Today’s show is sponsored by Marc Cunningham of Grace Property Management. Marc has created some amazing products for property management companies, which we can say firsthand as we’ve implemented his systems here. Visit their website and try out their products! To get a 10% discount on any of Marc’s products, use the promo code “Brad”!
My guest on this episode is the remarkable Dave Borden, who was nice enough to come to town and go over some information on marketing for property managers. He’s so full of information and great advice, though, that we decided to split the episode into two parts! This is part 2 of 2; part 1 aired last week.
This part is all about online best practices and industry trends. Dave and I dig deeply into how to do well online. We discuss what kind of domain name is ideal, as well as when you should (and, just as importantly, when you shouldn’t) use redirects to bring customers to your site. We also talk about content, with Dave giving great information on the minimum number of words you should have on certain pages and offering some suggestions for where to get ideas for what to write about.
Dave and I then move on to talking about the sometimes complicated relationship between property managers and owners. We discuss ways to handle the question of who’s in charge of deciding when to fix things and how much to spend on them. We also talk quite a bit about pricing models and attracting the right owners.
If you haven’t heard about Dave’s own product, Rent Screener. This is an absolutely invaluable tool for property managers, and I highly recommend you try it out if you aren’t already using it! Best of all, Dave is generously offering a 10% discount to listeners of this podcast. Tune in to learn how to get your discount!
Here’s where you can find Dave:
Show Notes
[02:24] - Dave begins by talking about domain names, explaining that many people don’t take certain important things into account when choosing one.
[04:31] - We hear some words of caution for people who are already doing well with an existing URL but are considering switching to a new domain.
[05:59] - Should you buy multiple other exact match domains and redirect them to your main domain? Dave says no, and explains why.
[08:16] - Brad brings up a story that Dave told him yesterday, so Dave recounts the story for the audience. He then draws out the lesson from this to explain how to best appear in search results.
[10:08] - Brad talks about diluting your brand, offering an example to illustrate what he means. Dave then offers his own advice on the topic.
[12:40] - We learn about windshield time, with Brad explaining how he reduces the need for his employees to drive across town to work for a couple minutes.
[14:03] - Dave talks about content, revealing the magic number of words to have on your property management page.
[17:12] - Brad suggests becoming a full-disclosure company on your site, then brings up the pricing model that he uses. He and Dave then discuss this before Dave returns to talking about ranking well in Google by having at least 2,500 words of content on their landing page.
[21:20] - Every conversation you have with an owner could be a blog post, Dave points out.
[22:00] - Brad points out that there’s a larger mindset in society that people want to have all their information upfront, tying this into his pricing system. He and Dave then talk about how your pricing brings in the type of owner you want.
[26:16] - Brad’s multiple property owner agreement is a great way to encourage people to buy another investment property Dave then points out that you may also be able to get a commission for helping them to buy this additional home.
[29:03] - Dave brings up something he’s seen property managers deal with: the question of who’s in charge (the property manager or the owner).
[32:02] - Brad brings up a side story that happened recently, then he and Dave further discuss the issue of making fixes to the property and when to consult the owner first.
[35:04] - Dave talks about his tenant screening product, which is called Rent Screener
[38:02] - Transunion has made a commitment to the tenant screening industry, Dave explains, then talks more about Transunion’s process and how to use its scores in screening tenants.
[40:44] - Brad is now pushing into an unaccompanied vacant home showing situation. Dave then elaborates on what Brad has been saying about this topic, explaining how much time it can save.
[45:47] - Dave talks about how to reach him and how to get a 10% discount on anything you order through his company.
[47:25] - Dave takes a moment to rave about how great his team is, and to emphasize how much he cares about doing right by his customers.
Links and Resources:
Today’s show is sponsored by Marc Cunningham of Grace Property Management. Marc has created some amazing products for property management companies, which we can say firsthand as we’ve implemented his systems here. Visit their website and try out their products! To get a 10% discount on any of Marc’s products, use the promo code “Brad”!
My guest on this episode is the remarkable Dave Borden, who was nice enough to come to town and go over some information on marketing for property managers. He’s so full of information and great advice, though, that we decided to split the episode into two parts! This is part 1 of 2; part 2 will be available next week.
This part is all about the must-haves of online marketing for property managers and property management companies. This is absolutely Dave’s area of expertise, as his company services a thousand management companies nationwide, covering a total of 300,000 to 400,000 units. His skill at what he does is revealed by his company’s strikingly low cancellation rate; they’ve only had 30 companies stop using their services.
In this part of our conversation, Dave spends some time discussing the broad strokes of a successful marketing strategy, including the various steps to take depending on what your goals are. For example, he recommends starting with a great website. If that doesn’t get you where you want to be, you can move on to a social media strategy. If that, too, doesn’t achieve enough success, the next step is a content marketing strategy with videos.
As you may have inferred from this, Dave is a proponent of taking a measured approach. This is reflected throughout the conversation in his deliberate, specific insight and advice. In short, if you’re interested in learning how to go about marketing online the right way, tune in to this episode and the one coming next week!
Here’s where you can find Dave:
Show Notes
[02:24] - Dave introduces himself briefly, explaining why he’s on the show. He then explains what his company does.
[05:00] - Brad explains where today’s conversation with Dave stems from. Dave then talks about the first question he asks companies who want to work with him, and talks about the importance of a good website.
[08:42] - We learn about the importance of being able to capture a lead in a pay-per-click campaign. Dave then lists a few places where you can create a website for free.
[10:42] - Dave lists the three elements that go into SEO: relevance, usage data, and domain authority.
[13:09] - Dave returns to the topic of establishing a goal, explaining how this relates to SEO and specifically usage data.
[16:09] - Brad takes a moment to dig into what Dave has been saying about video, emphasizing how important (and powerful) a video strategy can be.
[17:58] - We learn about using Facebook for marketing purposes as a property management company. This is part of the basic social media strategy that Dave recommends, and he walks listeners through some best practices for using Facebook successfully.
[21:56] - Brad draws out what Dave said a moment ago about putting homes on Facebook, and Dave points out that this advice is only good if you’re interactive with it.
[23:42] - You can buy likes on Facebook, Dave explains, or boost a post. Brad shares his own experience with doing this.
[25:48] - Dave reiterates that he’s here because Brad is the poster child for property management marketing.
[26:35] - We hear more about Dave’s advance marketing platform.
[28:26] - Brad adds his two cents, recommending the automated rental analysis Dave has been talking about to anyone (except people in his local area!). He explains more about how it works.
[30:14] - Dave talks us through the three parts of his process.
[33:13] - Brad and Dave talk about the possible discrepancies in automatic estimates, and why these can potentially be good things.
[34:34] - We hear the difference in number of properties that Brad signed up last year compared to this year, now that he’s using the product that Dave has been talking about.
[37:50] - Dave begins to offer some advice on the marketing strategy with video, then shifts to talking about companies that are successful. He then talks about the automated system in more depth.
[40:45] - We come back to the topic of videos, with Brad talking about the advanced marketing platform widget.
[41:46] - Dave discusses having a content strategy.
[42:36] - Brad offers a thought for videos involving having them automatically transcribed for viewers on Facebook with the sound off. He and Dave then discuss various strategies for videos and marketing.
[45:08] - Brad uses a service called Virtually Incredible; he explains here what they do for him. Dave then raves about the company.
[48:12] - If someone watches your home listing video all the way through, it gives you a lot of SEO credit for the view.
[49:49] - What you need to do depends on your goals and your market, Dave explains. This means your strategy will be very different depending on those two factors.
Links and Resources: