Now more than ever your Property Management Department is your most important asset in the Real Estate industry. In the last 2 years the Business Development Manager position has become a hot topic and when performed well, is very powerful in a PM Department.  Most Principals know a BDM is extremely important component for growth in the PM department but are unsure on what they should be doing day to day and what type of person would suit the position.

After being in the industry for 10 years and going from Reception to Property Manager and then becoming a full time BDM, I have to say the BDM position best suited my strengths and was the role I performed exceptionally well. So what makes a powerful BDM and what should you as the employer look for when filling the position?

-          They must be a confident networker, build strong relationships and love meeting new people.

-          They must be passionate about the department’s vision and believe in the product they are selling to the client.

-          They must understand the position is not a 9 to 5 role and be prepared to do deals after hours or on weekends.

-          They must have a competitive nature and be goal orientated.

-          They must have the ability to build and manage a large database.

-          They must be a team player and good communicator.

-          They must understand no doesn’t mean no, it means not right now.

-          They must be prepared to always think ahead of ways they can go the extra mile for themselves, the business and the client.

These traits were successful for me and I know I’m not the only one out there. Once you have secured your BDM make sure as the Principal you have a plan in place to ensure the success of your BDM. A good starting point is setting targets and making sure you have regular meetings to discuss any concerns or positive feedback you may have.

All about Tara After completing High School, Tara Milzewski commenced work as a Trainee Property Manager and within 6 years became the Business Development Manager at Wide Bay Prestige Properties. Tara has very strong passion for Business Development and understands how important growth is for a Property Management Department. Tara’s significant accomplishments include successfully securing 268 listings in one financial year and signing 30 new rental listings in one month. To contact Tara for any further information feel free to email Tara at  tara@stbinvestments.com.au

8th May 2012, Real Estate Job Search

Nikki and Richard, I just want to let you know how happy I have been with the service provided by REJS. Your service from start to finish has been exemplary and on a professional, knowledgeable and far exceeds all other recruitment agencies. nothing ever seems too much trouble and I have been made feel unique and not just another client. you have found a job for me that does not only suit my criteria but also my personality which is very important to me. I will certainly be recommending you both and Real Estate Job Search to my colleagues. Thank you form the bottom of my heart.

Kind regards Christine  – Adelaide  – South Australia – Senior Property Manager

As we are sure you are aware, the making or breaking of any company in an industry as competitive as Real Estate often comes down, purely and simply, to finding the right staff. The property game is a high-energy profession, where individuals who are motivated and driven thrive, and those that aren’t do not!

Now – if you are looking for a great deal to assist you in locating these guys then read on……

 www.realestate-careers.com.au the site that just works.

INVEST FOR 6 MONTHS FOR ONLY $495, GET ANOTHER 6 MONTHS FREE!!

That’s a one-off price, with no add-ins or strings attached. You can post as many jobs, in as many different locations, as often as you like. On other job sites you pay for a month, and as that month goes by your ad gets pushed further and further down the list, attracting less and less attention as each day passes. By using Real Estate Careers and having unlimited re-postings, you’ll not only ensure your jobs are constantly sent back to the top of the list, but that they also receive coverage on all the other job sites, and all our social media platforms, including LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

We’ve got  Real Estate applicants from every state and location around Australia, ready and waiting for their next job opportunity.

It couldn’t be easier to get started – just call the Job Site team on 1300 219 522 and the team will get you started over the phone or email sales@realestate-careers.com.au or go straight to the site to start your job postings, hit the link POST A JOB and get started now www.realestate-careers.com.au - Best of luck, it truly works.

There’s nothing we enjoy more than when we contact one of our talented REJS Property Managers that have just started in a new position, and hearing that everything is going perfectly, the portfolio that they took over is great, the transition when they started went really well and that they’re up to speed on all they need to know and understand!

Sound familiar to you – unfortunately this doesn’t happen all the time.

Property Management is an industry that deals in vast amounts of data and information, and with all manner of individuals, including landlords that who need very little attention, and landlords who require a lot! As a consequence, handing a portfolio to a new staff member can be tricky and full of pitfalls.

