There are many ways to grow your business from purchasing accounts, spending money on targeted marketing plans, organic growth through referrals. But, the easiest way to grow your business is by focusing on two simple words, Thank You.Thank you is powerful when used from the heart. It is a way to convey your gratitude and appreciation. When used sincerely it moves the receiver and builds trust and loyalty. Since this month has two holidays that are near and dear to me I wanted to share some simple ways you can build trust, loyalty and grow your business.
Clients – A simple way to thank your Clients is to call them. Yes, actually pick up the phone and call them. Thank them for their business and their trust in you to manage their rental/investment. I have done this for years in my office and initially Clients were nervous when they saw our company name pop up on their phone. They instinctively thought we had bad news or were going to ask for money.
Instead, they were pleasantly surprised and I found my staff were able to hear first hand what a great job we were doing for our Clients. It had an unintended morale boost. (We divided up all the clients equally among the employees).
I use to have an Annual Client Appreciation event, too. But over the years my clients retired, moved away, and it just wasn’t the event it use to be. But this is a great way to get to know your clients.
Annually, as a Company we pick a local Charity to donate to and then we make a match on behalf of our Clients. We let our Clients know of the match and the Charity and thank them for helping us to help the community. We share this in our year-end newsletter. Our Clients have shared with us how much they appreciate that we do this annually.
Tenants – Some great ideas that have worked for me over the years has been giving Gift Cards to tenants when they have been inconvenienced around a maintenance issue. Our Maintenance Manager leaves survey cards at each property and when returned they are entered into a drawing for a Gift Card. We have over the years had monthly winners for those that paid their rent on time. (I like to reward good behavior). I have been known to make coffee mugs with photos for tenants and clients alike that have pics of their pets on the mugs.
Vendors – They represent your company if you didn’t know this already. I treat my vendors very good and make sure to pay all their invoices in December instead of waiting 30 days and paying in January. This way they had income for Christmas. I have thrown Vendor Appreciation Events and have given out awards. The first few years I did this it was a huge hit in the community. Vendors rarely hear a Thank You just like in our business we get more calls with complaints than Thank You’s. So it goes a long way when you treat your vendors as your most important client. I also like to give my vendors who help me out with an emergency or have really gone out of their way with a tenant a gas card. Let’s face it, gas in California is very expensive and most vendors drive large vehicles so they love the gas cards with a couple hundred bucks on it! My top three vendors I will even bonus them at Christmas time as an extra Thank You for the service all year.
Business Network – These are the contacts you have that feed your business from time to time. Some examples are networking groups such as Leads, LeTip, or community groups like Rotary. Also, charitable organizations you are affiliated with such as the Homeless Shelter, Food Bank etc. As mentioned above my company chooses annually one charity to support and we would put extra effort into it whether it was closing the office for the day to volunteer, or collecting gifts for foster kids, or donating money. There are lots of ways to support the people in your community.
Employees – Are the back bone of your business. Look for fun ways to show appreciation for all they do. Celebrate their birthdays, their anniversary date with the company, party events outside the office or just having smoothies on a hot day. We work as a team and should make time to play and have fun as a team too. It doesn’t have to be big or cost a lot of money. How about an Easter Egg hunt around the office with the golden egg containing a lottery card.
Property Management is a field where we interact with a wide variety of people all day long and if we can remember to always show appreciation, to always say, Thank You it will not only make our day less stressful but people will want to do business with you. How about instead of rolling your eyes the next time a tenant complains and instead say, Thank You for the feedback. How does that change the conversation….
Lastly, as I mentioned at the beginning November holds two holidays near and dear to me. I love Thanksgiving. Sharing a meal with family and friends and just enjoying being together. And, Veteran’s Day. Ever since high school I would add a name to my list if I found out someone had served. This is the only holiday where I send a Thank You card. I don’t do Christmas, or birthday cards to clients; just Thank You to every Veteran I have met along the way and in my business. Because of our Veterans I have so much to be Thankful for and it is a simple way to show my gratitude.
Look for ways to say Thank You daily and watch your business grow not only in profits but in the quality of clients, vendors and employees that surround you.
Kathleen Richards, is the owner of LandlordSource and The Property Management Coach. She authored Property Management A-Z and teaches regularly at community colleges and conferences on property management topics. She is active in her field and holds professional designations as Master Property Manager (MPM®) and Residential Management Professional (RMP®) from NARPM®. Kathleen has served at the local and state level on the boards for NARPM® (National Association of Residential Property Managers).
Disclaimer: LandlordSource does not represent the article content in this website as legal advice. It is shared information only and up to the reader to use this information responsibly, seeking legal advice as necessary to their business.
