kate good

It's a Bird, It's a Plane....It's A SUPERnar!!

2012-01-25T23:12:00.000-08:00

First Impression Failure at Quiznos

2012-01-20T09:00:00.000-08:00

While searching for a lunch spot in Atlanta today, I stumbled upon a Quiznos. I was disappointed to see that "management" has reserved position A in the parking lot for themselves! While shooting this pic, two cars pulled into the spot and rolled on out with a puzzled look on their faces. This one sign says so much about how this restaurant feels about their customers. Let's call it, management before customers.

Each week I visit apartment communities all over the country. Sure, most of them have "future resident parking" signs in front of their leasing center. The trouble is, the team does not respect these spaces and they choose to park in the VIP spot. Don't you think we should make our residents feel like VIP's?

Before I jump off this point, I want to discuss your beloved golf cart. While I love this little gem as much as the next leasing consultant, it should not be parked in a future resident spot. A better plan is to put it at the end of the amenity cooridor. This placement encourages the leasing team to walk through the amenities at the start and end of the tour. The amenities add value to the apartment the customer is leasing. Set your leasing tour up for success. Nough Said!

Join me on January 25th to learn about marketing tips to impact your traffic in the next 7 days! This program is RED HOT!

2012-01-18T20:57:00.000-08:00

Visit www.MultifamilyInsiders.com/allstars to register.

Dressing For The Dollar Store, Walmart and A Leasing Office

2012-01-09T14:30:00.000-08:00

Allow me to stand on my soapbox for a moment. What are you wearing today? Does it look like you deserve to write a $12,000 contract? Flip flops are not career appearal. Each day we need to look in the mirror and ask ourselves, "would you rent from you?".

I feel that we got a little too casual over the years. I blame it on Southwest airlines and their shorts, polo shirts and tennis shoes. They were the anti uniform of the day and today it does not have the same impact. But I still love uniforms. We need to update our image for 2012. The Southwest Airlines look is no longer kool. In fact, it is worn out. Find your team's personality and express it in your dress. Nothing says professional like a team all dressed to kill and matching. If you are going to spend the money on uniforms, get some bang for the buck and match.

The trend for 2012 is back to professionalism, after all, it is what set apart the "good guys" during the recession. America is dressing back up and opting for ballet flats instead of flip flops. It's time to come to the closing table in a pressed shirt and jacket again.

What Lionel Richie Knows About Marketing

2011-12-12T21:29:00.000-08:00

The year was 1984 and the last thing I was thinking about an article I would be writing decades later for my marketing career. My head was full of ideas for my Sadie Hawkins Dance outfit and my date for the night. I popped in my favorite cassette tape called "Can't Slow Down" and started singing along with Lionel Richie. "Hello" became his most popular song of all time as it hit number one on 6 music charts. Executives at Motown Records hum this song because it helped lead the way for this album to be the best selling in the history of the company.

Can you hear it in your head? Sing along as we talk a little marketing.

When he was young, Richie watched beautiful women walk past but was too shy to talk to them. He thought to himself, "Hello, is it me you're looking for." Years later he started to write a song using the phrase but got stuck and gave up. But his record producer liked the line and urged him to finish it. Richie left this off his first solo album, but his wife Brenda liked it and insisted he include it on Can't Slow Down. And so the famous line was born that became my marketing mantra:

Hello, is it me you're looking for?
'Cause I wonder where you are
And I wonder what you do

Great marketing starts with knowing who you want to attract to your product. Who will think this is the perfect home? Who is looking for this location and amenities? After knowing who you are looking for, you have to go find them. Today, that task is not as hard as it was years ago. When I started in the busines, over 20 years ago (SHIT!), my manager would have us all meet on Wednesday morning to design a catchy tag line for the column ad in the weekend paper. Our favortie was "NOW pLEASING". Catchy? NOT! It was such a shot in the dark! We made gut decisions and ran with tag lines that sounded good to us. We had no idea until Monday if they were effective.

When I look back I wonder how we ever leased a property to capacity. What were we thinking? Well, I guess you do what you know is best until we know better. And that is the point of this blog. Friends, you know better if you would just read your reports. Every marketing source you are investing your meger marketing dollars will tell you information that is very helpful to your decision making process. You cannot do all the marketing you want but you can do some of the marketing you want. It is so important that you are putting your money where your future renters are. Read your reports. Listen to your vendors. Ask them pointed questions. Survey prospects and residents.

Today, in a meeting with my Apartment Guide rep, he actually advised me to pull out of print because my online presence was pulling qualified traffic. I could back up his data with my own. And, I don't care how big the gift basket is that the advertising source gives me on my birthday, if that ad is not pulling, I am not going to spend my owners money.

Make yourself look good by doing and asking the following:
1. Are you attracting qualified traffic? (I'd rather have 20 qualified people a week and 62 I am not sure about.)
2. Who currently rents are your community? Can they handle the rent increase we have planned for them in the next three years? Do I need to attract a client who can afford more? (Plan ahead.)
3. What source IS my best source for my qualified traffic?
4. Of my skips and evictions, what sources attracted them?
5. Do you know what your residents like to do in their freee time?
6. Do you know how to reach your residents and potential qualified traffic?
7. Do you still love singing along to Lionel Richie?
8. Are you using data to make decisions and not your gut?

Asking the questions in the lyrics of "Hello" helped Lionel reach the greatest success in his professional career. You have that opportunity too. Ask the right questions, listen to the answers and make the best decisions.

Plan Your Work and then Work Your Plan

2011-12-07T10:27:00.001-08:00

Plan the Marketing… Then Work the Plan
Feature, Features, In Focus, Property Management, Property Management
Published Nov 30, 2011

By Diana Mosher, Editor-in-Chief

As the year winds down, marketing plans are being finalized for 2012. It’s time to do some serious thinking about what worked in 2011 and what should get carried forward to 2012. A lot of good marketing ideas get rolled over from one year to the next, but when new ideas come up will the team have the resources and funds to execute them? A proponent of “planning the work and working the plan,” multifamily marketing consultant Kate Good recently shared a number of tips during a webcast “Essential Elements of a Successful Marketing Plan” produced by Multifamily Insiders and sponsored by VaultWare.

In addition to her role as a speaker and trainer, Good also serves as a marketing director and she’s currently working on several properties including a lease-up in Birmingham, Alabama. “Let me tell you, it’s so great to see new construction happen again. I love the sound of a job site. The great thing about a lease-up,” says Good, ” is you really get to start fresh with your marketing and your brand. I like that. Typically you have a bit more money in the marketing budget because you have so many apartments to lease in a short amount of time. So we can investigate some deeper investments in our marketing message.”

But Good also enjoys older properties that come to her with a different challenge. Maybe they’ve noticed a change in their demographics. Or perhaps they don’t have the position they once had, and they want to work on regaining market share… but, they don’t have a lot of money for marketing this year, so they’re looking for low cost/no cost ideas.

Good has plenty of marketing ideas for little or no money. “But those ideas don’t just get implemented without a plan,” she notes. “First there must be a foundation for the entire program; all those ideas that we plug in are great, but first we have to put forth the plan. What is it you want to accomplish and how will you execute it?”

“I truly believe in planning your work and then working your plan,” says Good. “When you plan your work, it makes it much easier to communicate to the entire team what’s going to be the focus and what will be important in the coming year. It’s so important to have that bird’s eye view of the entire year.”

Good points out that marketing is really just the process of observing and gathering information. One of her favorite strategies is “clustering,” a technique she picked up from her former colleague Stephen Covey (author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) while working at Day-Timers. “Stephen Covey is a brilliant mind. One of the things he taught me was that all along—up until the point when you write your plan—you should be collecting. Grab a file folder and write on it ‘my great marketing ideas.’ And every time you run across an idea in a magazine, or see an idea while you’re driving down the street of something you want to do, toss the information in the file. My own folder has things I’ve drawn on napkins and notes I’ve scribbled on scraps of paper.

“Then, when you sit down to write the marketing plan, take each item and start researching and writing and figuring out where it will fit in. This will help get you the energy and momentum which I think is so helpful,” says Good.

The challenge Good hears so many times when working with property managers across the country is that they don’t even know if the marketing plan is worth the effort to write because what are the chances they’ll get the money to execute the plan. She notes that the resources requested have to be directly related to the business goals of the apartment company. “Whenever I can justify that in my marketing plan, it’s not hard for me to ask for the dollars that I’m going to need. It becomes very worthwhile.”

Good adds, “Never go to an owner and say I want to try this and it’s going to cost $35,000 dollars. Instead, say ‘I need 12 leases and here’s how I’m going to do it.’ Your entire marketing plan should support that business goal. I’m not saying you can write a $4 million dollar marketing plan, and expect that you can get approval. You have to value engineer that marketing plan. But the end result of your marketing should always be about profit to the property and how to help the business thrive.”

Creating Demand When What You Offer Is Not Enough

2011-10-20T14:29:00.000-07:00

No pool?

Wish you had a workout room?

Kitchens with old appliances?

In my career there is one thing I love more than leasing apartments and that is to
get on stage and talk about great leasing techniques. But to be a believable
speaker, I have to do what I speak about with my audiences. This is why I
love to pick up the model keys and leasing kit whenever I am visiting one of
my consulting clients. Leasing is always a challenge for me because I am
rarely working on a property that has it all and is leading the market. Why
would that owner need me?!? My consulting projects are typically turning
around a leasing and marketing situation to improve economic occupancy.

My job would be easy if each apartment had granite countertops and a rocking
amenity plan to add to the value of the apartment community. Most times, I
am working on properties where there is a gap between what the customer
wants and what we offer. This is when an emotional connection can win the
leasing game. Here are 10 things you can do to create that connection:

1. Before you ever show an apartment, make certain you ask questions to find
out what is important to this customer. Using this key information on the
leasing tour will help your customer see that this apartment meets their
needs.

2. I don't have to tell you to use the customer's name, you learned that
years ago in leasing class. But, here is a thought to take that idea one step
further: Create a connection by putting their name on the water bottle you
present to the customer. (Another reason to set an appointment and know when
the customer is visiting!) Their name on the water bottle not only says "we
are expecting you" but also says we want you to be our next new resident. A
clever leasing team at Woodbury Park in Minnesota shared this idea with me. They found
bottled water at Walmart which are perfect for writing the customer's name
with your trusty Sharpie Marker (see example).

3. Remove any hassle that exists in the leasing process. Make it easy to
lease an apartment with you. This is an indication of your ability to manage
their home and provide great service. Services like real time availability
and on-line leasing with Vaultware could be the winning factor when your
community can't compete with the property with 6 swimming pools and valet
trash removal!

4. Speaking of valet trash removal, have you considered this? My friend,
Scott Stamilio who represents Valet Waste, informed me that this is an
excellent service to add because the resident sees tremendous value in
having their trash bags removed from their door step 5 days a week. They
even take care of recycling too. Adding this service can justify your
competitive rents even when you don't stack up with interior and exterior
amenities. You may not be able to build an outdoor kitchen like the new
property down the street, but you can certainly add this service and every
resident will enjoy not having to walk to a stinky dumpster.

5. Show the customer everything. One thing we heard over and over again
when Apple Founder, Steve Jobs, passed away was that he had a gift for
imagining what we did not know we needed. Many times you may offer
something that the customer did not consider for their list of apartment
needs and wants. However by demonstrating all features and amenities, you
may just strike a chord and the customer's interest peaks.

6. Slow down. Don't be in a hurry to rush through your model. This is
your number one sales tool. Invite the customer to take a seat on the couch
and continue your conversation with them. Making themselves at home could
be what they need to see this as their new home. Here is a tip from the
awesome leasing teams at Pacific Living Properties in Sacramento, CA, if you
open the refrigerator in their model apartment you will see festive
streamers, drinks and delicious snacks.

7. Invite the customer to pull out their trusty smart phone and shoot a
video of the apartment so they remember it.

8. Take what you have and make it a little better. Customers notice when
things are broken so fix them. Fix everything. The goal of your apartment
community is to have zero defects. The customer may be able to live without
a tennis court but they are not interested in living where the gates don't
work. Just ask anyone who works for Avalon Bay Communities and they will
tell you their motto is "neat, clean and working".

9. You are better than any amenity your property owner could build. We like to
buy from people we like. Be likable by going out of your way to show this
customer they are important to us. Be friendly and personable.

10. Testimonials are the new marketing. You could have the best leasing
presentation created by years of experience but your customer reads
testimonials and can be seriously influenced. Make certain everyone on the
team understands that we are working hard to make sure our customers always
have something great to say about your community. Then when asked the testimonial
is always a good one.

You can compete with apartment communities that have more amenities and or
newer apartments. Put these 10 steps into action and you will mind the gap
and create customers.

8 Tips to Increase Rent for New and Renewed Leases

2011-10-20T04:54:00.000-07:00

Originally Presented by Kate Good
8/25/2011

Our friends at Vaultware have been tracking rents and report that rents are increasing in each region of the country when compared to rates last year. It seems everyone is doing it! Are you raising rents? Don't let your apartment community get left behind and leave money on the table. Here are 8 tips to help you increase rents. (Click on this link for the Vaultware Rent Increase Study http://kategoodblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/vaultware-says-raise-rentseveryone-is.html)

1. Set yourself up for success. You can't pull a rent increase out of thin air because people are going to want to know why rent is increasing when it seems the country is still in an economic crisis. In this email you will see charts tracking rent increases across our country. The apartment industry is recovering faster than other sectors of the real estate industry. Be prepared for this conversation as there is certain to be pushback from the renter who, based on sluggish economy reports, is not expecting a rent increase. In fact, they may be looking for a concession!

2. Prepare your team for this question "Why are rents going up?". Have a response that everyone understands and is comfortable delivering. Educate your team as to why rents are increasing and prepare them for this conversation with residents. Remember, every member of your team should understand this strategy and what to say to a resident. Your service team spends more time with residents compared to us. Do they know why rents are increasing and how to discuss this with customers?

3. If you are nervous about raising rents, get over it. This is a business and although we love our customers and want to help them, we still have a fiduciary responsibility to make this apartment community profitable. Deliver your rent rates with confidence. I know there are customers you consider friends and you are aware of their personal plight. Pushing a rent increase may be difficult but you have to take your emotions out of this part of your job and meet the properties economic potenial.

4. Flat rate pricing makes it very difficult to increase rents. Get the highest rent you can by understanding what makes each individual apartment unique and valuable. Some are worth more than others to the renters and should be priced accordingly. In addition, when you have everyone paying the same price, everyone is going to expect the same deal upon renewal because let's face it, residents talk to their neighbors. This is a difficult pattern to break until you create price differential.

5. If you are hearing "no" find out why. Understand what the market is telling you. Make adjustments.

6. Monthly market studies are worthless. You have to study your market each week if not each day! This market intelligence will help you find your optimal rent rates. Check out Vaultware's market survey product and get instant alerts when your competition is adjusting rents. Now that will make you smarter!

7. Apartment All Star, Michael Benton, reminds us that competitors don't steal happy residents. Great point! Above everything, a good customer service program should be part of your rent increase strategy.

8. Invest in Yield Management software. Having a tool like this will help you maximize rents on a daily basis taking a lot of the work and emotion out of the process. YieldStar or Rainmaker will be on the job even when you need a day off! Look into this. This is a solid investment that pays for itself.

Strong Companies in a Weak Economy

2011-10-19T14:09:00.000-07:00

Inc. 5000 companies grew despite of the recession and they tend to continue to be an optimistic bunch. Recently, Inc. surveyed this group of CEO's to determine their confidence about business and the economy. The results show that even with a less than optimistic view of the economy, there is still opportunity to grow a business. Nearly 90% of the CEO's surveyed say they will increase the size of their workforce in the next six months. 78% reported that sales were up in the previous six months compared with last year in the same period.

This rock star bunch of leaders are concerned about economic uncertainty and find it difficult to forecast the upcoming year. Another concern is the morale of their team members who know that poor attitudes leads to a lack of motivation and productivity. And so, taking control of what they can, Inc. 5000 CEO's are planning plenty of rewards and recognition of team members in 2012.

As I travel throughout the various companies and events in our industry, I am seeing improvement in market rents while most are waving goodbye to concessions. We are in the same situation as the Inc. 5000 companies surveyed because we are gaining strength in a weak economy. I too share the same concern that the last few years has taken a toll on our teams. If you were in the home office, you probably witnessed each department cutting back. We all had to exert increased personal energy to do more with less all while fearing that we may be next on the chopping block. Our on site teams were forced to step outside of the norm and negotiate with customers while many managers were not equipped with this skill. Leasing consultants had to step up their sales ability to get their unfair share of leases. And lets not forget our maintenance team who often had to prepare vacant apartments twice, once when the move out occurred and then again to refresh a stale home that had been vacant for 64 days.

We have all carried our share of weight and now it's time to celebrate our strength. In the coming weeks, I have been asked to emcee several awards events for some of the biggest apartment associations in our country. Each has reported a record number of entries to honor the hard working team members in our business. This makes me very proud and excited to be a part of the celebration. Without a doubt, morale will be at an all time high and that always translates to improvement to the bottom-line.

What are your company's plans to boost morale and reward for strong performances which have kept your company competitive during the recession? Although everyone cashes checks representing monetary reward, many people admit that mere recognition is all they need. I guess that supports a lesson we all know, "what gets rewarded, gets repeated".

Vaultware Says Raise Rents...Everyone is doing it!

2011-09-20T19:44:00.000-07:00

Just in time for my Webinar discussing the hottest topic in the industry today, Raising Rents, my friends at Vaultware shot over these charts to support my program. You don't have to own the apartments you are renting to get excited about this! Every region of our fine county is experiencing rent increases compared to last years rental rate. Yes, that includes Florida! I'm so excited I might hit the sale rack and celebrate with a new pair of shoes. Of course, I will still use a coupon for an additional 10% off.

Make Your Point!

2011-07-12T14:52:00.000-07:00

I want to give a big round of applause to Southwest Airlines for taking a unique selling position and really driving it home. When Southwest decided to not follow all the other airlines who have crazy bag fee's, they embarked on one of the most creative and complete campaigns I've witnessed in years.

Who did not laugh at the commercial showing the baggage team on the tarmac watching the plane push back saying "I'm really going to miss those bags"? They said it as if their friends were leaving them communicating the point that bags are not enemies at Southwest.

They also found a new use for caution tape by using it to define the lines at their ticket counters calling it a baggage fee free zone. Great visual for all the people flying other airlines in the terminal who were just charged $50 for their bag!

Any to really punctuate the point, they painted their carts and planes and the message could now be seen at 35,000 feet.

The important marketing lesson is to complete your campaign. Having a banner with a marketing message is not a campaign and will not get as recognized as repeating this message throughout the leasing experience. Here are some places where you should extend your message:

Welcome sign

Team buttons

Team shirts

Stickers and stamps

Napkins for hospitality (cheapest thing you can buy!)

Pens

Outreach gift

Smart poster in model (see more on the smart poster in Kate's Great Ideas)

Flyer's, ads, Website

While researching this topic I learned that in May 2010 Southwest completed a survey of 3900 business and leisure passengers where they could pick from 55 choices what aspect is most important to them when choosing an airline. Here are the top five “needs” for business travelers:

1. Has good safety record
2. Offers non-stop flights where I want to go
3. Has convenient flight times
4. Provides good value
5. Does not charge fees

And the top five for leisure travelers:

1) Has good safety record
2) Provides good value
3) Does not charge fees
4) Offers non-stop flights where I want to go
5) Has sales on fares

The fact that charging fees made it on the top five for business travelers is surprising to me. Most business travelers do not have to worry about the fees, since their company will pick up the charges. However, the Southwest campaign has made even the business traveler think about fee's.

Southwest’s next step is to advertise they do not have ticket-change fees either. This won’t be as easy to get across to customers as the no bag fees. It is more obvious for a passenger to know if they have to pay for a bag. It is more difficult for passengers to know if something will come up and they will need to change their flight. Southwest feels confident they can get the message across with a series of new creative ads.

Gary Kelly, Southwest’s CEO and President, wondered out loud at their recent Media Day event, why airlines would do something passengers hate. He stated that Southwest feels lucky that almost every other airline is charging for bags and they are not.

We won’t know how successful no fees will be, but so far Southwest is reporting both growth in leisure and business travelers. I have previously stated it is not an airline’s fault for charging fees… passengers choose to pay them. If passengers are willing to pay fees, airlines will continue to charge them. If passengers rebel against the fees and choose airlines that do not charge them, you will see fees start to go away (although ticket prices will most likely go up). It is a great experiment and I think so far it is working well for Southwest.

Summing Up Google+

2011-07-12T14:48:00.000-07:00

How does new social platform stack up versus other tools?
By Tom Flanagan
Tuesday, July 12, 2011.

Google's new social platform, Google+, launched June 28. The service started as invitation-only and with little to no marketing efforts, Google was forced to shut off the invitation mechanism due to the large volume of requests.

I've been following the conversations regarding the new application and it's been interesting listening to both the positive and negative feedback. Kristen Burnham, of the Web 2.0 Advisor blog at CIO.com, declared that "Users don't want another social network, what they want is a better social network."

On the flip side, I was surprised to learn that Kevin Rose, entrepreneur and co-founder of Digg, decided to forward his blog's domain name to his Google+ profile.

After numerous failed attempts in social media (Google Wave, Buzz and Dodgeball), there is a lot at stake for Google with this new platform. As Inman News columnist Gahlord Dewald stated in "Google +1: a social solution for the search giant?" there are many things Google isn't good at. Most of them involve social things.

1. Circles

Google+ is based on a "circle" analogy, and this is where Google's philosophy on sharing differs from Facebook. As stated in the interactive demo, "Circles makes it easy to put your friends from Saturday night in one circle, your parents in another, and your boss in a circle by himself -- just like real life."

Unlike Facebook, where a user broadcasts updates to a large audience, Google+ allows a user to break their "friends" into subgroups. These groups can be family, friends, co-workers, etc. This allows for very targeted conversations.

2. Stream

The Google+ Stream is very similar to the standard timeline you've come to expect. However, your Circles are displayed, enabling a user to select and view a Stream for that particular circle. This is actually a very nice feature.

You can also update your status here and you are not bound by the 140-character limit of Twitter. Some users may love this -- personally, I've grown to appreciate that number. Adding photos, videos and location is super easy, but there are some missing elements, including an accessible RSS feed. It will be interesting to see Google expand this module.

3. Hangouts

Hangouts is a video chat module that allows for group videoconferencing. As you may know, Facebook recently partnered with Skype to bring video chat to Facebook, and TechCunch wrote an in-depth article, "Facebook Video Chat vs. Google Hangouts: It's No Contest," which covers these features in detail.

Essentially, Facebook supports one-on-one video conversations and Hangouts allows group chats. In fact, up to 10 people are supported. I tested this module and quickly discovered that performance and quality are greatly enhanced with a high-speed Internet connection. This is an intriguing feature that could have a ton of potential for remote team meetings.

4. Sparks

Sparks is another useful feature. Just enter a topic, click "search," and articles from across the Web regarding that topic are streamed into the Sparks module. Topics are automatically saved and can be accessed at any time. You can be specific in creating Sparks. I was surprised at the different results displayed for "real estate marketing" and other industry-related terms.

5. Privacy

As with all social networking services, configuring your privacy settings in Google+ is imperative. To access your privacy settings, click the "gear" icon at the top right, select "settings," followed by "profile" and "privacy." Here you can customize everything from notifications to visibility.

Although Google is focused on the consumer experience, they announced via YouTube that they are developing plans for a business experience on Google+ that will be released later this year.

What I found most intriguing about the announcement was the availability of rich analytics and connection to other products, such as Google AdWords.

It is certainly too early to predict if consumers will adapt to Google+. Is it a Facebook and Twitter "killer"? I doubt it. As real estate professionals, do you have room in your busy lives for another social network?

Tom Flanagan is the director of information technology at Residential Properties Ltd. in Providence, R.I. You can contact him at tflanagan@residentialproperties.com or @tflan on Twitter.

Would You Dip Into The Company Ink?

2011-06-30T13:47:00.000-07:00

Before you think this article does not pertain to you, allow me to clarify that I am not writing about internal office dating. We will reserve that article for later! Today I am asking the question, how far would you go for your company? Would you consider allowing yourself to be permanently branded with your company's logo or icon in the form of a tattoo? I know, I know, you company does not allow for visible tattoo's right? Okay, let's stick to the concept and think about your loyalty to the company. How loyal are you?

