Define your business objectives
First, you need to decide what you want to achieve in your career as a property manager. Do you want to join a management company or start your own business? If you want to run a management company, will you work alone or hire staff to help you?
Think about the short-term and long-term goals you want to achieve. You may only want to manage two or three clients to start, but how many clients would you like to have in five years? Do you want to work full-time as a property manager or possibly go part-time and have employees manage your business for you?
Once you have set clear goals, you can decide on strategies and techniques to turn your business goals into results.
Plan your management strategy
Once you have clearly defined your goals, the next important step is to decide on the strategies you will use to make your business work:
- What tools and software will you use to manage your tasks?
- How will you handle customer communications and complaints?
- How will you find your cleaning and maintenance teams?
- How often will you schedule inspections of your properties?
- Will you need help if you manage multiple properties?
You will also need to determine who your competitors are and what they charge for their services. What strategies will you use to price the rentals you manage?
Part of knowing how to become a property manager is knowing what management systems and procedures to put in place to oversee operations. To avoid feeling overwhelmed or working around the clock, consider using a PMS to automate your tasks.
By automating these essential tasks, you can be assured that your business continues to function even when you are offline or focused on other matters.
Familiarize yourself with online marketing strategies
Knowing about marketing is essential when learning to become a property manager. You won't just be marketing your clients' properties, you'll also be marketing your own services online! Your goal is to outperform your competitors and reach your target audience. To be successful in your online marketing, make sure you:
- Develop your online presence: You should have your own professional website as well as business profiles on social networks. Make sure your social media pages are linked to your business website to generate traffic.
- Create a referral program: A great way to source new customers is through affiliate marketing. Offer a discount or cash back program to your customers for every new customer they introduce to you and sign up.
- Know where and how to market your clients' properties online: You must learn how to manage the online marketing of all your properties. All rental descriptions, photos, guest profiles will also need to be kept up to date. Track the booking rates of each property and make adjustments to your listings to try to increase bookings.
- Stay on top of industry trends: The vacation rental industry is constantly changing and reinventing itself. As a property manager, it's important that you stay on top of the latest trends to find new ways to market your listings. If you don't stay current, you risk being left behind by your competitors.
Find your first customers and build your reputation
The final step in becoming a property manager is to learn where to find clients and build a good reputation.
One resource that connects Airbnb hosts with property managers is called the Cohost Market. Property managers sign up to register profiles on the site, and from there hosts can search for managers and vice versa. If you're looking to manage Airbnb vacation rentals, this is a good option.
If you want to manage rentals on other hosting platforms, there are forums and communities on social networks where you can market your services. Once you have found your first clients, you can capitalize on referral programs and positive reviews from your existing clients to grow your portfolio.
Always remember to keep a professional but friendly tone in your marketing and communications with your clients. They want to know that a real person is managing their property, not just a brand name.
There is no harm in being honest if you are just learning to be a manager and have only recently joined the industry. Let hosts know this and possibly offer a lower monthly rate until you have more experience. As long as you can demonstrate that you are qualified to do the job, most hosts won't mind and will even appreciate the lower fee.
Although the road may seem long at first, becoming a property manager is well worth the time and effort. With thorough research, planning and perseverance, you can become a successful property manager and run your own management company.
