#AptChat

Typically, a Free-For-All Friday means that we don’t come to the discussion with any particular topics in mind, but this past week, there was an interesting debate about call centers over on Lisa’s Apartment Expert Facebook page. Mark Juleen noted another call center discussion over at Multifamily Insiders, so we led off #AptChat by throwing the question to the group. Other topics discussed included concessions, human directionals and resident referral programs. It’s good to see that you don’t have strong opinions on any of these subjects.

Are call centers good? Do you like them?

• Nessel Inc.: We love being able to market that you will get a person 24/7.
• Doug Chasick: Call Cntr great for overflow and emerg – concerned about outsrcng ALL calls to off-site, esp. resident calls.
• Heather Blume: When your residents call, they don’t want to call somewhere that isn’t the office.
• Sara Graham: We’re evaluating call centers this spring – Level One seems to be the 800 lb gorilla.
• Nessel Inc.: In our experience we’ve found the agents are quite successful at getting the caller to schedule an appointment. Which we love.
• Kim Cory: Not a fan of call centers. As a true sales person myself I have to feel, touch & be part of my product to really sell it.
• Lisa Trosien: I was, originally, anti-call center. Not anymore. Too many properties don’t answer the phone. This solves that problem.
• Tami Siewruk: Call Centers are necessary. Fact: People R looking for APTs when the office is closed. Trend: INSTANT GRATIFICATION.
• Eric Brown: Our original reason for using a Call Center, was folks weren’t answering the phone. We replaced them with ones who do.
• Mark Juleen: If you want your community to be sold like it is a commodity then call centers are fine.
• RealPage: Our research shows that our contact center answers 97% of all calls that you designate us to take.
• Bob Gura: After a year with a call center we have concluded that we are much more effective than the call center.
• Mark Juleen: Why are we outsourcing the face of our brands and our product? Why not outsource reports & accounting task garbage instead?
• Elysa Rice: As a resident (and previous prospect) I wouldn’t expect to talk to a person at midnight … that’s just weird.
• Realty Data Trust: Call centers aren’t just for calls either. Email leads can be handled by industry call centers.
• David Kotowski: I think call centers probably benefit our customers, especially as so many companies are still having to cut staffing levels.
• Mark Juleen: Real life example from a call center. Prospect – “Do you have a pool?” Center Rep – “Um, let me check.”
• Mark Juleen: Real life example from a call center. Rep – “The One Bedroom is 695 sq. ft.” Prospect – “That’s kind of small.” Rep – “Yes, it is.”
• Tami Siewruk: REALITY CHECK LP’s cnt answer every call we have them doing more than they cn handle, answer take away all the NON leasing items.

What about ‘culture’? Can a call center communicate the ‘culture’ of your sites?

• Heather Blume: Culture = personality, and some can, depending on how they hire. But usually, the flat tone conveys 1 thing – Apathy.
• Ryan VanDenabeele: You can’t train call center people to represent your brand. They just don’t care like you do. I worked in one when I was a kid.
• RealPage: Well trained contact center reps can capture the brand and the culture of each property.
• Mike Whaling: Is anyone providing their blog feed and social media info to their call center team?
• Doug Chasick: Prob is we try 2make Call Cntr what they are not — culture — instead of using 4 what they are — cover phone when we can’t.
• RealPage: We offer continuing education to help refresh information about particular properties and help represent the culture.
• Michael Cunningham: We work with the communities from day one to find out their preferences, amenities, specials, etc.
• Joe Youngblood: Maybe centers need to foster closer relationships? and property managers need to facilitate that with updated data?
• Lisa Trosien: I know that one of my clients meets 2x a year with the LP’s at the call center to make sure they ‘get’ the culture.
• Janet Rosseth: The best on-site agents know how to circle back with prospects handled by a call center to personalize the experience.
• Nashville Web Design: Call centers are impersonal but they are good to get prospect information for LP to call back.

Even more comments on Call Centers:

• Lisa Trosien: Typical LP’s on CCenters say they are in a ‘centralized leasing office’.
• Lisa Trosien: I don’t think it’s the solution for every property.I think you need to weigh the pro’s and con’s seriously b4 u make your decision.
• RealPage: According to Satisfacts, only 52% of calls will be answered during office hours.
• Heather Blume: A leasing professional CANNOT get EVERY single call. It’s just not realistic.
• Tami Siewruk: Part of the answer is staggered staffing hrs! Helps tremendously U know when U get the most calls & visits.
• Janet Rosseth: I had an internal call center. Awesome front line and x-tra hands, but overhead was too costly to go 24/7 and handle emails.
• Lisa Trosien: I’ve found a lot of the issues with call centers is getting the site people to call back on the leads from the call center.
• Kim Cory: leasing does not want 2 respond b/c no connection. LIke calling a guy after a date, must have connection 2 call again.

There were a few questions about companies that have successfully implemented internal call centers, with Equity, AIMCO and Mid-America all used as positive examples.

The conversation then moved to live chat, and there were strong opinions on this subject, too:

• Heather Blume: Live chat can be an excellent first contact point for a potential resident.
• Eric Brown: We tried Live Chat, but could not effectively manage it, nor did prospects like it, they were creeped out.
• Janet Rosseth: I think I heard a stat that L1 was converting 80% of live chats to appointments. If that’s correct, it’s staggering!

Who has kicked butt with resident referral programs? What’s made it successful? (Asked by Bob Gura)

• Sara Graham: At some props, we offer a tiered res ref model: 1st referral gets $250, 2nd gets $500, 3rd gets $750 and 4th gets $1000.
• Heather Blume: I had one woman in my session this week who was talking about how they have a resident who they almost PAY to live there.
• Lisa Trosien: Try having the referral fee be higher right after move in when their enthusiasm is very high.

Other noteworthy comments from the chat:

• David Kotowski: I worked for a company that had a policy of only hiring attractive people. I’m not kidding. Staffing meetings were odd.
• Bob Gura: Great personalities lease. Make the visit memorable!
• Bake Extra Cookies: We’re seeing our user’s online statistics DOUBLE. Might be indicating a slightly early leasing season…
• Lisa Trosien: So to summarize: human directionals in curling pants can answer your phones.

As you can imagine, this edition of #AptChat was a lot of fun for everyone. (This week’s stats: 512 tweets from 63 different contributors.) I couldn’t get all the great comments in the recap, so make sure you check out the full transcript when you get a chance.

So what do you think? Are you for or against outside call centers? If you’re using one now, or have used a call center in the past, what has been your experience? What are some of your best resident referral ideas? It’s your turn to show off … tell us what you know in the comments!

Have a topic you’d like to discuss on a future #AptChat? Tell us about it!

