• Billboard
• Mini-brochure
• Networking tool
• Recruitment tool
• Appointment reminder

Ways To Squeeze Extra Mileage Out Of Your Business Card

• Add a scent that supports your key marketing message. The possibilities are limited only by your own creativity. Avoid spraying oil or perfume directly onto the cards, because this might stain the paper. Instead, simply store them with a tissue or piece of cloth that has been treated with the scent, or place the cards in a box or bowl for a while with a nice subtle potpourri.

• Use both sides of the card or, better yet, make it double the usual size and fold it in half after printing. Put all the usual general information on one side, and a message on the other. At our communities, the inside of the card includes a brief list of community benefits.

• Use the card as a coupon to offer a special. For example, you might offer a $25 savings on the security deposit when the card is presented. Have the offer printed on the back of the card.
• Make the card 1/8" larger than standard size. It will be just slightly different from others in a pile, but not so much so as to be annoying. You can also buy a special punch tool to create a unique visual effect (I’ve even seen one in the shape of a house!)
• Allow space to add a short handwritten note. This warm, personal touch will make the recipient feel special.
• Place your card on every bulletin board you see. You’d be surprised at who looks at those boards. In some cities, there are even services that will put your card on all available billboards in the area (check the yellow pages under Advertising). You might also consider having a special flyer made to include small perforated tabs listing your community name, telephone number, and website address. This way people can just tear off a tab instead of having to write down the number.
• Leave small stacks of cards with businesses that can be helpful in sending future residents to your community. A good marketer will have hundreds of little stacks of these miniature "billboards" scattered around town. Many businesses encourage this by providing a special location for the cards. Are you always prepared to market your community whenever an opportunity presents itself?
• Make use of an instant camera (like 6an old school Polaroid) to take a picture of an available apartment or surrounding area and attach your business card to it. This very visual follow-up technique can increase your closing ratio dramatically!
• Attach a couple of cards to all invoices, purchase orders, and payments that your community or company mails out. It won't add to your postage costs, and the cards are inexpensive. When I have time (rarely, but nice when it happens), I like to add a hand-written post-it note asking the recipient to “Please pass these on to anyone who might be interested in finding a new home,” which can generate surprising interest and traffic from the often overlooked accounting end of your communications.

Visibility Test
Here's a fun and free way to easily test whether or not you have a distinctive card design. The next time you see a bulletin board crowded with business cards (start collecting cards, and create your own board to run this test), turn your back and have an associate or friend place your card on the board. Take two steps away and turn around. If you can't locate your card within 5 seconds, you should consider a redesign. Take another step away and see which ones catch your eye. Study the most eye-catching ones for clues on how your card can be made more visually appealing.

Creating Content-Rich Cards
Your card can contain a wide variety of information that’s of interest and use to the recipient. Here is a checklist to help get you thinking about how your card might be made more information-rich:

• Community/Company Logo
• Community/Company Name
• Prefix to Your Name (Mr., Ms., Mrs.)
• Your Name
• Your Professional Designations (CPM, RAM, CLP, ARM, etc.)
• Your Title
• Business Phone Number
• Phone Extension
• Fax Number
• Cell Phone / Mobile Number
• Emergency Phone / Hotline Number
• Mailing Address
• Email Address
• Website Address (URL)
• Social Media Sites
• Hours of Operation
• A Satisfaction Guarantee Statement
• A Mission Statement
• A Vision Statement
• Blank Note Space
• 5-Digit Zip Code
• 9-Digit Zip (Zip Plus Four)
• Recruiting Statement (i.e., “Thanks for the wonderful service! If you’re ever interested in a career in property management, please call me personally!)
• Appointment Reminder
• Bullet-ed List of Community Features / Benefits

What other ways can you add interest and information to business cards?

Have you tired the paperless business card Dub?

