How To Best Find New Clients as a PM?

Question

Hey y'all,

I am new-ish on the Bigger Pockets site, though I've been reading the books and listening to the podcasts for awhile. I'm a Realtor in Utah, and have been doing property management for the last few years. I'm currently trying to expand the property management side of my business and I've built myself a great track record, but I'm wondering how other property managers find new clients. Right now, I'm finding the most luck using Thumbtack, but I'd love tp explore other avenues. Can anyone recommend anything that really works?

Shawna Hilton · Answer

This is all fantastic advice, thank you so much! I do have investments of my own, and before the COVID shutdown I was going to REI meetups, hopefully that's something I can start again. I do try to keep my pricing very simple and straightforward - and I love the idea of offering incentives for referrals from my current clients. I have set up a google my business page, so I may start with some google ads and see where that gets me. Thanks again!

Nicole Heasley Beitenman · Answer

REI meetups.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

Your market is large enough that it may be worth some online marketing.

Personally, I think the best way is to market yourself directly to real estate brokerages. Most REALTORS want nothing to do with property management. If you are able to market yourself well, they will refer clients to you. This is particularly true if you can provide them a referral fee.

You can also look for other property managers that are interested in selling their business. You have to be careful because you may pick up some properties with terrible leases and management contracts that end up being more work than you intended.

Finally, be sure to market directly to your existing owners! Offer them an incentive for referrals, like three months of free management or something.

Steve Maginnis · Answer

Hello @Shawna Hilton.  It can be a Catch-22.  You get good business from referrals, but you can't get referrals until you have good business.  I have "started new" a couple times now in the business.  I have spent countless hours networking.  Going to Meetup groups, Realtor functions, Real Estate Investor association meetings, etc.  I have networked with Realtors who focus on investment properties.  Searching tax records for displaced owners and sending mailers, post cards, etc.  Reverse searching these addresses for phone numbers to cold call.  I've even read negative reviews for other management companies and tried to track down the posters.

This certainly has worked, but the time put in is huge for the returns.  The most efficient has by far been advertising on Google Ads.  I paid for SEO, and had very limited results.  Google Ads costs, but that is where the majority of investors looking for help go to first.  Create a good website that is free of pop-ups and clutter, and add pertinent content.  It helps to run some very attractive discounts or market something that may be high on someone's want list.  For example, an owner who just had a bad experience with an eviction would be drawn to your ad that states "1% eviction rate, and we offer eviction protection".

I will ad that I do not advertise on Google anymore.  Partly due to the fact that I have established enough business to get those referrals mentioned earlier.  But also because Google pulled a bait and switch on me. I started out with a budget of around $600 per month.  Once I dialed in my key words to my liking, I was getting a lot of good activity.  Then, after 6 months to a year, I noticed I was not getting the same activity.  I had gone from page 35 on search results to page 4, but stopped moving up.  After reaching out to them, Google basically told me that I had to start spending more money to be competitive and get more activity.  I was not happy.  At any rate, if this is how they conduct business, it is still worth it to take advantage of the good activity you get to begin with to jump start the business.

Any time you get new leads, keep track of where they came from so you can dial in what works best.  I hope this helps.  Best of luck.

Amy Kendall · Answer

Are you currently selling a lot of real estate, or are you more focused on growing your property management business?  The reason I ask is because a lot of my property management business comes from referrals from either my current customers or from other real estate agents.  I don't do any advertising, but my business continues to grow from these two avenues.  Real estate agents are always hesitant to recommend another real estate agent as a property manager because they are afraid you will be able to steal their client from them.  So, if you aren't actively selling, you could use that to your advantage to set other agent's minds at ease and spread the word that you are looking for more properties to manage and even possibly give them a small referral fee to get the ball rolling.  I am an active agent and manager and other agents in my office still give me clients because they know I won't try and take any of their business and will just do go a good job managing that property.  It can be tough, but I think that focusing on other agents is a good source because they just come into contact with so many property owners.  I have also found clients by just talking about my own properties with people at meetups or whatever, and I think other investors take comfort in knowing that you own and manage your own rental properties and can relate to them better than a larger management company.

Aaron K. · Answer

I can give my perspective from an owner, if I have properties with you currently and you do a good job for a fair price I will refer you to others.  If I'm looking for a property manager I look for one with a clean fee structure, not necessarily the cheapest but I would much prefer to pay 10% and $500 for finding a tenant than 8% plus $300 to find a tenant, $150 to renew a lease, 15% surcharge on repairs over $400, etc. etc.  I'm sure @Jerryll Noorden will have something to say about SEO but my first stop is Google and I search property management and then the city name

How To Best Find New Clients as a PM?

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