While an office manager can comfortably teach new team members about company protocols and best practices, the best person to get a new Property Manager on track is the outgoing Property Manager if this is an option. If the incumbent has left your employment then you will need to find someone that can do this in an efficient way or you may run the risk of the incoming Property Manager leaving out of frustration.

By developing a system for handing over portfolios and helping with the transition of new Property Managers in to your work environment you’ll save time and cut down on teething problems traditionally associated with taking on new responsibilities.

There are two sides to handing over a property portfolio to a new manager – the formal, and the personal. The formal side of things is obvious, and revolves around ensuring the out-going staff member has all documentation and contracts in place, that any relevant information, such as outstanding rent arrears or pending maintenance are clearly documented, and that all contact details for both owners and tenants are, to the best of their knowledge, up to date and current.

The personal side of things is something many companies neglect. Property Management is a profession which revolves around relationships, and a Property Manager will inevitably build up a certain amount of knowledge on each individual client they deal with – what they expect from their Property Manager, their likes and dislikes, and their personalities in general. Encourage out-going staff members to make notes on their clients. If their portfolio is too large to go over everyone, prioritize the most significant clients. This should be done in a relatively informal manner, as you’re looking for a genuine insight in to the clients.  Every client/ landlord / tenants have their different traits.

By doing this you’ll be giving the new team member a head start, and hopefully helping them avoid making any mistakes and continue the original Property Manager excellent work when developing relationships with specific clients.

It’s important to communicate with your clients, and let them know that a change in personnel is taking place. You’ll find that the vast majority of your clients will be completely understanding and patient, and will volunteer important information to their new Property Manager.

Take the other road though, by trying to conceal the fact that a new Property Manager is on board, and you run the risk of clients mistaking any teething problems a new employee may have for your company having suddenly become incompetent overnight!

In essence, a successful hand-over boils down to communication – between the out-going and in-coming employees, and between your company and your clients. Take some time to get this right and any transitions you have to make will be a breeze!

Best of Luck  Nikki Taylor

This article has come from the Directors of Real Estate Jobs Search, daily we meet with Principals across Australia and the question has often come up about the role of a Business Development Manager for your Property Management department.  

BDM or BDO, All this jargon, what do we do to increase our rent roll in a very competitive Property Investment market

In todays world of property management we have the  buzz words or phrases that are thrown around as Real Estate principals’ are now looking to grow one of their best assets’, their rent roll. The realisation is now upon as a Real Estate company we need to have a strong healthy growing rent roll to flourish in the current market.

The challenge is how to do this, should I just go and buy a rent roll, should I wait just for organic growth or do I get aggressive and go out and hunt down the business? We are seeing a growing demand for the use of a BDM/BDO (business development), in real terms a salesperson, who understands property management and is able to hunt down and find new business out there in the haze of investment property.

As in any sales position there are skills and attributes that your current property manager may not have or they may not like or want to perform this part of their current position. As in all fields of Real Estate it makes sense to have someone specialising in a position that is going to bring in more business and having them liaise with the PM division at the same time. At REJS there is a growing demand for us to locate for our clients this exact person that not only understands how a PM and the PM division works but also has the ability to be able to win over new landlords as well. As mentioned there are separate skills for this type of position and when looking to employ someone to do this for your office you need to consider, am I looking for a property manager or am I looking for a business developer.

There is no right or wrong answer to these questions as each office is very different and what needs to be considered is affordability, the existing rent roll size, your current growth and also projected growth. As a rule of thumb if you are paying a BDM/BDO $50,000 pa then they need to return approximately one new management per week or 50 per annum to your office for you to cover the cost of your investment in this person. You must remember that they are also increasing the size of your asset and this must not be undervalued either. The use of dedicated business developer will also allow you the ability to be able to go through your existing rent roll and perhaps identify a few of the properties/landlords that you do not want to keep due to issues that you may have had in the past, sort of a cleansing process that will allow the rent roll to be more profitable for you as well. Your current property managers will love you for doing this and perhaps removing a headache or two!

