Ellis Partners & Edge2Learn

WEBINAR SERIES

Visit our Event Calendar to view the schedule for upcoming webinars.

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE & ENGAGEMENT

10 Tips for Exceptional Customer Service

There are more opportunities in today’s workplace environment than ever before to exceed our customers’ expectations. Exceeding expectations regularly is the best way to retain loyalty! We already know it’s five times harder to win a new prospect than to keep an existing resident, so your team must build long-lasting relationships.

During our 10 Tips for Exceptional Customer Service session, Wesley Aleshire will discuss tips that make a notable difference in the way our customers and those we work around perceive our level of customer service. Welsey will also share best practices that all of us in Multifamily need to master:

• Standing out above the competition
• Relationship building
• Reading and using body language
• Providing support to others
• Empathizing with others

This 10 Tips for Exceptional Customer Service webinar is an experience for all positions, including maintenance and management.

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

7 Attitudes of Mindfulness

Mindfulness equips leaders to manage stress and promotes openness to fresh interpretations of information that impact decision making. You can’t give to others if you are depleted of time, energy and resources. When cultivating empathy and compassion toward one another, it must first begin inside ourselves. In this short session, Dr. Debbie will share vital skills necessary to increase focus in a way that impacts personal wellness and organizational health.

Exploration includes:

• Recognizing our own strengths, staying in our “swim lane”
• Using our authenticity to build effective teams
• Exploring seven attitudes of mindfulness
• Navigating a way forward with passion and purpose

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Benefits of Mindfulness and Meditation in the Workplace

Our ability to stay focused and balance the stresses of work and personal life is a way of reprogramming the mind to think healthier.  Join well-being expert Alisha Leytem in learning and experiencing mindfulness in the workplace, which has been proven to: build resilience, instill self-confidence in leaders, reduce stress, and increase problem-solving skills.  In this webinar, you will learn how you can take action in practicing mindfulness and will be led through guided mindfulness meditation.

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Best Practices for Responding to COVID-19 Pandemic

In just a few short weeks, all of our lives changed as we began dealing with the COVID-19 Pandemic. In Multifamily, we are experienced at pivoting quickly, but each day of this virus has brought challenges. How do we respond to our teams, our residents, and ourselves?

Join Speaker Jamin Harkness, Executive Vice President at The Management Group, as he shares his best practices for responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic. He will discuss how to receive and evaluate ideas and resources from other Multifamily companies and how to figure out which interpretation of the ideas works best for you. Jamin will also review virtual tours, leveraging your websites, optimizing your social media, running daily activity reports, and technology infrastructure. Bring a notebook – this is just the beginning!

In this webinar, Jamin will share his roadmap to responding to COVID-19 including:

• The Accountability Loop
• Operational Adjustments
• Maintenance Service Adjustments
• Corporate Office Adjustments
• Repository

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Center Your Mind + Body with Movement and Breathwork

With our computers, phones, and endless zoom meetings, it’s become increasingly easy for us to neglect our physical needs. In this webinar with well-being consultant Alisha Leytem, you’ll discover how to reconnect with your body by harnessing the power of deep breathing and movement to manage stress, feel better and enhance your creativity. Join Alisha to learn actions you can take right away to soothe your nervous system so that you can improve your sense of well-being and positively affect those around you – from family to coworkers.

You will discover:

• What happens in the body and nervous system when you are stressed, and how to identify it before it becomes problematic
• Small breathwork techniques you can take to decrease stress at work and home
• How to incorporate movement into your busy days and mindset tips to regularly exercise and feel better

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Dealing with Difficult Situations in Multifamily

Daily life in the multifamily industry involves frequent interaction with people in a multitude of roles and situations. A great part of professional success and happiness in this industry depends on one’s ability to handle difficult situations effectively. This webinar will review how to navigate and potentially resolve such situations proactively. Discussed points include:

• How to identify triggers to help defuse difficult situations before they escalate
• How to turn difficult situations into opportunities that can better serve residents and coworkers
• Ways to share best practices to improve communication with team members and direct reports as situations occur in real time

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Dealing With Difficult Situations Virtually During COVID-19

This webinar will focus on the importance of effective and regular resident communication, covering everything from first impressions to the residents’ experience with your staff virtually and in person. Discussions will also include the different communication tools that may be required for leasing and with current residents alike. As the frustrations during this difficult time may surface because our services have changed, we’ll focus on methods to help supervisors and team members be pro-active versus reactive to reach the same goals. A significant part of your success and happiness depends on your ability to handle difficult situations effectively.

• Understand how you can navigate and resolve difficult situations before they arise.
• Learn to identify triggers to proactively navigate communications with prospective residents and current residents.
• Learn how difficult situations during COVID-19 can provide opportunities to serve residents and co-workers better.
• Identify best practice tools to share with co-workers and direct reports to improve team performance when difficult situations occur virtually or in-person.

