Brand Magic

When Senior Management and I started preparing the agenda to this Summit, they proposed that I take 50 minutes. My initial thought was, what am I going to speak on for 50 minutes?! What can I talk about that will help us all be better business owners?  I’m sure you don’t want to hear about how I cried on Amy’s shoulders on one of my bike rides again, or how I summited Timpanogos with my boys, and I’m sure everyone (except for some of you new zee's) are probably tired of hearing how PMI is so much better today than it was 12 years ago…. You’ll be hearing for the next 3 days what PMI Corporate is doing to deliver Brand Magic to each of you. They have been working for a year to roll out exciting new curriculum and programs and I know you’re going to leave this summit grateful that you came.

As I thought about the theme this year BRAND MAGIC’ and what I wanted to share about it, I felt really strongly that I should focus on the fact that each of YOU are the magic that really makes this brand. I’m a big believer that every business is built from the bottom up not the top down. I believe that, like in your company, people make all the difference. As I mentioned before, today is not going to be like previous years, I want to focus for the next 45 minutes on you, I want to speak today about YOU and what each of your businesses can do. I want you to look at yourself as I look at you, You’re the MAGIC in this Brand!

Can you imagine PMI corporate holding this Summit without you? We almost cancelled it due to Covid-19 many times but look what you did….you filled this MEGA HUGE room and we figured out how to do it safely.... Magic! To help each of you push through this crappy pandemic, I’ve come up with "4 Covid Crushers" to help you and your business thrive!

I’m not going to just stand up here on stage today, I want to have a conversation with THE MAGIC. So, I’m going to come down there and speak with you. I may ask some of you questions but please don’t be intimidated, there are no right or wrong answers. This is about connecting with each-other and building our businesses. I’m going to get vulnerable here with you and I’m going to ask each of you to get vulnerable with me.

As you probably can imagine speaking in a room this size, to a group this size, is pretty intimidating. Those of you that know me, know that I came from pretty humble beginnings. I haven’t ever believed that I’m the smartest in the room in fact I know that I’m not. I was a pretty average student. And, growing up, I was more interested in liking people and getting them to like me. I was a good student, not because I was smarter than the other kids in the class, but because I tried really hard and I worked really hard.  I remember in college in particular that I was leading all of the study groups before the tests and I was the student that had been to every class and all the labs. I was the kid with the notes and the study guides. I would give my notes to my friends to cram study right before the tests because they hadn’t gone to class. Sure enough, every one of them scored higher on the tests than I did. It was so frustrating to me.  I learned in college that, for me, learning from books just wasn’t my thing. I learn best with real life, in person experiences. My favorite teacher in high school would stand in the front of the classroom and tell history stories and I thrived in that class. Most of you know, I have 4 sons and one of them was diagnosed with Dyslexia a few years ago and we were told when he got this diagnosis that it can be hereditary. All I can say is, I doubt that came from Amy’s side. 

How did it make you feel to hear me tell you that I know I’m not the smartest guy in this room? 

-It makes you feel relatable.

-We feel closer to you.

Who would like to get vulnerable with us and share something about you that we don’t know?

The discussion in the room was inspiring. Several franchisees shared their worries and fears both personally and in business. The huge ballroom got smaller and the franchisee's began to relate to each other.

After hearing some of those examples from some of our PMI family members, are you going to relate to them differently? Do you feel closer to them? Being vulnerable can build relationships of trust.

I would like to share a quote from Theodore Roosevelt’s speech “Citizenship in a Republic.” The speech is sometimes referred to as “The Man in the Arena,” and was delivered at the Sorbonne in Paris, France, on April 23, 1910. This is the passage that made the speech famous:

“It’s not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly . . . who at best knows the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.”

This is vulnerability guys! Being an entrepreneur is vulnerable. I think each one of you was very vulnerable in even starting this franchise. The first thing we get to do here is figure out what’s keeping us out of the arena.

What’s the fear?

I’ll tell you one of things that has kept me out of the arena was the fear of failing. Not making enough money fast enough, not having the correct tools and skills.

To quote Dr. David Viscott, author of Risking wrote “If you cannot risk, you cannot grow. If you cannot grow, you cannot become your best. If you cannot become your best, you cannot be happy. If you cannot be happy, what else matters?”

