The experienced real estate trainer said he is convinced that property management offers a better long-term career play, but most people in the industry have not realised this yet.
Tom Panos, owner of Real Estate Gym, argued that property management contains a structural advantage that sales simply cannot match. The relationship is ongoing, which means the opportunity to add value and earn referrals resets constantly.
“In sales, you get one strike at a deal. It’s like baseball – you get three shots at it. In property management, you get unlimited shots,” Panos told REB director and Managed co-founder Alex Whitlock in The Property Management Excellence (PMX) Podcast.
Panos explained that a sales agent who loses a listing in a suburb like Sydney’s North Shore may never get another chance with that vendor, who might relocate to the Sunshine Coast and exit the market entirely. A business development manager in property management who loses a prospective landlord on the first approach has another opportunity in six months or nine months – and the relationship continues indefinitely once it is established.
“Plus, you’ve got this ongoing relationship with hundreds, if not thousands, of landlords. If you’re giving them amazing service, you have the right every week to be asking for referrals,” Panos said.
He outlined a series of growth strategies that he said most agencies have barely explored. He suggested three tactics, including:
-
Approaching tradespeople who work with the agency about their own investment properties.
-
Running corporate specials for large employers, where the agency offers a managed fee discount to all staff.
-
Systematically asking satisfied landlords for introductions.
“There are so many untapped opportunities in property management. It is incredible. I just think it’s a golden opportunity,” Panos said.
PMs need to be repository of information
He also pointed out that investors are actively searching for guidance, but most are not getting it. As such, he said, property managers who are committed to raising their standards have an opportunity to be the investor’s adviser, guide, and investment partner, and remove this information asymmetry.
“Just read the number of comments on my Instagram,” Panos said.
“People are dying for information on property investment and management of rental properties, particularly now that every day in our media there’s at least five stories about new reforms coming in. What do they mean? Grandfathering, capital gains tax changes, indexations. There is so much information that people are begging for.”
Panos said property managers who can deliver that information with calm authority will stand out more easily than sales agents can in their own field, simply because fewer people are doing it.
“You can stand out in property management a lot easier than you can stand out in sales, because there are far less people doing it in property management.”
Managed was built to help next-generation agencies win market share fast. It is the only comprehensive property management platform that exclusively delivers secure, instant, and automated direct payments from tenant to landlord, eradicating the need for a trust account.
If you’d like to find out how Managed can help power your growth, call Conor on 0452 298 394 or book a discovery call today.