6 Keys to Success for Property Managers from Property Managers

We recently attended the Property Management Systems Conference, hosted by Paul Kankowski (Pure Property Management) and Wolfgang Croskey (Croskey Real Estate). The conference consisted of a series of workshops and coaching sessions put on by successful property managers, serving as the perfect setting for newer property managers to learn how to grow and scale their businesses.

If you didn’t have the opportunity to attend, we have you covered! We put together a list of our biggest takeaways from the conference that every property manager should know (in no particular order)…

Document, improve, and then automate your processes

The first step is to get everything out of your head.  All property management companies have processes and policies, the problem is most of these processes are in the owner’s head. It is very challenging to improve processes and almost impossible to automate them if they are not documented.

Once the processes are on paper (or in a software like Notion), then it is time for process improvement. PMs at the conference recommended dedicating at least two uninterrupted hours per week to process improvement. Start with the most broken process and fix that first. If you have a team, encourage them to propose how they would improve their least favorite process. Get their buy-in from the beginning so the new process will be adopted quickly. 

And finally, automate. Use software like LeadSimple and Zapier to automate your processes wherever possible. Remove the mundane activities from your plate so you can focus on more impactful interactions with your clients or residents.  A caution at the conference was to make sure you are not automating things like a response to a complaint – that is where a human touch is critical. Reach out to people like Todd Ortscheid, Wolfgang Croskey, and Peter Lohmann if you don’t know where to start.

Vertically integrate your services, with a focus on maintenance

Peter McKenzie (Rincon Property Management) gave a presentation on vertically integrating key services within property management. Just like a car manufacturer might want to own its supplier, a property manager can benefit from owning the maintenance company, cleaning company, lawn care provider, painting company, etc. The top three reasons to vertically integrate:

• Diversify your revenue stream – By creating a separate entity you could sell those services to other 3rd party companies if needed.
• Gain control – One of the hardest parts about property management is all the vendor vetting and coordination that is required, but by owning the service company, you gain significant control, making your life easier.
• Regulatory concerns – More regulation is coming into the property management space, and separating the entities reduces your risk (common example: some states don’t allow a property manager to employ their own in-house maintenance technicians)

Overall, success here lies largely in the quality of the people you find, and to that end, Peter had one piece of advice: “Don’t be cheap.”

Empower your team so you can work ON the business

Many property managers started their company from the ground floor. They owned a few rental units and couldn’t find a quality management solution, so they took matters into their own hands. As the company grows, the Property Manager realizes they can’t do everything anymore. They have to build out staff and empower them with real accountability so the owner of the company can continue moving things forward. 

Tiffany Rosenbaum (Rosenbaum Realty Group) talked about her struggle to truly empower her staff, and she finally realized just because someone takes a different path than her to find a solution doesn’t mean that path is wrong. Julie Mullinax (CRM Properties) showed all her company’s KPIs which they spent a full year getting right. Their staff now knows what metrics they own, they update the metrics weekly, and the only time questions are asked is when a metric is consistently off.

Create a peer group for accountability and feedback

This was a common theme throughout the conference, and this is also one of the main reasons the conference started in the first place. Create a group around you that will openly share ideas with you and will tell you when you have a bad idea. Paul Kankowski said he has a group of property managers who will gladly tell him when he has a bad idea, and that forces him to tweak or optimize the idea. 

We also heard people talk about hiring a coach, finding a mastermind group within the industry, or putting together a board of directors where you pay them hourly to come together once a quarter for a 2-hour session. Whatever path you choose, find someone who will hold you accountable and provide you with honest feedback.

“When you stop growing you start dying”

I loved this quote by Matt Kammeyer (Five Star Property Management). When asked what they would have done differently with their business if they could rewind a few years, a panel of successful PMs almost unanimously said, “I would have hired a BDM. I would have focused on growth from the start.” Of course, you can level up or level down how aggressive the growth initiative is, but the sentiment was to always invest in growth. Churn is a reality in property management and growing your portfolio and your client base is one of the best ways to offset it. 

“Property Management will evolve into Investment Management”

This is a great quote from Lior Abramovich (Blanket). Granted, he is selling a proptech solution that helps with exactly this, but I heard this notion from many people at the conference. Ray Hespen (Property Meld) said it in a similar way: “We can’t just say to investors ‘We’ll take your headache away’… instead we have to show them we can maximize their value and NOI better than they can even with our fees.”

Property managers can still differentiate through great customer service and using technology/automation, but an emerging factor will be their ability to show the client how their assets are performing. 

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