Property Manager Magazine

Why Should WeConser ve Water

CRIME FREEMULTI-HOUSINGManagers Working Together To Build Safer Communities

8 Immediate Stress-Buster

Manager SpotlightABBY VERNONVillage Square Apartments

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Orange County Multi-Housing Magazine

Information | Resources | Training

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10 Leasing5-Sensory Selling - Finding Your Golden Pathby Toni Blake

14 Resident RelationsCommunicating With Your Residentby Mary Lou Gurski

22 Work EthicsThe Qualities of Skillful Leadershipby Jim Rohn

26 Team BuildingProperty Management Statistics Are Everything... Even the Small Ones!by Ernest F. Oriente

28 MarketingAre Your Print Ads As Effective As They Could Be?by Lisa Trosien

30 Customer ServiceTreat Every Customer As If They Were Your Guestby Cary Cavitt

33 Health & Wellness8 Immediate Stress-Busterby Dr. Melissa Conrad Stoppler, M.D.

34 Curb AppealCurb Appeal Mage You Look!by Amy Kosnikowski

4 Property Manager San Diego Magazine − July-September/09

features

departments16 Why Should We Conserve Water?Landscape Water Conservation tips and regulations. Courtesy of City of San Diego Water Resources Program Management

19 Manager SpotlightAbby Vernon, Village Square Apartments

24 This, Too, Shall PassWe have been here before!by Anne Sadovsky

36 Crime Free Multi-HousingEl Cajon Police Department crime preven-tion program focus on training apartment managers.

16

24

Property Manager Magazine • JUL-SEP/2009

contents

36

42

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41 Affordable HousingHUD Releases Final EIV Rule

42 Personal GrowthCreating Your Own Mission Statementby Denis Waitley

44 Time ManagementCreating A Sense Of Accomplishmentby Kevin Stacey

45 Vendor’s DirectoryProducts And Services Guide

46 InspirationThe War of Wordsby Elaine Silberberg

departments

f rom the Editor

on the cover...Our cover for this issue is

Abby Vernon, Community

Manager for Village Square

Apartments. The image of

Abby was captured by photog-

rapher Lawrence Brillon,

www.lawrencebrillon.com.

O

Elaine Silberberg, [email protected]

One of the most important things on

everyone’s mind these days is how to attract

new prospects. I have found myself thinking about that more often lately. It seems that we are simply not getting enough traffic! With the return of “Move in Specials” on the advertising scene we suddenly find ourselves less competitive than our competition.

Now is the time to be creative and take every phone call seriously! It’s also time to re-think our tour-route and closing techniques. In this issue of Apart-ment Manager San Diego magazine, Toni Blake again puts a twist on leasing as she talks about “Village Marketing” and cre-ative ways to add value to our marketing material.

Water Conservation Summer is upon us and again this

year conserving water has become a mandatory ordinance in San Diego. In this issue, we bring information about

the Landscape Survey, offered free for apartment buildings in the City of San Diego. As you become conscientious about saving water, you have the oppor-tunity to influence your residents to do the same, through letters, newsletters and resident meetings.

Crime Free Multi-HousingI first came in contact with the Crime

Free Multi-Housing Program in 1997, while managing Casas Nuevas Apart-ments in El Cajon. At that time, El Cajon was the second city in California to imple-ment this program; which had been very successful in Mesa, Arizona as well as in Riverside, California. In this issue we fea-tured the El Cajon Police Department’s Crime Free Multi-Housing division and bring fresh information about what the program can offer. With the new added benefit of insurance companies offering big discounts for properties certified by the program – it’s just one more reason why every apartment community should be part of this innovative program.

The War of WordsThere is a real “war of words” going

on out there! The media has nothing positive to say but we tend to listen to them anyway, and sometimes we allow their report to influence our decisions. In my life I’ve learned that there is real power on our words. Words can build us up or tear us down! Words will shape our future and dictate our present. When God created the world He used words and, as His creation, He has given us that same power. “Life and death is on the power of the tongue and you will eat the fruit thereof,” the Proverbs of Solomon. In this issue, our inspirational quotes (page 46) challenge you to see things from a different perspective and not allow pessimism to dominate your life.

Editor-in-ChiefELAINE SILBERBERG

ContributorsAMY KOSNIKOWSKIANNE SADOVSKY

CARY CAVITTDENIS WAITLEY

ERNEST F. ORIENTEKEVIN STACEYLISA TROSIEN

JIM ROHNMARY LOU GURSKI

MELISSA C. STOPPLER, M.D.TONI BLAKE

PhotographyLAWRENCE BRISTOL

Graphic DesignELAINE SILBERBERG

Proof ReaderKATHY KOTOWSKI

Marketing and SalesTRACEY L. SMITH

EMILIO CERVANTES

Published quarterly byClever Publishing Company

10240 Thanksgiving LaneSan Diego CA 92126Phone: 858.564.9222

Fax: 619.342.7793

For Advertising [email protected]

Copyright 2009 Apartment Manager San Diego Magazine is published quarterly by Clever Publishing Co. All rights are reserved. Reproduction of this publication in whole or in part without ex-press written consent is prohibited. Opinions expressed in articles or advertisements do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publish-ers or staff. Every effort has been made to en-sure that all information presented in this issue is accurate and neither Apartment Manag-er San Diego Magazine nor Clever Pub-lishing Co. is responsible for omissions or information that has been misrepresented to the magazine.

ApartmentManagerSan Diego Magazine

We were elated to read this new magazine. There were so many interesting articles and eye-catching colorful pages. Congratula-tions on this exciting idea!

— Angelina Diaz, UTC

I received your magazine yesterday and was very surprised that a magazine of this qual-ity would come free in the mail. I loved the article “taking the cus out of customer” - it reminded me some residents I have to deal with often. I appreciate very much the encouragement and inspiring words.

— Suzan Trumpler, San Diego

Thank you for your magazine. I took it home to read after dinner and really en-joy the topics and beautiful photography. Keep up the great work!

— Erika Spalding, San Marcos

My favorite article was Stacey Foo’s story. I am a leasing agent and would like to work as a manager one day. I feel that this maga-zine can give me a lot of insight. I’d like to see articles on time management in fu-ture magazines, because it would help me. Thanks!

— Monique Villelas, Carlsbad

Finally someone is recognizing our career! I liked the magazine a lot. A photocopied some of the articles and gave to my staff to read. Even my maintenance staff got excit-ted about the “cleaning gutters” article. It is a very resourceful magazine.

— Danielle Callaway, Mission Valley

I am grateful that I came across your pub-lication as it is very helpful and provided many useful tips.

— Abby Vernon, La Jolla

We’re thrilled that you take the time to write to us.

Keep your emails and letters coming. We read each and every one!

I really appreciated the ideas given for move in gifts. I actually called one of the companies you featured. It would be nice if they were local companies. Maybe on the next magazine you can include local companies as well. Thanks!

— Cathy Selders, Rancho San Diego

As a Community Manager is hard to keep up with all the training available out there. I was very pleased to see that this magazine offers articles of such a caliber. I attended a seminar where Toni Blake was a speaker few years ago and I absolutely loved her energy. I enjoyed her article “Reach out and Touch your Residents.” It was one of the best training materials I read recently. Thank you for such an amazing job.

— Jennifer Wilson, San Diego

To contact us, email to [email protected] or send us a

fax to 619.342.7793. All submissions sent to Apartment Manager San Diego

become the property of the magazine and may be edited for length.

8 Apartment Manager San Diego Magazine − July-September/09

let ter s to the Editor

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ow important are the senses to selling? Does a product have to have a great appeal

-- taste, smell, look, sound, and feel great to be successful? There is important research on the

impact of each of these senses that can be translated into exciting new selling strategies for multifamily housing; a poster, a carefully placed fresh flower, a photograph or a note on the refrigerator. Are you ready to add a Silent Sales Person to your leasing team? Find your favorite pen, and get ready to add to your “things to do.” This article has real solutions for taking every advantage you can in using Five Sensory Selling!

Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory!

Visual stimulation in selling is used effectively in many areas. Retail-ers work very hard to increase revenue with colorful product dis-plays, signage, photographs and merchandizing, especially in the main path of the customer. Retailers identify the highest revenue path in each store. This is called the “Golden Path.” The world’s largest man-ufacturers spend millions of dollars on research designed to discover the right color, style, words and image to influence the customer’s decision process. It is time for multifamily to find their “Golden Path” and implement better practices for high visual impact.

Once this “high profit” - “high impact” path through your property is established, it should be separated out for special maintenance, landscaping, and marketing enhancements. For example: weekly touch up painting of the front curbs to keep a “new”, “clean” image to the front area. A planter with a dead flower and a welcome mat that is missing letters is a very expensive mistake in the visual marketing. I might not be able to afford to remodel my whole property, but I will be clean, neat and freshly painted with manicured landscape on my

golden path. At every step, your leasing team should be supported by visual displays, added merchandizing, and success tools that will help them weave their magic into Gold. I have created totally new leasing tools & procedures designed to influence the customer’s decision: the telephone, office display area, guest card, the apartment demon-stration, and the follow up and closing cards.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Have you seen those cute metal stands for photos? The base has metal arms extending out like limbs from a tree with rings on the end that hold photos. They look kind of like a photo tree! Well, what if you used your Polaroid camera to take the photo of each customer at lease time and asked him or her to write a testimonial with rea-sons why they decided to rent. Instead of just photos - your tree would display a photo card with testimonial messages to the future residents, therefore making it a TESTIMONIAL TREE!

If a picture is worth a thousand words, how can you use photo-graphs to help sell your property? Some properties take their digital cameras on tour. They ask the future resident if there are any special amenities or features they would like photographs of, and then they email the photos as a part of their follow up! What are you doing to use digital camera or even Polaroid?

Village Marketing: New Customer Approach to Leasing

I believe that customers have a new approach to the way they decide on a new apartment. The first level of this new approach is ex-ploring the question “Which Area of the city is right for my family?”

The customer’s search for an apartment will take them in a vari-ety of directions and different parts of the city, as they are trying to identify “which area best suits my lifestyle?” We want to help the customer answer that question by creating a powerful visual tour

H

by Toni Blake

5 Sensory Selling“The Silent Salesperson”

Finding Your Golden Path


leasing

through the area with pictures. Take pictures of the storefront of every business within 3 minutes of your property, 5 minutes etc. In-clude the front door with signage from the auto repair, dentist, Chi-nese restaurant, dry cleaner, jeweler, shoe repair, pet hospital, hair & nail salon, etc. If you have a park or playground, even within the hous-ing community, take a picture of the city sign with information about the park. Look for trails, health clubs, golf courses, movie theatres, and other social areas in your “village.” You want to show them that everything they need for the perfect life is right here in your zone.