Other questions that we are getting regularly are what do I pay a BDM/BDO, how do I create a job description and how do I find this special type of person.

At REJS we can assist you in answering all of these questions and find the right person as well. Remember there is no standard answer to the “money” question, as in all of the talent scouring that we perform, the number one priority is to locate the “right” talent first and then negotiate so that both parties enter into a win/win situation.

The REJS team will be interviewing a couple of our recently placed BDM/BDO’s on video and placing these interviews on our REJS site so that you can understand the experience from their perspective as well as get a feel for what the encounter on a daily basis.  ( Coming soon )

So you say where to from here! Simply contact the team at REJS on 1300 219 522 to make a time for one of the directors to chat with you about your requirements and you can soon be well on the way to growing your rent roll, your asset, your way.

We look forward to assisting you.

REJS directors have worked in the Real Estate industry themselves and know what it takes to find the best of the best out there.

In today’s competitive Real Estate world, your vendors and buyers are expecting more and more and the perceived difference between you and your competitors becomes less and less. Your point of difference has to be your ability to build and maintain strong customer relationships as well as having or being part of a strong, focused, well trained and committed Real Estate sales team. This could well prove to be the difference between continually winning and losing the business.

Whether it is over the telephone, over the internet or face to face, the ability to sell you first is the core of any successful Real Estate transaction.  It is vital these days that everyone in a Real Estate office understands the impact that knowledge, skills and behavior of the Real Estate sales staff will mean the difference between the growth or demise of the office.

So what makes a strong Real Estate sales person?  In the early days it was thought the person with the so-called “gift of the gab” was deemed to be a natural to obtaining business.  In some cases this was true but it can also open the door for many unsatisfactory customer experiences.

The true sales professional today is so much more than this. Right from when he or she has the belief and confidence in themselves and their office or company, they must have the ability to be able to “prospect” for business. This is the key element in the Real Estate world today and sales people who are unable to do this effectively will not last long in the industry. This will include mastering telephone techniques to obtain appointments for appraisals, making cold calls or “hot knocks” and being able to be cost and time effective.

Once in front of a potential listing, you must be able to establish their needs and wants very quickly so that you are able to build trust as fast as possible. To the buying public most Real Estate companies offer the same service as their competitors, your focus is on pointing out the difference and why you will get the “best price in the shortest possible time” for the potential vendors. If you don’t have a point of difference then you must find one in a hurry! You must be able to recognise any buying signs and signals from a simple conversation and act on them immediately.  Your personality can gain and hold a prospects attention but at the same time make them feel comfortable, that they can discuss any opportunities with you.

Real Estate sales professionals are effective information gatherers, listeners and negotiators.  By asking open questions and building objection memory banks, they can defuse potential resistance at any stage in a meeting and move on to the “business” end successfully.

It is no wonder that many Real Estate companies invest a lot of time and incentives to personally develop their sales staff in the hope that the above mentioned is achieved.  With so much riding on the sales professional’s ability, finding the right “employee” with all these skills and attributes is not an easy task and should not be taken lightly or for granted.

So next time when you are looking for the right opportunity, whether that is for a new role or a new employee contact the Real Estate Recruitment / Talent  Specialist and let them do the hard work for you.

Best of Luck Nikki Taylor

As we’re sure aware, the making or breaking of any company in an industry as competitive as Real Estate often comes down, purely and simply, to finding the right staff. The property game is a high-energy profession, where individuals who are motivated and driven thrive, and those that aren’t do not!

We’ve made it our business to know where to find these top-end achievers; we’ve developed systems, created networks and databases, and honed our own skills to specifically cater to the Real Estate industry. Whether you’re a franchise owner, the head of HR, or part of a recruitment team, we can help you find the team members that will catapult your business to the next level, wherever you may be in Australia.