Check out 42 Awesome Business Card Designs (With Links to 100s More)

During the follow-up process, it is often difficult to make personal contact with a Future Resident.  Many times we will reach someone’s  voice mail.  The next time you get a recording instead of a living, breathing human being; don’t get frustrated and hang up.  As a Leasing Professional, you should leave a message on every call, if possible.  Why?  This is FREE advertising folks!  You are able to leave a 30 second ad for your apartment community!  Here’s an example of the marketing message you might leave on the next  voice mail system that you encounter:

“Tina, this is Tami from McNeil House Apartment Homes at (727) 784-9469.  We’re looking forward to having you visit our community again.  I would be happy to answer any questions that you may have, or email you any additional information that you might like to look over.  Our community specializes in making our residents lifestyle as carefree as possible, so please give me a call at (727) 784-9469.  We’re looking forward to serving you!”

What have we accomplished?

We’ve provided our telephone number twice, so she doesn’t have to replay the message.
We’ve stated the community’s commitment to service.
We’ve invited her back to the community.
We’ve offered to be of further assistance.

And it’s all “on the record”! Do you have a telephone tip to share?

Why do winners win? How do you become a self-made winner?

Winners work hard at learning from other winners. It is up to you to learn from these examples and become a self-made winner. Here’s what I’ve learned from other winners.

1.    Persistence

“Keep on going and the chances are you will stumble on something, perhaps when you least expect it.  I have never heard of anyone stumbling on something sitting down.”  - Charles F. Kettering, Vice President of General Motors

Winners refuse to see obstacles as one solid barrier, but as a combination of small hurdles.  This positive outlook allows them to develop higher levels of persistence and to tap their inner strength leading to greater degrees of success.

Who in this industry typifies this persistence?  Tami Siewruk who created her own opportunities and launched a marketing company that literally changed our industry.

2.    Attitude

“Nothing can stop the person with the right mental attitude from achieving his/her goal:  nothing can help the person with the wrong mental attitude.”  - Thomas Jefferson

Positive spirit precedes positive results.  Winners assume the mental attitude that it is impossible to fail.   Losers often judge their efforts with pessimistic reasoning instead of reinforcing their efforts with optimistic hope.

Who in our business typifies this positive outlook?  Anne Sadovsky, whose positive spirit enabled her to find solutions to challenges and allowed her to tear down barriers to emerge as a major player in our industry.

3.    Effort

“The kind of people I look for to fill top management spots are eager beavers, the mavericks.  These are the people who try to do more than they’re expected to do – they always reach.”  - Lee Iacocca, Chrysler Chairman

Winners know that without extra effort it is impossible to win.  Extra effort does not always mean you have to work harder than anyone else.  Extra effort can come from working smarter, not harder.

Who exemplifies this better than Bill Norwell, Senior Vice President of Draper & Kramer?  Bill not only works harder than anyone else, he works smarter, holding on to his vision and creating unheard of opportunities.

4.    Courage

“To be courageous requires no exceptional qualifications, no magic formula, no special combination of time, place, and circumstance.  It is an opportunity that sooner or later is presented to us all.”  - John F. Kennedy

The famous football coach Vince Lombardi once told his team courage equals mental toughness.  Martin Luther King saw courage as “… an inner resolution to go forward in spite of obstacles and frightening situations.”

Who in our industry demonstrates courage?  Mindy Williams, President of Let’s Party, a resident retention company, had the courage to be creative and to bring her big idea to life.

5.    Competition

“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”  - Theodore Roosevelt

Winners realize competition is the only way to get better, to get tougher, and to taste the sweetness of success.  Avoiding competition means you will never find out how good you truly are.

Jennifer Nevitt, President & founder of Bravo Strategic Marketing, knows that you cannot prove you are the best unless you have competition.  Jennifer Nevitt is motivated by competition allowing her to reach challenging goals and to accomplish the impossible.

6.    Adversity

“Success grows out of struggles to overcome difficulties.  If there were no difficulties, there would be no success.”  - Samuel Smiles, Author

B.   F. Skinner, the noted psychologist once suggested the way to look at failure:  “A failure is not always a mistake; it may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances.  The real mistake is to stop trying.”

Adversity is nothing more than a wake-up call for creativity.  Several individuals in our industry have overcome difficulties leading them to succeed.  Toni Blake, President of Blake Productions, Anne Sadovsky of Anne Sadovsky & Company, and Dana Fox Lynde, Idea Broker, to name a few.