Who would like to share an example with us when you were, vulnerable bloody and marred in your PMI arena but daring greatly and willing to take a risk?

There became a realization in the room through sharing, that transparency and vulnerability is vital in creating business and personal bonds.

Property Management is a PEOPLE business. Sure there is accounting, sales marketing and management and all are important, but in my opinion, when it’s all said and done this is a people business. If you can add a little vulnerability, your business relationships will improve, I can promise you that! When you go back to the rat race and back in the trenches, the main thing you can do to separate yourselves from the pack is to have a different focus on people. If you want to change the way people think of you and your business, you have to change the way they see you. Let them see you.

 Be YOU because you're the brand magic!

As property managers we have to have a growth mindset. A year ago our Senior Management team read a book called Traction by Gino Wickman. One of the key points in one of the first chapters is, if you’re not growing be it internally or externally you’re dying. This concept is very relevant in our field of property management. I don’t want any of your business’s dying so my second "Covid Crusher" is to focus on growing. 

One of the first concepts that really resonated with me in Traction was, “The more clearly that everyone can see your vision, the likelier you are to achieve it!” Most Entrepreneurs can clearly see their vision but they make the mistake of thinking that everyone else in the organization can see it too. I don’t want to make that mistake with you. So, I want you to know PMI Corporates 4 year picture and our 10 year target. These aren’t just a corporate goal. They involve you too!

We created this picture a year ago, so our 4 year picture is up in 2023. I didn't include our entire picture, but I did want to highlight a few points.

1.  PMI is a Household name; how does that help you as franchisees if nationally our brand is recognized? Does that help the value of your franchise if PMI is a household name? ABSOLUTELY!! We feel we are on track to hit that 4 year picture.

2. A year ago we decided that we wanted 487 franchisees by the year 2023. ·I don't know where we got that weird number but that is 200 more zees (franchisees in Steve speak) in 3 years! We should finish this year around 300 franchises. What does that mean?

     Can you imagine this room with 3 times the numbers we have today? How does that help you and your business though? 

Can you imagine having that many family members that have your back all working toward the same goals? Is there some magic in numbers? YES!!

Who in here has benefited from a referral from another franchisee in your territory or neighboring territory? Please raise your hands. 

More than half the room raised their hands.

I want to encourage you to network and mastermind with franchisees within your territories to see how you can help and support each-other. We have some territories where franchisees get together regularly to collaborate! I love it and want to see more of this culture within our franchise. There is room for more franchisees and this will only help you and your businesses.

3. We WILL be the management company of choice for institutional Investors.

Do you like our 4 year picture?

The room agreed with applause

Have you ever thought thought about your businesses 10 years down the road? I'm a dreamer and visionary and I'm not sure I've never mapped out 10 years like this. Two words; Global Brand. Those are 2 very big words! Our mission statement says, that PMI will be the world’s premier real estate PM brand and we intend to make that happen.

Our focus is to be (for lack of better terms) the Keller Williams of Property Management. I hope that doesn't offend any of you by me saying that. When I travel the world and I'm in Turkey and I see a Keller Williams sign, or a Remax or Century-21 sign I know exactly what is happening and who is being represented.

The Property Management Industry does not have this and they are waiting for us! They need us!

We're actually already on our way! We just opened Malta, Montenegro coming soon (with the number 1 performing Remax agent per capita), Costa Rica, We're opening Canada early 2021

-PMI is the biggest property management franchise in the nation and we will be known as the brand that consolidated the property management industry.

-4 pillar presence in all 50 states

-200 franchisees in Strategic Threshold ($32k/mo+) We have 31 now.

Notice that not all these are things Corp can achieve alone… we can’t hit these targets without you, we need you to grow and thrive!

Why did you buy your PMI Franchise?

There was discussion with the franchisees that they ultimately purchased their businesses for financial security and freedom.

So we can all agree that you purchased your business for financial security. So what you’re saying to me is we are all here to make money! Right? ...And, not just a little bit you want financial freedom…so we need to be making a lot of money! 

Aaron McElhiney what do you think a property management company that is in the strategic threshold (making over 50K/mo) is their PMI business portfolio roughly worth?? 