Be Visually Organized - The New Resident Packet

In order to create a new leasing tool, I have designed a “New Resi-dent Packet”. This two-pocket folder organizes all the tools needed to lease an apartment and integrates the new selling strategies into one neat usable packet. In advance, the leasing team builds the right side pocket of the folder to include Applications, Pen, Guest Card, business cards, Floor Plans, site maps and other leasing material. The right side pocket is a portable leasing station. This allows a leasing consultant to be completely prepared when the customer arrives and he/she has the ability to lease whenever and wherever the cus-tomer is ready to sign. One additional benefit has to do with the size of some of the property brochures. We have documented the col-lection of collateral materials from the different communities during the customer’s search.

If your brochures are formatted on paper smaller than 8 ½ x 11, your information may “literally” fall between the cracks in a folder. With the “New Residents Packet”, your property not only stands out in the crowd, but also might become the key organizer for all the customer’s collected information. Your marketing piece, when placed in between other material, gets lost because it does not ex-tend to the top edge of the file. I want to recommend you build a special packet of information in 8 ½ x 11” two-pocket folders. In the left side pocket, each property could create a welcome packet on the area: including area parks and recreation information, schools, mover’s guide from the post office, banking information, local stor-age, village marketing, utility numbers, along with other important and helpful moving information.

We have found that in order to generate new customers, many local businesses will offer you an incentive. One property manager

arranged for a FREE cell phone for her residents who signed up with Verizon at the location near her community. Other managers have arranged for FREE pizza, one FREE year of checking, FREE packing materials, FREE drink, FREE appetizers and FREE dry cleaning. Print down my Village Marketing section for more details, additional ex-amples, and letters written to the local businesses.

One of my clients was able to create a “New Resident Packet” with gifts and incentives of over $750.00. Why not let your local busi-ness take care of the “FREE” in your marketing and stop giving away rent. You would be amazed at the wonderful “gifts” local businesses are willing to give your new resident as an incentive to choose your area. Leasing people should be required to create individual New Resident Packets for their desk to include their business card and personal touches. You might have a contest for the best New Resi-dent Packet and do a show and tell at your next team meeting. Make sure your New Resident Packet answers the question convincingly - YES, this is the best area!

The beauty of the “New Resident Packet” is not just in the great marketing tool, marketing incentives, and organization-al properties - the use of the packet may also impact your clos-ing percentage. In testing the use of the “New Resident Packet”, we have found one additional impact of the leasing process. Most customers have the “just looking” mind-set and in response, some leasing people think of their job as “showing” an apartment.

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Some places even have signs that say, “We are out SHOWING an apartment.” I believe the role of our leasing people is to “lease” and not show. Imagine someone say-ing “I’m just looking” and the leasing person responding “Well, I’m just leasing” and then turning to the staff and saying “I am going to lease an apartment - I’ll be right back”. What about a sign for the door that says “We are out Leasing an apartment.” Most consul-tants use the trip to the apartment to “take the scenic route.” When using the “New Resident Packet,” we find the best use is on the way to the apartment. The discussion about banking, moving boxes and area ser-vices forces the conversation toward “mov-ing” not “looking” and therefore creates a buying mood and sense of urgency. This is a much more effective use of the time on the way to the apartment. Then, on the way back from the apartment, you can introduce the future resident to the community and all the amenities. After all, on the way to the apartment, it is still “my property”. However, once the resident has seen an apartment, there is ownership and the property tour is about “their new property”. This exciting leasing tool should be an immediate addi-tion to your leasing procedure.

The SELF-CLOSING ApartmentHave you ever been frustrated reading shop-ping reports that tell you that your leasing team is not offering an invitation to rent or any kind of closing statement? I have the perfect solution: the Self Closing Apartment. I have written out 48 closing statements de-signed as visual displayed for the apartment. As long as your customer can read, they will be invited to rent over and over and over again, by the apartment.

The wonderful cue cards give your leas-ing people more than 40 opportunities to close in one apartment alone by assisting in demonstrating the apartment, placing furni-ture and discussing the area. You will love these cards and they are available at no cost. Simply go to “Free Stuff” on my website. There you will find a word document with your Self Closing Apartment cards typeset and ready to use. You may also want to print down my amazing Closing Card Game to teach your people when to adlib in con-versation and lead a customer to the close. Out of site, out of mind. We need to look

at our world and decide where we can cre-ate great visual displays to help us be more successful.

The Self Closing Apartment cards are one of many opportunities we have to “speak out” as a silent sales person. Be cre-ative: don’t just print down the messages I wrote. Think about how you can deliver those messages more powerfully. Today you can purchase decal paper. This clear plastic paper sticks to flat surfaces without adhe-sive. You may have seen it used on your sun-glasses to communicate different features. You can copy some of the Self Closing mes-sages onto decal paper to put on mirrors, windows, and other flat surfaces. You might hand write some of the cards, write a note in lip stick on the mirror: Great American Business Products sells the markers that write on glass for creating window art. BE CREATIVE! HAVE FUN!

If it does not SMELL well...It does not SELL well

Do you know which of your senses has the greatest influence? Even though many of our evaluations and judgments are based on sight, it is the sense of smell that is the most impressionable. Imagine a richly decorated environment filled with the most expensive décor, ornate touches, colors and furniture. No matter how visually attractive your clubhouse and models are - no matter how much you spent on decorating - burn some popcorn and people don’t want to be there.

Scent is the only one of the five senses that is directly connected to the cerebral cortex of the brain and is the more power-ful image builder. The right scent can influ-ence sleep, romance, and mental focus. It is also proven to make both people and envi-ronment more attractive. And that’s nothing to turn your nose at.

Environmental fragrances have been a phenomenal commercial success as a mood enhancer and aromatherapy. The Home Fra-grance industry estimates $3 billion in an-nual sales, according to the Fragrance Foun-dation. If our customer is spending billions of dollars to make their home environment inviting - why would we not use this amaz-ing tool in selling?

Aromatherapy has become an everyday part of many people’s lives - bergamot oil

to “jump start” the day or lavender lotion before a meeting to “calm and relax”. It can be used to reduce stress and ease tension. You can’t walk into a mall or even an airport today without passing a retail storefront full of “aroma” products. Everyone seems to know that smell matters, except multifam-ily housing. Out of 100 communities sur-veyed, 97% experienced revenue loss and increased down time due to odor. 100% had replaced carpet and painted walls in hopes of removing odor. We are still expecting people to rent and live with residual odor left behind by the previous occupant includ-ing their cooking, personal body odor, and loving family pet.

Many companies make-ready procedure do not address making the apartment smell good. “Clean” is the primary goal. Cleaning doesn’t always neutralize odor and today there are very inexpensive chemicals that can easily do the job. We simply need to make “smelling good” a part of our apart-ment marketing plan.

Today there are some great advantages provided to us by unique products - stay current on the newest in environmental fra-grances and give your team the advantage of the “newest” ideas.

About The Author:

Toni Blake is a nationally recognized

expert in customer service, sales and

marketing. She travels to over 60 cities

annually speaking to over 30,000 man-

agement professionals each year. Toni

is known for her innovative concepts

and is an industry trendsetter. She has

been involved with Multifamily Hous-

ing since 1979 and currently resides in

Greeley, Colorado. For more informa-

tion, contact her office toll free 866-

889-6600 or 1-970-378-6784. Visit her

website www.TotallyToni.com.


leasing

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Communicating with your residents is one of the most important objectives of your

job as an apartment management profes-sional. Your ability, or lack thereof, to

make your residents feel comfortable in their new home and community are

predominant factors in making res-idents want to stay.Move-in time is one of the most critical times in our relationship with a resident and can set the tone for the future. It is the time to welcome a new resi-dent and make them feel at home in the community. Our courteous handling of their problems or com-plaints can promote or eradicate good resident relations. Complaints are not nec-essarily bad, as they might bring potential problems to light. If someone is upset with community policies, we want to know about it in time to provide a solution. One of the main pur-poses for improving resident relations is to maintain resident retention. The follow-ing is a list of ideas for furnishing “outra-geous” resident rela-tions:

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Welcome Packet for the community and surrounding area at time of move-in. Welcome Basket with card left in the apartment at move-in. Resident Newsletter to keep resident informed of events, policies and changes. Calendar of Events, which can be incorporated in the community newsletter. Resident Parties – Create theme parties to encourage residents to enjoy the community’s facilities. Patio/Balcony Contest – Establish a contest for the most attractive flowers, best Christmas decorations, best pump-kin carvings, etc. Birthday Cards to residents. Coffee and Doughnuts in the morning at curb side as residents are leaving for work. Neighborhood Watch programs for the residents. Flowers and Candy delivered on Valentine’s Day. Christmas Cards with signatures of entire team. Decorate the Office in holiday themes. Keep an Idea Box for residents to suggest different activities. Call Residents and apologize for work orders not com-pleted within twenty-four hours. A Thank You Note for paying rent on time. Warm Call 10 residents per week to see how they enjoy living in your community. Work your “Caring for the Customer” program. Work your Referral Programs Sponsor Community Events to get the name of your com-munity out to the public. A Resident Suggestion Box – their opinion is important to us.

While this list is just a beginning, as we develop new and unique ideas, we can constantly add to and update this list for continuing resident relations to achieve our goal of resident retention. AM

About The AuthorMary Lou Gurski has over twenty one years experience in property management. She began her career as a leasing consul-tant for Oxford Management in Charlotte, North Carolina. Mary Lou’s positive attitude and success-driven spirit moved her quickly into a sales manager position where she was responsible for hir-ing, training and motivating twelve properties with fifty-one team members. Since launching her own training and consulting compa-ny in 1990, Training for Success, Mary Lou has become one of the most sought after speakers within our industry. Mary Lou can be reached at 800.228.8363 or online at www.marylougurski.com.

resident relations

California is often recognized as a land of extremes and diversity in cultures, ecosystems, geogra-phy, and water resources. Its modern history is written in gold mining, railroads, and the development of wa-ter. Water irrigates millions of acres of farmland, making California the nation’s leading agricultural producer and exporter of agricultural goods. Water has made the de-velopment of the Southern California cities possible.

However, California now faces monumental challenges in meeting the water demand of its current and project-ed population. Further compounding the problem is that the public remains largely unaware of the major issues confronting the state’s water supply.

