ELITE PM Issue 04 Feb Mar 2016 [FULL]

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A PROPERTY MANAGER WITH HAYLEY MITCHELL

SLIDING DOORS

LEARN FROM THE BEST #04 FEB/MAR 2016 AU$13.50

HOW TO PULL OFF THE PERFECT LISTING PRESENTATION

MAKING THE MOVE

SUZIE HAMILTONFLANAGAN

DO YOU HAVE AN EXIT STRATEGY?

MAKING YOUR SMALL BUSINESS APPEAR BIGGER PAYING A REVENUE SPLIT – THE PROs AND CONs

Contents Regulars 004 FROM THE GUEST EDITOR Jo-Anne Oliveri 006 READER PROFILE Jodi Ford, Coronis

16

008 UPFRONT News from the Community 009 NUMBER CRUNCH Property Management Technology 012 REALTY BYTES Alister Maple-Brown 014 PROPERTY MANAGEMENT MENTOR Natalie Hastings 030 PM Q&A Harriet Hovey, LJ Hooker Bathurst 032 THE LAST WORD Fiona Blayney

First Person 010 A VISION FOR PROPERTY MANAGEMENT Mark Woschnak

Cover Story 016 MAKING THE MOVE Suzie Hamilton-Flanagan

20

Features 007 MILLY FINDS A NEW HOME 020 A DAY IN THE LIFE Fiona McEachran and Hayley Mitchell go on the road 024 PAYING A REVENUE SPLIT Brock Fisher 026 HOW TO PULL OFF THE PERFECT LISTING PRESENTATION Hermione Gardiner 028 RELATIONSHIPS NOT TRANSACTIONS Jo-Anne Oliveri

26 2 ELITE PROPERTY MANAGER • FEB-MAR 2016

ISSUE 04 FEB/MAR 2016

epm.eliteagent.com.au JO-ANNE OLIVERI – Guest Editor jo@ireviloution.com SAMANTHA MCLEAN – Managing Editor samantha@eliteagent.com.au MARK EDWARDS – Commercial Partnerships mark@eliteagent.com.au JILL BONIFACE – Sub-Editor FEATURE WRITERS Marina Mitchell, Tara Tyrrell newsroom@eliteagent.com.au CHORUS DESIGN – Art Direction/Design thegoodpeople@chorusdesign.com INDUSTRIE MEDIA - Feature photograhy and video industriemedia.tv

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4 ELITE PROPERTY MANAGER • FEB-MAR 2016

GUEST EDITOR’S NOTE JO-ANNE OLIVERI

I

IF YOU, LIKE ME, are a massive fan of Marty McFly and Doc Brown’s time-travel adventures, then I’m guessing you also recently re-watched Back to the Future to find out which predictions about 2015 they got right. I was amazed to discover just how many were extraordinarily spot-on.

As predicted, we live in a world where drones, tablets, mobile payments, smart clothing, video phones, hands-free technology, wearable technology, and even hoverboards are now all part of our everyday lives. How have we come so far in 30 years? I believe it comes down to three key ingredients – continual curiosity, endless innovation and embracing the dreaded ‘D’ word: disruption.

After re-watching the film, I realised that Back to the Future’s vision of our future wasn’t so crazy after all; a lot really can change in three decades! This then got me thinking about our property management industry.

When we look back 30 years from now, what will our industry look like? Will the world’s leading-edge technologies be integrated into our operations? Will it be the norm to show clients through properties via virtual reality headsets? Will our industry deliver a service that is considered ‘cuttingedge’? Well, I for one hope this is property management of the future. But, in order to get there, we must first become continually curious and endlessly innovative, and even learn to embrace disruption.

We all know that last year Airbnb and Stayz really shook up property management, but I believe this was perceived far too negatively.

If we begin to see disruption as a positive, we can only imagine the possibilities that lie ahead for our industry.

The fact is, the rise in popularity of such disruptors demonstrates that our clients want more and more of what they’re offering. This means, like Uber in the taxi industry,

these services are not only here to stay but they’ve also opened up the door for more to follow. So, unless we want to be like the slow-moving taxi industry that simply chooses to fight change, we must start seeing disruption as our golden opportunity to raise the bar.

Why not make this the year you choose to build business through innovative solutions?

As my article wrapping up the top NAR Conference and Expo takeaways reveals, we have moved away from a transactional economy and into a relational economy. This means that our consumers are now attracted to businesses which offer a premium service, no longer the lowest fees. Discounting fees is the way of the past; offering a quality service is the way of the future, starting now.

To build this high level of service principals will need to completely focus their business model around the right technologies. Trust me, such businesses will be the leaders of this new economy, and I’m sure you want that to include your agency.

At ireviloution we are excited to partner with companies we consider ‘positive disruptors’, such as the game-changing digital solar technology company,

property managers.

This year really could bring many exciting opportunities to grow, if we simply find the courage to take more risks.

In 2016, let’s choose to be continually curious, implement innovative technologies into our businesses and, last but not least, start having positive conversations about disruption so that we step up our game in response.

I believe that if we take these positive steps forward today we will be an industry that looks back, not in 30 years’ time but just one year from now, and realise how far we’ve come. Our industry’s future is in our hands, and I’m confident that we will lead it

WHEN WE LOOK BACK 30 YEARS FROM NOW, WHAT WILL OUR INDUSTRY LOOK LIKE? WILL THE WORLD’S LEADING-EDGE TECHNOLOGIES BE INTEGRATED INTO OUR OPERATIONS? WILL IT BE THE NORM TO SHOW CLIENTS THROUGH PROPERTIES VIA VIRTUAL REALITY HEADSETS? Matter. By integrating their Landlord Solar Platform into ireviloution’s property management systems and training we are helping principals implement a new level of service. And, by the way, if you’re eager to learn more about Matter and other

game-changing service providers, then you should join us on the Gold Coast this 3-4 March at our Annual Leadership of Principals and Property Professionals Summit (ALPPPS™). This summit is your chance to step up as principals and career

towards something beyond amazing for both ourselves and our clients!

epm.eliteagent.com.au 5

READER PROFILE at a real estate agency and that’s how it all started.

THE LADDER OF SUCCESS Jodi Ford started out as a receptionist and secretary in a real estate office. Now 33 years later, she’s Property Management Director at Coronis, managing one of the largest portfolios in the country.

With responsibilities including rent roll growth, customer service and profitability, not to mention career advancement for her team members, she tells EPM about how it all started – and what keeps her going.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your role at Coronis.

I have spent my entire career in property management, working my way up from receptionist to property manager to Property Management Director at Australia’s Major Independent of the Year, Coronis, over a period of 33 years.

I have successfully grown Coronis’ property management portfolio from a mere 200 properties in Brisbane to more than 6,800 across south-east Queensland, making it one of the largest portfolios in Australia. It’s serviced by a team of more than 60 property managers, BDMs, trainers, accountants and the leadership team.

My role is to oversee the profitability of the rent roll, including acquisitions and growth, enforce exceptional customer service, career advancement opportunities for every member of my team and manage bonuses and competitions for the team to add extra inspiration to achieve

How do you define success?

Success to me is working in a job that you love, where you achieve your goals and have a balanced work/personal life.

If I’m helping my team grow, I feel like I’m succeeding. It’s all about making people’s lives better and building something big.

How is the market in your area right now?

I think the market is always good for rentals, but it is slightly more difficult to rent out a property at the moment due to an oversupply of properties, particularly units.

The demand has decreased recently which unfortunately has impacted rental returns.

However, I’m not worried by that as I know we have the structure, knowledge and experience behind us to thrive in an oversupplied market.

Who or what inspires you?

Andrew Coronis continues to inspire me every day.

He honestly is the most remarkable, genuine, down

My iPhone 6 – it has everything on it so I don’t even need a computer!

Is there something you couldn’t live without?

I couldn’t live without my family. They are my support system and my reason for doing everything.

What do you most enjoy about EPM Magazine?

I love the variety of content and relatability of it. I think the tips and strategies are easy to implement, the advertisements are great and I especially love the information on technology.

What advice would you give someone starting out in real estate?

I think you can make property management either very complicated or very simple.

Never procrastinate on anything; if you procrastinate in real estate you will fail.

Systemise your time by using a ‘perfect week’ guide.

Pick up the phone and build relationships. When you build relationships with people, they will trust you; they will accept your advice and allow you to

If I’m helping my team grow, I feel like I’m succeeding. It’s all about making people’s lives better and building something big. their KPIs. I am also responsible for helping craft the culture of the property management department that contributes to the overall Coronis culture.

What motivated you to get into real estate?

