Under New (Reputation) Management

Apartment communities change owners and management companies frequently. Among the list of challenges we often face in a management change, the online reputation that is inherited can be one of the most difficult. Historically, review sites have not accounted for a change in management in the overall score of the property. This can be costly as many people will focus on the score or star ratings rather than spending time reading the actual reviews and discovering that there has been a management change. There are several ways to overcome this both online and off. 

The short term solutions are fairly straightforward. Notify prospective residents on your website, social media, signage, brochures and email blasts that a new company has taken over management and is making a commitment to a better reputation. Just be transparent and be sure to do what you say you are going to do. If there are capital improvements coming, be sure to mention them and provide a realistic timeframe. 

The long term solutions are a bit more complicated since you actually have to get positive reviews. Directly soliciting positive reviews all at once is not recommended. Instead, you have to create a culture that promotes feedback from your current residents. Here are ways to do that:

1. Leave a card for your residents after service has been completed in their unit that invites them to share their experience with you and create an incentive for them to return it. If you get a glowing review from a resident, reach out to them and ask them to write a review online. 

2. Move-in is a great time to get feedback. Follow up with all move ins and ask how their move in could have been better? You'd be surprised how many people will appreciate it. Invite your new residents to write a review as well, especially if they gave all or mostly positive feedback.

3. Seek out your long term residents. You know, the ones who keep renewing their leases no questions asked. They are staying for a reason. Find out what it is and if they are willing to share. They probably don't even know these websites exist because they haven't needed to search for an apartment.

The bottom line is, you will need positive reviews to improve your reputation online. You know you provide good service, so now all you have to do is ask. 

How a Basketball Player Reminded Me Why I Love My Job

I love a good sports movie.  I like to see the underdog rise to the top and as the music begins to crescendo, we see the team shoot the winning basket, score the final touchdown, kick the goal to take the championship as fans rise in sheer joy at the remarkable story they have witnessed.  The best stories include struggle and determination.  A Mother, Coach or Father sacrificing to see the person they love and believe in make it to the top.  When Kevin Durant, star player with the Oklahoma City Thunder, delivered his acceptance speech when receiving the honor of NBA MVP, he described the challenges of his life and all that lead him to this day. The speech could be a script for a movie that I would pay money to see.

By the time he got to the 22nd minute of his speech, I was on my third tissue! The best message was yet to come...Kevin thanked his Mother and described one of his best memories as a child.  His Mother was a young single women raising two young boys.  She gave up her meals to make certain her children were fed. She worked to keep them off the street and instill a strong sense of family.  And, when they sat in the living room of their first apartment, empty because they had no furniture, that apartment made this young family feel as though they "made it".

I clipped this portion of the speech to share with you:

I want to thank Kevin Durant for reminding me what I love best about my work.  I love connecting people with home.  I was reminded power of this experience.  It is a old, tired saying and yet it means so much, Home is Where The Heart Is.  And on a day when I questioned the value of all that I have done and built in my career, Mr. Durant reminded me of my purpose.

Initially, I posted this on my Facebook wall thinking that others in our business may be having a difficult day like me, and would find their purpose renewed by reading his quote.  I was touched to see, in a matter of a few hours, 200 people clicking "like" as a personal affirmation that even an empty apartment can change someone's life and that we are honored to create exceptional communities for a living.  As the post was shared, 29 times and counting, it seems that everyone needed the sweet reminder that our work matters more than we will ever know.

What Ashton Kutcher and I Have in Common

This is a pretty bold title for a blog! Let's start by saying I love this guy. In my life I have had a few celeb crushes starting with Rob Lowe starring in St. Elmo's Fire and About Last Night.  The day after I saw Legends of the Fall I had to leave work at 10:30 am because I could not concentrate on writing a marketing plan and had Brad Pitt on the brain. Then came my encounter with John Stamos.....well that is another blog on my personal page.  And finally Ashton. I saw him in Just Married and loved his expressions.  I was hooked.  

