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The following was an article for the September 2024 issue of Residential Resource Magazine published by the National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM). The article was written by our Director of Operations, Kelly Coffman. You can read the full magazine issue here.
I’ve had the privilege to serve in leadership positions
for the Greater Richmond Chapter of NARPM®, most recently as 2023 and 2024 President. In this time, it’s become clear that the challenges we face are not unique to our Chapter.
Steve Pardon, my Regional Vice President, suggested I offer some encouragement to leadership in other Chapters. My message of support stems from what I consider the most valuable aspect of NARPM®, which has also shaped our Chapter's Vision Statement for the
past two years: “Return on Relationships.”
I want to preface this by saying that I was fortunate to have a strong foundation laid by our
2022 Chapter President, Crystal Padgett. Crystal truly grasps NARPM®'s essential role in our local community and skillfully overcame difficult challenges, including transitioning our Chapter back to in-person meetings following the pandemic (a feat those who've
experienced it can appreciate). Her leadership and dedication to our continued growth and success, combined with our leadership team's significant contributions, paved the way for my presidency. For this, I’m deeply grateful.
When I became President in 2023, one of the main challenges was growing and maintaining attendance for in-person meetings. Again, this problem is not unique to our Chapter.
While we've often stressed about the QUANTITY of people in areas of membership and leadership in our Chapter, we've rarely worried about the QUALITY of members and leaders. In the past few years, we've managed to “curate” a Chapter with first-rate members — Members who help each other, form friendships and sounding boards, and even refer leads to each other (which requires trust!).
If I were to give one piece of advice to other Chapters that share the "quantity" concern, it would be this: focus on adding value by fostering meaningful relationships among Property Managers and Affiliate Partners within your Chapter.
Our goal shifted from growth in number to growth in valuable professional connections. This is helping property managers and Affiliate partners grow their business and meet goals in a way that’s in line with NARPM®’s high professional standards. While our
membership numbers will peak and dip, the quality
of relationships in our Chapter is top-notch and only growing stronger.
When we declare our Chapter's vision statement at each meeting, it's supported by nodding heads of those who have experienced the benefit firsthand.
We expect our Members to contribute by way of ideas, connections and serving in leadership roles. People will do this when they’ve built bonds with other Members based on trust and respect. I welcome you to visit our Chapter. If you do, you'll see that our Members are happy to share (within the limits of NARPM®’s antitrust policy, of course!). We don't believe in gatekeeping and genuinely enjoy seeing others succeed.
I challenge all Chapters to focus on building connections within your membership. Make every effort to speak with those who show up. Make sure your New Member Mentor is someone with NARPM® experience (a Past President is perfect). Intentionally assign people as greeters. Task them with making guests feel welcome, introducing them to other members and reconnecting afterwards. Host social events; this has been huge for our Chapter! (Casual brewery happy
hours that also provide value have the best turnout.)
If you’re in leadership, make sure you're showing up and that no one is standing on the outskirts alone. Find out how you can help the people in your Chapter. Often this is a simple connection to another member with relevant experience. Lastly, personal invitations are incredibly effective! Encourage Members to invite local property managers, real estate agents and vendors.
While top-tier education is highly valuable, for the Greater Richmond Chapter of NARPM®, it’s not our top priority. In our industry, we’re very lucky that education is highly valued. Because of this, there’s an endless supply of free and low-cost online learning resources and webinars (for a great example, check out NARPM®’s online classes).
Providing education at meetings and events is important, of course, but it’s not enough to keep people coming back. We all know members will show up for Legal Updates and high-profile speakers, but in-person meetings are inconvenient. Yet, when people start recognizing the true value of your Chapter—beneficial professional relationships—they will return with consistency.
We all like key performance indicators, so I’ll close with two that will show your efforts are paying off:
1. Pay attention to the number of people who consistently attend
meetings and see if it starts to grow as you take on my challenge.
2. Watch how many attendees stick around instead of dashing out of the door as soon as the meeting is over. If your efforts are working, you’ll have to start kicking attendees out because they’ll be hanging around too long!
It makes me so proud of our Chapter when I see Members catching up, sharing, and asking for ideas and experiences, and especially voluntarily lending a hand to clean up after our meetings!
I’m convinced that focusing on relationships is the key to a successful Chapter. The other benefits NARPM® provides can be found outside of meetings. When Members make connections, feel heard and supported and get to support others, I guarantee they’ll be back for more!
