Advice for Property Managers: 10 Skills to Master the Role

Published June 16, 2021

Updated October 2, 2024

You already know this: property management companies are in a competitive industry. Your market is probably no stranger to stiff competition to add more doors and find the best local tenants! 

Is your property management company ready to address client needs and stand out from the competition? Onboarding talent with the right skill sets is essential, but it's not the only skill you need for success! If you lack expertise, learn how to be a good property manager and experience more success with these ten skills.

Property Management Success Requires Mastering the Right Skills

The success of your property management company comes down to mastering the right sets of skills. If you need to improve the health of your operations in these ten skill areas, a property management coach can help you develop training programs and bring you and your team up to speed to compete well in your market! 

1. Excellent Communication

Knowing how to communicate as a property manager is critical for success. From talking to tenants and property owners to communicating internally, a broken link in the communication chain or unclear messages can lead to missed tasks, unhappy clients, and lost income.  

In some cases, communication norms need to be adapted for each client. Property management training can help you improve how your company communicates internally and your landlord-tenant communication.

2. Property Marketing

If you can't place quality tenants in the properties under your management, you're failing at one of the most critical aspects of successful property management!

To avoid vacancies, you need rental listings that stand out for your target market. Review your current listings and practices. A good property manager must spend time learning what goes into a compelling listing that minimizes vacancy time, including using professional photos.

3. High Levels of Organization

An unorganized business will lose important documents, miss maintenance requests, and fail to deliver quality services at critical times. A property management consultant can help you understand how to create high levels of organization within your organization.

With excellent organization and optimized process, your team never misses a maintenance issue, phone call from an owner, or renewal. Catching every detail helps property management business owners develop more efficient property management operations and maximize income!

4. Expert Vendor Management

When a tenant calls with a maintenance issue, you need the right vendors to get the job done quickly (without sacrificing quality). Property managers need the right resources to manage maintenance services effectively. Having a vetted vendor network helps property managers deliver the ideal maintenance solutions without high costs or repeated attempts to fix the same problem. 

5. The Right Technology Solutions

The most successful property managers in your market apply the latest property management software and technology solutions to every aspect of their business. If you're still dealing with manual checklists and "old-school" methods of rental property management, your competition is leaving you behind! 

6. Budget Management

Between your company's operational budget and the budgets for every property owner in your client base, property managers must master budget management. Property owners depend on you to maximize ROIs for every door under your care, from maintenance to monthly operating expenses. 

Business owners must also manage the company budget to manage employees, expenses, and invoices to remain profitable. 

7. Current Real Estate Knowledge

This one might seem obvious, but many property managers assume that the real estate industry always stays the same.

Lacking current knowledge in real estate and your local market can lead to missing critical information that keeps the doors under your care operating legally and efficiently. Staying up to date on laws, tenant needs, and real estate best practices keeps you competitive.  

8. The Best Customer Service

Tenants and property owners won't stick around if your customer service is lacking in any way. Property managers must be attentive, and respectful of tenants and property owners, then deliver the best services in the market.

You might be an expert in many other areas of property management but never underestimate the value of delivering quality customer service to retain clients and find new ones. 

9. Plenty of Experience

Every property manager has to start somewhere, so start by building a strong history of experience in the industry! When building your team, look for talent with previous property management experience to boost your operations and customer service. 

10. A Commitment to Ongoing Education

Whether it's learning from mistakes or choosing the right resources to continue your education, there's always room to learn more as a successful property manager. Partner with a coach who can deliver customized property management training to you and your team for ongoing education! 

How do Property Managers Make Money?

Property management companies generate income through a diversified portfolio of fees. These fees typically include management fees, leasing fees, renewal fees, and additional service charges. The structure of these fees can vary depending on the services provided, ranging from flat fees to a percentage of rental income or even tiered pricing models.

A Good Property Manager Develops a Top Tier Skill Set

Do any of these skills stand out as areas in need of improvement? Expert property management training can help! Real-Time Consulting Services helps property managers optimize skills and train teams for more success. 

If you'd like to learn more about improving your operations (and success), it's time to do what other highly successful property managers do: rely on expert guidance. Reach out, and let's talk about how we can develop the training your team needs to boost the skills in any of these critical areas of property management! Property manager management is a vital component of your operation. 

Not sure where to start evaluating your operations? Download our free resource, the "10-Point Inspection Checklist!"