Of all my celeb crushes, I have never felt like I was on their level until I heard Ashton accept his Teen Choice Award.  He proudly took this opportunity to reach out to the young audience with a message about life.  I was personally touched when he shared the same thoughts that I frequently talk about in my programs.  Not only did he connect with screaming 16 year old's, he connected with me too.

The first point of his speech is that his name is really Chris and he lived an important life before he took his middle name to become and actor.  Surprisingly, he learned about opportunity before he got his role on That 70's Show.  Ashton feels that opportunity looks a lot like work.  He had jobs where he mopped floors and washed dishes and he never felt that he had a job he was better than.  Ashton respected the opportunity and saw it as a stepping stone.  I found his next point to be very important for today's 20 something generation; never quit a job until you have your next one.  When you quit without your next job lined up, you just proved to the world that you thought you were better than the job you wanted to leave and did not respect the opportunity to work.  As an employer, I steer clear of people who make this choice and do not have a really really, and I mean really good reason. Click here:

For those of you who have heard me speak in the last few years, you may have heard me close my program with this words to live by "Be Here Now, Be Somewhere Else Later". This is the key to my success and I have been benefiting from this belief for over 20 years.  I meet ambitious people who want to do what I do and the best advice I can give them is to do what you do now extremely well.  If you are a housekeeper, be the master of clean.  If you are a Leasing Consultant, stop making excuses for why an apartment is not leasing and have the highest closing ratio in your company.

I have a dream board, goal sheets and big plans for my life but none of them will happen if I am not taking my current opportunities and knocking them out of the park. My first job in the apartment industry was to lease apartments.  In my first two weeks with my company, Trammell Crow, I went to a week long training class where I witnessed what corporate trainers do and I knew then, I wanted to be one.  But, to get there, I had to first show people that I could do the work that I would be training other people to do.  It was in that very class that I decided that I would not stop until I was the number one Leasing Consultant in the company.  I hit that goal within a year.  I was the Director of Training 4 years later.

I wondered where Ashton was going when the second point of his speech was about being sexy.  This is a guy who could rest on his looks for his sexy but he knows there is more to being attractive.  Ashton explains that being sexy is accomplished by being smart, thoughtful and generous. In our world we are caught up in what he labels crap; the stuff that people try to sell to you to make you feel less. I have always been attracted to the smart, thoughtful and generous guy.

Over the years, I have received some nice compliments about how I look.  I always brush that off because I think I am just an average person.  It is the comments and compliments about my intelligence that make me say "thank you".  I know my expertise, and how I give to others, have opened many more doors than my looks.

Ashton's last message is about building a life not just living one.  Again, I connected.  I have not taken the path well traveled, I have carved out the life I want.  I continue to build my life based on the belief that most people are no smarter than I am.  If they can do it, why can't I?

Now, go be amazing at work today and get your sexy on!

It's Time to Stop

I once spent a lot of time with someone who was wildly successful in his career. As a result, many things came to him in the form of opportunities, quality people and cool toys. Sadly, with all the gifts in his life, he was constantly in search of happiness. I watched him read countless books on the subject, talk to his peers, dig into movies about the subject and always think his life was missing something. Happiness was within his grasp yet he was doing everything wrong.

I often wondered how a smart man could be so clueless. And then I realized that he and many people, including myself, make the common mistake of taking action to accomplish something but this action is not getting them to their goal.

When you stop doing the wrong things, you make more room for the things that make you happy.

So, starting today, join me in making a personal commitment to quit and then eliminate counter productive behavior and open our time up for the right behavior. Personally, I have been practicing this concept over the last 24 months and I have never been so happy or fulfilled in my life. You CAN live the life you want and it can start today if you set yourself up for success. Here are some things to quit:

1. Quit procrastinating on your goals.

Some people dream of success while others wake up and work hard at it. Action and change are often resisted when they’re needed most. Get a hold of yourself and have discipline. Putting something off instantly makes it harder and scarier. What we don’t start today won’t be finished by tomorrow. And there’s nothing more stressful than the perpetual lingering of an unfinished task.

