I started a business partner networking group in January and the participants ranked which HOA topics they wanted to learn about. The first topic a majority selected was to learn about when to contact a board member and when to speak with the association’s community manager. Regardless of who you are speaking with, the key to a successful relationship is regular and detailed communication.
When a business partner receives a request for a proposal, your response time is already being analyzed. I’m not saying that you need to respond that same day but if it takes a few days to respond, you are already telegraphing that you are too busy to take on new business. If an onsite meeting is required before the proposal can be finalized, ask the community manager to throw out 2-3 days/times that work and make one of them work into your schedule. If it gets too hard to coordinate, you will leave a negative impression.
Let’s fast forward to the job itself. Community managers want a schedule because their board members and/or owners want to know when workers will be onsite. Board members want to get ahead of the game by publishing the schedule so they aren’t stopped with questions when work starts happening. Of course, that means if there is any deviation to the schedule, community managers need to know that ASAP so they can get word out to the board and owners. Lastly, when the job is done, let everyone know so they can get back to their daily routine knowing workers won’t be wandering around the property.
So what happens after the last crew member leaves the community? You should do a post-job walk with a board member and ask the community manager to attend as well. Written surveys are also valuable to gain insight into what went well and what you can improve upon. Either one shows how much you care about the relationship you have with the respective parties. If you do a survey, always leave space for written comments.
Good communication isn’t hard. But it does take time. Your business success is contingent on keeping existing clients happy and coming back when they need more of the services you offer.
And of course they are great references when they are happy.
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Mickey Latz, MBA, CMCA, AMS is the president of HOA Consultants, LLC. He consults with boards, business partners and management companies. He is the former owner of Golden Valley Property Management which he started in 2003 and sold in 2022.