7.    Gratitude

“There is as much greatness of mind in acknowledging a good turn as in doing it.”  - Seneca

Cicero stated “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but he parent of all the other.”

My first entry into this business began on a small community, located in a difficult neighborhood in Baltimore.  My husband and I, expecting our first child, had recently moved form Ohio to Maryland for his new job.  Unfortunately, the company my husband worked for dissolved shortly after our move.  We were in the frightening position of no jobs or income.  As we began our search for employment, I informed all the employers of my pregnancy.  None were willing to take a chance on hiring me because of this – until I interviewed with a small management company.  I was given a job as a groundsperson in a garden apartment community.  I continued my career in property management through positions as leasing consultant, assistant manager, manager, director of marketing, marketing analyst, and vice president.

I do truly realize that without the assistance and guidance of others I would not be in my present position today.  I am grateful to those of you mentioned in this article, and to Jeff and Ashley Gorski, Nancy Brown, Chris Cole, Kim and Sue Haggerty, John Kurtz, Jim and Beth Montrella, Scott Sterling, Mara Tripp, Lisa Trosien, Alex Welker, Nancy Whitney, and Debbie Whitt.

The lessons on why winners win are easy to understand.  They are hard to put into practice – but not impossible.  Among the many, many rewards are higher success.  Reach for it!

Jamie Gorski is Senior Vice President, Corporate Marketing for The Bozzuto Group where she provides strategic marketing direction for the entire company, overseeing all advertising, marketing and public relations efforts for each of Bozzuto’s six integrated companies – Acquisitions, Construction, Development, Homebuilding, Land Development and Property Management. Jamie brings more than 25 years of multifamily marketing experience to Bozzuto, including five years as chief marketing officer for Kettler.  Prior to Kettler, she served as vice president of marketing for Archstone-Smith and for Charles E. Smith Residential. Jamie’s expertise includes strategic planning, brand development, standards implementation, Internet marketing and statistical market analysis.  She has extensive experience overseeing major initiatives such as redeveloping corporate web sites and re-imaging campaigns and is an expert in advancing advertising and collateral and in improving corporate and site-specific visual identities. Jamie has won numerous marketing awards, including 30 Pillars of the Industry Awards from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).  She received a B.S. in mathematics from Ohio State University, where she was captain of the swim team, a Big Ten Champion and an NCAA National finalist.  Jamie and her family reside in Annapolis, Maryland.

Anyone who knows me, including our long-time subscribers, can attest that “concessions” is practically an expletive in my vocabulary.  Choosing whether or not to offer concessions is often not a decision you or a supervisor makes rather it is one that the market dictates due to the fact that other communities made the decision and therefore forcing your community to follow suit.
The whole reason why companies and communities offer concessions or incentives is to gain a competitive advantage, right?  So, let me ask you this… if everyone in the market is offering concessions, then where’s the advantage?  It only puts us all right back where we started, on a level playing field.  We all end up giving away the moon rather than educating our prospects and residents, and playing the never-ending game of one-upsmanship that some of us have been trapped in. Ok, Ok I’ll stay off that soapbox, it just drives me mad! Anyway, concessions are one of those things that work well in theory, but actually create a world of, well, concessions.

If you find your community in a concession situation, as many markets are today, I hope you’ll take the time to consider these factors with an eye for the “big picture”.  Believe it or not there is a sensible approach to the issue of offering concessions .

So if you find that  community occupancy is falling below a profitable level, or you find yourself with more supply than demand, perhaps this common-sense approach will help you as much as it helped me!