The Real Estate Jobs Search specialists team are ready to discuss  with you in relation to your next  recruitment plan.  You can contact Nikki Taylor or Richard Taylor anytime on  1300 219 522 and let them tell you about the most recent talent they have met. We also want to share with you an opportunity for you to go ahead and  advertise your own job postings.

Now, being a Real Estate professional we know you’ll recognise a great deal when you see it, so here it is! –

BUY 6 MONTHS FOR $495, GET ANOTHER 6 MONTHS FREE

That’s a one-off price, with no add-ons or strings attached. You can post as many jobs, in as many different locations, as often as you like. On other job sites you pay for a month, and as that month goes by your ad gets pushed further and further down the list, attracting less and less attention as each day passes. By using Real Estate Jobs Search, and having unlimited re-postings, you’ll not only ensure your jobs are constantly sent back to the top of the list, but that they also receive coverage on all the other job sites, and all our social media platforms, including LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

We’ve got  Real Estate applicants from every state and location around Australia, ready and waiting for their next job opportunity.

It couldn’t be easier to get started – just call the Job Site team  on 1300 219 522 and the team will get you started over the phone or  email sales@realestate-careers.com.au  put in subject line “Yes,  I’m interested” or go straight to the site to start your job postings , hit the link POST A JOB and get started now ,  www.realestate-careers.com.au

Best of luck – it truly works.

REJS ask you “ are you looking for the right staff?”

 Nikki Taylor -Real Estate Job Search – discusses how smart recruiting can take the hassle out of the recruiting process. Ensuring that all parties  are  winners – saving you company time and money…

 Let’s start by being very clear about why you want to recruit someone into your real estate business in the first place…

Generally it’s either new business opportunities or business growth that has created a new job or employment opportunity. Ask yourself these questions:

How will this affect the flow and allocation of work?

How will a new person fit into your business?

Mostly, employees who have decided to move on have been with you for some time. During this period your business has continued to meet the changing needs of both employee and business and will continue to do so.

Are you moving forward in the new business direction?

Do you need to change your expectations for the new employee?

Consider updating the new candidate’s job description. Perhaps create a new one by restructuring the current role to suit the new direction that your business is heading now.

I hear constantly – “I know what I want!” from business managers / principal’s and of

course you do, but can you explain it in an organized manner to potential applicants or specialists?

If it is so important that you find the right person, then it is equally as important getting this bit right.

I believe, it’s about the right fit first time – it’s all about attitude and communication.

A clear job description will make this a lot simpler and achievable.

If you still feel that this communication is not critical, take a few moments to consider what their first mistake could cost you in business disruption.

Staff turnover is very costly…

Finding applicants

You can network with friends, relatives and even business contacts.  Easy and cheap, however this is an open-ended process, because everyone who approaches you considers that they have insider’s advantage and are entitled to the role…

Advertise in the local newspaper or online

Very traditional, and it works for some  businesses some of the time.

Job postings on traditional job sites eg: Seek  can be expensive, so you cut costs in your advertising to save money. Wrong application message, wrong applicants apply.

Costly in time and money, plus you still need to allocate staff to reply back as a matter of courtesy and branding …

Recruitment Specialist / Talent Sourcing

At the end of the day, it’s your business and your decision ultimately.

However if you truly want to save time and money – Why not allow a professional specialist to do the work that you either do not have time or perhaps the skills to do.

• Job Descriptions – we will help you write it.
• We find talent that are not actively looking on traditional sites.
• Screening – candidates are not aware of your company until full screening is completed.
• Verbal Reference Checking – to a thorough industry standard

 Call an REJS Specialist today, so that you can get back to what is important, building your business.

Best of luck – Nikki Taylor / Director / Real Estate Jobs Search

 Nikki and Richard own and run a successful Recruitment / Talent Sourcing business specializing in Real Estate throughout Australia and NZ.

 Feel free to discuss any of the above on:

P: 1300 219 522

E: nikki@rejs.com.au

www.realestatejobssearch.com

The advantage why should you use a specialist that  focus’s only in Real Estate

 More and more we’re seeing clients coming to us who have been advertising on general job sites and have had very little, if any, response.