While some agencies have built regional projects to increase local water supply and storage, California’s state and federal water systems have not seen any major upgrades since the State Water Project was completed in 1973, despite the addition of nearly 14 million resi-dents.

According to population projections, the state’s total population will increase to 60 million people by the year 2050, an increase of over 56% from the 2000 census numbers. As the state’s population continues to grow, this is putting strain on our existing water supplies, as well as bringing into question the ability to accommo-date this expected future growth.

why should weConserve Water


Tips To Pass On To Your ResidentsBathroom Turn off the tap while brushing your teeth or shaving. Save 4-10 gal./day. Never use your toilet as a wastebasket. Save 3-7 gallons per flush. Don’t take marathon showers. Five minutes will get you clean. Save 3-7 gallons per shower. Close your tub drain before turning on the water. Save 3 gal. or more. Fill your bathtub only halfway. Save 5 gallons or more.

Kitchen Fill your sink or basin when washing and rinsing dishes. Saves 8-15 gal./day. Run your dishwasher only when full. Save up to 15 gallons per load. Wash vegetables and fruits in a basin. Use a vegetable brush to remove dirt. Save 2-4 gallons per day. Run your garbage disposal only when necessary. Save 2-7 gallons per minute. Run the washing machine only when full and adjust the water level setting carefully. Washing machines use 22-25 gallons per load. Save the water for 1-2 loads every week.

Source: NMHC, National Multi Housing Council (www.nmhc.org).

Where Does California’s Water Come From?California has been called “the most hydrologically altered land-

mass on the planet”, and it is true: the California of today bears little resemblance to its former self. Today, there are reservoirs where there once was desert, desert where there once was cropland, and cropland where there once was a swampy marsh. Some rivers have been dried up; some rivers flow through mountains into other riv-ers’ beds; and some rivers even flow backwards at times.

California is home to two massive water projects, plus numerous local projects. The Southern California imports more than half of its water supply through the Los Angeles Aqueduct, the Colorado River Aqueduct, and the State Water Project.

Apartment Building ConservationAlthough apartments generally use less water than houses, in

some ways apartment dwellers can do more to conserve water than homeowners. Think of it this way, if everyone in your building does a little something to save water, that small water savings is mul-tiplied by the number of units. So if everyone saves just two gallons of water a day, your building may be saving 10, 50, or 100 gallons a day, depending on the number of units.

Some apartment dwellers pay their own water bills, and some do not. But whether or not your residents pay their own water bills, it benefits everyone to conserve water. Conservation helps keep water costs down which benefits all of us. With farmers facing an increase in the cost of irrigation and caring for their stock, these costs will be passed on to the consumer in the form of higher prices at the grocery store.

A Water-Friendly ApartmentMost apartments already have water-saving showerheads that use

2.5 gallons of water per minute or less. Even if you already have a low-flow showerhead, every minute each of your residents shorten their showers, it can save up to 75 gallons per month. And remem-ber, there’s power in numbers — if every apartment in a 15-unit building cut just one minute from their daily shower, that would be a savings of 1,125 gallons every month!

LeaksThe Pacific Institute’s report, “Waste Not, Want Not - The Po-

tential for Urban Water Conservation,” determined that flushing toilets accounts for 33% of indoor water use, making it the largest use of water inside the home. Older models can use 3 to 5 gallons per flush, while more efficient models use less than 2 gallons. Show-ers account for 22% and faucets account for 18%, while washing machines use about 14%, and dishwashers only accounting for 1%. Perhaps most surprisingly, the Pacific Institute estimated that 12% of indoor water use was a result of leaks. A little drip may not seem like much, but a faucet that drips just five times a minute may be wasting more than 260 gallons a year. AM

going green | environment


Source: City Of San Diego Water Department & Water Education Foundation (Aquafornia.com).

going green | environment

Landscape Water Conservation Water your landscape only before 6 a.m. and after 8 p.m. to reduce evaporation and interference from wind. Savings: 20-25 gallons per day per valve. Cut irrigation to 2 or 3 days per week or use the landscape calculator and watering index. Water only after the top inch of soil is dry. Reset irrigation controllers and replace batteries in the spring and fall 25-50 gallons per valve for each minute of ir-rigation eliminated. Adjust sprinklers to prevent overspray and run-off. 15-20 gallons per day per valve.

Repair leaks and broken sprinkler heads. 20 gallons per day per leak. Add 2” to 3” of mulch around trees and plants to reduce evaporation. 40 gallons per day per valve/hydrozone. Install water-efficient drip irrigation system for trees, shrubs, and flowers to get water to the plant’s roots more efficiently. 20-25 gallons per day per valve/hydrozone. Upgrade to a “smart irrigation controller” that automati-cally adjusts watering times for hotter weather, and shuts down the system when it rains. Save 525 gallons/30 station controller. Replace a portion of lawn with beautiful native and Califor-nia Friendly plants. These plants do best when planted after winter rains begin. Save 33-60 gallons per day per valve. Utilize the Water Authority’s conservation programs to upgrade irrigation hardware and equipment to stop leaks, re-duce water use, and otherwise improve irrigation efficiency. Save 900 gallons per day per acre.

Source: San Diego Water Authority (20gallonchallenge.com)

Landscape Survey ProgramFor City of San Diego

The Commercial Landscape Survey Program is provided free of charge to commercial, industrial and institutional customers in the City of San Diego. The program is made possible through funding provided by the San Diego County Water Authority and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

What Are The Benefits?

Reduced maintenance and related costs for harscape improvements on your property; Reduced overall water-use; Reduced irrigation run-off into streams, bays and the ocean; Reduced demand on the City’s water supply during peak use times.

Who Is Elegible?

Qualifying commercial, industrial and institutional proper-ties with more than one acre of landscaped grounds will receive an audit of the irrigation system, practical advice, wa-ter-saving recommendations, and a water-use budget. These key items provide tools necessary to efficiently maintain ex-isting landscaping and potentially save between 20 and 40 percent of water.

How Does It Work?

Skilled surveyors review the water-use history of the property to determine if water savings are possible. If sig-nificant water savings can be achieved, an on-site audit will be conducted to evaluate the efficiency of the existing irriga-tion system. Your property receives:

A written evaluation of the irrigation system’s perfor-mance with recommendations on how to improve water application; Aerial photos of the property that measure the land-scaped areas by plant type; A water-use estimate for the coming year; and An irrigation controller schedule for each month.

To Schedule A Survey

Call 619.570.1999 to get more information and/or sched-ule a survey (have your water account number available).

The property will need to provide a skilled landscape ir-rigation professional to accompany the surveyor for the on-site audit. AM


cover story

Manager SpotlightAbigail (Abby) Vernon, 29, Community Manager

of Village Square Apartments, La Jolla, CA.

Story: Elaine SilberbergPhotos: Lawrence Brillon


Abby Vernon started her career as a reception-ist in a small property management firm in Pa-cific Beach. That receptionist position led to a leasing consultant position and eventually she became the head of the leasing department for all of the beach area properties.

Today, Abby is the Community Manager of Vil-lage Square Apartments, a 116 unit property consisting of studio and one-bedroom apart-ments. Abby’s customer service skills and great personality, along with her love for property management have inspired her to build a ca-reer in this field.

Village Square Apartments is managed by R&V Management and Abby is very thankful for the support she receives from her corporate of-fice, and she states, “R&V Management is the best company to work for as they are so incred-ibly supportive of their field staff.”

At Village Square, her team includes Liliana, leasing consultant, Julian, maintenance tech and Jessica, porter. “We all work like a well-oiled machine.” says Abby.

Abby’s property has a very privileged location: it is walking distance to AMC Village 12 Movie Theaters, Starbucks, Trader Joe’s, and many other groceries stores and restaurants. Built in 1979, Village Square has a modern feel and unique architecture.

Abby truly enjoys being able to help people find a new home. She says; “I want everyone to love living at Village Square as much as I do and will do my best to make their transition and residency here as smooth and comfortable as possible.”

Maintenance NightmareAbby remembers her beginnings at Village Square. “Soon

after I first took over management at Village Square, I had my very first emergency maintenance call, a water leak from a second floor apartment into a first floor apartment. Then, 15 minutes later, I received another emergency maintenance call - for the exact same maintenance emergency only in a differ-ent building. About twenty minutes after that, I received a third maintenance call - it was Murphy’s Law in full effect!”

With a Bachelor degree in Psychology, from San Diego State University (SDSU), Abby utilize her acquired knowledge daily. “I was fascinated with studying the human mind and behavior, while at SDSU, and Psychology ultimately turned out to be a great major to have in the customer service field, as you work with many different types of personalities on a daily basis,” says Abby.

She plans to eventually go back to school to study more in

the Industrial and Organizational Psychology field learning how psychological practices can be applied in the workplace to im-prove the performance and interaction of her team members.

As a native San Diegan, Abby hopes to someday settle down here and have a family of her own. “But for now,” she says, “I am truly enjoying where I am in life and just aspire to learn something new every day, no matter what arena it happens to be in.”

An avid yoga and fitness fanatic, Abby is very excited that Sol Yoga recently opened next door, now she will be able to practice more often. “I live on-site and I absolutely love it! The location is fantastic and convenient. I live only 5 minutes away from the beach and I enjoy going there on my days off and run-ning at La Jolla Shores when it’s not so sunny,” says Abby.

Recently, Abby adopted Bella (her cat) from PetSmart to keep her company. “Bella is really more like a dog,” says Abby, “because she likes to play fetch and I recently taught her how to “sit” on command. Hopefully soon she’ll be running on the beach with me soon - just kidding.”

Abby’s goals are to further her education in the property management field, through attending classes at the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM), eventually becoming a Certified Property Manager (CPM). “I became acquainted with IREM at my last job,” says Abby, “and have discovered that it’s not only a great educational resource but also a fantastic networking tool which is why I would like to explore their ARM and CPM programs. I don’t necessarily feel that I need these accreditations but more education and knowledge never hurts and since I plan on being in property management for a while, I want to learn all I possibly can.”

Abby has three vacation spots she would like to visit: “I would like to go to Barcelona (Spain), Paris (France) and Greece.” She also wants to learn other languages such as Italian and French, as she continues to practice her Spanish.

“The challenges that this position presents continue

to be a rewarding, exhilarating, and sometimes

unbelievably fascinating experience!”

cover story



InspirationAbby was very inspired by the “Enthu-

siasm” article on the last issue of Apart-ment Manager Magazine. “I believe that no matter what field you work in, the most important aspect you can bring to your job every day is your attitude,” says Abby. “If I can continue to bring an at-titude of enthusiasm, teamwork, service and fun to my position then I am going to continue to love going to work every day and hopefully spread this attitude out to-wards everyone I come in contact with.”

