To continue our series on why property managers should blog, I jumped onto an airplane and headed to Tampa, Florida to knock on the door of a property manager called Andrew Dougill. Andrew is a President of Hoffman Realty, which he owns along with his wife, MaryAnn. Both Andrew and MaryAnn are active NARPM members, dedicated to the profession of property management. The fact that Andrew is really smart and pleasant to speak with is a bonus. My main intent, however, was to capture the thought process on the true 20%-er – on the spot, unrehearsed. Let me explain.
The Good Old 80/20 Rule
During the last 4 years I interviewed hundreds of Property Managers, helping them uncover the value of optimizing operations through software technology. During my interviews I couldn’t help but notice quite an interesting statistic – about 80% of all property managers I interviewed are focused on, as Keith Becker puts it, working in the business, not on the business.
The 80% Club
Mind you, most of the 80%-rs are masters of their domain, knowledgeable and hard working. These are the folks who understand how to run their companies and achieve success. There is a one common trait that unites this group, however – the fear of change. Having figured out a successfully functioning business model, the 80%-rs immerse themselves deeply into day to day activity, working hard to achieve more with less within the constraints of the self imposed system.
The 20% Club
The 20% have something different about them: curiosity or drive; perhaps a mix of both. Whether it is the drive to increase portfolio size, improve portfolio quality or to manage more properties with less people through the use of technology, the 20%-rs are obsessed with honing business practices through technology, watching their search engine rankings, laser focused on customer service, and mindful of competition. They stay on top of the industry through being active in property management associations, lead their respective NARPM chapters and, as a rule, the 20%-rs are passionate about what they do.
These are the folks who are active in Property Management LinkedIN groups, proud members of the Twittershpere, those who embraced new Facebook Timeline feature, while everyone else is just complaining about having to change, yet again. The 20%-rs are the ones running the latest web-based software packages, collecting rent online, advertising their vacancies online and focusing their time on customer service, not paper filing. The 20%-rs read property management blogs, including this one.
Andrew Dougill and his team are true representatives of the above class. Even though there are many thought leaders here in California, I was curious to capture the opinions across the country.
I asked Andrew few questions about content marketing and blogging relevance for today’s Property Manager – the subject I am personally passionate about.
Please watch the interview and share your thoughts.
