Many managers ask can they get more rentals. It somehow feels that most of the rentals they've gotten to this point have been coincidental, without a clear path to growth. Some feel that reducing their management fee will make their offer more appealing, others think their level of service needs to increase, and some feel that they need to do more marketing. They could all be right, and at the same time be really wrong. It depends!
As it turns out, growth only happens when we focus on it. Growth only happens when we put aside excuses that we create for ourselves.
In summary, there are three steps to be considered:
1. Clear up your schedule and stop "being busy."
2. Identify your target rentals type and rental owner.
3. Find out how they can find you, and position yourself.
The first step to getting rid of the "I am busy" factor is to build a system that will offer automatic decision making, automatic task completion, and more.
Automatic communication with cleaners, automatic communication with guests that include all of the info they need for their stays, automatic guest payment processing, automatic payouts to owners, automated reporting, automatic calendar synchronization across channels, automatic dynamic pricing (even if you think you can do a better job), and many more tasks.
Systems always do better than humans because they're consistent and not emotional. Having a "human system" on top of a technological system will make you even more successful as you will have fewer specialized decisions to make. Having an automation technology solution with real support is the first step in the process.
The second step is to focus in on the ideal customer (rental owner). You should start by first answering a few questions:
1. What kinds of properties would you like to get in an ideal world? Single-family homes? Apartments? Alternatively, you might be indifferent.
2. What is your ideal rental owner (customer) profile? Hands-on owners, that live nearby? Remote owners? Professional investors?
3. How can the selected owner profile from above find you if he/she/they decided that they want to work with you?
These questions will lead you to answers that will allow you to use your time a lot better, and focus on the rental owners you want to have as customers. Once you identify them, try and find out the best ways to get their attention. I would encourage you to take steps that aren't "scalable," in other words, to avoid digital marketing at all costs. People like talking to people, and rental owners give keys from their hard earned investment properties to people they trust. They will make a decision based on the person they meet. Your time will be better spent tracking down ten owners and finding a way to meet them at a meetup, conference, or even through a cold call, then you'd get by sending 1,000 postcards and daily posts on Facebook.
You will undoubtedly figure out the process once you get started by learning and adapting along the way. You will undoubtedly grow your portfolio, revenues, and earnings when you focus on it. The key is to create the time and attention required to do that effectively and consistently.
When you meet potential customers, you will have to be in control of your current portfolio, so they can see that you are a professional manager. When you meet your customers, you will be able to figure out if pricing is the main differentiator between you and other managers and adjust accordingly. You will be able to learn and adopt.
Please feel free to reach out to us with questions and comments at info@newhaus.io.