Month: August 2020

Meet Our August ResMan Rockstars

Posted on by Hannah Wood

It’s “Back to School” season and although school may look a little different this year, we are proud of all of our ResMan Team Members who continue to “Believe in the Impossible” by pulling triple duty as team members, parents, and home school teachers!

With school back in session, we decided to Zoom In on the favorite school subjects of our ResMan Rock Stars, and we wanted to know what ResMan product they wished they had when they lived in an apartment!

Congratulations to our August ResMan Rock Stars!

 

Thea Manono, Customer Support Agent

Where did you grow up?  Anderlecht, Belgium and Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo

What do you love about your job? Being able to solve issues

What’s one thing that ResMan offers that you wish you had when you lived in an apartment? I love ResMan’s user interface

What’s your favorite thing that you do that impacts our customers? My ability to give simple but detailed instructions on how-to questions.

What was your favorite subject in school? Math and French

Mary Heywood, Onboarding Specialist

Where did you grow up?  Northbrook, IL

What do you love about your job? The people and also that there is always an opportunity to learn and grow.

What’s one thing that ResMan offers that you wish you had when you lived in an apartment? The easy to use interface… especially with payments!

What’s your favorite thing that you do that impacts our customers?  Properties and PMCs are all unique, so being open to learning about our customers’ needs is definitely important. This also helps broaden my understanding of the industry as a whole.

What was your favorite subject in school? Social Studies

David Eaton, Principal Product Manager

Where did you grow up? Amarillo, TX and El Paso, TX (high school years in El Paso, Burges High School)

What do you love about your job? Working with Customers; Developing brand new Products; Collaborative working environment with colleagues who are helpful and willing to share their expertise & knowledge

What’s one thing that ResMan offers that you wish you had when you lived in an apartment? Virtual Tours

What’s your favorite thing that you do that impacts our customers? Help launch new products & services that are win-win for the customers and ResMan

What was your favorite subject in school? Mathematics

David Fleck, Director of Product Marketing

Where did you grow up? Cincinnati, OH

What do you love about your job? I love working in an industry that can help change people’s lives for the better.

What’s one thing that ResMan offers that you wish you had when you lived in an apartment? Resident communication through SMS messaging

What’s your favorite thing that you do that impacts our customers? Being able to highlight new features and products that are going to make their day to day more enjoyable.

What was your favorite subject in school? ​​​​​​​Recess

“I don’t think of ResMan as a job.  I think of ResMan as a means to do something great for this industry, which has given me so much over the last 25 years.”
Elizabeth Francisco
President & Co-founder of ResMan

 

Johannes Wratschko, Digital Project Manager

Where did you grow up? In Munich, Germany

What do you love about your job? I love my team. It’s fun every day.

What’s one thing that ResMan offers that you wish you had when you lived in an apartment? Easy payment and maintenance service options directly in the resident portal.

What’s your favorite thing that you do that impacts our customers? I’ll make sure they get their property’s website designed the way they like and set live in a timely manner. Every feature the site has or updates they want are getting taken care of through me.

What was your favorite subject in school? I liked the languages. In Germany, we had English, French, and Spanish classes early on. I see now how that helped me. (It definitely wasn’t Math and Physics)

Trevor Burbidge, Technical Lead

Where did you grow up? Farmington, UT

What do you love about your job? Learning about new technologies that help us build ResMan faster and easier, and make the software more reliable.

What’s one thing that ResMan offers that you wish you had when you lived in an apartment? Recurring rent payments from my bank account (coming soon!)

What’s your favorite thing that you do that impacts our customers? Striving for virtually 0 errors in the new Payments platform.

What was your favorite subject in school? Woodshop. I am just about finished with some built-in cabinets/bookshelves complete with LED lighting!

Elizabeth Francisco, President & Co-founder

Where did you grow up? My mother’s family is from the south side of Chicago and my dad is from Odessa, TX (West Texas).  We moved back and forth between Texas, Illinois, and Michigan during my early childhood.  I have lived in Texas since I was in middle school.  To the disappointment of my mom’s side of the family, I consider myself a Texan.

What do you love about your job? First off, I don’t think of ResMan as a job.  I think of ResMan as a means to do something great for this industry, which has given me so much over the last 25 years.   We are at a point in our software lifecycle where we can put more even more focused efforts on innovative solutions, solutions that set us apart from our competition, and as a software provider in general.   Another aspect of ResMan that I love is the team members, who have hung in there with us on this journey through the financially harder times and growing pains.   This stage of the journey is not for everyone, and I know I speak for all the leaders and our investors when I say how appreciative we are of everyone gallant efforts.

