As I step into my 16th year of property management, I am blown away by the development we have seen in the system and support space. We are in an era where PM efficiencies are a hot topic and communication isn’t just important, it is expected of every team member across the rent roll.
However, I am just as surprised when I consult businesses each week at the energy I witness from team members. Many of them will complain openly about the negative energy, the overwhelming feeling of stress and the lack of understanding of where they should start and finish in their role. It breaks my heart when I hear this.
Given that I use video conferencing for a majority of my consulting, it is difficult for me to give people the big hug I know they deserve. As we know, every team member in the property management business plays a strong part in growth and success. However, today I am going to focus on the BDM. If this is you, then you need to envision yourself as an Energiser bunny.
Every day you need to be the positive person who walks into the office with a smile and a can-do attitude and maintain that energy throughout the day. In most cases, your team is already in full swing when you come into work. They will be typing away madly, looking for keys for inspections or talking to themselves to justify the plan they have in front of them for the day ahead.
At 8.30am, the phones start ringing. Questions, demands, concerns and expectations overwhelm them and they crumble under pressure just five minutes later. As the BDM, you can assist in this area and help change the energy around how your team approaches problems that arise and provide suggestions or solutions that may work.
Remember, your team is the next step in the real estate experience for landlords, so it is important that the energy they receive from you is at the same level they will receive from everyone else on the team. Here are some ways you can maximise this energy for yourself and boost the team when they may be having a low moment:
1. Complete five call connects before you step foot into the office and make sure you have these calls prepared the day before.
2. Have 15-minute power sessions with your leasing team or individual team members daily to discuss what was secured the day before and the hot prospects ahead.
3. Be the person who thinks about the energy in your office and, as a leader, respect other team members when they pull you up for walking around with a bad attitude.
4. During the weekly team meeting, ensure all members raise any issues they have experienced. Make sure you close the meeting by sharing a positive outcome from the previous week.
5. Continue to openly talk about the product and service you deliver to the clients and your community.
6. Remind the team that you are all in a people business, and it is harder for landlords to leave the person they have built a relationship with, but easy for them to leave a brand when something new and shiny comes along.
7. Know each other’s roles well and the value each brings to the growth of the rent roll.
Every day you need to be the positive person who walks into the office with a smile and a can-do attitude and maintain that energy throughout the day
When I first stepped into the BDM role, the main reason I experienced backlash was because the team had no idea what I was doing during the day. They thought I went out for coffee meetings and long lunches.
It was wrong of me to assume they knew what my role entailed and wrong of me to take it personally. I should have led the way to help educate them so they could understand the value of what I was doing.
Once I did this, and we had our growth visual in the team area, we were a stronger and more dominating team. We would step out of the office wearing our uniforms with pride and share with everyone we knew why we loved working at our office.
When asked what my biggest month and year has been, I always say I signed 268 properties within 12 months, with the largest month during that year being 30 managements. I achieved this because of my amazing, passionate and bubbly team, who saw how fantastic life can be when you smile and the impact that smile has on those around you.
The energy in an office is infectious. Be sure to foster a positive workplace and build your team up. Be the Energiser bunny.