I stumbled into it actually! I had grand ambitions of being a secretary and really wanted to work for a hotel. When I left school in grade 10, I completed my secretarial studies and did my work experience at the Metropolitan Motor Inn. When I started applying for fulltime positions, the role I was successful in was as a secretary

6 ELITE PROPERTY MANAGER • FEB-MAR 2016

to earth, passionate, humble, driven, innovative thinker there is. He is all about his team and his purpose in life is to make others’ lives better, which is why I think we both get along so well; we have a similar purpose.

In your briefcase right now is…?

I actually don’t have a briefcase or handbag; I just have a little clutch which has my keys, lipstick, phone and money in it.

What is your must-have piece of technology?

make decisions relating to their property.

Always do what you say you will do.

Genuinely have your owner’s interests at heart. If you do this you will make the right decisions and be successful.

Love what you do. If you do, it will be a passion, not work.

Any words to live by?

I have two sayings I live by: ‘What we tolerate, we teach’, and ‘If you always do what you’ve always done, you will always get what you’ve already got.’ ■

MILLY FINDS A NEW HOME

PROPERTY MANAGERS HAVE been known to walk

into some terrible situations in the line of duty. In November 2015 Melanie Pirotta, a property manager from PRD Nationwide Melton in Victoria walked into a property for a routine inspection to find an abused dog that had been abandoned by the tenant. Milly now has a happy home with the Pirotta family, but what if you found yourself in a similar situation?

ON A ROUTINE inspection, Melanie Pirotta noticed a dog in the back yard through a glass sliding door and was shocked to see that she was predominantly skin and bone. She took photos of her, went back to the office to print them out and then contacted the RSPCA by email.

Melanie was desperate for the dog to be rescued; however, getting justice for Milly was a lot harder than she had imagined.

“A staff member who is a friend of the tenant called him to let him know I wasn’t happy and had reported him to the RSPCA,” Mel says. “I wish he hadn’t done that because that gave the tenant the opportunity to take the dog off the premises.”

The RSPCA headed straight to the property, but the dog had already been

taken away by the tenant. He was advised that if he didn’t give Milly to them by the next day he would be charged.

“The following day I called the RSPCA and was told that they could not get hold of the tenant. I asked whether there was anything I could do,” she says. “I left messages on the tenant’s mobile and starting calling family members listed on his application, but they couldn’t help me.”

As a last resort, Melanie sent a text message to the tenant explaining that if he didn’t want to give Milly to the RSPCA, he could give the dog to her and she would provide care.

“To my surprise he asked if I would meet him at the rental property. I took a staff member with me as I wasn’t sure of the reaction I was going to receive,” Melanie

says. “I took Milly home and contacted the RSPCA, and the next day they came to pick her up.”

In the weeks following, Melanie called the RSPCA constantly to get updates on Milly’s progress, all the while assuring them that she would love to adopt or foster her. She was determined to give Milly the life she deserved.

“It was a very long process to adopt Milly, but it was so worth the wait,” Melanie says. “She is now healthy and happy and we couldn’t be happier. She follows me everywhere I go and my family and I absolutely adore her. I’m not sure what the outcome was for the tenant, but I knew the RSPCA would be taking care of that.”

If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, Melanie advises taking lots of photos and contacting the RSPCA immediately.

“Don’t contact the tenant because, as much as you might want to remove the animal right there and then, it’s important that you don’t. You could be charged and it will make it harder for the RSPCA to bring justice,” she says.

Milly has just spent her first Christmas in her new home, enjoying a beach holiday and fun with her new family as she makes a fresh start in life. ■ MARINA MITCHELL

epm.eliteagent.com.au 7

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Download a sample today! realestatenewsletters.com.au

8 ELITE PROPERTY MANAGER • FEB-MAR 2016

How to Secure Property Managements from Online Enquiries If securing additional managements is a key objective for your department this year, make sure Rent.com.au is part of your ongoing online strategy.

As Australia’s leading rental property website, Rent. com.au offers a number of tools and services to assist property managers in building their managements.

Rent.com.au continues to grow the business through increased listings content and improved user experiences for renters, agents and landlords, and will introduce new products to create the complete rental marketplace.

For property managers, the number of landlords online and engaging with the site is key in building new managements.

In October and November, traffic numbers to the website exceeded the company’s target of 500,000 unique visitors (‘UV’), more than doubling traffic since listing on the ASX in June 2015.

Rent.com.au’s ability to attract landlords online will be significant for property managers Australia-wide.

With the privately managed market representing around 46 per cent of the total market, landlords’ increased presence onsite creates more opportunities for property managers to access.

The premium Feature Plans allow agents to capture the attention of landlords researching on Rent.com. au through Feature Listing upgrades and products such

as the Exclusive Top Listing.

Moreover, landlords have a direct link to secure professional tenancy management by agents through Rent.com.au with ‘Find an Agent’. It’s as simple as entering a suburb to search over 6,500 property management agencies across Australia.

Agencies can boost their profile on the Find an Agent page as an additional feature of rent.com.au premium agent Feature Plans, including a link through to their customised agency profile.

Property managers can also pick up new managements through RentQuotes. If landlords are looking to appoint a property manager to manage their rental property, RentQuotes allows them to get management proposals from local agents through one simple form.

Professionals Rockingham business development manager Martina Berry said her agency manages around 400 properties, but is always striving to find new managements: “Within our first week of signing up with Rent.com. au, we had one lead through RentQuotes. I was fortunate enough to meet with the owner and list the property for management. That one lead paid for my subscription for the year,” she said.

If building your property management through online enquiries is key for your agency in 2016, visit rent.com.au/agents, email agents@rent.com.au or phone 1300 736 810.

NUMBER CRUNCH

GRAB YOUR TICKETS TO LPMA 2016 The Leading Property Managers of Australia conference will be held at Jupiters on the Gold Coast on 7–8 April 2016.

For the past 10 years LPMA has built a strong reputation for presenting conferences with maximum ‘take home’ value for delegates: content designed and delivered by the cream of the industry’s practitioners.

At LPMA 2016, the bar is being lifted to a new level with 30 per cent more sessions and speakers, including: • Star of TV’s The Shark Tank, Naomi Simson • Internationally recognised speaker/author, Colin Pearce

• High performance expert and futurist, Gihan Perera • Top real estate business coach, Peter Gilchrist • One of Australia’s most indemand business strategists, Darren Hill.

There will also be an additional 15 business and industry practitioners presenting specialist sessions for agency principals, property managers and business development managers.

A traditional highlight of LPMA conferences has been its spectacular Gala Dinner (included in the Conference ticket price). At LPMA 2016, the Dinner will be held at Movie World, with

delegates transported by coach to network, dine and dance the night away in the spectacular surroundings of Movie World’s Star Pavilion and Spooky Castle.

Entertainment will be provided by popular Gold Coast band ‘The Accidents’.

LPMA 2016 will also feature a large trade display area where the latest products and services for the property management industry will be showcased, some of these being launched for the first time.

For more information about LPMA 2016, visit lpma2016.com. au or email Dixie Walters at dixie@lpma.com.au.

First Ever Online Training Portal for Console Customers The better your staff know the software they use, the more efficient they can be. But sometimes it is impractical to send them out of the office for training, Console are rolling out their first ever Online Training Portal which will eventually host courses for all Console software.

The initial courses, to be rolled out in February 2016, will focus on the property management software – GatewayLive. The portal will enable property managers to learn how to use the program quickly and efficiently.

One of the most important initiatives to boost training and support for Console clients, there are many benefits for GatewayLive customers who complete the training:

BENEFITS FOR PRINCIPALS • Level 1 is free and included in your subscription • Can be completed any time, anywhere, on any internet-

connected device • Self-paced training can be completed in chunks or at once • Both visual and theory content for comprehensive learning • Staff receive Certificate of Completion for each level

BENEFITS FOR PROPERTY MANAGERS • Keep your knowledge of GatewayLive current • Get notified when modules are updated, so you can learn the changes straight away • The Certificate of Completion is proof that you know the software • All manuals and materials can be downloaded for later reference • Ability to revisit modules after the course is completed Ultimately, this will enable real estate agencies to function more efficiently, and will also provide a fast and easy method for all staff to learn their software.

For more information visit console.com.au.

