Beware the Client Poachers!
There are many so-called “property management companies” in the Sarasota, Bradenton, Venice, North Port market areas that are living a lie! They are actually sales brokerages that do property management on the side. Why? For two primary reasons:
- To put extra cash in their pockets to supplement sales — property management is not their core expertise.
- Listing rental properties for sale when the owners decide to sell — management is their means to a future sale.
Do Your Clients Deserve Better?
Don’t your clients deserve better than part-time property managers simply looking to feed off of their wallets? Don’t they deserve full-time, dedicated, highly trained professionals who live and breathe nothing but residential property management 7-days-a-week, 365-days-a-year? How will your clients perceive you, if you refer them to one of these less than fully dedicated part-time property managers? These are simple questions that have a profound impact on your reputation if you make the wrong referral.
Why Should You Only Refer To Full-Time, Dedicated Property Managers?
- Your Reputation
If you refer a client to a property manager who ends up dropping the ball, costing your clients unnecessarily, and who generally provides a bad owner experience, who do you think that’s going to come back to haunt in the end? Who do you think your client is going to blame for getting them mixed up with such a property manager? Your reputation depends on you referring your clients to the best, and only the best, possible property management partner. Your reputation is on the line every time you make a property management referral! - Your Income
How do you think your clients are going to feel about referring you to others, or working with you again themselves when you make the mistake of referring them to the wrong property manager? Have you seriously considered the possibility of many tens-of-thousands-of-dollars worth of lost referrals and additional business, because of a poor choice of referral partner?
Things to Look For In the Ideal Property Management Referral Partner
- They are a full-time, dedicated property management company, not a real estate brokerage that has a management division on the side.
- They have a sterling reputation in the community from both owners and tenants (HINT: Check their online reviews and Better Business Bureau profile).
- They will send your client back to you when the client wants to sell — they won’t poach your clients!
- They are willing to share references of other local real estate agents with whom they have worked.
- They have a generous referral fee program for referring sales agents.\
It All Boils Down to Professionalism and Trust
In the end, who you choose as your property management referral partner all boils down to trust. Get to know the company you are considering working with. Do your research. Check out their reviews. Speak with other sales agents who have referred them business, and see what they have to say about their experience.
Don’t take your clients or your future earnings for granted. And once you find a great property manager to work with, be loyal! Treat them well! You send them management business and they will send you sales business. It’s a win-win for all when the right partners get together towards a common goal – keeping clients happy and making a fair income in the process. It’s what makes the real estate world go round!
About Us
In the real estate sales and services industry, relationships build business. Real Property Management of Sarasota & Manatee partners with sales agents to provide the best full-service solution for all of your clients’ residential property management and leasing needs (and we won’t steal your clients away from you, you get them back when it’s time for them to sell). You can contact us at 941-225-8185.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