Employees of Anytime Fitness, a workout chain based in Hastings, Minn., can get the company's purple running man logo permanently inked on their bodies by a tattoo artist who shows up at monthly training sessions. More than 350 employees have gotten permanent tattoos including CEO Chuck Runyon.

Runyon says the tattoo represents a significant commitment to the brand. Employees receive standard benefits like retirement plans and health insurance, but they also have flexible hours and an office culture that includes contests and giveaways among staff, a combination of perks that Runyon believes encourages employee loyalty.

Studies show that employer loyalty is not what it used to be. I remember a time when another company came to me with an offer I could not refuse. My salary would increase by $20,000 annually, and my bonus opportunity would double. They would grant me an extra weeks vacation and give me a hefty car allowance which would enable me to get the convertible ride I had been eyeing on the car lot. The only thing that was missing in the offer was the fact that it was not Trammell Crow. You see, I was loyal to my employer who had basically raised me to be a shining star within the Trammell Crow group and I was very appreciative for that opportunity. I did not take the offer to my Regional Manager and ask them to meet the offer. That would have been an insult to the investment they made in me and the risk they took in hiring a fresh 18 year old with no experience.

While I never went as far as to sport the company ink, I did feel that I had a loyalty that I struggle to find in the world today. I can now look back and see that I made the right decision. My history with Trammell Crow has paid out ten fold for me. And, I bought a cool convertible car anyway!

Let's Play Facebook Bingo!

2011-04-11T12:09:00.000-07:00

It's not enough to have a Facebook page, you have to learn to ROCK your Facebook wall. This does not happen by entering a bi-weekly post that mentions your specials and asking people to rent. Facebook walls ROCK when you engage your friends and fans to stop by and participate. So give them a reason to visit your page.

Facebook Bingo is a fun game that everyone wants to play. Invite your residents and prospective future residents to stop by your leasing office and pick up a Bingo card. Next, each day, you will put a Bingo selction on your Facebook wall. Residents will now need to stop by your Facebook wall to find out if their card has the Bingo selection. Chances are good they will also check out what is new on your Facebook page while they are there. The first person to come in with a winning Bingo card will receive a special prize.

Do you love this idea? So do I! We want to thank The Reserve at Athens for sharing this fun idea with the team at KateGood.com. If you have a great idea, send it our way. Simply email Kate at Kate@KateGood.com.

"Don't Call Me. I Won't Call You." Great Article from NYTimes.com

2011-03-30T09:27:00.000-07:00

Don’t Call Me, I Won’t Call YouBy PAMELA PAUL
Published: March 18, 2011

NOBODY calls me anymore — and that’s just fine. With the exception of immediate family members, who mostly phone to discuss medical symptoms and arrange child care, and the Roundabout Theater fund-raising team, which takes a diabolical delight in phoning me every few weeks at precisely the moment I am tucking in my children, people just don’t call.

It’s at the point where when the phone does ring — and it’s not my mom, dad, husband or baby sitter — my first thought is: “What’s happened? What’s wrong?” My second thought is: “Isn’t it weird to just call like that? Out of the blue? With no e-mailed warning?”

I don’t think it’s just me. Sure, teenagers gave up the phone call eons ago. But I’m a long way away from my teenage years, back when the key rite of passage was getting a phone in your bedroom or (cue Molly Ringwald gasp) a line of your own.

In the last five years, full-fledged adults have seemingly given up the telephone — land line, mobile, voice mail and all. According to Nielsen Media, even on cellphones, voice spending has been trending downward, with text spending expected to surpass it within three years.

“I literally never use the phone,” Jonathan Adler, the interior designer, told me. (Alas, by phone, but it had to be.) “Sometimes I call my mother on the way to work because she’ll be happy to chitty chat. But I just can’t think of anyone else who’d want to talk to me.” Then again, he doesn’t want to be called, either. “I’ve learned not to press ‘ignore’ on my cellphone because then people know that you’re there.”

“I remember when I was growing up, the rule was, ‘Don’t call anyone after 10 p.m.,’ ” Mr. Adler said. “Now the rule is, ‘Don’t call anyone. Ever.’ ”

Phone calls are rude. Intrusive. Awkward. “Thank you for noticing something that millions of people have failed to notice since the invention of the telephone until just now,” Judith Martin, a k a Miss Manners, said by way of opening our phone conversation. “I’ve been hammering away at this for decades. The telephone has a very rude propensity to interrupt people.”

Though the beast has been somewhat tamed by voice mail and caller ID, the phone caller still insists, Ms. Martin explained, “that we should drop whatever we’re doing and listen to me.”

Even at work, where people once managed to look busy by wearing a headset or constantly parrying calls back and forth via a harried assistant, the offices are silent. The reasons are multifold. Nobody has assistants anymore to handle telecommunications. And in today’s nearly door-free workplaces, unless everyone is on the phone, calls are disruptive and, in a tight warren of cubicles, distressingly public. Does anyone want to hear me detail to the dentist the havoc six-year molars have wreaked on my daughter?

“When I walk around the office, nobody is on the phone,” said Jonathan Burnham, senior vice president and publisher at HarperCollins. The nature of the rare business call has also changed. “Phone calls used to be everything: serious, light, heavy, funny,” Mr. Burnham said. “But now they tend to be things that are very focused. And almost everyone e-mails first and asks, ‘Is it O.K. if I call?’ ”

Even in fields where workers of various stripes (publicists, agents, salespeople) traditionally conducted much of their business by phone, hoping to catch a coveted decision-maker off-guard or in a down moment, the phone stays on the hook. When Matthew Ballast, an executive director for publicity at Grand Central Publishing, began working in book publicity 12 years ago, he would go down his list of people to cold call, then follow up two or three times, also by phone. “I remember five years ago, I had a pad with a list of calls I had to return,” he said. Now, he talks by phone two or three times a day.

“You pretty much call people on the phone when you don’t understand their e-mail,” he said.

Phone call appointments have become common in the workplace. Without them, there’s no guarantee your call will be returned. “Only people I’ve ruthlessly hounded call me back,” said Mary Roach, author of “Packing for Mars.” Writers and others who work alone can find the silence isolating. “But if I called my editor and agent every time I wanted to chat, I think they’d say, ‘Oh no, Mary Roach is calling again.’ So I’ve pulled back, just like everyone else.”

Whereas people once received and made calls with friends on a regular basis, we now coordinate such events via e-mail or text. When college roommates used to call (at least two reunions ago), I would welcome their vaguely familiar voices. Now, were one of them to call on a Tuesday evening, my first reaction would be alarm. Phone calls from anyone other than immediate family tend to signal bad news.

Receiving calls on the cellphone can be a particular annoyance. First, there’s the assumption that you’re carrying the thing at all times. For those in homes with stairs, the cellphone siren can send a person scrambling up and down flights of steps in desperate pursuit. Having the cellphone in hand doesn’t necessarily lessen the burden. After all, someone might actually be using the phone: someone who is in the middle of scrolling through a Facebook photo album. Someone who is playing Cut the Rope. Someone who is in the process of painstakingly touch-tapping an important e-mail.

For the most part, assiduous commenting on a friend’s Facebook updates and periodically e-mailing promises to “catch up by phone soon” substitute for actual conversation. With friends who merit face time, arrangements are carried out via electronic transmission. “We do everything by text and e-mail,” said Laurie David, a Hollywood producer and author. “It would be strange at this point to try figuring all that out by phone.”

Of course, immediate family members still phone occasionally. “It’s useful for catching up on parenting issues with your ex-husband,” said Ms. David, who used to be married to Larry David, the star of “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” “Sometimes when you don’t want to type it all, it’s just easier to talk.”

But even sons, husbands and daughters don’t always want to chat. In our text-heavy world, mothers report yearning for the sound of their teenage and adult children’s voices. “I’m sort of missing the phone,” said Lisa Birnbach, author of “True Prep” and mother of three teenagers. “It’s warmer and more honest.”

That said, her landline “has become a kind of vestigial part of my house like the intercom buttons once used in my prewar building to contact the ‘servants quarters.’ ” When the phone rings, 9 times out of 10, it’s her mother.

There are holdouts. Radhika Jones, an assistant managing editor at Time magazine, still has a core group of friends she talks to by phone. “I’ve always been a big phone hound,” she said. “My parents can tell you about the days before call waiting.” Yet even she has slipped into new habits: Voice mails from her husband may not get listened to until end of day. Phone messages are returned by e-mail. “At least you’re responding!”

But heaven forbid you actually have to listen — especially to voice mail. The standard “let the audience know this person is a loser” scene in movies where the forlorn heroine returns from a night of cat-sitting to an answering machine that bleats “you have no messages” would cause confusion with contemporary viewers. Who doesn’t heave a huge sigh of relief to find there’s no voice mail? Is it worth punching in a protracted series of codes and passwords to listen to some three-hour-old voice say, “call me” when you could glance at caller ID and return the call — or better yet, e-mail back instead?

Many people don’t even know how their voice mail works. “I’ve lost that skill,” Ms. Birnbach said.

“I have no idea how to check it,” Ms. David admitted. “I can stay in a hotel for three days with that little red light blinking and never listen. I figure, if someone needs to reach me, they’ll e-mail.”

“I don’t check these messages often,” intoned a discouraging recorded voice, urging callers to try e-mail. And this is the voice-mail recording of Claude S. Fischer, author of a book on the history of the telephone and more recently, “Still Connected: Family and Friends in America Since 1970.”

“When the telephone first appeared, there were all kinds of etiquette issues over whom to call and who should answer and how,” Dr. Fischer, a sociology professor at the University of California, Berkeley, told me when finally reached by phone. Among the upper classes, for example, it was thought that the butler should answer calls. For a long time, inviting a person to dinner by telephone was beyond the pale; later, the rules softened and it was O.K. to call to ask someone to lunch.

Telephones were first sold exclusively for business purposes and only later as a kind of practical device for the home. Husbands could phone wives when traveling on business, and wives could order their groceries delivered. Almost immediately, however, people began using the telephone for social interactions. “The phone companies tried to stop that for about 30 years because it was considered improper usage,” Dr. Fischer said.

We may be returning to the phone’s original intentions — and impact. “I can tell you exactly the last time someone picked up the phone when I called,” Mary Roach said. “It was two months ago and I said: ‘Whoa! You answered your phone!’ It was a P.R. person. She said, ‘Yeah, I like to answer the phone.’ ” Both were startled to be voice-to-voice with another unknown, unseen human being.

2011-03-23T22:25:00.000-07:00

Is your signage memorable?

2011-03-21T22:18:00.000-07:00

The main sources of anxiety during 2011 will be

physical health (34%)

relationships with family and friends (32%)

world affairs (26%)

domestic politics (25%)

To see how things have changed, notice what the top-five worries were in 2009

money and affording home (54%)

physical health (24%)

relationships with family and friends (11%)

appearance and ageing (10%)

world affairs (9%)

2011-03-20T09:00:00.000-07:00

Spring Office Cleaning

2011-03-18T22:01:00.000-07:00

How many of you have more responsibilities today than you did a year ago? A virtual show of hands proves the answer is everyone! While I can't do much about that, I can help you set yourself up for success when it comes to getting it all done. We're all busy, but if you commit to set aside one day to organize your work space and put some effective systems in place for keeping it organized, you will spend less time digging and more time accomplishing your goals.

Reduce Clutter
Small and infrequently used items such as paper clips should go in your desk drawer. The top of your desk should be for things you are working on that day. Nothing else. Otherwise you become distracted and fall off your schedule for accomplishing the day's priorities. Move bulky items such as inbox trays, file folders and printers onto bookshelves.

Do you have that pile of cords on your floor and or draping off your desk? This looks messy and in turn sends a message of disorganization to your customers and coworkers. Control your cords! You can buy a fairly inexpensive cord holder that will keep everything together and out of the way.

Paper is a Fashion Don't
Keep in mind that 80% of paper you file, is never looked at again. Today, technology is allowing us to create digital storage and by creating a good back up system, we are more comfortable going paperless in our leasing offices. Often times, digital storage is faster to access saving you time in your day for other things, like figuring out what to do with the fax machine you have not used in 5 months.

Every desk will inevitably still have some paper. Don't let it take over your desk. Keep hanging files with these four categories: action, project, reference, and cluster. The cluster file may be new for you. It is one of my favorite time management techniques. When you know you have a big project coming up like writing your marketing plan, keep a file that contains notes, ideas, resources and gems. Now, when you sit down to embark on the project you will have an amazing jump start on getting your project underway. Clustering is also a good cure for procrastination.

Now that you are on your way to a solid spring cleaning, maintain order by instituting this three fold approach to staying organized:
1. Daily - every night, clean up your desk. Organize papers, files and projects so when you come in tomorrow your desk is ready for immediate action.

2. Quarterly - take and hour or so to see what systems need re-engineering and organizing. If everything is not working the way you would like it to, stop wasting time with inefficiencies and make necessary adjustments.

3. Yearly - between December and February is the time when you should annually purge old papers and files from your work area. Do it in these slower months so that when leasing picks up in March you are working in tip top shape.

Thanks for Popping In!

2011-03-18T08:19:00.000-07:00

Who wants microwave popcorn with a note on it that says "thanks for popping in"? NOT ME! I want instant gratification. I want some comfort food or a sweet treat. Replace that tired old popcorn prospecting gift with something new, sweet and delivers comfort - the Cake Pop.

I have personally tested every flavor they sell at www.JustABiteCakePops.com and they are all fantastic. I personally like the Red Velvet cake. Customize your pops to extend your marketing theme. You can have them individually wrapped and tied with a ribbon. This makes an incredible presentation.

Be sure to tell Mindy Himmel, the owner, I sent you by exercising this discount code "ALL123".

Next time I drop in your apartment community I would rather see Cake Pops versus cookies. Try something new!

Four Bucks Is Dumb

2011-03-17T21:32:00.000-07:00

A downside of my career is that I see the inside of an airplane more than I care to. The upside is that I like what I do when I get off the plane. Each trip enriches my thinking. Maybe it's the change of scenery that makes me notice things. Today my work took me to one of my favorite cities, Seattle. I noticed a billboard that made me think. It said "four bucks is dumb." Next to the tag line are the golden arches.

McDonald's went right to the home town of the coffee house to say the rules of the game are changing. Through the recession, Starbucks became the poster child of excess. While trying to help a renter make a decision on an apartment that was $75 above their price range, I compared the difference in price to their daily Starbucks coffee habit. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has tried this approach and succeeded. It is a fine illustration of lining up priorities and checking in to make certain you are spending your money on things that really matter in life such as your home and not your daily caffeine jolt.

I recently read that Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks, came out of retirement to help Starbucks through this time of change. And, it was seeing this billboard that made him understand consumer behavior was changing so rapidly that it was time for Starbucks to seek answers. Yet he compared this to flying an airplane without instruments. You see Starbucks invented and mass marketed the modern coffee house. They did this for many years without competition. And now, responding the opportunity in a down economy, another major brand known for value was on the attack.

Two years ago, Starbucks was being forced to the middle of the market by the low end products that McDonald's and Dunkin Doughnuts offers and the high end independent coffeehouse. Starbucks feels the middle is the worst place for their brand. They decided to not let people define them and get back in control of their own destiny.

In the middle of the market is a tough place to be. There will be a better product and people to pay more for that product. And then there is the low end provider who sacrifices something to give the lowest price. But the middle guy has to compete with both ends of the scale: convincing the high end buyer that they don't have to pay more for quality, and the low end buyer that they should pay more for your product. This makes for a very tricky marketing plan. It is essential you define who you are and how you can sell it.

As our industry continues on the path of recovery, define your road map by knowing how you will compete and make the most of your market position.

Rents Could Rise 10% in Some Cities

2011-03-17T12:43:00.000-07:00

By Les Christie, CNNMoney.com
Mar 16, 2011

Already, rental vacancy rates have dipped below the 10% mark, where they had been lodged for most of the past three years.

"The demand for rental housing has already started to increase," said Peggy Alford, president of Rent.com. "Young people are starting to get rid of their roommates and move out of their parent's basements."

By 2012, she predicts the vacancy rate will hover at a mere 5%. And with fewer units on the market, prices will explode.

Rent hikes have averaged less than 1% a year over the past decade, according to Commerce Department statistics, adjusted for inflation. Now, Alford expects rents to spike 7% or so in each of the next two years -- to a national average that will top $800 per month.

In the hottest rental markets, the increases will likely top the 10% mark annually for the next couple of years. In San Diego, Alford anticipates rents will rise more than 31% by 2015. In Seattle rents will climb 29% over that period; and in Boston, they may jump between 25% and 30%.

This is a sharp change from the recession, when many Americans couldn't afford to live on their own. More than 1.2 million young adults moved back in with their parents from 2005 to 2010, said Lesley Deutch of John Burns Real Estate Consulting. Many others doubled up together.

As a result, landlords had to reduce prices and offer big incentives to snag renters.

Now that the recession is easing, many of these young people are ready to find new digs, mostly as renters, not owners. Plus, the foreclosure crisis continues unabated, and the millions losing their homes are looking for new places to live.

Apartment developers many not be able to keep up with this heightened demand, which will force prices upwards, according to Chris Macke, a real estate analyst with CoStar, which tracks multi-family housing trends.

"There will be an envelope of two or three years," said Macke, "when the rise in demand for rentals will exceed the industry's ability to meet it."

Plus, Alford added, "there's been a shift in the American Dream. We're learning from our surveys that a huge proportion of people are choosing to rent."

They've experienced the downsides of homeownership -- or seen friends and family suffer -- and don't want to take the risks or pay the higher costs of homeownership.

Where homeownership costs are particularly high, there are many more renters than owners. In Manhattan, for example, only about 20% own their homes; in San Francisco, about of third of the population does; in Los Angeles, less than 40%; and in Chicago, about 44%.

There's one factor that could rein in rent increases: the huge number of foreclosed homes that could hit the market over the next few years.

In many markets, like Phoenix and Las Vegas, there are neighborhoods filled with recently built, single-family homes going for fire-sale prices. When the cost of owning homes falls well below the costs of renting them, more people will buy.

"That's always been the biggest competition for rentals," said Deutch

Ready, Set, Lead

2011-03-16T21:21:00.001-07:00

There are a few certainties in the world: people will disappoint you, others will amaze you and whatever you think about tomorrow is probably not going to happen. The reason? Change. And the rate of change is speeding up - rapidly. Several factors are causing this acceleration such as the expansion of technology, access and exposure to knowledge and our need to be entertained is insatiable.

By 1900, it had taken 150 years to double all human knowledge. Today it takes only two to three years. And some estimate that by the year 2020, knowledge will double every 72 days. The millennial generation (born in the 80's and 90's) are the largest to enter the workforce since the boomers. Nurtured through the era of "google it" instead of "look it up" they have a keen understanding of how to access anything. The question is, who is leading them?

In the past, leadership was an economic entity. The priority was to develop structures, set controls and raise income as effectively as possible. This was accomplished through a ladder system of people managing other people as they do tasks.

Today, the speed of change demands a evolved leader. To be that person, you must rapidly adapt to change and require constant involvement in skill development while leveraging increased knowledge. It is not enough to know how to do a report, but rather to read, react and adjust based on the lesson gleaned from the data.

We have to be experts in human capital, not just financial capital. We must master emotional intelligence not just economic competence. Control is out of style because it is the customer who is calling the shots. We have to align people based on this reality and not structures and spreadsheets.

Today's leader has a grasp of emotional aptitude and understands the new order of customer influence and peoples motivations. It less about technical or financial expertise.

Does this make you nervous? Think about what your computer can do for you. It does the counting, tracking and comparing. You have to be the person who understands what to do with the information. Now we shift from managing deadlines to managing success factors. A key success factor is to develop skills for your team members so they not only produce a report but react to the report. You lead them to direct change. Leadership does not happen while you are standing still.

Your ability to manage change will be your key success factor. And my friend, it is all changing. Winning organizations are building leaders faster.

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Announcing-2011-Apartment-All-Stars-Tour-Dates.html?soid=1101104660465&aid=4PZHU1P3k3Y

2011-02-21T16:53:00.000-08:00

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Announcing-2011-Apartment-All-Stars-Tour-Dates.html?soid=1101104660465&aid=4PZHU1P3k3Y

Motivating Your Team In the New Year

2011-02-16T18:26:00.000-08:00

Our front line team members are typically looking for a little fun and excitment at work. A great sales person loves to look forward to the unexpected and break out of a normal routine. My experience is that the front line loves to compete and work towards an goal for accomplishment. Start by asking them to compete with themselves. The best way to do this is to have a goal writing workshop. Ask each member of the team to write goals for near and distant terms. The goals should be both personal and professional because it is our pro life that gives us the fuel and resources for our personal life. Remember a goal must be written, shared, and specific with a deadline. Next write a plan to accomplish the goal. Create a visual board to remind people of their goals and their progress. Allow the team to decide what their prize for accomplishment will be.

Communication can be a source of motivation. Share with your team, each week, the goals of the property, specific areas of focus and success. Bring everyone into the “business” that you are managing. Don’t just make them feel like they are there to only do their jobs but that they are part of something bigger.

Start the new year on a positive, fun and meaningful note.

5 Things Every Marketing Plan Should Include

2011-02-14T11:30:00.001-08:00

The days of the cookie cutter marketing plan have long past. In fact, 2011 is proving to be an exciting year for the apartment industry. Most of our markets are showing tangible improvement as many are raising rents and the concessionary sales pitch is a thing of the past. This means it is time to think about how to capitalize on this marketing opportunity to make money for you and your owners. Here are 5 ways to make certain your 2011 marketing plan is poised for success.

Mobile Mayhem - Mobile marketing is here to stay! Have you noticed that smart phones navigate your life? Just this weekend I booked a dinner reservation on Open Table, acquired directions through Google Maps, paid my American Express bill and tracked my Mother's Valentine's Day gift and never even turned on my computer. I made all of this happen with my Blackberry. The same is true when searching for apartments and leasing them online. Our residents are using their smart phone. This begs the question, if your web site optimized for mobile technology? It's time to check into this and make your Website a powerful tool to lease apartments in the palm of your customers hand.

Public Conversation - This is what social media is all about. But first, you have to be prepared to have a conversation with a concerned resident in public. Remember, this is your chance to address negative reviews that people post online concerning your apartment community. The truth is, even brands and services we love most often let us down and we feel the need to complain. So, take that feedback and think of it as breakfast to fuel for improvement and maybe even set the record straight! Allow your residents to post on your Facebook wall, Websites and other social forums. But don't stop there, address EVERY comment, praise or complaint and show your renters that you care about them and their thoughts and needs matter. A simple response will show the entire viewing public that you are a solid manager and will act on their needs. Make certain your marketing plan addresses this new forum for customer service and uses it to get more leases and renewals.

Traditions - It is sad to think about all the fun resident events that did not make the budget during our recessionary years. It is time to bring those back and I encourage you to start a tradition with your events. This means that you don't just to these events once in a while when you are fully staffed and feel like it, you commit to it every week or month. It will probably take a few events to get a following but imagine how something as simple as a pancake breakfast could take off and really mean something to your community. Budget for your signature event to happen on a regularly scheduled basis.

Get Relevant - Adjust your advertising to not tell them what you offer but rather why they should buy it. Today more than ever, the customer knows they have a choice and they exercise their right to choose or not choose every hour of every day. Our sales and marketing efforts should now shift to make a case for why someone should buy your widget versus your competitors.

Be Unique- It's hard to capture and maintain people's attention today when the world around us is so distracting. This means that smart marketers are adding unique bling to their print and online advertising by changing up their graphics to include 3d Floor Plans (see www.Matts3DFloorplans.com) or virtually furnishing a model through www.VirtualStagingSolutions.com. I am also impressed with new tools offered by the Internet Listing Services such as www.ApartmentGuide.com where you can offer visitors to your Web page a unique view of your property through the Community Carousel tool. Check out these unique ways to improve your advertising.

Stay tuned for more great sales and marketing ideas from Kate Good.

Kate Presents Webinars

2011-01-04T16:22:00.000-08:00

What is a better way to start out the New Year than by learning some marketing techniques from the master herself! Kate has teamed up with Multifamily Insiders to bring you a three-event webinar series focusing on apartment marketing! You can sign up for just one event for $29.99 or get a 33% discount by attending all three. You don't want to miss this!

Click on the links below to register now.