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Diversity – Shifting from Tolerance to Inclusion

The world is filled with many different kinds of people from various nations, cultures, creeds and backgrounds. For those working in the multifamily industry, it is uniquely important to create an equitable and inclusive environment for everyone from prospects to residents to coworkers and everyone in between. In this webinar, we’ll discuss how to:

• Identify what is meant by diversity and inclusion
• Summarize needs to improve opportunity
• Recall activities that can positively impact inclusion within the organization

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Diversity and Bias – Awareness Can Lead to Change

Everyone has some form of bias, even it it is unconscious. However, there is no place for bias in business, particularly in multifamily housing. Learn how to identify and weed out your own biases to help you ensure you are providing the best service possible. In this webinar, we will work to:

• Identify what is meant by diversity and biases
• Recognize personal biases and create different responses
• Design actions to build awareness and change responses within personal and professional circles

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Fair Housing – Keeping Compliant During COVID-19

Wesley Aleshire has been presenting Fair Housing as an outstanding Multifamily Innovator, and now he’s bringing us the tips we need to be sure to apply during these COVID-19 times! Did the changes you made to your rental policies during the Pandemic comply with Fair Housing regulations? Join us for this free presentation and have your pen and pencils ready!

During this presentation, Wesley will discuss:

• Disparate Treatment & Disparate Impact
• Sexual Harassment and the FHA
• Marketing without Discrimination
• Reasonable Accommodations
• Reasonable Modifications
• Types of Assistance Animals
• COVID-19 The Impact of Protocols
• HUD & the CDC

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Improving Communication and Tone at Work

Join married couple and wellness and leadership consultants Alisha and Michael Leytem in understanding how to be more effective with your communication and tone at work. Being intentional and aware of how you communicate and speak to colleagues profoundly impacts your leadership and relationships. In this 45-minute webinar, Alisha and Michael will share powerful thoughts and information to understand your communication style so that you can improve it and model it for others at your organization.

We will be covering:

• Understanding the roots of miscommunication and building awareness in your communication style
• Psychological tips for being a more effective communicator
• Exploring how to deliver and receive feedback

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Introduction to Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence, sometimes referred to as EQ (Emotional Quotient), has been cited as a greater contributor to personal and professional success than IQ (Intelligence Quotient). Statistics show that 85–87% of our success accounts from soft skills, emotional intelligence, and personal skills. The good news is that while IQ is innate, EQ can be learned and developed.

The multifamily industry is not just about buildings of bricks and mortar. We’re in a business where building people matters even more. Emotional intelligence provides us with the skills to understand ourselves and others on a deeper level. This understanding can support us in making better choices in our actions and reactions.

This webinar will get you started on the path toward achieving greater EQ. You’ll be able to explain what emotional intelligence is and why it is important, identify what elements contribute to EQ, and apply daily techniques to increase your emotional quotient.

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Leasing to Keep ’em: Keeping Residents Longer Even in a COVID-19 World

This is not a leasing webinar! It is that and much more! Join Rick Ellis, CAM, CPM as he shows us how our first contact with our rental prospects sets the stage for a long term relationship. Rick will show us how even in a quarantined environment, we can still connect and create goodwill and loyalty with our residents. This webinar will discuss:

• What does it take to maintain a long term relationship?
• Move-In Day – Setting the stage for the lease renewal
• Building resident relationships that keep residents longer!
• The four things residents REALLY want!
• Creating a better model for lease renewals – it’s not a paperwork transaction…it’s a sales presentation!
• Great ideas for connecting with residents, even while practicing safe social distancing and even some ideas on virtual lease renewals!

We may have to practice safe social distancing, but that does not mean we have to come across as distant. Rick will leave you with new ideas and direction to retain your residents in style.

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Managing Stress Like a Boss Through the COVID-19 Crisis

As we navigate this unprecedented crisis, it’s imperative to discuss how to manage stress. Concerns for our health and the health of our loved ones, a stream of sometimes confusing and contradictory information, and disruptions to our routines are just a few ways COVID-19 has impacted our mental health.

Join Julie Doss, Director, Training and Customer Experience at the Gene B. Glick Company and National Multifamily Trainer. Julie will focus on ways for all of us to manage stress during this pandemic, including:

• Review the basics on how to manage stress: Eating, Sleeping, and Exercise.
• Learn to identify signs of stress and become proactive instead of reactive to reduce stress before it takes over.
• Create an action plan to reduce stress and increase positivity for you and your co-workers and family members.