With leasing for next fall already in full swing and the NAA Student Housing Conference now behind us, last week’s #AptChat focused on the latest trends in marketing for purpose-built student housing communities.

Let’s cut to the chase … here are the highlights from the conversation:

What are the top ways that students find an apartment? Is anything higher on the list than word of mouth?

• Natalie Teinert: Top ways to find our housing is through the University itself.
• Ann Padgett: Word of mouth is huge, students want to live with their friends.
• Elysa Rice: I’d say 2 ways are Google and friends.
• Resite Online: School newspapers and online social networks.
• ATL Marketing Concepts: Other than word of mouth – proximity to school and cost next two decision makers.. Roommate program also helps.
• Natalie Teinert: Housing Office, websites, admissions materials, etc.
• Carla Morin: Make sure to state in your on-line marketing “we accept student applications” or something like that that’s huge!
• Ann Padgett: I see a lot of kiosks on campuses now, both the old fashion paper and staple kind and new touch screen fanciness.
• Darcey Forbes: We have also seen success with CL (Craigslist) for college rentals and searching for roomates etc.
• Nessel Inc.: College newspaper online classifieds site was huge @ my school.
• Resite Online: 1 of our customers likes 2 create buzz around campus about prop’s social life, ex: topless car wash, they wash only tops of cars.
• Natalie Teinert: All of our properties offer a roommate matching program. Especially nice for International students who don’t know anyone.
• Dylan Schleppe: SMS is private, fast and convenient. What they want.

Are there differences in marketing a lease-by-the-unit community vs. a lease-by-the-bed property?

• Natalie Teinert: Most students like the individual lease liability. Parents do 2. Great thing to market!
• Elysa Rice: I think in student world lease by bed is easier on finances for students NOT propty. my roomie was forever late on payments.
• Natalie Teinert: Individual leases also help when applying financial aid. Would get messy with 1 lease/unit & fin aid.

What amenities are at the top of the list for students?

• Mike Brewer: Include all secondary fees, i.e. cable, Internet, water, sewer, trash – in the rent. Parents and students like simple.
• Ann Padgett: Individual bathrooms, washer dryer, location to transit, community events to name a few.
• Elysa Rice: Internet, designated parking (was single girl walking late at night), pay by room, pool, bus to school, TV, recycling.
• Tami Siewruk: Shuttle bus service is a big one.
• Eric at Buildium: ALL student housing should include internet. It is a necessity for college students!
• Speedpro Add: Stud housing is funny bc they position it as “luxury living” here I thght college was roughing it.
• Mike Brewer: Common place to hang with friends – and dog park is proving to be huge – wireless Internet a common area must.
• Natalie Teinert: Students will give up a lot on amenities as long as the student has friends there and believe theyll have fun living @ your prop.
• Lisa Trosien: Some have computer labs with direct links to the university computer.
• Natalie Teinert: One of out props has a bike room you can rent space in & stays locked.
• Elysa Rice: My apartment had room with computer/printers = smart move on their part.
• Elysa Rice: I lived with 3 diet obsessed girls, hello must have 24 hr gym.
• Natalie Teinert: Indoor BBall court has been popular @ 1 of our props up north, theaters are good for programming too.
• Elysa Rice: Pre-pay for entire semester rent is also nice ammenity for students who get loans twice year.

What needs to be on the website for a student housing community? Anything different from conventional apartment sites?

• Ann Padgett: I think u start by building a social network 4 your student residents 2 connect & have fun online, post pics & video.
• Mike Brewer: Ability to sign lease digitally — we are trying to this implement this year.
• Natalie Teinert: Online leasing is a great pull for international students.
• Resite Online: Online Rent Payment is a huge amenity for the student and the parent.
• RealPage: Roommate matching.
• Resite Online: Potentially an FAQs section for both students and parents.
• Ann Padgett: Pictures of the students interacting with each other at events.
• Natalie Teinert: Links to Uni websites are nice 4 current residents. Links to videos/articles how to wash clothes, cook, iron, etc.
• Elysa Rice: @osu_bigredbus (UniversityVillage.com) is our most popular student website. Their bulletin board for students is very popular.
• Natalie Teinert: Calendar of programming events (if you offer) w/links to FB to RSVP.
• RealPage: Providing parental access to the same info and functions a student makes mom and dad very happy.
• Elysa Rice: most important online student ammenities IMHO: online application, online rent pay, “nearby”, lots photos & video, floor plans.
• IRIO Mobile: We have iPhone web Apps on SH micro-sites via text.
• Elysa Rice: Speaking for @KimCoryFitness, I know she polls residents/students & improved website every semester per their input.

What about blogs & social media sites? Do they work for the student crowd?

• Natalie Teinert: Targeting High School seniors w/FB ads has been great for us!
• Natalie Teinert: Basically have created ads targeting specific cities in the Uni area targeting ages 17-18.
• Mike Brewer: FB: target the sphere of influence of current resident base – pic contests that require sphere to vote in the way of comment.
• Mike Brewer: FB: pet look alike, community jingle contest, best photo from spring break, etc.
• Mike Whaling: Just met w/ a group of students yesterday. Not one of them using 4sq yet. Also said Twitter is “for old people.”
• Natalie Teinert: SM has been good for us. Gets students interacting w/us that haven’t before.
• Mike Brewer: Social sites and blogs are only as valuable as the effort put into them — they require hard work to be successful.
• Mike Whaling: Numbers out last week show that Twitter is growing w/ the younger crowd.
• Natalie Teinert: Have seen success w/property twitters that the affiliated university utilizes Twitter as well.
• Lisa Trosien: Camden’s three lease Twitter success story was on a student housing property. Gave a concession ‘code’ in their Tweets.

There were a number of great insights and nuggets along the way, so make sure you look over the full transcript. This past week’s #AptChat included 329 tweets from 54 different contributors.

And if you missed the Student Housing Conference, or if you want to go back to the comments about sessions you may missed, you might also want to check out the Twitter stream from the event.

What do you think? Are these comments in line with what you’re seeing? Did we miss something that’s working really well for you? Tell us about it in the comments!

Last week’s #AptChat focused on the use of revenue management (RM) software solutions to efficiently determine rental pricing, while taking the emotion (and potential for overcompensation) out of the process. With representation from both Rainmaker (LRO) and RealPage (YieldStar) throughout the discussion and apartment operators on both sides of the fence, this turned out to be a very interesting, enlightening discussion.

