had not planned at all. I did not plan which businesses I was going to visit; I had not planned what I was going to say to anyone; or why this business would want to refer to my property. I did not have a follow up plan for my contacts and had not tracked any of my efforts so we had no idea if my efforts were effective. My third mistake was that I only sought out referrals, so I was selling my property and did not offer anything in return. By partnering with an outreach contact to provide services or programs for my residents, I earned the trust and respect of my outreach contact, who then referred prospects to my property. So, not only did I add value for my residents, I influenced loyalty from my residents and created deep, long term and on-going referral sources. Now that I have shared my mistakes, I will share my strategies for successful outreach for affordable housing communities. Every property is different and what works well for one property many not work well for another. Factors that should be considered that may impact the success of outreach efforts include: • Timing, which includes the ability for the staff to perform the outreach duties at this particular time. Consider if your property is ready for visitors and prospects to tour or are their some maintenance issues that should be addressed prior to kicking off your campaign? • Consistency is very important, because outreach is about creating a partnership and one meeting will not create that partnership. Successful outreach is a constant process. In most cases, between three and seven carried contacts are considered necessary for effective deliverance of your message and to create a partnership. AVENUES TO AFFORDABILITY
•
•
When selecting the team member that will be conducting the outreach efforts, be sure that this person is regarded as credible and sensitive. This person must connect well with others, listen well and speak well on behalf of the property and your efforts. Consider the local culture and the surrounding community’s attitudes towards your property. Some properties may have to overcome negative news reports, criminal activity or negative reputations before outreach efforts can begin. In some cases, you may be able to use this as a way to partner with an agency to help reduce crime and other issues at your property.
Once you have determined that you are ready to begin your outreach campaign, you must create a plan.
This plan should answer the following questions: • What are your goals for the outreach efforts? ––
–– ––
• •
How many new contacts will be made each week? Who is going to be held accountable for the outreach efforts?
–– ––
• •
Add value to your property by creating, modifying, and/or adding services, programs and sources for your residents? Increases the public’s knowledge of your property? Encourage referrals to your property from agencies, non-profits, businesses and churches?
Will it be a single person from your team? Will it be a joint effort?
If a joint effort, who is going to be responsible for what efforts? When and how often is the outreach going to be done?
––
Will efforts be planned weekly
TTY: 711
TTY: 711
We Do More Than Just Answer Your Questions... WE CREATE THE SOLUTIONS! “My properties have shown incredible improvement since you started working with them. I can’t believe how much better the sites are doing today. I don’t know what took me so long to get you involved!” Lora D. Gilbert, Vice President of Asset Management, Larc Properties, Inc.
Operations • Marketing • Leasing Training Specialists • Compliance Call today to reduce expenses and increase your occupancy. 800.865.0948 | WWW.OCCUPANCYSOLUTIONS.COM 25