Persistence

Persistence

If there is one thing I can point to that has made this company successful I would have to say it is our persistence. We don't accept No as an answer, we strive to always answer YES to our customers, we don't give up when a deal is taking too long or when a project doesn't seem to be able to turn around. In the end our persistence has put us well ahead of our competition and will continue to move us towards industry leadership.

Some of my favorite quotes on this:

I look at victory as milestones on a very long highway.
-Joan Benoit Samuelson(1957-, American Marathon Runner)

"You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do." - Henry Ford

"Impossible is just an option." - Adidas ad

"It's not whether you got knocked down. It's whether you get back up."
- Vince Lombardi, Green Bay Packers coach

Think about these or share with us your favorites quotes on persistence because it really is the driving force of this company and its future success.

Remember the Best Is Yet To Come and only you can Make It Happen!

Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time

The Economy of Fear

The economy has problems.

This is not going to be a big quick recovery and we need to brace for a long term recession.

http://www.portfolio.com/views/columns/economics/2008/03/17/Sizing-Up-the-Coming-Recession

-Nick

Re: The Power of YES

Last week I spoke about the word "No" in negotiations this week let's discuss the opposite. The word YES is a powerful motivator that should be used whenever possible especially when it comes to customer service. It doesn't matter who you are the word YES is a very positive statement and creates strong emotional connections.

Anyone in customer service (that's everyone!) Should know that if you say YES to the customer you will be making a positive step in the long-term relationship. Everyone needs to think of how they can say YES to any request made by a resident, lender, equity partner, employee, or even an acquisition target-- collectively know as our Customers.

When dealing with a request, as strange as it may be, when cannot allow our immediate reaction to the word "NO". We need to think a little about how we turn the negative (relationship destroyer) response into a positive YES response. Maybe it requires asking a supervisor, or going out of your way a steps but we need to try to find a way to respond yes to the request.

All the great retailers of our time have made this a significant part of their model. Always try to find a way to answer YES. It’s easy to say no but in the long term the word YES will be the answer that keeps your customer forever.

Start today. Try to find a way to answer YES to all your customer requests as they come in today. Going the extra mile will make your customer happy and will likely make you feel better too.


"It's kind of fun to do the impossible." - Walt Disney (1901-1966), American entrepreneur, movie producer, showman


Thanks for Making It Happen!

"NO" is not an answer..... Its an invitation to negotiate.

"It's not whether you got knocked down. It's whether you get back up." - Vince Lombardi, Green Bay Packers coach

We have a great model for success. Buy buildings at below market prices,Renovate them intelligently, finance them with lower cost debt than our competitors, and then manage them professionally with long term brand growth in mind.

This model didn't just come to us one evening. It took years and years of persistence, thousands of phone calls to sellers, tens of thousands of apartment showings, uncountable maintenance calls, and lots of imagination. But the company continues to grow mainly because we have always operated under the premise that "NO" is not an answer its just an invitation to negotiate.

Whether dealing with sellers, vendors, contractors, prospects, or residents our attitude has to be that we can and will make you happy. Maybe its creating an effective tax strategy for a seller or showing a prospect a 10th unit (usually on the top floor of a walk-up building), negotiating a fair interest rate lock with a lender, or just making an existing resident happy when we do something wrong. This is the "Make It Happen" attitude that differentiates our company.

Rember that next time you are on the phone with an irate resident, or seller or contractor. Our job it to figure how to make them happy and still keep our profit margins in line. It has been done for many years now and we will keep working it so it gets done over and over again going forward.

Thanks for reading and remember we can't Make It Happen without you.