One of her favorite quotes is from Ghandi who said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” And like Ghan-di, Abby says, “Instead of waiting around for change to happen, and reacting to it, I would like to take action and attempt to be a catalyst of change and hopefully

inspire others to catch on fire with en-thusiasm.”

Advice from Abby (on the First Person)

“Remember to breathe! There are some days that are so hectic that I con-sciously need to make myself slow down and take some deep breaths to relax and focus on staying in the moment. Nothing is too big or overwhelming to handle as long as you remember to process each experience from one moment to the next and keep yourself from getting caught up in the emotion of any situation. I have found that most of the time the solution lies in whatever problem I am dealing with and I just need to channel the pa-tience and awareness that will lead me to the solution the quickest.” AM

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by Jim Rohn

QUALITIESLEADERSHIP

the

of Skillful

work ethics


you want to be a leader who attracts quality people, the key is to become a person of quality

yourself. Leadership is the ability to attract some-one to the gifts, skills, and opportunities you offer as

an owner, as a manager, as a parent. I call leadership the great challenge of life.

What’s important in leadership is refining your skills. All great leaders keep working on themselves until they become effec-tive. Here are some specifics:

Learn To Be Strong But Not Rude

It is an extra step you must take to become a powerful, ca-pable leader with a wide range of reach. Some people mistake rudeness for strength. It’s not even a good substitute.

Learn To Be Kind But Not Weak

We must not mistake kindness for weakness. Kindness isn’t weak. Kindness is a certain type of strength. We must be kind enough to tell somebody the truth. We must be kind enough and considerate enough to lay it on the line. We must be kind enough to tell it like it is and not deal in delusion.

Learn To Be Bold But Not A Bully

It takes boldness to win the day. To build your influence, you’ve got to walk in front of your group. You’ve got to be will-ing to take the first arrow, tackle the first problem, discover the first sign of trouble.

You’ve Got To Learn To Be Humble But Not Timid

You can’t get to the high life by being timid. Some people mistake timidity for humility. Humility is almost a God-like word. A sense of awe. A sense of wonder. An awareness of the hu-man soul and spirit. An understanding that there is something unique about the human drama versus the rest of life. Humility is a grasp of the distance between us and the stars, yet having the feeling that we’re part of the stars. So humility is a virtue; but timidity is a disease. Timidity is an affliction. It can be cured, but it is a problem.

Be Proud But Not Arrogant

It takes pride to win the day. It takes pride to build your ambition. It takes pride in community. It takes pride in

If

cause, in accomplishment. But the key to becoming a good leader is being proud without being arrogant. In fact I believe the worst kind of arrogance is arrogance from ignorance. It’s when you don’t know that you don’t know. Now that kind of ar-rogance is intolerable. If someone is smart and arrogant, we can tolerate that. But if someone is ignorant and arrogant, that’s just too much to take.

Develop Humor Without Folly

That’s important for a leader. In leadership, we learn that it’s okay to be witty, but not silly. It’s okay to be fun, but not foolish.

Lastly, Deal In Realities

Deal in truth. Save yourself the agony. Just accept life like it is. Life is unique. Some people call it tragic, but I’d like to think it’s unique. The whole drama of life is unique. It’s fascinating. And I’ve found that the skills that work well for one leader may not work at all for another. But the fundamental skills of leader-ship can be adapted to work well for just about everyone: at work, in the community, and at home.

About the Author:

Jim Rohn, America’s Foremost Business Phi-losopher. Jim has addressed more than 6,000 audiences and 4 million people worldwide. His seminars cover a span of over 39 years. In 1985, Jim won the coveted CPAE Award from the Na-tional Speakers Association. A millionaire, en-trepreneur and businessman devoted to helping others achieve all they are capable of in life and business. Jim Rohn has authored more than 17 books, audio and video programs. Jim has helped to motivate and train an entire generation of per-sonal development trainers as well as hundreds of executives from America’s top corporations. Visit Jim Rohn online at www.jimrohn.com.

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work ethics

The media has nothing positive to say it is all doom and gloom. Of course sensa-tionalism is what sells, so what is better for them than the bottom falling out at the same time the sky is fall-ing? “The housing market has gone to heck in a hand basket” “Prices continue to fall, housing values are down.” “Foreclosures are in the tens of thousands.” It is enough to make you fold your tent and go deliver pizzas, right?

Wrong! More millionaires have been made dur-ing recession/depression times than when times are good. These are the people who see the glass as half full, not half empty.

Too many of us give up; we listen to it until all we see are im-possibilities. Yet there are those who see this market as filled with possibilities. This is the kind of market where it is really true: “when things get tough, the tough get going.”

Perhaps these markets come along to force us to get off our ‘laurels’ and to get creative. This is when we should pull out all the stops, when we examine all our marketing techniques, when we start working on our attitudes and skills.

It also when we need to gather our forces, band together and brainstorm. Rather than see our peers as competitors, see them as allies. Go to every meeting, seminar and gathering and pick everyone’s brain. Watch what the top sales teams do and do the same thing. Hang out with successful people.

Think About Every Sales Technique you’ve Ever Used

Pull out some old tried and true ones, dust them off, update and use them again. As you shop and buy items, think about

what made you choose that particular thing, or brand or store. Watch television advertising, and see what grabs your attention. We can get great ideas from how other products market and sell; and it isn’t theft, it is research!

Make Sure That Your Product is Top NotchEvery detail perfect. Sometimes it is the little things that make

a difference. Even though the consumer may be bargain hunt-ing, they want the very best for what they can afford; windows polished, brass gleaming, flowers blooming. Speaking of flowers blooming, business always picks up in the spring. Thank good-ness winter is over. It is always slower from the time that the tur-key is on the table until the tax man comes. It is our only reason to be happy about April 15th.

What About Your Sales Team? Have they succumbed to the disaster mentality? Shop them,

train them, and increase their commissions! Are they likeable? Harvard says that American employers spend 75% of their train-ing budget on product, technology and administration, and only

By Anne SadovskyPhoto by Andres Rodriguez


featured article

We Have Been Here Before!

This, Too, Shall Pass...

are great leasing consultants, they should be able to increase closing ratio to 50-60% by using their skills, their personalities, their abilities to convert lookers into renters. So if we could generate one hundred qualified applicants a month, we should increase our leasing dramatically the secret is more traffic.

Follow-UpOne of the greatest weaknesses in sales of any prod-

uct or service is follow up. Make sure that the prospec-tive applicant hears from the leasing team a minimum of three times. A postcard, a phone call, a brochure, an email whatever it takes to keep in touch. Until they leases from you, from someone else, or until you read their name in the obituary column, they are still a prospective renter. Be sure that follow up is done on a timely, and in a friendly, manner.

Have you stopped marketing, mowing the grass, flying colorful flags, all to save a little money? If so, it is costing you the big money. Prospects want to lease from a winning team, a community with a great rep-utation, one who stands behind their product…and who shouts all that from the roof tops! There is never a more important time to train, market, advertise, polish and smile than right now.

I received in the mail this week a color postcard from a 55 plus development advertising a ‘sale’ on a select number and style of homes. The card states “Up to $40,000 off for three days only.” Even though I haven’t sold my house, I am going to look because I think if I find something I love that my new mindset and desire for that new house will MAKE my current house sell.

This may sound like I am trivializing what is hap-pening with the economy, with our industry. How-

ever, from personal and business experience I promise that all this makes a difference. We have been here before, and we have not only survived, but thrived. Just remember, hang in there, put your best business practices in place, and know that this too shall pass.

25% on teaching people skills. I say that if you are going to be successful today that you should reverse those numbers! Likeabil-ity comes from three major areas: How we look and how we move What we say and how we say it How we make other people feel.

And it has to be accomplished in one minute or less. You know that old cliché “There is no second chance at a first impression.” A positive attitude is imperative. Our energy and enthusiasm rubs off on the client; unfortunately so does desperation and negativity.

Generating Traffic Is CriticalSales is a numbers game. The more traffic, the more leases. I

have a theory about closing. About 30% of the traffic leases be-cause they love the apartment, the location, the floor plan, kind of a slam dunk. 30% won’t lease: they can’t afford it, they don’t like the floor plan, it isn’t really the location for them. This means that you should expect a minimum of a 30% capture rate, even if your leasing force is weak! And what is the point? A strong leasing team looks at the middle 30% as an opportunity. If they

Anne Sadovsky, CSP, CAM, CAPS, RAM, has been in this industry since 1968. She is a member of the National Speakers Association and has earned the prestigious designation of Certified Speak-ing Professional. Based in Dallas, Texas, she was named one of the top trainers in the industry by Multi Housing News. Her success story has been featured in Money Magazine, Ladies Home Journal and Texas Business. As a consultant, Anne has saved

and made her clients millions of dollars. To contact Anne by phone: 866 905-9300 or e-mail: [email protected] or visit her website at www.annesadovsky.com.

AM


apid-moving technology advancements combined with faster and more power-

ful computing power are creating some very significant shifts in the property

management industry. Leading property management companies are harnessing these advancements

for their competitive advantage while evaluating their marketing statistics at a much deeper level and on a timelier basis. These advancements are allowing property management executives to quickly evaluate their portfolios with side-by-side comparisons to other portfolio properties, system-wide statistics and nation-al comparisons. Are you and your property manage-ment team ready for the next 12-24 months?

Measuring Your Marketing Efforts

Since 1995 we have researched the tracking statis-tics used by leading property management companies and have evaluated 25 million in-bound telephone calls made by future residents. Here’s a quick summary of what we’ve learned over the years:

An average apartment community receives 160-214 telephone calls from future residents per month.

An average apartment community invests $2408-$2584 per month marketing to future residents in the

newspaper, with rental publications, on the Internet and with a variety of other sources. An average apartment community invests $17-

$24 per telephone call to have future residents call their leasing team. A leasing professional spends an average of 122-

145 seconds with each future resident calling his or her apartment community.

Tip From The Coach: As a property management professional, these are just a few of the important sta-tistics that drive the marketing engine for the apart-ment communities you own/manage. In addition to these statistics, what additional marketing statistics do you measure? Which ones are the most impor-tant? How do your statistics compare to these national benchmarks?

Measuring Your Statistics

In addition to the statistics mentioned, the leaders of dynamic property management companies are ask-ing deeper and more targeted questions about their marketing statistics. Are you prepared to answer the questions below? How many in-bound telephone calls from future

residents are being placed today? This week? This month? How does this volume compare to last week,

Property Management Statistics Are Everything...