The secret to getting ahead is simply getting started. My secret to avoiding procrastination is to engage in the habit of clustering. When I have a project with a due date approaching I start to cluster my ideas, thoughts and resources on individual sheets of paper as they pop into my head. I drop them into the project folder. Now when it is time to work on the project I have a file full of first steps to roll with. Suddenly I am motivated because the mountain does not seem so high. This can also be done by typing emails to yourself on your smart phone. Put the name of the project in the subject line. Now when you are able to start the project you can simply do a search for those key words and all your thoughts will be sorted in your inbox.

2. Quit blaming others and making excuses.

Stop blaming others for what you have or don’t have, or for what you feel or don’t feel. When you blame others for what you’re going through, you deny responsibility and perpetuate the problem. Stop giving your power away and start taking responsibility for your life. Blaming is just another sorry excuse, and making excuses is the first step towards failure; you and only you are responsible for your life choices and decisions.

Picture two circles, one inside the other. The inside circle is all the things you have control of in your response and action. The outside circle you can influence but not change. Spend time on the inside circle where you can make a difference. Too many people live in the outside circle making excuses and not taking action by controlling their behavior.

3. Quit trying to avoid change.

If nothing ever changed we would still be using flip phones, or worse, the fax machine! Most of us are comfortable where we are even though the whole universe is constantly changing around us. Learning to accept this is vital to our happiness and general success. Because only when we change, do we grow, and begin to see a world we never knew was possible.

And don’t forget, however good or bad a situation is now, it will change. That’s the one thing you can count on. So embrace it, and realize that change happens for a reason. It won’t always be easy or obvious at first, but in the end it will be worth it. This is knowledge that was given to me in my high school years and it made all the difference in my attitude. My best friends' Mom said to me that this world I am struggling in will not last forever. She encouraged me to see beyond today and look forward to the changes in life. I later learned how I could control my destiny and this has been the source of my power.

4. Quit trying to control the uncontrollable.

If you try to control everything, and then worry about the things you can’t control, you are setting yourself up for a lifetime of frustration and misery.

Some forces are out of your control, but you can control how you react to things. Everyone’s life has positive and negative aspects – whether you’re happy or not depends greatly on which aspects you focus on. The best thing you can do is to let go of what you can’t control, and invest your energy in the things you can – like your attitude. If you are still fighting this concept, refer to item #2 and discover what circle you are living in.

5. Quit talking down to yourself.

Nothing will bring you down quicker than berating yourself. The mind is a superb instrument if used right, but when used incorrectly, it becomes very destructive. Be aware of your mental self-talk. We all talk silently to ourselves in our heads, but we aren’t always conscious of what we’re saying or how it’s affecting us.

As Henry Ford once stated, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.” One of the major causes of why we fail is due to self-doubt and negative self-talk. The way to overcome negative thoughts and destructive emotions is to develop opposing, positive emotions that are stronger and more powerful. Listen to your self-talk and replace negative thoughts with positive ones, over time you will change the trajectory of your life.

Many people do not realize how incredibly nervous I feel prior to walking on a stage. The nerves would be debilitating if I did not overcome it with positive self talk. I remind myself that I am good at this and today this audience deserves my best. Sometimes I get a standing ovation when I am completed and that is an amazing feeling. However, 100% of the time, I finish my speech knowing I gave it my very best.

6. Quit criticizing others.

The negativity you bleed out toward others will gradually cripple your own happiness. When you truly feel comfortable with your own imperfections, you won’t feel threatened or offended by the imperfections you see in other people.

So stop worrying about the flaws you see in everyone else, and focus on yourself. Let the constant growth and improvement in your own life keep you so busy that you have no time left to criticize others.

Personally, I am having trouble with this one. I currently have someone I work with in my consulting practice who has some serious problems remaining professional and courteous at all times. I know he can be so much better than what he is. To be successful, I have to stop trying to criticize him by pointing out his failures and shortcomings as he will not change. My dear friend Mark recently quoted Tommy Lee Jones to me when he said "you never ask a horse or an actor do something they cannot do." Wow, this is so true, thanks for the sharing the advice, Mark.