There was an exciting realization that ultimately that threshold of franchisees portfolio's would be worth a million dollars to pass on to their children or sell when they are ready to retire.

Property management portfolio's evaluations are typically 2-3 times revenue. If your business is generating $40-50 K per month your PMI franchise is worth over a million dollars. We just defined what a million dollar company looks like, what I would love to see in our 10 year target is that 200 of YOU own million dollar businesses. Wouldn’t that be cool if our brand was known for creating over 200 millionaires? Here are a few ideas I think that will help you create million dollar businesses.

Let's think bigger for the next few minutes.

-Acquisitions, (PMI will assist you in buying profitable portfolio’s) Aaron will share with you how many acquisitions PMI did this year during a global pandemic and it is going to blow your minds!

-Expanding to additional Territories – Scott, Zed, Joe, Chris Ashworth & David Pierce all have expanded their territories.

How's that going for you?

applause

(If the timing is right for you and your business and you’re interested in picking up an additional territory come talk to me.)

-More revenue streams.

-Add a pillar or a brokerage bridge

-Increase your profit margins (some zees operating at close to 50%)

All of these points will be covered and you will be diving deep with these details during Summit over the next few days.

Are you getting excited for this Summit?

My 3rd Covid crusher is confidence. You’ve got to be confident, especially if you’re aiming to build a million dollar business. Confidence doesn’t come easy sometimes. It comes with a lot of practice and training. I told you I like to learn with real life stories so if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to tell you a story about when I gained confidence in high school. 

Not only was I not the smartest kid in the class, I was one of the smallest. My mom is a tiny Italian lady barely 5 ft tall. My Dad happens to be 6' 2" but you can tell which side of the height genes I got. I loved all sports particularly basketball, but I could tell by 5th grade I was going to be small and I better pick a sport that I could excel and compete at at my size. There was this Jr. wrestling program that I signed up for and I got to be really good at wrestling and I really liked it. I was wrestling kids my weight and my size and it felt good. My freshmen year I made the high school team and we had a good program with a very good coach. The guy that was my weight on our team that I practiced with every day was the previous years state champ. He was a senior my freshmen year and I wasn't going to wrestle varsity that year because of this guy and I was a little bummed about that. But guess what? I practiced and sparred with the state champ every single day. I didn't realize what that was doing for me at the time. I just knew someday I wanted to be like him and wrestle varsity. That chance came. My very first match my sophomore year, I was wrestling 112 lbs. Remember I was a little guy but I wasn't that little. My natural weight was 135 and I had to get my weight down to 112 before matches. I was pretty confident going into the first tournament with my abilities, but this first tourney was one of the biggest in the state. They always pair the very best wrestlers with the lower or non-seeded wrestlers. I was the lowest guy because it was my first varsity match. I looked at the draw bracket, and I drew non other than Chauncey Ripple. He was the 3 time state champ and had never lost a match his whole high school career. He was a legend in Utah wrestling. I looked at the bracket Hart Vs Ripple...my stomach dropped. Suddenly I wasn't very confident, I about cried. Actually I think I did cry. I remember talking to my Dad before the match. What do you say to me if your my dad? I remember he said, "Steve, every one expects you to lose. You have NOTHING to lose because everyone expects it. You have EVERYTHING to gain." I went out there nervous but I wrestled like I had nothing to lose that day. The first period ended with no take-down. The next few periods I was wrestling like I had done at practice with the state champ every day. Before I knew it I had the 3 time state champ on his back in the deepest 1/2 nelson I have ever gotten anyone in. I was chest to chest with him and I could see his shoulder blades on that mat. I was going to pin, not just beat, the 3 time undefeated state champ. In that one millionth of a second that I lost concentration and thought, Hey I can actually beat this guy. My concentration broke and he spun out of it. I lost that match to Chauncey Ripple by one point! But when I stood at the center of that ring and the ref raised Chauncey's hand, I put my hands up! Guess why... I knew I had won too. I could have beat that dude. I never wrestled the same again after that. I had done all the prep. I had worked hard. I just needed the confidence. I wasn’t a better wrestler over night, I just started wrestling with confidence. I cannot stress enough to you that you’ve got to be confident in your business. People can tell when you’re faking it. 