First, it’s important to understand what a revenue management system is and why apartment operators might want to use one. Here’s how you defined revenue management software:

• Gary Katz: For those unfamiliar with RM systems, they price apartments kind of like hotels price their rooms. Prices can change daily.
• Keith Dunkin: RM systems provide the optimal blend of internal fundamentals and external data. Protects from over reacting to comps.
• Keith Dunkin: Improved Revenue Performance, Increased Visibility, Pricing Efficiency, reduced carry costs.
• Steve Matre: Classic yield mgmt, matches price to demand based on lease exp’s and historic traffic, system sets price.
• Gary Katz: The idea is too not price apts too low and leave $ on the table and not price them too high and leave them vacant.

We gave both Rainmaker and RealPage the opportunity to describe how they derive their pricing. Here’s Rainmaker’s response: “LRO optimizes rents based on supply & demand (traffic, leasing, availability, etc). Market response is measured & prices adjust.” Bruce Barfield also added that “LRO uses electronic web scraping technology to get dynamic prices.”
Janine Jovanovic answered for RealPage: “YS gets factual leasing data daily from 15k+ properties across the US + 5m MPF units + any data entered on site.”

On to the recap!

Are you using revenue management software for your business? If yes, why? If no, why not?

• Jennifer Kennedy: No….not sure that there is enough ROI.
• Donald Davidoff: Been using it for 9 years with multiple tests that prove the ROI.
• Heather Blume: I’ve worked with the software before, and talked to many clients who use it. Some love it, some don’t.
• Keith Dunkin: To echo Donald at Archstone, Rev Mgmt has been in place for years with proven revenue premiums to market in 2-5%, compelling ROI.
• Heather Blume: What mgrs have said to me is that they lose the push/pull ability and it’s difficult to stay competitive sometimes.
• Mark Juleen: Nearly 2 years now with Yieldstar.
• Janine Jovanovic: Managers and leasing staff have told us that they love it because it empowers them to sell more.
• Keith Dunkin: On the ROI comment RM systems have been measured consistently in up and down market and both solutions have proven out.
• Trachelle Spencer: We have been actively using LRO for over 6 years and would not go back to a manual process.

How long does an RM system take to ‘pay for itself’?

• Rainmaker Group: LRO typically pays for itself in a matter of months.

How many units before companies feel they need a “pricing guru” to over see the system? (Asked by Steve Matre)

• James Flick: I would suggest 50+ properties for a dedicated individual in YS. Otherwise, use the consulting services w/ RealPage.
• Janine Jovanovic: You can outsource pricing oversight to us. Makes sense to have your own internal resource at 10,000+ units.
• Trachelle Spencer: We have 44 communities currently on LRO; there are two of us managing them. Doesn’t include Lease Ups.
• James Flick: It is probably more cost effective to outsource to an experienced consultant at Realpage vs. a full time person in house.
• Chris Long: We have 150 properties and 3 dedicated resources.
• Trachelle Spencer: It is important to have pricing professionals and not have the system run independently.

How tough is it to renew someone when their rent can, in effect, go down one day after they sign their renewal?

• Donald Davidoff: Rents can go down in one day on manual systems.
• Janine Jovanovic: This is a function of market conditions not RM – happens with or without RM in place.
• Leigh Curry: What about the person who finsw out their airplane fare has decreased by $100 or hotel room by $50…fact of life.
• Mark Juleen: We have struggled the most with making renewals as fair as possible.
• Trachelle Spencer: We have processes in place to review renewals if necessary.

Along the way, there were a lot of great comments about implementation and the use of revenue management systems in general. Here are a few of the highlights:

• Mark Juleen: We played with it for the first year trying to override too much. We just let it run now.
• Mark Juleen: No more “concessions” or “specials” rents, just adjust both renewal and new.
• Mark Juleen: In 2009 our Rev. was up 2% in Indy while most competition has reported they are down 2%.
• Lisa Trosien: You have to know/learn how to ’sell’ it to the prospect. It really does simplify the process.
• Janine Jovanovic: Prospects can do math. They like the “check writing” price. You can say “concession” is built into the price.
• Trachelle Spencer: Our communities do weekly competitive surveys. We are finding more accurate pricing online.
• Trachelle Spencer: We have classes offered by our Training Dept. Site Visits, 1 on 1’s, conference calls, webinars, etc.
• James Flick: Have we aligned incentives and compensation for managers and leasing associates to get them to embrace rev mgmt?
• Lisa Trosien: RM is great: it’s fair; it increases the bottom line; it creates urgency. It removes the ‘fudge factor’. I’m a big fan.

One advocate for revenue management, Mark Juleen, laid out in detail why he likes using the program over manual pricing. Here’s what he said:

• MPF does market surveys for us & plugs that data into the system (at least with Yieldstar). No need for bs market surveys.
• I can review pricing and approve changes in about 20 min. for our 12 properties.
• You set a sustainable occupancy and if your team performs average you will usually sustain that.
• If your occupancy dips below the sustainable, then you probably have a people problem.
• If you outperform your sustainable then prices go up and you know your team rocks.

Even though Mark is a fan of the system, he still thinks there’s room for improvement (and others seemed to agree). For more comments on this, and for the rest of the discussion, check out the full transcript.

What do you think? Are you using a revenue management system to set pricing? If so, what has been your experience so far? What can RM systems do to improve their models? Are you evaluating your options? Let us know what you think in the comments!

This week’s #AptChat included 354 tweets coming from 53 contributors. Thanks to all those who contributed this week!

Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter have been getting a lot of buzz recently, but some people would argue that apartment operators would get more bang for their buck focusing on a blog for their property. We decided to pose the question to the #AptChat group.

This was one of our most active chats ever — people are clearly passionate about this subject. There’s a lot to cover, so let’s get right to it:

Do I need a blog for my apartment community? What are the potential benefits? Potential downside?

• Ann Padgett: Blogs are a great way to increase your digital footprint.
• Charity Hisle: Do you need a blog? Maybe. Depends on what your goals are.
• Judy Bellack: Blog benefits . . . connections with and among residents, enhanced retention, great communication platform, SEO opportunities.
• Jill Corya: Blogs build stronger relationships and brand loyalty.
• Resite Online: Blogs are a good way to handle FAQs and related topics for your residents.
• Ryan VanDenabeele: I wouldn’t say you “need” one but they are an added value for your clients, team members and prospects.
• Eric at Buildium: It depends on the community & its size. Blogs have both direct & indirect benefits. Need to weigh them.
• Justin Dunckel: View a blog as an amenity, especially if content is local, relevant, and interesting.
• Elysa Rice: Benefits: increase content for search engines & local involvement; Downside: must keep current, no blog is better than ignored blog.
• Jill Corya: Blogs, in an intranet environment, can be an excellent way of sharing knowledge within the organization.
• Gillian Luce: Blogs: Gr8t way 2 get content in virtual space, increase brand awareness & engage current residents (& prospects) providing value!
• Mark Juleen: A blog can and should be the social media hub for your community.
• Eric Brown: Community Blogs can be Outreach on Steroids.
• Judy Bellack: Blogs not done well (lack of response to comments, stale content, etc.) can hurt rather than help.
• Trevor Henson: A blog also helps us keep ambient contact with the owners and investors of the building.

