The other day I had a fascinating conversation with Megan Taylor, the Head of Property Partnerships at Longview. We discussed the concept of property partnerships and shared some valuable insights on building strong referral partnerships and controlling the quality of new management.

One thing that really stood out to me was the emphasis on collaboration and long-term relationships. At Longview, they truly believe in working as a team and providing support and expertise throughout the property management journey. It reminded me of the importance of building a community and making clients feel supported.

Megan shared some great tips on acquiring new clients through referrals. She mentioned that a significant portion of their business comes from existing clients referring friends and family. They also have referral partnerships with various professionals like mortgage brokers, house and land builders, financial advisors, and sales-only agents. These partnerships are built through networking and actively seeking out like-minded professionals. They even used LinkedIn to prospect referral partnerships during the COVID-19 lockdown! I know from experience that the referral network is something that also works really well in my business at SOCO Realty and not only does it make the process of new business really easy, because they have come to you as a warm lead, these new clients are already aligned with your business and trust you before you have started.

If you are not comfortable with finding referral networks online (I still think this is the best and easiest way!), the other suggestion is to attend networking events and local events. You could also approach people and ask them to collaborate with newsletters or be a podcast guest, help them create helpful content for their clients and this will help strengthen your relationship with them.
When it comes to handling calls from potential clients, Megan highlighted the value of having face-to-face conversations to better understand their needs. She tailors her approach based on the client's personality type and asks questions to gather information about their expectations. Instead of just providing a list of fees, she explains the value behind them.

We also discussed our different approaches to client management and property appraisals. I admit being lazy when it comes to tracking numbers, and Megan emphasized the importance of physically inspecting properties and meeting clients face-to-face. They shared stories that highlighted the benefits of these approaches and showcased the importance of knowing clients' expectations.

Setting boundaries and guidelines for accepting properties was another topic that caught my attention. As a team, they all play a part in to what a quality client looks like and boundaries surrounding location and rental income is important to so that you feel more comfortable saying no to certain properties.

If you haven't yet listened to the podcast, head over to your favourite podcast listening app and find The Art of Property Management where you can listen to our full conversation!