Who’s got an example for me when confidence won you a deal or helped grow your business?

If you're lacking in the area of confidence we can help!

Steve, Claire, Brianna and Mike will you please stand? These are the state champions for you to workout and spar with every day to help you gain the skills and confidence to grow your business into a million dollar PM company. 

PMI corporate saw that one of the weaknesses in our organization was the lack of franchisee confidence in our programs, systems and revenue streams. So we took action by bringing on these FBC's (Franchise Business Coaches) to help you understand and gain confidence in these programs. They’re here to help you gain confidence so you can take action and take down that state champ.

I started out by admitting to you all, I might not be the sharpest tool in the shed but I overcame that perceived weakness by working hard. So of course… my 4th and final Covid Buster is hard work. There is no easy way to build a million-dollar business. It requires years of hard work. 

I’ve had the unique opportunity over the last 12 years to invite each one of you to join PMI. One of the top questions asked of me is “what skill sets do you see work best in this franchise?” I answer every time, “a strong work ethic”. I most likely asked each one of you in our interview before you purchased if you were “Ready to roll up your sleeves and get to work?”

It’s been said that it takes roughly 10,000 hours to master something. It takes 28 days of doing the same thing over and over to create a habit. So when looking at your growing list of to-do’s or goals for your PMI Business —or maybe even that voice inside that says, “One day I’m going to…” Remember that not only will it take some time, but it will also require hard work and that “one day” starts today. We live in a society that likes to have things instantly—streaming movies, instant music downloads, food or grocery delivery in under an hour, so much so that we can sometimes forget the best and most valuable things in life come from working hard to achieve them.

IT’S TIME TO GET TO WORK!

I want you to think of an example of how hard work has gotten you to where you are at today?

In closing, my Covid Crushing - 4 steps to building a million dollar business are; Vulnerability, Growth, Confidence and Hard Work!

At first I hesitated making vulnerability one of the steps in building a successful business, but what I’ve learned over my entire career and several attempts at growing businesses, is it takes a good amount of vulnerability!

Sigmund Freud so eloquently said that out of your vulnerabilities will come your strength and I’m a firm believer in that! It’s time to get honest with ourselves. Intimately know your strengths but just as intimately know your weaknesses. Hire and surround yourselves with people that fill in the gaps in your businesses. 

Being focused on growth is another very important component to building a million dollar business. Remember, like I said earlier, if you’re not growing your dying. I like to look at growth in all aspects not just my business. Being committed to growth shows you’re willing to evolve, learn and pivot when things happen that you cannot for-see. It means you know you might not be the smartest guy in the room but you’re willing to surround yourself with people that just might be, and then you learn from them and GROW! If you focus on growing your DUKS (Doors, Units, Keys, Suites) and you utilize the support and systems that we are working hard to provide, I know you will make it to your goals. I would urge each of you to write down your goals and come up with your own 4 year picture and 10 year target. Once you do that come talk to us at corporate and ask us what it’s going to take to get you there. We have 50 people at corporate that not only have your back but they can and will assist you in getting you to where you want to go!

Confidence is key! Go toe-to-toe with the state champs! I promise you that you have more training, better systems and more support than 90% of any other manager you may be going up against. Spar with our franchise business coaches, collaborate with other franchisees in your region. Utilize this training you’ll be receiving over the next few days and then confidently go home and take action.

Hard work can suck, but there just is no easy way around it! So let’s buckle down and get to it. When it comes to success, there is rarely EVER a time when LUCK comes into play but HARD WORK always does! Hard Work doesn’t always guarantee success…But without it, there IS a GUARANTEE of Failure! The magic happens in the rising early, the extra mile and the extra hour. It’s the little moments that the GREATS are separated from the AVERAGE and I believe I am looking out on greatness right now!

Please remember that nothing worthwhile can be gained without hard work and I’ve seen hard work beat talent and education SO many times in my career.

I really do believe that there is

No greater satisfaction in life than that of seeing your hard work paying off.

This is me signing off....

Let's work hard. Play hard & stay humble!

Steve Hart

CEO and Co-Founder

Property Management Inc.