Review the Overall Picture

1.    Meet with the entire staff, and ask for feedback from everyone on what they feel is happening.  (Actually, you should do this regularly anyway, whether you perceive a problem or not.  Some of the best and most practical insight comes from your “front line”.)
2.    Have your entire staff shopped along with your top three competitors. Use a third party independent company so that you’ll be able to compare the whole apartment shopping experience from your prospects’ perspective, and make adjustments if needed.
3.    Meet with the staff again.  Review the shopping reports together, make the necessary adjustments, and arrange for one-on-one training where it’s needed.  In a few cases, we found that our staff was doing a great job, and our prospect’s experience in shopping our community was great, if not better than our competitors.
4.    Review each floorplan independently, and consider its pricing carefully.  Make any necessary adjustments to the rent based upon the floorplan’s strengths, weaknesses, and competition within the marketplace (compare your floorplans to your competitors’ similar floorplans and pricing).  In other words you need to do a side-by-side, floorplan-by-floorplan comparison of your community versus your competitors’ floorplans.  Jennifer Nevitt of Bravo Strategic Marketing created a comprehensive and widely used method for doing exactly this.
5.    Walk all of your floorplans with a critical eye for weaknesses.  Create a training list with tips and techniques for overcoming objections and selling the strengths of each floorplan as compared to the competition.
6.    In existing communities, I would also take the “less desirable” locations and floorplans and determine if there is anything within budget that we could do to improve the interiors.  I’ve used this technique repeatedly with great success.
7.    Create / evaluate the model.  We completely upgraded our model with added crown molding, optional paint color, special plumbing fixtures, special lighting fixtures and ceiling fans, closet organizers etc.  In other words, we dressed the model up with all of the added options that were available for our residents to choose from.  This showed our prospects what they could do with the apartment home if they chose to.  We priced each option by adding only a 15% mark-up to our cost.  Five percent of the mark-up is given to the leasing professional who sells the upgrade, and the additional 10% is administrative income.  We call this our “Custom Home Apartment™.  Note: Use plumbing fixtures that are in keeping with the brand in the community so you don’t have seat and “O” ring issues.
8.    Photograph the entry of your community and your competitors’, and compare them.  Make yours more inviting.
9.    Look at your advertising.  How does it stack up against your competitors?  Do you sound different?  What do you offer that they don’t?  Are you advertising the floorplan with the highest availability?  Are you showing both photos of your community and lifestyle photos too, or are you showing the same thing as the competition? Keep in mind that it is very difficult to have a good interior shot that actually sells.
10.    Have you tried offering an incentive (i.e. a washer/dyer, ceiling fan, or upgraded fixtures).  The best incentives are stay with the community long after the resident is gone, and create added value in the long run.
11.    Pull your last two weeks worth of guest cards, and call each and every one.  Tell the prospect that you’re conducting a third-party audit of the apartment shopping experience, and need to ask them three quick questions.  Promise that you won’t take more than a couple of minutes of their time.  The questions we ask are: 1. Have you made a decision on where you are going to move, and if so, why did you select that community?  (If they say that they’ve chosen your community, communities, thank them, and move on to the next person.)2.  Did you visit _________ apartments (your primary competitor), and if so what did you think about the community? Don’t be surprised if you find that who you consider a competitor really isn’t. 3.  Is there a specific reason why you’ve decided not to lease there?
12.    Have you determined if you have a leasing problem or a marketing /advertising problem?
13.    Have you strengthened your resident retention program?
14.    You must WORK your renewals. Remember that residents today are not only smarter (the industry has given them a good education) and knowledgeable about market conditions. They see the competitor’s signs. Don’t let them get taken away by an offer that’s too good to be true. In really competitive markets ( I dislike this so much but…) you not only have to give them an education on the cost of moving but you may need to offer them the same concession as people moving in, just to keep them. I have found that an open, honest conversation is the best approach.  One last comment on renewals, Have you considered returning security deposits if they have been a resident in excellent standing for 2 or more years, have completed an apartment inspection and  renew their lease?