What’s one thing that ResMan offers that you wish you had when you lived in an apartment? Considering how long it has been since I lived in an apartment and given that the apartment community was still on a DOS product, I would say everything.   Just imagine having to walk down to the office for everything, paying your rent, putting in a work order, and checking to see if you have a package… Ohhh the madness! Thank goodness for technology and the efficiencies it provides!

As an operator running apartment communities, there are too many things to mention that I would have loved to have when I was managing assets that ResMan offers today.  Oh wait.. that is why we built it. 😊

Nick Olsen and his team’s approach to building one platform with sophisticated solutions built into the core accounting foundation is a tremendous value ad for our users.  Building the solution the way they did was more challenging for the team; however, users truly benefit from improved data integrity and ease of use.

What’s your favorite thing that you do that impacts our customers? Listening to them!  The industry was already going through a radical shift in its ideology about running property management. Now as a result of COVID-19 the shift has been expedited.   We are committed to being a growth partner to our customers, so we have a responsibility to listen and respond to their changing business needs.

What was your favorite subject in school? Anything science-related, especially Biochemistry.

Hollye Watkins, Regional VP of Sales

Where did you grow up? Arkansas

What do you love about your job? LOTS and LOTS!  I truly do love what I do every single day.   I love the culture at ResMan and the relationships I have built internally.  I love the opportunity to build new relationships with my prospects and customers as I work with them through the sales cycle.  I love being challenged every day.  I love having face-to-face meetings/Zoom meetings (if they are on video) analyzing and reading the body language of the attendees in the room to allow me to know what I am going to need to do to have them join the ResMan family.

What’s one thing that ResMan offers that you wish you had when you lived in an apartment? The convenience to communicate via text message.  I think anyone that lives on a property that uses ResMan as their property management software would agree this is an awesome feature.

What’s your favorite thing that you do that impacts our customers? One of my favorite parts of my job is learning about a prospect’s business model and what improvements they want to make.  I love being able to show our customers how ResMan will be able to achieve their goals and give back time to their staff.

What was your favorite subject in school? I can’t pick just one! I loved being a student, and I come from a line of educators, with me personally being a teacher for 14 years. I’ll say Political Science/History and Psychology are at the top of my list.  Speech and Journalism are up there too.

Adjusting Your Marketing Strategy and The Evolution of Leasing

Posted on by admin

The Florida Multifamily Power Hour is a webinar series designed to bring together industry leaders of Florida to discuss pressing topics in the here and now. We have always been an open industry of networking; however, now more than ever, we need to come together to get through these unprecedented times!

Some are estimating that FL should anticipate 850K evictions in the coming four months. However, according to Harry Heist, even during the peak, FL only saw 160K evictions back in 2008/09. While overall occupancy has remained stable amid the COVID pandemic and rent collections are close to prior years, the sheer number of people unemployed in Florida will ultimately result in increased delinquency and increased vacancy.  The growing number of renters who have opted for a month to month lease rather than renewing is creating another risk factor for multifamily operators.  Given the increase in delinquency, the potential surge of evictions, the flatlining of rents, and unpredictable exposure to the market as a result of Month-to-Month leases there is an evitable impact to the bottom-line looming.

Historically when faced with tough economic challenges stemming from increased vacancy and decreasing effective rents, multifamily operators tend to decrease marketing spend in an effort to cut their way to profitability. As the war for occupancy heats-up in the coming months amid COIVD and eviction moratoriums lifting, I do not think this is the time to cut your marketing spend. It is time to take a hard look at the ROI of the investments you are making.

As your organization evaluates its marketing investments, you need to consider not only what tools you are investing in to attract, convert, and retain customers; you need to understand your ROI.  Consumers have been navigating on-demand experiences for some time now, redefining their expectations for all aspects of their personal lives, including everything from shopping online, dating online, and of course renting online.  Today’s marketing strategies call for more focus on the consumer experience and trends that go well beyond the use of ILS’s, a basic website, and face to face leasing.

Evolved leasing experiences include integrating all channels used to communicate with prospects to deliver a seamless user experience; one that would then transition to scheduling a tour, conducting ID verifications, facilitating self-showings, answering follow-up questions, and then closing the sale by presenting the customer with an online application, all in a consumer-grade package that feels human-like.  The goal, again, is not to eliminate humans from the process but instead create efficiency, instant gratification, and level up the roles of the on-site staff to focus on trust-building and guiding the customer through the renter lifecycle to ultimately retain renters.

To learn more about these topics, check out this video to see what multifamily leaders had to say!