Where do you get the content? Who decides on ‘the voice?’

• Christian: The community, the employees, the company, qualified voices from your corner of the market.
• Ryan VanDenabeele: Content depends on your audience. Can be links from new papers, free article data bases, your people.
• Joe Foster: The great thing about multifamily blogging is that this bidness is already so incredibly personality-driven.
• Judy Bellack: Content has to be relevant, unique, fresh, interesting; and should utilize writers who know your stuff!
• Judy Bellack: You can use linked content, original content, content from residents, employees.
• Meredith Mobley: Talk to your residents. What are their FAQ? Start there…
• Charity Hisle: Ultimately, audience should become the voice. To start, anyone that cares, understands the audience can be the voice.
• Jonathan Saar: How about community site improvements, schedule of curb appeal updates, photos of changes?
• Elysa Rice: The great thing about blogging is content can be inspired from life, other blogs, movies, ads, emails, pretty much anywhere.
• Erica Campbell: Most communities already have content. Start with your newsletters, testimonials, interns, videos, photos, events etc.
• Nessel Inc.: Lists do very well. “Top 5 Places for Lunch”
• Erica Campbell: never replace your newsletter with a blog. Newsletter are so powerful and email drip marketing has so much to offer.
• Mark Juleen: Property teams can create the content. No excuses. Hire better people if you don’t think they can handle it.
• Meredith Mobley: Multiple voices can definitely be helpful. You dont have one type of renter, so its okay to have more than one voice.
• Elysa Rice: There’s a property that posts local business of the month — doctors, restaurants, all nominated by residents.

(Jason Falls also asked a great question about how social media sites like Twitter are impacting blogging. Are you focused more on blogging or social media? Are they two unique audiences? Tell us in the comments.)

Who should be the target audience for an apartment community’s blog? Residents? Prospects? Investors?

• Ann Padgett: I would think the investors would be a target audience at the PMC level, not the community.
• Judy Bellack: All of the above!
• Eric at Buildium: All of the above because information targeting one is indirectly pertinent to others.
• Mike Whaling: Have a blogger relations strategy. Who else is writing about the neighborhood? Link to them first.

Lisa Trosien asked about the goal of a community blog — is it to improve rankings in search engines or to increase engagement with your target audience? Here were some of the responses:

• Jennifer Kennedy: Our goal is both!
• Erica Campbell: Our focus is the on the user first then SEO second. Our SEO is other initiatives that are behind the scenes.
• Jason Falls: It depends. If SEO drives business, prioritize it. If engagement drives customer satisfaction, etc.
• Mike Whaling: Keywords & other on-site tweaks now account for less than 25% of SEO (per SEOMoz). Focus on creating great content.
• Charity Hisle: It is cheaper to keep residents, there should be a lead/retention balance in the strategy.

I’ve seen “fake blogs,” where a staffer pretends to be a resident. Is this a good idea?

• Eric at Buildium: Horrible idea. It’s usually pretty easy to tell. Bad image.
• Jason Falls: Never.
• Erica Campbell: This is a bad idea. That is not begin transparent and can come back to haunt you in the long run.
• Apartments.com: It’s all about transparency. No need to jeopardize your company’s reputation.
• Ryan VanDenabeele: If you get caught doing something unethical these days, the consumer will spread it on social media and kill your reputation.

What about buying blog content from one of the content providers out there? Is there a transparency issue there?

• Ellen Thompson: How is posting local events and restaurant reviews from a third party unethical if blended in with messages from the property mgrs?
• Bob Gura: The bought content of newsletters doesn’t get read.
• Dylan Schleppe: Hard to be “your message” if you bought it, eh?
• Duncan Alney: Do you like canned newsletters? If not, why would you like a canned blog? No one like artificially anything (OK, well Nutrasweet maybe).
• Tami Siewruk: Buy content all you want as long as it’s appropriate for your target audience.
• Judy Bellack: Its all about balance; you can buy great content occasionally, and combined with hyper-local and original content, a great formula.
• Tami Siewruk: You have to mix the content with your own but buying is fine as a supplement as long as it focused.
• Erica Campbell: There is a huge difference between canned content and quality re-purposed content.
• Realty Data Trust: Rather than canned content, try elance.com or similar resource for copywriters.
• Elysa Rice: I much prefer [Urbane Apartment's] route of having residents create content than repurposing other stuff.

When it comes to blogging, what’s the biggest challenge facing your organization? Scalability? Motivation? Buy-in?

• Ellen Thompson: The biggest reasons customer say they are looking is lack of time and writing skills a the property level.
• Erica Campbell: Finding appropriate ways to monetize it.
• Eric at Buildium: Blogs are not scalable… if you are writing original content then they take time. Biggest challenge is time.
• Tamela Coval: Answer may be “Trust” in the blogger.

There really were TOO MANY great comments and side conversations this week (we had 572 tweets from 62 different contributors!) — ranging from measuring success, to search engine optimization, to your favorite blogging tools. For all the good stuff, check out the full transcript.

Some example apartment community blogs submitted by #AptChatters:

• Lincoln Property Company
• The Green in the Village (Lincoln Property Company)
• The Place on Millenia (Lincoln Property Company)
• Paragon Life (Paragon Apartments)
• Coastal Orange County Living (Surterre Properties)
• The Urbane Life (Urbane Apartments)
• Regional blogs (Village Green Apartments)

Finally, there were a couple links to studies about the benefits of blogging that were shared during the conversation:

• Blogging Businesses Experience 126% Higher Lead Growth Than Non-Blogging Businesses
• HubSpot Study Shows Small Businesses That Blog Get 55% More Website Visitors

So what do you think? Are you blogging for your apartment community? Are the example blogs provided getting the job done? Got a link to another great apartment community blog? Share your thoughts in the comments!

For last week’s Apartment Chat, we decided to veer away from marketing-related topics to discuss another issue that every apartment operator faces — how to manage fixed expenses like property taxes, insurance, utilities and personnel costs. Here’s the recap of the conversation:

Have any of you used a service to fight your property tax bills? We are considering it, but paying out 1/3 of the savings seems high.

