In 2017, Forbes reported that the property management industry had reached a value of $73 billion. Are you getting a big enough piece of that pie, or is there room for improvement? If your business is not experiencing the steady growth it’s capable of, you’re most certainly leaving money on the table. Let’s take a look at five things that might be holding you back and how you can overcome them for better success.

Not investing enough in marketing

Many property management companies make the mistake of believing that once they’ve made it to the top, they no longer need to promote their services. If you’ve fallen into this false sense of security, don’t be surprised if a mediocre competitor suddenly starts outperforming you simply because they are keeping their name in the game. If you’re aiming for growth, marketing should remain a top priority.

Not delegating

Successful leaders recognize that they can’t do everything on their own. To the contrary, they surround themselves with capable, competent individuals whom they can trust to keep the wheels turning. If you’re trying to handle the entire workload by yourself, there will be no room for growth and your property management business will become stagnant. Understand your job as a leader and focus on things like strategizing and innovating. Leave the other stuff to your team. After all, you hired them for a reason!

Using outdated or limited technology

If you’re still using spreadsheets and physical document filing systems to run your business, you are undoubtedly going to get left behind, if you haven’t already. Your competitors are making use out of the available advancements in technology, such as property management software. As a result, they’re able to operate on leaner budgets, provide much better service and maintain more cost-effective business models. If you don’t do the same, you can’t possibly expect to compete, let alone grow. Take advantage of tools like the cloud and automation. Trust us – it will revolutionize your business.

Being too cost competitive

Sure, offering lower prices than your competitors may attract the attention of prospects and even convert some leads. After all, the property management industry can be cut-throat. But if you’re consistently undercutting yourself, you won’t ever have the capital to expand and grow. And if you can’t grow, you won’t be able to bring on more customers, so you’ll ultimately lose in the end anyway.

Deviating from your customer-centric approach

Your property management customers should always be the focal point of your business. When companies lose that focus, they tend to go off track and have a difficult time growing. To avoid this, make sure that your staff remains responsive, helpful and enthusiastic. Every interaction with a client should be handled as though that individual is the most important asset to your firm. The more you delight your customers, the higher your retention and the more referrals you’ll rake in.

Achieving growth in such a saturated industry isn’t easy. You have to be deliberate about it. You also have to be able to recognize what behaviors might be holding you back. If you’re guilty of any of the above mistakes, the time to take action is now. Right the ship today and you’ll be well on your way to bigger, better and more profitable things.