30 Sales and Marketing Ideas for Under $300
http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e36vec79d1ae1782

Convert Convert Wherever You Are: Phone and Email Lead Conversion Skill
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I Love Leasing: Ways to Make your Customers Fall In Love with Your Community
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Combined Webinars - Discount for attending all three:http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e36vih094947a85f

Making Concessions

2010-11-30T08:41:00.000-08:00

By Christopher Hosford, Contributing Editor, MultiHousing News

Economists are now proclaiming that the recession may be over, just as rental occupancies and rates in some markets are beginning to rise cautiously. Better days may be just around the corner for the apartment industry. And yet, concessions and incentives remain the order of the day. Be it one or two months of free rent or heavy-duty giveaways such as flat-screen TVs or cruises, concessions and incentives are baked into the leasing equation. They’re the unavoidable fact of leasing in an up, down or sideways market, the albatross that seem to be hung around the necks of leasing agents everywhere.

“What’s interesting to me is, renters understand the lingo now so much more than they ever [did],” says Lesa LaRocca, president of Tempe, Ariz.-based Trilliam Residential Communities. “Now, they shoot right to the bottom line with, ‘What’s your net rent?’”

LaRocca says it’s still common to see banners outside apartment communities with such come-ons as, “Three months free rent, $99 move-in.”

“That’s the lowest I ever saw, a $99 move-in, until I later saw a $29 move-in,” she says. “It was actually funny. I mean, how much lower can you go?”

LaRocca says the syndrome is partly fed by pricing transparency; with the Internet, every community’s rates and advertised concessions are available for all to see, and with the economic downturn, all renters are cost-conscious. But with the slight upturn in the economy, and better community performances in certain areas, LaRocca is seeing a shift in how the game is played.

“Once you get down to a manageable inventory, you’re able to play it a little differently,” she says. “Now, instead of making blanket concessions across the board, you might apply one free month to just one floor plan with only a couple of apartments to rent, and reserve two months free rent for the rest of the floor plans.”

Nevertheless, LaRocca notes, the blanket approach remains common, in particular in those areas still suffering. In some sectors, such as Arizona, whose renter base has been decimated by harsh immigration laws, some communities aren’t even requiring security deposits.

A double whammy

Even in healthier geographic areas, the double whammy of concessions and incentives continue to play a vital role. The trick may be in knowing how to package them.

“The best thing to do is look at the goals of the community’s owner, the current market and competitive conditions, and see what you can do,” says Kate Good, a marketing solutions strategist and professional speaker for the apartment community. Good indicates that for communities that are truly suffering—with, say, 70 percent occupancy—straight concessions could prove ruinous.

Instead, she suggests, communities might consider an intriguing variation. “For one community, I just did a coupon book worth about $1,000 or one month’s rent,” Good says. “The individual coupons were worth $30, and the tenant could decide how many coupons to use per month.”

Good says the coupon idea addressed residents’ sense of fear. “Some people want that first month free, and that’s great; they can cash in all the coupons at once,” she says. “But we give them the flexibility. Being in control eliminates fear. The coupon book gives them control.”

Good says once the program became popular, her client started to pull back its value a little, to $600. “People still like it,” she adds.

Sale or sail?

Besides rent concessions, other incentives remain popular in encouraging new leases and increasing resident retention. One of the more popular is free cruises.

“The perception [is that] cruises are much more expensive than they really are,” says Doug Dinnsen, account executive at AIM Cruises. He notes that five day/four night sailings are typically “valued” at $1,798—what many might call the “suggested retail price.” But because of volume pricing and the inevitable vacancies that occur on any ship, apartment communities can purchase cruise certificates from vendors such as AIM for as little as $140.

Dinnsen says his packages offer an 18-month window for the resident to take advantage of a free cruise, so the renter doesn’t have to book his vacation right away.

“It’s not magic, but it is a compelling offer, and at least it’s helpful, depending on the marketplace,” Dinnsen adds.

Another company offering cruise packages to the apartment industry is Cruise4Two. Shawn Sarnecki, the company’s director of marketing, says that with the right demographic, and at the right time, the free cruise offer can be effective.

“I just had a struggling student housing property in Alabama run ads offering free cruises for the first 50 prospects that toured the property,” Sarnecki says. “After the 50 cruises were given away, they then offered the same promotion if the prospect signed a lease. As a result of the incentive, they leased 166 beds in February.”

Sarnecki doesn’t advise his apartment community customers to eliminate concessions in favor of cruises, but rather to offer both in tandem.

But are these evil twins absolutely necessary to the leasing process? If concessions and incentives must be part of the plan, which they usually are, here are some issues to keep in mind:

■ Amortized concessions. Communities should consider whether or not to amortize concessions over 12 months, which—instead of providing the one or two months of free rent up-front as intended—essentially reduces each month’s rent by the total concession, divided by 12. The upside may be an incentive for the resident to stay for the entire lease, rather than jumping ship after the short concession period. There are also downsides.

“The result with this amortized concession is net rent, ” says LaRocca. “When you take the entire amount and divide it by 12, the discount is taken every single month, and when you do this, the renter is so used to paying the lower rate that he’ll resist going back to market rates.”

One way to avoid this is when renewal time rolls around, indicate to the renter that the unit will return to market rates, but offer another month free, to help ensure the renewal and get the community out of the cyclical amortization situation.

■ Incentive choices. When offering, or blending in with concessions, some form of incentive, consider what form it might take. While the free cruise is popular, other options may be more attractive, such as upgrading countertops, or giving away flat-screen TVs, iPods and iPads.

“We had this fun scratch-off game where the renter could win a cruise, TV or Flip video camera, along with discounted rent,” notes Good. She adds that, because of sweepstakes rules, the offers could not be linked to an actual “purchase” (that is, a signed lease).

“Yes, there was a little bit of risk,” Good says. “But there was only one case—we gave away a Wii video game system—where the person didn’t rent. All the other items were used as closing tools.”

■ Leasing vs. Retention. An incentive often is most effective when renewal time comes along. The reason: When a renter is moving in, his main concern is about a change in his life, whether it’s a new job, marriage or school term. Taking a vacation isn’t top-of-mind at that time.

“But for resident retention, the renter is now stabilized and more likely to take that cruise right away,” says Dinnsen. Year-round displays about such a renewal incentive, posted in community rooms and leasing offices, can get people thinking long-term about renewing, he adds.

■ Staff training. Perhaps the biggest, albeit hidden, aspect of the concession/incentive game is making sure the leasing staff knows what it’s doing.

“Leasing professionals in our industry often are transient, and they’ve been educated to lease using concessions,” notes Tami Siewruk, head of consultancy at Multifamilypro. “Those people need to be retrained to offer concessions only under the right circumstances. That can be a difficult process.”

Here Comes the Bride: A Fantastic Leasing and Marketing Opportunity Happens in January

2010-11-08T19:14:00.000-08:00

Just about every city in America has an event where there are hundreds of people in our target demographic: People who are moving in the next year. I'm often shocked that I am the only apartment community participating in this outstanding leasing opportunity. This is why I am almost reluctant to share this idea with my followers! However, I am so overwhelmed with the amazing audiences I have that I want to share this idea so that you too can jump in and lease more apartments in 2011.

The event I am referring to is The Bridal Expo. Everyone registered at this show is getting married and that usually means moving in the near future. (Unless they are already taking a test drive like I did!) The goal is to get people to come to your booth, so I suggest setting up the candy buffet since so many brides want this Martha Stewart type creation at their wedding. They will come by your booth just to show their Mom and Maid of Honor this clever and modern wedding feature. A nice touch is to have a tablecloth custom printed with your logo on it. Since Bridal Expos are often a sea of white, don't be afraid to be bold with one of your marketing colors and a white logo. The backdrop of your booth should have enlarged photos of your community, logo and grand prize.

Grand prizes and low cost prospecting gifts are essential for any tradeshow. One community I marketed had leasing scratch off cards printed. The brides simply scratch off the silver bar to see what they won and we made every card a winner. We gave away luggage, a diamond heart pendant, dinner certificates, free rent, and application fees. I am also a fan of having brides register to win a grand prize by filling out a registration card. Here is my little secret for a grand prize that gains a lot of attention.....brides love shoes! Seriously, at the last show I attended we gave away amazing silver Jimmy Choo strappy sandals that go with so many wedding styles today and replace the typical white satin shoe. I got a sample pair from the department store and then when the winner was announced, they could get a gift card or a certificate to go in and get their size. Yes, you could just do a gift card, but giving away the actual shoes create a huge buzz on the tradeshow floor. You will also want to have flyers and maybe a little special, such as no application fee since they are getting married.

When it comes down to it, your company's exhibition success is directly related to how well your exhibit team interacts with the tradeshow attendees. Here are some tips to share with your staff:

· Treat everyone entering your exhibit as a potential new customer: politely and with a smile.

· Be standing (or stand up) when a potential customer enters your booth. Sitting can make you appear disinterested and unengaged.

· Don't eat while you're in your booth. It doesn't look professional and can be a big turn-off to prospective customers.

· Focus on potential customers, not on chatting with friends and other exhibitors.

· If the booth is jam packed, do your best to handle more than one customer. Having literature ready to hand out can keep customers in your booth.

· If the booth has just a few people in it, stand near the aisles to draw more people in.

· Ask qualifying questions such as: "Have you thought about where you and your husband will live once you are married?" This more clearly identifies potential clients. Invite those "leads" to fill out an information sheet, which will expand your database. Give an incentive to fill this out. Your team will be at their interactive best if they are allowed a few breaks throughout the day. This will help them to relax, catch their breath, and be ready to maintain their stellar selling expertise.

Most Bridal Expos offer a spreadsheet with all the brides contact information and their wedding date. This is gold mine of rental opportunities. To keep in touch with the brides, send cards, notes and email helpful checklists as their day approaches. One community that exhibited at the expo in January of 2010 can credit 26 leases to registered brides.

Here comes the bride! But is she coming to your apartment community?

Kool New Words from the New Mobile World Order

2010-09-21T09:55:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of presenting at the Multifamily Brainstorming Sessions with my friend and sister in all things marketing, Casey VanZandt. As Vice President of Marketing for Campus Advantage, Casey is in touch with the new lingo so that she can understand the trends of her target market. During our session, we shared the following definitions:

Vaguebooking
An intentionally vague Facebook status update that prompts friends to ask what's going on, or is possibly a cry for help.

No Stalk
Phrase used before one inadvertently says something that sounds stalkerish on Facebook.

That’s Crazy
It's the perfect response when you haven't been listening at all.

Text hole
Someone who texts on their cell phone in really inappropriate places, like movie theaters, concerts, plays, etc.

YouTube loop
When you go to watch a quick 30 second video on YouTube and regain consciousness hours later having jumped from interesting video to interesting video.

Textalizer
A breathalyzer attached to your computer and/or cell phone whose sole purpose is to prevent you from sending messages.

Phantom Vibration Syndrome
You answer your vibrating phone only to find out it was never vibrating.

Please note, many of these words will not clear your spell check!

Hello Albuquerque! The Apartment All Stars Event is in Your City On Wednesday, September 29th. Register NOW!!

2010-09-20T13:21:00.001-07:00

Pay to post a comment? This practice could cost your company $11,000

2010-09-20T11:44:00.000-07:00

My interest in the subject of paying for posts has piqued. Geno Church, keynote speaker at the Multifamily Brainstorming Sessions this year, commented on the practice of paying bloggers and fans to post good things about a product or service. He warned that this is a violation of FTC rules. For many people, this is the first time they have heard about such law.

There is a $11,000 fine per post in place and is to be enforced by the FTC. We understand this applies to companies paying people to make a post no matter what the subject matter. You can still employ this practice but each post must provide a disclosure saying they were paid to do so. Here is an explanation of the fines the FTC can impose:

FTC to Bloggers: Disclose Freebies or Face $11,000 Fine
By Frederic Lardinois / October 5, 2009 10:41 AM

According to new guidelines from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), bloggers who fail to disclose that they have received freebies when they write about a product can now be fined up to $11,000 per post. The new FTC Guide Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising argues that any post of a blogger who receives "cash or in-kind payment to review a product" should be considered an endorsement. Because these posts are now officially considered endorsements, bloggers who receive freebies must now disclose this fact on their site.
Freebies and the Independent Blogger

While the FTC will obviously have a hard time enforcing these regulations, there can be no doubt that marketers regularly approach independent bloggers (and especially mommy bloggers) with freebies. When bloggers accept these exchanges, they may not always disclose them in the posts that result. So, while bloggers who are involved in these schemes often tend to say that they would have reviewed the product anyway or that their reviews are often critical, there can be little doubt that payments and freebies influence these stories.

These new rules and rather large fines should bring some bloggers and marketers into line, though others will surely continue to push the ethical boundaries. And blogging Payola is unlikely to go away completely because of these new rules.
This marks the first time the FTC has updated endorsement and testimonial rules since 1980. The new rules also take on celebrity endorsements. If celebrities endorse a product and make false or unsubstantiated claims, or don't disclose 'material connections' between themselves and the advertisers in ads and outside the context of the ads (talk shows, social media, etc.), these celebrities can be held liable under the FTC Act. Judging from this, it would seem that celebrities who tweet about a product they endorse are now risking large fines.

Metro DC Remains a Top-Tier Apartment Market Performer

2010-07-29T08:59:00.000-07:00

by Greg Willett

The greater Washington, DC area was one of the few spots across the country where the apartment market made it through the 2008-2009 time period without taking much of a hit. Revenue loss, taking into account shifts in both occupancy and effective rents, was limited to about 1 percent in the nation's capital, compared to an average decline of nearly 8 percent for the U.S. as a whole. Given that performance during the downturn, it's no surprise that DC is among the metros leading the charge now that momentum has returned for the country's overall apartment sector.

What really stands out looking at apartment market results in the Washington, DC area as of mid-2010 is the return of considerable pricing power. Measuring change on a same-store basis, effective rents jumped 3.1 percent during 2nd quarter, taking growth during the first half of the year to 3.9 percent. Prices are up meaningfully across every neighborhood in the region, with especially strong lifts registering in both the North and South Arlington County submarkets, plus the city of Alexandria.

Greater DC's apartment occupancy rate as of June stood at 95.3 percent, up 1.2 percentage points so far this year. That climb reflects that the market posted demand for more than 9,000 units during 2010's initial half, compared to completions totaling a little more than 3,500 units.

An important factor to consider when evaluating the outlook for the Washington, DC apartment market is that this is one of the few spots across the country where new development deals still pencil out on a fairly broad basis. Thus, some new starts continue. Ongoing construction at 2010's mid-point totaled about 5,200 units. DC soon should rank as the nation's most active building market, since recent leaders Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston are poised to drop down the list.

That flow of additional product in Washington, DC, while certainly not notably aggressive in the big picture, does point to a somewhat competitive leasing environment at the top of the market. Thus, while occupancy and rent growth should prove quite healthy, greater Washington might not realize the total revenue increases that are on the way in locales like San Jose, Denver, Austin and Raleigh — spots that have been beaten down but now are well positioned for pronounced recoveries.

Snap and Go Marketing

2010-07-29T08:29:00.000-07:00

For Rent Magazine Introduces Snap and Go

NORFOLK, Va.—(July 19, 2010) — For Rent Media Solutions announces the launch of Snap and Go, the Microsoft® Tag mobile scanning feature available to front cover advertisers at no additional cost. Prospective renters can use this tag to scan a bar code on For Rent Magazine through the camera on their mobile phone, which brings them to their area's apartment listings on the ForRent.com mobile site. The "Snap and Go" tag is a mobile media first in the multi-housing industry.

"The 'Snap and Go' tag is another option we provide to our advertisers that conveniently brings property listings to potential renters and helps generate more awareness for property managers and their communities," said Brock MacLean, senior vice president of national sales and development, For Rent Media Solutions. "Through 'Snap and Go' and other features like unique URLs, text messaging short codes and social media icons, which are included on each For Rent Magazine ad, we are truly making our print offering interactive. These interactive features create a seamless way for renters to use our print publication to access information online or through their mobile device."

How Do You Use It?
This how to video demonstrates how to download and use Snap and Go: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq639IFsfkA&feature=youtube_gdata

Since the January 2009 introduction of Microsoft® Tag, more than one billion tags have been created for businesses worldwide. According to the Microsoft® Tag site, more than 20 million magazines featuring the tag were in the hands of U.S. consumers during the month of April.

Download the Microsoft® Tag Reader app: itunes.apple.com/us/app/tag-reader/id298856272?mt=8

Long Days = Lot's of Leases

2010-07-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

It always confuses me as to why we have leasing office hours while our residents are at work. They typically leave for work before 9am. Yet we don't arrive at work until 9am. And our hard working residents don't come home until after 6pm and many leasing offices close at 5:30. When do we think we are going to lease all those apartments?

It's no wonder Saturdays are so busy. Shopping for an apartment is not really how people want to spend their day off but we really don't give them a choice with our office hours limited to their work hours.

During the long days of summer, out smart your competition by staying open later. When I worked for a busy property in South Florida, my personal work schedule was 11am to 8pm. Do you think this had anything to do with why I was the Leasing Consultant with the highest closing ratio at the property? Of course it did. I was there when people wanted to lease.

Apartment Rentals Surge in U.S. on Foreclosures, Jobs

2010-07-27T18:07:00.000-07:00

July 27 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. apartment landlords are seeing a surge in rentals as mounting foreclosures reduce homeownership and an improving job market for young adults encourages them to find their own places to live.

The number of occupied apartments increased by 215,000 in the 64 largest U.S. markets in the first half, according to MPF Research. That’s almost double the units added in all of 2009 and the most since the firm began tracking the data in 1992. The vacancy rate declined to 6.6 percent last month from 8.2 percent in December.

“Demand is pretty stunningly strong in the first half,” Greg Willett, a vice president at the Carrollton, Texas-based apartment-industry research firm, said in an interview.

Investors are betting the expanding ranks of renters will lead to earnings increases next year of about 5 percent to 10 percent or more for apartment real estate investment trusts such as Equity Residential and AvalonBay Communities Inc. UBS AG this month raised its rating on AvalonBay, Essex Property Trust Inc. and Post Properties Inc. to “neutral” from “sell.”

The change signifies a “less bearish” view on apartments, while acknowledging that “headwinds will remain,” according to the July 7 report by New York-based analysts Dustin Pizzo, Ross T. Nussbaum and Derek Bower.

“The apartment REITs have priced in the most growth within the broader REIT group and as such are most vulnerable if the economy slows and job growth does not begin to come through in a meaningful way,” they wrote.

The Bloomberg REIT Apartment Index has gained 28 percent this year, double the 14 percent advance in the broader Bloomberg REIT Index. The Standard & Poor’s Supercomposite Homebuilding Index has fallen 3.1 percent.

Job Growth

The economy’s recovery from the worst recession since the 1930s has revived hiring enough to stimulate demand for apartments. The growth hasn’t been enough to prevent more home foreclosures, which lift rental demand, or to lead to a sustained rebound in homebuying.

New jobs are the biggest driver of apartment occupancy. Employers began hiring again in January, adding an average of 147,000 jobs a month through June, according to the Labor Department. Employment for people 20 to 29 years old -- a key group for landlords -- rose in May and June on a year-over-year basis for the first time since the end of 2007.

While payroll growth has been modest compared with pre- recession levels, it may be enough to have persuaded some families sharing housing with relatives to get their own places, according to Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics Inc. in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

Bunking With Brother

“Given how hard it is for families to live together for very long, they moved out as soon as they got a job or even thought they could find one,” he said in an e-mail.

Mike Odenthal moved to the New York area in January from San Diego in search of a communications job, sleeping on his younger brother’s couch in the Heights neighborhood of Jersey City, New Jersey. He moved out four months later after the condominium went up for sale, eager to live on his own and not wanting the sight of his possessions in the living room to discourage potential buyers.

“I was tired of depending on my family for housing,” said Odenthal, 27, who also stayed with his parents in Jersey City. “I can’t imagine doing that forever, and all retiring to Florida together.”

Odenthal found a roommate and moved July 1 to Manhattan’s Upper East Side, paying $700 a month for his share of the rent. The next morning he got an offer to work at a New York public relations firm.

Foreclosures Persist

Finances for homeowners didn’t improve fast enough to prevent more than 1.65 million foreclosure filings in the first half, an increase of 8 percent from the same period in 2009, RealtyTrac Inc., a data company in Irvine, California, said July 15. A record 269,962 U.S. homes were seized from delinquent owners in the second quarter as lenders set a pace to claim more than 1 million properties by the end of 2010.

The U.S. homeownership rate fell to 66.9 percent in the second quarter, the lowest since 1999, the U.S. Census Bureau said today. The rate peaked at 69.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2004.

“As homeownership continues to decline, people need to live somewhere,” said Henry Cisneros, who was President Bill Clinton’s housing secretary from 1993 to 1997 and is executive chairman of CityView, a real estate investment firm in Los Angeles that focuses on urban projects including apartments.

Sales Decline

The rate of new-home sales last month was the second-lowest on record, behind May, following the expiration of a government tax credit for homebuyers, the Commerce Department reported yesterday. Sales of previously owned homes fell 5.1 percent in June, the National Association of Realtors said last week.

“The rental market will be robust for the next few years,” Cisneros said.

Effective rents, or what tenants pay after concessions or breaks from landlords, increased 1.4 percent in the biggest markets in the first half, according to MPF Research. Rents may rise 4 percent to 6 percent in both 2011 and 2012, compared with a gain of about 2 percent this year, Willett said.

AvalonBay, which took a nine-month hiatus from construction in 2009, said in April it had seven communities under development and would increase rents for tenants renewing in the second quarter. It raised its forecast last month for second- quarter and 2010 earnings based on “improved operating trends.”

The Arlington, Virginia-based company’s funds from operations, a widely used measure of earnings, will rise 8 percent in 2011, according to the medial estimate of 20 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Equity Residential

Equity Residential, based in Chicago, has pushed rents up by “high single digits” in all of its markets since January, Chief Executive Officer David Neithercut said in a June 11 interview. Funds from operations in 2011 also will rise 8 percent, according to a survey of 22 analysts.

Landlords won’t be able to raise rents too aggressively because unemployment remains high at 9.5 percent and declines in home prices have made it no more expensive to buy than rent in about half of larger markets around the nation, Willett said.

Buy Versus Rent

In Atlanta, the median home price has fallen 37 percent to $110,100 from the peak in the third quarter of 2006, according to the National Association of Realtors. Assuming a 10 percent down payment and a 30-year mortgage at 5 percent, the monthly principal and interest cost is $532. That compares with average monthly rents of $774 in the city, Willett said.

Riverstone Residential Group of Dallas, which manages 175,000 units in 30 markets around the country, reduced average concessions to about a half-month’s rent from about two months a year ago, CEO Walt Smith said. Vacancies have fallen below 5.9 percent in buildings that aren’t newly constructed, from 8.25 percent last year. Smith said he expects significant rent growth by 2012 as supply tightens with so few new units being built.

“Landlords are cautiously testing the strength of the submarket their property is in to see if the market will withstand small rent increases,” Smith said. “In most markets, they’ve been successful.”

--With assistance from Oshrat Carmiel in New York. Editors: Larry Edelman, Kara Wetzel

To contact the reporter on this story: Prashant Gopal in New York at Pgopal2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Kara Wetzel at kwetzel@bloomberg.net

No Matter Who Signs Your Paycheck, You Are Self Employed

2010-07-27T16:28:00.001-07:00

While traveling this week I overheard a conversation where two people were discussing their disappointment that someone got promoted over one of the ladies in the conversation. They were clearly unhappy and found a number of reasons why their company had failed them. I overheard excuses such as the promoted person had an easier property to manage, the president wanted a man in the position and she had not received enough training. And so I started thinking.....

While we are employees and someone signs our paycheck, we are really in charge of our own career. If you want something, ask for it. If you are told you are not ready for the next step in your career, find out why and change it. There are few victims when it comes to business. However, there are a whole lot of lazy people.

On the day that I was promoted into the coveted position as Director of Training, I was told that I was probably too young for the job (ahhhh, to be 24 years old again) but that I had the skills and the talent. The president also expressed to me that the most important quality I had going for me was that I took charge of my career and planned out the steps I needed to get the job I wanted. He called that ambition. I agree. I was the youngest person out of a sea of 27 more tenured people than me that applied for that internal promotion. Ambition pays off!

What can you do today to prepare you for the next step in your career? Email me at kate@KateGood.com if I can ever help you with your career goals.

A Special Post for My Travel Buddy Named Doc

2010-06-22T22:04:00.000-07:00

Rules of Airplane Etiquette

Getting to the airport early and going through the security strip tease is hassle enough. When you're on the plane, you want peace and, if you're lucky enough to win the baby lotto as the proud parents whisk their newborn several dozen rows behind you, quiet.