The problem is, when you’re looking for staff with very particular skillsets, and you turn to talent specialist’s and job sites which feature every candidate under the sun, with all manner of qualifications, varying levels of experience and vastly different career aspirations, you really are relying on luck to stumble over the right talent.

Not only do you find yourself trawling through an inordinate number of potential recruits, applications and resume’s, you’re also faced with the very real possibility that the person you searching for isn’t even on that site, or may not even be actively putting themselves out there.

The Real Estate industry is a fast-paced, demanding environment that requires people with specific personalities and unique capabilities, and potential employees who possess these traits are inevitably highly sought-after.

Because this is such a specialized area, turning to a talent specialist or job-site which specializes in the Real Estate industry is likely to save you time, money and stress, by greatly enhancing your chances of finding the right talent in a much shorter period of time.

A good talent specialist company will have an in-depth knowledge of not only the potential employees who are currently, and actively seeking employment, but will also be in the know about talent who are passively looking for work – talent who have expressed an interest in career advancements or changes should the right opportunity arise, but who are happy enough plodding along in their current job for the time being, without really putting themselves out there.

Additionally, experts and proven performers know they are highly sought-after, and are unlikely to throw their hat in with the masses on a generalized recruitment site, preferring to make their intentions known to an industry specialist whom they trust, and whom they know has a knowledge of their specific market.

And it is that underlying knowledge that you really miss out on when  you list a job on a site which encompasses every industry, every possible job and every possible employer. A company who prides themselves on specializing in your industry will know who to approach, where to find potential clients who aren’t actively hunting for new opportunities, and how to ensure you attract the very best talent.  The direct consequence of that know-how and expertise will be savings on time and expenditure, and an optimal end result that sees a fantastic new team member joining your organisation.

Richard Taylor

Real Estate Jobs Search

1300 219 522

Real Estate Success in 2012 – Are you putting your best foot forward?

We know employers have been screening candidates on social networks for some time now in an effort to establish who they are ‘outside the interview room’, but have you considered that potential clients are not just ‘interviewing’ you when you appraise their property for the rent or sales market, but they too are researching beyond the brand you represent to find out more about you online?

Face value, first impressions and previous performance whilst still powerful are no longer the only determining factors in whether you secure a clients business. Take a moment to consider your appearance online. Whilst your presence may be notable on your professional business website, how does it appear in other search and social media platforms?

• Are you on LinkedIn and is your profile up to date and professionally completed to highlight your experience and skills?
• Are you on Twitter and does your site go beyond purely announcements to offer links, pictures and insights to potential followers?
• Are you on Facebook and does your personal profile contain any content that you may not wish your clients and potential client base to see?
• Are you utilising Company pages on social media platforms as a means to enhance not only your professional profile but as another promotional tool to showcase your listings?

By effectively using photo and video sharing of listings, general property and  local area advice with their communities and prospective buyers and sellers, agents worldwide are not only experiencing successes in lead generation and brand building but have made strides in moving stock in tough times.

It is no secret Real Estate consumers have changed and are incredibly market savvy, they no longer need agent to educate them on local conditions rather they seek connectivity in this uncertain market. Success today requires a new breed of Real Estate agent, agents who can as cliché as it sounds think outside the box and be personally ‘available’ for existing and potential clients.

Offers agents the opportunity to direct and position how the public view you- social media makes your more them just a face on a signboard, a profile in a pre-list kit or a representative to contact online, but gives you the chance to convey your character, interests and promote your services whilst developing a sense of familiarity and trust in you. Effectively it carries the power of ‘word of mouth’ in a widely available, publicised and searchable version. Think about how powerful you could be if you are not only supported by a strong agency provided database but as an individual you are personally and professionally networked throughout your entire region and in turn able to offer additional platforms to your marketing mix that your competitors are yet to utilise.

Like all marketing, Social Media requires careful planning and strategy. To find out more about how you can utilise Social Media to saturate your local market and achieve success in 2012 contact Socially United today!