If you are interested in joining our next Multifamily Power Hour we will meet again on Friday, September 18, 2020. Be on the lookout to register and complete the survey to help determine our next topics.

Authored by:

Katie Wrenn | Director of Training & Development at WRH Realty Services, Inc | 2019-2020 President of the Florida Apartment Association

Elizabeth Francisco | President & Co-Founder ResMan, LLC

Watch the recap of the first Florida Multifamily Power Hour

With attendees representing over 300,000 units, we’ve learned a lot in our first two meetings. Join us on the next one to share your insights and network with your peers.

 

Resources to help you stay ahead

4 Website Necessities for Converting Prospects to Residents

Read More

4 Affordable Housing Software Features That Improve Productivity

Read More

The 9 Essential Skills of a Property Manager and How to Build Them

Read More

Using Texting to Safely Communicate During Covid-19

Read More

The Evolution and Future of Property Management Communications

Posted on by Hannah Wood

Flexible communication tools are a vital ingredient of a virtual leasing office, along with a high-performing website and virtual tours. There was a time when email was king of property management communication tools. It’s still important and a key component of flexible communication. However, even before COVID, this trend shifted. People no longer want to interact with people to conduct their business via phone, and fewer people are responding to email. 

Consumers want to do as much as possible on their phones, through text messages and chat apps: 58% of consumers have tried to reply with a text message after missing a call from a business. And consumers are 4 times more likely to respond to a text message than call back to a voicemail. (Source)

This customer-driven shift is not over, and “it’s time to embrace the benefits of it,” says ResMan’s founder and President Elizabeth Francisco. “Our industry is behind. We use terms like customer conversion and customer retention when we should be hyper-focused on the customer experience. That experience is driven by expectations, which are driven by emerging technology used by brands like Amazon and Netflix.”

Where Customer Communications Is…and Is Going

  1. Email: As we’ve stated, email is still important, especially for global blasts to your entire resident population. But it has grown up. Without modern, flexible tools, email can be time-consuming and inefficient for staff. A super simple platform that allows your staff to automate and customize templated messaging is the answer.

Imagine being able to standardize your messaging across all your properties and ensure that every communication sent reflects the professionalism, tone, and experience you want for your residents. This is where email shines.

  1. Integrated SMS/Text: Business text messaging is emerging as a leading tool for providing contextual and conversational experiences, with 85% of consumers wanting to be able to send texts to and receive texts from businesses. (Source) It’s the fastest, most convenient, and singularly preferred channel for communicating with organizations. 

Open rates tell the story. While email open rates have dropped to ~25%, SMS open rates are at an astounding 90+%, allowing property managers to communicate with residents and prospects more efficiently. It’s even more efficient if your texting capability is integrated into your property management software.

If you haven’t moved to integrated SMS/text messaging, you’re already behind the curve. Texting is powerful for your client, but when SMS is integrated into your property management software, your staff can become communication rockstars providing stellar customer experiences. 

Integrated SMS allows staff to view an ongoing text thread with any resident from any screen in your software that contains their information. You simply click to continue the dialogue. In seconds, any staff member can be up to date on all text conversations with that individual, no matter which leasing agent has been a part of the conversation.

This is important for both conversions and retention. If a prospect looking at multiple properties can only be reached via email or phone call with answers for their questions or to set up an appointment, any property manager with text messaging can beat you to the punch. This is true not only in terms of speed, but also of providing the customer experience potential residents are looking for. For current residents who are late on their rent or need maintenance help, a quick text message shortens communication time and is more likely to get a response. 

  1. Chatbots: The next step in the evolution of flexible communication tools for property managers is AI. Artificial intelligence is not the future for your customers; it’s already here. They already browse sites where completely automated cyber robots start a conversation with them, then hand them over to a human for a live chat, if needed. 

Remember, fewer consumers than ever want to deal face-to-face or by phone with a person, especially for their initial evaluation of offerings. The property management industry has lagged in the adoption of emerging communication technology, but chatbots are on their way. To stay competitive, property managers must have a mindset that prioritizes innovation for creating a positive customer experience.

ResMan’s Flexible Communication Tools 

ResMan property management software continually drives innovation with simple yet flexible communication tools for your virtual leasing office, including:

  • Integrated SMS/Text messaging to communicate with staff and residents via unlimited messages and tracked conversations in a single, intuitive platform.
  • Customizable, automated email tools, with built-in templates and merge fields.
  • Chatbots: In development.
  • Internal communications: Staff can assign tasks in workflow and annotate customer profiles with notes to keep everyone on the same page.