That said, here are rules for airplane etiquette once you've tightened your seatbelt, low and tight across your lap, and stashed your carry-on:

1. Mind Your Space
Just because you've had trouble saying no to Wendy's doesn't mean you have to remind the person next to you throughout the flight. Keep those flabby forearms in your space and those hubcab knees in front of you. Nobody wants body contact on a flight, unless it's your significant other or the cute girl you met in the bar sharing a dirty martini.

2. They Make Paperbacks, Don't They?
Never bring a broadsheet newspaper (Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe) to read on the plane. It's OK in the terminal, but violates the personal space rule (see No. 1). If you must read a newspaper, bring a tabloid (NY Post, Newsday). A magazine or book is even better. If you are reading your computer and are lucky enough to have wifi use caution when downloading pic and visiting certain web sites as the person sitting next to you will surely look over to your screen at the worst possible moment.

3. It's Not a Tea Party
Some people look forward to meeting strangers and befriending them on a plane. Others don't. Learn the difference. If your conversation seems one-way, take the hint. Some people would rather use three hours to plow through a novel or get some work done instead of exchanging shallow conversation.

I was once on a Virgin America flight and had a great time with the inflight seat to seat instant messaging. It was easy to ignore the not so cute guy in the back and pay special attention to 7F. You have to love new technology. It was like a nite club in the sky.

4. If You're a Bathroom Person, Take an Aisle Seat
You've downed six Diet Cokes and two cups of coffee and you've requested a window seat. Not a good idea. There's nothing more annoying than waking from a nap a half dozen times to let fountain-boy through. Especially on those tight United flights.

5. You're Not the Flight DJ
If you're going to listen to music on your MP3 player, keep the volume down. Not everyone enjoys 50 Cent and Nelly. The volume is louder than you think, especially if the headset is not snug to your ear.

6. Rubbernecking, Part 1
If you have an aisle seat, don't lean across your fellow passengers to look out the window. Conversely, if you're in the window seat on the right side of the plane and the pilot says there's an excellent view of Cape Canaveral on the left, don't try to catch a glimpse. This definitely violates Rule No. 1.

7. Rubbernecking, Part 2
Don't read the magazine or book that the woman sitting next to you is reading. They notice and it's annoying, trust me. Worse yet, don't comment on the article or story. That violates Rule No. 3 in a big way.

8. It's Called Deodorant
It's a shame this even needs to be mentioned, but it does. Please, please remember to bathe or shower before your flight. These are tight quarters and the only air is recirculated cabin air. Even a 55-minute flight can be uncomfortable if you smell like you just ran a 10K wearing a leather jacket.

9. Kids are Kids
Children are excited on a plane, and it's not unusual for a youngster to cry, whine and show off the power of his lungs. But parents, please keep your kids' feet and hands off the back of the seat in front of them. It's annoying and migraine-inducing to have your seat kicked, punched and slapped for three hours while mommy and daddy think it's cute that junior is entertaining himself.

10. You'll Get Off the Plane, Promise
When the plane lands, you don't need to stand if you're more than five rows back. Most airlines don't even begin unloading for five minutes, then it takes at least 30 seconds for those first five rows to move. So if you're in Seat 37D, there's no reason for your backside to be in someone's face the minute the plane pulls up to the hangar. Also, just to review, the rows empty from front to back. If you're in Seat 37D and the woman in Seat 36D is a little slow pulling down her luggage, don't leapfrog past her. That's just rude.

Follow these 10 rules and you'll make flying a better experience for each of us. You're now free to move about the cabin (unless you're the guy violating Rule No. 4).

Will Atlanta or Houston Have a Bigger Turn Out for Apartment All Stars this Month?

2010-05-03T22:19:00.000-07:00

The Art of Negotiation: Emotions

2010-04-30T08:00:00.001-07:00

The very best professionals are always looking for opportunities to learn. You must be one of them because you are reading my blog probably looking for some new ideas. Well, to you I say "dig in." There are a lot of amazing sources for information and my goal is to make sure http://www.KateGood.com serves your need to learn.

There is one topic that I have been studying this year to make myself better at what I do and that is the art of negotiation. I learned the power of emotions on the negotiation process. This means that we make decisions based on our emotions. Yes, there is still the logical side of our brain that is weighing in on this decision, but it is the emotional rush you feel that drives you to say yes.

When are the emotions of your customer most effective to the sales process? In the model or rent ready apartment. It is at this moment that the customer has been taking in all the features and benefits of your amenities on the way to the model. They are really excited and now you show them a beautiful model apartment that is the best home in the community. Whamo! They are really feeling their emotions at this moment. Now is the time to ask for the lease and close it!

Set yourself up for success by placing a stack of applications and pens in the model. Have your availability with you at all times. If you wait to do this when you get back to the leasing office you are missing the power of the emotional high.

Template Ads Can Still Be Fun

2010-04-28T23:05:00.000-07:00

I love the part of my job when I am asked to consult with apartment communities on their ads and position in the market. I approach all my work with this question: Will it generate traffic and close leases? When you create marketing peices and then ask this question, you begin to see that saying things like everyone else will not create more traffic becuase you do not stand out in the market.

Let's take on this challenge in 2010 and think of better ways to say things. Don't just list things you offer, tell the customer why they should by it. Stop using the same tired words to describe your features that everyone else is using such. Step up to creative writing and step ahead of your competition.

I've included a graphic in this blog post because I want to commend Atlantic Palms in North Charleston for putting something fresh and fun in your Apartment Guide ad. Bravo my friends!!

Trend: Be Your Own Director of Training

2010-04-19T11:41:00.000-07:00

Gone are the days of sitting in a classroom for 8 hours expecting a return on investment of time. Managers and business professionals do not have the time for multi day event based training. Selling is a process therefore sales training will alter to a more succinct process. Since learning is a day to day activity, it is imperative that a leasing pro step up to find and create their own learning opportunities. Empower team members to direct their own learning by attending webinars, reading blogs and attending public seminars to take ownership of their profession.

Trend: We Are Value Creators

2010-04-16T11:37:00.000-07:00

We are in a knowledge economy. We must stop providing information to clients and provide value. The question is, what is valuable to your customer? This is a very individual and often subjective answer. For example, a washer and dryer may be valuable to a mother with two small children but would not rank at the top of a busy professional’s need list.

Another item of value may be the service that you provide. I can say with certainty that any customer who is looking to us after renting a private home in the shadow market will find our 24 maintenance guarantee to be a item of value.

Trend: Getting Prepared

2010-04-15T11:34:00.000-07:00

The last five years have provided significant tools and technology for sales professionals. Customers have access to as much information as their leasing professional. Know what your customer is reading.

How do you rate in the blogs and opinion sites?

Has your sales team checked out your complete Internet presence, including web pages on the Internet Listing Services?

A prepared leasing professional has a greater chance of closing the lease because it shows the customer that they are important to this team member.

No Matter Who Signs Your Paycheck, You Are Self Employed

2010-04-14T16:46:00.000-07:00

Trend: Better Offers Are Not Aways Bigger Offers

2010-04-14T11:32:00.000-07:00

Know what your customers want. Don't just offer the same special as the community down the street. When we do this, we are actually feeding the “bigger, better deal” mentality which challenges the customer to find a better deal. Take a different approach and create an offer so unique others cannot match it. For example, a community I am consulting with is using coupon books which give the customer complete control as to how they want to use their concession. Each coupon is worth $30 and the customer can use any number in their book at any time. This unique offer cannot be compared to an offer for one month free even though the dollar amount is the same. Strategy!

Trend: Customer Service as Part of the Sales Process

2010-04-13T11:30:00.000-07:00

45% of every client interaction involves customer service. My research illustrates that customer service has decreased in many organizations possibly due to the fact that we may be operating with leaner staffs and they are simply stretched too far to give your customers the personal attention they crave. Since customer-to-customer influences have become vital to success, it is increasingly important that leasing professionals focus more on their most vital asset-the client.

Anything which would be considered a administrative function should take a back seat when a customer calls or visits. And yes, leasing is all about customer service. In fact, today’s successful consultant knows the secret closing more traffic today is find out what the customer is looking for and service their need to find a new home.

Trend: Greater Focus On Lead Conversion

2010-04-12T23:19:00.000-07:00

The world of apartment leasing and marketing will never be what we knew as early as 4years ago. The items that made your marketing plan a sure fire success will not get you the same results today. The leasing consultant that ranked number one during your leasing contests may be struggling. Does this mean that we should throw our hands up and site a bucket load of excuses? Not if you want your job!

People are still renting apartments so why not rent one from you? If you want your unfair share of the available leases, and to keep your job, study these trends which I will be spotlighting in my upcoming blgs and make necessary adjustments, not excuses.

Let's start with Lead Generation.

The issue of lead generation has increased in the last two years. Technology has helped gather leads but the conversion factor has not increased. Simply put, leads must be converted and there will be increased attention to convert and close more leases. Your marketing and leasing strategy should include a solid system to follow up every phone call and email lead. Work that customer until they lease. We are using more advertising sources than ever before, make sure you are counting all the traffic they are delivering and take a closer look at your teams ability to convert that lead to a lease.

6 Common Unintended Consequences in Leasing for 2010

2010-02-15T11:59:00.000-08:00

1. Overdoing the “friendly” part of sales can frequently backfire on us. Residents don’t trust disingenuous people. Customers realize you don’t care about them that much.

2. Asking prospects intensive qualifying questions can put them on the defensive. No one likes being backed into a corner.

3. In order not to push customers, we frequently don’t introduce everything to our customer. This guarantees they will be looking at your competitors to find it.

4. Pushing for a close is so 1950’s. Again, no one likes being backed into a corner. When this happens, customers bring out the heavy artillery loaded with plenty of objection bullets.

5. Don’t most of us already know that talking poorly about the competition always cheapens us and ironically gives more credibility to our competitors?

6. Selling to a non-decision-maker (e.g. recommender, information gatherer) makes us feel good because it’s easy and we feel we’re making real progress. Nothing could be further from the truth. We’re in fact wasting our time and alienating the real decision makers because: a) They don’t think we’re smart enough to figure out who the real decision makers are, and b) They think we perceive them as unimportant.

My "Super Freakonomics" Book Report

2009-11-02T12:25:00.000-08:00

I love the "freakquel" for Freakonomics titled Super Freakonomics. It is a super interesting read and please don't let my book report replace reading the book. My hope is that it will lead you to check it out of the library, stroll on down to Barnes and Noble or download it onto your Kindle.

People respond to incentives. During 2009 the apartment industry became the perfect case study for this fact. However, what we need to be concerned with is explained in this book. "People respond to incentives, although not necessarily in ways that are predictable or manifest. Therefore, one of the most powerful laws of the universe is the law of unintended consequences." When we understand this concept, we might start to see what is next for the concession driven markets.

The book explains numerous examples of unintended consequences of from a vast number of incentives. It will certainly change your way of thinking. I found myself empowered to make better decisions understanding the true cause and unintended effect that can often result.

Too often we feel that solutions do not exist unless they are right in front of our eyes. The authors take us through history to show this is not the case.

As sales and marketing experts, we must understand how people make decisions, change their mind and act on an opportunity. Super Freakonomics teaches us how an environment and or personal motivation could create a shift to a completely different intention by a human.

Don't pick up this book if you want to understand the economy and where it is going. The book says if you "understand the incentives that lead a schoolteacher or sumo wrestler to cheat, you can understand how the subprime-mortgage bubble came to pass."

2010 Marketing Trend: Simplicity Makes the Buying Decision Easier

2009-10-30T12:23:00.000-07:00

A article in USA Today leading the money section on October 28 introduced us to the powerful marketing mantra for 2010, simple is better. The graphic which leads the article asks via multiple choice, how many ingredients are in a scoop of Haagen-Daz's Simple 5 coffee ice cream. The answer is five.

If 2009 effective marketing message was about buying stuff cheap then this new trend will most likely build on that foundation. For example, my co-speaker on the Apartment All Star Tour is Lisa Trosien. All year she has been reminding us to follow the trends of major brands such as Subway with the $5 footlong. Leave it to Lisa to even sing the jingle on stage. This is a perfect example of trying to sell twelve inches of sandwich pretty cheap and keeping things simple by not making the pricing complicated.

When you keep things simple, you create a tangible reason to buy a product or service. For starters, it is easier to understand. Next, it helps build confidence that nothing is hidden or unexpected. This is what you get, just 5 ingredients that you can pronounce. A strong message in a food industry that has mass production.

I was working with a client today trying to work on removing reasons why someone would not rent from us. One thing is that it is a complicated formula to figure out what you have to do and what you owe if you break your lease agreement. Sure, the formula seemed like a good idea at the time, after all, we don't want them breaking their leases. Yet now, in a economy where job growth is non existent, people want to know what the obligation will be if they get laid off. We decided to roll back to yesteryear where we asked for 60 days notice, one months rent cancel fee and payback their concession. Still some meaningful money, but much easier to understand.

What else should we simplify?

A Year Without Lease Renewals?

2009-10-28T22:36:00.000-07:00

Can you imagine the ability to take lease renewals off your long list of things to do? That is my challenge for the apartment industry. My personal recession recovery plan and if we all jump on board we just might save the world of apartment leasing from total meltdown.

The theory: For the next 12 months, we will be writing leases that will more than likely be loaded up with a rent decrease and in many markets, an up front concession. If we allow that lease to expire in the next 12 - 24 months we might just find ourselves having to do it again. Seems like the perfect reason to avoid expirations for the next two years.

How do we do this? Sell a longer term lease of 15 - 24 months. The plan benefits the owner because we can decrease turn costs or more bleeding economic vacancy loss. And for the renter, they are locked into a rental rate for a longer term. For most of my 21 year career, this has not been a great idea because we will miss the opportunity to grow rent. However, very few years presented enough of a rent increase to make the turnover costs worth it. Owners push rents in increase the value of the asset.

If we face the facts, very few markets will see much rent growth in the next 12 - 20 months. If we can stabilize and stop the burn we have a shot at improving by the end of 2011. All together now, take a breath and say STABILIZE. Lock in residents for longer terms and avoid having to offer your market rent and concessions to renewals. Hopefully with less vacancy you will reduce the concessions, supply will decrease and we will start to see rent increase before the next presidential election.

My Winter Sales Strategy

2009-10-28T21:32:00.000-07:00

I'm going to a fancy event in November. You know the kind, where you have more fun getting ready for the event than you actually have at the event. Being the fashionista that I personally express myself to be, I need the perfect dress. After all, we dress for women, not men, and women will notice what other women are wearing at an event like this.

In years past, I have started my search a few weeks prior to the party. This year money is tight, I started a few months early giving myself plenty of time to really dig hard for something on sale. As luck would have it, I found an amazing dress on my first shopping trip. I figured there may be something better to discover but I would go ahead and buy this one and continue shopping. If I found something better I would simply return the first one I bought.

Well, the event is approaching and I never took another shopping trip. I guess when I found something I liked, I stopped looking. I have better things to do with my time like shop for shoes!

My winter strategy is pretty simple, close traffic like they need it tomorrow. Too many Leasing Consultants get lazy and do not put their best foot forward when someone comes in the door or calls and they do not need the apartment for 3-6 months. I have even heard a sigh come out of their mouths and the customer can tell that this sales person only wants the quick sale. So if you are so good at that quick sale, do it. Why would you treat this customer any other way? They need a apartment and once you show them what they are looking for, you have the ability to stop their shopping efforts.

Now here is the punchline, remember that I started shopping for my dress early because I wanted time to shop the sales? Well, I paid full price. Maybe your customer will too when you truly sell them what they want.

Concessions Vs. Rent Decreases

2009-10-28T11:40:00.000-07:00

There has been a healthy and timely discussion on www.multifamilyinsiders.com this week. It started with a comment I made at a seminar I presented in Columbus, Oh and spilled over into a blog on this great web site for apartment professionals. In the event that you are not a member of the insiders site (and you should be!) I thought I would copy the bog and comments onto kategood.com so that you can read the conversation and share your thoughts.

Posted on MultifamilyInsiders.com on 10/26/2009 by Kate Good
Hi Everyone! Just getting into this great discussion concerning the blog post by Sarita Thomas. Check out her blog and see a healthy discussion on the topic of rental concessions versus rental rate optimization (which will probably mean a decrease).

Allow me to update the statement I made in a program I presented for the Columbus Apartment Association about communities offering up to 4 months free....I found a Vegas property offering 5 months free! Out of control! Yes, many markets are currently concecession driven. This is a scary situation and a downward spiral.

Just last week, I was asked to consult with a community that was trying to respond to the difficult market. Once their October move outs have turned in their keys, they will see their occupancy drop into the low 80's and their economic occupancy sitting very uncomfortably at 79% going into the slower winter months.We discussed what to do. A concession would certainly attract traffic, lease apartments and keep the contracted rent amount higher than if we dropped the prices and removed concessions. This was an important position when we discussed the challenge we are seeing with renewals.

Offering concessions has always been very hard for me. I was raised in this industry that believed if you offer concessions, there is something wrong with your apartment community. However, I have never experienced the challenges that I am seeing today. So what is the answer?

I've had many of these conversations with owners in about 20 different markets this year. My advice, keep the contracted rental rate higher, offer a concession to attract and close traffic and....here is the kicker....require a longer term lease. Get these residents locked in for 14 - 20 months. We will not see rents increase in 2010 (okay there are a few good markets out there but they are not the majority) and concessions will start to decrease as the markets stabilize due to the slow down in new product. The trick is to stop the churn and stabilize. The result, you avoid offering concession on that apartment until 2011 and by then, the market may not require this free rent offer. Longer leases allow you to do this and removes fear that the renter may have concerning their rent increasing after a 6 - 12 month lease agreement. Bottom line, each market and every community is different and there are a lot of factors to consider including the long and short term goals of the ownership. This week alone, I will be leading 6 calls with management companies via my program "Kate On Demand" to walk through the various factors and design a strategy that best serves the property, customer and owners. The goal: Stabilize and get through 2010!
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...written by Danny Soule, October 26, 2009
Hey Kate. Great article. I work with CLASS, Inc and we are constantly getting asked the same question regarding concessions vs lowering rents. The other option for some owners is giving cash back incintives (if you have the pockets for it). As opposed to lowering your rents 50$ or giving a concession, the cash back is a great leasing incintive this time of year (pre-holidays) It Keep market rents up and reduces sticker shock upon renewal. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on that option. What kills me about concessions is that leasing consultants tend to give them out over the phone. They sometimes never even bother to tell the prospect what the market rent was before the special, thus never selling the full value of the concession.

+0

...written by Kate Good, October 26, 2009
Thanks for the comment Danny. I have found the incentives do work in some markets. People just want to feel like they "got something." I agree that we have to think ahead about how lowering rent will effect our ability to renew. People are not going to stand for much of a market increase and it seems like a deep hole that will take years to crawl out of.

With that said here are a few things to do BEFORE you drop a concession into your offer:
1. The phones are still ringing at the properties. I recently listened to 25 recorded leasing calls using Call Source. The results were pathetic. The consultant gave the price right away followed by the special offer. Hello! What ever happened to SELLING the VALUE BEFORE giving the price? And yes, I feel like i should yell that! Here is a new goal for all phone calls, defer the price question by asking a question such as "how soon are you looking to move in?" Now take control, ask questions and sell the apartments based on what you just heard the prospect say they needed. A good leasing consultant can defer the price for 3 min. That is a lot of selling time!

2. Do you have a tool to get the customer back for the second visit? Since the guest is usually visits a property two times before making a decision, I suggest having a tool to get them back.

3. Stop selling luxury. No one is buying it these days.

4. Individually price your apartments. Blanket, one price structures cause you to leave too much money on the table.

I'll think of more and post again.....anyone have anything to ad?

+0
...written by Karen Long, October 27, 2009
I'm so glad to see this topic discussed. I too got my multi-family wings in markets where a concession next door warranted a "yes, I've heard they have problems" response. I like the solution of recouping and locking the renter in with a longer lease. I think that should work! Get us through 2010 as best possible, give the prospective resident a "good deal" they expect, and keep our rental rates as strong as possible in a very tough market.

+0
...written by Marci Brand, October 27, 2009
I spend alot of time working with properties in tough markets and I too, have found that one of the biggest issue is what we are doing with the traffic when we get it. I hate to offer concessions and I really cringe when I see and hear Leasing Professionals relying on concessions to sell their apartments. It is very important to remember that a concession should be the icing on the cake and incentive to rent, not the sole reason. Times are tough, and everyone is looking to save money, but most of our renters are still interested in the BEST product they can get for the rent. When we focus on specials to the point that they are our sole sales point, we run the risk of driving the market and the perceived value of the property down. We also fall into bad habits which are hard to break when the market turns around (and it will). At one community we offered a 'menu of options' for the prospective renter. They could choose between accent walls or similar upgrade in the apartment, a rental incentive or a flat screen tv. This gave the renter a feeling that he was in control and it also separated the property from the competition. The amazing thing was, we gave away more flat screen tvs than free rent (and it cost less!)

-1
...written by SARITA THOMAS, October 28, 2009
Hi Kate, Thanks for the information. There is a love-hate relationship with concessions, I know. However, I think we take it to the extreme. How do we know when we are actually making the bottom line with so many concessions given out? I agree with you. Make the lease terms longer so that we can re-coup some of the lost rent and preserve vacancies in 2010. Thank you!

How hard is it to say "I was wrong?"

2009-10-26T05:45:00.000-07:00

I am a huge cheerleader for companies that innovate. The problem is with weak execution. Do not innovate until you truly understand your customer. So many companies today are trying to find ways to create "other income" to keep their doors open. I understand that paying the light bill is harder to do today and I caution executives to think about their customers before making decisions.

Let's look at the Web Van debacle. I loved this company. For me, a business traveler who loves a home cooked meal, I could arrange to have my selected groceries delivered with in an hour or two of arriving home from a trip. The last thing I wanted to do was to give a hour of the few I have to be at home to the chore of gorcery shopping. With Web Van, I could let my computer mouse do the shopping while sitting in a hotel room!

Web Van was one of the darlings of the techonology boom and quickly became a dot bomb. Many people wondered why and it was explained that the economics of having a warehouse and delivery trucks made the prices too expensive. It was suggested that they charge a delivery fee of $10. Web Van's CEO said that Web Van would never charge a delivery fee when it was one of the actions that might have saved the company.

As a loyal customer, I would have happily payed the $10 fee just to continue to have the service. Web Van made the mistake of not really understanding their customer and that what we benefited from the service was convenience and that was worth $10. And so today, Web Van is out of business, shareholders lost a fortune and I do not have my groceries delivered to my door. They were so wrong, the lights were out before they ever had a chance to admit it. Bottom line, know your customer or lose your business.

Another case study is USAirways who started charging for drinks and pillows. This is a company that keeps getting it wrong because they never seem to think about their customers. The funny thing about this mistake is that USAir actually thought they were wasting liquid because when they started charging for drinks, people drank less. In a matter of months, USAirways figured out that we were still drinking liquids, we just were not buying them on the plane and they still have the weight on the plane and trash to remove. The backlash and poor publicity cost this airline that already had a bad reputation due to the fact that their employees are either indifferent or downright rude because they simply do not like their jobs. This was a serious mistake that did not help the airline in any way. Complimentary drinks are now being served once again. Can we bring back the video equipment for the long flights?

When I think about these two examples I can only say that the mistakes could have been avoided had they known their customers needs and wants. And, if you do mistake your real customer, have the guts to say you are wrong and adjust.

Seminar Wrap Up by Chrissy Wills at CAA

2009-10-16T11:19:00.000-07:00

Kate Good Presented "Beating the Benchmark" at the CAA
Written by Chrissy Wills
Wednesday, 23 September 2009 15:30

The Columbus Apartment Association (CAA) hosted Kate Good, national speaker, who presented "Beating the Benchmark" on September 23rd at the Fawcett Center. Forty CAA members were in attendance to hear Kate explain how to market during this economy.
Kate recently presented at the National Apartment Association annual convention in June at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. She is a nationally recognized apartment marketing expert known for her amazing creativity, energy and motivational ability. Kate has been working in apartments her entire life, and has brought invaluable insight to developers, marketing directors and associations across the country.

To start the Beating the Benchmark session, Kate gave some interesting facts about today's apartment industry. Approximately 70% of communities nationwide are offering concessions, everything from one month to four months free. According to her research, current consumer buying habits include: an average of two visits to make a decision, apartment residents are looking for extra spaces, in traditional relationships the female is the primary decision maker in choosing a home, the first visit to a community is virtual and apartment residents will take 60 - 90 days to make a decision.

