On Tuesday, December 19, PayProp and NARPM hosted a free webinar on why tenant retention is the best strategy to grow your property management business.
Neil Cobbold, Managing Director of PayProp UK, emphasized that lease renewals, not new lease signings, are key to attracting landlords and ensuring portfolio stability.
Retention rate key
When it comes to recruiting landlords, Neil advised property managers to tailor their messaging to resonate with landlords' biggest concerns – and your company’s market share and viability typically isn’t at the top of the list. According to Neil, what matters most to landlords is their rental yield.
Considering the significant cost of replacing a tenant, landlords highly value a property manager's tenant retention skills. A high retention rate is a key indicator of a property manager's effectiveness in preserving a landlord’s rental income.
Loyalty can make you irreplaceable
Ultimately, landlords seek expert property managers, said Neil, drawing on his 20 years of experience managing property. They become loyal when property managers prove their dedication to sustaining their investment and maximizing their rental yield. Without this commitment, property managers risk being easily replaced. In Neil’s words:
“A transaction is easy. The relationship behind that transaction is where the value is truly built.”
Neil listed easy and effective proactive tenant retention strategies you can implement today, including automated birthday messages, personalized welcome baskets, and tenant feedback surveys, as well as a few overlooked marketing efforts such as curated newsletters and webinars.
“We are people at the end of the day,” Neil said. “Good tenant engagement programs, good service… that’s what makes people stay. That's the value of a human being.”
For more of Neil’s insights and strategies, check out the recording here.