15.    You never have truly know whether or not you  could have leased-up without concessions if you didn’t try to do it before offering concession if you simply follow suit;
16.    Your staff is a powerhouse of product knowledge!  If you have followed the approach above they’re  more educated than ever before about their product and their competition;
17.    Your competitors need to learn that you don’t offer concessions as standard practice, and that when you do, your doing it because they have forced your hand! We all know that price fixing is illegal but if your competitors learn that your company/community doesn’t  give concessions as a standard practice ( a crutch for poor leasing and marketing) they just might reconsider and not jump to concessions as a standard practice. Call all your competitors and offer to fax or email you rental rates and concession packages to them weekly in exchange for them doing the same thing.
18.    If you have to give something away, ask for something in return.  Along with the free rent, ask the resident to sign a paying lease term of either six months or one year.  In other words, their free rent period, although covered under the lease, should not be included when the lease term was calculated.  For example: with one month free rent, the lease term should be 13 months.  This will enable you to get a full year collection of rent without increasing your operating expenses the next year.  If you don’t do this, (as you may be aware), your turnover expenses are divided into 11 months instead of 12, so the concession actually costs you more than a months rent.
19.    Cover your bases.  As even further protection, ask the resident to sign a concession agreement, stating that if their lease is broken for any reason, the entire amount of the concession is due and payable.  Where the lease terms and conditions are met, there is no liability.
20.    Sometimes it makes sense to spread the concession over the first six months of the lease.  I have not used this method, but I have heard of many companies that have used it with great success.  I think it’s a great idea, where the market is receptive to it.  Because if you decided to offer concessions in order to be competitive, you have to consider that part of your competitive edge involves how and when the concessions are delivered.  In some cases you’ll find, the market is the most receptive to a one-time offer; and you’ll find this to be true in many areas where residents view the concession as a welcome means of offsetting moving expenses – but I think the six month idea is a great one if you can pull it off.
21.    You really can increase rents even though you are offering concessions.  In fact, it’s probably easier to increase rent in some places, where the market is focused on the short-term benefit instead of the long-term effect. This rings especially true when you are offering the better product.  I have heard of an apartment community in Dallas that leased 100 plus apartments (70%) in two months by giving away 1.5 months rent.  Unfortunately, they didn’t increase the rents while doing it, not to mention that they weren’t under the gun because they didn’t even have the apartments out of construction yet.  Don’t miss the opportunity to raise rents when offering concessions, whenever you can do so sensibly.
22.    Before you make the decision to  offer the market standard for example  one-month free on a one-year lease(13 months), and 2 weeks on a 6-month lease. You may want to test using the dollar amount such as I have. For example: Try $500 on a 6-month lease and $1000.00 on a one-year lease (which is less than a half a months rent and a months rent, respectively).
23.    Only offer concessions on floorplans with the highest availability.  In addition, and this is key, continue to adjust your rents upward as you lease apartments. Remember that in many market conditions people are looking for the short-term benefit instead of the long-term effect.
24.    Consider a graduated rent level depending on the date the moves in date. For example: The apartment is ready for move in on April 1, if the resident moves-in the first week it rents for $100.  If they move in the second week it would rent for $110. I have never used this approach myself but have heard of several communities doing this with great success.
25.    Establish a rotating bonus plan based upon leasing certain apartment types.  For example, “All A-1’s leased this week are bonused at $100!”  I typically select the apartments that have either been vacant the longest or have the highest availability. Establish team goals with bonus incentives.  Any opportunity to foster teamwork is too valuable to pass up!
26.    Provide weekly articles of interest that focus on dealing with concessions, over coming objections, closing and follow up.  I email our communities a new article every Monday morning.  Keep the tone encouraging and motivational.