The CAA members enjoyed Kate's humor and case studies about McDonald's trying to become Starbucks and Starbucks trying to be like McDonalds. She shared these ideas to get attendees to think about what their unique selling features are and to showcase those in ads and leasing presentations. Also, she recommended stepping up ads with language for today; she likes terms such as comfortable, generous for the money, durable, built to last, and great buy.
To close Kate shared easy marketing ideas and effective closing techniques. Some of Kate's favorite marketing ideas included handwritten notes, placing the bootleg signs inside the community to remind current residents about the community's benefits and creating a special of the day. CAA members really liked the seminar and could easily take away fresh ideas from it.

Kristi Fickert with Village Green Management traveled from Cincinnati to hear Kate speak and really gained a lot from the presentation, "I think everyone in the room took at least ten new ideas home with them."

The CAA would like to thank our members for attending Beating the Benchmark and look forward to seeing them at the next seminar.

Marketing in a Down Economy from the Lowes For Pro's Web site

2009-10-14T22:43:00.000-07:00

The recession is bad news for just about every sector of business, and property leasing is no exception. But before you rush to slash your marketing budget as a cost-saving move, consider that good marketing may be the key to keeping your business afloat. Your tenants are out there, and with careful marketing you can find them. Rather than dream about high rents and low vacancies, focus on a plan to survive the recession. That means offering great value and making sure people are hearing about what you have to offer-in other words, keep marketing. ''If you need traffic, you shouldn't cut your marketing budget, '' says Kate Good, professional speaker, marketing solutions expert and partner on the Apartment All-Stars tour. Instead of keeping your current marketing program, look at changing it up and marketing more intelligently.

Good suggests starting with the tenants already in your properties. ''The least expensive strategy is to market internally and close the back door. '' So while it's critical to study your market and know which promotions are luring tenants, it also makes sense to devote some of those perks-a couple of months free rent or a new flat-screen TV-to your existing clientele. It seems counterintuitive to give discounts to the people who are currently underwriting your revenue stream, but if you increase your retention rate you'll be solving your vacancy problem without the turnover costs associated with moving in a new tenant.

When it comes to reaching out to prospective tenants, be selective. Figure out who is already drawn to your properties and find more of them. Good uses this example: If you notice that your community appeals to active seniors, invite the local bridge club to meet for free in your clubhouse. That way, more people in the target market will see your property, and word will spread. ''Don't try to be all things to all people, '' says Good. ''Identify the kind of people who like your community, find out where they are, and figure out how to attract them. You're saving money by reaching out to a smaller audience, but it's the right audience. ''

Even with changes to your marketing strategy, don't do away with all of your traditional marketing. ''Print drives traffic to the Internet, so make sure you keep those ads out there, '' says Good. And you have to do it year-round. ''Renters pick up the apartment guide in February or March even though they might be renting in June or July. If you pull your ad in February because you're not getting any traffic, you've lost an opportunity for residual traffic later. I don't pull back on advertising until I'm full, and most people aren't full right now. '' Next, consider changing your pricing model. Instead of charging the same rent for every two-bedroom unit, for example, charge more for the unit at the end of the hall with more windows, or the unit with new carpet. There are two advantages to this strategy. First, you can make more on your premium units. Second, if the least expensive units sell first, then your best units will be available for display during the peak of leasing season. ''If you're charging a flat rate, your best units get cherry picked, '' says Good. ''You want to have that more desirable unit-with the higher price tag-available when you have higher traffic. ''

Slashing your marketing budget isn't the right response to the recession-changing the way you approach marketing is.

Oh my, where does the time go?

2009-10-10T13:41:00.000-07:00

I am shocked that two months have passed since my last blog entry. I'm putting some thought into what has been going on to keep me so busy. First, and most important for my out of control love for shoes, I can say I am having the best year of my professional career. 15 months ago I was thrown into some much needed bed rest while my two broken feet healed. But what really healed for me was my focus and direction. I knew that it was time to really study the rapid decline of our market conditions and start to research and test solutions that I could share with my audiences and clients in 2009. It did not take long to discover that the old song we used to sing...do it with me now..."if you keep on doing what you've always done, your gonna keep on getting what you've always got." That is not true in 2009. If I did the things in my marketing plan that worked 2 years ago, they will not yield the same results today.

And so I set on a journey to find the new path for leasing and marketing. It all comes back to the overly discussed topic on cable news shows, consumer confidence is down. Really down. So down it has fallen and cannot get up! No infomercial, life alert, or shot of Red Bull is going to fix this anytime soon. And so, we adjust. The car companies were some of the first industries to discover this with the "assurance plans". Our industry responded with the "no fear lease agreement". These addendum's are helpful in removing fear and allowing the customer to make a decision.

I was speaking in South Carolina this year when a manager complained that this a practice used by her competition and it was killing her occupancy. I asked if there is anything in her lease agreement that would allow someone to cancel the contract. She replied yes, two months notice and a cancel fee. Hey people, this is what marketing is all about! That manager can offer a no fear lease agreement because she already has one. She is just not selling it. Slap together a flyer, create a logo and get this great news to your customer. Now you have a great tool to remove fear of making the wrong decision.

This is a lesson in my personal life too. We all have the necessary tools for success. Recognize what tools you need to call on to get what you want. You may need to tweak it a bit, but know you can change, adjust and thrive. I think this is why I am having not only the best year of my life professionally, but an amazing, fantastic, and exciting personal life too! Thanks friends, partners and family. You helped bring me back to life. And what a great life it is!

There is a Marketing Tool I Leave Home Without

2009-08-05T22:00:00.001-07:00

Today I was packing my purse to head out for lunch with a new contact who discovered my Web site while doing a Google search for a apartment consultant and wanted to chat about my services. I stopped in my tracks when I reached for a stack of business cards only to realize the box was empty. I tried to remember when I last printed them and discovered it was more than two years ago.

While driving to lunch, I was chatting with a good friend laughing about the fact that I have not had a business card in years. And then it dawned on me, I really have not needed one. In the age of Google, Linked and Facebook, people just know how to get my contact information and a business cards purpose has diminished.

I wonder what is next.

The Digital Comment Card Takes a Stand

2009-07-31T14:26:00.000-07:00

Join me as I take a stroll to “back in the day.” I am 21 years old standing in front of my closet looking at my navy blue uniform suit, trying to find something to add to the outfit to disrupt the image of a flight attendant. I try on a few blouses and different shoes and settle for a starched white blouse, a string of pearls and put my hair up so that I would look a little older. This is a funny image to me because now that I am “older” I wear my hair down to look younger! Why did I care so much about how I looked this particular day? Well, it is the day of our quarterly recognition rally called “The IMD Meeting.” This stands for “I made a difference.” The Vice Presidents would hand out awards for excellent shopping report scores, properties beating budget and certain individuals who stood out by doing something above and beyond the call of the job description. Everyone wanted to look their best for this meeting including me as I was hoping for a promotion to a position in the training department.

This meeting is a special one for me, I’ve been mystery shopped twice during the quarter and receive an excellent score on both reports earning me a certificate, some applause and $200 in my pocket. The big surprise came when I won the IMD award because the home office had received an overwhelming number of comment cards talking about various acts of service I’ve offered my important residents. Once again I stand up in my freshly pressed suit and proudly accepted my award. This was an amazing recognition and I tear up when I call my parents to share the exciting news.

I worked for a company that not only cared about the feedback our residents had to share with us, but also created a number of measurable opportunities to solicit this feedback. I’ve been thinking a lot about this while consulting with clients this summer. The hot topic in the marketing world is social media and everyone is trying to figure out what it is all about and if it is worth the effort. Much to my surprise, each client I have worked with this summer has been worried about the negative feedback that a resident may write on our Facebook wall, tweet about on Twitter or direct a scathing video for distribution on You Tube. While I understand the concern, I simply explain that these social media channels are the comment cards of 2009 and beyond. It is the new way for our residents to provide positive and constructive feedback so that we can reward our team members and improve the customers experience. This conversation derived from social media will be mentioned in award and recognition rally’s all over our industry.

This week, apartment pro’s and residents has been observing an interesting lawsuit filed by Horizon Realty versus a resident who posted a tweet to her mere 22 followers concerning mold in her apartment. Horizon felt the statement was unfair and grounds for libel. News of this lawsuit has been filling my twitter screen, discussed in other blogs, mentioned on the walls of Facebook and the topic of conversation in every corner of our country. What I think is interesting is that instead of using the tweet as a form of feedback from the modern day comment card, Horizon would like to argue that a resident cannot tell their friends and followers that they are upset with management. In a world where word of mouse is more powerful than word of mouth, Horizon’s lawsuit has sent the suspicion to thousands of people that they would rather sue a resident than to solve their problems. Now, in all fairness, the inside story may be quite different and Horizon has a good point to make, but the reality is that many will never hear that point as the thought that suing a resident who only has 22 followers and made a comment about mold makes them a landlord who does not care. Let’s remember, perception is everything and in this case Horizon has spread this perception to thousands of people through their law suit.

I am certain my consulting clients will want to use this scenario as a reason to avoid social media. Yet, I still stand firm, use this digital comment card to receive the feedback and show your residents you care. If a customer posts something on the wall, use this as an opportunity to publicly respond that you are glad this has been brought to your attention and want to make the residents home as comfortable as possible. I can promise you that if you abstain from social media, your residents will not. So, be a part of this conversation and see this as a channel to stay in communication with your residents. I admire Mark Juleen from JC Hart who reminded me at the Real Page Users Conference that we can use social media to show we care and when did it no longer become our job to show our residents we care? Good point Mark! See you at the IMD meeting.

2009-07-08T17:29:00.000-07:00

Recently Published in Landlord Times: 6 Questions With Kate Good

1) What's your background? How did you come to be an apartment marketing guru?

I was a servi-bar attendant who lost her job and found that I was qualified to be a leasing consultant! I was so fortunate to have my first position in the industry with Trammell Crow Residential. We were building apartment communities on every corner and did not have a marketing department. We were a do it yourself kind of property. I was highly compensated to lease apartments and therefore very motivated to create my own traffic. Surrounding myself with great people the whole way allowed me to learn from every opportunity. I made leasing and marketing my area of expertise.

It did not take long to see who the stand out marketing people are in our industry. I study everything that Jamie Gorski and Jennifer Nevitt create. Each are so accomplished and very different in their approach. In addition, I keep a close eye on the brands that serve our residents. They spend millions of dollars on marketing experts and I get to observe their work for free.

Today, I feel something like a scientist because I am willing to test ideas and see the results. This is how I know what works.

2) What has changed the most since you started your multifamily housing career?

a. Our knowledge. We used to make gut based decisions. Now we have access to data and information and we can make wiser choices for our budgets, apartment design and positioning.

b. How residents use their apartments. No one eats dinner in the dining room and American also hang on to a lot of stuff. We need things like home docking stations and places to hang a flat screen. This consumer need repositions apartment spaces to meet their lifestyle.

c. The Internet changed everything in the sales and marketing world. In some respects it makes things so much easier to market and rent because we are able to communicate more information in a well positioned way to our current and future residents. In other ways it created non geographical competitors and made marketing more challenging.

3) What has stayed the same?

Salaries. Ok, just kidding. But I don't think they have grown enough to account for a 5% increase every year over the past 21 years!

On a serious note, the basics just seem to never change and are still important. A mentor of mine, Anne Sadovsky says "we are going to keep on teaching the basics until people start doing them." I could not agree more. The basic way we lease and market to our customers still has the same theme of attaching their needs to the attributes of our community and then asking for the lease.

I find great joy and comfort in the fact that many of the same people I worked with early in my career are still in the business. I recently reconnected with my very first boss Glenn Rand. Our paths have crossed a few times and I am so excited that he knew me when I was a Leasing Consultant and is proud of my work today. I learned so much from him. It really is important to never burn a bridge. Our business cards may have changed but the people are still the same great leaders that I enjoy doing business with.

4) How has the use of technology changed the business?

Access and response. Today we have greater access and quicker responses. What used to take six hours is now done in six seconds. I don't think anyone misses ledger cards! However this has also created more work for us. Our capacity for gathering information is amazing to me. The knowledge I gather by spending 8 minutes on Twitter is exciting. I am glad to see this technology revolution unfold and capitalize on the opportunities. I expect another technology revolution will change our lives in the near future.

5) You work with apartment marketers all over the country and you've pretty much seen it all. Does anything blow your mind anymore? Have you seen anything amazing during your recent travels?

I am seeing a lot of desperate marketing and this does not make an apartment community desirable. People are still leasing apartments during this slump. Instead of decreasing value we need to increase the value proposition by adding services and access through affinity programs. People love coupons these days. Why not build a great alliance with area businesses by giving them access to your residents through a community membership program? This would be a huge win for all parties and completely fits the mind of today's consumer.

Can you believe some properties still do not have Web sites? Amazing!

6) With the overall economy in the tank and the housing bubble evaporated, the apartment market has become pretty volatile and can be very different market to market. From a marketing standpoint, give us a brief state of the industry.

The game has changed and so should our marketing message. The industry should now focus on building value and retaining our customers. Calling an apartment "luxurious" won't sell in a savings minded economy. The focus is once again on the management companies to tighten up operations and expenses and also maintain value for our investors. I think the apartment rental market will recover quicker than other real estate sectors. New construction came to a screeching halt and that will eventually push demand as new supply stands still. This means the next two years have to be about maintaining and remembering that what we have always done won't get us what we have always accomplished. It is a time of retooling and doing it better than anyone else. A company's ability to learn and appropriately change faster and smarter than anyone else will be their key to success and survival.

7) With the troubled economy in mind, what words of advice would you give to someone who's just getting into the business? What about an apartment leasing veteran who's looking to recharge in this competitive environment?

For our newcomers, welcome. I have made a lifelong career in this business and you can too. Like you, I entered during a challenging economy and it made me smart and solid. You will learn faster than your peers did because of this timing. There are a lot of paths to be followed in this business but along the way simply be a standout in your current position and the business will always reward you.

To my fellow veterans, I offer you a challenge; get involved and be an educated voice in the industry. Start your own blog and/or resource Web site. You will be amazed at how much you know and how others will grow from your knowledge. A great place to start is www.MultifamilyInsiders.com. There are so many veteran's blogging on that site. When I post a blog on this site and www.KateGood.com my heart really starts to race when I get feedback that people are reading this and asking for me. Personally, this has renewed my spirit to grow again and expand my knowledge base.
This is a big year for me, I am celebrating my 21st year in the industry and I started at the age of 18. Do the math and you will see the second reason why this is a milestone year. I am amazed at my longevity. I used to be the youngest person in the room who could not have a sip of wine at a company meeting when I was 19 or rent a car when I started business travel at the age of 22. Now, I am a veteran? It seemed to all pass by so quickly and I was never bored because I followed my precious father's mantra to "never stop learning."

Kate Good has been leasing apartments her entire adult life. 12 years ago, she decided to start her own business as a professional speaker and marketing solutions expert. She consistently receives the highest marks possible for her content, presentation style and audience involvement. Never one to fall short of exceeding expectations, Kate insisted on answering 7 questions for this 6 question interview. Visit www.KateGood.com for her content rich blog and free leasing and marketing ideas.

The Landlord Times: Your source for multifamily and apartment news and landlord, property management, property maintenance & real estate investing tips.

Shame on me!

2009-07-08T17:23:00.000-07:00

Hello to all my blog followers. Shame on me for neglecting you for so many weeks. All I can say is that it has been wild and crazy in the world of KateGood.com. I have been busy traveling to meet with clients. I have also been busy writing and presenting new material for my presentations at NAA and I very excited to share some good stuff with you.

Please tune in over the next few weeks as I get it all typed up and ready to share. I hope you are as inspired as I have been. There are so many good opportunities for marketers today and I have had a front row seat to some amazing education.

Social Networking: How to Get Business

2009-06-03T21:03:00.000-07:00

Social Networking: How to Get Business
Join us for a Webinar on June 17

It's hard to ignore social networking and the marketing opportunities they present. Your competition is jumping into this new world of marketing, what are you doing? This Webinar is for those who are taking their first steps into Blogging, Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook and Plaxo and for those who have already engaged but are hoping to find more ways to capitalize on the effort. Learn how to turn social networking into gold by developing databases, staying on contact and creating effortless channels of communication with current and prospective customers.

Title: Social Networking: How to Get Business

Date: Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Time: 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EDT
CEU: One (1) CEU credit for CCHPs
Cost: Members $50, Non-Members $75

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://ssl17.pair.com/chpa/cgi-bin/chpa_webinar_reg.pl?goto=webreg

Marketing in a Down Economy

2009-05-13T12:59:00.000-07:00

By: Steve Hendershot
Issue Date: April 2009

The recession is bad news for just about every sector of American business, and property leasing is no exception. But before you rush to slash your marketing budget as a cost-saving move, consider that good marketing may be the key to keeping your business afloat. Your tenants are out there, and with careful marketing you can find them.

Rather than dream about high rents and low vacancies, focus on a plan to survive the recession. That means offering great value and making sure people are hearing about what you have to offer—in other words, keep marketing.

“If you need traffic, you shouldn’t cut your marketing budget,” says Kate Good, professional speaker, marketing solutions expert and partner on the Apartment All-Stars tour. Instead of keeping your current marketing program, look at changing it up and marketing more intelligently. Good suggests starting with the tenants already in your properties. “The least expensive strategy is to market internally and close the back door.”

So while it’s critical to study your market and know which promotions are luring tenants, it also makes sense to devote some of those perks—a couple of months free rent or a new flat-screen TV—to your existing clientele. It seems counterintuitive to give discounts to the people who are currently underwriting your revenue stream, but if you increase your retention rate you’ll be solving your vacancy problem without the turnover costs associated with moving in a new tenant.

When it comes to reaching out to prospective tenants, be selective. Figure out who is already drawn to your properties and find more of them. Good uses this example: If you notice that your community appeals to active seniors, invite the local bridge club to meet for free in your clubhouse. That way, more people in the target market will see your property, and word will spread.

“Don’t try to be all things to all people,” says Good. “Identify the kind of people who like your community, find out where they are, and figure out how to attract them. You’re saving money by reaching out to a smaller audience, but it’s the right audience.”

Even with changes to your marketing strategy, don’t do away with all of your traditional marketing.
“Print drives traffic to the Internet, so make sure you keep those ads out there,” says Good. And you have to, do it year-round. “Renters pick up the apartment guide in February or March even though they might be renting in June or July. If you pull your ad in February because you’re not getting any traffic, you’ve lost an opportunity for residual traffic later. I don’t pull back on advertising until I’m full, and most people aren’t full right now.”

Next, consider changing your pricing model. Instead of charging the same rent for every two-bedroom unit, for example, charge more for the unit at the end of the hall with more windows, or the unit with new carpet.

There are two advantages to this strategy. First, you can make more on your premium units. Second, if the least expensive units sell first, then your best units will be available for display during the peak of leasing season.

“If you’re charging a flat rate, your best units get cherry picked,” says Good. “You want to have that more desirable unit—with the higher price tag—available when you have higher traffic.”

Slashing your marketing budget isn’t the right response to the recession—changing the way you approach marketing is.

What Madonna Taught Me

2009-04-28T19:05:00.000-07:00

My Marketing Mentor: Madonna

In my consulting practice, the economic crisis of 2009 has brought about the need to change, retool and reinvent everything we do in the leasing and marketing of multifamily rental assets. What worked as little as two years ago will simply not cut the mustard today. In fact, it won’t even be close to the results those efforts created 24 months ago. My experience has taught me that this is the time to be at the top of my game so that I can rise to this challenge.

Like everyone else, I need someone I can learn from. This is why I have chosen Madonna as my marketing mentor. For me, Madonna came on to the music scene while I was in my first few years of high school. Even though we wore uniforms, we would try to put a lace band in our hair that would match our lace socks. Every girl running around Fisher Catholic High School wore not less than 6 – 10 black rubber bracelets on her arm and risk detention for a uniform violation infraction. I have to admit, I was influenced by Madonna.

As the years rolled on, Madonna sprinted into a provocative direction and defined herself with her extremely open sexuality. She stared in her movie called “Truth or Dare.” She shifted that X rated image and was nominated for her performance in musical movie Evita. Then in yet another grand process to change her ever evolving image, today, she is writing children’s books. Do you remember the last book she wrote prior to her children’s books? It was sold with a paper cover at the bookstore because of its cover! How does a woman go from pop artist to sexual icon to movie star to author of children’s books? She does it by constantly reinventing herself. She can retool her image to fit her business needs. This is a person who is a marketing genius. She has a unique ability to change her image and position in the spotlight year after year.

If we take a lesson from the marketing manual lived by Madonna. Any apartment community, no matter when it was built, can survived and thrive as Madonna has. I am excited to be working on some projects which are being rehabbed. The “before and after” photos of the apartments are astonishing. To follow suit the marketing needs to be rejuvenated often with a new name, logo and market position. However, you don’t have to redevelop your buildings to conduct a marketing rehab. And, there is no better time than now to reintroduce your apartment community to the market with a fresh look. This is what it takes to get the attention of today’s consumer.

I think Denny’s should receive an award for their effort to get America back to their dining rooms. The Tuesday following Superbowl Sunday, Denny’s offered a free Grand Slam breakfast to everyone who visited. Including the Superbowl ad to launch the campaign, Denny’s spent six million dollars on ads, food and staffing. 200,000 American’s waited in line for up to two hours for a free breakfast valued at $5.99. Not only did Denny’s receive over 100 million dollars in free advertising due to the fact that every media outlet covered the event, they also got old customers and future customers acquainted with the value they offer on a plate.

I drive past apartment communities in every city I visit and many have invested in a rejuvenation effort in years. Their signs have not changed, the landscaping is overgrown, and their exterior colors are out of date. When I open the apartment rental magazines I still see ads with the same old photos and tired words that have not been freshened since the 90’s. If Madonna was your marketing director, she would jump on this need to refresh, renew and reposition. The styles we use for new logo’s has changed. For just $180, the online designers at www.CrowdSpring.com will send you a minimum of 25 entries for new logo options. This small investment is a great start to kicking your image into the current day.

Good News For Apartments

2009-04-21T11:25:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends! Thought we could all use a little good news these days. Since CNN is covering the comment Miss California made instead of job growth in Texas and other meaningful states, I feel it is my duty to report. The numbers are not record setting but they are a positive step.

Let's keep in mind that jobs drive the apartment market. In addition, it has been my experience that when San Antonio starts to recover or experiences any trend the country will soon see the same trends. -Kate

Best Cities for Jobs
by Joel Kotkin, Forbes.com

Over the past five years, Michael Shires, associate professor in public policy at Pepperdine University, and I have been compiling a list of the best places to do business. The list, based on job growth in regions across the U.S. over the long, middle and short term, has changed over the years -- but the employment landscape has never looked like this.

In past iterations, we saw many fast-growing economies -- some adding jobs at annual rates of 3% to 5%. Meanwhile, some grew more slowly, and others actually lost jobs. This year, however, you can barely find a fast-growing economy anywhere in this vast, diverse country. In 2008, 2% growth made a city a veritable boom town, and anything approaching 1% growth is, oddly, better than merely respectable.

So this year perhaps we should call the rankings not the "best" places for jobs, but the "least worst." But the least worst economies in America today largely mirror those that topped the list last year, even if these regions have recently experienced less growth than in prior years. Our No.1-ranked big city, Austin, for example, enjoyed growth of 1% in 2008 -- less than a third of its average since 2003.

The study is based on job growth in 333 regions -- called Metropolitan Statistical Areas by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which provided the data -- across the U.S. Our analysis looked not only at job growth in the last year but also at how employment figures have changed since 1996. This is because we are wary of overemphasizing recent data and strive to give a more complete picture of the potential a region has for job-seekers. (For the complete methodology, click here.)

The Big Winner: Texas

The top of the complete ranking -- which, for ease, we have broken down into the two smaller lists, of the best big and small cities for jobs -- is dominated by one state: Texas. The Lone Star State may have lost a powerful advocate in Washington, but it's home to a remarkable eight of the top 20 cities on our list -- including No. 1-ranked Odessa, a small city in the state's northwestern region. Further, the top five large metropolitan areas for job growth -- Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Ft. Worth and Dallas -- are all in Texas' "urban triangle."

