Youtube: Real Estate Consultant | Trainer | Speaker – Interview with Michael Furlong & Kevin Turner – Pt 2
Welcome back to our coverage of the PPM Conference on the Gold Coast for 2023! In this edition, we continue our conversation with Michael Furong from Rent Roll Maximiser. If you’re a Real Estate Agency business owner with a rent roll that just isn’t performing the way you want, this one’s for you.
The Problem: A Rent Roll That Just Doesn’t Deliver
As a Business Owner of an Agency with a Rent Roll, you may be feeling unsatisfied with the revenue each month and wondering what you need to do to increase the income. The question is, how can you measure your financial Rent Roll return and, more importantly, increase the revenue, without necessarily increasing the number of properties under management?
Michael shares some key insights on this. Before you focus on growth, you first need to focus on the stability of the Rent Roll. The foundation of a successful & profitable Rent Roll lies in balancing your portfolio property types, ensuring compliance, and streamlining your systems. The team at Rent Roll Maximiser have developed a Cookie Cutter process that takes approximately 90 to 120 days of dedicated work with your team, which is adaptable to any sized portfolio, but the results are well worth it.
Avoid Growing the Wrong Way
A common mistake many Agency Principals make is focusing on increasing the size of Rent Roll & properties under management without addressing profitability. Adding non-profitable properties to your portfolio only increases your problems. Instead, the goal should be to grow organically, strategically and only adding properties that meet the minimum AAMI (Average Annual Management Fee Income).
Overcoming Resistance from Your Team
One of the biggest challenges in transforming a Rent Roll is getting buy-in from your Property Managers. If you approach them and express your desire to simply increase the size of the portfolio, which adds more work for them, they may not see the benefits and push back against change.
Michael emphasises that for sustained growth, you must shift behaviors within your team. You can’t do it alone. Change needs to be implemented from the ground up, ensuring that your entire team is aligned with the new strategy.
The Power of a 100-Day Onboarding Journey
A crucial element of growth is Landlord retention, and that starts with an exceptional onboarding process. Michael advocates for a structured 100-day onboarding journey for new Landlords & New properties under management, just like you would for new staff members.
By mapping out what a Property Investor needs from their Property Management service in the first 100 days, you can solidify strong relationships that last a lifetime. More importantly, this process allows you to ask for referrals right from the start—something many Business Development Managers wait too long to do.
Implementing a VIP Referral Affiliate Program
One of Michael’s standout strategies for organic Rent Roll growth is his VIP Referral Affiliate Program. The idea is simple: reward clients for referrals, whether or not those referrals convert into business.
Here’s how it works:
- If a Landlord refers a client, they receive Gold Class movie tickets immediately, regardless of whether the referral signs on.
- If a referral does convert, every three months the referring Landlord gets a portion of their management fees paid back to them, to recognise the referral.
- With each additional referral, Landlords can receive up to 25% of their management fees back, month on month for as long as you are managing the referred properties.
- Not only does this encourage referrals from your Landlords, but it is also a Landlord Retention Strategy
- This program encourages Landlords to actively promote your business, creating a powerful organic growth engine.
Changing the Way We View Property Management
Michael stresses the importance of shifting the industry’s mindset. Property Management Agencies are no longer just competing against each other—they are being compared to services like Uber and high-end hotels. Clients expect seamless, efficient, and pleasant experiences, and if your business doesn’t provide that, they will look elsewhere.
By refining your Client journey, simplifying processes, and implementing a structured referral system, you can turn your Rent Roll into a thriving, profitable business.
Final Thoughts
Michael’s insights provide a fresh perspective on how to grow a Rent Roll without the traditional headaches. By focusing on stability, creating a standout onboarding experience, and leveraging referrals through a VIP program, you can achieve long-term success & drive profitability, not to mention significantly add value to the Rent Roll asset.
—Michael Furlong, Rent Roll Maximiser
Visit: PPM Group
