Sessions & Workshops
At this year's convention, we will be holding several workshops designed to help you improve your businesses and your busy property management lives. These are sessions you will not want to pass up attending!
Sessions
OPENING GENERAL SESSION
Wednesday, October 13th, 3:45 - 6:00 pm
Speaker: Wally Amos, Famous Amos Cookies
Today, his name is a household word. As founder of Famous Amos Cookies in 1975, and father of the gourmet chocolate chip cookie industry, he has used his fame to support educational causes. Do not miss this session where Wally will show us the power of positive thinking through cookies and watermelons!
GENERAL SESSION: ROUND TABLE
Thursday, October 14th, 9:00 - 10:00 am
Speaker: Bob Losyk, Innovative Training Solutions, Inc., Greensboro, NC
In this lively and interactive session, attendees will get the opportunity to express ideas and pick the brains of industry colleagues about issues they face every day. Topics are timely and ripped right from the NARPM® CEO list serve. At the end of the session, you can choose the best idea from the discussion to share with the rest of the NARPM® membership!
ROUND TABLE SESSION: UNDER 40 PROFESSIONAL MEMBERS
Thursday, October 14th, 9:00 - 10:00 am
Speaker: Dr. Clay Singleton, Crummer Graduate School of Business, Rollins College
NARPM® is committed to growing the property management industry and keeping up on what is important to younger members of the association. This session is your opportunity to express your views and goals with NARPM® leadership and shape the future of your association. Additional information on this session will be sent out over the summer.
ECONOMIC FORECAST
Thursday, October 14th, 11:45 am - 1:15 pm (during Networking Lunch)
Speaker: Jim Hebert, Hebert Research, Inc.
This session will bring you up-to-date on the current economic environment in our country and provide insight as to what impact the environment will have on your business.
GENERAL SESSION: THE 5 BEST DECISIONS THE BEATLES EVER MADE...
AND WHY YOU SHOULD MAKE THEM TOO!
Friday, October 15th, 9:00 - 10:15 am
Speaker: Bill Stainton, Ovation Consulting
In this session, you can expect a profusion of ideas, information, and insights that have direct applications to you and your business. Bill will present five decisions that, together, focus in on four primary areas: leadership, teamwork, attitude, and change. And, it is not just a bunch of theory. These decisions—decisions that took the Beatles to the top of the charts—are practical, no-nonsense choices that will work for any industry, organization, and association. This is one session you will not want to miss!
SPECIAL SESSION SPONSORED BY RENTAL HOME PROFESSIONALS: GETTING MORE WITH LESS – INCREASING COMPANY PROFITABILITY
Friday, October 15th, 3:15 - 4:30 pm
Presenter: Mike Nelson, MPM® RMP®, Excalibur Home Management, LLC, CRMC®
This session focuses on growing your company with an emphasis on how to develop a marketing plan and budget. You will learn the value of techniques that can systemize and automate your operation, as well as review internet resources that are available to help you market your company better.
Workshops
1) GROWING YOUR MANAGEMENT COMPANY
Thursday, October 14th, 10:15 - 11:45 am
Presenter: Mike Nelson, MPM® RMP®, Excalibur Home Management, LLC, CRMC®
You will learn effective techniques to increase the number of units you manage. We will review several cost-effective advertising options that will generate more traffic from potential clients, as well as effective tools to turn those potential clients into actual clients.
2) MANAGING A HIGHLY PROFITABLE & EFFICIENT MANAGEMENT TEAM
Thursday, October 14th, 10:15 - 11:45 am
Presenter: Melissa Prandi, MPM® RMP®, PRANDI Property Management, CRMC®
As an expert in the single-family property management field, author and speaker Melissa Prandi, MPM® RMP®, will share her expert tips on how to manage a highly efficient and motivated staff. She will discuss possible structures for your management team, ideal skill sets for employees, and techniques for keeping everyone motivated. Learn how to identify, develop and inspire leadership among your teams, and how to drive a corporate culture that generates success and profitability. Explore how to communicate with employees, clients, and brokers to sustain an interactive and supportive culture, conducive to a quality customer experience. This high-energy presentation will provide you with a new level of confidence and the potential for continued long-term success and growth.
3) MARKETING OPTIMIZATION & SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE DIGITAL AGE
Thursday, October 14th, 10:15 - 11:45 am
Presenters: Dan Daugherty & Mike Branam, Rent Marketer
This session is designed to help property managers understand current search trends in the marketplace. This will be a very interactive session; the best way to learn is from each other. By understanding search trends, management groups can plan their advertising campaigns accordingly. From there, the discussion will move toward optimization trends, as many groups are not aware of how keywords within their ad campaigns impact the effectiveness of their advertising. The final objective of the session is to broaden the understanding of social media—how best to use it and where this medium is not effective.
4) MASTER LEASING – ANOTHER TOOL IN YOUR TOOLBOX
Thursday, October 14th, 1:30 - 2:45 pm
Presenters: David Tilney, Keyper Corporation; Jan Leasure, Monterey Bay Property Management; Dave Holt, MPM® RMP®, R.P. Management, Inc., CRMC®
Increase your income by 15 percent. Have more control over the properties you manage. Get out from under the fiduciary relationship you have with your clients. Sounds immoral, illegal, and fattening? None of the above! The Master Leasing concept puts you into the transaction as a principle, giving you the power to negotiate the management of rental property to your best advantage. This session will show how to negotiate and implement the Master Leasing technique and make suggestions regarding when it can be used to your advantage.
