How proactive property managers unlock growth and client retention

“It’s a choice that we’ve got to make to not stay as we were and not become the victim, and actually take the power and grow.”

From reactive tasks to proactive growth

While many property management agencies aim to scale up, Gardiner said that the lack of resources and time pressures have been the main obstacles to growth.

She said that to escape the “hamster wheel of growth” and achieve real progress, businesses should first identify their shortcomings and deliberately choose to implement changes.

Over the years, she said, a common limitation was that businesses treated growth reactively, instead of implementing processes to generate and drive leads forward consistently.

Gardiner said that agencies end up trying to free up time for PMs by utilising technology resources and onboarding new staff members.

“A lot of the business owners I work with, god love them, have all of the processes in their heads, the same as their PMs,” she said

Yet she added that many property management companies do not have clear onboarding processes, which ultimately makes it hard for new members to join in and really free their colleagues' workload.

“Then it's not scalable.”

“There are lots of different elements needed to be able to be in the headspace capacity to think about how to intentionally grow and move my business forward.”

Sidekick founder Hermione Gardiner sat down with host Emilie Lauer on an episode of the Real Estate Business Podcast to discuss how property managers can proactively grow their rent roll, ahead of her talk at the upcoming REB Property Management Excellence Conference.

With over 20 years of experience in real estate and property management, Gardiner said that, despite industry changes, businesses often remain too reactive and must adopt a more proactive approach to growth.

Leveraging existing client opportunities

In addition to systems and processes overall, Gardiner encouraged property managers to review how they managed and grew their rent rolls through client retention.

“If you are losing clients out the back door, any growth you’re bringing in is just pointless,” Gardiner said.

Property managers were encouraged first to leverage existing clients to drive growth, creating a strong foundation before pursuing new business opportunities.

“There are probably so many opportunities that are available if you are able to harness that existing client base,” she said.

“But to be able to do that, you have got to have happy, satisfied clients.”

Gardiner said that once PMs identify a successful area, they should implement a system to leverage and replicate that success consistently and organically.

She also emphasised the importance of property managers planning ahead to grow and sustain their client base strategically.

“The work we are doing in lead generation, we need to think about the long game,” she said.

“If the leads aren’t ready to go, we can’t just let them go. These people are your future clients in 6, 12, 24 months.”

Gardiner said property managers needed to ensure that once client communication started, they continued to maintain a relationship, as turnover remained high in the industry.

She mentioned that it “blows her mind” that businesses often don’t even have an offboarding system in place for clients, where some simple actions can go a long way to driving returning and new business.

Additionally, she said that businesses should think about implementing an offboarding process to understand why clients are leaving the rent roll and learn from it.

“Those people are not only potentially going to buy again, but they also know other people in your area that might own an investment property.”

Gardiner said that a departing gift or a thank-you call from a director can enhance a business’s profile and encourage referrals.

Branding and self-esteem

Over the last couple of years, Gardiner said many PMs have launched their own agencies but have been struggling to grow their businesses' profiles.

“They have been amazing PMs, but they aren’t actually great at marketing and selling themselves.”

“The brand perception isn’t loud and proud.”

Gardiner said property managers could learn from sales agents in promoting their business, adding that experienced PMs should be more confident in showcasing their profile and services.

“When you zoom out, it’s actually quite important what we are helping people with,” Gardiner concluded

Hermione Gardiner will be one of the speakers at the upcoming REB Property Management Excellence Conference on 27 November.

Listen to the podcast episode here.