PROPERTY MANAGER FEEDBACK RENT.COM.AU JUNE 2015 SURVEY

Number of property managers who add more than six photos to their property listings

72%

receive the majority of enquiries via email

82%

said they would not have a formal property management review ahead of 2016

36% 56% 11%

get VPA for their rental listings

recover all their advertising costs

Have listings on the market for an average of 2 weeks

47%

epm.eliteagent.com.au 9

FIRST PERSON

Mark Woschnak

A Vision for Property Management AUSTRALIA’S PROPERTY LANDSCAPE is changing and the

traditional renter stereotypes are making way for a major systemic shift. Renting is becoming a well-accepted and conscious lifestyle choice. The positive news? There’s consistent growth forecast for the years ahead. With over seven million renters in Australia, this large and fast-moving sector is on the rise, replicating global trends.

ON REFLECTION, 2015 was an exciting, dynamic and highly successful year for Rent.com.au. When we first set out a vision for the company in 2007, property management was

an industry still in its infancy, with less than a handful of key property management software uploaders and limited representation of the property managementrelated services that we

10 ELITE PROPERTY MANAGER • FEB-MAR 2016

now see. Today, Rent.com. au is strategically placed to respond to the landscape shift and will seek to provide renters and the wider industry with the services needed to make the whole

renting process easier and more professional.

With this in mind, we are well placed to offer a few observations on the state of Australia’s property management industry and the challenges and objectives it faces in the year ahead. As high vacancy rates remain an issue in a number of capital cities today, the task of finding new managements and sourcing good quality applicants to fill vacant properties are key challenges. Our latest survey data indicates a focus on three fundamental issues: communication with tenants and owners, preparing higher quality ads and tenant retention.

Improving on relationships will be a key objective.

PMs desire to build better communication with their tenants and owners to create the best customer service possible. Most survey respondents (64 per cent) said they valued communication as a top objective in 2016, wanting to work more effectively and be capable of supporting their tenants and owners in meeting both shortterm and long-term objectives with their property.

It’s also clear that the industry wants to create better-targeted, more successful online listings to fill vacancies quicker and with good tenants. On average, PMs add more than six photos to a listing (72 per cent of the time), while the remaining 28 per cent generally add between three and five photos. But what’s the golden number for success?

PMs indicated they wanted to know how to improve their online marketing and upgrade their photography to better their enquiry rate. So knowing the target audience, creating a picture of the offered lifestyle and presenting great

HOW CAN YOU IMPROVE YOUR COMMUNICATION PLAN TO TENANTS AND LANDLORDS? HOW CAN YOU MAKE YOUR ADS MORE APPEALING? HOW WILL YOU KEEP GOOD TENANTS?

quality photos will be key to developing better marketing techniques for any agency going forward.

Planning for better tenant retention strategies will also be key in 2016.

Retaining good tenants is of paramount importance to the growth of any agency; 82 per cent of PMs said building their rent roll was ‘very important’. For the year going forward, most PM departments indicated they wished to grow their

rent roll by 50 per cent in 2016 (28 per cent), while 26 per cent of respondents envisioned it growing by 11 to 20 per cent.

It’s by no means an easy feat. We know PM’s are all too often faced with challenges which have the potential to derail even the best set of objectives. Implementing new technologies in a busy marketplace is an ongoing task as the landscape continues to shift and

at last.

demands for PMs’ time and understanding are pushed.

Other challenges include having people attend the viewings once they’ve booked in a timeslot, and competition against other agents who continually cut their fees. We know this doesn’t even touch the surface of what the industry tackles on a daily basis.

If you’ve got some time in the New Year, have a look at how you might tackle the top issues. How can you improve your communication plan to tenants and landlords? How can you make your ads more appealing? How will you keep good tenants? As we move on into the year, Rent. com.au will continue to work with property managers and agents to provide the

your property.

managed.

services they need. It’s great to see that our message is resonating across the industry with an invigorated wave of enthusiasm and support for our vision.

Rent.com.au’s vision remains to create the complete marketplace of products and services needed in the renting process by renters, property managers and nonagent landlords. A long-term view remains of expanding this vision into Asia and using our other assets like lease. com.au.

It’s an exciting industry to be in right now and, on behalf of the entire Rent.com. au team, we extend our very best wishes for a prosperous 2016 to you all. ■

MARK WOSCHNAK is the CEO of Rent.com.au.

now.

in real time.

With the new MyMobilePM App you can check rent due, paid, maintenance, lease details and much more.

Connecting property managers, landlords and tenants. Get the App at: www.MyMobilePM.com.au or call 1300 813 635.

epm.eliteagent.com.au 11

Realty Bytes

Alister Maple-Brown

FOSTERING INNOVATION IN REAL ESTATE Alister Maple-Brown examines the importance and value of innovation within a workplace. Is your business doing enough to foster and harness creative energy?

L

ATE LAST YEAR I had the pleasure of travelling to the United States to explore their real estate market and discover the latest trends in Silicon Valley. The trip gave me many insights into the future of technology and the changes we will begin to see in the real estate industry over the course of 2016.

Two of the highlights of my trip included attending America’s annual National Association of Realtors (NAR) Conference and visiting Amazon’s headquarters in Silicon Valley. Both these experiences displayed an incredible amount of creativity and innovation, the foundations of most Silicon Valley businesses.

I believe that these are two very important traits to bring to the Australian real estate industry. So how can your business foster innovation in 2016?

within the business and ensure that everyone is working towards the same goal. There’s no point in your team members coming up with a great idea if it doesn’t align with your business’s core purpose.

ENCOURAGE CREATIVE THINKING Creativity within your business can set you apart from the competition. Within the Amazon office there were various ‘breakout areas’ with lounges and sunken chairs,

designed with the intent to foster creative conversation.

Changing your physical settings or having a team brainstorm can help get the creative juices flowing. You’ll likely throw away 90 per cent of the ideas, but it’s that other 10 per cent of gold that makes the process worth it.

EMBRACE FAILURE Failure is something that we all fear, but if embraced in the correct manner it can create a supportive and

open workplace culture. The tech giants such as Amazon, Facebook and Google would not be where they are today without failure and mistakes.

Creating a workplace which encourages open and judgement-free discussion will generate more innovative ideas than businesses that remain closed to new developments for fear of failure. In order to innovate, one must be prepared to fail first. This concept is embraced with open arms in Silicon Valley.

CREATING A WORKPLACE WHICH ENCOURAGES OPEN AND JUDGEMENT-FREE DISCUSSION WILL GENERATE MORE INNOVATIVE IDEAS THAN BUSINESSES THAT REMAIN CLOSED TO NEW DEVELOPMENTS FOR FEAR OF FAILURE.

CLEAR PURPOSE One of the key themes which emerged from the NAR Conference was the emphasis on customer experience within the real estate industry.

Offering a premium level of customer service may be the foundation of your business, but are all your employees aware of this?

Aligning the goals of your business can help to reiterate the purpose of every individual

12 ELITE PROPERTY MANAGER • FEB-MAR 2016

As we move into 2016 I encourage you to innovate within your workplace and foster creativity within your team. We’re doing that at Rockend and we’re excited about the year ahead.

I look forward to seeing innovation and lateral thinking in your business and the industry over the course of this year. ■

ALISTER MAPLE-BROWN is the CEO of leading property management software provider Rockend. For more information visit rockend.com.au.

property management leadership summit

register now 3-4 march 2016 • alppps.com

andrew morello

jo-anne oliveri

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andrew propst

adam franklin

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Property Management Mentor

Natalie Hastings

MAKING YOUR SMALL BUSINESS APPEAR BIGGER You’re scrolling through Instagram or driving along a local street when you see a shiny new real estate office appear. As a brand, they’ve been in the market for five minutes yet they’re dominating the local market. How is it so? Natalie Hastings investigates.

W

HO IS THIS force come to take over your home patch? Check out their incredible on-point branding! Their website and user-experience is gamechanging in your market and their property management software has unprecedented client interaction that puts your own portal to shame.

You look at the website. It’s

consider outsourcing in your real estate agency.

CASHFLOW IS KING It’s simply not good enough to ignore the need to up your service standards and brand prestige because you don’t have the skills to be a marketing guru or expert trust accountant yourself.

Success in management – whether as a principal or a

local guerrilla print media campaign, and you can easily tighten the reins when things are a little leaner.

Importantly, you’re not dropping the ball on your business’ service delivery to clients; you might just up- or downscale depending on your budget at the time. Some functions don’t require a fulltime employee, so outsourcing can be nimble and flexible.

YOUR TIME IS BEST SPENT ASSISTING CLIENTS FROM YOUR SKILLSET, RATHER THAN TRYING TO BE A WEBSITE ADMINISTRATOR, TRUST ACCOUNTANT, MARKETING GURU AND INSTAGRAM CHAMPION. one person and an assistant.

That’s it. How did they create such an amazing identity and business momentum to match?

Outsourcing. That’s how.

