Debbie Lariviere, real estate, business, and property management coach for Middleton Elite Coaching, shares her top takeaways and her thoughts about what she learned at PMMCON 2023

The Property Management Mastermind Conference, PMMCON for short, is a conference by property managers for property managers. The conference offers small group interaction with like-minded peers in the management industry and creates an opportunity to share ideas, learn best practices, and decide what works. The interactions with the vendors, the breakouts, and the closing ceremony are tailor-made to foster the best conference environment possible. We recommend putting this in your schedule to attend every year! PMMCON 2023 was nothing short of thought-provoking and incredible! To top it off, 2023’s event was held at the Grand Hyatt in fantastic Nashville, TN. Debbie just HAD to have some fun at Wildhorse Saloon in Music City!

Middleton Elite Coaching has been honored to sponsor and lead educational sessions at PMMCON for the past couple of years. If there is one thing we know about this conference, it is that you will leave with many new ideas and strategies for growing your property management business. 

In the remainder of this article, Debbie has shared her notes and takeaways about what she learned and the aspects of property management coaching she will prioritize following PMMCON 2023!

From Debbie’s PMMCON 2023 Notebook

Pain points – what is keeping you up at night? 

• Staff and hiring – lots of VAs versus in-house; HR
• Maintenance
• Homeowner/Tenant Relations
• Scale – who to accept into your PM/How to clear the deck when needed

Build an “Ideal Customer” profile. 

“We can’t rent your mortgage, only your home” 

Increasing the tenant experience:

• Explain the process
• Create a virtual or in-person move-in orientation 
• Ask for reviews quickly about the move-in experience
• Schedule a Field-Technician immediately to complete work orders
• 30-day before moving out, have the tenant send a video or meet with you to cover the items they can repair/replace before moving out to retain their security deposit. Itemize the cost lost for each item so there are no surprises. Offer a gift card for the meeting or submit the video 30 days prior. 
• Explain touch points and who is the point of contact for different items

A Proven 7-Step Process For Maximizing Your PM Company’s Profits

Debbie led a session called ‘Maximize The PM Business Potential With Real Estate Sales’ to make the event even more impactful during the BizDev Workshop. During this session, she shared Middleton Elite Coaching’s ‘Proven 7-Step Process For Maximizing Your Property Management Company’s Profits’ .

Debbie covered the 7 critical steps of building a real estate sales division for your property management business, including the systems and tools needed, price valuations, qualification surveys, tenant and owner promotional incentives, scripts and automated campaigns, lead prospecting, networking, and more! If you were fortunate enough to attend, you know how the value this session added to your property management business. If you missed it, there’s still an opportunity to learn the 7-step process by checking out Debbie’s guide just for you. Follow this link to learn more. 

Build To Sell

Debbie attended an inspiring educational session, ‘Build To Sell’ led by Brad Larsen, founder and owner of RentWerx, in San Antonio, TX, and the mastermind behind PMMCON.

Top takeaways from Build to Sell – Brad Larsen:

• Can you replace yourself?
• Do you have the key people and know who the key people are?
• Do the clients, homeowners, or tenants call you?
• Identify your key metrics for sustainable growth (Refer to them as “North Stars”)
• Measurable goals – (percentage of open work orders compared to the number of doors, percentage of open work orders past 30-days)
• Ancillary items – 
• Do you own space? Is it in a separate LLC, or must be sold with the business?
• Do you have contractors that would come with the sale of the business?
• Can assets be removed?
• Vehicles – are they on the balance sheet? Are they adequately managed?
• Do you personally have rental homes in the business, and can you move them or take them with you?
• Do you have a maintenance company? Is it separate or part of the PM LLC?
• Cleaning company? Landscapers? Pool service? 
• Do you have a real estate division, and is it a separate company that can be separated if necessary? 
• Do you manage HOAs?
• STVR’s?

• Is your personal name in the branding?
• Can you take a 4-6 week vacation?
• Questions to ask yourself before listing to sell 
• What will I do with the extra time?
• Can I survive without an income from the LLC?
• Can my ego be removed?
• Can I tell clients that reach out that I can’t help them?

• Accounting
• NARPM Accounting Standards as a reference
• Have a CPA
• Be able to show 12-24 months of P&L
• A balance sheet with cash reserves
• 6 months’ worth of bank statements
• 2 years of tax returns
• GOOGLE REVIEWS!!!!!

• Succession plan – 
• Will you stay
• When will you tell the team
• Ensure your team has a safe role
• Frame it as a merger
• Consider Capital Gains in your sale (estate tax in some states, state income tax for selling a business in some states)

• Prepare NOW – Decide LATER

Final Thought

We always enjoy attending events, leading educational sessions, and keynote speaking at industry conferences, and doing so at PMMCON has been fantastic. The caliber of professionals that attend and the level of education that is delivered is virtually unparalleled. We look forward to attending PMMCON in future years to lead more impactful sessions, meet exceptional property managers, and continue building stronger, more profitable property management businesses.

Be Elite!

Debbie, Bill, & The MEC Team