Condo Media - November 2014 - 34
COVER STORY
COLUMN NAME
of their fees. But he finds board members on the whole savvier about quality
and cost than they were in the past and
willing to pay more for higher quality
service.
Explaining the
Value Proposition
The challenge for management companies is explaining that value proposition. "To the uninitiated, it seems that
we all do pretty much the same thing,"
concedes Robert McBride, CMCA,
AMS, PCAM, president of The Dart-
mouth Group Inc. For that reason, he
says, "We can't just tell clients what we
do for them; we have to tell them what
we give them. It's not what we do. It's
how we do it."
In McBride's explanation, it's the
experience and expertise of his managers and the corporate support (administrative assistants, accountants, and
technology) behind them that distinguishes his company from those that
may charge less. It's the difference, he
says, between "professional managers," who derive most of their income
from management fees and "facilities
managers" who generate most of their
revenue from maintenance and related
services.
If he were drawing a picture, facilities
managers would be "men in trucks"
driving from site to site and solving
problems as they arise; professional
managers would be driving cars, parked
for extended times at the properties
they oversee.
"If I'm making all my money on
maintenance, that's where my overhead and people are going to be," he
explains. "I'm not going to charge
you much in fees, but I'm also not going to be [focusing much] on management services."
Facilities management firms, McBride says, tend to have a very high
property-to-manager ratio. Management firms that put their emphasis
on management will set a lower cap
on the number of properties they
put in their managers' portfolios, so
they can devote the time association
clients need.
Doing the Same
Things Differently
"If I give my manager six properties
and another manager has 12, what
does that tell you?" McBride asks.
Both managers will perform essentially the same tasks, he says, "but how
will they perform them? Both will
meet with the board but how often
and what will they do in those meetings? Both will communicate with the
board and with owners, but how will
they communicate and how accessible
will they be? The management fee
comes down to time. How much time
do you need, and how much time am
I going to give you?"
The logic is clear but not always
persuasive for boards concerned primarily about the cost of the services
they will receive. "I have a deep
bench of experienced managers who
have no more than five or six properties in their portfolios. I know we'll
provide better service than the manager with 15 properties, but how do
34
Condo Media * November 2014
Condo Media - November 2014
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Condo Media - November 2014
Contents
From the CED’s Desk
Editorial Board
CAI News
CAI Regional News
Asked & Answered
Homeowner’s Corner
Maintenance
Management
Focus on Fees
Vendor Spotlight
Finance
Volunteer Spotlight
CAI-NE 2014 Management Directory
Classifi ed Service Directory
Advertisers Index
Condo Media - November 2014 - Cover1
Condo Media - November 2014 - Cover2
Condo Media - November 2014 - Contents
Condo Media - November 2014 - From the CED’s Desk
Condo Media - November 2014 - 3
Condo Media - November 2014 - Editorial Board
Condo Media - November 2014 - 5
Condo Media - November 2014 - CAI News
Condo Media - November 2014 - 7
Condo Media - November 2014 - 8
Condo Media - November 2014 - 9
Condo Media - November 2014 - 10
Condo Media - November 2014 - 11
Condo Media - November 2014 - CAI Regional News
Condo Media - November 2014 - 13
Condo Media - November 2014 - 14
Condo Media - November 2014 - 15
Condo Media - November 2014 - 16
Condo Media - November 2014 - 17
Condo Media - November 2014 - 18
Condo Media - November 2014 - 19
Condo Media - November 2014 - 20
Condo Media - November 2014 - 21
Condo Media - November 2014 - Asked & Answered
Condo Media - November 2014 - 23
Condo Media - November 2014 - Homeowner’s Corner
Condo Media - November 2014 - 25
Condo Media - November 2014 - Maintenance
Condo Media - November 2014 - 27
Condo Media - November 2014 - Management
Condo Media - November 2014 - 29
Condo Media - November 2014 - 30
Condo Media - November 2014 - 31
Condo Media - November 2014 - Focus on Fees
Condo Media - November 2014 - 33
Condo Media - November 2014 - 34
Condo Media - November 2014 - 35
Condo Media - November 2014 - 36
Condo Media - November 2014 - 37
Condo Media - November 2014 - 38
Condo Media - November 2014 - 39
Condo Media - November 2014 - Vendor Spotlight
Condo Media - November 2014 - 41
Condo Media - November 2014 - Finance
Condo Media - November 2014 - 43
Condo Media - November 2014 - 44
Condo Media - November 2014 - 45
Condo Media - November 2014 - Volunteer Spotlight
Condo Media - November 2014 - 47
Condo Media - November 2014 - CAI-NE 2014 Management Directory
Condo Media - November 2014 - 49
Condo Media - November 2014 - 50
Condo Media - November 2014 - 51
Condo Media - November 2014 - 52
Condo Media - November 2014 - 53
Condo Media - November 2014 - 54
Condo Media - November 2014 - 55
Condo Media - November 2014 - 56
Condo Media - November 2014 - 57
Condo Media - November 2014 - Classifi ed Service Directory
Condo Media - November 2014 - Advertisers Index
Condo Media - November 2014 - 60
Condo Media - November 2014 - 61
Condo Media - November 2014 - 62
Condo Media - November 2014 - 63
Condo Media - November 2014 - 64
Condo Media - November 2014 - Cover3
Condo Media - November 2014 - Cover4
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