Competition between management firms is more fierce than ever. Companies are going to great lengths to sign accounts, and with few new associations being built and feeding the pipeline, everyone is looking for a magic bullet to mitigate account loss,  while associations are looking for the best management services for the lowest possible price. What is that elusive magic bullet? Is it more service, less money, bells and whistles or a Blue Angel flyover? Nope, it's the same thing it's always been: Relationships. Relationships are the easiest and the most difficult way to retain accounts because developing, nurturing and maintaining client relationships takes time; time we perceive we either do not have, or think it better spent elsewhere. Wrong! Relationships are the glue that binds service providers and clients.

Three crucial relationships that must be built between management and client

Executive-client relationship. The first relationship a potential client association has with a management firm is usually with an executive at a marketing presentation. The executive makes promises, the parties agree to a price, and voila! It's beginning of a beautiful relationship... Except that more often than not, it's the last contact the executive will have with the client unless or until something dire happens and the executive has to step in at the last minute in hopes of retaining the contract.

What message does this send? "I care about getting your business but not about your ongoing business until I must" because "I don't care until it's going to affect my bottom line." By neglecting the development of even a rudimentary relationship with the client, the executive loses all hope of being able to head off issues before they become crises. Not surprisingly, this method of operation is not conducive to client retention. 

Client-manager relationship. Far and away the most crucial relationship on a day-to-day basis is that by and between the community manager and the client account. We know that the best community manager is not only one who can get the lawn mowed or the trees pruned, but one who has great communication skills, which allows them to develop good working relationships with their Boards, by listening to and understanding their needs, their politics, their finances and their property, and rolling it all in to how they relate to that particular client over a long period of time. These are the managers that stay in the business, successfully, and are worth their weight in gold. Managers who neglect, or are ignorant of, the keen relationship they should have with the client are doomed to fail themselves, the client and the employer. Needless to say, the quality of the relationship between the manager and the client Board(s) they serve is the fulcrum for account retention.

The client-customer service relationship is the third fundamental component of our overall relationship with the clients, yet its significance can get lost in the hubbub of our crisis-oriented industry. Let's remember that the average resident will have little if any contact with the manager personally, so the quality of service provided by the receptionist, customer service, assistant manager and accounting staff is the platform for the firm's relationship with the overall community populace. Are the residents' issues handled with efficiency, grace and care, or handled as if they are a bother? This is how our management services will be judged by legions of people. Does poor customer service alone mean account loss? Sometimes, but mostly it acts as the tipping point: If relations with the executive are non-existent and the manager poor, bad customer service on top of that will send the client packing. 

	Makin' It Easy! TM
Community ARCHIVES Document Processing Solutions Call: 800-995-0682 www.communityarchives.com	To go paperless To access information 24/7 To Select from a menu of services To deliver documents in minutes

Planning: Is a must in Construction Management, a tool for Community Management
By Rolf Crocker
 

As I find myself immersed in the planning tools like Gannt and PERT charts, CPM, WBS, etc., I'm also considering how these planning tools do help me and would help my manager friends. As with any planning system one first must determine what tasks must to be accomplished before others tasks can begin. What is the timeframe for completion and what are the penalties for failing to complete the task or project? In the world of construction, each project is unique and complex and as such needs a competent plan to succeed. In the management world, each association is unique and complex and should have a competent plan for success.

Planning is a combination of science (metrics), art (subjective conditions) and circumstance (luck) that all have to mesh well. As Professor Randy Pausch said, "You can't control the cards you've been dealt, but you can control how you play the hand." Exactly like life. So - what are some steps you can take from the world of Construction Management (CM) and apply them to your work...and life?

1) List all of your tasks then determine your "critical path." Everything is urgent, but not everything is important. Make a list of all of your tasks and evaluate and prioritize each one to separate out the urgent from the important.

2) Group tasks that are related to each other together. In construction, you can't frame the walls until the foundation has been laid. There are "preceding" tasks and "succeeding" tasks. Group your own tasks accordingly.

3) Determine what your milestones (deadlines) are for each task, then work backwards (backtiming) to accomplish the preceding tasks. Timing is everything. Time accordingly, because there will invariably be....

4) Unforseens. We plan in a perfect world, but execute in the real world where even good plans rarely come off without a hitch. My advice is: When faced with obstacles, don't get hung up, do other concurrent and supporting tasks until the Critical Path issues are resolved. Too often, we become immobilized because of roadblocks. Planning includes the expectation of things going wrong. Have workarounds in mind so you or your projects don't get stopped in their tracks.

I now realize there are many similarities between community management and construction management. Construction, by its nature, is the complex coordination of the many disparate parts and people into the finished product. That definition sounds just like the job of any manager. Be open to these planning principles and be flexible. Then allow yourself to be amazed at the outcome.

Rolf Crocker is Chief Marketing Officer for Axis Construction and Consulting www.axisconstruction.comand he can be reached at

Post your job on the Adamen Inc website! Want to post a job that will be seen by thousands of community managers with no recruiting fee? Advertise your job on the Adamen Inc website for only $99 per month. Ad another job for $25 each per month per job! Click here to post your job for $99 per month!

When Times Get Rough
by Craig Huntington
 www.chuntington.com 

In my book Risk: A Road Worth Traveling, I talk about the fact that risk is an inherent part of any venture. No one can identify every pitfall that a business is going to face, no matter how optimistic the outlook.

Much like life itself, the business environment is a malleable thing. Change is the only thing you can count on without exception. Change is what makes new products and new ideas great. But change is also the thing that can throw an unexpected wrench into the machine and knock your well-planned strategy into the dead zone.

What you do in these times of crisis is really what defines you as a businessman or businesswoman. It's what defines your character. And it's your character that defines your destiny.