Onsite Insites by SatisFacts Research 2014 - 2nd Quarter | Page 13

as simple and as complex as that. You can build trust with residents when you: 1. Stay connected. Engage with your residents. This means no hiding behind closed doors. They are paying (often a hefty amount) and deserve your availability. This includes being visible in the office and online. Being available builds trusts—and builds a sense of community. 2. Communicate updates. Residents don’t like surprises, so advise them in advance of changes and issues that will affect them. It’s common courtesy. 3. Act reliably. You and your team members don’t need to set up unrealistic expectations. Rather, you want to establish realistic ones and meet them reliably. And as issues come up, be sure to resolve them as swiftly and completely as possible. A breach of trust here produces massive withdrawals from your trust account! And once it gets low, it’s tough to bring it back up. Trust-Building Pays Handsomely When residents have a strong sense of trust in your team, it can pay out handsomely. They stay longer and frequently become ambassadors for the community. They might even write positive testimonials of their experiences on AptRatings.com and Yelp.com— comments that greatly assist your property in reaching full occupancy. What better marketing exists than that! Creating a strong resident community involves building self-trust and a trustworthy team that delivers on the promise of service. Trust does matter. Make it a solid strategic advantage that you can start nurturing today. Your Action List •Establish trust as a strategy in building your community currency. •Measure how many positive or negative posting your property has now. •Embrace and practice the methods noted here, setting specific goals with your team In the next 90 days, measure the increase in the number of positive postings and in the trusting relationships that have developed among you, your team, and your residents. About our Featured Expert Terri Norvell engages people to break through their barriers as a highenergy keynote presenter, workshop facilitator, performance coach, and author. Her 25 years of executive leadership includes VP of Training, Marketing & Business Development with a $1.2B property management and development company; GM of a $9M temporary housing firm; president of a Silicon Valley Chamber; and co-author with Jack Canfield of The Masters of Success. You can reach Terri at 303-475-5456, [email protected] or www.TerriNorvell.com