• Kimberly Madrigal: Yes, I used a fixed-fee service. Waiting to hear from County. Can do youself. Not complicated in L.A.
• Kimberly Madrigal: Had worked w/ them before during last recession and were successful w/SFR property tax reduction. Still waiting to see . . .
• Will Clark: Use it everywhere. Many good services out there for appeals. Can be complex (IN) but adds value to property.
• Kimberly Madrigal: Paperwork here is very easy. Don’t know abt where you are. Consider going to county office or check online and looking at forms.
• Will Clark: Get appraisals, cash flows, BOVs (Broker Opinion of Value), fire damage report, anything to show reduced value.
• Will Clark: LIHTC is particularly vulnerable to high appraisals. Assessors do not understand income limits.
• Lisa Trosien: I would guess that values have definitely fallen in most markets. Do you know the value of your property today?
• Will Clark: Check all your parcels. Are they correctly classified (improved, vacant, commercial, etc)?

One of my highest costs is payroll. How can I effectively cut staff without cutting service to residents? (You had a LOT to say about this!)

• Bob Gura: Trading services such as painting units rent credit is an area we are exploring.
• Heather Blume: Outsourced contract workers can be a major money saver dep. on the cost of benefits, but they’re not as stable always.
• Jeff Sandell: Hire only strong multi-taskers. No one can just be one thing and one thing only in this market.
• Heather Blume: If you (hypothetical), cut one leasing agent job right now, & then used staffing over the summer, you might come out ahead.
• Eric at Buildium: One example, posting online virtual tours may cut time spent on property tours, thus reducing staffing needs.
• Will Clark: Watch OT, explore flexible scheduling. Open late to prospects, give staff time to complete admin work. Use floaters.
• Charity Hisle: It’s important to evaluate staff carefully, to see if they ‘fit’ your company culture and values. If not, cut.
• Tamela Coval: Technology like iPhones for Service Techs is an efficient way to manage time therefore $$.
• Heather Blume: Another solution is to bring in a company like Community Northwest or CARES who can handle the retention side.
• Bob Gura: Outside of resident retention, there isn’t many things more important to take time for than property tours.
• Elena Ferranti: Change to a Wed to Sun work week to eliminate need for weekend staff. Maintenance continued Mon to Fri.
• Will Clark: Identify where people spend time and look for efficiencies. LIHTC apps, invoicing, non-resident svcs that are time sucks.
• Lisa Trosien: One company here in IL is cutting ALL benefits but keeping on all staff. Is that a solution?
• Kimberly Madrigal: UDR is using commission-only leasing agents.
• Jennifer Kennedy: I think you are better of retaining your best employees and keeping them happy – no cutting benefits.
• Heather Blume: Pay people well and APPRICIATE them, and they are more likely to be higher performers for you.
• Eric Brown: Many cuts in expenses may seem short sighted, but we have never seen economic times like these.
• UMoveFree: If you use commission-based leasing agents, make sure they are trustworthy and ethical or it could damage your property’s reputation.
• Darcey Forbes: Most companies are looking at how to reduce/consolidate staffing due to the implementation of programs like Level One or Crossfire.
• Leigh Curry: Use a health insurance auditor. Good auditors can find up to a 10% discount in total medical insurance costs.
• Bob Gura: We are coming up on one year with Crossfire and I am not impressed with the results. Our staff is much more engaging.
• Lisa Trosien: I have seen companies who do not reduce staff because they add a call center, but simply don’t replace staff who leave.
• Bob Gura: Don’t downplay stability at properties. It really impacts retention. Don’t be penny wise and pound foolish.
• Heather Blume: The owner/CEO of CSI took total pay cut my last year there in the hopes of not laying off people. Breeds loyalty.
• Lisa Trosien: REIT salaries of top execs are published; interesting to see if there’s any difference in year to year.
• Will Clark: As an owner, a good PM is always worth the NOI hit. I love seeing familiar faces and not retraining to my style and goals.
• Katie Roncadori: I think you can, as long as you have quality staff in place that actually cares about the community and the residents.
• Jonathan Saar: Broad question- but I don’t ever feel people going will aid resident service.

As a follow-up, Lisa Trosien posed this question:
Do we all believe the old rule of 100-1 units to staff doesn’t hold anymore? Thoughts?
Here’s how you responded:

• Will Clark: I can be persuaded that 1.5:100 is the new standard. Depends on age, turnover, needs of property.
• Laura at GABP: That rule didnt work when it was the industry std. How many U need depends on the quality of your people.
• Lisa Trosien: I think the # of people depends upon the level of service you provide and your tech sophistication.
• Elena Ferranti: Number of staff can also depend on history of prop. A problem prop needs much more staff.
• Bob Gura: Redesigning jobs to broaden responsibilities and staggering shifts can create a leaner more focused environment.
• Eric Brown: The number of people required verses the level of service can be overrated, More people doesn’t = better service.
• Eric at Buildium: I agree that 1 can’t manage 1,000. But a quality person will find a way to do a great job with limited tools.

We wrapped up the conversation with our picks for the Big Game — it looks like the #AptChat audience will be a house divided on Super Bowl Sunday.

There were a lot of interesting comments along the way about the training, technology, personality and motivation required to help onsite staff succeed — make sure you read the discussion, and leave your own comments below. Here’s the link to the full transcript — we had 338 tweets over the course of the hour, coming from 57 different contributors.

What are you doing to keep your expenses in check? Tell us what you think!

This week, we wanted to go on-site and explore one of the more time-honored traditions of apartment marketing — the property tour. Let’s get right to the recap, shall we?

What is the one mistake that you see too many leasing pros make when giving a property tour?

• Jennifer Kennedy: I have heard leasing consultants talk prospects out of an apartment by showing them the things that they may not like.
• Rory Ellis: Number one mistake … the premature hard close!
• Joe Foster: The notion that if the agent conveys to the prospects that time is short, they are more likely to lease.
• Mike Brewer: Giving up price at first request.
• Kim Cory: Sounding robotic … like they are reading off cue cards. Emotionless.
• Janet Rosseth: Big mistake = Forgetting the discovery phase and selling their own favorite features instead.
• Eric at Buildium: Sometimes apartment hunters don’t know exactly what they want. During the showing, continue to uncover their needs.
• Sara Goberdhansingh: When I’ve gone on apartment tours, nothing is worse than getting stuck with a tour guide who clearly wants to be doing something else.

Consumers know what they want, they’ve done their homework. How can we more effectively focus on their interests/needs/wants?

• Rory Ellis: Learn to ask leading questions, not simply give a pitch. Think consultant, not used car salesman.
• Apartments.com: Ask them what about the property brought them in to see it. Then you can focus on their needs.
• Eric at Buildium: 80/20 rule. Listen 80% of the conversation and speak only 20% of the conversation. Listening is key to finding the right match!
• Eric at Buildium: Learn from what prospects say. i.e. If a prospect mentions that she loves to bbq, then a ground level unit may be preferable.
• Kim Cory: If they are informed, have done homework & made it to your office, then it’s time ask what can you provide to help them commit & move in!
• Tami Siewruk: It’s about understanding inbound leads today & how they differ from years ago. People are different today & training hasn’t caught up.