In order to offer a full suite of professional agency services in this brave new world of ‘more’, you don’t have to be a big business. On the contrary: you can look big and continue to be little by contracting or outsourcing services to trusted professionals. This not only improves your cashflow, but it allows you to appear much larger and more influential than you actually might be or feel.

Here’s why you should

department head – is all about recognising expertise in others and delegating appropriately to them. The benefits of outsourcing specific roles to trusted partners are many; key amongst them is not having to worry about payroll tax on their invoices or making superannuation payments.

SCALABILITY Every real estate business goes through peaks and troughs. Outsourced talent is ideally scalable, meaning that when you’re flush with funds you can invest a little more in your social media marketing expert, graphic designer or

14 ELITE PROPERTY MANAGER • FEB-MAR 2016

EXPERTISE You might be an amazing negotiator. A keen lister, a smooth problem-solver when it comes to tenant-landlord dynamics, an amazing administrator. Your time is best spent assisting clients from your skillset, rather than trying to be a website administrator, trust accountant, marketing guru and Instagram champion.

Know your limitations and instead look to reputable outsourcing partners to help you appear larger than you are as a business, offering your clients superior service without having to grow your employee base substantially.

WHAT CAN YOU OUTSOURCE? Where to start? Streamline your accounting practices with the use of a reputable outsourced trust accounting partner, who can assist your property management team to ‘get their database right’, in addition to balancing the books and facilitating all aspects of trust account management.

You probably already outsource: you just think of it as having trades such as plumbers, electricians and other property experts on call to assist your landlords.

You wouldn’t make your property managers learn a trade before thinking them qualified to help your clients, would you?

You may also consider outsourcing condition reports and routine inspections – a clever way of handling big workloads in an efficient, costeffective manner that takes care of your landlords’ assets without compromise.

There’s so many ways you can look big yet be little, so consider using others to improve your service. ■ NATALIE HASTINGS is the Managing Director of Hastings + Co. For more information, visit hastingsandco.com.au.

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THE MATHEMATICS OF PROPERTY MANAGEMENT WITH BOB WALTERS FRONT DESK TO BUSINESS OWNER

LAURA LEVISOHN IMPLEMENTING NEW TECHNOLOGY AS A TEAM MAKING INSPECTIONS EASY

COVER STORY

16 ELITE PROPERTY MANAGER • FEB-MAR 2016

WHEN IT COMES TO

property management, Suzie Hamilton-Flanagan has the experience to know what works. With a career spanning over 30-years starting in South Australia with top boutique agencies Toop & Toop and Harris Real Estate, she has recently made the move to Sydney to continue her journey with BresicWhitney. Suzie tells us what it’s like to ‘make the move’, along with some of the valuable lessons learned on the way.

T

HOUGH SHE started out in advertising, a desire to follow in her parents’ footsteps and to own investment properties prompted Suzie to switch to real estate. She developed a real passion for the industry, selling her first $2 million property within 18 months.

Property Management came later.

“I can blame my husband, Marshall, for my time in advertising. I was studying radio production when I met him; he had come from Sydney to take up a position with Young & Rubicam Adelaide as a Creative Director.

He introduced me to the advertising business and I finished up working as a producer for Y&R in Adelaide. We moved to the US just after we were married.

“My real estate career started after we had our children, Olivia and Henry.

I wanted to return to work and my dear friend John Colley offered me a position as property manager with his agency in

North Adelaide, fulfilling my long-term ambition to get into the industry.”

But there were many takeaways from her time spent in advertising. “Without doubt, my key learnings from my time in advertising were marketing-based,” says Suzie. “Knowing your consumer (landlords) and more importantly, consulting with them through market research. Gathering information not just on their perceptions and needs but on the competitors, industry trends and the price environment. Above all, creating a point of difference and having a plan moving forward, and the importance of your team.

These are all a business’ greatest assets.”

Having spent a long time in the industry, Suzie has seen many changes, but says the fundamentals are still the same.

“In terms of the role and tasks to perform, property management is the same as it was 20 years ago, but the biggest changes are in the expectations of our

“I HAVE ALWAYS ADMIRED WHAT SHANNAN AND IVAN HAVE ACHIEVED IN THE SYDNEY MARKET WITH THEIR BUSINESS, AND THEIR VISION AND CORE VALUES MATCHED MY BELIEFS BOTH PROFESSIONALLY AND PERSONALLY.”

clients. Both landlords and tenants [have greater expectations] in terms of service deliverables and time frames for resolving issues, due to the technology available today and the information we can now give clients through software.”

One of the highlights of Suzie’s career to date has been her role at Harris Property, working alongside Phil Harris and growing the rent roll from zero to 1,900 properties within three-and-a-half years, through a combination of organic and acquisition strategies. In 2014 Harris also undertook a large rent roll acquisition, with challenging settlement terms and conditions. This created operational and HR challenges including the transfer of 10 staff which needed to be met by Suzie and the team.

Then, after three years with Harris, Suzie has now made the move from Adelaide to Sydney, this time taking on the role as Head of Property Management with another powerhouse boutique agency, BresicWhitney, who have 2,300 properties under management.

“Moving from Adelaide to Sydney was one of the most difficult career decisions I have had to make,” she admits.

“Leaving a well-respected business in the Adelaide market and the team I had built at Harris Property Management wasn’t easy. However, the opportunity to work in Sydney and enhance the property management business with BresicWhitney was also very compelling!

“I have always admired what Shannan and Ivan have achieved in the Sydney market with their business, and their vision and core values matched my beliefs both professionally and personally.

“But, interestingly enough, there is not

epm.eliteagent.com.au 17

COVER STORY too much difference in operating a property management business in either market that I have been in. The market is more transient here [in Sydney], and there is a stronger rental market, and the issue of maintenance is a constant challenge given the climate. But both Harris and BresicWhitney are large boutique businesses and the ‘engine rooms’ are fairly similar, even though the geography is quite different.”

She says, the big differences are always about the people and getting that right.

“Everyone is different: different personalities, different markets with different landlords and tenants. The solution rests in evaluating every aspect of the business and then engaging the people in creating a sustainable plan that everyone can take ownership of.”

She says the unique characteristics that make BresicWhitney successful are in the area of customer service. “As an example, we do not distinguish between a single-property owner and multiple-property owners. All deserve quality service and tenants. We are, a boutique real estate business and we work to ensure the best return for our landlords’ investment.”

Suzie emphasises that looking after staff is of paramount importance, providing them with opportunities to grow within the business, so they can manage their portfolio of clients to a high level and feel valued; loving what they do.

As for some of the many things she has learned on her journey, Suzie says two pieces of advice come to mind.

“My husband always says, ‘Gather all the information and look at the facts before making any decision’. And the other comes from my previous career in the advertising agency Young & Rubicam. The MD, David Minear, told me, ‘the most consistent thing about business is change’. It is so true – a business has to change due to real estate market conditions, economic factors, financial pressures, team members’ requirements in terms of development and training, and the demands and needs of our clients.

“I’m always working with the team on ‘how can we make things better?’. That sometimes means changes to our internal processes to ensure our clients are looked after and we deliver a high level of customer service every day. Feedback from everyone is so important.”

What advice would Suzie give to others who may be starting their careers in property management? “If you want to progress your career quickly, you need to go over and above expectation in your role. Be passionate. Love what you do – it’s infectious,

“DON’T UNDERESTIMATE THE VALUE OF A BUSINESS MENTOR, SOMEONE WHO IS AN EXPERT IN THEIR FIELD. DEVELOP YOUR SKILLS BY LISTENING AND LEARNING. IT WILL FAST-TRACK YOUR CAREER MORE THAN YOU REALISE.” and people love working with people who are positive and happy in the workplace.

“Read, read, read, attend seminars and gather knowledge from people in the industry. Go to as many industry seminars as possible. It’s a good idea to have an understanding of the sales side of the business, not just property management, so you can provide your client with the highest level of professional advice.

“And don’t underestimate the value of a business mentor, someone who is an expert in their field. Develop your skills by listening and learning. It will fast-track your career more than you realise.

“I’ve been lucky enough to have several mentors, from both within and outside the industry. Don Tepper – CEO of REEF (the Real Estate Employment Federation), my husband Marshall and Fiona Blayney – she has been my business coach for the past

18 ELITE PROPERTY MANAGER • FEB-MAR 2016

four years and an integral part of my career success to date.”

2016 is shaping up to be an exciting year within the BresicWhitney business, says Suzie. It will be all about client relationships, customer service and being flexible to adapt to clients’ needs.

