Tara Furiani's Blog

A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus. - Martin Luther King

I’ve always felt like a leader. In my Girl Scout days, I was the tallest; therefore, I was in charge. When I started cheerleading, it just made sense that I was Captain. When I entered the work force as a Leasing Consultant, it was just months before I was tasked with training other Leasing Consultants and less than a year before I was managing them. In business, I’ve been in a “titled” leadership position since I was 19 years old! Being a leader is position I don’t take lightly by the way... I love to lead and I think I’m pretty good at it. But where it starts, I believe, is actually loving the role of a leader and taking it very seriously (ok, with a whole lot of fun mixed it).

Since it seems I’ve always been looked at as leader, it took me a long time to figure out why I so naturally slid into this role, in practically every situation I was faced with. And then it hit me…

As an approachable leader and champion for both multifamily and my company, I’m asked almost daily how to get to the next level. They’ve taken classes, have a degree, a designation or two and yet their career with their current company is at a standstill. Professionals want to grow, to make more money, to be challenged, to feel like they’re making a contribution, to make their mark… but they’re often unsure about how to find a new position.

You might be thinking this is a no-brainer; you’ll just head to an internet job board, type in the type of position you want, and search through the hundreds or thousands of results. Maybe you’ll apply to all of them, I mean… the more you apply to the better your chances, right?

To quote one of my favorite plays, Death of a Salesman, “It’s who you know, and the smile on your face! It’s contacts, Ben, contacts!”

I was listening to The Fray this morning and one of my favorite songs of theirs (though I really do like them all) is You Found Me.

In that song is a verse that really speaks to me and inspired me to write today's blog, it is:

“Who I am, Who I’m Not and Who I Want to Be”

Do you remember the movie, Glengarry Glen Ross? If not, I suggest you get it and watch it immediately (great sales movie).  Alec Baldwin’s character, Blake, makes a statement that has resonated with me to this day…

“PUT THAT COFFEE DOWN, COFFEE IS FOR CLOSERS ONLY. I DON’T SEE ANY CLOSERS IN HERE”. Blake from Glengarry Glen Ross

Are your residents vanishing from your community at a rate that makes you consider putting up "missing" posters? If so, did you know that their disappearance was probably preventable? Before you contact the milk carton company, let me explain…

We do an awful lot of training and spend so much money on advertising our communities to get them in the door…  but once they’re in, it’s like we change our focus to who’s next. To me, that’s utterly absurd and honestly… it’s quite expensive.

·         According to research data provided by Satisfacts, the average cost to “lose” a resident is around $4,000. Now, this can of course vary… but the least I’ve EVER seen is around $2,000… still a pretty good chunk of change and too much, in my opinion (and I'd wager that it's too much for any owner as well).

For those of you who’ve met me or taken one of my classes, you know that I say what I mean and I mean what I say. I talk the talk and I walk the walk. I tell it like it is (professionally and with care, of course) but If it has to do with not sugar coating things, I’m your girl (of course, I’m not referring to using “visit us” or “live here” words during leasing… then a little fluff is just fine). But in normal every day dealings onsite and at the corporate office… I don’t see the point in wasting time beating around the bush, because TIME is MONEY!

There have been numerous occasions that I am aware of, sadly, that a property manager has not filed an eviction on a resident who hasn’t paid rent by the time it’s due. Despite the action being spelled out, very clearly, in our policy and procedures manual (and common sense if you’ve spent any time in the business).

The manager will have a wide range of reasons as to why they won’t… but the last time I heard the excuse, I nearly fell out of my chair (seriously). She said “Well… I needed the occupancy numbers”. WHAT? What good is a high occupancy percentage if you’re not collecting any rent? She didn’t know the answer. Turns out, this person was a habitual late-rent payer and eventually ended up skipping out… owning an absurd amount of money to the community. Worst yet… he’d been renewed without increase. TWICE!

I’m 30. There, I said it, I got it out there. I’m 30 and my husband and I just had our very first baby, 3 weeks ago. Up until now, we both favored college and then careers over family. We wanted to be established, be able to provide for a child before we committed to having one. For the last few years, thankfully, we’re at a point where we can provide the way we want to and so the “having a baby” journey, began.

So why am I telling you this? Well… at 30, I’m established in my career and my husband and I are accustomed to having fun and traveling… and with a baby, well, a LOT of things will have to change… or will it? If you read any “mommy” books or blogs, many describe motherhood and caring for a child as the single hardest thing they’ve ever done… clearly they’ve never worked during budget season for a multifamily company, but I digress…

I’m not new to the virtual workplace but I’m new to working for my current company, virtually and I have a confession to make…

I’m WAY more productive at my home office than at our corporate office. Shocked? In disbelief? Think I’m not exactly being truthful? Well, then do let me explain and I’ll make you a believer!

When I’m working from my home office, I’m doing just that… working from a HOME OFFICE. I’m not in bed; I’m not watching TV… I’m at my desk just like a “real” employee. What I don’t have is: 

I hadn't been in Multifamily housing in a few years... instead I left and worked with the Dale Carnegie Training Organization, honing my craft and providing training solutions and direction to businesses across the globe. I was, however, eager to get back to my first love... the Apartment Industry! 

Things hadn't really changed much... on one hand, I was glad, because I could get right back into the swing of the "business" without missing a beat on the other hand, I couldn't believe that evolution hadn't really happened. It was "the same old"... 

Upon joining the Sterling family, I developed our all new Intro to Leasing course in my first month of joining the organization (and 17 other courses since then). The company had lacked any real training prior to my joining the company and it was so welcomed, that I felt a little overwhelmed at its reception (in a good way, of course). 

Let’s face it… the internet is NOT a fad (sorry Al Gore) and the role both the internet and computers play in our business is vast and ever growing. Let’s take a look at what parts of our business are computer and/or internet based:   

• Communication (with Colleagues & Prospects)- Email, usually Outlook is used in our business
• Learning Management Systems- Does your company offer online learning?
• Property Management Software- On our computers and generally on the internet
• Social Media
•  Rent Payments- A good portion of us allow residents to pay online
• Advertising- Our biggest source of traffic, in a lot of instances is apartments.com
• Weekly/Monthly Reports- Excel and Word play a big role in how we relay information
• Performance Appraisals- Many are integrated into our HRIS systems, which are internet based
• Payroll Time Tracking- Does anyone use a manual system anymore?
• New Colleague Orientation- Unless your company is 100% local, the internet is often used
• Accounting- Most accounting departments use our property management software in conjunction with computer and/or internet based financial software
• Payroll- The majority of us rely on Direct Deposit, which uses a computer to transmit.

I could go on and on… I think the writing on the wall is pretty clear, to be successful in our business you MUST have some sort of computer know-how. I’m not talking learning HTML here… I’m talking the VERY BASICS of computer understanding!