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Positive Pivoting – 5 Keys to Deal with Change in Multifamily

The year 2020 brought new challenges along with unprecedented stress as we all had to find new ways to conduct our business. Companies that were able to pivot and positively adapt to change forged ahead and never looked back. What were the best practices that these flourishing companies used to deal with change? Julie Doss and Pam Pederson have compiled a list of the 5 Keys that everyone can utilize to deal with the inevitable changes coming their way.

It’s not over – CHANGE HAPPENS!

During this webinar, we will discuss:

• Identifying what you can and cannot control.
• Understanding how to use imaginary hindsight. Rather than asking “how can we do this?” imagine your plan has already succeeded.
• Practicing “Keep on Keeping On.” By seeing change as a journey, it becomes easier to be compassionate with ourselves and others.

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Ring-a-Ling 2021

Not all calls are created equal and not all offices are answering the phones. Today we have call centers, CRM’s, Artificial Intelligence, remote and onsite office, booking online, etc. And all of this changes the dynamic of managing phone calls, scheduling appointments and following up.

Do you want to Blast Off in 2021 and make an impact on your closing ratios? Assuming yes, join us for a session on successfully managing the telephone experience. In this session, these secrets are revealed.

• Become friends with the phone!
• Get comfortable being uncomfortable! Listening!
• Preparation is everything!
• Ask the right questions, presented as a conversation not an interrogation!
• Master setting and follow up on appointments!

Managing you phone calls is masterful; it’s not just about the rent. Regardless if market rate, affordable or senior housing, understanding the value, selling the benefits and creating an image of “home”, you will gain the prospect’s trust and commitment to honoring the appointment and ultimately, finding their new home.

Don’t shortcut the process! Your leasing success depends on YOU!

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Season of Cheer, Get Your Cheer On!

Our Holiday Gift to all of our Multifamily Partners, Supporters, and Friends! 

Professional crowd igniter and public speaker Cameron Hughes is dead set on achieving one mission in life: exciting others to Just Get Up and live every experience to the fullest.  His unorthodox method of connecting and inspiring crowds has been put into action everywhere, from the world’s largest sporting events to TV and radio programs, to corporate events for some of the world’s most renowned companies. ​

Cameron will energize and spark you to feel alive.  His passion to see people smile, to connect with others, and to bring communities together is what drives him to be his best self.

During this FREE webinar, we will all discover together:

• How to Just Get UP and live every experience to the fullest
• How to make people smile
• How to connect with others
• How to bring communities together

View the recorded webinar. Download the handout from the webinar.

Self-Guided Tours – Now What?

Self-guided tours truly are the new frontier in multifamily housing. Conventional wisdom in the industry has been that customers need associates to show them around and lead them through the process. Yet surveys tell us that more and more rental customers want increased levels of independence and autonomy during the sales and leasing process. So what do you do? In this webinar you’ll discover how to find the right balance between engagement and autonomy; independence and connection, so that you’re giving your customers what they truly want and need to make the right decision.

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Sleep Better and Stress Less for Success

Improving quality of sleep leads to less stress and an increased flow of creativity and energy. You can’t perform at your best if you are constantly running on little sleep. In this short webinar, wellness expert Alisha Leytem will share easy and natural sleep solutions to improve your well-being and provide you with a “full personal cup” to pour into your success.

We will be covering:

• The connection between sleep and success
• Increase your energy, creativity and productivity with sleep
• Explore simple and natural solutions for better sleep

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

CUSTOMER FEEDBACK

The Top 5 Shop Questions Your Competitors Are Missing

An insider look at the Top 5 most essential shop questions

Rachelle Ellington is back with the Mystery Shop information you need! She wants to share the Top 5 most missed questions by your competitors! Why? So, you and your team can be sure to deliver a prospect experience that will consistently result in making them a FUTURE RESIDENT.

This Top 5 Webinar will:

• Discuss the missing piece from the initial phone conversation and other vital steps in the leasing presentation.
• Demonstrate Rachelle’s tips on what to do before you even engage with a future resident.
• Clarify why it’s important to link the benefits of what you have and what your prospect wants.
• Consider the best practices to best extend the first invitation to live in your community.

Thousands registered with us for Rachelle’s K.I.S.S – How to Pass Your Shop AND Get the Lease webinar in 2020! We hope you can join us for the continuation of this series. If you didn’t attend last year’s webinar, that’s okay! You’ll still be able to join right in on the fun!

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Virtual Leasing: Your Success Depends on It!

Face masks, hand sanitizing, social distancing, pivoting and now virtual tours are now commonplace terms. In today’s new normal and new trends have emerged, has our focus on leasing diminished? Have we adjusted our leasing and communication skills in the right areas or have we allowed these chaotic times to jeopardize the leasing experience.

Join us as we explore the data surrounding mystery shop results on 3,000 virtual tours conducted by Ellis Partners in Management Solutions (EPMS). Learn the effective tour types, and other areas of focus needed to ‘wow’ your prospects to create a phenomenal leasing experience.