“2016 in real estate is going to be about diversified income streams – sales, property management, conveyancing, finance, in-house photography and videography, scalability and keeping consistent systems and procedures, as well as the need for continued differentiation.

“We are currently working on a plan for 2016 that will reveal some different and improved service deliverables, as well as diversified business opportunities that will benefit our landlords and tenants. The BresicWhitney team are amazing and this year will be exciting.” ■ TARA TYRRELL

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A day in the life

WHAT DOES A DAY IN THE LIFE of a property manager really look like? Fiona

McEachran, marketing manager for Console, spent a day with Hayley Mitchell from Mitchell Property Management in Victoria to find out.

20 ELITE PROPERTY MANAGER • FEB-MAR 2016

HAYLEY MITCHELL is a name well known in the property management industry.

With over fifteen years’ experience in property management, Hayley also trains and consults for other real estate agencies and is one of the very few people who has won the title of REIV Residential Property Manager of the Year twice. Hayley and her husband, Warren founded Mitchell Property Management in Kew in 2009.

Now in South Melbourne, Hayley and Warren continue to deliver their unique brand of focused service to clients all over the inner city.

H

ayley, what is a typical day like for a property manager?

A typical day in property management? I don’t think there is one! You can come to work with the best intentions possible, your to-do list set out, your diary set out, and then you get five phone calls from tenants: a burst hot water service, flooding, bees in the property, whatever it might be, and your day is completely hijacked.

It comes and goes; you have those days where you just don’t get anything done, and you have other days where you come in and you don’t have a long list of things to do, and you just smash through your work. I guess a typical day is just trying to make sure that your clients are happy.

Balancing the needs of both your tenant and your landlord is challenging at times.

But a typical day? I don’t think I can give you an answer to that one!

Are there some tasks that have to be done every day from a property management point of view?

In property management it’s really easy to get busy. You can get busy on stuff that comes in, and you tend to react to the noise that comes in with it. The noisiest tenant will get the quickest response, when in reality you need to be able to prioritise your work, to make sure that you’re actually getting through the things that came in last week that you might not have had a chance to do.

The things that I think property managers often don’t get through are their tasks.

Things like your rotating inspections, your rent reviews, your lease renewals, chasing up your maintenance. They’re the things that often people put to the side and they deal with the urgent stuff. That’s the stuff that still needs to get done, because a landlord relies on you to do that part of the business; but it’s also the part that if you get busy you tend to push, and then once you get behind it’s really hard to catch up again.

You have to have good systems in place.

For me, setting up your trust account and your software correctly so that you can document everything is really important.

It’s really important to track your workflow

as well, to ensure that you’re getting through it. I catch up with my team once a month; we run through all the KPIs and make sure that everything is kept up to date.

If you have a month where you don’t do your routines [inspections] and you’ve got twenty due, then the next month you’ve got forty due. The month after that you’ve got sixty due, and you can’t catch up. You’ve got to ensure that you’re actually doing your five a week to keep on track, because once you get behind it’s almost impossible to catch up.

What is the biggest challenge that you face?

The biggest challenges for me would be balancing the needs of all parties. At the end of the day you’ve got a tenant that wants something, you’ve got a landlord that wants something, you’re just the middle man.

You can’t be the one that says, ‘Yes, I’m going to make this happen and it’s going to make the tenant happy.’ If the landlord says ‘No, you can’t do that’ then you’re the bad person in the middle. That’s probably the hardest thing, and trying to, I guess, keep people’s expectations realistic. A tenant might move into a property and say, ‘The carpet’s old, I want new carpet.’ In reality they’ve taken the property in that condition,

so a landlord’s got every right to say no, they don’t want to do it. But then you’re the person saying no, it’s not the landlord!

If I am new into the role, what should I do first thing in the day to start the day on the right foot?

Have a to-do list. I use Gateway Today so I always have all my tasks in there. The first thing that happens when I open up my mobile phone in the morning is I look at my task list and see, ‘What are the things that I need to follow up?’

Then, do the hardest thing first. Don’t look at it [the list] and go, ‘I’ve got to make that call. I’ve got to make that call’, because then it will just sit at the back of your mind all day. Just do it. I love a checklist, and I love crossing things off when they’re done. For me, if I can write down a list of what I need to do, or use my Gateway Today, and make sure that I work through those items, it’s a good outcome.

The other thing is don’t be afraid to set yourself some ‘bubble time’. (We call it bubble time!) If people need some time out in the office, and they need to work for a big task, they have to put a headband on with some bubbles. It’s like ‘do not disturb’ on your phone; it’s a visual reminder for everyone else in the office that you’re having quiet time and you need to be able to work through this task, because if you get interrupted every minute you’re not going to get through it.

What qualities in a PM are most important?

You need to be tough, and you need to like people. If you don’t like people it’s not the right job. It just isn’t. People glamorise property management; there’s always

“IF YOU HAVE A MONTH WHERE YOU DON’T DO YOUR ROUTINES [INSPECTIONS] AND YOU’VE GOT TWENTY DUE, THEN THE NEXT MONTH YOU’VE GOT FORTY DUE.” epm.eliteagent.com.au 21

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these little things on Facebook that people put up that say, “This is what my friends think property management is. In reality, this is what it is.” I definitely think you need to have really strong communication skills, you need to like people, you need to have a pretty thick skin, and you need to be able to turn off at the end of the day – because if you keep taking your work home with you, it will take over your life.

I’ve seen so many fantastic property managers who have just been in the wrong roles or haven’t had the support, or haven’t been given that opportunity to turn off at the end of the day, and they’ve burnt out and left. I think the industry needs really good property managers to join it and to stay, and we need to nurture those people to try and keep them as long as we can.

“I’VE SEEN SO MANY FANTASTIC PROPERTY MANAGERS WHO HAVE JUST BEEN IN THE WRONG ROLES OR HAVEN’T HAD THE SUPPORT, OR HAVEN’T BEEN GIVEN THAT OPPORTUNITY TO TURN OFF AT THE END OF THE DAY, AND THEY’VE BURNT OUT AND LEFT.”

22 ELITE PROPERTY MANAGER • FEB-MAR 2016

How important is ongoing education?

I think it’s really important. I have always got as much education as I could throughout my whole career: any opportunity I had to go to conferences or training events, or to build myself a network of people. I’ve got a really good network of other property managers that I can ask questions to or put ideas onto, and that’s really grown me in the industry.

With our training business we try and be innovative. We’re trying to give people ideas of how they can run their businesses better day to day, so that they’re not doing the same old stuff that they’ve always done.

There’s so much new stuff out there. I do training events; people go, ‘Wow, I never even knew that existed.’ And you’re like, ‘Well, it’s been around for fifteen years!’ It’s actually just getting those ideas out there and improving the industry as well.

Turning the tables a bit, what advice would you give someone on being a good landlord?

Just do exactly what your property manager says. They know best! [laughs] When you get a new landlord you do have to train them, because they don’t exactly know yet all the intricate legislation that they need to know. In reality, you might think, ‘Oh, I want to do this.’ But it’s not actually allowed through legislation. I think that to be a good landlord you have to have a good property manager, and you have to have a partnership. If they say, ‘In reality, this is what we need to do’ then follow their guide if you’ve got full trust in them. ■

HUMAN RESOURCES

PAYING A REVENUE SPLIT Holy Grail or

Poisoned Chalice?

PAYING A PROPERTY MANAGER a percentage of income

generated by the properties they manage seems to have some obvious benefits and is discussed often. But is it all plain sailing? Brock Fisher looks at the pros and cons.

24 ELITE PROPERTY MANAGER • FEB-MAR 2016

F

ROM THE BUSINESS

perspective, paying a revenue split allows the wage-togross-income ratio of the business to be optimised and managed effectively. From the property manager’s perspective, it is the ultimate in performance-based pay, with a potentially lucrative upside over the plain old salary.

However, there are challenges with successful implementation, and also some unintended consequences that are discovered once you are treading down that path.

Anyone who knows Rental Express well knows we measure everything. Upon review after a year, we can definitively say that all property managers earned more money under that structure than under our previous ‘wage and bonus’ structure.

I have also worked under the structure as a property manager, and loved that it allowed me to earn more money in a number of different ways.

I could manage the same number of properties but generate more revenue out of my portfolio by providing excellent service. I could then focus on things like fee increase programs, signing up managements at a particular rent and management fee to replace lower-fee, lower-rent properties as they dropped out of the portfolio. There were also rewards for working on increasing rents at renewal time, and reducing vacancy when it came time to market properties for rent.

In short, it seemed to align my interests with those of the property owner and business owner, as the more money everyone made the more money I made.

