The Secret to Motivating a Property Manager to Change Security Providers

Trackforce

June 19, 2019 · 11 min read

Understanding the motivations behind property manager’s decisions is key when trying to win business in the security industry. Unless you want to be competing on cost, which is a recipe for thin margins and high turnover, winning new customers means being able to persuade property managers that your company can deliver a measurably better service than their current security contractor.

Going into a proposal meeting without understanding these triggers puts you at a significant disadvantage. Ultimately, you want to show the decision makers how your service can make their lives easier and their wallets fatter.

This guide breaks down what motivates a property manager, how to pitch to it, and how TrackTik helps security firms serving property management prove the value of every shift.

Key takeaways

Property managers buy outcomes, not guards.
Their bonuses typically track occupancy, delinquency, lease renewals and budget adherence, so pitch to those numbers.
Price gets you in the door; value wins the contract.
Fit the budget, then show how your service improves the metrics they are paid on.
Research beats rhetoric.
Online resident reviews and a few direct questions about past providers reveal exactly what needs fixing.
Reporting is the part of your service the property manager sees.
Fast, complete incident reports save them time and protect them with residents and owners.
Proof keeps the contract.
With TrackTik, GPS-verified patrols, time-stamped incident reports and a client portal let property managers see the work for themselves.

Where Their Bonuses Come From

Typically, property managers earn bonuses based on four identifiable criteria:

Occupancy: A bonus paid out based on the quarterly occupancy rate of the property. The bonus is typically paid out when a manager maintains 95.5% occupancy (industry standard).
Receivables/Delinquency: This is based on the percentage of the total rent that is overdue or delinquent. The level varies between companies.
Lease Renewal: This bonus is paid out based on the percentage of the residents renewing their leases on an annual or biannual basis.
Budget Adherence: This bonus is paid out based on the overall adherence to the property budget on a quarterly, biannual, or annual basis.

Understanding these common factors affecting a property manager’s wallet and then implementing ways to positively impact these areas will help you establish common goals with your prospect.

You’ll notice that your contract price only can impact budget adherence, whereas the quality of the security service can have a big impact on the occupancy & renewal rates. But you can even indirectly help #2, since happy residents tend to be more likely to pay rent on time. If you can show property managers that your service will measurably improve resident satisfaction and renewal, that’s a massive selling point.

Ask yourself which would be a more effective “elevator pitch”:

“I’ve been in business for 10 years with a background in law enforcement. I hand select only the best guards in the industry. We provide great looking uniforms, electronic daily activity reports, and are always accountable.”

Or this:

“How’d you like to get your occupancy level to 95.5 and stay there? We work with dozens of property managers and utilize software that provides instant transparency and incident reports that will impress your boss and make you look great.”

Touting the experience and accountability of your guards is one thing, but if you can demonstrate an ability to tangibly address more common issues like parking management, noise complaints, and maintenance issues that cause residents to move, you’ll be able to make a much more convincing case.

How Your Security Service Moves Each Bonus Metric

Use the four bonus criteria as the outline for your proposal. For each one, show what your team will do and how you will prove it.

Occupancy

Prospective residents notice whether a property feels safe and cared for. Visible patrols, well-watched parking areas and quick responses to issues all shape that first impression. Back it up with guard tour data that shows when and where officers patrolled.

Receivables and delinquency

Security has the least direct influence here, but it is not zero. Residents who feel safe and see problems handled are generally more satisfied, and satisfied residents are easier to collect from. Avoid overpromising on this one and position it as a secondary benefit.

Lease renewal

Renewals are where security earns its keep. The everyday frustrations that push residents to leave, like parking disputes, noise complaints and repeat incidents, are exactly the issues a security team can document and resolve. Show the property manager how each concern will be logged, escalated and closed.

Budget adherence

Predictability matters as much as price. Commit to a clear scope, flag overtime before it happens, and invoice against verified hours so there are no surprises at month end.

How To Approach The Pitch

We love to stress this point, and it’s worth repeating: do your research ahead of time!

Look up reviews of the property online to figure out what are the most common issues residents are complaining about and where the manager might be looking to improve.

Beyond that, make an attempt to understand the property manager’s business when meeting with them. Taking the time to ask questions about their security needs rather than just bragging about yourself and your company is a big part of what takes you from a vendor to a partner. Understanding not all properties or management companies require the same levels of security solutions is extremely important; take the time to do your research about the geographic location, resident demographics (age, gender, income, education level, etc), and create a strategy that will align with your findings.

I also like to get into specific questions about the property manager herself and her experiences with past security guard companies. These include:

“What has your turnover been with guard companies?”
“What was wrong with your last guard company?”
“How many guard companies have you been through in the past year and a half?”
“How long have you been here?”
“How long do you plan on staying here?”