What’s the one trend you’ve noticed while giving tours recently? How have you adjusted your strategy?

• Tami Siewruk: Trend: I just want to see the apartment. I don’t want to take the time to give you all that information.
• Tami Siewruk: Strategy: Walk & talk. Have the conversation on the way to the apartment.
• Tami Siewruk: Trend: They come educated and they already “think” they know more than you do.
• Tami Siewruk: Strategy: Find out — “ask” — what they already know about the apartment … gives you a starting place!
• Kim Cory: Strategy: Let them show you around! I bet you they have already been through most of your property before walking in the door.
• Jennifer Kennedy: Talk up the value of your community and build trust. People still buy from people.
• Kim Cory: When asked is this your first time to visit, we hear not in person, but yes online. They just want to put the images they have to reality.

What are some of the more creative ideas you’ve seen/tried on a recent tour? How did they work?

• Brian Owen: I know some communities that are giving prospects flip videos to record tours and then emailing them the video after! Brilliant!
• Tami Siewruk: We used motion-activated vids, music, lights … we had all the tech built in.
• Mark Juleen: You need to offer testimonials and stories of other residents and how they have decorated or enjoyed features of the community.
• Tami Siewruk: Has anyone used barcodes yet?

Should we even call it a tour? What can we do to make it more of a demo of the property, get the prospect more involved?
(Submitted by Mark Juleen)

• Eric at Buildium: Call it a “simulation” and paint the picture of the prospect living there.
• Mark Juleen: Screw fancy ideas. people just want to have an enjoyable experience. be consistent, ask questions, and build trust.
• Brian Owen: Give them the keys to the guest suite for a night and call it a “test drive”! Anyone done that?

What’s your best property tour secret? What the one thing that seems to work for you every time?

• Tami Siewruk: Infotainment is what they want in a tour! Make it interesting and you score!
• Jory Rozner Strosberg: You don’t need to be “sales-y” to lease apts. Create trust & comfort. My PM leased one this week. No sales exp.
• Kim Cory: How about NO secret. If they were informed before showing up & now confirmed they like what they see … ask for the CLOSE.
• Tami Siewruk: People demand more. They insist you be interesting, informative, & entertaining; it’s what potentially makes your tour memorable.

One of the more interesting side conversations that came up in this week’s discussion revolved around the Go Solo program that Urbane Apartments is using, allowing prospects to tour apartment communities by themselves. Some were for the idea, some were against it, some were just curious about it. Here are some of the highlights:

• Eric Brown: Our Tours and Rentals increased exponentially when we got out of the way.
• Sara Goberdhansingh: That’s important, too. If someone wants to wander, let them. Tour guides need to know when to talk & when to let people look.
• Eric Brown: It is the only way we do tours.
• Mark Juleen: Just like anything, it won’t work for everyone. Happy you guys are successful with it.
• Tami Siewruk: A combination is Excellent Guided & Solo gives people the control they want & the control you need.

Eric even posted the marketing collateral his company gives to each prospect to guide them on their “Go Solo” tour. You can view that collateral here.

Here’s the link to the full transcript for those who want to dig in a little deeper.

So what’s your take? What strategies for property tours are working well for you? What consumer trends do you see affecting how you do property tours moving forward? And what do you think about the Go Solo idea — is it something you’d try at your property? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Our top contributor this week was Jennifer Kennedy from Property Counselors Management Group in Florida. Jennifer will receive a iTunes gift card, sponsored by TurnSocial. Congrats, Jennifer!

Last week’s discussion about marketing apartments on Craigslist stirred up a lot of questions. So many in fact, we wanted to follow it up with a Part II to address some of the great questions that came in.

Here are some of the questions we were able to address in this second session, along with a recap of some of the highlights of the discussion:

Is there any downside to using Craigslist to market your apartments? If so, what is it?
(Question submitted by Tara Smiley.)

• Jennifer Kennedy: The only downside I could see if the time spent on Craiglist isn’t bringing any qualified leads.
• Eric at Buildium: You limit yourself to those that search for apts on Craigslist. Great start, but only a piece of the marketing pie.
• Carrie White: The search feature on Craigslist is not ideal … it is hard to cut through the clutter.
• Darcey Forbes: Downside is working with current residents who are in a lease and want that new price & communicating why the price is as it is.
• Sara Goberdhansingh: Craigslist is very easy to use for apt seekers, but I’ve noticed it’s used more on an individual basis, not really so much by communities.
• Carrie White: In my market, CL is viewed as being over-run by Locators and is not trusted by many apartment seekers.
• Kirstin Williams: Another downside is the time sunk on posting, reposting, reposting. Hard to track this hidden cost, does anyone try to?

Should you have the renter email or call you? What’s best?

• Carrie White: I prefer email…I have had my phone ring at all hours of the night b/c of late night surfing.
• Sara Goberdhansingh: BOTH! You need to let your prospects decide what the best way is for them to get in touch with you.
• Eric at Buildium: Whatever the prospect feels most comfortable doing. Keep them in their comfort zone, but be responsive either way.
• BakeExtraCookies: During business hours we see that most people call our users. After hours, the number of emails spikes.
• Eva Panagiotopoulos: Interesting question – Anyone using SMS?
• Paulette Barrett: Would suggest using a unique email address though for tracking purposes where possible.
• Brian Owen: We need to be able to adapt. If the customer wants to send a smoke signal, you better have a campfire ready to respond.
• Tamela Coval: Phone call Leads are a useful tracking & training tool, as well as measuring effectiveness of lead quality vs quantity.
• MyNewPlace: Around 70 percent of our users expect a response to email within 24 hours.
• Paulette Barrett: We see roughly 5 calls to 1 email response with the clients we work with.

We’ve tried Craigslist several times and it doesn’t seem to work. Does it vary by market?

• Tara Smiley: We get local primarily. We average 3 calls/month from people moving to the area.
• Apartments.com: Just speculating here… could it be because in some markets renters look more for privately-owned apts?
• DriveBuy: CL Austin is somewhat of an Arms Race. Your ad will be on page 1 for maybe an hour.
• Paulette Barrett: Phoenix and Dallas are two [of the more challenging markets.]

My boss is worried about scammers. How can you get scammed? How can you protect yourself?

• Nashville Web Design: Renter sends a big check, letting us deposit it, keep our part, and ask us to send the remainder to somebody elsewhere.
• DriveBuy: You can get scammed by identity thieves using your complex as a carrot to steal someone’s identity.

Does Craigslist help our Google rankings? Is there a certain style we should be using? What keywords should we use when we write ads?