But it also allowed me to make more money simply by managing more properties. And each new property I received was not just more work; it was a pay rise. Having property managers welcome rather than repel additional properties is a critical aspect of running a growth-oriented business.

I’ll cover what I think are the most important points when implementing a structure like this:

CAN YOU MEASURE IT? If your trust accounting software does not allow you to quickly and accurately break down all the various revenues generated by each individual portfolio, the job will be very difficult. There is no point having a fancy remuneration system if it is highly manual and takes you a whole week every month to work out; it’s just not practical or scalable.

CAN YOU EXPLAIN IT? It is different to ‘the norm’, so if you can’t simply explain your structure in a compelling way to a prospective employee, your recruiting will be harder, not easier. I’d encourage you to have data from the actual portfolio to demonstrate earning capacity, to give credibility to your pitch – otherwise it may sound too good to be true and be discarded as an over-promise, likely to be followed by an under-deliver. The security of a simple wage at a rival office may be more appealing to a prospective recruit if the explanation is mediocre.

WHAT WILL YOUR PERCENTAGE BE? Every office is different, because the cost of running each business is different. The cost of living and wage expectations for staff vary everywhere, even from outer to inner suburbs of the same city. It is important to be competitive, with ‘upside’, while remaining financially viable. There is no point having a proposition that results in a likely $50,000 package if your competitors are offering $60,000. Equally, there is no point paying such an attractive revenue split that it is unsustainable and will bankrupt the business.

HOW WILL YOU TIE IT TO KPIS? People generally do what they are incentivised to do. An unintended consequence of many bonus and incentive structures is they inadvertently result in behaviours that are not beneficial from a business perspective. If you want to encourage your team to go big, this

HAVING PROPERTY MANAGERS WELCOME RATHER THAN REPEL ADDITIONAL PROPERTIES IS A CRITICAL ASPECT OF RUNNING A GROWTHORIENTED BUSINESS. absolutely cannot be at the expense of quality and service.

If a property manager is not meeting minimum performance standards, they should not receive any more properties.

While it is true to say that if they lose a property they take a pay cut, a portfolio bleeding properties does far more reputational damage to the business, and results in a far higher loss in asset value,

than any pay cut to the team member can ever balance out.

A MINIMUM OR BASE LEVEL? Having a pure ‘commission only’ arrangement can be complicated from an employment law and licensing perspective and very daunting for the employee. It can also have very practical repercussions for staff outside the office, such as if they wish to get a home loan or any other kind of finance; being paid ‘commission only’ is perceived as a higher risk by lenders and requires far more financial documentation.

Having a guaranteed minimum base each month can assist to solve this. In this way, the team member has the security of a minimum regular amount each month, and then receives their ‘bonus’ amount once revenue calculations are complete.

HOW TO ACHIEVE PARITY? As rents vary considerably from suburb to suburb, one of the biggest challenges for businesses that cover a broader area is ensuring all your team get paid fairly for the work they do. Lower-rent properties, in lower socioeconomic areas, are often far more labour-intensive to manage due to the social challenges and maintenance issues that can present.

Therefore, if the percentage is the same, that property manager has to look after far more properties in those areas to earn similar money to a workmate who may have higher-rent, more modern inner-city properties.

Portfolio churn is one of the industry’s biggest problems as a whole. Having particular portfolios within each office that can be viewed as the ‘designer’ or ‘desired’ portfolio to manage because of the fees it generates can encourage movement within your own office, and amplify the perception of churn to your clients. This needs to be avoided.

A GRACE PERIOD? As a property manager coming into a new portfolio paid based on how much revenue it generates, how do you really know what you are walking into? Also, as a business owner with a potentially problematic portfolio, do you want the incoming team member to suffer financially because of your structure while they are sorting out issues, re-establishing client relationships and generally giving you their best efforts? An initial grace period while a property manager gets up and running in a portfolio may be a strategy that needs to be considered, dependent on the circumstances.

HOW DO I START A NEW PORTFOLIO? For businesses content with consolidation and maintaining numbers, this presents no issue. But for growth-oriented businesses this one can actually be the hardest proverbial nut to crack. Once you start looking at each individual portfolio as a mini-business or profit centre, you quickly become aware of the financial loss a very small portfolio can make.

Splitting a portfolio and scooping properties from another property manager is akin to giving them a pay

THERE’S NO POINT PAYING SUCH AN ATTRACTIVE REVENUE SPLIT THAT IT IS UNSUSTAINABLE AND WILL BANKRUPT THE BUSINESS.

cut, and will generally be met with considerable resistance and discontent.

Starting a portfolio from scratch takes time to build numbers. How fast is your business growing? How long will it take to break even? Are you happy to sustain the loss the portfolio is making for as long as it takes? How do you pay a team member a percentage of virtually nothing?

Perhaps acquiring a small rent roll to plug straight into the new portfolio and instantly have it generating income is the best strategy.

I am yet to find the perfect pay structure, but having worked under this model as a property manager, and also having been a business owner where the structure has been implemented, I have had the chance to consider it from both sides of the equation. I am convinced of the merits of paying a revenue split, but it can certainly be a challenge to implement and does have some notable obstacles that need to be planned for. ■

BROCK FISHER commenced his property management career in 1998 and is a licensed real estate agent. Brock works as Chief Operations Officer at Rental Express in QLD, one of Australia’s largest and fastest growing specialist property management businesses with a rent roll of approximately 5,000 properties.

epm.eliteagent.com.au 25

RENT ROLL GROWTH

How to pull off the PERFECT LISTING PRESENTATION

ONCE UPON A TIME PROPERTY managers could walk

around a prospective client’s property, let the owner know they’d come back to them on pricing and sometimes leave the paperwork. The owner might have even handed over the keys there and then! Today competition has increased considerably and you need to be more prepared. Hermione Gardiner explains how to win the business in 2016.

W

HERE ONCE

mediocre performance was acceptable, today many landlords are seeing multiple agents to assess the most suitable to lease and manage their investment property. We are fighting for business against other welltrained, well-versed, experienced property managers or BDMs. And many prospective clients have already researched you online before you’ve arrived.

So we now need to work on our knowledge, dialogue and selling skills to step into every home armed and ready to pull off the perfect listing presentation.

We have to become the salesperson for our property management service.

Every property and situation is unique and will come with their owner’s set of expectations and needs. Like us, landlords are more time-poor than ever. We need to be prepared with 100 per cent knowledge, but be skilled enough to need only 10 per cent of that knowledge to win their business.

26 ELITE PROPERTY MANAGER • FEB-MAR 2016

How do we do this? We need to move to a strategy of needs-based selling. This means carefully paying attention and identifying their needs and expectations, then selling to them based on those requirements. Remember, it’s about them, not you.

RESPONSE AND BOOKING The faster you can respond to an enquiry and get in the door the better. However, when booking the visit you can help create a desire for your service by saying, ‘This afternoon I am flat out showing tenants through my listings; however, I could come by tomorrow at 10am or 4pm – which would suit you best?’

CONFIRMATION AND PREPARATION Sending an email and text confirmation to your prospective clients should be standard. Have a template ready that you can shoot off quickly and easily; they then have your contact details to hand and it shows them that you are thorough. Fully prepare for your visit well ahead of time, not five minutes before you run out the

door; research comparable properties, the area if you are not familiar with it, the history of the property, any past dealings with the prospective client and perhaps even some research on him or her.

ARRIVAL AND RAPPORT Making sure you are sharply dressed and presented is paramount. Check the mirror before you get out of the car to make sure the spinach from lunch is not still in your teeth, and ensure you arrive five minutes early so you are not flustered or in a rush.

Confident body language, a smile and greeting with a firm handshake and eye contact will ensure some instant rapport.

PRICING AND MARKETING You should have a good idea of what the property will rent for; it will not look good to say you need to do research, unless the property differs from expectations.

Ask whether they already have a rate in mind. Discuss the range of what the property could rent for, the current rental market, timing and factors that may affect it, as well as the strategies your agency has to achieve that price.

SELLING YOUR SERVICE Explain how your service will meet their needs and expectations identified earlier in the meeting. For some this may mean

WE NEED TO BE PREPARED WITH 100 PER CENT KNOWLEDGE, BUT BE SKILLED ENOUGH TO NEED ONLY 10 PER CENT OF THAT KNOWLEDGE TO WIN THEIR BUSINESS. Offering to take off shoes and paying attention to pets can be another instant rapport builder.

TO TOUR OR NOT TO TOUR? When you arrive it seems logical to tour through the house; however, if you suggest that you would first like to sit down to chat about them and their situation you will instantly have done two things. One, you have made them more important than the property, and two, you’ll be taking a different approach to the majority of agents.