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

When “CALM DOWN” Doesn’t Cut It – How to De-escalate Conflict and Keep Your Cool

Dealing with difficult people in the workplace is nothing new to multifamily professionals. However, dealing with difficult people amid a global pandemic adds an extra layer of tension that could drive you (or your customer) over the edge. In this session Katie shares the do’s and don’ts of de-escalating conflict while guiding participants through techniques that can easily be used to turn confrontation into compromise.

Attendees of this session will:

• Learn how to anticipate a potential conflict
• Identify the necessary skills for de-escalating conflict
• Obtain self-regulation techniques
• Gain tips for handling hot button issues, such as residents not wearing a mask

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

 

 

SALES & LEASING TECHNIQUES

10 Secrets of the Most Productive Executives

Twenty-four hours are all we get – and most of those are not spent on-the-job.  During the past few months, we’ve faced overwhelming physical, emotional, and financial challenges.  Now we need to take care of our own wellness.  Productivity is more essential now than ever before.

Let’s move from the panic zone to the recovery zone!  Learn ten secrets from successful executives that you can own yourself!  Sue Weston will lead us through applying the theory of “Better, faster, more fun” to your meetings, email, and to-do lists.

These are gifts for you in a time that has not been very giving!  No matter how you’re doing now, what you’re feeling, this session will help you walk away energized and motivated!!

Learning Objectives

• Learn and apply ten productivity secrets by using real-world scenarios from top non-industry executives and multi-taskers.
• Link productivity secrets to specific tasks and roles you hold.
• Learn tips for better meetings, better emails, and better to-do lists.
• Not just tips – You will get examples you can use today!

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

12 Ways to Improve Written Warnings

Recent surveys are predicting that over 50% of the workforce expects to leave their job in 2021. That is a frightening prospect! We already face critical industry turnover and constant job vacancies. Almost makes you NOT want to discipline and risk losing one of your staffers…. almost!

We know unaddressed insubordination, bad attitudes, and poor teamwork will quickly sink the ship, and the ship may already be floating dangerously in post-pandemic waters! Very little margin for error here!

This webinar will help you look at the role of written discipline from a different perspective. It doesn’t always have to be just a document, paving the way to ultimate termination. How and why you execute this key responsibility can change the property dynamic – for you and the team member. Here is just one of our 12 tips:

“Avoid Unneeded Commentary”

Chatter and going beyond the issue itself (even though this may be difficult) can rock the boat.

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Adaptability – Be a Game Changer

To adapt you must be open to change, the tools you need to conquer uncertainty—emotional tolerance, mental fortitude, communication, spiritual guidance—will allow you to triumph over change and press on. Learn the tools for success in adapting to a whole new virtual world.

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

It’s Not Closing – It’s Commencing!

Closing? No, it is actually the continuation of the relationship. It’s not Closing…it’s Commencing!

Join national speaker and consultant, Rick Ellis, CAM, CPM, as he shows us some creative ideas for sealing the deal. Some call these “Closing Techniques” but Rick prefers to think in terms of continuing the relationship, not ending (closing) it. That is why he calls it COMMENCING! Asking for a commitment – for your rental prospect to lease – is the natural, normal, and expected next step to a healthy relationship. The prospect is visiting your office to see about moving in. It is absurd and even rude to NOT ask your prospect to lease RIGHT NOW.

In the pursuit of commencing, that is, creating a long term relationship (residency), Rick will also cover these important points:

• Overcoming and/or minimizing objections, concerns, and complaints.
• “Closes” used to secure the commitment. (The entire presentation is about closing or getting a commitment!)
• Trial and Pre-close Closes
• 4 Strong Closes to secure the commitment.
• Closes for the Covid-Concerned Prospect
• What to do when you don’t get a YES the first time.
• Follow Up – Continuing the Romance!
• Planning the Wedding Day (the move-in day)

You will enjoy and learn from Rick as he compares the leasing presentation to your real life love relationships. Even the most experienced onsite professional will learn a new way of looking at the traditional leasing presentation close. Sign up here and get ready to learn, grow, and have fun. Rick is one of our top webinar presenters!

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Confessions of a Leasing Agent

In this webinar, you will hear the “confessions of a leasing agent” and learn the tips and tools to seek out potential residents and take your community to the next level! Explore methods to cultivate leads, both online through social media as well as through the classic telephone channel. Understand how generational differences impact the service needs of the individual prospect and learn to develop top notch service skills, effective resident retention and the art of closing the sale. In this session, we’ll discuss how to:

• Avoid awkward techniques that lead to the loss of a qualified prospect
• Foster lasting relationships to solidify resident retention
• Utilize focused outreach initiatives to increase rentals and referrals
• Develop skills to effectively and clearly communicate with
• Learn how to identify the best qualified prospects to help avoid wasted time
• Easily overcome leasing objections and sail through to close

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Creatively Using Concessions in the COVID-19 Marketplace

Specials, specials everywhere! Seems like rent concessions are popping up in many parts of the country. Do I need to offer a discount? Should I match my competition? Just saw a banner that offers 3 months free! Are they kidding? Yikes!

