consuming and mindless work. You could hire assistants to take care of it for you, but then you have to pay for their time. That’s money out of your pocket, when workflow automation could do it for little to no cost! With the proper set up, workflow automation can automatically (have we overused that word yet?) create and update documents upon a preset date or action. E-MAIL CAMPAIGNS Like paperwork, e-mail campaigns are time consum - ing. However, in today’s digital age, consumers expect and prefer virtual communication by email or SMS text. Virtual communication also helps save money, as it is almost free to send emails. No postage. No paper. No printing. Do you have move-in and move-out information you provide to every tenant? By uploading the information into an automation program, it can be automatically sent when a lease is signed, or the tenant/owner indicates they no longer want to rent the property. Not only is it important to manage and serve your current clients, it is also imperative to ensure your client pipeline is full. Otherwise, how will you build your busi- ness? So, on top of everything you do for your clients, you also must market to potential leads. Ask yourself this: how much time, effort and money have you put into lead cultivation only to find the lead grows cold? Not only that, but how often does lead generation get pushed to the back burner when things get busy? We’ve all been there. Without too much effort and time from you, automation can do it for you ensuring your marketing efforts are con - sistent and professional.
reminders however often you need. Once you input the details of a transaction, you can sit back and be confident that the follow up will be done. Has a property owner approved a lease renewal? Great! Again, workflow automation can automatically update the paperwork and send it to the interested parties for signa- ture upon a given action and/or date. We all know how important referrals are to the suc - cess of a property management business. It is key that communication to current clients is steady and on-go - ing. Workflow automation software can send out regular emails to your current client base giving you the ability to stay “top of mind,” with very little effort on your part. And, let’s face it, if a client is highly impressed with your communication and professionalism, they are much more likely to recommend you to family and friends.
ORGANIZATIONAND INTERNAL COMMUNICATION
Nora Bohanon is a residential property manager with more than 12 years of experience, currently working with Chicagoland Leasing & Mgmt Inc in Chicago, IL. A Top 20 Rental Agent with the Chicago Association of Realtors® in 2011, 2012, and 2013, Nora is a proud member of NARPM (National Association of Residential Property Managers) and the Chicago Association of Realtors (CAR). Members of NARPM® receive information like this article every month through its news magazine, Residential Resource. To join NARPM or to learn more, visit NARPM.org/join. Whether you’re a one-person operation or have several people working for you, organization and communication is essential. Confusion and the miscommunication of information leads to the appearance of unprofessional - ism and lost time and money. As a result, you will be able to leave the office or go on vacation without worrying if things are being handled correctly or not. •
PAPERWORK Ugh – paperwork! Does anyone really like doing it? Probably not. Filling out leases and documents is time
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