Watch the recap of the first Florida Multifamily Power Hour

With attendees representing over 300,000 units, we’ve learned a lot in our first two meetings. Join us on the next one to share your insights and network with your peers.

 

Resources to help you stay ahead

4 Website Necessities for Converting Prospects to Residents

Read More

4 Affordable Housing Software Features That Improve Productivity

Read More

The 9 Essential Skills of a Property Manager and How to Build Them

Read More

Using Texting to Safely Communicate During Covid-19

Read More

ResMan Announces the Appointment of Two New Board Members

Posted on by Hannah Wood

Plano, TX, August 19, 2020 – ResMan®, a leading property management SaaS platform provider, today announced the addition of both Gayle Crowell and Jeffrey Stone to its Board of Directors. Crowell, joining as Lead Independent Director, has extensive experience in operations, sales, marketing, and C-level management in industry-leading software companies, venture and private equity-backed technology, and financial services companies. Stone is a seasoned CEO who has an extensive background in leading high-growth SaaS businesses and has worked extensively with the private equity community over a range of portfolio investments.

“I’m pleased to welcome both Gayle and Jeff to our Board. They join ResMan as independent directors at an exciting time, as we continue to focus on putting our customers-first while embracing our open network strategy to build highly-valued relationships with our customers and our partners,” said Paul Bridgewater, CEO, ResMan. “I am confident they will provide valuable perspectives as we continue to execute against our strategy to be the platform of choice for Multi-Family operators. I look forward to their contributions and are excited they chose ResMan.”

Crowell has more than ten years of experience as a Senior Operating Advisor across the portfolio of one of the world’s leading private equity firms. She has served on more than 20 Boards of Directors, and offers a particularly deep set of experience working with some of the most successful SaaS companies, including extensive work leveraging M&A and data monetization as a growth driver. Additionally, as a former CEO, Crowell thoroughly understands the unique challenges that today’s leaders face in building high growth and sustainable businesses in a competitive world. She is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) and Women Corporate Directors (WCD).

“I am passionate about leveraging my expertise to tackle some of their most difficult challenges in driving high growth businesses while delivering outstanding business results and measurable outcomes. My hands-on knowledge, coupled with a keen perspective into the financial markets and venture capital environment, bring a unique perspective that I’m thrilled to offer to ResMan,” says Crowell.

Stone previously served as CEO for several successful companies, including Compeat, a leading provider of restaurant back-office management software, MarketTools, a provider of software as a service for market research, and Tiburon Inc., a leading source of software for the federal and state public safety. Previously, Stone cultivated financial and transaction acumen as an investment banker with Morgan Stanley and operational depth in various leadership positions with General Electric. He earned his MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and holds an undergraduate degree in business concentrating in hospitality management from the University of New Hampshire.

“I am very excited to join the team on the ResMan Board. ResMan’s continued rapid growth has positioned the Company to be the market-leading platform for Property Management Companies and Fee Managers. I look forward to working alongside my fellow Board members and the Company’s leadership to continue innovating the industry and driving success,” says Stone.

“The additions of Gayle and Jeff to the board of ResMan add software expertise and leadership experience as the Company continues to expand its market share and deliver innovative technology solutions for property managers,” said Gavin Turner, Managing Partner at Mainsail Partners.  “We are proud to have them join the board, and I look forward to working with them.”  Mainsail invested in ResMan in 2017.

ABOUT RESMAN

ResMan is the preferred growth partner that drives profitability and efficiency for nearly a thousand property management companies across the U.S. ResMan delivers the property management industry’s most innovative technology platform, making property investments and operations more profitable and easier to manage. ResMan’s platform unlocks a new path to growth for property management companies that deliver consistent NOI improvement and brilliant resident experiences easier than ever before. For more information, visit us at www.myresman.com or engage with us on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook.

ABOUT MAINSAIL PARTNERS

Mainsail Partners is a San Francisco-based growth equity firm that invests exclusively in fast-growing, bootstrapped software companies. The firm has raised over $1.2 billion and invested in more than 50 growing companies since 2003. Mainsail prioritizes investments in enterprise software companies with compelling business models in growing markets. The firm’s approach to driving value creation is anchored in a dedicated Operations Team that is purpose-built to help founders scale their businesses and accelerate growth. These women and men include former software company operators who leverage real-world experience, well-established best practices, and a true partnership ethos to support management teams. For more, visit mainsailpartners.com

“I don’t think of ResMan as a job.  I think of ResMan as a means to do something great for this industry, which has given me so much over the last 25 years.”
Elizabeth Francisco
President & Co-founder of ResMan