• Ann Padgett: I don’t know about rankings specifically, but it can increase your digital footprint.
• Nashville Web Design: Craigslist has “no-follow” on all their links and does not affect Google rankings or page rank.
• MyNewPlace: Google crawls Craigslist and properties (or units) will rank on their SRPs. passing SEO [authority] to a given site is another story.
• BakeExtraCookies: Optimize your ads to come up in Craigslist searches. Use key words that have high # searches in your area.
• Apartments.com: PageRank is definitely important. However, sometimes just getting the spider to a page quickly is good too (see Twitter).

There was an interesting side conversation about the value of ads on Craigslist and ILSs in terms of search optimization for your community. ILSs have LOTS of data about this subject. If you are advertising with any of the ILSs, make sure you’re asking how they can help you optimize your ads to get the most out of them for your community. Other good side conversation topics included ad formatting, expected response time for new leads and the real cost of posting ads to Craigslist. You can read the full transcript here.

I think we’re officially worn out on Craigslist and the rest of the free classifieds sites for a while, but feel free to leave us your comments to let us know what is (or maybe isn’t) working for you. And if you have another topic you’d like us to discuss on a future #AptChat, just let us know!

“Craigslist is not for everyone. And it doesn’t work well in all markets. Not a ‘one size fits all’.” ~ Lisa Trosien

For our first chat of 2010, we decided to jump right into the deep end. We recruited the help of Eva Panagiotopoulos and Eric Broughton from RentSentinel to help us understand how to get more out of Craigslist and other free classifieds sites like Google Base, Kijiji and BackPage.

After a few technical difficulties with Twitter, we finally got things going. (Thanks to everyone who stayed with us through the fail whales!) Here are the questions, and a few of the highlights from the discussion:

How often should a community post to Craigslist?

• RentSentinel: Every community is different but we have seen 2 – 3 times per day spaced out at key posting times to be best.
• Tara Smiley: We post on average 15-20 CL a day.
• Trevor Henson: We post our individual vacancies Mon Wed and Fridays on C-list.
• Lisa Trosien: Many of the REITS have been blacklisted this year and have had to retool their strategy. They were overposting.
• Eva Pana: Key posting times vary by community, this is why we use analytics to track each community’s specific times.
• Eric Broughton: At most we have seen some of our customers post up to 8 times per day spaced out at 1 per hour. No more than that.
• Lorena Fikes: We ask our properties to post 3-4 a day is possible, spread out throughout the day as well…
• (Re: key posting times)RentSentinel: It often correlates to the work day and how people will surf the net, early a.m. and toward end of working hours.
• Erica Campbell: I notice the more people use it in a metro, the worse your results, because their listings are over-saturated with all the postings.
• Eva Pana: Spreading posting times throughout the day is a great way to test your ad’s effectiveness for various times.

What types of ads are most effective? Templates or text only?

• Tara Smiley: We try to keep the ads simple. It works for us.
• Eric Brown: We have the best CL traffic from organic looking ads. (Justin Dunckel and Mike Brewer agreed.)
• Eva Pana: No perfect answer, depends on the portfolio but we recommend you post using both methods and measure effectiveness of both.
• Trevor Henson: We find that we get more phone calls from the template listings and more emails from linear CL posts.
• Elysa Rice: The html ads generate a lot more traffic to websites because of the SEO benefits of being able to include more text.
• Eva Pana: With that said, we have a contest in RentSentinel & the last 3 winners in the lead generation category were all simple ads.
• Joe Foster: There’s no reason not to use both. I think organic caters to the core Craigslist userbase while templates are for the casual user.
• Mike Whaling: Regardless of template or plain text, always upload the photos. 3rd-party sites (like PadMapper) filter ads to feature those w/ pics.
• Erica Campbell: Craigslist only takes plain HTML and nothing dynamic so If you have video, be sure to include a URL to it in your listing.

What is a good way to engage your leasing professionals to post more/better ads?

• Paulette Barrette: I think education is the first step.
• Eva Pana: A great way to engage your leasing pros to post is to hold a competition. RentSentinel has received great results from our contest.
• Tara Smiley: I love the CL battles in our office – 5 minutes, as many as possible… ready, set, go!
• Tami Siewruk: If you give Leasing prewritten ads they will find time to post. They feel uncomfortable, training is the key.
• Trevor Henson: We combine both aspects: Encourage our onsites to post & also have office staff post up regularly.

What do I do if I get blocked by Craigslist?

• Jeff Sandell: Change IP Address.
• Erica Campbell: Start up a new email address and possibly switch IPs.
• Buildium: Easiest thing is to create a new email address, but you should try not to get blocked in the first place.
• RentSentinel: We believe and encourage being a good CL citizen. Don’t overpost, keep your ads concise, and most importantly, have an open and honest dialogue/relationship with Craigslist.

There were a LOT of great side conversations and comments throughout this week’s chat — including topics from Craigslist spam to posting tools like Vflyer & Postlets to postings by third-party apartment locators — so make sure you take the time to read through the full transcript. (For your reference, we think you should also know the Craiglist Terms of Service.) Thanks again to RentSentinel for their help with all the supporting data!

What do you think? How is Craigslist working for you? Have you discovered “best practices” that have made your efforts more effective? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Yesterday was our last #AptChat of the year, so we appropriately looked forward to 2010 and discussed our top resolutions for property managers. (Thanks to the Houston Apartment Association for the topic suggestion!) Here’s our recap of the questions and highlights from the conversation:

What’s your resolution, how can you put it into place, and how’s it going to work for you?

• Kim Cory: My resolution is to take my knowledge in SM (social media), set goals & use practical tools to build a bigger picture for my brand.
• Buildium: Our goal is to improve our communication. We are in the process of making this a S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely) goal.
• Niman: My New Year’s Resolution – Get all tenants to pay rent online.
• Erica Campbell: My first resolution is to clean my Outlook which is currently a hot mess:)
• Jennifer Kennedy: My resolution is maximize all of the wonderful resources we have. Focus on utilizing all of our tools to their potential.
• Jonathan Saar: Goal is to get my peeps on board with Social Media & to use it regularly.
• Jonathan Saar: Social Media had definitely helped with our brand awareness and in 2010 that path will continue.
• Houston Apartment Association: Engagement is our key #resolution for 2010; planning to hire a SM/online brand person for HAA.
• Justin Dunckel: Goal is to expand the business a bit more & create some jobs….seriously!
• Tim Grace: Pretty much only one resolution re: Apts.com – delight more users in 2010. All other great things will come from that.
• Kristi Fickert: My goal = my site folks HAVE 2 understand SM, how it works, how to market w/ it (even if someone else does it for them).

