Recently returned from the United States, Jo-Anne Oliveri shares trends and tools from the latest NAR REALTORS® Conference and Expo.
If you want to get to the top in your property management business, you must be prepared for the climb. Thanks to modern technology, however, the climb isn’t as arduous as it used to be.
1. BLUETOOTH KEYS
Traditional keys are so yesterday. Bluetooth keys are the future. Digital locks via smartphones can solve many challenges currently facing property managers and rental property owners. With the rise of online property rental sites, such as Airbnb, home break-ins have risen too. Digital locks can solve this. Gaining access to properties via smartphones increases security for property managers and rental property owners alike. Likewise, the maintenance process can be streamlined, with contractors not needing to visit agencies to collect keys but simply being assigned property access codes via their smartphones for specific dates and times.
With Bluetooth key technology already here, it’s only a matter of time before property management businesses adopt this new way of managing rental property keys.
2. ‘FIGURE IT OUT’ GENERATION
The new generation of rental property owners and tenants seeks property management agencies that show they have the answers. Since the Information Age has allowed consumers to have an overwhelming amount of knowledge at their fingertips, they now want to deal with businesses that are experts at helping them ‘figure it out’.
For property management businesses, this means you need to determine your consumers’ behaviours, so you know what they need help figuring out when it comes to property investing and renting. Tools such as Discover.ly allow you to view data about your consumers to help understand them. Research your consumers so you know what they are trying to figure out, so when they seek a managing agent or property to rent you have the answers they need pre-prepared.
3. MASS IS OUT; CUSTOMISATION IS IN
Cities around the world are a diverse mix of assimilated cultures known as ‘melting pots’. This has caused the
‘melting pot mentality’, where businesses now treat all consumers the same. However, to be successful, property management businesses must stop expecting that all their clients want the same thing. Mass is out. Customisation is in. You must tailor your service to each one of your clients. Ensure your marketing provides four key elements: inviting, inclusive, immersive and individual.
If you want to reach the top, stop marketing to the masses and start customising to the individual.
4. BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY
Blockchain is an incorruptible digital ledger of economic transactions that can be programmed
to record not just financial dealings, but virtually everything of value. Property management businesses need to be ready for this new technology. Blockchain enables every property, in every location, to have a corresponding digital address. It contains perpetually updating details such as occupancy, financials, legal data, building performance ratings, physical attributes and historical transactions.
With Blockchain, data is immediately available online and correlatable across all properties. This means that transaction speeds will be shortened from days to literally seconds.
This new Blockchain technology could transform the property management industry in four ways: disintermediation (cut out the middleman), fraud prevention (digital ownership certificates), money 2.0 (using software currencies like Bitcoin, rather than paper currencies), and smart contracts (a software protocol automates and self-executes an action when certain conditions are met). To remain relevant, the industry needs to embrace these emerging Blockchain platforms.
5. MIND FIT
Speaking at the REALTORS® Conference and Expo, Olympic Gold Medallist Michael Phelps shared
how he made it to the top because he was ‘mind fit’. Physically he was strong, yet mentally he struggled. He said that he had to work hard at keeping mind fit by remaining committed despite his setbacks. Business is
no different – you and your team must be mind fit. Learn from your setbacks and use them as ways to take your business to the next level.
Just like Michael Phelps, you can reach the pinnacle of success if you stay committed to the climb. At the end of his presentation, Michael concluded with a powerful statement: “If you want something bad enough, nothing will stop you.”