If you’re caught in the concession trap, or have to  give in to it, please take the time to consider the HOW, WHAT, WHEN, and WHY of it all before you follow your competition over the rail of that proverbial bridge!  Depending upon your own unique situation, there is  an economically sensible approach to offering concessions.

Warfare is one of the most common analogies used to describe the marketing process.  Most of us have read books and articles with titles like “Guerilla Marketing” or “Strategic Marketing”, and most of us suspect (especially when budgeting time rolls around) that our corporate conference rooms aren’t that different from military command centers during a conflict.  The analogy works so well because it’s not much of a stretch.  Marketing is the most powerful piece of ammunition in our arsenal—and where there’s power, there’s competition!  What’s warfare if not competition taken to its highest extreme?

I’m really detail-oriented by nature, and “plan your work, and then work your plan” is a message that I believe strongly in.  This has served me tremendously well in marketing, because I’ve seen proof time and time again that there’s nothing like a good marketing plan to ensure success.  On a fundamental level, in order to ensure success and maintain an effective marketing position, it’s important to think the process through—from start to finish—before you make a move.  In a word, strategize.  You can’t have a good fight without a good strategy.

Now, strategy is a grown-up word.  Strategizing is something that adults do because growing up means taking control of one’s own destiny and destiny isn’t easily steered without a plan.  Unfortunately, in learning how to strategize like grown-ups, we often forget how to act like children—on instinct.

My goal in writing is to help you bring a little of your childhood back into your adult actions, and make your marketing efforts far more successful as a result.  We’ll be relying on the same old tried-and-true warfare analogy, but we’re going to make it a little more fun by mixing in the rules of a good old-fashioned game that man of us played as children:  Tug of War!

How to play Tug of War

Lesson One: To win the game, play by the rules that are known to be effective.
It has always been amusing to me that as small children, each of us had an innate understanding of the correct strategy for playing and winning a game like "Tug of War".  We might not have had the strength or weight to be able to pull the other person or persons across the line, but what we lacked in brawn, we made up for in instinct.  Sometimes, we sat down, or gave in just enough to let the other team think we were easy “pull-overs”—then inches from the line, we gave it all we had and pulled our way to a surprise victory.  We didn’t know that we were strategizing when we whispered to each other to slack off for a count of ten, and then pull like crazy, but we knew how to win.

Somewhere between childhood and adulthood, we lose a great deal of understanding along the way.  We forget the deceptively simple rules of staying on top.  It happens to sports teams.  It happens to armies.  It happens to companies.  It happens to brands.

The rules are simple:
·    Rule 1 – Hold on tight.
·    Rule 2 – Don't let go.
·    Rule 3 – Use all of the ammunition at your disposal.
·    Rule 4 – Leverage your allies.
·    Rule 5 – Move secretly and deceptively.
·    Rule 6 – Don’t let the enemy gain momentum.
·    Rule 7 – Don’t let the enemy see you sweat.

These are also the rules for Tug of War, and they’re also the rules for maintaining market leadership … but first and foremost, to benefit from them, you must have the will to be the leader.

You Must Value the Position.

Lesson Two:  Know the value of winning.

Is it important to maintain your company and or communities’ leading position?  What bad things might happen to you if you don’t?  If the answers are unclear, create various winning and losing scenarios, and assess the importance.
Assuming that you do value the position, and do want to defend it forever, we offer the following:

Rule 1 – Hold on tight.

In Tug of War, holding on tight requires that you get a good grip, and keep it.  You cannot expect to win by simply watching the line.  You must keep your eye on all the players to see how they are reacting -- and even when the tug gets stronger and harder to hold, you’d better maintain a good grip and tug right back as hard as you can.

In a Tug of War, you must also protect maintain a good foothold.  Footholds in apartment marketing fall into three general categories:  target residents, apartment and community variations, and advertising channels.  Leave the competition no convenient means by which to gain a winning foothold.

Rule 2 – Don't let go.

In direct hand-to-hand combat, the tall heavy guy has certain undeniable advantages of leverage.  In a Tug of War, the same kinds of advantages are magnified.

Everything is harder for the guy who is holding on the opposite side.  Always keep your opponent in site.  In the Tug of War game, this means pulling harder and longer or with substantially stronger and heavier teammates.  In marketing, this means continually training and developing your team in order to maintain a competitive advantage.

Rule 3 – Use all the ammunition at your disposal.

It’s hard to win at Tug of War if you’re only using your hands and the guys on the other side are using their arms and legs.  The relative strength and superiority of teammates is vitally important.  In Tug of War marketing, your valuable ammo includes (but is by no means limited to) your teammates, apartments/community, marketing and leasing techniques, and budgetary decisions/spending.  Here’s where some of the rules of true warfare come into play:

Apartments/Community - You cannot protect the line with inferior Apartments.  Our recommendation to anyone who wants to maintain market leadership is to work twice as hard as the next guy to improve and maintain the community.  Your apartments do not have to be 100% superior, but they must offer some unique feature(s) that makes them more appealing to your target residents.