Obviously, it appears that a lot of folks are looking to integrate social media tools further into their businesses in 2010 … I guess we shouldn’t expect anything less from this bunch! (Personally, I also appreciate that there was a strong focus on serving our customers better.) In fact, besides the Houston Apartment Association, a number of other companies are bringing on additional staff specifically to help with social media, including Worthing Southeast Management, For Rent Media Solutions and Village Green Apartments. (Here’s the job description for the position at For Rent if you want to get an idea of the skill set they’re looking for.)

How are everyone’s budget’s coming? Leaner than last year? What’s the word on those?

• Kim Cory: Budgets for 2010 are similar to 2009, but with a few minor cuts. We had strong cuts in 2009.
• Kim Cory: (My budget) was cut about 9% in 2009 and in 2010 I worked hard to not cut anymore, so same amount in 2010 for marketing.
• Erica Campbell: I completely reallocated my budget today for a whole new strategy than i had a few months ago.
• Jonathan Saar: It’s not the time to stop investing in what works – keep plowing forward.
• Elysa Rice: I think look at all marketing avenues & see which are producing & which aren’t. Don’t cut based on numbers, cut based on results.

Any major lessons learned from 2009 that changed your outlook for 2010?

• Lisa Trosien: Just don’t labor under the belief that Social Media is free. It’s clearly NOT.
• Buildium: One thing we would like to do in 2010 is give our interns a voice. One option we’re using is CoTweet.
• Erica Campbell: Big lesson- LOCAL CONTENT IS KING.
• Tami Siewruk: 2009 was about learning social media. 2010 will be about figuring out how to use it well.
• Erica Campbell: Lesson 2: Media fragmentation has produced a fundamental conundrum.

What are you doing to improve retention?

• Elysa Rice: Engagement, engagement & engagement!
• Erica Campbell: Bundling packages & adding value add services.
• Kim Cory: We would like to have our residents more involved, feel part of the process & decisions made at the community.
• Kim Obert: Treat people nicely (i.e. “service” in customer service).
• Claire Collins:Look for opportunities for engagement. Interest groups, etc.

Take the time to read the full transcript — there were a lot of great side conversations and insights shared throughout the discussion.

I leave you with this: As Lisa noted during the chat, “your goals are more easily achieved when a) you put them in writing, and b) you have an audible or visible means of tracking them.” You took the first step by putting your goals in writing. Now, what are you going to do to make sure you follow through on them in the coming year?

On behalf of Lisa, I’d like to thank everyone who has made the Apartment Chat what it is today. Thanks for a great year — we look forward to seeing you again in 2010!

For Apartment Chat #22, we discussed Employee Retention. There were a LOT of great ideas that came out of this chat … make sure you read through the full transcript here. Here’s our recap of the questions and highlights from this week’s chat:

Question 1: What is THE most important thing in retaining talent? Money or recognition?

• Heather Blume: Hands down 100% recognition.
• Christian: Go hand in hand. if you recognize someone but pay them poorly, same as paying someone well and never recognizing.
• Claire Collins: Neither money nor recognition this year — it’s stability and benefits.
• Joe Foster: I think recognition affects job performance, but in terms of retention? Gotta get paid, Sal.
• Heather Blume: Key Carrot Manager series quote for me: People don’t leave jobs, People Leave Managers.
• Charity Hisle: Maybe it isn’t either/or? What if it is fulfillment as a whole?
• Lisa Trosien: Money may not always motivate, but lack of money is a huge de-motivator!
• Jonathan Saar: Make sure the ladder to climb is clear (compensation for achievement).
• Claire Collins: Building trust: a quarterly conference call with CEO answering anonymously submitted questions re: state of the company.
• Rory Ellis: Take some time to study Mazlow’s heirarchy of needs and Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory on job satisfaction. Very insightful.

As part of this discussion, many people suggested specific ways to recognize and reward employees for a job well done. Here are a few of the ideas suggested:

• Claire Collins: Our recognition is more subtle — emailing a stellar CallSource call audio around, vs. giving an award.
• Mike Whaling: Could a reward be that you get to be the person who works on your company’s social media channels?
• Heather Blume: To go to NAA or brainstorming when you’re a site employee who is passionate a/b the industry…big reward.
• Patrick Kantrim: We teach managers to speak more financially and pay them like CEOs. After all, they manage multi-million dollar portfolios.
• Nessel Development: Studies show “if-then rewards” work when there is a simple set of rules and a clear destination because they narrow focus.
• Elysa Rice: We post recognition company wide via memo and we also post who is going to tradeshows on our intranet, along with awards.
• Duncan Alney: In a world where there is no time for family, give employees time with their family as a reward.

Question 2: How do you keep leasing professionals happy when there is no ‘career path’ for leasing?

• Rory Ellis: Employee empowerment creates loyal and driven partners instead of just workers!
• Mike Brewer: I think people want to know that they are part of something bigger than themselves.
• Laura at GABP: New challenges, ideas, have an open dialogue on what else they see for opportunities.
• Gary Katz: Who says there is no career path for leasing pros? They can go into training, marketing, management, etc.
• Jen Piccotti: I’ve seen recognition of ‘levels’ of leasing experience work well. Level 1 are the mentors; Level 2 seasoned professionals, etc.
• Lisa Trosien: I started out in part time leasing! There sure IS a career path; often, you have to make it yourself though.
• Rory Ellis: Not everyone wants to be a manager, but everyone should want to better themselves. If they don’t strive to succeed, why employ them?
• Kristi Faris Fickert: Sometimes for a leasing consultant, a “career path” can be created … Example: From Leasing Consulant to Senior Leasing Consultant.

Question 3: Does community make a difference? Do leasing professionals and property managers like their job more if they have better relationships with residents and neighbors?

• Kim Cory: Absolutely! They take more interest in wanting to be involved with events and interact with residents on a daily basis. It becomes their home.
• Mike Whaling: I think, if done well, social media channels will improve employee retention as well as resident retention.
• Kim Cory: I have two college students who have worked 4 for me 3.5 years now! I truly believe besides the money, it’s the culture, learning and connection.

Toward the end of the conversation, Elysa Rice asked if anyone would be attending the upcoming Multifamily Brainstorming conference in Houston. A number of people responded that they would be there … Heather Blume summed it up best with this:

“This many people at Brainstorming requires that we have a tweetup! ”

(If you’ll be there, make sure to connect with your fellow AptChatters face to face — there are some great minds here who are always willing to share their knowledge and experience. Both Lisa and Mike will be there, too, so feel free to track us down if you have topic suggestions or other ideas to improve #AptChat.)

Back to the subject at hand, what are you doing to retain your top talent? Is there something that your company has done that has had a significant impact on employee retention? As an industry, what can we be doing better to attract and keep great people? How would you answer the questions highlighted above? Make your voice heard … let us know what you think in the comments!