Join national expert and speaker, Rick Ellis, as he addresses the increase in rent discounts and concessions and how to compete against your competitions’ “COVID Specials”.

• Do you really NEED a special and how do you find out?
• What is the special and how do you use it to get the best result! The biggest BANG!
• Using apartment leasing specials wisely and strategically
• Rules for Offering Apartment Leasing Concessions that we ALWAYS Follow!
• Standard and Creative Types of Leasing Concessions…if You Must.
• Rent Specials that Cost Almost $ZERO!
• What about Renewal Specials?

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

DIY Onboarding Two Ways!

If you’re lucky, 2021 will bring new team members to those open positions so many of us have. As they join your company, you will need to determine how to get them onboarded. Distance onboarding is a virtual reality….get it??? It really is reality! As we split shifts and stagger work teams, standard onboarding functions have gone virtual, either partially or completely. What if it ends up being you onboarding you??? Or you helping another new team member onboard themselves?? How will that be successful?

In this session we will explore 7 tips to make virtual self-onboarding more effective and get you up to speed quickly. We will also look at what you can do to support new team members also self-onboarding. Learn how to get signed on, signed in and noticed for all the right reasons!

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Dr. D’s Vitamin E (Encouragement)

In a time when everyone is challenged by uncertainty, fear, anxiety and riding an emotional roller coaster, we are also seeking solace from reliable and trustworthy sources. Dr. D offers a hearty dose of Vitamin E (Encouragement)! Debbie Phillips has been a trusted advisor, educator, coach and source of inspiration to industry professionals for over 30 years. She has helped thousands of people find their source of inspiration in times of victory and defeat. Debbie combines practical tips for navigating change with proven solutions for approaching ambiguity, angst and anger. Her approach comes from understanding how emotions drive performance and her depth of experience dealing with others who are weak, disillusioned and skeptical. In a short 30 minutes, Debbie covers the following topics:

• Shifting gears…. From “fear to focus”
• Creating routines that anchor clarity
• Techniques for strengthening your “mental muscle”

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Follow Up Strategies for Virtual Leasing

So you’re embracing virtual leasing! You are taking your clients on real-time virtual tours; you’re walking them through your community’s website; and you are creating your library of videos and to send. That’s great!

Now, what do you after the virtual tour is over to ensure that you’re maximizing and not wasting the time you’ve spent with your prospects? You guessed it … just like with in-person selling you need to FOLLOW UP. After all, about 80% of sales are made between the 5th and 12th contact!

But you can’t just follow up in the ways you always have! Virtual leasing requires some new things! In this content-rich webinar you’ll discover:

• The essential follow-up strategies tailored for virtual leasing
• How to set yourself up for success when following up
• How to overcome the common obstacles to following up consistently

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

 Friendly Leasing… Fair Leasing! Friendly “Fair Housing” Leasing!

Join national speaker and Fair Housing expert Rick Ellis, CAM, CPM as he walks us through the apartment leasing presentation…under the microscope of Fair Housing.  We learn the rules of Fair Housing and celebrate the Spirit of Fair Housing for all!

• Learn the Basic rules of the National Fair Housing Act
• Identify the 7 Protected Classes and How They are Defined
• The Big 3 – The Three Biggest Types of Discrimination in Apartment Leasing
• What to do with Special Leasing Situations
• Dogs and Cats are NOT Pets…if they are Help Animals.  How to handle prospects with animals.

View the recorded webinar. Download the handout from this webinar.

Fumbles, Bumbles, and Apologies

As rental rates continue to climb, many onsite teams struggle to respond effectively or even apologize for the community’s higher rates. Why, oh why?

Gain solutions to combat fumbles to successfully discuss and respond with the reasons your community is worth every penny. Amy shares four easy steps to prove value that will reduce stress and increase success immediately with renewals and new residents alike.

In this webinar, we:

• Discover the inside secrets on pricing strategy and why it matters
• Learn how to increase confidence by utilizing market know-how to our advantage
• Uncover ideal responses to common questions & top rate concerns of new & current residents

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Help Them Grow – So They Won’t Go!

Engaged employees improve company performance AND build the all-important bench strength. Yet, we “train” new employees and walk away. Your employees want a career, so don’t just give them a job! This webinar will give you the edge you need to develop your team AND retain your star talent! In this session, you will:

• Learn how to engage employees so they grow with your company
• Learn how to have meaningful “career conversations” with your team to help them GROW. (You will grow too!)
• Discuss strategies for engaging employees in difficult times.

