I recently began managing a small multifamily property that my
staff and I took from 79% occupancy to 98%.
When asked how we did it, my answer was straight forward. “Three things”, I responded, “First set stretch goals and make them
known. Write them down and post them
where they can be seen.” In keeping with
John Maxwell’s theory of “failing forward”, we literally failed forward. One of our goals was to hit 100% occupancy by
the end of February. We failed, but
succeeded in hitting 98% which is a statistic most multifamily properties would
die to hit, especially in today’s market.
Now we have a March goal.
The second thing we did was to be sure that we got our
fundamentals right. In one of my early
jobs in the multifamily industry, an old hand that I was trained under was fond
of saying, “The more things change, the more they stay the same. “ It took a while to understand what he
meant. Today his words ring truer than
ever. While we now accept debit card payments
and auto drafts, advertise and accept applications over the internet, and
routinely, through the power of computers and the internet, run background,
credit, landlord, and employment, checks in minutes instead of days, the
fundamentals haven’t changed. Target
markets must be identified, the product presented in an appealing light to meet
the wants and needs of the targeted consumer, and reaching out for that personal
touch, are still what closes a lease.
Location, presentation of meeting needs and wants, and relationships,
are fundamental and core to success.
Miss getting those right and you’ll sink no matter how sophisticated or
innovative your technology.
Thirdly, act! Action in
abundance in all areas essential to your set goals is necessary, beyond your
normal operating limits. Accept this as
your new normal operating limits. This means
you won’t go home at 5:00 PM, most, if any, days. Much of the time, putting non-essentials aside
so that you can give an abundance of action toward the goals, is going to be a necessary
part of achieving stretch goals. If work doesn’t contribute to your
fundamentals and essentials, then only spend time on it after the fundamentals
and essentials are fully taken care of. Goal
oriented action is work focused toward fundamentals and essentials. Everything else is just time fillers.
Set stretch goals.
Get the fundamentals right. Take action. When it works, repeat that. When it doesn’t, do what does. Revisit your fundamentals and get them right,
work hard, measure your results. Good
luck!
