If you want to grow your rent roll this year…

If you’ve got big goals for increasing your properties under management, or even your profitability…

You need to be set up for rent roll growth.

And that means you need some key pieces of technology at your fingertips, so you can automate your marketing, generate more landlord leads and nurture other opportunities along the way.

In my opinion, there are 3 tools in particular you need in your business that will set you ahead of your competition and give you the chance to grow faster than before.

Here are the 3 tools you need:

1. CRM Software.

CRM (or Customer Relationship Management) Software need to be at the centre of your business, if you’re focusing on rent roll growth.

Your CRM is not your Property Management trust accounting software. Your CRM is your marketing and communications platform, designed to keep in touch with all your leads and referral partners.

Before you select (or change) CRM software, make sure it has the following features:

• Automated email responses. When a prospective client submits a form on your website, signs up for your newsletter, or even “opts in” for a free piece of information via a Facebook Ad (learn more about using Facebook for getting leads in my Masterclass: 5 Ways To Grow Your Rent Roll), your CRM should have the capacity to instantly send out the appropriate response to this request.
• Automated email nurture campaigns. Any time a new person joins your database, you need to nurture them via a series of emails over several days, weeks or months.  A good CRM will allow you to write these emails in advance (you can learn how to write these emails inside our program Marketing School – you can learn about Marketing School in my Masterclass: 5 Ways To Grow Your Rent Roll) and then set and forget them, so that they automatically go out to your database on a regular basis.
• Contact Data. You need to be able to store information about your leads. Of course you want to store their contact details, but you also want to be able to record a few notes whenever you speak to them. On top of this, you want to be able to see when and how often they’ve opened emails from you, because knowing this information really helps you determine who is a hot lead! A good CRM will help you determine which of your marketing emails are performing best, and which of your contacts are most interested in what you’ve got to say.

So, which CRM?

I like a few CRMs for different reasons.  Here are some of my favourites.

When you’re just starting your rent roll and don’t have much of a budget, start with something cheap like Convert Kit or free like Hubspot.  When you’re ready to grow into something more comprehensive that requires a higher monthly investment, check out Ontraport (which is not real estate specific, but is great if you’re getting serious with marketing) or Eagle Software (which is real estate specific and also has a robust marketing function).

2. Landing Pages

Landing Pages are important when it comes to collecting leads. Specialised landing pages are designed to convert visitors to your page into leads into your business. They’re designed in such a way that when people visit a landing page, they feel compelled and enticed to give you their contact details.  And let’s face it, we want their contact details, right?

So, if you’re planning on doing any sort of promotions, please use a landing page. You can use landing pages for all of these types of marketing strategies:

• Referral partnerships – give you referral partner a unique landing page to send their clients to (so you can easily track that referral)
• Letterbox drops – use a unique landing page as the “Call To Action” on your letterbox drops, so you know exactly the return on investment per 1000 flyers.
• Bus Stops – use a specific landing page on your bus stop advertising, so you know how many leads came in from that sign.
• REA and Domain Banner Ads – use a unique landing page for these ads, so you know your return on investment and can determine the ad’s value.
• Facebook and Instagram Ads – track your exact “cost per lead” but using a landing page just for these ads.
• Social Media Posts – every time you create a call to action in your social media posts, send your followers to a landing page so you can capture their contact details.

So, which landing page software?  I like a few.  Here are my favourites.

If you’re just starting out and need something cheap, consider using ConvertKit as your CRM and landing page platform. When you’re ready to step it up to something more advanced and capable, look at Ontraport (CRM and Landing Pages) or Lead Pages (standalone landing pages).

3. Facebook Business Manager.

When you’re ready to start running Facebook or Instagram Ads, you need to do it from the Business Manager dashboard.

If you’re serious about growing your rent roll, stop boosting posts on Facebook and learn how to use Facebook Ads properly, inside the business manager. It’s free to set up your Facebook Business Manager, and it allows you to build complete ad campaigns.

Inside the business manager, you will be able to create your own custom audiences for targeting specific people with ads, monitor exactly how your ads are performing and generate reports that help you decide whether your ads are working the way you wanted them to, and how to improve them.

Need tips on how to do Facebook Ads to generate Landlord Leads? Check our my article on How to get Landlord Leads from Facebook

So they’re the 3 tools you need if you’re serious about rent roll growth this year. Ready to amp up your growth? Join my Masterclass: 5 Ways To Grow Your Rent Roll.

If you haven’t read my last blog How to get 3 extra hours this week be sure to check that out next.