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

K.I.S.S. – How to Pass Your Shop AND Get the Lease

Passing a mystery shop is important, but why? How? When? There is more to a shop form than getting checks in the right boxes. The main purpose of a shop is to gain feedback and insight from a prospect’s point of view and then use that as a performance tool. It seems easy to fill out a guest card, tour the same vacant apartment 10 times, and maybe ask for the application if they seem to like it. But is it really? Doesn’t that get a little monotonous? Whether you’ve been doing it for 10 days or 10 years, let’s talk about how to get the lease by providing an experience through conversation that makes closing simple with every single person you tour your beautiful community with. Oh, and yes, let’s talk about how to pass the shop!

In this session, you’ll learn:

• How to go from “Treat everyone like a shopper” to “Treat everyone like a future resident”
• How to break down the shop template and use it for your professional growth
• Why picking up the phone is more important today than we think
• To invite and persuade every prospect to live at your community

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Lead Your Team to Victory Through Extreme Ownership

Jocko Willik and Leif Baben, authors and Navy Seals, take leaders on a journey to discover how to drive the mission forward through full ownership while engaging and empowering the team. The leadership skills are really nothing new, but through proper application they help leaders connect to the importance of consistently engaging those skills to enable teams to achieve the mission. This webinar offers insight to the key behaviors that will truly support your team in winning over and over. It all begins with you – the leader! We explore a few key areas that drive leadership and team success including:

• Own everything in your world
• Believe in the mission
• No bad teams, only bad leaders
• Be humble and confident
• Keep it simple

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Leadership in the Days of COVID-19

Do leadership skills change in pandemic times? Should they? As a manager or supervisor, it probably goes without saying that neither you nor YOUR leaders have all the answers right now – and the answers that used to work, don’t work now.

Join us for a practical look at what you need to do now to lead your team:

• Building trust when you don’t know what to say
• Fighting off “Panic Loves Company” mentality
• Finding “true north” when there is no direction
• Creating psychological safety
• Tips you can use from the stock market nosedive

Remember – you got this!

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Leadership: Your Team Needs These 7 Skills from You NOW

The pandemic, the recession, racial justice protests have given us a challenging environment in which to lead our essential teams. Even August’s “On-Site Teams Day” can’t give us enough ways to show our appreciation. Are you running low on leadership ideas? In June 2020 (yes, less than 60 days ago), Leadership IQ asked over 21,000 employees how well their leaders were doing and what they should be doing to lead them now – after four months of ongoing tension and pressure.

Survey Finding 1:

Less than 30% of employees felt like their leader was open to using ideas and practices from outside the company and industry to improve performance. Are you listening? Are you encouraging new thoughts? This skill is so important right now because it triggers inspiration and effort. The more open you are to new ideas, the more an employee will be inspired to give his or her best.

Attend this webinar and learn the other six findings your team needs to feel inspired and motivated. You can make an even more substantial difference in how each employee feels about their work and themselves.

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

LEASEMAKERS! 4-Part Series

Nationally acclaimed speaker and trainer, Rick Ellis CAM, CPM, provides a four-part series of leasing training with LEASEMAKERS!

Part 1 – The Telephone Call – POWERFUL Telephone Techniques (45 in-your-face minutes!)

Turn your telephone into your most powerful leasing tool.

• The telephone leasing presentation outline – simplify your approach!
• The telephone dilemma…and how to resolve it.
• Your #1 Objective: Get the prospect to the property RIGHT NOW!
• 6 Steps to make each call a success!
• Essential Telephone Leasing Tools
• Gaining Control of the conversation.
• Qualifying on the Telephone – The Amazing Guest Card
• Demonstrating your community over the phone – Painting Word Pictures
• Securing the onsite appointment – Getting the prospect to your property…RIGHT NOW!

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Bonus:  View updated webinar recording. Download updated slides.

Part 2 – The Onsite Greeting and Qualifying – Creating trust and a positive relationship

• Getting in sync with your prospect
• The 5 Ss of Greeting
• The qualifying process – Creating trust and confidence
• Guest Card Basics – Let’s chat and be friends
• Initial and critical qualifying questions
• Plus more probing questions that reveal the prospects real motivation to move

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Bonus: Download updated slides or View updated recording.

Part 3 – The Property Tour – Strategies for demonstrating your property and showing off its best angles

• Your property is the stage, you are the actor, and the tour is your live play!
• Discover and show off your community’s best side….and best angles.
• Building trust during the demonstration.
• Techniques for showing the apartment home…stay in control!
• Feature/Benefit Selling – Determining Needs – Creating wants!
• Temperature taking questions – the pre-closing question.

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Bonus:  View updated webinar recording. Download updated slides.

