The Training Factor

A Recipe for a Successful Apartment Lease

Jonathan Saar — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:30:53 +0000

4 Tablespoons Curb Appeal 1 Quart of Apartment Training ½ Cup of Welcoming Office Environment ¼ Cup of Targeted Marketing 1 Pint of Community Reputation 2 Cups of Answering the Phone 2 Cups of Returning Prospect Emails 3 Cups of Welcoming Prospects at the Front Door 2 Cups of Follow Up 1 Smile from Ear [...]

Brainstorming and Optimization Summits September 2010-Educational Planning

Jonathan Saar — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 12:44:24 +0000

It is only a couple of weeks away! It really snuck up on us for sure. This is definitely going to be a week to remember. This year we decided to set up a booth for Brainstorming, so we look forward to chatting with a whole bunch of great multifamily folks who are interested in [...]

Multifamily Mobile Marketing-A Guest Post by Sarah Greenough

Jonathan Saar — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 13:12:33 +0000

There are more than 2.4 billion mobile phone users; this number is growing every day! About 30% of these mobile phone owners (more than 700 million and growing) have browsed the Internet through their mobile phones. This is why mobile marketing is predicted to become the next predominant media segment. Local search is also an area [...]

The Training Factor and Indatus: A Multifamily Partnership

Jonathan Saar — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:44:47 +0000

Coming up on three quarters of this year, Indatus and The Training Factor have been working hard to bolster our impact on the combination of tracking calls and using the data from that to initiate training. This post is more of an update to our original partnership announcement that occurred early this year. As many [...]

Tackling Property Management Budget Season without the Hives

Jonathan Saar — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:40:54 +0000

I am not sure what is a more challenging subject to write about budgets or bedbugs. They both make me itch and mentally break out in hives. However depending on our job position it is one of those necessary evils to help us prepare for 2011. I remember the day when I would furiously work [...]

I’ve got a Facebook page! I’ve got a Facebook page!

Jonathan Saar — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 12:50:59 +0000

Mack Collier wrote a post the other day that coincided with research I have been doing for the past few weeks for a presentation that Tamela Coval from RentWiki and I will be handling for the Atlanta Apartment Association. He wrote a great piece called “Here’s why you shouldn’t treat social media as being ‘free’” [...]

Customer Service and Resident Retention-Does it End at 5pm?

Jonathan Saar — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 17:23:04 +0000

A very inspiring moment happened today while I was shopping. I am in line checking out and posting something on Twitter with my iPhone. (Please don’t think I am obsessed) The lady behind me asked me how I liked my iPhone. I told her how much I love it and was grateful that my wife [...]

Top Ten Safety Hazards for Apartment Maintenance Technicians

Jonathan Saar — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 12:12:33 +0000

Ladders-Do not try and use the top step or rung on a ladder. Make sure the ladder is either securely tied off and/or has a firm footing on the ground. Tools-Aged tools can be quite a hazard. Inspect your tools regularly to make sure they are the safest tool for performing a task. Whether they [...]

Property Management Visions: Do You Really Have a Good Idea?

Jonathan Saar — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 12:40:05 +0000

Stop and reflect on how many good ideas you had yesterday. How many did you have last week? How many did you have last month? Now ask yourself what ever came of most of those? Those thought processes are one of the many amazing things about our brain. We are wired to be creative and [...]

Property Management Companies and OSHA Requirements

Jonathan Saar — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 12:59:00 +0000

Probably one of the most common human expressions we use is “I didn’t think it could happen to me”. Unforeseen occurrences can happen at any time. At work even the most minor of situations can turn into a serious injury. That is why it is OSHA required to have regular monthly apartment training safety talks [...]

Open Your Coconut in the Multifamily Industry

Jonathan Saar — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:19:45 +0000

Imagine yourself for a moment on an island by yourself. You are feeling hungry and all you have is coconuts around you. You have never opened a coconut before so the only thing you can think of doing is grabbing a rock and pounding on it until you finally make a hole. Opening a coconut [...]

Leasing Apartments with a Smile

Jonathan Saar — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 13:14:26 +0000

Can there be any doubt of what a smile can do for another person. When a prospective resident walks through that door, you have less than a couple of seconds to make that first impression. It all starts with a smile. Does a smile only come from your lips? Absolutely not! A smile comes from [...]

This Apartment Search is Going to Stress Me Out- A Twitter Lease in Action

Jonathan Saar — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 20:26:12 +0000

There really has been little proof that leasing via twitter is or could ever be a reality. A few of us have been testing the waters and “listening” to those on twitter who use the keyword apartment or apartment hunting. By sheer coincidence I spotted a tweet from someone I was following already. Cristin was [...]

Does Performance Command Training or Does Training Command Performance?

Jonathan Saar — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 17:50:45 +0000

This is similar to defining what comes first, the chicken or the egg. Training and education should not have an end point. In the most successful organizations, it is continual and ongoing. In fact, the greatest impact comes from utilizing performance reviews as a springboard to initiate additional and appropriate training and mentoring. This process [...]

Top 5 Tips for Planning a Multifamily Community Event- a guest post by Kim Cory

Jonathan Saar — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 15:11:19 +0000

We’ve all been there hosting a community event feeling disappointed and let down by the low response, turn out and participation! If you’re ready to start thinking and following through like an event coordinator, then read on for my “Top 5 Community Event Ready Tips”! Once you have your event ideas you are now ready [...]

Multifamily Lead Safety & Awareness

Jonathan Saar — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 14:23:32 +0000

Did you know that it only takes 10 micrograms of lead to harm a small child? Let’s put that into perspective. Using a penny as a comparison point. One penny weighs only 2.577 grams. That means that 250,000 children could be damaged by a single penny’s mass of lead if spread equally. On April 22nd [...]

NAA Then and Now—Always be Human

Jonathan Saar — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 15:11:54 +0000

My blog has almost become a journal that charts thoughts and processes and changes I have been going through and what The Training Factor has been facing each day. Last week I had the privilege of being on Mike Whaling’s BlogTalkRadio show. Mike owns a company called 30Lines and is a major asset to our [...]

You Can’t Fake Conflict Resolution

Jonathan Saar — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 13:22:16 +0000

Our ability to be a true example of successful conflict resolution begins outside the office and especially in down time situations with other team members. If offsite situations rattle your cage then your sincerity to handle onsite situations will not shine through. You can’t fake conflict resolution. Put yourself in the following scenarios and ask [...]

Multifamily Mayhem: Is this a Leasing Pro?

Jonathan Saar — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 00:02:36 +0000

Is this how you treat prospective residents? Make sure you stop by booth 1740 at the National Apartment Association Educational Conference!

Dear Property Management Company-Your Awesome Leasing Professional is a True Gem

Jonathan Saar — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 14:43:17 +0000

The following letter was from a resident to one of our clients. This letter was a must share and there is an interesting lesson to learn from it. I removed the names for privacy purposes and I really appreciate our client forwarding this to us. This is a huge testimony to what an overall company [...]