Even The Small Ones!

R by Ernest E. Oriente


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last month and this same month last year?

How many in-bound telephone calls from future residents are missed today? This week? This month? How does this volume compare to last week, last month and this same month last year?

Of these missed telephone calls, what time of the day are most calls missed? How does this com-pare to last week, last month and this same month last year? Are you notified when missed calls surpass your threshold limits?

When a future resident visits your website, how much time do they spend? Which web pages do they visit frequently? Which web pages do they spend the most time reading? Which web pages do they visit the least?

When a future resident visits your website and sends an E-mail requesting more information, how long does it take for your leasing team to reply?

When your leasing team responds to E-mail from a future resident, what kind of information is sent? When was the last time you shopped your leasing team by E-mail?

When a future resident calls by telephone and receives a voice message, how long does it take be-fore your leasing team responds? Does an E-mail or a call to a cell phone carried by a person on your team, notify your leasing team when a message is waiting? Can your leasing team get real-time online information regarding a future resident who called and left a voice message 60 seconds ago?

Tip From The Coach: As a property management

professional, technology now provides you with the tools

to see precise and very detailed marketing information.

In fact, the marketing statistics being used today were

not available as recently as 12 months ago. The pace

and depth of technology mining will continue to accelerate

with no end in sight. Are you and your property manage-

ment team ready for the future?

Want to hear more about this important topic or ask some additional questions about your marketing sta-tistics? Send an E-mail to [email protected] and

The Coach will E-mail you a free PowerHour invitation.

AM


ABOUT THE AUTHORErnest F. Oriente, a business coach since 1995, (23,160 hours) the author of SmartMatch Alliances, and the founder of Pow-erHour (powerhour.com). He has a passion for coaching his clients on executive leadership, hiring and motivating prop-erty management SuperStars, traditional and internet market-ing, competitive sales strategies, and high leverage alliances for property management teams and their leaders. He provides pri-vate and group coaching for property management companies around North America, investment banking services, execu-tive recruiting services and powerful tools for hiring property management SuperStars and building dynamic teams. Recent interviews and articles have appeared more than 6000 times in business and trade publications and in a wide variety of leading magazines and newspapers, including Smart Money Inc., Busi-ness 2.0, The New York Times, Fast Company, The LA Times, Fortune, Business Week, Self Employed America and The Fi-nancial Times. Since 1995, Ernest has written 155 articles for the property management industry and created 250+ property management forms, business and marketing checklists, sales let-ters and presentation tools. To subscribe to his free property management newsletter go to powerhour.com. PowerHour® is based in Olympic-town, Park City, Utah, at 435-615-8486, by e-mail at [email protected].

marketing

You, like thousands of other apartment profes-sionals across the Country, advertise in print publications. And, like thousands of others, you

probably don’t make the most of that advertising space. If your ad shows either (a) a picture of your pool or (b) a picture of your sign, you’ve failed. You’ve also failed if your advertisement doesn’t include the following:

Your E-mail AddressIn this age of the Internet, you need to have your e-

mail address clearly listed so your prospective residents can utilize email to contact you for further information. (Don’t forget your fax number either.)

Your Web Site AddressIf you haven’t already launched a web site for your

community, find out what your unique URL is with one of the online publications where you are advertising and use that.

Starting RentsOne of the purposes of your ad is to help pre-qualify

residents to your community. Do yourself a favor (and help your prospect) by listing your starting rents, prefer-ably by size, such as, “One-bedrooms from $____; two-bedrooms from $____” etc.

Directions: How to Get to Your CommunityPlus a map. Let’s face it: some folks are “directionally

impaired” and cannot follow a map of any kind. That’s why written directions are also needed in an effective ad-vertisement. Make sure you list your hours of operation as well as any specific instructions about showing, such as, “Last apartment shown at dusk.”

Relevant CopyYour copy needs to change with your inventory as

well as with the Seasons. For example, the first thing on most prospects’ minds in January is probably not your pool. But your free gas heat is undoubtedly a huge selling point; so make sure that is listed prominently in your ad. Conversely, your free heat isn’t generally at the top of the list in July, so make sure you mention that pool early in those Summertime advertisements. Adjust your selling features by your area and by the demand.

A Great HeadlinePlease, unless you are required to by the publication,

DO NOT use the name of your community as your headline. Think about it: prospective residents moving into your municipality have probably never even heard of your community. But they undoubtedly know what they are looking for in a new apartment home. Which headline works best for the family that wants a conve-nient location? The name of the community, or a head-line that says, “Minutes to Everything!” Think about it.

A Floor PlanToday’s renters are savvy, smart, and quite often, rent-

ing by choice. This means that they are very interested in knowing what the floor plan looks like before they even pick up the telephone. Give them a break—put a floor plan in your advertisement. Preferably the floor plan that has the highest availability at your community.

A Photo of One of Your BuildingsJust as today’s renter wants to see their potential floor

plan, they also would like to see what the building looks like. Now that you’ve decided to take out the picture of the sign and the pool, you’ll have plenty of room for a photo of a building in which your residents reside.

Are Your Print Ads As Effective As They Could Be?

by Lisa Trosien


marketing

marketing

Something that Makes the Ad StandoutLook through the publication in which you’re adver-

tising. Make sure that your ad looks as different as pos-sible from the rest of the ads. If everyone is in color, try black and white (it’s cheaper, too). If everyone is us-ing a single page, upgrade to a two-page ad for a while.

Try putting people back in your ad again. It’s being done in markets across the United States and it’s great to see ads that look like people actually live in the apartments. Check with your attorney and the publication ahead of time to dis-cuss any Fair Housing implications before you design your ad.

The purpose of your ad is to compel people to contact you in some way (by phone, fax, e-mail or personal visit). If you aren’t sure what makes people contact your community, ask them! Your residents will certainly know why they came to visit the first time. Then, make sure you have all of your contact information clearly listed in your ad.

Lastly, remember that Apartment Communi-ties are a lot like the people that live in them—they have personalities. Try to make the person-ality of your Apartment Community come to life through your advertisement. AM

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About the Author

Lisa Trosien began her multifamily career 20+ years ago as a part time Leasing Professional while trying to finance her undergraduate degree in education. Discov-ering that she thoroughly enjoyed the apartment indus-try, she decided to put her teaching degree to work in-structing multifamily professionals in all aspects of the industry. Lisa is a curriculum development content spe-cialist and has contributed to the National Apartment Leasing Professional Program, the Certified Apartment Property Supervisor Program, the Certified Apartment Manager Program, as well as the Certified Apartment Maintenance Technician Program.

With a client list that spans three countries, Lisa edu-cates thousands of industry professionals each year. She may be reached at [email protected] or by phone at 630-898-8898. Visit Lisa Trosien’s website at apartmentexpert.com.

Treat Every Customer As If They Were Your GuestA great thought for enhancing your customer service experience is to think of every customer who walks through your door as a guest. Think of it this way. How do you treat guests when they come over to your house. It should be the same way when people visit your business. By seeing them in this fashion, you and your staff will begin to treat them a little more special and be more attentive to their needs. In the long run, the customer will sense this and feel more welcomed and appreciated. And by training your staff to see each customer as a special guest will do wonders for your organization!

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Genuinely Be Happy to See Your Customers

There is a secret in providing a great first impression

for your customers that works every time. This little se-

cret is hardly used in the real world, but is very effective

in creating a welcoming environment. Also, this secret

weapon only works when we mean it from our heart.

So what is this great secret that automatically creates

a friendly atmosphere? It is being genuinely happy to

see others.

There is no better feeling of being greeted by some-

one who is genuinely happy to see us. We tend to perk

up and feel happy ourselves! When others are glad to

see us, we feel a sense of belonging and this in turns

makes us feel comfortable. Because the first few min-

utes are crucial in the experience of a customer, it is

important to be consistent in providing a friendly greet-

ing. All of us like the feeling that others are happy to

see us.

We long for affirmation and the sense that another

person cares for us. This caring aspect will go a long

way in giving your customers great service. The secret

of showing others that we are genuinely happy to see

them provide them with a great first impression and will

give them a great reason to return. Mean it from the

heart and watch what happens!

FACT: In a large percentage of cases

new customers are won or lost within

the first five minutes of making con-

tact with an organization.

Never Try to Win an Argument

To argue with a customer is the same as telling them to

never come back again. This also gives them a reason

to advertise negatively about your company. To argue

is always a no-win situation. As customer service peo-

ple, we will come up against potentially difficult custom-

ers who may just be having a bad day. We need to re-

alize that they are not essentially angry with us but may

more than likely be angry with something else. This is

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Detox Foot Spa TreatmentAbout the Author

Cary Cavitt began in the customer service field in 1975 and has served well over 100,000 customers. An award-winning PGA Golf Professional, he is the author of seven books, includ-ing “Service Starts with a Smile,” “Customer Service Super-stars,” and “Five-Star Service.” Cary also has founded Service that Attracts Seminars, on-site workshops on how to develop outstanding service. Based in the Chicago area, Cary is available to travel throughout the United States. For more information on purchasing books or scheduling a Workshop in your facility go to www.carycavittconsulting.com.

important to understand when serving an angry customer.

We must not take it personally. If anything, our goal should

be to show patience and understanding in this difficult situ-

ation.

It also helps to realize that we may have been a difficult

customer in the past and think of how patient others were

with us. By showing patience and understanding, we are

displaying empathy and giving them what they may need

at the moment. And in the end, they will walk away and

appreciate your kindness shown to them when they were

not acting on their best behavior. It is a gift that they did

not expect.

The Importance of an Apology

Every customer service person will eventually make a

mistake with a customer. It is just a fact of life. We may

blow an service request or forget something that needed to

be done for a customer. So how do we handle it when we

drop the ball? First and foremost we need to apologize for

the mistake. This alone will do wonders to calm the situa-

tion and let the customer know that you are sincerely sorry

for the mistake. The words “I am sorry” shows the customer

that you respect them and are admitting a mistake on your

part. 99% of customers will accept this kind gesture and

quickly show forgiveness.

Now it is your turn to make up this mistake by giving them

outstanding service. This also gives you a great opportunity

to shine and go over the top with service. Not only will the

customer appreciate your effort, but may tell others about

the mistake and how wonderfully you handled it. And who

knows if maybe they will become customers for life simply

because you apologized! AM

customer service


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Immediate Stress-Busters8

by Dr. Melissa Conrad Stoppler, MD

health & wellness

Most of our lives are filled with family, work, and community ob-ligations, and at some point we feel as though we are “running on empty.” Here are eight immediate stress busters to help “fill up the tank!” So take deep re-laxing breath and read on.