Part 4 – Closing – The Bottom Line (Creating Commitment and Commencement)

• Your property is the stage, you are the actor, and the tour is your live play!
• Discover and show off your community’s best side….and best angles.
• Building trust during the demonstration.
• Techniques for showing the apartment home…stay in control!
• Feature/Benefit Selling – Determining Needs – Creating wants!
• Temperature taking questions – the pre-closing question.

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Bonus:  View updated webinar recording. Download updated slides.

Making Decisions With Confidence

Decision making is one area in multifamily where most people, at least occasionally, experience a lack of confidence. Your very first instincts may be to hold back or to procrastinate over making a decision. Your mind becomes frozen as it gets caught up in a web of negative thoughts. However, every decision is a learning opportunity! If you choose the right option, you are going to improve in your role over time, but even if you make the wrong decision, you may not lose. While you may suffer a little short-term pain from a wrong choice, you can grow significantly from the experience. Confident decision making encourages the realization that you can’t lose when you are determined to learn from and find the positives in every situation. In this webinar, we’ll aim to:

• Discover why becoming familiar with policies eases the decision-making process
• Learn when it’s okay to ask questions before making decisions
• Examine the benefits and advantages of training (even training that has nothing to do with Multifamily!)

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Managing to Lead

This webinar explores finding those moments to act like a leader while you’re managing the details! Each day presents opportunities to step up and lead, even in such day-to-day matters as training employees for new skills or settling a dispute between staff. We cover a range of topics to strengthen your leadership skills such as:

• The changing workplace and staff
• Common leadership mistakes
• Tips to address staff problems and issues
• Leadership through staff meetings and activities
• Suggestions to help you get comfortable through management duties

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Navigating Work, Parenting and Home Education During COVID-19

We are all in this together—parents, grandparents, children, friends, etc. Many of us are more “together” than we have ever been before. Working at home isn’t an easy task even in normal circumstances. Mix in the entire family, move your children’s school day to your house, social distancing, and a shortage of toilet paper—it’s new for all of us. The great news is that there are many effective tools and strategies available to help all of us successfully navigate and educate through these historical turbulent waters.

Join me as I share the top navigational tools that have helped me keep my head above water during my twelve years as a work-at-home homeschooling mom of two very active boys.

• Creating the right environment for your workday and their learning
• Routines and schedules
• Reducing disruptions during your workday
• Moving beyond the school subjects
• Stimulating great conversations
• Teaching them the things they will never learn in school

and more…

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Seven Power Words and Phrases in Sales

Sales professionals, your words are powerful! What you say and how you say it is often the difference between making or losing the sale. Sell with confidence and help your customers choose the perfect home by using these power words and phrases in your sales presentations.

In this webinar we cover:

• How to take control of your sales conversations
• The word that is a sales killer and what you should say instead
• What to say when the customer asks you for something you don’t have
• How to sell with confidence

View the recorded webinar. Download slides from this webinar.

Taming Your Time Management Monster

Getting the most out of 24-hour day is a constant challenge in our busy world with a bottomless inbox, tons of emails and millions of meetings. Too much to do and not enough time to do it in is a common problem many people face in the workplace. Although we can’t give you more hours in the day, we can teach you how to decide what to do and when to do it.

This high-energy, back-to-the-basics training program explains the fundamentals of time management; understanding the value of time, using proven ways to get the most out of a day, balancing work and home, eliminating time wasters, conquering procrastination and more. You’ll learn to:

• List barriers to successful time management.
• Understand and demonstrate the use of 10-to-do lists and the ABC prioritization technique.
• Explain the benefits and drawbacks of various calendar systems.
• Manage voicemail to reduce time spent checking messages.
• Write SMART goals and explain their benefit.
• Demonstrate how to say “no.”
• Delegate tasks and assignments.
• Develop an action plan for better use of time.
• Begin implementing goals created during the session.

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

The Power of Presence – Maximizing Your Best Feature

First impressions can have a huge impact, especially in a professional setting. It has been determined that 55% of first impressions are formed by what others see , 38% by tone and energy and 7% by what is said. In this webinar, we discuss the best ways to make and sustain a positive impression as well as how to rebrand yourself when the first impression falls short. Elements of this discussion include:

• Appearance
• Body Language
• Facial Expressions
• Handshake
• Voice
• Self Awareness and Self-Management

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

The Secret Ingredient of Effective Coaching

A manager is responsible for coaching employees, but what does it take to be truly prepared? It takes more than tenure, reputation, and previous performance to be qualified to effectively coach your team to success. The secret ingredient to effective coaching is trust! As Warren Buffet states, “Trust is like the air we breathe. When it’s present no one notices, and when it’s absent everyone can see it.” As a manager, you can build trust in your relationship with your employees by showing them how much you care about their success. In this webinar, we discuss 4 critical building blocks that help create that secret ingredient of trust:

• Knowledge and Experience
• Transparency
• Employee First, Job Second
• Personal Accountability

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Top Negotiating Tools

Everyone uses negotiation to get what they want, whether they’re trying to talk down the price of a car or add more services for the same cost. When you enter a negotiating situation, you need to be on your game and recognize the other party will try to tip the scales in their favor.

