Tips for getting new business in property management

Discussion in 'Property Management' started by Tamat, 7th Feb, 2020.

Join Australia's most dynamic and respected property investment community
  1. Tamat

    Tamat Member

    Joined:
    7th Feb, 2020
    Posts:
    11
    Location:
    Queensland
    Hi all, I'm a property manager in SE qld and I'm trying to design something to send out to property investors offering my Property Management Services. I have investment properties myself, and I'm constantly getting brochures in the mail that I throw straight in the bin. I know I am a great property manager. I have over 20 years to back that up. And I know I work for a great company. And I don't want to say what every other real estate is saying because I do know to some people these brochures can be annoying. Have any of you investors received brochures that has grabbed your attention and made you go? Oh, I might call them. I'm thinking of putting something out there where I would like investors to call me and tell me what they are willing to pay. And then we can discuss and decide whether we will agree to their offer. I understand first hand that choosing a real estate is mostly based on financial reasons. But I also know that the cheapest real estate is not usually the best one. I get many calls in for new business and all they want to know is how much our fees are and then they hang up the phone. While I get this I do know the cheaper fees do not always work out and the owners often don't have any idea how poorly their property is being managed. While I am willing to discount our fees in order to grow our business. I would never discount my service. I'm an investor myself, and I would only manage properties as though they were my own. It's a very hard market out there these days. And very competitive. I speak to a lot of people and I know very well that we are one of the better agents in our area. Any advice on how to put that out there? Thank you for your help
     
  2. Guest

    Guest Guest

    Explain how your service will save/make a landlord money more than the cheapest real estate agent. Maybe you could even do a theoretical comparison that looked at a low quality agent charging 5% vs you at 7.5% (for example), then show how you are cheaper with a cost comparison e.g. because you:
    • Pick higher quality tenants (+ how), saving $X per year
    • Have a smaller changeover gap between tenants (+ how), saving $X per year
    • Have lower maintenance costs (+ how), saving $X per year
    • Ensure rules are followed to ensure insurance claims are covered (+ how), saving $X per year
    etc
     
    craigc and Tom Rivera like this.
  3. Trainee

    Trainee Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    24th May, 2017
    Posts:
    10,257
    Location:
    Australia
    hope this is not how you space the text in your brochures.
     
    Tom Rivera, Elives, Archaon and 5 others like this.
  4. Tamat

    Tamat Member

    Joined:
    7th Feb, 2020
    Posts:
    11
    Location:
    Queensland
    Of course not. I did the post by voice recording.
     
  5. Tamat

    Tamat Member

    Joined:
    7th Feb, 2020
    Posts:
    11
    Location:
    Queensland
    Oh, yes, very useful. Thank you.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: 10th Oct, 2021
  6. Trainee

    Trainee Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    24th May, 2017
    Posts:
    10,257
    Location:
    Australia
    the post was unreadable. Your first impression just got blown to bits.
     
    Michael Mitchell likes this.
  7. Paul@PAS

    Paul@PAS Tax, Accounting + SMSF + All things Property Tax Business Plus Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    23,319
    Location:
    Sydney
    What are the unique selling points you can identify v traditional REAs ?
    Many people dont understand all the roles of a PM / REA

    How you market and seek new business will also be important. Putting out a brochure that says "cheap" will attract cheap people who may be quite quick to move on or waste your time. If you identify with time poor people who want their property to be appreciated and treated well is a much better proposition that chasing people who want to save 0.5%

    Appealing to all the bad things REAs do may sound clever but will it attract problems ?
     
  8. Bradley Peet

    Bradley Peet Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    19th Oct, 2018
    Posts:
    170
    Location:
    Sunshine Coast, QLD
    With all due respect, this isn't the forum for P.M training/advice etc.

    I'd recommend googling Deniz Yusuf & Darren Hunter at Inspired Growth Training - massive thumbs up!
     
    Tom Rivera and Michael Mitchell like this.
  9. Tamat

    Tamat Member

    Joined:
    7th Feb, 2020
    Posts:
    11
    Location:
    Queensland
    Im just asking people out there for their advice and opinions and yes Ive been to many of those peoples seminars. I am looking for a different approach so thought Id ask real investors/people directly. Im not looking for training, Im on this forum to chat with people for their experiences.
     
  10. willair

    willair Well-Known Member Premium Member

    Joined:
    19th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    6,776
    Location:
    ....UKI nth nsw ....
    Michael Mitchell likes this.
  11. Mel Morgan

    Mel Morgan Sydney Property Manager Business Member

    Joined:
    6th Jun, 2017
    Posts:
    1,448
    Location:
    Sydney
    I'm based in Sydney and this is my daily challenge.

    I have several brochures and flyers but grabbing investor's attention and reaching them is not easy. I've accepted that it takes time (a long time) to build a good reputation and grow property management.

    Relationships where the service and experience comes through is much better vs advertising to strangers where then you have to compete on price (although we are incredibly competitive, just not the cheapest).

    Good luck - are you working as a BDM for your company?
     
  12. Tamat

    Tamat Member

    Joined:
    7th Feb, 2020
    Posts:
    11
    Location:
    Queensland
    Hi there, SMP and BDM. We're trying to build up our rent roll and from I am seeing in today's market it needs to be different. Owners want real cheap but thats not always the answer. lol
     
  13. TMNT

    TMNT Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    23rd Jul, 2015
    Posts:
    5,572
    Location:
    Melbourne
    I receive a billion agents for sale flyers in the mail but never for pm.

    I may be a minority, but im fairly price senstive
    And as you say cheaper isnt the best

    But

    For me im a "put your money where your mouth is person"
    Some kind of money back guarantee or "if we screw up, we will pay for the mistake" is a good impression on me
     
  14. Kassy

    Kassy Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    21st Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    550
    Location:
    Canberra
    Flyers have never done anything for me or advertising. Word of mouth from people IRL is how I have picked my PM’s. I have of course looked at their presence, interviewed them etc after they have been recommended but word of mouth is what has got them in front of me in the first place.
     
    Michael Mitchell likes this.
  15. Elives

    Elives Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    19th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    980
    Location:
    Queensland
    i'd rather spend 5k on a decent website / landing page, and invest this money in google adwords & seo for your targeted areas i think this would be better then flyers as a lot will just be received by renters etc.

    Cheers, Elives
     
  16. Tom Rivera

    Tom Rivera Property Manager Business Member

    Joined:
    1st Jul, 2015
    Posts:
    2,718
    Location:
    South East Queensland
    I LOVE this, and I'm working on my own material at the moment with this.

    Sell VALUE! What you cost only matters so much as it affects the Investors bottom line, so take the focus off what you cost and shine a light on what you maximize and save! Your fees could be 20% (exaggeration, ha!) if you could demonstrate a higher net investment return.

    ________________________________________________________________________

    100% these guys are the bomb!
    ________________________________________________________________________
     
    Last edited by a moderator: 10th Oct, 2021
    Michael Mitchell and Guest like this.