Watch for the next instance in which you find yourself becoming an-noyed or angry at something trivial or unimportant. Then practice letting go, making a conscious choice not to be-come angry or upset. Do not allow yourself to waste thought and energy where it isn’t deserved. Effective anger management is a tried-and-true stress reducer. Breathe slowly and deeply. Before

reacting to the next stressful occur-rence, take three deep breaths and re-lease them slowly. If you have a few min-utes, try out a relaxation technique such as meditation or guided imagery. Whenever you feel overwhelmed

by stress, practice speaking more slow-

ly than usual. You’ll find that you think more clearly and react more reasonably to stressful situations. Stressed people tend to speak fast and breathlessly; by slowing down your speech you’ll also appear less anxious and more in control of any situation. Jump-start an effective time man-

agement strategy. Choose one simple thing you have been putting off (e.g., re-turning a phone call, making a doctor’s appointment), and do it immediately. Just taking care of one nagging responsibility can be energizing and can improve your attitude. Get outdoors for a brief break.

Our grandparents were right about the healing power of fresh air. Don’t be de-terred by foul weather or a full schedule. Even five minutes on a balcony or ter-race can be rejuvenating. Drink plenty of water and eat small,

nutritious snacks. Hunger and dehydra-tion, even before you’re aware of them, can provoke aggressiveness and exacer-bate feelings of anxiety and stress.

Do a quick posture check. Hold your head and shoulders upright and avoid stooping or slumping. Bad pos-ture can lead to muscle tension, pain, and increased stress. If you’re stuck at a desk most of the day, avoid repetitive strain injuries and sore muscles by mak-ing sure your workstation reflects good ergonomic design principles. Take our Workstation Quiz to find out how to make your workstation more ergonomi-cally safe. Plan something rewarding for the

end of your stressful day, even if only a relaxing bath or half an hour with a good book. Put aside work, housekeep-ing or family concerns for a brief period before bedtime and allow you to fully relax. Don’t spend this time planning to-morrow’s schedule or doing chores you didn’t get around to during the day.

Remember that you need time

to recharge and energize yourself.

You’ll be much better prepared to

face another day. AM


CURB APPEALmade you look!

curb appeal

— by Amy Kosnikowski

It is all about the “Power of the Visual First Impression.”

If the customer does not like what they visually observe – they will move on to the next community.

The customer’s “drive-through” is a reality in the multifamily business plus it is a proven fact that a property’s appearance can either make or break the success of any real estate asset. The better the appearance of the community is directly cor-related to a higher value of the investment’s return.

The exterior of community should positively attract, draw-in, create an interest, influence, grab attention and pull in future residents with a sense of declaring, “Welcome Home” – We are glad that you are finally here!”

Once the potential resident arrives it is ideal to extend this desired “appeal” beyond the front entrance to continue to build a positive experience throughout the community’s grounds, amenities and features. The initial draw along with the custom-er’s appreciation of the property up-close-and-personal will re-

sult in a memorable encounter that they will want to call home.

The easiest way to advertise your community in through the largest billboard readily on hand: Your abundant landscap-ing, maintained exteriors, lighting, and various types of signage. Whatever the chosen curb appeal approach, it should align with the overall style of your community whether it is ur-ban, residential, natural, tranquil or tropical. The community grounds require a sharp eye and an on-going focus to keep all efforts fresh, tight and at optimal performance.

Communicating the importance of the customer’s first im-pression of the community to the leasing, service, and grounds keeping team to broaden their understanding of the marketing goals and reasoning behind it. Such as explaining why it is a team effort in trash pick-up on the model tour route and tight-ening the banner daily; a critical task for a positive customer experience. Consider a monthly Curb Appeal Inspection and annual property contest motivating a crisp and well maintained community.

What exactly is Curb Appeal?


CURB APPEALmade you look!

About the Author Amy Kosnikowski is a proven leader in sales, leasing, management and marketing real estate asset bringing over 18 years of passion and experience in the real estate industry. Based out of Charlotte, North Carolina, Amy serves as the principal of Quintessential offering The Q Standard system focused on improving bottom line solutions. Amy’s expertise is frequently highlighted at national conferences, expert panel events and edu-cational seminars. Amy shares her extensive experi-ence with companies, associations and organizations

across the country as a national speaker, industry educator, marketing strategist and sales coach. Contact Amy at 704.496.4107 or [email protected].

Ideas on How to Improve CharmSignage Trends Window Visual graphics and fresh photo lifestyle signs. Graphic Construction Skirt on fences and trailers for new construction. Utilize unused prime-time space to stretch exposure op-portunity on construction fence, walls, rooftops, barriers and other high traffic area. Vertical Boulevard sign mounted from building or light poles or attached to aligning fences. Maximize your fence space: attaching signs to improve viewing. Starburst statements on Buildings, etc.

Landscaping Utilize bold colors and use different elements in landscaping such as large garden stones, tropical and desert plants unique. Use Sculptures and Artwork to catch the eye and create memorable moments. It is common for local artists to search for locations to display pieces. Water features such as “creeks” or waterfalls generate a tranquil surrounding and prduce a remarkable focal point. Arbors and Trellises allow landscaping to take unusual forms and take the eyes vertically or even follow a length of property along a walkway or major entrances. Lights: Adds a whole new dimension to the grounds plus extends the appeal into the evening hours still getting the at-tention: Up-lighting on trees and buildings: shining lights upward create a sense of height and drama. Focal Points highlighting elements at night such as art-work. Pathways and steps provides better vision at night and charming walls. White lights always create a festive and classy atmosphere year around. Solar options are an easy alternative with no need for wires or cords plus great for the environment.

Monument SignIt has been demonstrated that the customer’s perception of

the quality of the community is determined partly on the type, condition and quality of the sign.

The Last Words on Curb AppealWhen considering the use if signage and flags: Consider who will see the signs and flags. Will your current resident appreciate the message? Where are the sign or flags positioned? Do you know your area’s sign ordinance? What is the message on the sign? Will people be able to to read it? Don’t forget your URL. Website addresses are easier to remember than phone numbers.

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How will you maintain optimal performance of the tools such as a tight banner and balloons? Who is responsible for the own-ership of the quality? Bandit signs that are straight with strong stakes to keep them grounded. If an A-Frame is an option, contemplate on that can be in-terchanged or the panels swapped out for changing needs or demands. Switch signs and flags out frequently to maximize “pop” effect. Be unusual and unique to set yourself apart.Look around to see what other industries are doing, and how you can twist it to make it work for you. AM



Crime Free Multi-HousingThe Crime Free Multi-Housing Program (CFMHP) was developed

in 1992 by Tim Zehring from Mesa (Arizona) Police Department,

and has spread to over 40 states, 2000 cities, and 7 Countries. The

primary goal is to keep illegal activity out of rental properties.

− by Elaine Silberberg

hen drug criminals and other destruc-

tive residents oper-ate out of rental property, neigh-borhoods suffer and landlords pay a high price.

Some of the consequences are:decline in property values; property damage arising from abuse, retalia-tion, or neglect; fire resulting from manufacturing of drugs; loss of rent during the eviction and repair peri-ods; fear and frustration when deal-ing with dangerous and threatening residents; and the loss of other val-ued residents.

The Crime Free Multi-Housing program takes a multifaceted ap-proach towards crime prevention. It starts with training of apartment managers, teaching them the impor-tance of thorough screening of appli-cants, how to recognize drug activity and the actions to take.

The program consists of three phases:

Phase I- An eight-hour management training, taught by the police.

Phase II- Survey of the apartment

community, also called CPTED - Crime Prevention Through Environ-mental Design, conducted by the police.

Phase III- A Social meeting with the residents of the apartment commu-nity, where police officers and man-agement teaches on crime preven-tion and community awareness.

Some of the benefits of this pro-gram are a stable, more satisfied res-ident base; decrease vacancies and turnovers; lower maintenance and repair costs; increased property val-ues; and improved personal safety for residents, landlords, and managers.

There are many property managers that have heard about the program and feel they don’t need to get involved be-cause their properties don’t have crime issues, or it is located in a “safer neigh-borhood.”

However, there is much more to Crime Free Multi-Housing than locat-ing drug labs in your property. The pro-gram offers an opportunity for rental property owners and residents to share responsibility with police for creating and maintaining a safe housing environment.

Insurance Premium DiscountsTim Zehring, founder of the Crime

Free Multi-Housing program, says that “many of the largest and best A-Rated insurance companies are now giving very substantial premium dis-counts (20% - 40%) depending on the rental property and their completed steps in the Crime Free Program”.

For many years, Zehring has worked tirelessly to get the insurance compa-nies to recognize the benefits of the program. Zehring, that now works helping managers and owners assess the risks associated with property man-agement, says that “to benefit from the insurance discounted premiums prop-erties would have to be enrolled in the Crime Free program and comply with certain guidelines” (explained on page 40).

(far right) El Cajon Police

Crime Free Multi-Housing

Unit (from left to right):

Sgt. Vince Murillo,

Samantha Hook, and

Lt. Jeff Davis.

featured article: crime free multi-housing

WTim Zehring, founder of the Crime

Free Multi-Housing Program.

The Crime Free in San Diego County The Crime Free Multi-Housing program was first adopted

in San Diego County in 1997 by the El Cajon Police Depart-ment. Since then, the San Diego County Sheriff ’s Department, La Mesa Police Department, Oceanside Police Department and Chula Vista Police Department have joined the program.

Since the program was designed to be law enforcement driven, it takes a strong involvement and commitment from both the local police and city officials in order to be successful.

El Cajon Police DepartmentThe El Cajon Police Department is an example of this

commitment and strong involvement. Since implemented in 1997, the program has certified over 140 apartment com-

munities in the city of El Cajon and worked closely with apartment managers and owners. “The success of the pro-gram depends on the participation of the apartment man-ager”, says Samantha Hook, Crime Prevention Specialist and Program’s Coordinator.

Working together with 11 officers assigned to the Crime Free Unit, one every shift, Samantha counts with the re-sources of a city committed to keep crime off their borders. “If a location needs extra patrol for example,” says Saman-tha, “I send an email to our “group wise” and every officer will get that information and make their own online entries, when they check the location.”

Samantha Hook also counts with the support of the City Major and City Council, which have kept the program in


place, spite of budget cuts, and have of-fered recognition to the managers com-pleting the Crime Free Certification workshop, through a ceremony honor-ing them at City Council’s meeting. “The Mayor’s recognition of the apartment managers completing the certification, has helped to boost the program,” says Samantha Hook.