The reasons for the state's relative success are varied. A healthy energy industry is certainly one cause. Many Texas high-fliers, including Odessa, Longview, Dallas and Houston, are home to energy companies that employ hordes of people -- and usually at fairly high salaries for both blue- and white-collar workers. In some places, these spurts represent a huge reversal from the late 1990s. Take Odessa's remarkable 5.5% job growth in 2008, which followed a period of growth well under 1% from 1998 to 2002.

Of course, not all the nation's energy jobs are located in Texas, even if the state does play host to most of our major oil companies. The surge in energy prices in 2007 also boosted the performance of several other top-ranked locales such as Grand Junction, Colo., Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodoux, La., Tulsa, Okla., Lafayette, La., and Bismarck, N.D.

Looking at the energy sector's hotbeds, however, doesn't tell the whole story. Another major factor behind a city's job offerings is how severely it experienced the housing crisis. There's a "zone of sanity" across the middle of the country, including the region around Kansas City, Mo., that largely avoided the real estate bubble and the subsequent foreclosure crisis.

College Towns as Emerging Hubs

Still other factors correlating with job growth -- as evidenced by Shires' and my current and past studies -- are lower costs and taxes. For example, the area around Kennewick, Wash., is far less expensive than coastal communities in that same state, and residents and businesses there also enjoy cheap hydroelectric power. Compared with high-tech centers in California and the Northeast, such as San Jose and Boston, places like Austin offer both tax and housing-cost bargains, as do Fargo, N.D. and Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C.

College towns also did well on our list, particularly those in states that are both less expensive and outside the Great Lakes. Although universities -- and their endowments -- are feeling the recession's pinch, they continue to attract students. In fact, colleges saw a bumper crop of applicants this year, as members of the huge millennial generation, encompassing those born after 1983, reach that stage of life. More recently, college towns have emerged as incubators for new companies and as attractive places for retirees.

Specifically, the college town winners include not only well-known places like Austin and Chapel Hill, but also less-hyped places like Athens, Ga., home of the University of Georgia; College Station, Texas, where 48,000-student Texas A&M University is located; Morgantown, W.Va., site of the University of West Virginia; and Fargo, the hub of North Dakota State University.

Democratic states are glaringly absent from the top of the list. You don't get to a traditionally blue state -- in a departure from past years, Obama won North Carolina -- until you get to Olympia, Wash., and Seattle, which ranked No. 6 among the large cities.

But political changes afoot could affect the trajectory of many of our fast-growing communities -- and not always in positive ways. It's possible that the Obama administration's new energy policies, which may discourage domestic fossil fuel production, could put a considerable damper on the still-robust parts of Texas and elsewhere where coal, oil and natural gas industries are still cornerstones of economic success.

Economic and Power Shifts

By contrast, the wind- and solar-power industries seem to be, as of now, relatively small job generators, and with energy prices low, endeavors in these areas are sustainable only with massive subsidies from Washington. But still, if these sectors grow in size and profitability, other locales that have not typically been seen as energy hubs over the past few decades may benefit -- notably parts of California, although Texas and the Great Plains also seem positioned to profit from these developments.

Another critical concern for some communities is the potential for major cutbacks on big-ticket defense spending. This would be of particular interest to communities in places like Texas, Oklahoma and Georgia where new aircraft are currently assembled. Over the years, blue states like California have seen their defense industry shrivel as the once-potent Texas Congressional delegation and the two Bushes tilted toward Lone Star State contractors.

These days it's big-city mayors and big blue-state governors who are looking for financial support from Obama. Northeast boosters are convinced more money on mass transit, inter-city rail lines and scientific research will rev up their economies. Boston -- No. 16 on the list of large cities and a leading medical and scientific research center -- could be a beneficiary of the new federal spending.

The most obvious winner from the recent power shift should be Washington, D.C. The Obama-led stimulus, including the massive Treasury bailout, has transformed the town from merely the political capital into the de facto center of regular capital as well. Watch for D.C. and its environs to move up our list over the next year or two. Already the area boasts one of the few strong apartment markets among the big metropolitan areas in the country, which will only improve as job-seekers flock to the new Rome.

More Promising Places

Yet Washington is an anomaly, because most of the places that stand to benefit from this unforgiving economy are ones that are affordable and therefore friendly to business, reinforcing a key trend of the last decade. It also helps regions to have ties to core industries like energy and agriculture, a sector that has remained relatively strong and will strengthen again when global demand for food increases.

Some areas have attracted new residents readily and continue to do so, albeit at a somewhat slower pace. Over time this migration could be good news for a handful of metropolitan areas like Salt Lake City, which ranks seventh among the big cities for job growth, and Raleigh-Cary, N.C., which was No. 1 among large cities last year and No. 8 this year. Over the last few years, these places have consistently appeared at the top of our rankings and are emerging as preferred sites for cutting-edge technology and manufacturing firms.

Below these winners are a cluster of other promising places that have already managed to withstand the current downturn in decent shape and seem certain to rebound along with the overall economy. These include the largely suburban area around Kansas City, Kan., perennial high-flyer Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and Greeley, Colo. -- in part due to their ability to attract workers and businesses from bigger metropolitan centers nearby -- as well as Huntsville, Ala., which has a strong concentration of workers in the government and high-tech sectors.

In the end, most of the cities at the top of the lists -- whether they are small, medium or large -- have shown they have what it takes to survive in tough times. Less-stressed local governments will be able to construct needed infrastructure and attract new investors so that job growth can rise to the levels of past years. If better days are in the offing, these areas seem best positioned to be the next drivers of the economic expansion this nation sorely needs.

Joel Kotkin is a presidential fellow in urban futures at Chapman University. He is executive editor of newgeography.com and writes the weekly New Geographer column for Forbes.

Twitter Traffic Explodes...And Not Being Driven by the Usual Suspects!

2009-04-16T10:03:00.000-07:00

Take note of a great article! - Kate

By Sarah Radwanick

Twitter seems to be just about everywhere these days, infiltrating pop culture and challenging traditional communication channels as people answer the simple Twitter question, “What are you doing?” Many people have hopped on the Twitter bandwagon - from businesses to celebrities to professional sports players to President Obama.
Over the past several months, we at comScore have watched how quickly traffic to Twitter has exploded. Worldwide visitors to Twitter approached 10 million in February, up an impressive 700+% vs. year ago. The past two months alone have seen worldwide visitors climb more than 5 million visitors. U.S. traffic growth has been just as dramatic, with Twitter reaching 4 million visitors in February, up more than 1,000% from a year ago.

Reuters reporter Alexei Oreskovic recently authored an interesting blog post about the demographics of Twitter users. What he discovered was that 18-24 year olds, the traditional social media early adopters, are actually 12 percent less likely than average to visit Twitter (Index of 88). It is the 25-54 year old crowd that is actually driving this trend. More specifically, 45-54 year olds are 36 percent more likely than average to visit Twitter, making them the highest indexing age group, followed by 25-34 year olds, who are 30 percent more likely.

The skew towards older visitors, although perhaps initially surprising for a social media site, actually makes more sense than you might think at first. With so many businesses using Twitter, along with the first generations of Internet users “growing up” and comfortable with technology, this is a sign that the traditional early adopter model might need to be revisited. Not only teenagers and college students can be counted among the “technologically inclined,” which means that trends are much more prone to take off in older age segments than they used to. And with those age 25 and older representing a much bigger segment of the population than the under 25 crowd, it might help explain why Twitter has expanded its reach so broadly so quickly over the past few months.

Keep an eye out for the March U.S. Twitter data, which should be available later this week. An early peek at the data suggests it’s going to be another HUGE month for the increasingly popular site. Follow comScore on Twitter and be the first to find out how the site did! You can also follow comScore chairman and co-founder Gian Fulgoni on Twitter to hear his thoughts and insights on the digital media industry at large.

Marketing 101: Desperate is Not Desirable

2009-04-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

Wendy Muse with Tarragon Residential sent me a photo of a hilarious banner which reads “As Long As You are Breathing, We Will Rent You An Apartment.” Can you believe it? Whenever I show this banner in my seminars and keynote speeches, the crowd roars with laughter. Many simply think it is funny and some recognize the desperation in this marketing attempt and are laughing because they know it just won’t work.

Desperate is not sexy. Desperate is not professional. Desperate is a last ditched effort to effect change. I have made a hobby out of observing human behavior. Recently I was on vacation in Hawaii where my dear friend Janet married her middle school sweetheart. There was a group of single women vacationing together and they all seemed to be looking for a vacationship. One by one, each of the women met someone to flirt with and pulled away from the group. The women who was left was wearing the most provocative outfit that left little to the imagination. She just had the look of desperation. She may have been the coolest chick in the group but she looked like she would settle for anything. Not sexy if you get the picture. The first gal to meet someone was elegant and carried herself with amazing poise and confidence. Men found her irresistible. People are attracted to confidence, not desperation. This is true with people and product marketing.

While I support honest marketing, desperation will never work. Another banner in Dallas, TX reads “Save Kathy’s Job, Lease at Gentry’s Walk.” Kathy seems to be standing on the corner begging and it seems she would accept any applicant. Don’t lower marketing message to say our flood gates are open and it is a leasing free for all! The type of resident you really want will never fall for it. Instead you will get people who are possibly not qualified to live there because of a poor credit record. However, that risky resident knows you need them and they will take a shot thinking you will over look their past eviction because you want to increase occupancy.

I know it is tough out there. I am not just a professional speaker, I also have a healthy consulting practice that puts me in the seat of the leasing and marketing role every day. I know we are no longer order takers and advertisers. Today we have to be seasoned sales pros and marketing strategists. Desperate marketing seems to be popping up all over but it is more than likely an attempt by someone who has run out of ideas.

I'm interested to hear about the desperate marketing in your town. Even better, I love to see examples of this marketing. We have a lot of fun showing these photos in my programs but it also serves as a good example of what not to do. So, send me pictures of desperate marketing in your town. My email address is Kate@KateGood.com . The best photos will be rewarded with a special gift from me!

The Three Things Rule

2009-04-14T19:31:00.000-07:00

I was once asked by my very first property manager, Glenn Rand, to make a list of “100 great reasons to live at The Hamptons.” I will admit it now, when I got to around #54 I started to repeat. Honestly, was anyone even going to read all 100 reasons? I had better things to do with my time like eat some frozen Otis Spunkmyer cookie dough! There are many great things about your apartment community. We have all been trained to successfully demonstrate all the features and benefits. But the truth is, the customer only remembers what is important to their own personal needs. A wise leasing consultant knows that when people’s needs are met, the buying decision is made. Isn’t that what we want? Yes, people to make their buying decision while standing in our model or vacant apartment. Then we slide in the application conveniently located in the kitchen drawer or our leasing kit.

Getting to the buying decision is not so hard when you take the time to discover what the potential resident’s needs and wants are. To do this we have to ask open ended questions that get the customer talking about themselves. In their answers, listen for what might be a deal breaker and what will be a deal maker. I have found that most people have three things they need and want. If you meet these three things you are a sale maker.

Once you have heard what the customer is looking for, successfully demonstrate the apartment by using their needs and wants and link them to the features and benefits of your apartment community. By doing this you are personalizing your tour to custom deliver the information this individual customer needs to make a decision.
So what happens if they don’t lease right away? Use those three things that were most important to the customer and talk about them in your follow up notes, phone messages and emails. If you become really good at drawing out their three things and linking them to your apartments, you show the customer that apartments are not one size fits all and this apartment was made for your customer.

Quick! Get out of your OWN way!

2009-04-08T11:10:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we can be our own worst enemy. We reason our way out of things. We tell ourselves we can’t do something. We hold back from something we want because of fear. We have denied things we want saying to ourselves that we don’t deserve them. The list can go on and on and tomorrow we will add more self sabotaging behavior. I know because I often do this myself and I see this happening the in the lives of people closest to me.

Today, I want to encourage you to think about this and look at your actions and see if you are getting in your own way of having what you really want. When you actually see yourself doing this, it starts to feel a little silly and maybe you will reconsider.

I recognize that I have a tendency to want things to be perfect and set myself up for failure with such high expectations. People will disappoint me, I won’t be able to control everything in my life and there will be many times that I have to understand that while it may not be exactly the way I want it I really like what I experience.

The very best thing for us can often be standing right in front of us. It was always there, we just failed to recognize it really is what we want and what is best for us. Hold back no longer. Remove fear, insecurity, limitations and rules. Grab what you want and hold on. You deserve it. It is in your path for a reason so take it without expecting something more and take joy in what the universe has given to you. These are often the best opportunities. Fill each day with life and heart. There is no pleasure in the world comparable to the delight of being happy with what you have and knowing it is good enough for you.

When see self sabotaging behavior and thoughts, you have an opportunity to make a positive change for yourself. A good life is not lived by chance, but by choice. Choose to take bold steps in the direction of your dreams and don’t let anything or anyone hold you back. Don’t worry about what people will say! I have come to the realization that people don’t talk about me or think about me half as much as I think they are. They have lives too! The people closest to you want to see you succeed, not conform. They want you to be happy and will support your choices. Be not afraid to be the person you want to be. Ask yourself “if the life I’m living is the life that wants to live in me?”

Taking chances can be exhilarating. Step forward even if the opportunity is not perfect and make it what you want it to be. Nothing great in life was ever achieved without hard work. I admire the relationship of President and Mrs. Obama. Each one has been quoted to say that it does not come naturally and they make a concerted effort, everyday, to serve each other. They are not always perfect but they are better than most because each one try’s without reservation.

Geena Davis once said “If you risk nothing, then you risk everything.” Be brave and don’t let fear of rejection or failure be a reason why you never try. You must be fearful about what you are doing or it may not be the right thing for you. Fear is not bad when you are seeking something you love and want. Playing it safe will never deliver what gives you amazing joy and satisfaction. In fact without fear we might become complacent and lazy.

People always tell me that they could not do what I do as a professional speaker because they are afraid to be on stage. Guess what? Me too! Each time I turn on the microphone I have fear yet I also have the time of my life. I know this is truly where I am meant to be. How can fear and self satisfaction and joy all come from one experience? I often wonder if this is really the key to a well fulfilled life. I have learned that when I do not have fear, I am not ready to turn on the microphone. Turn that fear into positive energy to ignite the behavior necessary to succeed in any relationship, job, competition or opportunity.

When you look fear in the face and overcome it amazing things can happen for you. The most exciting experiences of your life will be your most recent memory that you will come to respect as the best that life has to offer you.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you did not do. So jump on your ship and throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the wind in your sails and don’t accept life as merely having what you can live with. Grab a hold of the things you can’t live without and embrace them. Enjoy the adventure and send me a postcard.

Deliver a Little Sugar

2009-03-30T10:10:00.000-07:00

I know many of my rants, and very few of my raves, are about a travel experience. As a professional speaker and a marketing solutions consultant, I have to get on an airplane to meet my customers and audience. Let’s be real here, it is how I make a living. And so, I have weekly contact with a few airlines, hotels and rental car companies.

To quote from the safety demonstration which I have heard thousands of times, “the flight attendant is primarily on board for our safety.” I understand that the FAA has rules and regulations designed to keep passengers safe. What the FAA seems to not have is the ability to determine how those rules are delivered. Today for example, a USAirways flight attendant told me I could not keep my laptop in a seat back pocket. She barked the order at me and said it with such shame that my two seat mates even commented about her rudeness. I get it. A laptop could fly out of the seatback and hurt me or another passenger “in the unlikely event of a water landing.”

The FAA mandates that the flight attendant be on the lookout for all misplaced laptops prior to zooming down the runway. The FAA does not say to deliver those words with a little sugar and I think this is why people start to feel a little air rage from time to time. It would be better to say something like this: “excuse me miss, I know you want to get a little work done on the flight but the FAA requires laptops to be under the seat in front of you for takeoff and landing, would you mind moving it until we have reached 10,000 feet?” Sugar makes everything sweeter and more likeable.

Other people really want to like you and respect what you say. A good strategy to earn respect is to not only learn what to say but to develop the instinct to deliver those words in a kind and empathetic manor. In the south, people like sugar in their tea. In the north, people like sugar in their coffee. And, in California no one seems to touch sugar. But no matter where I go, everyone likes when sugar coats things we don’t want to hear.

Lease Like A Doctor

2009-03-26T10:03:00.000-07:00

I’m always on the lookout for great sales and marketing ideas and tools. I never thought I would find it while sitting in a doctor’s office last week. The visit went like this…determine my name and why I am there, wait in the waiting room to be called into an exam room. Ok, that is not the part we need to learn from, it took 27 minutes to see the doctor! What happened next is what we need to learn. The doctor entered the exam room, shook my hand, asked me questions, asked other questions that were built on my responses, diagnosed my problem and prescribed me a remedy. Let’s review; exam, diagnosis, prescription. It seems like leasing should work this way too. Examine what your customer’s particular needs and wants are, diagnose which of your apartment options will meet their needs and then prescribe an available apartment.

The sad reality is that many leasing consultants don’t follow this method. When a customer walks in the door they ask if they want a one, two or three bedroom and based on the response shove a floor plan in their face and start to describe it. This was done without examining the customers’ needs. If a doctor prescribed a drug without an exam then they would be accused of committing malpractice! I believe shoving a floor plan into someone’s face without following the process of examine and diagnosis is committing leasing malpractice.

Leasing apartments works so much better (and easier for that matter) when we take the time to ask questions of our perspective renter and determine their needs and wants. Then we take them to a model home and use their needs and wants to demonstrate why the apartment is perfect for them. Based on their response we have diagnosed what will and won’t work for them. Now it is time to look at our available homes for their time frame and make a selection for the guest to approve. Even if you only have a few options for your customer, take time to discover needs as they turn into your closing tool.

Better "Connections" For Your Residents

2009-03-26T09:45:00.000-07:00

I have to admit it, I am obsessed with increasing my connections on Linkedin.com. I love that social networking site for professionals. I have connected with some colleagues I have not talked to since my days at Trammell Crow and Gables. This is a great networking tool. Look me up and let’s connect!

I was consulting at an apartment community and we dreamed up an idea that if we created a networking group for our apartment community and the use our database of resident emails, we could create a powerful network for our neighborhood behind our controlled access gates! We sent out an invitation to 280 residents and we had over 75 respond in the first week. The Linkedin invitation is now part of our move in process and helps to introduce our new resident to some of their neighbors. I have even heard feedback that our residents have been using the network to flip business to neighbors who might be in a related field and have a product or service they need. Super idea in this challenging business climate. Smart retention tool and it is free!

“We have less money, but we’re no less impatient.”

2009-03-25T08:45:00.000-07:00

The title of this blog is a quote from Mike Snider, a writer at USA Today. He was referring to the service that has kept NetFlix’s profits positive; their ability to provide near instant delivery of films streamed to subscribers’ TV sets via Xbox 360 game systems, some Bluray Disc players, Net-enabled TV sets and set top boxes. A smart move for a company who service has always relied on the use of a physical mailbox. NetFlix is quickly updating their business model to incorporate the preferred method of receiving something you buy. We now want it instantly. Even things sent priority overnight from Federal Express might take too long for many of us. Makes me wonder what FedEx might do to work within this trend.

So many of us are trying to find the balance between what the market will allow us to charge for our apartments and our operating costs. Many companies are looking for the best things to re-engineer during these challenging times. My suggestion to you is to think about what is still very important to your residents…time. Many people would give anything to have more time in their day. Only 16% of your residents actually use the pool but 100% of your residents benefit from good service. They see value in things that make their lives easier such as organizing help during holidays, personal items such as dry cleaning delivered to their home, babysitting at night so they can run errands, walking packages to their home and a commuter breakfast one morning when they are rushing off to work.

We are in a “want it now, need it now” type of society. This is because the world caters to the “Age of the Never Satisfied Customer.” Be memorable and personal with services so that you create meaning in residents’ lives by respecting their time. This could mean returning an email to a resident quickly or completing a service request within 2 hours of their call rather than the standard 24 hours. Everything is possible when you give your team the tools and the time to give instant service to a rent paying customer. You are the creator of value.

This One Is Personal

2009-03-23T21:02:00.000-07:00

In the past two days I have been contacted by people I never thought I would ever hear from again. How did they find me? Through the outreaching arms of Facebook. The first person is Anne Marie. She and I were best buddies after meeting for the first time when we were six. By the time we were moving on to the scary big building where our middle school was located Anne Marie and her family were forced to move to California. I was devastated. She was my very best friend in a class of just 14 children. Moving on to a class of 54 without her terrified me. We talked on the phone once or twice and wrote a few letters. And then, she disappeared until this weekend when I read a message she sent me through Facebook. She was not sure if she found the right person, I guess I might look a little different! I got a lump in my throat just thinking about my childhood friend. A few years ago she tried to find me by sending a letter to my parents address. It came at a very busy time and I failed to respond and I regret that. Facebook has given me another chance to connect with her!

The second person to find me is another person from school but she was a few years behind me. My memories of her have faded but I do remember her name, Hallie. Another Facebook connection! Hallie wrote me a lovely note saying that she always looked up to me, was sorry to hear about the passing of my Father and complimented my Mother who seems to have flowed from the fountain of youth. What a nice note! It made me think about school and that fact that someone looked up to me and thought I was "popular." This shocked me as I was never really happy in high school. Other kids put stinky trash in my locker, spread rumors about me that were not true and the hardest of all, planned a party the very same night my parents allowed me to have a birthday party. No one came to my party.

Hallie did not ever see my sadness or hurt. Instead she saw a upper classmen that was just trying to get through it all and hope that one day everything would be different.

What do Hallie and Anne Marie have in common? When Anne Marie left our little town, I had to learn to make new friends. When High School got tough, I had to employ those same skills once again. Today, I am happy and feel I have found success. My friends are amazing and my path in life is exciting. Why? Because since sixth grade I have been following the same strategy. It has helped me develop lifelong relationships, succeed in sports, earn opportunities that I dreamed about and crawl my way to the top of my field. Here is my personal strategy:

1. Mindset: Whatever is in my mind tends to become my reality. It is so important, especially in today's economy, to check in with myself on a daily basis. If my thoughts drive my actions then I must clear out the negative, self sabotaging things running through my head and replace them with visions of what I want for myself. I have chosen to break away from negative people in my life as I don't want to be brought down by a negative contagion.

2. Persistence: It would be easy to walk away from something that is just simply too hard, but then I might end up regretting the missed opportunity. The very best things in life are not easy. Our children, our spouses, our work. But when we work hard to make these opportunities successful, we do it because we are persistent in our focus and desire to make our life what we want it to be. I find that the more persistent I am the greater the reward.

3. Personal Development: I can never stop learning. Today, things are moving and changing quicker than a animal rushing across the street to avoid a speeding car. I used to think of my brain as a sponge that was trying to soak everything up. Now I need that sponge to be the "Bounty Quicker Picker Upper." Our ability to learn and react to changing times quicker than our competition is a powerful means of survival.

4. Passion: I find the things I am best at are the things I am passionate about. I dig in because I care. The same action works with people. When I have a passion for someone, I work hard to make that relationship successful. I never give up and I give them my best. I don't let my failures defeat me. Instead I use them as educational opportunities and try not to fail in the same way again.

5. Persuasion: Enthusiasm sways the wills of others into harmony with your own will. I find that when I get excited about something, others take an interest. As a professional speaker I have this opportunity each day I take the stage. I don't always feel what I am speaking about is earth shattering! But I know that my enthusiasm for the topic persuades others to listen and possibly do something different as a result of our time together.

Did you notice that 4 of the 5 items in my strategy start with the letter P? That is because when you Put the P's together, you can create something Pretty Powerful....an amazing life. For me, it is a well lived life in progress.

Free Conference Admission for Laid Off Executives

2009-03-17T12:55:00.001-07:00

Check this out....I think this is a great gesture for our industry! - Kate

Free Admission to AIM Conference for 10 Laid Off Executives – CallSource Sponsors Executive Education Giveaway

Career counseling also available onsite to winners.

DENVER, CO – To meet the career training needs of the industry, ten recently laid-off multifamily executive-level professionals will win free admission to the 2009 Apartment Internet Marketing (AIM) Conference. Executives and managers who were formerly employed by a multifamily investment or management firm and recently laid off may now apply now at: http://aimconf.com/career. The application period for the “Career Transitions” giveaway closes on April 3, 2009.

The winners will be selected randomly to receive free admission to this year’s AIM Conference, regularly $595 per person. CallSource, a leading provider of call-tracking technologies and advisory services, is sponsoring the AIM Career Transitions giveaway. The 2009 AIM Conference will be held in Denver, CO from April 29 – May 1, 2009 at the Denver Marriott City Center.