Remember, you’re planning to develop a working relationship with this manager, so it’s important to get a sense of how high a priority the property is to them, what kind of manager they are, and which issues give them the most problems.

What to Bring to the Proposal Meeting

Questions show you care; proof shows you can deliver. Bring examples the property manager can picture on their own site:

A sample incident report from a similar property, with photos and time stamps.
A sample patrol or guard tour report showing checkpoints and completion times.
A short walkthrough of the client portal they would use to see activity on their property.
Response-time commitments for resident concerns and after-hours incidents.
A 30-day transition plan covering officer onboarding, post orders and first reports.
References from property managers whose properties are similar to theirs.

If you are pitching to a community association board rather than a management company, the same principles apply. See how to win your next HOA security proposal.

Don’t Forget The Budget

While all these aspects of differentiation are critical, don’t take this to mean that price isn’t important. Pricing is always going to be key in this industry. Property managers have set budgets to work with, and they generally don’t have much flexibility in this area.

If you’re up front about your capabilities and make an effort to understand their needs, most property managers will be straightforward with you about their budgetary constraints. You don’t have to come in and offer the lowest price, but you do have to fit within their budget.

Selling Peace Of Mind

On top of all the fiscal concerns, property managers will be very interested in your security services if it can make their lives easier. For a property of 500 or less residents, reducing customer complaints will save a huge chunk of time for the property manager.

Timely and quality incident reporting makes property managers’ lives easier by giving them the information they need to quickly address issues and make sure they don’t happen again. Sloppy or incomplete reports, on the other hand, create more work for the property manager, who then has to call to get more information and might get blamed by the resident if they’re working off of inaccurate facts.

With many companies out there still focusing on experience and accountability as their main selling points, you can make a big impact in a sales meeting by showing how you’ll tangibly address their pain points and improve occupancy and lease renewal. For more in-depth resources on this subject, check out our Lunch & Learn Playbook and Vendor To Partner Ebook.

Proving Value After You Win the Contract

Winning the contract is half the job. The same frustrations that make a property manager switch to you will make them switch away from you if they cannot see the work. The fix is to make your service visible every week, not just at renewal time.

A simple quarterly review agenda

Incidents and trends: what happened, where, and what changed since last quarter.
Patrol and tour completion: scheduled versus completed rounds, with any gaps explained.
Resident concerns resolved: the issues residents raised and how quickly they were closed.
Recommendations: adjustments to patrol routes, post orders or coverage for the next quarter.
Budget check: hours delivered against the contract and any changes coming up.

How TrackTik shows property managers the work

TrackTik turns every shift, patrol and incident into client-ready reporting. GPS and geocoded checkpoints show exactly when officers made their rounds, incident reports carry time-stamped photos, video and audio, and property managers can see it all through the TrackTik Client Portal, by email or in person.

SFM Security, which serves residential communities and commercial real estate in South Florida, uses TrackTik to send incident reports to clients minutes after they are created and gives clients a self-service portal for reports, scheduling information and documentation. Read the SFM Security case study.

Book a TrackTik demo

Frequently Asked Questions

Most switches come down to service they cannot see or trust: missed patrols, slow or incomplete incident reports, high officer turnover and resident complaints that keep coming back. Price matters, but property managers rarely switch just to save a little money. They switch when their current provider makes their job harder.

Proof that the service will help the metrics they are measured on: occupancy, lease renewals, delinquency and budget. In practice that means consistent officers, verified patrols, fast and complete incident reports, and a provider that stays inside the budget. Showing GPS-verified guard tour data from TrackTik is one of the quickest ways to prove it.

Fit the budget, then compete on value. Research resident complaints before the meeting, tie your service to the manager’s bonus metrics, and bring proof such as sample incident reports, patrol reports and a client portal walkthrough. TrackTik client-ready reporting gives you that proof from real operational data.

Residents who feel safe and see issues resolved quickly are more likely to stay. Parking problems, noise complaints and repeat incidents are common reasons residents move, and a security team that documents and resolves them supports both occupancy and renewal rates.

Daily activity reports, incident reports with photos and time stamps, patrol or tour completion reports, and a periodic summary of trends the manager can share with owners. TrackTik incident reporting captures this in the field and shares it through the Client Portal, by email or in person.

Quarterly works for most properties, with monthly check-ins on sites that have active issues. Cover incidents and trends, patrol completion, resident concerns resolved, recommendations for the next quarter and a quick budget check.

TrackTik turns every patrol, incident and task into a time-stamped record that property managers can see for themselves. GPS-verified tours, photo-rich incident reports and a self-service client portal replace “trust us” with proof, which is what keeps a contract from going out to bid. See how TrackTik supports property management, or book a TrackTik demo.