7. Quit running from your problems and fears.

Trust me, if everyone threw their problems in a pile for you to see, you would grab yours back. Tackle your problems and fears swiftly, don’t run away from them. The best solution is to face them head on no matter how powerful they may seem.

Fears, in particularly, stop you from taking chances and making decisions. They keep you confined to just the small space where you feel completely comfortable. But your life’s story is simply the culmination of many small, unique experiences, many of which require you to stretch your comfort zone. Be proud of your life story and remember your failures have everything to do with getting you to your successful self. They are the best learning opportunities you have. I have screwed up and failed many times. I have even been fired. As I look back over my adult years I would not remove that experience from my life story if I could. Letting your fears and worries control you is not ‘living,’ it’s merely existing.

Bottom line: Either you own your problems and fears, or they will ultimately own you and you are simply operating with excuses.

8. Quit living in another time and place.

Some people spend their entire lives trying to live in another time and place. They lament about what has been, what they could have done, or what might become. However, the past is gone, and the future doesn’t exist. No matter how much time we spend thinking and lamenting about either, it doesn’t change anything.

Our brightest future hinges on our ability to pay attention to what we’re doing right now, today.

We need to live more in the moment and be aware of reality. Living in the moment requires active, open, intentional awareness on the present. Don’t fantasize about being on vacation while at work, and don’t worry about the work piling up on your desk when you’re on vacation. Live for now. Notice the beauty unfolding around you. I lost my Father at a young age. I had the opportunity to visit him the week before he died but was worried about a pile of things that impacted my future. I made a decision I now regret because I did not live in the moment and reality that my Father was ill. I allowed my dream of the future to overshadow something incredibly important to me . Trust me, the future will always work itself out. Do what you need to do today.

9. Quit trying to be someone you’re not.

One of the greatest challenges in life is being yourself in a world that’s trying to make you like everyone else. Someone will always be prettier, someone will always be smarter, someone will always be younger, but they will never be you. Don’t change so people will like you. Be yourself and the right people will love you, and you’ll love yourself more too. I am a bit unconventional and don't always deliver what people expect. This used to trouble me until I discovered what I deliver is better!

10. Quit being ungrateful.

Not all the puzzle pieces of life will seem to fit together at first, but in time you’ll realize they do, perfectly. So thank the things that didn’t work out, because they just made room for the things that will. And thank the ones who walked away from you, because they just made room for someone better.

No matter how good or bad you have it, wake up each day thankful for your life. Someone somewhere else is desperately fighting for theirs. Instead of thinking about what you’re missing, try thinking about what you have that everyone else is missing.

I am rooting for you and feel honored when you share your celebrations of success with me. My relationships with you will be part of my legacy. Go get 'em tiger and know that I am on your team! If you need support and encouragement, email me anytime at kate@kategood.com and remember you rock!

Does Anyone Work Here Anymore?

It's Friday night, you invite your best peeps over for happy hour. People start to arrive, walk in your front door, look around and you are missing. The guests make their way all the way back to your kitchen and find you munching on your favorite potato chips in the pantry. They start to feel as though they may have arrived on the wrong night! You would never think about doing this to your good friends. So why would you do it to a customer who is in control of your paycheck? If a customer walks into your leasing center and has to come find you then you have failed to make a welcoming first impression.

Last summer while on a beach vacation, I became freindly with a certain little beach bar one block from my rental house. I spotted the team members wearing these "Yes, I work here" shirts and immediatly left my vacation behind and started to think about our team members wearing them to let all of our customers know we are always there to serve and will never hide. In addition, the act of waering this shirt will serve as a constant reminder that we put customers first.

I wonder what I will find on my next trip?? Stay tuned!

Trend: Customer Service as Part of the Sales Process

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.

Marketing 101: Desperate is Not Desirable

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!

Authentic Communcation

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.

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

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.

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

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.