Career counseling services will be available to the giveaway winners. Shirley Levey from Liberty Executive Search will be available to provide one-on-one executive career counseling to the winners.

To apply or to recommend someone to the giveaway, please visit http://aimconf.com/career.

The complete AIM 2009 Conference agenda is now available online. To register please visit: http://aimconf.com/register.

CONTACT:
Conor Lee
Producer, AIM Conference
Joshua Tree Internet Media, LLC
415.412.3761 cell
conor@jtimedia.com

Targeted Marketing Boosts Leasing

2009-03-16T22:57:00.000-07:00

Multi Housing News called a few weeks ago for my comments on the current state of marketing. The article was published in the most recent copy of their magazine. I am pleased to see I am in good company with comments and expertise shared by Lori Snider of Creativity For Rent and Steve Lefkovitz with Joshua Tree Internet Media.

Enjoy the read: http://tinyurl.com/cnv5r8

Falling Stars - Can they shine again?

2009-03-12T15:05:00.000-07:00

Twinkle, twinkle super star how I wish there were more people as good as you are!

No matter what your market conditions, the common concern among property management professionals is that you really never know what you are going to get when you hire someone. Sure there is some credible testing out there, but even super stars can become falling stars. Roll up your sleeves. This is the tough part of the job. You are not alone when it comes to the uncomfortable task of addressing performance problems.

Even in the very best organizations, almost every manager will have to deal with at least one problem employee - uncooperative, emotionally unstable, chronically late, "just getting by" performance, etc. I hope falling stars represent only a small percent of your team. Yet just one falling star on your team can mean a great deal of your attention and time. Who suffers? Well for starters, the super stars. They need your attention to nurture their motivation. You will also suffer because you are not spending time on pressing issues. Eventually you will not be satisfied with the job you are doing, that is if you too are a superstar.

Sometimes when a team member consistently under performs, the manager assumes that he or she has failed as a coach and superstars hate to fail. Try this thought on for size - a good coach helps employees get to where they need to be by creating an environment for which their true talents and skills can shine. But ultimately, it's each employee's responsibility to decide whether to be a super star, a middle star, or a falling star. Truth is, you can influence that decision but you can't control it.

Falling stars can have a detrimental impact on your entire team. If you allow them to "skate by," you reinforce their commonly held belief that "the less I do, the less I'll be asked to do." And, since your team's work does not decrease, your top performers will be challenged with more work in order to pick up the slack. Not a good strategy! Coaching the falling stars - helping them improve, or replacing them with more productive people - represents the area with the greatest opportunity for enhancing the overall performance of your work group. But, most managers are not comfortable addressing employee performance problems. That's easily understood.

Performance issues are stressful, and many of us don't have the training and experience we need to deal with them. As stated earlier, because you're a top performer, you've probably had little experience with this type of coaching. Nevertheless, there still will be problems staring you square in the face.

Allow me to address the challenges you may be facing with the newest generation to enter our workforce, Generation Y. These fresh young faces have a whole different outlook on their work. Generation Y is often viewed as idealistic, with a high level of social consciousness. They’re frequently anti-establishment and are concerned about stress on the job. They are generally outspoken and make up the largest pool of young people in the job market today and tomorrow with a staggering 78 million in this generation! For them, promises of monetary rewards and overtime pay may not interest them as much as time off to attend a party, concert or just hang out with their friends.

Keep these facts in mind when coaching your Gen Y employee. They love to learn and be part of your team but will feel like an outsider if they are not encouraged to speak up and often. For them, the job is a means to great balance in their lives. Having an advanced level of tolerance for this need will create a better relationship. This generation yearns to be past of a company that is focused on building it together and having a higher purpose. They respond best to participative management and will value flex time. They want to work but don’t want work to be their life. If you have established a positive work climate, you have a decision to make with each problem. You can close your eyes, live with the situation, and accept the negative impact of your falling stars' lower performance. Or, you can conduct a performance improvement session in which the employee will either commit to your standards - or choose to ignore the problem and face the logical consequences. Of course, opting for the performance improvement session is your best decision. Take that path, and the rest of the decisions will be the employee's. And if the person chooses not to change, let him or her quit and seek employment elsewhere. Or, follow your corporate guidelines for formal discipline and possible discharge. Your entire team will benefit from the change.

Dining Rooms are So 5 Years Ago

2009-02-25T09:33:00.001-08:00

Have you ever noticed that our residents don’t eat dinner in the dining room any more? How do we know that? Because when they move out all the food stains are right in front of the couch and the dining room carpet still looks fresh. So what are they doing in their dining rooms? Among other possibilities, it now seems to me the location of their home office. It is where they put their computers, mail pile, packages to open, bills to sort and file and pictures to organize. So why do we still call it the dining room? It should now be referred to as flexible space.

This simple change in terms will allow your Leasing Professionals to head off an objection before they are ever voices because the flexible space can serve as a solution to some specials space the customer may need in their new apartment home. It is time the marketing teams get on board with this new customer behavior and make the floor plans in the brochures and ads offer flexible space instead of a dining room.

Authentic Communcation

2009-02-18T19:58:00.001-08:00

Last week while presenting "Successful Selling in a Slump" with Lori Snider, we discussed the fear that exists in the American consumer today. There are great deals all around us but we are worried to spend money and so we let a 70% off shoe sale pass us by (that was even hard to type). These are the very same people who are walking into our leasing centers. I am seeing some crazy concessions out there (4 months free!) and yet people are still reluctant to lease.

Why is it that even when you are "giving it away" people are still hesitant to buy? I think this comes down to being authentic. It is very important to remove the fear that a future resident may be feeling. Now more than ever we want to believe what we see and hear but fear makes us think twice. It can be paralyzing in any type of relationship (I have some personal experience here!). When people stop being authentic, we sense this and get worried. Next thing we know our ability to trust diminishes.

The benefits of Authentic Communication are many. When used by sales people, it shines forth the authenticity, which is the backbone of building relationships with customers. When used in therapy, the subtle energies expressed reveal whether or not clients are speaking their truth. And in every interaction, what is said earns respect and radiates confidence.

A few things you can do to show that you are authentic and seek to remove fear in your customers:

1. People will not believe what you say, they will believe what you do. This is a rule I have in my dating life. Men will often say the right thing and do something completely the opposite. It is at that point that fear steps in and we not longer trust. Customers will walk away from a situation like this. For me personally, I think I will too.

2. Our bullshit meters are at an all time high! Yes, you were born with one and through your adult life you have been improving the reception of your meter. Our voices and vibration change when we say something that will register in the bullshit rector scale. I am a single women in her 30's, my meter is is tip top shape. Sure I may not let on to someone that my meter just spiked, but I know in my heart and head and I act accordingly. My advice, don't say things that you cannot back up. Keep it real at all times.

3. If you say you are going to call, do it without fail.

4. Let the other person know you have their best interest at heart. This is not hard to do when you put others needs in front of your needs.

5. I believe in full disclosure. It is always best to tell people things, even if it is not always what they want to hear. Many times we change our delivery because we incorrectly expect a negative outcome. For me, I react much better when I have complete information from the source rather than hearsay from an outsider.

6. Feel that what is being said comes from your “heart” — when it comes from the
heart, it feels sincere and reflects your total being. If it comes solely from the intellect, it could be cold and without compassion.

In summary, Authentic Communication means balance with our mind, intellect, and heart. It is intuitively driven, resonates authenticity, and provides opportunity for
wisdom to shine forth. Both speaker and listener can apply these skills, and in so doing, they can create their own personal human trinity. Once accomplished, the relationship becomes its own entity and thus forms a Relational Human Trinity. As each of us experiences speaking accurately, we find that it also applies to listening. Relationships based on Authentic Communication serve to build higher components of self-mastery.

Phone numbers are worthless....

2009-02-17T00:28:00.000-08:00

…..on a sign. When the customer is driving past your apartment community I doubt they are jotting down the phone number. Yet, I still see phone numbers on banners and temporary signs. A better use of that advertising space is to put something .com. When people see .com they know there is a Web site they can visit for more information. And, let’s face it, words are easier to remember without writing them down when compared to a 10 digit number.

Maybe you will take this one step further and put an interesting .com on your sign such as the campaign we did for Lincoln Property Company with the launch of the Web site LCTTVForMe.com. This site is no longer live but when they were doing a huge marketing promotion and giving away LCD TV’s as a move in gift the site was swarmed with interested renters. .Com can be powerful and memorable on your sign and well worth the ad space.

Valentine Thought: 12% of all marriages are a result of an online introduction.

2009-02-11T21:11:00.000-08:00

It happened again at lunch today....another online dating success story and a pretty new diamond on the left hand to prove it. Yes, two more people have found love through online dating. I also have a friend who met a wonderful man online and they had their first date on Valentin's Day. Wow, these online dating sites kick out results! And I thought I had to move to Phoenix to date a man! Little did I know people are finding their perfect match by clicking away.

Let’s think about this trend. I feel this means that, more than ever, people are trusting the Internet to be the hub of their social expansion. This is good news and means that Internet Listing Services (which act like Match.com but for apartments) will continue to gain popularity. The renter will see that the site can be trusted to help them with their relocation to a new apartment home.

A friend of mine recently told me that as soon as she knew she was getting divorced she hopped on to a dating site and got back in the game! (Results: After 34 coffee dates, she found Mr. Wonderful. They are getting married this weekend in Costa Rica!)
So, it must be true that if an Internet Listing Service helped the customer find their current apartment, they will return to that site when it is time to search for another apartment. For this reason, it would be wise to study not only what sites generate traffic but take it a step further and invest in the listing services that generate leases.

What makes an effective Internet listing? First off, would you consider meeting someone for a coffee date if you did not have a photo to view on the matching Web site? My guess is your answer is no. Same is true for apartment shoppers, they want to see photos. You can have unlimited photos so snap away and get them posted to the Web page.

Next, it is important to get the highest search ranking you can. Figure out which site is currently bringing in the most traffic and leases and maximize your presence by upgrading to their premium package. Make that site work even harder for you have already figured out it is money well spent.

And finally, follow up on every lead within an hour….yes, an hour. In fact, that is almost too late. In the world of texting and instant messaging, people expect a response now. They may forget about you in an hour and move on to the next profile, I mean apartment community.

Hand written cards are a new trend?

2009-02-09T21:05:00.000-08:00

Yes. Because no one is taking pen to paper anymore.

Last week I was traveling for 7 straight days. There are many things that are neglected when I am away such as getting my mail. But then again, what really arrives in your snail mail box anyway? My bills are all electronic, I shop online and my friends email me to keep in touch. In fact, I expressed last year in a speech that there was really no need for mail to be delivered 6 days a week.

I landed home in Phoneix for less than 24 hours before I had to turn around to head to Denver for a program with the AAMD called "Successful Selling Inspite of the Slump." As I was rushing out the door and jumping into the cab, it occurred to me that I should empty my snail mailbox. I stuffed a huge pile into my breifcase to read on the plane. Mostly, it was junk. However, it is such a sweet surprise to receive a handwritten card from a retailer, who sells my favorite shoe line, inviting me for a special event.

It seems now that this type of promotion is glanced over when it arrives in our email box. So today, it is unique to see a special invitation that arrives in the form of a handwritten card.

If you want to make an impact with your customers, try the new trend and send them a old fashion card. The team at KateGood.com have found a great way to help you get your cards out. You can have then handwritten for you and this service will even put a stamp on the envelope. We have even set up a system where you can drop in a Starbucks card for a coffee treat. All can be created and ordered online. So simple, so effective.

Check out this link: http://www.leasingthegoodway.com/katecards.html

Can you really close on the first visit?

2009-02-04T09:00:00.000-08:00

8 years ago I was studying consumer buying habits in the apartment industry and I found that it was an average of 3 visits to the community for the customer to make their decision to rent. I am happy to say that number is decreasing and in the case of our Generation Y renters, we are seeing that they will even lease on the first visit.

Why the change? Now we are smarter about what we make available to our potential renters online. They no longer have to revisit a property to select and apartment and drop off an application, all can be done with the convenience of online leasing tools. In addition, I have found that Generation Y is so comfortable doing their research online they will do most of their shopping via mouse and just visit the property to make sure the photos of the community they are choosing are real and up to date! Once again, Internet marketing is making the life of a Leasing Professional so much easier!

Are we having fun yet?

2009-02-02T21:12:00.000-08:00

At the AIM Conference in April of 2008 I attended the keynote speech delivered by Bob Parsons who leads the quirky team at GoDaddy.com. He closed his interesting, and at times alarming speech, with a quote from his younger brother (forgive me, he did not mention his brother's actual name). “We are not here for a long time, we are here for a good time.”

Many of us can find the fun in our personal lives, but what about our professional lives?

In the past year, my speaking schedule featured presentations at a number of company retreats. In fact, I checked my past calendars to discover that in the first 5 months of 2008 I spoke at more company retreats than I did in any other year since I began speaking 10 years ago! I have joined companies for beach get a ways, rock star parties, award events, mountain retreats, island fun and even a Mexican corporate vacation.

Sandwiched between the reports of job losses and foreclosures on the the morning news, there was a story about a study that was done on cows. The researchers discovered that cows that were verbally greeted each morning, stroked on their faces, and spoken to over and over again in a very positive tone, produced more milk than cows that were not spoken to or touched. Do you think this is true for humans? I do. The only problem is that in the work place, if you stroke a team member you will probably be sued! So give them the well deserved pat on the back instead and use your positive tone when speaking to your team. During this time, you should see people enjoying the fun and getting more work done.

While speaking at company retreats, I’ve seen smiles on faces and more company loyalty that seems to have been missing over the past few years. Bravo property management companies! Managing an apartment community is hard work in this economy and often a thankless job. Your team members feel a lot better about the job they are doing when rewarded with something fun to look forward to. It may seem like an easy event to cut out of your budget, but it could end up costing you too much. Let’s keep this positive fun trend going, and if you need a speaker for your retreat, call me at (480)888-5028! I promise to add to the fun with my humor and enthusiasm. And, we will get leasing rolling again in a slow economy.

Free Bentley? Are Concessions Out of Control?

2009-01-28T16:27:00.000-08:00

So many properties are offering concessions to attract new customers and close more leases. If you ever look at your financials and are down and out over the money that you are concessing, this article will make you feel better.

Our step sisters and brothers on the for sale side of real estate have it pretty tough these days. To move a few houses in Paradise Valley, AZ, the builder is throwing in a Bentley or 50 hours on NetJets. Kind of makes "one month free" or "free 42" plasma tv" look like a prize in a Cracker Jack box! However, the builder knows what this unique offer can do to sell these houses...it gets people talking. After all, if you are buying a five million dollar home then you can certainly buy a Bentley (order mine too, I would like a silver convertible!).

This unique offer got the attention of Associated press and therefore picked up by the Columbus Dispatch which is delivered to the door of my Mother (thanks Mom) who lives in Lancaster, Ohio, and passed on to her daughter (me) who lives 4 miles from Paradise Valley. That makes this free Bentley offer one powerful marketing tool! Let's learn this lesson and create concessions, if needed, that are unique and memorable and meet the conditions of the market and target customer.

Builder gets creative with incentives to buy
Sunday, January 25, 2009 3:35 AM
By Alex Veiga

Associated press

Five Star Development will throw in a new Bentley or other incentives to anyone willing to buy this $4 million home. If you build it, they will come. If you want them to buy it, throw in a free $200,000 Bentley. At least that's what an Arizona homebuilder is hoping as it tries to unload a pair of multimillion-dollar custom homes that have been languishing on the market for about a year.

The homes are in Paradise Valley, a wealthy Phoenix suburb that's part-time home to heavy-metal pioneer Alice Cooper. Each home is selling for about $1 million less than the original price, according to Five Star Development Group.

One property, dubbed the Old-World European Villa, measures more than 7,800 square feet and is priced at almost $5 million. The second one, the Tuscan Estate, has five bedrooms, 5 1/2 baths and measures around 7,500 square feet. It's listed at about $4 million.

To sweeten the deal, Five Star said it is offering buyers for each of the homes a 2009 Bentley Continental GT valued at around $200,000.

For buyers who don't want the Bentley, Five Star is offering either a 50-hour card good for rides on a NetJets aircraft or an annual one-month vacation stay at a New Port Beach Marriott hotel for life.

Should a buyer prefer to knock off $200,000 from the price of the homes, that's another option.

The glitzy incentives definitely raise the stakes in the industry. For more than a year, homebuilders have been slashing prices and offering all sorts of incentives, including upgrades on interior finishes such as countertops or flooring, as well as flat-screen televisions and cars. Last summer, one San Diego developer offered a two-for-one deal on homes.

One might expect that for a wealthy buyer, who likely could afford a Bentley on their own, the incentive on its face might not be a significant lure.

But Five Star says its offer is more about generating buzz and getting the rich folks out to open houses.

"The people that we're speaking about can go buy anything they want; it isn't really about that," spokesman Brendan Mann said. "We just want people to tune into us."

Before you say hello, you must learn to say goodbye.

2009-01-20T10:56:00.001-08:00

I once had a boyfriend was obsessed with Internet checkers. If I happened to call him in the evening and he was relaxing at home, he was usually on his computer playing checkers. How did I know? I could hear the click of the mouse in addition to being distracted from our conversation and it did not make me feel good. The caller can tell when you are not listening and this is something that may make them feel less important. Our customers (and your girlfriend for that matter) should never feel like they do not have your attention.

The resident or future resident should feel like you are interested in what they have to say and their business is important to us. Pull away from distractions and make this important caller the center of your attention. It might be the needed behavior for setting an appointment with a future resident, letting an existing resident know we appreciate their business or for your girlfriend know she is important to you.

I'm a Blue Blood

2009-01-19T11:13:00.001-08:00

In December I was visiting with my client, Heather Slack who is a Vice President with Alliance Residential. We discussed common sales and management themes we shared and quickly acknowledged that so much of what we know and practice today came from the early years in our career working with Trammell Crow Residential. I will call this “back in the day.”

On my first day with this company, I was told that Trammell Crow was awarded the second best company in the nation to work for by Forbes Magazine. This was part of the impressive story we were instructed to tell every prospective resident. Our sales process was hammered into our heads that we should tell the Trammell Crow Story, discuss the 30 day move in guarantee and explain the 24 hour maintenance promise. But working for Trammell Crow was more than just a story.

I believe in traditions and in a time of change I like to see companies honoring their traditions. Some of the traditions at Trammell Crow would be that we would never step over a piece of trash, wear our uniform with pride, do right by those that do right, look forward to promotion from within, attract exceptional people, have the best benefits program in the industry (people would retire without ever missing a paycheck), and proudly wear your tenure pin.

There was a time when this was the largest and most prestigious company to work for. I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that in the 80’s we were building so many apartment communities and if you worked onsite, you wanted to work at the newest and nicest community. There was a strong company spirit rooted in the honor and tradition of working for this company.

As I grew in my career, I climbed to a position that created the opportunity to meet Trammell Crow at his home in Dallas. My president, Bruce Webster, arranged it so that I would get my tenure pin from Mr. Crow himself. To this day, I feel so lucky to cherish this photo as a milestone in my career. When the partners started to “cash out” by taking their divisions public, I was in the Chicago office and saw my division split between Gables and Avalon. While each of these companies seemed to be destined for exciting times, I was very sad to leave Trammell Crow.

Today I write in my blog with fond reflection of a time gone by, when there was a huge sense of pride and enthusiasm to be the most professional company in the industry. I wore my name tag and tenure pin with an attitude of excellence and carried my business card with responsibility to carry on the traditions. For this reason, Heather and I both agreed that our blood was Trammell Crow blue. I am sad to say that Mr. Crow died last week. Today, I see remnants of the company I once knew and hope to see the allegiance appear once again for another brand as strong as back in the day.

"Magazine Ads Increase Web Traffic by More Than 40%"

2009-01-15T21:40:00.001-08:00

Hello to my blog readers! This is a great article from ForRent.com and I don't just think that because they quoted me....the information will help you rent more apartments. Learn and live, Kate

January 15, 2009 In today’s economy it is more important than ever to effectively build your company’s brand offline and online. Magazine Publishers of America (MPA), an industry association for consumer magazines, released third-party research which offers marketers insights on purchase funnel dynamics and consumer online behavior that can have profound ramifications for advertisers looking to maximize their ROI. One of the most important things the study found is that media synergy is important and that the more media you have the better results you will achieve. When examining media, magazine ads are the most effective medium when it comes to purchase intent.

Key Findings from Research:

Magazine ads are # 1 in driving brand favorability: Magazines have 2X the impact of TV and 4X the impact of online

Magazine ads are # 1 in driving word of mouth: Among the general population and influentials, magazines are the strongest influence on personal recommendations

Seeing a magazine ad increased web traffic by more than 40%: Including a URL address such as the ForRent.com Vanity URL in magazine ads significantly increased web visits

Including a URL address increases web visits: When the URL was included in the magazine advertising creative, the percent change in visits tripled from two to six points

People were 2X as likely to visit a website after seeing a magazine ad: Magazine ads have a major impact on building web traffic at each stage of the purchase funnel

Magazine ads are # 1 in driving web search among 18-44 year olds: Magazines promoted web searches more than any other medium

Magazine ads are the #1 offline medium for driving consumers to social networks: Magazine readers are more than twice as likely to be social networkers compared to TV viewers and two-thirds again more likely than newspaper readers

Download the full report here

In a recent blog entry, Kate Good, a nationally recognized apartment marketing expert, states “Print drives traffic to the Internet. I have heard some chatter concerning dropping print ads to save money and “going to all Internet.” This has been tested before and it failed. Eventually you will see that the loss of residual marketing that print provides will adversely effect your phone and walk in traffic.”

For Rent Media Solutions continues to prove “The Power of Print and Internet” is delivering favorable results. In 2008, For Rent Media Solutions launched nine additional publications, including four After 55TM Housing and Resource Guide magazines, three ForRent.comTM-The Magazine publications, one For Rent Magazine®, and one Apartamentos Para Rentar®. ForRent.com-The Magazine instantly affirmed the powerful combination of print and Internet by increasing LEADSTM in a variety of previous “Internet only” markets by 313%.1

Source: Magazine Publishers of America (MPA) http://www.magazine.org/ 1ForRent.com internal sources

The Return of the Interview Suit, NYTimes.com

2009-01-14T07:11:00.001-08:00

My last blog was about making certain your company retains top talent. Many of you are the top talent (because you are smart and read these blogs). I want to make sure your company tells you how important you really are. For those of you who are not feeling the love, you may be contemplating a change. Others may have found themselves the victim of the industry slow down. Break out the resume and the interview suit. This article, found in the New York Times, should get you motivated.

One note on interviewing....I once "got the job" because when I walked in the President's office, I picked up a ball of paper on the floor that looked like trash. I was hired because a "Trammell Crow Employee Never Steps Over a Piece of Trash." While you are in that snappy interview suit, look out of performance indicators such as the old piece of trash on the floor. -Kate

By ERIC WILSON
Published: November 12, 2008

This is possibly a bad moment to bring up a 1959 film called “The Best of Everything.” But, oh, was that a glorious period for the interview suit. It’s hard to imagine rejecting Hope Lange for a job when she walked into 375 Park Avenue, and the breeze caught her cuffed navy jacket, revealing a flash of its polka-dot lining and a smart blouse that matched her cream hat.

“Working Girl,” in 1988, reflected another moment for the interview suit, appropriately enough during the pinnacle of the broad-shouldered, brightly colored power suit, when Elie Tahari and Jones New York were staples of a career woman’s wardrobe.

It was so much simpler then.

For a generation of young people who were recruited to technology, financial and news media fields right out of college, and who may now be competing to hold onto the jobs they have or to find any that might be available, figuring out what exactly is the modern day “interview suit” is not so easy to do without looking like Melanie Griffith. Walking downtown the other day, the designer Nicole Miller noticed an attractive young woman who was headed toward Wall Street. The woman was wearing a gray pantsuit, which caught the designer’s eye because, for much of the last decade, corporate fashion has pulled so far away from the polished, two-piece look that the outfit, while professional, seemed dated.

“I hadn’t seen anybody in a pantsuit for so long that I thought it looked wrong,” Ms. Miller said.

But with the unemployment rate in America at a 14-year high and more than half a million jobs lost in the last three months alone, there has been a detectable shift in the way people are dressing for work. In the financial sector, certainly, the tone has become more serious, and as a predictable result, somber suits are making a comeback. Companies like Men’s Wearhouse and Tahari are reporting an upswing in suit sales, particularly for those classic navy or gray pinstripe styles they classify as “interview suits.” Arthur S. Levine, known as the suit king of Seventh Avenue (who now designs a collection of women’s career clothes in a joint venture with Mr. Tahari), said he sold 1.8 million outfits this year, almost 10 percent more than he had expected.