5) PHOTOGRAPHY OF RENTAL PROPERTIES
Thursday, October 14th, 1:30 - 2:45 pm
Presenter: Michael McCreary, RMP®, McCreary Realty Management, Inc.
The purpose of this workshop is to address the value of good photography in the 21st century property management office. From marketing to maintenance to security deposit reviews, good photos are essential to everyday life for the professional property manager. This session will examine the basic elements of good photography, including lighting, exposure, basic composition, equipment from point and shoot to D-SLR, the Digital Darkroom photo processing software, and photo organization and storage.
6) INTERNET LAW – CYBERJUNGLE
Thursday, October 14th, 1:30 - 2:45 pm
Presenter: Darity Wesley, Privacy Solutions, Inc.
It is a “Cyberjungle” out there! Technology is constantly evolving, and there are new state and federal laws and compliance regulations being enacted daily that property managers need to know about. Session topics include: Why you need to care about privacy for yourself and your property management clients; you could lose everything because of your website; what tenant and owner information you need to keep and for how long; what the federal Red Flags Rule is and what it means to property managers; and, how to keep you and your clients out of legal hot water. This lively session is guaranteed to upgrade your Internet law IQ at least 10 points!
7) RETAIN PEOPLE THAT ADD TO YOUR COMPANY AND HAVE AN EXIT STRATEGY FOR THOSE THAT DO NOT
Thursday, October 14th, 3:00 - 4:30 pm
Presenter: James Wagley, Real-Time Leasing, LLC
This session explores the skills and techniques needed to successfully develop employees, retain the people that add value to their company, and develop an exit strategy for the ones that do not. Participants will engage in role playing and group exercises where they will learn to: Effectively create career development plans for employees; leverage the methodology of daily coaching; deliver actionable feedback to employees; and, understand their own leadership style and how it impacts others. Through this experience, participants will gain valuable insight into their own professional strengths and weaknesses, and gain insight into how their leadership skill sets and style impacts their team and, ultimately, the success of their company.
8) THE MILITARY RENTAL MARKET
Thursday, October 14th, 3:00 - 4:30 pm
Presenter: Larry Fredrich, Runzheimer International
The military rental market is a $19.0 billion in the United States, and understanding this lucrative market opportunity could make a huge difference to your business. In this session you will learn about the specific elements of the military housing market including: The size and composition of the military rental housing market; military housing privatization—what it is and what it offers you; on-base vs. off-base housing; military housing allowance programs—what they are, how they work, and what it means to a property manager; and, how to attract military renters.
9) PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE OPTIONS
Thursday, October 14th, 3:00 - 4:30 pm
Presenters: Derek Kalles & Michael Quinn, Kalles Properties, Inc.
Trying to navigate the sea of property management software options available to you today? Is now the right time to switch to a new solution? How do I know what is best for my business? This session will provide practical tools to help you in evaluating the “what, why, when and how” of making the critical choice of property management software.
10) WHAT A GREAT IDEA! UNLOCKING YOUR INNOVATIVE SMARTS
Friday, October 15th, 10:30 am - Noon
Speaker: Bill Stainton, Ovation Consulting
In today’s increasingly competitive business environment, as well as in more and more hectic personal situations, it does not pay to be “stuck in a rut.” We all have to come up with new solutions to new and old challenges. So, how do you learn to break old patterns? How do you learn to envision challenges as opportunities? How do you learn, in short, to see things differently? This interactive and highly entertaining workshop will put you in touch with your own unique sense of innovation and creativity. Using the tools of professional comedy writers, you will learn how to look at situations differently and see possibilities that remain hidden to others.
11) SOCIAL NETWORKING – FACEBOOK, TWITTER, BLOGGING
Friday, October 15th, 10:30 am - Noon
Presenter: Aimee Miller, AppFolio
There is a great deal of buzz about social networking, especially tools such as Facebook, Twitter and Blogging, as well as user review sites such as Yelp. Unfortunately, the truth is that many property managers are not sure what to do or how to get started and, most importantly, if it is even worth their time to learn. In this session, we will define these social networking tools and talk about setting goals when deciding whether or not to invest time and energy participating in social networking. We will discuss what not to do and share case studies on how other property managers are effectively using social networking.
12) UNDERSTANDING ERRORS & OMISSIONS INSURANCE
Friday, October 15th, 10:30 am - Noon
Presenter: James O’Neill, New Empire Group, LLC
Professional liability is one of the fastest growing claim categories today. Having the correct and adequate insurance is critical to a property manager. In this session, you will learn about critical features in evaluating errors and omissions insurance. Topics that will be covered include: Professional liability vs. general liability; owned and managed property clauses; failure to place and maintain insurance coverage; tenant discrimination coverage clauses and the Fair Housing Act; wrongful entry, wrongful eviction and invasion of privacy; bodily injury and property damage; and much more.