Apartment ScreeningAn apartment community is like a

small town. Consider a 300-unit apart-ment building, for example, and it may easily have 1200 people living there. The Apartment Manager is like the Mayor, with the advantage that every new member applies before moving in. There are house rules, fair housing laws, and responsibilities, which must be ob-served. How well the screening of these applicants is conducted and how well the lease agreement and house rules are explained to them - will determine the success of failure of this community.

Phase I – Management Training

The Crime Free Multi-Housing equips managers to do their job well and see their properties succeed. These are some of the topics taught during the workshops:

Understanding crime prevention;

Crime Prevention Through Environ-mental Design (CPTED);

Enforcing of Apartment/Community rules and procedures;

Building Apartment Communities;

Good Property Management;

Combating/identifying illegal activities (drugs, gangs, graffiti, etc);

Building a partnership with the Police Department and Fire Department;

Dealing with non-compliance;

Federal Fair Housing Laws.

Phase II - CPTED - SurveyCrime Prevention Through Environ-

mental Design (CPTED). The apart-ment building seeking certification goes through a survey, conducted by the po-lice, to evaluate and determine changes needed to the following:

Dead bolts on all entry doors;

180º-190º eye viewers (peephole) on entry doors;

Anti-lift devices on sliding doors & windows, such as window locks;

2”-3” screws in strike plates;

Proper trimming of trees and bushes;

Adequate security lighting.

Phase III – Safety SocialThe last phase before the property is

certified is a meeting with the residents by the police and property management team. In this meeting, officers teach crime prevention tips and explain the neighborhood watch program and the importance of their participation. The residents of the apartment community are management’s eyes and ears when the leasing office is closed.

After the first Safety Social, the man-agement will be required to conduct at least one meeting per year to maintain membership in the Crime Free Multi-Housing Program. A blue certificate will be issued at the Safety Social to dem-onstrate to the residents that manage-ment is committed, and has completed all three phases of the program.

Full Certification Once fully certified, the property

manager will receive a gold certificate. (This certificate is the only certificate that has an expiration date. It is re-newed each year after the subsequent Safety Social and C.P.T.E.D. Inspection has been conducted.)

“The program is an opportunity for property owners/managers and the police to establish closer, personal and professional relationship toward maintaining a safe and pleasant environment to work, live and play. We all own the issues that confront us as well as the solutions we come up with.” Samantha Hook, Crime Prevention Specialist, Special Operations Unit of the El Cajon Police Department.



After completion of the first Safety Social, the management can post the Crime Free Multi-Housing Program signs on the property. It is recommend-ed that one sign be posted at each en-trance to the property where prospect residents will see them.

The sign is the property of the El Cajon Police Department and permis-sion to display the sign can be revoked if the property is sold, the management no longer wishes to participate in the Crime Free Multi-Housing Program, a new manager takes over and refuses to be trained, or the complex no longer meets the CPTED requirements of the program.

An added incentive to reach full cer-tification is the use of the Crime Free Multi-Housing Program logo in all ap-propriate advertisements, as well as on company letterheads, business cards and associated paperwork.

Testimonies

“I have been a Police Officer for 14 years, the first 12 years with the NYPD. I retired early at the rank of Detective to become a Riverside Police Officer in California. I am now assigned to the Riverside City Police, Crime Free Multi-

Housing Program. All things said I feel qualified in saying that the Crime Free program WORKS and in my opinion should be implemented in every police department in the nation. To anyone who is interested, I say this “You’re nev-er alone if you choose to implement the Crime Free program in your city. There is always someone out there (within the Crime Free Community) who can assist you with any needs and concerns relat-ed to the Crime Free Program.” Police Officer William Rodriguez, Riverside, CA Police Department.

“In 1999, our city, Columbia MO., sent four officers to Mesa, Arizona to be trained in the Crime Free Programs. We have trained around 500 persons in phase 1 of CFMH and have numerous fully certified properties. The most nota-ble benefit has been the decrease in calls at our worst property, which had 940 calls for service and 126 arrests in 2001. It was down to 604 calls for service and 26 arrests in 2003. The calls for service have stayed high, because the residents

now know they can call the police and action will be taken. The quality of life in rental housing has been much better since we implemented Crime Free. We now have a wonderful working relation-ship with the apartment association.” Tim Thomason, Crime Free Program Coordinador, Columbia Missouri Po-lice Department.

“At Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s De-partment - San Dimas Station we re-duced calls for service and nuisance complaints on average 37% based on our last study in 2002 from our bench-marks. At our “worst” complex, we in-stituted very aggressive application of the program and close partnership with the managers/owners and we achieved 78% reduction in calls for service! Suc-cess seems to just depend on the level of commitment from the police agency and the full application of the program by complex management/owner.” Ser-geant John Gannon, Los Angeles Sheriff ’s Department.

For more information go online:elcajonpolice.org, elcajonneighbors.org,crime-expert.com.



“Our staff is working very hard to grow the program.

We know that it works and encourage property owners and managers to

participate. It requires commitment from both the police and the properties

to sustain the program, and the results prove its value.”

Chief Pat Sprecco,El Cajon Police Department.


Premises liability lawsuits were relatively unknown until 50 years ago. Until then, a jury award of $10,000.00 was practically unheard of. However, since the 1980’s jury awards have regularly exceeded one million dollars. In the early 1990’s, the average jury award rose to $3.35 million with settlements closer to $545,000.

In reviewing the premises liability suits filed from 1983 to 1992, the crimes originated from (by location):

23% - apartment buildings 19% - parking lots 15% - hotel and motel rooms 9% - stores 8% - restaurants

The result is that more and more lawyers are successfully drag-ging property owners and the managers of certain industries into premises liability and security negligence litigation, because of inci-dents involving the criminal acts of third parties. Even if the lawsuit has no merit, the cost of defending it can be exorbitant. Therefore, because we live and work in a litigious society, you should always be aware of your risks.

Preventing such lawsuits is great news for the insurance compa-nies. A property that has passed through the Certification process of the Crime Free Multi-Housing Program is now receiving substan-tial premium discounts (20% - 40%). These are the typical questions that insurance companies will ask:

Is the property conducting background checks for prospect’s criminal history?

Is the property using the Crime Free Addendum and evicting for criminal activities and drugs?

Does the property have deadbolts, eye viewers and secured strike plates on each apartment door?

Does the property provide window locks and locks for sliding glass doors?

Does the property have a regular maintenance program for lighting and landscaping?

Is the property fully certified in the Crime Free Multi-Hous-ing Program?

Does the property conduct annual “Safety Social” events with the police and residents?

(For more information about how to take advantage of the insurance premium discounts, contact Tim Zehring by email at [email protected]. Also check Tim Zehring’s web-site: www.crime-expert.com.)

Crime Free Certification & Insurance Companies Now Enrolling

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affordable housing

HUD Releases Final EIV Rule

ecently HUD published for comment their fi-nal rule on EIV implementation and rent deter-

minations. The final rule was originally released but then pulled back for a 60-day comment peri-

od at the request of the new administration in Washington. Most important to owners is the change in the implementation date.

Effective September 30, 2009 use of the EIV system by own-ers for recertification activities becomes mandatory. To use the system, two different types of access must be granted. The first is Coordinator Access Authorization and the other is User Ac-cess Authorization. EIV Coordinators and Users should read the updated External (Non-HUD Coordinator/User) Instructions for Applying for EIV Access for Multi-family Housing Programs for complete guidance on application submission and processing requirements on the Hud website.

Owners who have not already gained access to the program must complete the following between now and September 30, 2009:

For Coordinator Access Authorization Staff in this role manage access to the system for the proper-

ties in the owner’s portfolio. The person(s) in this role is respon-sible for giving access to staff who will be running reports from the system as well as terminating staff access to the EIV system when it is no longer needed.

For User Access Authorization Staff with this role enter the EIV system and search, find and

run SS/SSI benefit, wage, unemployment compensation and new hire reports on individuals as part of the certification pro-cess for tenants.

For those who already have access to EIV, it is important to note the following: • Once staff has been given access to the system, Coordinators must perform ongoing activities related to security. • User Access must be recertified quarterly. • EIV Coordinators are required to certify the contracts/proper-ties for all the users that they manage every quarter. Failure to do so within a 30-day grace period will result in Users losing their EIV access to uncertified properties/contracts. Whereas Users are recertified quarterly, Coordinators are recertified annually.

Other requirements in the final rule include (but are not limited to): • Social Security Numbers are required for participants and new household members, regardless of age (under current rules the head of household must disclose SSN for all family members who are at least 6 years old). • Applicants who cannot provide Social Security Numbers for all family members retain their place on the waiting list for the program; however, all members of the household must provide appropriate documentation of his or her Social Security Number before the household is admitted into the program. Verification of U.S. citizenship or nationality is also required.

R

Disclaimer: This article is for general purpose only. Before acting consult your compliance department and visit www.hud.gov for additional information. Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban De-velopment (HUD).

AM


wo of life’s greatest tragedies are: never to have had a great mission in life, and to have fully reached it so there is no

challenge remaining.Are you going where you want to go, doing what you want

to do, and becoming who you want to become? These are the ques-tions we must ask ourselves. Set some quiet time aside and see the two you’s in the mirror of your mind:

1. There is the reflection of the person you are today.2. There is the image of who you will be in the future.Looking at my own life, I am incredibly different in many respects

from the person I was ten years ago.As you reflect on your past and anticipate the future, understand

that virtually nothing you have experienced has been wasted. It all blends together into wisdom and knowledge, and creates your own unique brand of cultural diversity.

Action Idea: In your professional life, what is most important for you to achieve in the remainder of career? In your personal life, what is most important for you to achieve in the remainder of your life? Find a close friend or associate you trust and network with often, and challenge each other to continuously strive to reach these

objectives.As you consider your mission in life, you may want to use this final action step as your guidepost for the 21st Century.

Chase Your Passion - Not Your PensionPassion in your purpose will help you take control of your life,

and also give you one other advantage that is not widely recognized: ten more years of life, on average.

Pursuit of a goal wears out very few people. But they rust out by the hundreds of thousands when their pursuit of happiness turns into a geriatric park.

A job is something you do for money. A career is something you do because you have an inner calling to do it. You want to do it. You love doing it. You’re excited when you do it. And you’d do it even if you were paid nothing, beyond food and the basics. You’d do it because it’s your life.

