Questions
Be Curious: Unlock the Door to Lifelong Learning
Curiosity isn’t just a trait—it’s your superpower.
It illuminates the boundless cosmos of wisdom.
It propels breakthroughs, nurtures progress, and kindles an unstoppable fervor.
With inquisitive eyes, the ordinary transforms into the extraordinary.
Dare to ask questions, seek answers, and never stop exploring.
Curiosity paves the path to your fullest potential.
“Curiosity isn’t just a trait; it’s a lifestyle. Embrace it, and watch your world expand.” – Mike Brewer
“To be curious is to embrace life’s infinite mysteries and possibilities.” – Anonymous
A Simple Property Management Question
I have a very simple property management question for today’s post.
What percentage of your time would you say qualifies as “marketing”?
No need to elaborate – just a simple number followed by a % in the comment section below.
If we get some good feedback, I will give you the punch line in a future post.
Your thanking you in advance multifamily maniac,
M
Authentic Apartment Marketing
Think of apartment seekers as consumers and your communication with them will be perceived as not authentic – think of them as people and you have a shot at creating conversation that speaks to fundamental human need(s), want(s) and desire(s). Think food, water and shelter. And, how do you become authentic as it relates to apartment marketing? You get an understanding.
Understand People and Their Behavior
Why would you want to understand people and their behaviors? The only way you change how people feel, think and behave is to understand them in a very authentic way? Only then will they respond to the power of your creative apartment marketing. Or, conversation and content marketing.
What can you do to understand people and their behaviors? First, you create an authentic and ceaseless urge to know more. You make it your daily quest to always know more about people. Always take notes. Take pictures. Record thoughts. Write a blog post or two or three to flesh out your thoughts. Make it your mission to understand what they think. What they prefer. What they dream. What they desire. And, what they need.
One item on note on understanding – what makes people people is always changing. And, if you are not leading that change in an authentic way then someone else will.
Your, highly interested in anthropology, multifamily maniac,
M
Multifamily Monday: Empathetic Listening
I love Monday – one of my favorite days of he week.
Today, we are doing a down and dirty lesson on empathetic listening or a fancy way of saying – pay attention. Empathetic listen is active listening or seeking first to understand and then to be understood. The goal being two-fold – listen on an emotional level as well as a cognitive level. In other words you aim to get a sense of how they feel and what they are thinking. And, remember empathy is not sympathy. Empathy speaks from experience; sympathy is there in support of.
Two Questions – Going Deep
When communicating with any one of your apartment residents over any issue, good or bad, use the following two questions to go deeper. If they are in your office complaining about a leaky faucet for the third time this week [and, presupposing you have experienced a persistent leaking faucet in your lifetime], stop and listen. Once they are done talking ask, “how does that make you feel. Or, suggest, “I can imagine that makes feel very frustrated or angry.
It seems obvious but many times, in our haste to get the cranky people out of our office, we don’t take time to validate their feelings. Guess what, that makes a person even more frustrated or angry. All that most people are after is an outlet to vent their anger, frustration or the such and they want the problem fixed. That is where the second question comes in. It is more cognitive in nature.
At the end of understanding their emotion; repeat the reason for the anger or frustration; “I see Mr. Ineedamyfaucetfixed; this is the third time this week you have been in to report your leaky faucet. Our service person has been over two times and still you have a leaky faucet. It bugs you because you are a light sleeper and the persistent drip against the aluminum sink keeps you up. And, you don’t think you should have to put a cup or a rag under the drip to soften the sound. You just want it fixed.”
Your – seeking first to understand – multifamily maniac,
M
Change Management
Cool Question: What’s not going to change in our business over the next ten years? With so much focus on what is going to be different about our business wouldn’t it be smart to ask the opposite question.
I got the question from an article about Jeff Bezos founder of Amazon.com. He and his team of innovators ask themselves the question on a regular basis to ensure they don’t focused on the pillars of their business.
What do you think will be the same 10 years from now in our business?