Learn the 6 steps that will not only simplify the process, but help you negotiate more successfully. We’ll also look at the 10 usual and not so usual ways people try to best you at the table. You can put these skills to use when you negotiate:

• Additional services from a supplier
• More marketing budget money
• A fairer split of work order tickets
• A trade-off for a quiet day at home

Any negotiation takes skills. Learn these tips from a nationally recognized attorney and negotiation expert to position yourself for success!

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Virtual Leasing During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Leasing virtually isn’t just taking what you do in-person and now doing that over video, phone, email or text messaging. Obviously, getting your customers to “say yes to the address” is tougher when they can’t actually experience the physical apartment.

So, what can you do?

In this webinar you’ll discover:

• The five” C’s” you need to know to turn your prospects into your residents
• How to effectively engage your clients and keep them engaged from a distance
• How to manage and leverage today’s technology to help you lease apartments 
• How to keep you at your best during these chaotic times

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

 

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Cybersecurity Awareness

Learn the Do’s and Don’t’s and Become a Human “Firewall”

2020 was a wake-up call for most of us. It also forced us to depend on technology to keep doing our jobs. For many multifamily properties and property management companies, the transition to virtual was challenging because it was foreign, and, quite frankly, most companies were not prepared for such a transition. Now, in 2021 and beyond, the multifamily industry is paying closer attention to their technology – and security! More dependency on technology in your leasing office means open season for hackers because of increased user endpoints (basically, anyone using a device connected to the internet). Unfortunately, security software tools and network hardware alone are not enough to prevent the bad guys from breaking in. Your leasing teams and corporate staff are the last line of defense which is why it’s important to become a human “firewall” and learn the “do’s and “don’t’s” when it comes to cybersecurity awareness.

Join Travis Street, president of CTS and leading national cybersecurity advisor in the multifamily industry. Travis has prepared an in-depth dive into the world of IT, the dangers that surround your properties, and how to avoid becoming a victim of cyber-attacks.

During the webinar, Travis will discuss:

• What cybersecurity awareness means
• Why cybersecurity awareness is crucial to your management company
• Common pitfalls to be made aware of
• How to avoid becoming a victim of cyber-attacks
• How to protect your property and your residents’ data

CTS has specialized in the multifamily industry since 2001 and has helped many multifamily peers with their digital transition.

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from the webinar.

Everything You Need to Get Started with Virtual Leasing

In this webinar, you’ll learn the basics of getting started with virtual leasing.

You’ll discover:

• What kind of equipment you’ll need to get started
• What factors to consider in getting equipment
• How to get started with your first real-time tour and your own pre-recorded videos

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from the webinar.

Leading Remotely – Leadership First, Location Second

As more organizations adapt a remote workforce, the challenge of leading at a distance become more urgent than ever. In this 30-minute virtual session, we will guide leaders on how to best support their teams by recalling the foundational principals of leadership. “Leading Remotely – Leadership First, Location Second” is about both, the principles of leadership and how we apply those differently in a new reality of remote and virtual teams. WHAT we do is not different, but HOW we do it changes.

Key focus areas will include:

• Leadership principles
• Manager vs Leader
• The Three O Model: Outcome, Others and Ourselves
• How to apply those leadership principles in a remote workplace
• Define expectations to manage the perception
• Communicate in the ways that work best for others rather than based on your personal preferences.
• Use Technology to Engage Your Team: One-on-One Meetings and Team Meetings

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Presentation Skills for Virtual Tours

You’ve probably heard the saying, “Presentation is everything.” This is especially true in virtual leasing. While the technology we have today is great, connecting with someone through a computer or device can be more difficult than doing so in person. In this webinar you’ll discover the key “pro-tips” that will help you be ready for your close-up during virtual tours.

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

The State of Fraud in Property Management – Do You Have a Plan?

Fraud has exploded in property management. Join national speaker and Vice President of TransUnion, Maitri Johnson, to explore the following questions:

• Do you know what this fraud looks like?
• Do you have tools in place to help you reduce the risk of fraud?
• Do you know the different types of fraud that could be happening to you?
• How do you put a fraud reduction plan in place?

Get the answers to these questions and much more in this dynamic and thought provoking session on the state of fraud in rental housing.

View the recorded webinar. Download the slides from this webinar.

Visit our Event Calendar to view the full schedule of upcoming webinars.