Marketing & Leasing Techniques - The second line of defense is vested in your marketing strategy.  Fight with superior selling techniques.  Within each technique, have the most advanced idea or concept.  For instance, if advertising is important, have dramatically better copy than the competition.  Remember, you don’t have to use all weapons, just those that work best for you, and those that work better than your enemy’s.  Remember also that the element of surprise didn’t become a key defense strategy by accident – it’s in your best interest to the be first to develop new, even more effective “weapons”, so an aggressive development and testing program should be part of your strategy.

Spending - It takes strength to fight off challenges.  Just having bodies in the right place is not enough.  They must be strong bodies.  You can’t save resources when you are losing the battle.  You must use the reserves.  You can save resources only during times when no battle is being fought.  Too many companies forget that sometimes the decision of how much you will spend and where isn’t entirely yours to make – sometimes that decision is made for you by your competitors.

Rule 4 – Leverage your allies.

It is a lot easier to play Tug of War if half of the neighborhood decides to help you win.  The same is true for an apartment community.  Focus on building alliances with the major local employers, merchants, city offices (like your local chamber of commerce), and other businesses in your neighborhood.  Get them on your side.

Rule 5 – Move secretly and deceptively.

Remember what we said about the element of surprise?  A surprised enemy is a weak enemy.  The element of surprise has two dimensions for successfully playing Tug of War.

First, do not let the enemy see where you are heading unless it is in your advantage to do so for deceptive purposes.  The principle is: look strong when you are weak, look weak when you are strong.

Second, know the enemy.  A strong market leader knows more about the competitor than the competitor knows about himself!  If there is any mystery in your mind about why your competitors are succeeding or behaving the way they do, find out.  Know what they are doing and why.

In a real war, intelligence and information are the most important elements of a successful strategy, because on them depends an army’s ability to move.  In market warfare, competitive research, knowledge, and analysis are your intelligence agents.  Take your steps one at a time, and as quietly as possible.  There’s only one reason to shout to the enemy that you’re throwing down your sword, and that’s to lure him out into the open so you can blow him away with your new cannon.

Rule 6 – Don’t let the enemy gain momentum.

This is a concept that we’re all pretty familiar with form our experiences with sports or other games.  Energy is a function of momentum.  Energy fuels the will to win.  In Tug of War, if you let the other team pull you too long and too far in their direction, they then benefit from what is known in psychology as the goal gradient. The opposite is true also.  An enemy making no progress gets demoralized.  A demoralized enemy is much easier to beat.  For every inch you’re pulled in the wrong direction, pull the other team two inches back!  Energy increases as you near the finish.  Take advantage of it by channeling all of your strength into that winning tug!

Rule 7 – Don’t let the enemy see you sweat.

Finally, even when you are in critical stages of near defeat, it is clearly in the leader’s best interests to look cool, assured, and filled with boundless reserve energy for the fight.  Never let a shark smell blood.  Never let the other team see you struggling to hang on.  The same is true for a competitor.  Remember that in any fiscal period, somebody at the competitor’s office has the decisional authority to decide what resources they will continue to risk in the battle for your leading position.  Rarely is there absolutely no money left, all credit used.  There is always more for the person who has the courage to risk it.  If you look tired, or in any way not up to the fight, they will decide to pursue you with renewed vigor, and that decision will directly affect the resources needed to defend yourself.  Send the kind of clear messages that discourage would-be competition.

Marketing is a war – a Tug of War.  It’s a little bit of pull and yield, a little bit of give and take… the secret is to always pull and take more than you yield or give, and that requires a sound strategy.  I hope these rules serve you as well as they’ve served me.  Hold on to the rope, get a good foothold, keep your eye on the other team, and pull with all your might!

Tami Siewruk is the founder and Chief Imagination Officer of Multifamilypro, Inc.  For more information on Multifamilypro’s products, and events, please visit www.Multifamilypro.com.