my new property in North Dakota, they asked me again why I thought I would be able to do better with this property than they had. My reply, a variation of what I had told them during my research, was “marketing”. Their reply was telling, a simple reason why they had to sell, “You mean advertising? There is hardly any place to advertise, and we have tried them anyway. Good luck!” they replied, with a condescending smile.

I can’t recall the number of times I have heard people try and equate or make synonymous the wildly different terms “marketing” and “advertising.” It all started many years ago, when I was peddling my apartment magazine in Beaumont, Texas. My best friend and I had made the rounds and called on quite a few apartment communities, but we had to stop for the day after one particularly humorous encounter. We went inside a property where the manager was smoking a cigarette and asked her if she would mind speaking with us for a few minutes about her property’s marketing plan. That was our standard intro back then. She took a puff on her cigarette, set it down in the overflowing brown ceramic tray and replied “Honey, we never had no rapes nor murders, so we don’t need to advertise.” Those of you who may have met me will be surprised to read that I was left speechless. Almost incapable of a reply. After a few uncomfortable moments as if I was Rick Perry at a debate I finally replied, “okay, well if that ever changes, think about giving us a call.” As Shelley and I recovered from our laughing fit back in her car, we started to think about the situation more. While certainly pleased the manager had not had to deal with major crime during her tenure, we began to wonder just how coherent her grasp of marketing, as a concept, was. Did she really think it just meant advertising? Did she understand that community relations, outreach, word of mouth, pricing, direct marketing and so much more were also involved? Did she understand that a marketing plan was an essential part of her property’s success, and of her JOB?

Ever since then I have used that anecdote as an entry with property managers who have become jaded about “marketing” and what it entails. In my seminars and now as an owner, I have come across many managers who just don’t get it. They feel that marketing is an aside, a diversion, not a pillar to succeeding in the marketplace. Many who work at larger property management firms have become so reliant on the corporate marketing director that they fail to take ownership of the marketing of their individual property. Some management companies have hastened this “decline” by centralizing many marketing, and yes advertising, decisions that really should be made site to site. But then there are the many excellent, passionate, capable, creative and brave marketing directors that have been instrumental in the success of their company, brand and portfolio. So how do some companies just get it and some don’t? Why is that?

Years ago when I had the task of putting together my first leasing guide, I relied heavily on the advice of a good friend, a supervisor with years of experience and obvious selling chops. One terrific tip she shared with me was that a leasing agent needs to become adept at finding the things in each room of an apartment home that the prospect was not likely to see. She suggested that we require each leasing agent to go into all rooms of an apartment, even the baths and closets, and find at least two things that were not obvious and explain what those features meant and how they could benefit the prospect.

In the years since, I have used that great idea as a cornerstone in my training. Think about it. When a somewhat less engaged leasing agent does a property tour, they usually spend a lot of time on pointing out the obvious, if they are even interacting at all. I cannot count the number of times I have walked into a furnished model with a leasing agent I was “shopping” and been lead to a room with an oval table and six chairs while the leasing agent offered “this is the dining room.” What a master of the obvious! Why do we even waste the time and energy if we are only pointing out things that are clear to just about everyone. I have had leasing agents fall this up by steering me into the kitchen and pointing to an appliance with the comment “this is the microwave.” As a sarcastic person by nature, I usually cannot let this go. I usually respond with something snarky like, “Oh yeah! I have heard about those. Can you show me how to work it.” The deer-in-the-headlights look I typically receive is well worth it. But seriously, if your prospect doesn’t know what a dining room or a microwave is, do you really think they are going to qualify?

So many property tours lean more towards “follow the leader” than a real plan to lease an apartment. We become better leasing consultants, property managers and salespeople when we get past the obvious and uncover the little things people aren’t likely to see. I explain this in my seminars as similar to the concept of “whiteout”. Just as when driving in a blinding snow storm it can become impossible to see your path forward, a somewhat similar thing happens to a prospect looking at apartments. All the more when in a vacant, they see white walls, white ceiling, light colored carpet and often lighter cabinetry and appliances. It can be easy to get lost in the sea of white, so that little things don’t stand out against the vast white backdrop. Especially if a client has toured multiple communities and a half dozen or more units, it can be very hard to see the differences. That is where we come in. Finding those two things in each room is crucial, pointing them out and explaining why they may be useful is salesmanship. They can be simple or complex, ranging from two cable outlets in the living room to make furniture placement more flexible to something elaborate like the fact that the drawers in the bathroom and kitchen cabinetry go full depth, providing more storage space than the typical ¾ drawers found in most apartments.   

