Finally, after years of waiting….. I had a recent visit with a prospective client. As you can imagine, we are asked many tough questions during the initial sales process. This often becomes the real challenge with software, can it meet my expectations? Many clients have lists. Other clients have several groups who need to evaluate the respective portions of the software. You never know the next question that will be asked…..
This prospective clients FIRST question was…, “By property Managers For Property Managers, tell me more about that?”. Streamline was built by property managers who have lived the needs within the industry. Afters years of experience with different systems, I strategically invited property management company owners, with different views of the industry, to join me in building the best software FOR a property management company. I believe that in order to be the best, you have to surround yourself with the best.
Luckily, that was the questions I wish every potential client should be asking us. Why do we use that slogan? If you don’t live in the vacation rental management “stress”, it is tough to come up with creative solutions to every day problems. I can tell you that as a property manager, I have spent the past few years forcing my employees to select the correct source from phone calls. If I made 50% of my money from a certain source, I would most definitely want to invest more money there! Most of us are aware that after being on the phone with a client for 15-45 minutes, you agents will pick anything for a source. They cannot remember. Most likely choice is Google or Other Source. Well, while Google is definitely a potentially strong lead source, some people DO NOT even generate many leads from Google. However, they are investing their money in the wrong place.
As a property management, I have certain critical needs. If I were to list my top 5 concerns as a property management company, it would be the 5 below. In no particular order….
* Where is my profit coming from and what I can change to increase that profit. Improve the quality of my sales team? Invest in the correct places? Expand my sales team to accommodate the volumes of calls. HOW DO I MAKE MORE MONEY?
* How do I keep my owners happy? How can I give just a little bit more than my competitor to create the perfect environment for my owner. Happy owners equals growth. This is best growth, through word of mouth.
* How do I keep guest happy? I want people to leave our properties feeling good about their vacation investment. Many people do not have the luxury of taking many vacations. In many cases, this is an experience they will remember. How can you make it memorable?
* How do I create the most exposure for my units? Distribution channels create great exposure for your company. Always diversify and don’t put all your eggs in one basket. You will never know what you are missing, until you try it.
* How do I improve conversions on my website? This has been my area of expertise for years. Going to pubcon conferences, where they go over the different triggers on websites, we have evolved our website technology accordingly. Mobile is important. I know this may be hard to believe but this is now on average 40% of your traffic. How do I make my website conversion friendly on a mobile phone? Responsive? Adaptive? Whatever best keeps them focused on achieving the task of booking a home on a phone.
* How can I properly manage and define a standard for responding to new leads? Most of us are very proud of our sales teams. Have you asked yourself whether your conversion rates would increase if they had to follow a process? If they had to work to a standard of closing all new leads within X hours? Anything that comes in, it is deal with within X hours. If I can measure a certain standard, it is easier to maintain it!
See….. I got to 6 and didn’t even know it! This is because property managers think alike. They are trying to achieve certain tasks within every aspect of their business.
Streamline was built by property managers and it was meant to help other property managers. While making the industry better, we are also creating value for the properties that we manage.
I will let everyone know the next time I hear that question…. I loved it!
Carlos Corzo – CEO