Sit down and get to know the client. What made them decide to lease their property?

Is this the first time they have done so? If they have done it before, what did they like or dislike? What concerns them most about renting out their property? What is their view of the rental market at present? Have they had any thoughts about the type of tenant they want?

Take notes. You don’t need to solve all their problems yet; we are just fact-finding. Now you can suggest a tour around the home.

THE TOUR Let them lead you through the property; you’ll get a better idea of how emotionally attached they are to it. Take notes and make comments that demonstrate your expertise, like: ‘Built-ins are handy as tenants are always asking us for property with storage’ and, ‘I notice that there are no smoke alarms; has anyone discussed the legal requirements for your rental property?’

running through the whole property management journey step by step. For a more experienced client, share certain aspects of your service that cover their needs. For example, if they are concerned about a tenant taking care of the property, talk about the thorough application process, the ingoing report, the routine inspections, the outgoing, landlord’s insurance – all the areas that show how you make sure their property is taken care of.

Always demonstrate the benefits, not just the features. For example, ‘Our regular routine inspections with videos allow 100 per cent transparency to see what is going on at your property, giving you peace of mind that the tenant is taking care of it.’

ASKING FOR THE BUSINESS The close is the most daunting part for many, especially for those of us who aren’t born sellers. However, you can do this simply by saying, ‘Mr Landlord, based on everything we have discussed today, would you be happy for us to take care of the leasing and management of your investment property?’

Or for something more presumptive, ‘So from here I can get the photographer booked in for Friday if that would suit you?’ Once you have their agreement the paperwork is then merely a formality.

THE FEE DEBATE When is the best time to discuss fees in the presentation? I would suggest it is left until last and that you’ve ensured the client wants to use you. Be sure to minimise

the fees impact to the client – ‘For a very minimal cost of just x per cent of the rental income we will take care of everything we have discussed today.’

If they say ‘But the other agent is cheaper’, you can respond with ‘Putting fees aside, who would you prefer to use?’

Provided they say you, you have a leg to stand on to negotiate. Remind them that the cheapest agent will not always get them more money in their pocket, and that the strategies you’ve discussed today will ensure their return is maximised and their risk minimised, despite paying very marginally more.

THE FOLLOW-UP If you are not able to get commitment on the spot, your follow-up is pivotal. Confirm and summarise the key items that were important to them as soon as you’ve returned to the office. Follow up again the next day and every few days thereafter; it needs to be methodical to show them that you are as focused on them as you claim. Many a business has been won by following up long after the other agents have dropped off.

THE LISTING KIT These days I see a mixture of listing kits, from the faithful old document that’s been in use for 20-plus years, to the latest designer brochure, right through to the iPad presentation. The best is the one that works for you.

Ideally the listing kit should help your journey through the listing presentation, perhaps with examples and handy diagrams, stats or documents that explain what you are talking about. Think of it as a PowerPoint presentation; no one likes too much text, so consider what other imagery you can use to show your point.

And consider that the listing kit you take with you and the document or brochure you leave with the client don’t have to be one and the same. There could be multiple versions that are abbreviated and adapted to suit their purpose. ■ HERMIONE GARDINER has been part of the real estate industry for over 11 years. From Residential Property Management to Executive Leasing, New Business and Team Management she has successfully managed a broad clientele and successfully developed and delivered on new business growth plans and concepts. Hermione is now part of the Real+ consulting and training team, for more information visit realplus.com.au.

epm.eliteagent.com.au 27

EVENT REVIEW - NAR 2015

Relationships not transactions JO-ANNE OLIVERI RECENTLY spent four intensive days at the USA’s annual National

Association of Realtors (NAR) Conference and Expo. Here are her top four takeaways to help you raise the bar in your property management business or career this year.

D

URING MY four days at NAR, I attended many of the 100 educational sessions, discovered the latest products and services from over 400 industry vendors and networked with as many of the 20,000 delegates as possible. Here’s what I learned.

1

TRANSACTIONAL VERSUS RELATIONAL INCOME It’s time to change your thinking about what our industry does. We are in the service industry, so we must start delivering a service to our clients; not just a one-off transaction. Our clients are seeking long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with their property managers which lead to win-win outcomes: repeat transactions for us, repeat income for them.

NAR presenter and author of Shift Your Brilliance Simon T. Bailey summed it up perfectly when he said, “Relationships are the currency of the future.” If you want to remain at the forefront of this industry, you must start building your business on relationships, not transactions.

2

LEAD GENERATORS – WHEN IS A LEAD A LEAD? Have we become so reliant on lead generation programs that many principals have forgotten the tried and tested basic ways to grow?

NAR presenter and internationally recognised real estate expert Brian Buffini believes that online lead generation is our industry’s single biggest threat. Lead generation companies hold so much of our data that, according to Brian, they are holding our industry to ransom. He noted that in the USA this year Zillow alone generated $140M in leads, and a further $280M in leads were generated by other lead generation programs. However, the total number of sales achieved through these referrals was only $5M, whilst 80 per cent of sales were still as a result of client referral, recommendation and repeat business.

Heed his advice: the basic ways to build business are still the most effective. In 2016, refocus on growing through referral, recommendation and repeat business because, ultimately, these strategies are what leads to client retention.

28 ELITE PROPERTY MANAGER • FEB-MAR 2016

3

ONLINE RATING – THERE IS MORE TO THE SCORE! It’s time to stop focusing on your online rating scores, because research shows that you are the only one looking at them! NAR presenter and RealSatisfied’s President Jeff Turner revealed that only 10 per cent of leads are generated online, while a staggering 78 per cent of property owners choose their managing agent based on referrals from friends.

That’s because prospective clients dig much deeper than your Yelp, Facebook or LinkedIn rating scores.

IT’S TIME TO STOP FOCUSING ON YOUR ONLINE RATING SCORES, BECAUSE RESEARCH SHOWS THAT YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE LOOKING AT THEM!

Research shows that the most important factor influencing clients to engage an agency is the feeling that they can build a relationship with you. Clients then prefer to rate you or your agency through their own research and experience, rather than rely on online opinions.

Property management will always be about your relationships with your clients, so Jeff recommends that you identify who your evangelists are and then build relationships with them, rather than rely on customer rating websites. As Simon T. Bailey said, it’s time to “start connecting and stop selling.”

4

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SUCCESS AND MEDIOCRITY Three-time Super Bowl Champion with the Dallas Cowboys and now successful real estate agent, Emmitt Smith shared his journey from dream to realty.

When Emmitt was seven years old he told his dad he was going to play for the Dallas Cowboys. He knew his dream was more than a dream; it was his purpose. Emmitt knew that in order to achieve his purpose he needed mentors and coaches to help him become the person he wanted to be and hold

him accountable. His mentors and coaches taught him that in order for him to achieve his purpose he had to have discipline, focus and a plan. Emmitt Smith went on to win three Super Bowl Championships.

When he retired from football to become a real estate agent he realised the same formula for success held true. He hired a mentor and coach to hold him accountable, remained disciplined and focused, and prepared a plan. He firmly believes that this is how you can separate yourself from competitors and rise to the top.

However, Emmitt also reminded us that no person is successful by themselves, so every opportunity you have to shine should be shared with your team-mates, mentors and coaches. He said, “Humility is a soothing exercise that keeps you grounded and connected to others.” He also encouraged property managers never to stop learning or become satisfied, because the day you do that is the day you stop growing.

If you want to achieve your purpose and rise above the mediocre, you must surround yourself with coaches and mentors, invest in your ongoing learning, and start believing in yourself. The price of victory is

high, but so are the rewards.

At the NAR Conference and Expo this year the key messages were clear on how you can raise the bar in your property management business or career. Understand the new economy and build relationships through authentic connections with your clients; remember the back-to-basics approach to growth and stop focusing on lead generation programs and online rating scores; back yourself with ongoing learning and development, and remember to share the spotlight with those who are helping you on your path to success.

As Simon T. Bailey would say, this is the year to “shift your brilliance and harness the power of you.” ■

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

MUSCLE UP AND RAISE THE BAR IN REAL ESTATE SPECIALIST REAL ESTATE ADVISORS AND ACCOUNTANTS At businessDEPOT, we’ve got a unique insight into what fuels the fire - this allows us to package specialist tax, accounting and business advice to raise the bar of your real estate business. Get in touch with John Knight and his team to #MAKEITHAPPEN. businessdepot.com.au

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PM Q&A

Harriet Hovey LJ Hooker Bathurst

quality management fee whilst saving our clients money. We also send presents out to all our good tenants twice a year with written references included – plus we send them a thank you SMS every time rent is paid. We strongly believe in tenant appreciation.