Be Inspired To Learn As Much As You CanGain skills as much as you can to find a cause that benefits hu-

mankind and you’ll be sought after for your quality of service and dedication to excellence.

T


by Denis Waitley

Ph

oto

by

Ch

rist

op

he

Mic

ho

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Create Your Own

M i ss ion S tatement

personal growth

My nephew and niece, David and Heidi, at the ages of 30, had three little girls 7, 5 and 2. On an anniversary some years ago, they went out dancing and the margarita she had must have been one powerful fertility drug. She became pregnant that night, and with no incidence of multiple births in our family, eight months later, she delivered quadruplet girls, prematurely. I hurried down to the Chil-dren’s Hospital in San Diego to get a photo opportunity and pos-sible media coverage as “Uncle Denis of the Waitley Quads.” They told me to stand in the corner, saying I hadn’t contributed anything. The TV anchorwoman asked my niece Heidi how she felt. She said, “I feel a little tired. We’re going to need a new car.” They turned to my nephew David, whose eyes looked like burnt corks. “David, as the father, how does it feel to have seven little girls under the age of seven?” David replied, “We’re not going to need a new car, we’re never going anywhere again.” But that’s not the point of the story. In addition to seeing them as wonderful parents devoted to their seven little girls, my attention was focused on the neo-natal nurses caring for the newborn quadruplets, weighing between a pound and a half to two and a half pounds. Caring passionately for them like little birds in nests. Oblivious of quitting time. Not hearing the lunch bell at noon. Doing what they loved. Involved in helping improve the quality of life.

We all can’t be Tiger Woods, or Barbra Streisand, or Jonas Salk. But we can chase our passion, not our pension. You’ll always do

well, what you love most.

Action Idea: If you had the time and circumstances allowed, what is one of your most passionate desires in life you would like to pur-sue? It could be a new business idea, music, action, sports, or com-munity service. Starting tomorrow, chase that passion a little bit at a time.

About the author:Denis Waitley is one of America’s most respected authors on high

performance human achievement. He has inspired, informed, chal-lenged and entertained audiences for over 25 years from the board rooms of multi-national corporations to the control rooms of NASA’s space program; from the locker rooms of world-class athletes to the meeting rooms of thousands of conventioneers throughout the world. Recently, he was voted business speaker of the year by the Sales and Marketing Executives’ Association and by Toastmasters’ International and inducted into the International Speakers’ Hall of Fame. With over 10 million audio programs sold in 14 languages, Denis Waitley is the most listened-to voice on personal and career success. He is the author of 12 non-fiction books, and has counseled winners in every field from Apollo astronauts to Superbowl champions, from sales achievers to government leaders and youth groups. To subscribe to Denis Waitley’s Weekly Ezine, go to www.deniswaitley.com or send an email with Join in the subject to [email protected].

AM

We Are Looking For Apartment Managers That

Would Like To Be Featured On Future Issues of

Apartment Manager San Diego Magazine.

If You Are Interested Contact Us By Email At

[email protected]

time management

ACCOMPLISHMENTCreating a Sense of

−by Kevin Stacey

AM

About the Author: Kevin Stacey helps companies and professionals achieve maximum productivity and effec-tiveness through stress management and time management training. He is available to speak on these topics. For more information visit www.TrainRightInc.com or call 1-800-603-7168.


O ne of the biggest producers of stress is going to bed feeling like you accomplished nothing all day

but spin your wheels. Anxiety is sure to arise after an unpro-ductive day where tasks are beginning to accumulate. When that happens, it is almost impossible to relax and shut off the world for the night.

On the other hand, when we end the day with a sense of accomplishment, we can exhale, breathe deeply, relax and sleep soundly. Our minds are free to focus on other pursuits, and we wake up feeling re-charged, in balance and ready to face another day.

By implementing a few simple time management strategies, you can create a sense of accomplishment every day, no matter how often you are interrupted or side-tracked by other people: Divide your daily activities list into two columns: offensive

and defensive. The items on the offensive side of the column are tasks on your to-do list. They may be projects with a loom-ing deadline, or they may be usual, predictable activities. The items on the defensive side of the column are reactionary tasks, such as responding to crises, interruptions, voice-mails and e-mails. Your lists will vary greatly according to your job descrip-tion and how much autonomy you have in planning your day and allocating your time. Review your list of offensive items. Ask yourself, “What is

one task that I can complete today, or make significant progress towards completing, that will make me feel better about myself, my day, my job, or my work ethic? What achievement would make this day a success?” This task may not be the one you want to do. In fact, it may be the one you have been procrasti-nating on the most. Commit to spending a defined amount of focused time on

the item you selected. If it’s realistic to complete the entire task that day, firmly resolve to work on it for the entire day until it is finished. If it’s a long-term project that you can’t realisti-cally complete in a day’s time, give it a minimum of one hour. Spending an hour on offense is an hour more than nothing! No matter how much time you allocate, make sure you fulfill the commitment. Use a stopwatch to time yourself and turn it off every time you get interrupted. You will quickly see how fast your offensive work becomes defensive reacting. If you can, leave your workstation and “hide” in an empty

cubicle or conference room. If you’re uncomfortable saying no to others and cutting off interruptions at the start, try working in a place where you can’t be interrupted during your offensive time. If that’s not possible, turn off the phone, close the door, shut down your email or put on headphones to give yourself some uninterrupted work time. When you have to push others away in order to get your work done, remind yourself that this will help you relax tonight and feel like your day was a success.

Almost everyone can go on the offensive for at least some part of the day. Some of us may have to arrive earlier or stay later when there is no one else around. Others may have to take more drastic measures like making themselves scarce in an alternative location, or directly telling co-workers, “I’m trying something different, and I’m not going to be available from 10-11 am. Thanks in advance for your support.”

Many people will feel some initial discomfort when they stop acting defensively and start proactively managing their time. But remember, it’s only when the pain of the old way su-persedes the discomfort of the new way that change happens. However, if nothing changes nothing changes. So, what are you going to change?

A/C & HEATING

Sam’s Heating and Air Conditioningwww.heatingandairsandiego.com(see ad page 31) 619-697-9824

Bill Howe Plumbing, Heating & A/Cwww.billhowe.com(see ad page 13) 1-800-BILLHOWE

ALARM SERVICES

Advanced Cable Systems (see ad page 27) 619-582-3476

APPLIANCES (REPAIR)

Maxima Appliance Repair www.maximaappliancerepair.com(see ad page 15) 619-206-3390

ASPHALT & PAVING

Dixson’s Grading and Pavingwww.dgp1.com - 619-846-4774

ATTORNEYS/LEGAL SERVICES

Law Office of Michele L. Snyder619-297-8330

BATHTUB REFINISHING

American Bathtub Refinishers (see ad page 23) 619-265-9200

CARPET CLEANING/FLOOD

Elite Cleaning(see ad page 15) 858-602-6701

CLEANING SERVICES

Elite Cleaning(see ad page 15) 858-602-6701

COMPUTER SERVICES


CONCRETE CONTRACTORS

GAC Concretewww.gacsd.net - 619-846-4774

ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS

Mr. Electric - 760-494-7509www.mrelectric.com

GENERAL CONTRACTORS

California Building & Remodelingwww.calbr.com(see ad page 21) 858-483-0800

GUTTERS & DOWNSPOUTS

Golden State Rain Gutterswww.raingutterpro.com(see ad page 9) 1-866-625-7187

HANDYMAN & HAULING

Marquina’s Handyman619-395-4325

LANDSCAPING SERVICES

Green Leaf Tree Care(see ad page 9) 619-575-1332

Ario Landscape(see ad page 35) 619-279-2580

PAINTING SERVICES

Marquina’s Handyman(see ad page 31) 619-395-4325

PEST CONTROL

Aztec Pest Control(see ad page 11) 619-286-7373

Pestgon Pest Managementwww.pestgon.com(see ad page 3) 1-877-724-8100

PHONE REPAIR


PLUMBING/DRAIN SERVICE

Expert Plumbing & Drain Cleaning(see ad page 29) 619-247-4222

Bill Howe Plumbing, Heating & A/Cwww.billhowe.com(see ad page 13) 1-800-BILLHOWE

POOL MAINTENANCE

P&P Pools - www.pppools.com(see ad page 13) 858-229-8535

Pool Service Pooltime www.sdpooltime.com - 619-977-8976

ROOF REPAIR/INSTALL

Commercial & Industrial Roofingwww.ciroof.com - 619-465-3737

Raindance Roof Companywww.raindanceroof.com (see ad page 5) 619-464-2800

SECURITY PATROL

Summit Security - 619-294-3200(see ad page 7) www.summitpatrol.com

Metropolitan Public Safetywww.metropublicsafety.org(see ad back cover) 619-299-1151

SOLAR PANELS

Silverwood Energywww.silverwoodenergy.comPh. 619-501-2713

TOWING SERVICES

Paxton Towing(see ad page 17) 619-423-7331

TREE TRIMMING

Green Leaf Tree Care(see ad page 9) 619-575-1332

Products & Services Guide Products & Services Guide


inspiration

NOW IS THE TIME To Stand up and Lead!

If you have been watching the news recently, you have been bombarded with “bad news.” As a leader, you hold the helm of “hope” and have an incredible opportunity to inspire others.

John Quincy Adams said once: “If your actions in-spire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

It’s time to push through every opposition and keep your words aligned with your expectations. Because, as you hear “bad news”, meditate upon it, and talk about it — you are dragged into a pitfall of fear and despair.

“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” — Sir Winston Churchill.

So go on and shut off the TV and take an action!“Consult not your fears, but your hopes and dreams.

Think not about your frustrations, but about your un-fulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what is still possible for you to do.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes.

As you release the power of your words into your working environment, you’ll see a change on the cir-cumstances around you.

“Hope doesn’t come from calculating whether the ‘good news’ is winning out over the bad. It’s simply a choice to take action.” — Anna Lappe.Remember that you are creating your future with your words, and never allow the pessimism of rea-soning to overcome the optimism of good-will.

War ofWordsSome see a hopeless end; while others see an endless hope!

When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.

“ ”— Alexander Graham Bell


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“Crime Has Dropped Over 70%...”

Experienced Patrol Officers Random Vehicle Patrol Site Officers Property Lock Ups & Unlocks

Resident Call Response Parking Enforcement Towing Resident Legal Notices

“...since Metropolitan Public Safety took over.” Assistant Chief Lou Scanlon, San Diego Police. (Referring to a 600 unit property

serviced by Metro.)

619-299-1151www.metropublicsafety.org

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Property Manager Magazine