Condo Media - August 2013 - 49

Ryan meets regularly with board
members — at least quarterly, and
more often if they are having acute
problems “to make sure we are giving
them what they should be getting from
us.” He also knows management companies can’t expect boards to notice on
their own what the company is doing.
Board members will call when there are
problems, but “no one will call and say,
‘Everything looks great; you guys are
brilliant.’”
For that reason, Ryan makes sure
monthly reports describe fully what
the company is doing, detailing all the
maintenance issues addressed, all the
e-mails received, calls answered, and
correspondence with owners. “We
constantly remind boards of what we’re
doing for them.”
When dealing with a board made
gun-shy by a previous bad experience,
Ryan also emphasizes that board members have more control than they often
realize. “I tell them, ‘We will write a
one- or two-year contract, but if you
don’t like what we’re doing, you can
give us 60 days’ notice and move on.
You always have an out.’”
Ultimately, the best way to sell the
value of quality management services
is to provide them, Ryan believes. As
he tells clients and prospective clients,
“I live on my reputation. If I’m not
performing, I don’t deserve your
business.”
Anita Chmilarski, CMCA, owner,
Linear Property Management LLC
Chmilarski finds that she has to
approach the management value
question differently with boards at
self-managed associations that are
considering professional management
for the first time and with communities that have had disappointing
management experiences in the past.
The discussion with self-managed
communities is a little easier, she
says, because they start with a “clean
slate,” without preconceived, negative assumptions about what management companies can or should do.
Their primary concern is that their

fees will have to increase to cover
the management fee. “That’s a big
misconception,” Chmilarski says.
She tells these boards, “If we do this
correctly, we should be able to save
you money.” Communities that have
been struggling to do everything
themselves “are always grateful for
anything you’re able to do for them,”
Chmilarski notes, especially “if you
can reduce their costs.”

age, construction, and related fields
during the downturn and have
transplanted themselves in the association management industry, “but
aren’t qualified to be here.” Lacking
training and experience, they seek
to establish a foothold by offering
unrealistically low fees that experienced companies can’t match. Given
the opportunity, Chmilarski says, she
can usually explain the value added by

Ultimately, the best way to sell the value of quality
management services is to provide them, Ronan Ryan
believes. As he tells clients and prospective clients,
“I live on my reputation. If I’m not performing, I don’t
deserve your business.”
In approaching boards recovering
from a bad management experience,
the initial challenge is “to show them
how we will be different, to explain
how what we do will add value,” and to
make this key point: “You get what you
pay for.” Board members and owners
who feel they have been poorly served
by a previous management company
will look at a new one “with a more
critical eye,” Chmilarski says. There will
be “more restraints until they get used
to you.” But she doesn’t see that initial
ultra-close scrutiny as a negative. “It
keeps you on your toes,” she says.
With both self-managed and previously managed communities, Chmilarski focuses on “listening, listening,
listening. I get rid of the sales pitch. I
ask what they need from us rather than
telling them what we will do for them.”
And she focuses less on the “bells and
whistles” of association management
and more on personal service and
professional performance. “It’s getting
back to basics,” she explains. “Good
service never goes out of style.”
The value of professional management can be difficult to convey,
she agrees, because of the number
of “nouveau” managers who were
dislocated from real estate broker-

an experienced company, but many
boards don’t go beyond the low-ball
bids they receive and “we can’t get in
the door” to make a pitch. She thinks
a licensing requirement for association managers would go far toward
addressing that problem. “It would
raise the level and reputation of the
entire profession.”
Chmilarski agrees with Ryan that
managers must make the effort to
ensure that the often hidden value
of what they do is visible to boards.
It isn’t enough just to report that
the company has obtained insurance
quotes or solicited bids from vendors
or undertaken a risk management
analysis, she says. “We have to educate boards” about all of those tasks.
“We shouldn’t keep these things a
big secret.”
She also thinks it is important to
encourage boards to view their management companies not just as service
providers but as a valuable resource
— a source of information about
what is happening in other communities and in the condominium industry
generally. “That’s one way we add
value to our services,” she says. “And
it’s a way to solidify our relationship
with our clients.” CM
Condo Media • August 2013

Condo Media - August 2013

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