“3 months management free.”
We’ve all seen that sign.
Or a flyer in your mailbox.
Offering to manage an investment property for 3 months, without charging any commission.
And let’s face it.
It’s tempting to offer it in your own business, right?
I mean, if that’s what everyone else is doing, maybe you should too?
In fact, I succumbed to the pressure myself.
I figured I could do what everyone else is doing, but I could get different results.
Yup, I’m gonna say that again:
If I did what everyone else is doing, I could get different results.
So, I created a promotion…
“Try The Renting Experts and don’t pay us ANY management fees for 3 months!”
I printed letters
I created flyers
I was pounding the pavement, dropping these flyers into any letterbox I could.
I posted on Facebook about this AMAZING special.
I told my referral partners, friends and family about this breakthrough deal.
I thought “for sure, this is the magic formula!”
You know, it took me a few months to realise, that giving away 3 months management for free as a big promotion, didn’t actually work.
In fact, it wasn’t ANY easier to convert leads with that offer than when I didn’t offer it!
Which got me thinking, what DOES work?
The thing that worked for me is one simple little word…
Relationship
For me, that one little word holds ALL the answers to converting business.
In fact, it holds all the answers to getting more leads too.
Let me explain why.
When I moved towns a few years ago, I needed a new hairdresser.
So, I asked a local (who’s hair I admired, of course) who she went to.
And now, several years later, I’m still going to the same hairdresser.
Plus, any time my hairdresser tells me I need to buy a special shampoo or conditioner (from her), I buy it!
I came to the hairdresser through a relationship.
And I stay because of the relationship.
I like her.
I trust her.
I believe she’s looking out for my best interests.
She’s invested time and energy in me (and my hair).
And I couldn’t imagine going anywhere else.
Now, my hairdresser takes care of my “crowning glory” not my several hundred-thousand-dollar investment property, but she’s still pretty important.
Can you imagine how much more important relationship is when it comes to someone’s biggest financial investment?
Perhaps relationship is just a *little* bit important, right?
So how do you apply this to your business?
How do you beat the 3 Months Management Free offers out there?
Is it possible to attract people into your business WITHOUT stooping to the level of your competitors and offering that awful 3 Months Management Free deal?
Yes. It. Is
People buy from people they like.
They buy from people they trust.
So, if you’re going to lure people into your business, you need to be a person they have a relationship with.
I can already hear you asking: “But how do I have a relationship with people I haven’t met yet??”
Firstly, I want you to start by having better relationships with the people you HAVE met.
Then after that, you can think about having a relationship with the people you haven’t met.
Let’s not put the cart before the horse.
So, let’s start with the people you HAVE met.
I’m talking about your referral partners, people already on your database (buyers, sellers, tenants, landlords).
Let’s start that relationship.
How do you start that relationship?
By knowing them.
Do you know their birthday?
If they’re a tenant and you’ve taken an application from them, then yes you do!
If they’re a landlord, buyer or seller, then maybe it’s time to ask.
Do you know their kids’ names?
Time to find out!
What are their interests, passions, fears and milestones?
If you spend a little time, you can get to know this stuff.
Once you know a bit more ABOUT them, you can weave this stuff into your relationship.
For example, if you know your landlords, tenants, buyers and sellers birthdays, you can probably program your CRM software to automatically send them a Happy Birthday message on their birthday.
If you find out your clients’ interests, passions, fears and milestones, you can look for ways to communicate with them in ways that are more personal, more relational.
Now, I’m not suggesting for a minute that you REMEMBER all this stuff!
Please don’t try to remember it, your head might explode!
Use your CRM Software to keep notes and set reminders for yourself.
There’s no need to make this process any harder.
Now, back to beating the 3 Months Management Free deal.
Do you think, that if you had better relationships with the people you ALREADY know (remember, these are people who are either ALREADY working with you, or who are already on your database and have had some interaction with you), you’d be able to ask for more referrals?
Would it be fair to suggest that, if you remembered all your referral partners’ birthdays, and sent them a card, they might refer more business to you?
Is it remotely possible that, if you messaged your landlords on their child’s first day of school to say “Good luck for today! It’s a big step starting school and I hope you (and your child, of course) are feeling excited and brave to start this new adventure” your landlords might be more willing to introduce you to their friends and family?
What if, you go to a listing presentation, but you DON’T win the management at that time (one of your competitors wins). Then, you remember the landlord’s birthday in a few months’ time. Do you think you’ll eventually get that management?
It’s not rocket-science.
It’s relationship.
So, in the spirit of relationship, I’d like to offer you something…
If you’re the owner of a rent roll.
And you want to grow it using relationships with people you already know.
Plus, you want to form relationships with people you don’t know yet.
Register for my online class: 5 Ways to Grow Your Rent Roll and discover some strategies that will help you build relationships in your business today.
If you haven’t seen my last blog titled Boost Your Referrals Today! be sure to check that out next!