“We are back to a time when every company expected both women and men to wear suits and we didn’t have a Casual Friday,” said Gloria Mirrione, a managing director of A-L Associates, a financial services placement firm. “They are looking for a sharper style. I recommend a strong suit that says you are collected and ready to work.”

Still, there are a lot of possibilities for error, and even fashion professionals differ in their opinions about what style will make the best impression. For example, on the great debate of pants versus skirt, Simon Kneen, the creative director of Banana Republic, had this advice: “I would definitely go with a pantsuit because that gives a better silhouette.”

Ms. Miller said the opposite: “I’m really against pants. They look too casual in most situations.”

Who to believe? There isn’t always a right answer, but each decision an applicant makes — pants or skirt, bright color or neutral, heels or flats — sends a subtle message that may play a role in how she will be perceived in an interview. To relieve some of that pressure, designers and career counselors offered some points to consider when deciding what to wear.

PANTSUIT, SKIRT SUIT, OR NO SUIT?

“There is no one right way to dress,” said Karen Harvey, a recruiter for top fashion and retail jobs. “But there are a lot of don’ts.” The key is to research the corporate culture to learn what a potential boss might expect. But on a basic level, “it doesn’t have to be a suit at all. I recommend clean and simple lines — anything that doesn’t distract the interviewer from understanding the qualities you bring to the table.”

Jenna Lyons Mazeau, the creative director of J. Crew, said a pencil skirt or tailored trousers, worn with a simple cardigan (preferably cashmere) and a beautiful necklace, looks as sophisticated as a pantsuit. A more individualized look is also a modern way to approach an interview, she said, suggesting that the applicant is creative, free-thinking and confident. But it also depends on the field, and the sportswear ensemble look may be best suited to creative fields. For corporate interviews, the options are still slim, and usually require a suit of some sort.

Mr. Kneen argued that the advantage of a pantsuit is that it elongates the legs, and “it’s all business when you’re wearing pants,” he said. He recommended double-face fabrics, which look more expensive and feminine than pinstripes. Another traditional choice would be a solid wool crepe dress worn with a matching blazer, as long as the dress is well fitted and flattering.

“And if you decide to wear a white shirt, make sure it is pristinely clean,” he said. “A new shirt is always the whitest.”

TO STAND OUT OR TO BLEND IN?

“I’m a big fan of sticking with navy or gray pinstripes,” said James Purcell, a onetime Seventh Avenue designer who now works as an image strategist for executives and politicians. “But avoid a solid black suit. It’s the worst thing a woman could wear because it shows any sign of dandruff and every gray hair that you have.”

But color can be a tough call. The majority of human resources professionals recommend wearing the classics — navy, black or gray — but, then again, playing it safe can also run the risk of looking too uniform.

“To me, the most important thing is give people something to remember,” Ms. Lyons Mazeau said. “There’s going to be a lot of people out there competing for a job, so pick a color, as opposed to wearing all gray.” But no brights, she said, and “if you are a blonde, pinks can look less expensive. This is not about wearing a neon sign.”

Earthier colors, like brown or a rich blue, impart a distinctive personality without coming off as overpowering. But beware of pastels: “I think that lightly colored suits, unless they are absolutely perfect, can feel a little Eastery,” she said.

Lisa Axelson, a senior vice president of design at Ann Taylor, said colorful accessories are another way to add color to a basic suit without risking an outfit so loud that the candidate appears out of place in a conservative environment. Prints, meanwhile, are discouraged. As Ms. Miller said, “They’ll remember you better, but what you want is for them to remember your personality, not to be totally distracted by that person who came in wearing the loud print.”

ISN’T THERE SOMEONE TO COPY?

Take cues from what powerful women are wearing, as in Michelle Obama or Sarah Palin. Mrs. Obama wore a J. Crew cardigan with a textured skirt on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” that demonstrated a classy combination of polish and ease. And Governor Palin, despite the controversy surrounding her campaign clothes, was most often wearing sensible suits from Tahari Arthur S. Levine that she had mixed and matched. Mr. Levine was upset that news programs were so impressed with a red suit with a ribbon belt that they assumed it was by the likes of Oscar de la Renta, not the Tahari suit sold at Neiman Marcus for about $498. About 20 other suits from his collection worn by Ms. Palin cost less than $198.

“The point is, you can look like you are wearing designer for not a lot of money,” he said.

HOW TO FINISH A LOOK?

“The bag you carry is key,” Ms. Axelson said. “You don’t want to be walking in with an old shopping bag. You want a beautiful, chic tote that carries your BlackBerry and your résumé. A tip for people who wear black suits is to pack a small lint roller in your tote bag.”

And if there’s room, some designers advise packing a nice pair of heels to change into just before arriving at the interview, so that they remain unsoiled.

“There’s nothing wrong with wearing flat shoes and bringing heels,” Mr. Purcell said. “Maria Shriver has somebody who carries her shoes for her. High heels help your stance. The American Orthopaedic Association may say I’m crazy, but the right heels will help you get a job.”

The Return of the Interview Suit, NYTimes.com

2009-01-13T11:38:00.001-08:00

By ERIC WILSON

Published: November 12, 2008

THIS is possibly a bad moment to bring up a 1959 film called “The Best of Everything.” But, oh, was that a glorious period for the interview suit. It’s hard to imagine rejecting Hope Lange for a job when she walked into 375 Park Avenue, and the breeze caught her cuffed navy jacket, revealing a flash of its polka-dot lining and a smart blouse that matched her cream hat.

“Working Girl,” in 1988, reflected another moment for the interview suit, appropriately enough during the pinnacle of the broad-shouldered, brightly colored power suit, when Elie Tahari and Jones New York were staples of a career woman’s wardrobe.

It was so much simpler then.

For a generation of young people who were recruited to technology, financial and news media fields right out of college, and who may now be competing to hold onto the jobs they have or to find any that might be available, figuring out what exactly is the modern day “interview suit” is not so easy to do without looking like Melanie Griffith. Walking downtown the other day, the designer Nicole Miller noticed an attractive young woman who was headed toward Wall Street. The woman was wearing a gray pantsuit, which caught the designer’s eye because, for much of the last decade, corporate fashion has pulled so far away from the polished, two-piece look that the outfit, while professional, seemed dated.

“I hadn’t seen anybody in a pantsuit for so long that I thought it looked wrong,” Ms. Miller said.

But with the unemployment rate in America at a 14-year high and more than half a million jobs lost in the last three months alone, there has been a detectable shift in the way people are dressing for work. In the financial sector, certainly, the tone has become more serious, and as a predictable result, somber suits are making a comeback. Companies like Men’s Wearhouse and Tahari are reporting an upswing in suit sales, particularly for those classic navy or gray pinstripe styles they classify as “interview suits.” Arthur S. Levine, known as the suit king of Seventh Avenue (who now designs a collection of women’s career clothes in a joint venture with Mr. Tahari), said he sold 1.8 million outfits this year, almost 10 percent more than he had expected.

“We are back to a time when every company expected both women and men to wear suits and we didn’t have a Casual Friday,” said Gloria Mirrione, a managing director of A-L Associates, a financial services placement firm. “They are looking for a sharper style. I recommend a strong suit that says you are collected and ready to work.”

Still, there are a lot of possibilities for error, and even fashion professionals differ in their opinions about what style will make the best impression. For example, on the great debate of pants versus skirt, Simon Kneen, the creative director of Banana Republic, had this advice: “I would definitely go with a pantsuit because that gives a better silhouette.”

Ms. Miller said the opposite: “I’m really against pants. They look too casual in most situations.”

Who to believe? There isn’t always a right answer, but each decision an applicant makes — pants or skirt, bright color or neutral, heels or flats — sends a subtle message that may play a role in how she will be perceived in an interview. To relieve some of that pressure, designers and career counselors offered some points to consider when deciding what to wear.

PANTSUIT, SKIRT SUIT, OR NO SUIT?

“There is no one right way to dress,” said Karen Harvey, a recruiter for top fashion and retail jobs. “But there are a lot of don’ts.” The key is to research the corporate culture to learn what a potential boss might expect. But on a basic level, “it doesn’t have to be a suit at all. I recommend clean and simple lines — anything that doesn’t distract the interviewer from understanding the qualities you bring to the table.”

Jenna Lyons Mazeau, the creative director of J. Crew, said a pencil skirt or tailored trousers, worn with a simple cardigan (preferably cashmere) and a beautiful necklace, looks as sophisticated as a pantsuit. A more individualized look is also a modern way to approach an interview, she said, suggesting that the applicant is creative, free-thinking and confident. But it also depends on the field, and the sportswear ensemble look may be best suited to creative fields. For corporate interviews, the options are still slim, and usually require a suit of some sort.

Mr. Kneen argued that the advantage of a pantsuit is that it elongates the legs, and “it’s all business when you’re wearing pants,” he said. He recommended double-face fabrics, which look more expensive and feminine than pinstripes. Another traditional choice would be a solid wool crepe dress worn with a matching blazer, as long as the dress is well fitted and flattering.

Skip to next paragraph

A tailored pencil skirt and feminine blouse by Nicole Miller.

Elegant trousers and a sunny cardigan from the Worth Collection.

A slouchy pantsuit from Theory.

A Banana Republic pantsuit.

“And if you decide to wear a white shirt, make sure it is pristinely clean,” he said. “A new shirt is always the whitest.”

TO STAND OUT OR TO BLEND IN?

“I’m a big fan of sticking with navy or gray pinstripes,” said James Purcell, a onetime Seventh Avenue designer who now works as an image strategist for executives and politicians. “But avoid a solid black suit. It’s the worst thing a woman could wear because it shows any sign of dandruff and every gray hair that you have.”

But color can be a tough call. The majority of human resources professionals recommend wearing the classics — navy, black or gray — but, then again, playing it safe can also run the risk of looking too uniform.

“To me, the most important thing is give people something to remember,” Ms. Lyons Mazeau said. “There’s going to be a lot of people out there competing for a job, so pick a color, as opposed to wearing all gray.” But no brights, she said, and “if you are a blonde, pinks can look less expensive. This is not about wearing a neon sign.”

Earthier colors, like brown or a rich blue, impart a distinctive personality without coming off as overpowering. But beware of pastels: “I think that lightly colored suits, unless they are absolutely perfect, can feel a little Eastery,” she said.

Lisa Axelson, a senior vice president of design at Ann Taylor, said colorful accessories are another way to add color to a basic suit without risking an outfit so loud that the candidate appears out of place in a conservative environment. Prints, meanwhile, are discouraged. As Ms. Miller said, “They’ll remember you better, but what you want is for them to remember your personality, not to be totally distracted by that person who came in wearing the loud print.”

ISN’T THERE SOMEONE TO COPY?

Take cues from what powerful women are wearing, as in Michelle Obama or Sarah Palin. Mrs. Obama wore a J. Crew cardigan with a textured skirt on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” that demonstrated a classy combination of polish and ease. And Governor Palin, despite the controversy surrounding her campaign clothes, was most often wearing sensible suits from Tahari Arthur S. Levine that she had mixed and matched. Mr. Levine was upset that news programs were so impressed with a red suit with a ribbon belt that they assumed it was by the likes of Oscar de la Renta, not the Tahari suit sold at Neiman Marcus for about $498. About 20 other suits from his collection worn by Ms. Palin cost less than $198.

“The point is, you can look like you are wearing designer for not a lot of money,” he said.

HOW TO FINISH A LOOK?

“The bag you carry is key,” Ms. Axelson said. “You don’t want to be walking in with an old shopping bag. You want a beautiful, chic tote that carries your BlackBerry and your résumé. A tip for people who wear black suits is to pack a small lint roller in your tote bag.”

And if there’s room, some designers advise packing a nice pair of heels to change into just before arriving at the interview, so that they remain unsoiled.

“There’s nothing wrong with wearing flat shoes and bringing heels,” Mr. Purcell said. “Maria Shriver has somebody who carries her shoes for her. High heels help your stance. The American Orthopaedic Association may say I’m crazy, but the right heels will help you get a job.”

You've Got Feedback!

2009-01-08T09:17:00.000-08:00

Yes, I still use AOL. I know it is for tweens and gmail is quickly taking their market share, but AOL is just easy! I use this box for my personal mail and for my Mother so that I can be her technical support department. One of the things I love about AOL is that when I log in I hear the ever familiar "You've Got Mail." LOVE IT! And, it makes me think of Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks checking their email for love notes from each other...top 10 movie but of course I'm a sucker for a romantic comedy that includes a wonderful dog!

Last night my team sent out another installment of my newsletter which means when I log in a few hours later I will hear "You've Got Feedback" (well, it rings in my head when I read my email). Today, I found feedback and confirmation. If you look at the previous post on Wednesday, January 7, 2009 "Fewer folks popping bottle tops as champagne sales fizzle" you will see I was writing about things we can do to step ahead of our competition in difficult market. Scott Knauer, Principal and Chief Investment Officer with Orion Residential, shared with me some thoughts to support my 2009 strategies.

Scott agrees with me that the name of the game is to get our unfair share of the leases. To do so people need to spend more on advertising, marketing and training and they need to spend it cost effectively.

Next, he reminded me of a strategy that Jack Welch follows about our people productivity. Mr. Welch believes that there are people out there who are deserving of a great job with a great company but they do not work for him. He lives by the concept that it is important to trim the dead wood, this means that the bottom 10% of team members either need to meet your expectations or move on because there are better people out there that need jobs. Does this make you shake in your designer shoes a bit? Me too. But I think I agree. Embrace your fear as it is a key ingredient to success. That which we are afraid of we overcome by facing head on and conquering. This always makes us stronger and smarter.

Last year I worked with Scott Knauer consulting for one of his portfolios. He reminded me to calculate breakeven occupancy, what is the level of occupancy that the property needs to cover debt service and then determine the number of leases needed to achieve break-even. This is how we determined our goals. I am passionate about goals. They must be realistic, measurable and active.

I want to say thank you to Scott for his feedback and invite you to do the same. My father taught me to never stop learning. So, I may be the teacher when I turn on my microphone but I earn the right to teach by always being a student.

"Fewer folks popping bottle tops as champagne sales fizzle."

2009-01-07T09:38:00.000-08:00

"New Year's resolutions take an outward turn in tough times"

Tough headlines to start a new year. Successful companies know that the most important thing you can do to maintain success during a slow market is to review and revise your current tactics. Updated training for your employees and implementing new and creative marketing strategies are the best way to ensure that your community is seeing traffic and signing more leases. It's also important to stay up to date on current industry news and trends.

Economists and industry experts believe that one of the big trends in 2009 will be people choosing to rent instead of buy! Due to the fact that many people are simply unable to purchase because of stricter lending guidelines along with the additional responsibility of maintenance and unexpected fees and expenses some people have decided that they prefer the renter lifestyle. Many developers are building "condo style" apartments with upgraded finishes such as stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops and luxury club-style amenities. Armed with this knowledge you can increase your traffic, resident retention and new leases by shifting your marketing and approach. Create a community where your current and future residents can feel "at home".Most people predict that 2009 will be just as challenging as 2008. In order to survive in this market you need to be prepared with a unique sales approach, fresh ideas and motivated employees. Here are a few to get you thinking:

1. Do you really know what marketing sources are working for you? Remember many people are using several Internet listing services and publications when looking for an apartment. Make certain your are tracking all sources, not just one.

2. Print drives traffic to the Internet. I have heard some chatter concerning dropping print ads to save money and "going to all Internet." This has been tested before and it failed. Eventually you will see that the loss of residual marketing that print provides will adversely effect your phone and walk in traffic.

3. Does your team know how to sell and apartment or just "show" an apartment? In 2009 tour guides won't close leases. Train your team to gather information, demonstrate features and benefits, overcome objections and ask for the lease.

4. Have a plan to get the customer back for a second visit. Everyone feels the need to "look around." What are they shopping for? A better deal. Your sales strategy should include a promotion to get the customer back after shopping the others.

5. Does it really need to be said? Ok, yes, I have been saying it for years and we are still not doing this...rent ready apartments lease. If you don't have an apartment that is ready to move into, with zero defects, customers will look elsewhere.

Get back to the basics with Legendary Leasing or get your employees brainstorming with 50 Sales and Marketing Ideas Under $500. My seminars are known for providing new marketing ideas and approaches and motivating your sales staff to get more signed leases. I would love to help you exceed your goals for 2009!

Happy New Year from Kate Good & Team!

“We don’t compensate for the bad behavior of our employees.”

2008-12-28T19:02:00.000-08:00

Can you believe I actually had an employee on the Continental Airlines 800-We Care 2 phone line tell me this? I was shocked to say the least. After telling the customer service representative the problem I recently had with one of their team members in Cleveland Ohio, I was told that they could not offer me compensation for the bad behavior this person exhibited when we had a mix up with seat reservations. Had the employee broken a policy, there may be compensation but apparently at Continental Airlines, there is no policy for treating customers with respect and kindness and therefore bad behavior is tolerated.

It has been said that one upset customer tells 5 other people, I just told you and you are one of thousands of people that visit my Web site each month! Gee Continental, would you like to amend your policy? Feel free to call me anytime at (480)888-5028 to discuss your change of heart.

Pod Hog

2008-12-22T22:23:00.000-08:00

I stumbled into the Apple Store while out Christmas shopping today and noticed there is a new Nano that my pod collection is lacking. Yes, I said collection. I actively maintenance and use three IPods. I love my ITouch because I can load a bunch of pictures, games and videos so it makes a good companion for my travels.

While flipping through some of the files on my ITouch I found the first Podcast ever created for the apartment industry. It was shot in about 1 hour by Elise, daughter of Mike Mueller (Vaultware CEO). What is so cool about this effort is that she was still in high school at the time. I hosted the Podcast along with Toni Blake and laughed the whole time (as you always do in the company of Toni Blake). This experiment was to prove the easy and usefulness of technology for marketing apartments.

Today when I click on property Web Sites, You Tube and FaceBook pages for apartment communities I see great use of video. Anyone can buy a Flip Video, shoot something fun and then plug it into your computer to create a captivating video. Next step, publish it so the world will know more about your apartment community. This is such a low cost marketing idea I don't know why we don't see more video.

Ok, ok....do you want to see the first apartment Podcast? Click here (and no comments on the big hair please!) http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8611820949239419842&q=source%3A006601590604224603136&hl=en

The end of an era brings a marketing opportunity.

2008-12-19T17:17:00.000-08:00

IT’S THE END OF AN ERA. Are you prepared?

On February 17, 2009 America will transition to digital TV. A recent article in Multi-Housing News highlighted key points that property owners and managers need to consider prior to the deletion of analog broadcasting. A webinar was conducted by the National Multi Housing Council and gave these primary recommendations;

1.) If you change channel assignments at a property and you don’t change processing electronics, analog channels will disappear.

2.) Conduct a digital channel site survey – check your instruction booklet for “8 vsd” and at least a -30 dBmV signal level

3.) Every property is different and requires different arrangements and distribution systems so check out www.dtv.gov and www.dtv2009.gov to learn more.

And…..
There is a marketing opportunity awaiting you.

How can you capitalize on the new digital requirements?

It’s a great time to reposition your leasing incentive and turn to a relevant incentive such as a 100% digitally compliant HDTV with the signing of a year’s lease. Residents budget for their monthly rent payments but rarely will budget for new electronics. And now that financing credit has seized up, they will appreciate the incentive even more. Plus, HDTVs are available in a variety of sizes and can fit any budget.

Year end specials are at an all time high and the multi-housing industry can take advantage of additional manufacturer’s rebates by contacting Creative Concepts at jls@corpconcepts.com . In the subject section note: Kate Good’s HDTV. P.S. Free HDTVs have proven to be a great closer.

No Risk.
What do you have to loose? You don’t have to purchase the TVs until contracts are signed!

Why I Love January

2008-12-19T16:39:00.000-08:00

I don't know why, but I can honestly say, January is a great month for leasing. Do you agree? Maybe it is all the people who did not want to move during the holiday months are now ready to make the needed change.

I wonder if the challenging economy with effect our January '09? There sure are a lot of job cuts out there and the paper informs us of new ones each week. I am still going to be optimistic as there are still people renting apartments.

So, I challenge you, what are you doing to get your "unfair share" of the traffic during one of our best winter months? Here is a little checklist to help you make sure you are putting your best designer shoe forward:

1. Landscaping - some of you are still in bloom, while others are living through the miserable winter wet weather. Is there something you can do to spruce up your look? While managing a community in Chicago, I tricked the eye with silk flowers.

2. Night time Marketing - the sun is setting early and lighting is very important. Where I live, it is already dark when the evening rush hits. Add an elegant glow to your community and get people to notice you.

3. Sales Path - put some extra signage along the path to remind people what your community offers. It is a competitive world and you want to make certain people remember you!

4. Step up the Model - what can you add to your model to sell a warm and cozy home environment? Possibly a furry throw on the cuddle couch, fuzzy slippers under the coffee table and a juicy book.

5. Deal Sweetener - talk it over with your team and think of a cool item that you can offer to be one step above the competition. At a community I am consulting with, we decided to offer a Ipod docking station in the kitchen. I love this idea because it helps us lease and since the docking station is a permanent addition to the apartment and adds value to the asset.

6. Guest Card Goldmine - every person that called or visited should be invited back in the month of January. In other words, don't just wait for the traffic to spike, create your own traffic.

7. The team that dresses together works better together. I really beleive this. When we are all dressing alike, it tends to reinforce the concept that we are a team. Head out to the after holiday sales and get a deal on something fun to have everyone wear in the office. Find something really cool and watch the enthusiasm in your office improve.

8. Stay Open - this is not the month to close early! In fact, advertise that you are open. At 5pm, put signs along the road that say "We're Still Open - when others are not!"

Now get yourself prepared for a fantasitc January! If you want more traffic and leases you must have a plan. Always plan your work and then work your January Plan.

Cut back or add value?

2008-12-15T22:49:00.000-08:00

Today I was leading a meeting where we were planning an event for fall of 2009. There was a lot of discussion about who would come and what they would spend. Everyone agreed that we felt that success would be limited. Next the conversation rolled to how can we cut costs.

And then it hit me.....

Yes, times are tough. My sweetie summed up the state of the union with this statement "it is time to take the women and children off the streets." Sure thing, I would love to hide out and wait for brighter economic times but I don't have that opportunity. This women has to stay on the street and here a look at my survival strategy. First off, spending has not halted all together. People are still eating out, going to movies, renting apartments and buying clothes. They may not be doing as much of it but there is still some commerce to report.

If people are spending money but not as much as last year, we have to get our unfair share of the spending. How do you get that, add value and don't cut back. People are making value choices. It is our job to sweeten our offers and build value. When people see value they will buy from the best offer.

Remember this in your marketing too. Every piece of copy should sell value. If you don't know where the value lies in your product, just ask your customers.

Where do I begin?

2008-12-12T14:22:00.001-08:00

I am so excited to start my blog! It seems each day I run accross something that makes me want to shout from the roof tops and share a great idea or a interesting thought that will help us lease apartments or just make our days brighter. I am looking forward to having the forum to share these thoughts with you.

Your comments, ideas and questions are always welcome. I am looking forward to your participation.

Please check back often and I will do my best to always have something interesting for you!

Don’t Tell Them What You Know Until You Find Out What They Need

2008-10-07T14:47:00.001-07:00

Sometimes words come out of my mouth and I think “that is the perfect way to say that.” At other times I know that I need to put a little more explanation behind what I am saying. This title of this blog is not self explanatory, at least not when it comes to leasing more apartments. So many times I hear a Leasing Professional jumping right in at the start of a leasing presentation and “data dumping” on a future resident. Instead of taking the time to find out what the customer needs in a new apartment home they start telling them about the apartment. At this point the consultant might as well be saying “blah, blah, blah.” The customer is really not going to remember much of what they are saying because it does not mean anything to them. To make the things Leasing Professionals say more meaningful they should start by asking what the customer is looking for. Questions such as “what is important to you in your new home?” and “are there any special features you are looking for in your new home?” will draw out information about your customer that you will make it so much easier to make what you are saying about the apartment so much more memorable. Now when you discuss the apartment and it’s attributes you can say something like “Our living rooms have a 14 foot wall which should be big enough for your oversized couch and end tables.” Wait to tell them what you know until you can link it to what they need.