Happy tenants mean happy landlords.

Originally from the UK, Harriet Hovey migrated to Australia in 2011. Over the last four years she has worked as a property officer and property manager, and is now a senior property investment manager at LJ Hooker Bathurst. A member of LJ Hooker’s Captains Club, she was the 2015 International Best New Talent first runner-up and won the NSW/ACT Rookie of the Year at the LJ Hooker Summit Conference the same year. Her NSW cell also won the award for top property management growth after seeing a 117 per cent increase in the number of properties within the first 18 months of opening.

When did you start in real estate?

I started working in real estate as a full-time, unpaid property management volunteer in 2011. I had moved over from the UK and hadn’t yet been granted work rights in Australia. It took seven months to get approved and I finally started as a property manager in February 2012.

What are your qualifications?

I have a Certificate of Registration, LJ Hooker Captain’s Club membership and a whole lot of common sense!

What made you choose a property management career?

I really just fell into the position and thrived. I quickly

Do you have an amusing story?

I have had some very interesting tenants. The best phone call I’ve received was from a male tenant advising that someone had broken into their house, made themselves dinner, had a bath and then slept in his bed. This was all while the wife was home and she didn’t realise, therefore the locks needed to be changed. I think he maybe should have a bit more of a chat with his wife…

realised the poor reputation most property managers get labelled with and wanted to change my clients’ perceptions through hard work, going over and above what they were used to.

As a property manager, what are the biggest challenges you face?

We are very flexible with our landlords and tenants, so our biggest hurdle would be to remember each person’s specific requirements and how they like to be managed.

That means ensuring that all notes in their agency agreements are followed through, such as their preferences for routines, daily payments, copies of invoices prior to payment, and so on.

30 ELITE PROPERTY MANAGER • FEB-MAR 2016

What do you love about property management?

I love changing people’s perceptions from both tenants’ and landlords’ perspectives. I believe property management has been seen as the ugly sibling of sales for too long, so I enjoy seeing the change in our clients when we add value to our services and they realise we do a great job in harmony with the sales team.

What is unique about your agency?

We offer a service that nobody else in our area provides. We have a way of reducing the interest that clients will pay to their bank by using daily payments into offset accounts.

This means we can keep a

What’s the best advice you’ve been given?

Never let perfect get in the way of better. I’ve lived by this since the first week of starting out in real estate, when a superior told me to write it down. It means that you shouldn’t be scared of changing things for the better just because they might not be absolutely perfect the first time round.

What are your most important values?

My key values are honesty and having a personality.

My clients know where I’m from, when and where I go on holidays and what my favourite movies are. We list lots of personal information on our website, not just the old ‘dedicated team ensuring

we deliver results’ blah-blah.

In this age people will Google you anyway, and they want to know more about you.

We’re also open and straightforward with people, which strengthens relationships in our office.

We’ll never try to get out of something if we’ve made a mistake – we will find it first and get straight on the phone with an apology and a resolution.

Do you have a mentor, or someone who inspires you?

I thrive on the LJ Hooker

network of great minds and utilise them when I can; people such as Amy Sanderson, our National Performance Manager, and BDM Suze Forster from LJ Hooker Belconnen, who sends out regular informative and hilarious emails.

What would be your dream job?

Helping other property managers to be great! I want to share my experiences and ideas with others and encourage them to new ways of thinking.

WE OFFER A SERVICE THAT NOBODY ELSE IN OUR AREA PROVIDES. WE HAVE A WAY OF REDUCING THE INTEREST THAT CLIENTS WILL PAY TO THEIR BANK BY USING DAILY PAYMENTS INTO OFFSET ACCOUNTS.

How do you maintain work/ life balance?

Being from the UK I try to head back when I get the opportunity to see my family and friends. Other than that I teach dance to adults after work and I do enjoy a large glass of pinot gris (not at the same time!).

I don’t believe that a work/ life balance necessarily exists; as work is such a big part of your life you can’t separate the two. I think you should just have good balance in life generally and make the most of every opportunity.

If you could host any three people at a dinner party, who would they be?

I would probably have some good talkers so I could listen to their stories. So Stephen Fry, Morgan Freeman and the Queen! (Because every good Pommy wants to meet the Queen…)

What are your predictions for the real estate industry for 2016?

I think we’ll become similar to Tripadvisor, with reviews and comments, so keeping a great relationship with all clients is key. I also see the online owner self-managing portals increasing, with landlords thinking they will be able to save money by doing it themselves. As this kind of technology advances we’ll need to find a better way to tackle it as experience will become obsolete.

What advice would you give someone starting out?

Have a strong backbone and don’t take any negative experiences to heart! Be constantly aware of changes you can make to improve yourself and the business you work for. Do more than the minimum and be proactive, and you will have fans for life! ■

* CPD Points are approved by RTO 21687 BPG Training Pty Ltd

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The Last Word

Fiona Blayney

SLIDING DOORS: DO YOU HAVE AN EXIT STRATEGY? What would you do if your life changed overnight? Have you planned an exit strategy for yourself or your business? Fiona Blayney finds out that sickness, retirement or other developments could mean that the end of the road comes sooner than we imagine.

I

’VE THOUGHT A lot about

a new friend I made recently. I’ll call them a friend, perhaps because as friends we do get on well, share common interests and spend more time than either of us had envisaged we would when we had that first gettogether. Although we first met to talk about business, I wasn’t being paid for my time and in hindsight felt like I should have been paying him.

My new friend was unknowingly providing me advice; advice in the form of lessons from his life. As I assisted him to unpack his journey, I could see the moments in time, the slidingdoor moments, when had another door been chosen his position today would be different. Not necessarily better or worse, but merely different.

We had yet to identify where his journey was to take him.

That is what he was here to do: seek my counsel in making decisions about what’s next in the twilight of his life, to seek a plan for exiting his business and leaving his industry, the one he had been in for almost 40 years.

There is something quite amazing about unpacking the life of someone who is slightly shy of double your age, a man sitting before you

reminding you of your father, watching him consider life after business, recounting the accomplishments, feats and defeats along his journey. My new friend was, like many of us, engrossed in his business on a daily basis. It was a living, breathing part of his family; and not only did he not want to leave, but I could see he didn’t know what to do if he did.

No doubt you may relate, or see how I, as someone who lives and breathes her business on a daily basis, became increasingly aware that life’s mirror may be right before me. I listened intently, asked probing questions and we discussed what could be, and what was not.

My new friend is at the end of his life in business; he has certainly had a good innings, but ill health has seen the tables turn in recent times and the result was an immediate change in his ability to operate the business day to day. Unfortunately here came the first lesson: he had, and still has, no exit plan. In reality he never did; he never saw himself doing anything else and didn’t want to think about it, didn’t think he needed to.

Thought it would all work out.

Every day there is the potential that you may need to call on your exit plan, either as an employee or a business

32 ELITE PROPERTY MANAGER • FEB-MAR 2016

an agent. Perhaps they lose their licence or have a medical matter; whatever the reason, without notice life changes.

You don’t have to be at retirement for change to come, and for some of us technology may be the reason we need to change. What would be your next life if you needed one?

It was pretty emotional

THE MENTAL ELEMENT OF THE EXIT WAS OF MORE INTEREST TO ME THAN THE FINANCIAL ONE. owner. You never know what the morning, afternoon or evening may bring, and being financially and mentally prepared is paramount to make a transition to your next part of life. My friend had done little planning for any of it.

The mental element of the exit was of more interest to me than the financial one. As we chatted, I could see clearly that the greatest obstacle was ‘what would I do with my day?’. I wonder who of us has considered, even started planning for, what you would do if you could no longer do what you do.

Our recruitment team regularly meet people whose lives create a moment that dictates they can no longer be

getting to know my new friend that day and I felt honoured to be supporting him at this life junction. I’m looking forward to sharing with him the results of my homework that he didn’t realise I’d taken away; my own exit strategy. Never mind that I am half his age!

Perhaps he will see my exit, re-education and personal financial plans have been influenced by his story that started with a skinny flat white and a gallon of water on a 40-degree day. ■

FIONA BLAYNEY is the founder and director of Real+, an industry-first Property Management learning platform. For more info visit realplusonline.com.au.

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THE GIFT OF LISTENING

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with Stuart Benson

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Red Bull racing champ Matt Hall talks mindset

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Kate Strickland

TRANSPARENCY OR TRICKERY What’s really driving agent review sites?

DEFENDING YOUR FEE Josh Phegan on getting what you’re worth

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Kate Smith

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