A number of my blog posts have focused on the front office team, the leasing agents and consultants who bring home the bacon. But in the property management universe, our leasing agents don’t fry that bacon up in a pan. That is the manager, or in a larger operation the manager and their assistant. So what should we look for in a property manager in this day and age? Who succeeds while others falter? Just what does it take to be a leader who can guide an asset to a successful quarter, year and longer?

I am the first to tell anyone that I am not really a good property manager. I have hired many, worked with dozens and fired a few, but myself? Nothing to brag about. I am too direct, not politically correct and rather abrasive. In the mid-90’s as a supervisor, I was once asked to go with my on-site manager to a tenant’s apartment and explain the necessity of keeping the air conditioning running in South Florida. I asked to see the resident’s closet, and proceeded to explain to her that keeping all this crap in the closet against the walls without the a/c running was causing mold, endangering my asset, and we would likely evict her for it. I was then told to go screw myself. This was an early indication that my skills in dealing with residents were not stellar. But in the years since, I have learned who and what is a good on-site manager. I know what I need and who I want. I have been very fortunate to find some amazing property professionals over my career. So what does it take? Not what you think.

Jettison the “experience” requirements you are used to

Or, why your leasing team should be indistinguishable from that chick at the chamber of commerce...

When I was still just a peddling salesman, one of my least favorite activities was calling a leasing office I was supposed to visit and ask for directions. Keep in mind this was prior to GPS and way before Google Maps. The number of leasing agents and property managers who were unable to complete this amazingly simple and vital task still amazes me. It continued on when I became a consultant – I had to routinely call properties for directions from the airport, the train station, or much too often, the mall. The directions, if you can call them that, I often received were usually useless. On one occasion, I asked a leasing consultant who seemed to have the basic knowledge of being able to answer a phone and recall her own name how to get to her community from the city’s only airport. I relate her response in seminars all around the country. At first, she hesitated, and repeated back to me “airport?” “Umm. The airport. I don’t think, I. Do we have an airport? Let me give you to Bob, the maintenance guy.” I don’t want to talk to BOB! I want to talk to YOU, the leasing consultant, the property ambassador, the woman who I am expecting to answer a whole slew of questions about an apartment home I am considering.  If I speak with a leasing agent who cannot do that, I am going to assume they cannot do a large variety of other basic tasks, like tying their shoes or knowing that mail needs a stamp to be delivered. Yet it happened. It happened a lot.

 Grocery shopping is one area where you clearly see the differences between men and women. Not just in what they buy, but in how they remember to buy it. Women don’t seem to need much help remembering. They walk confidently through the store from aisle to aisle, grabbing what they need at their leisure. They know the layout and design. They don’t have to stop a confused stocker with queries about how to find spaghetti. Guys walk from one end to the other and back again, constantly looking at the hastily scribbled list they have assembled over the course of two weeks for this important day. They often start out with a basket, then find out they actually needed a cart. The differences go on and on.

Your prospects shopping for apartment homes have a list, too. Have you seen it? While you may not often get to see a printed piece of paper, you usually know the contents by the time you are through. Each prospect has a list of things that your apartment community must meet in order for them to be convinced to give you a try. Pretty much every consumer has given a great amount of thought on the topic of what they want if they make a move. Sometimes the idea is pie in the sky or unrealistic, but more often than not it is something you have already that can be offered at a reasonable price.

I haven’t always lived on empty land in the middle of Montana. There was a time when I was a city dweller. When I used to shop for an apartment, it was often a tricky proposition. As some of you may know, I am a tad on the picky side. It didn’t take 20 months to build my house because of weather delays, although that is the story I have sold my parents. I am particular. I like stuff a certain way. You may even call me a bit demanding.

Back in my apartment days I was known to demand quite a few, well, non-standard amenities.  But added to a penchant for the impossible, I had a pet problem. More accurately, back in my early 20’s it was more of a pet “situation”. I had two dogs and two or three cats. That made it just plain impossible to find a place that would accept me and my creatures. Don’t we all need a little acceptance?

In my last post I recalled a recent less-than-stellar leasing experience, “the young lady and her orange slices”. While I realize that eating at your desk is a common and many times unavoidable experience, your employer and your potential client are asking more of you. But what is the culture that creates an orange slice girl? How do employees become complacent, dispassionate, lazy? Did they start out that way, or did we break them?

How do employees see the love? Action tells a team member much more than empty words. So many management companies try to push and prod their leasing teams to do more, close more, sell higher, renew constantly – but when the team does this, that and the other thing they see no reflection of that in their pay. Why? Greed? A psychological misunderstanding of people’s innate profit motive? I don’t know, but something is clearly wrong. When a property succeeds, so should the employees. When goals are met, bonuses should be paid. When new heights are reached, your on-site teams should feel that.  A simple thank you is nice, but where is the love?