How to Do Business with Apartment Complexes
Look for win-win scenarios.
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Apartment complexes procure a wide variety of products and services. They may hire cleaning and maintenance crews, painters, carpet cleaners and handymen. Some complexes provide vending services to tenants as well. They may also require landscaping assistance, pool and spa maintenance and business services like accounting and legal representation. To win their business, present a clear and compelling rationale for how your company can be an asset in a business-to-business relationship.
Do Your Research
Decide which apartment complexes to target based on your particular product or service. For example, if you're a company that provides transportation services for senior citizens, you'll want to market yourself to complexes that cater to an older demographic. On the other hand, if you're an appliance repair company, you have a wider range of complexes that could use your services.
Contact the Purchasing Manager
Depending on the size of the apartment complex, the purchasing manager may head up a department of her own or it may be the responsibility of the apartment complex manager. If an apartment is a chain owned by a company, you'll likely go through the corporate office to discuss business-to-business dealings. Once you identify the appropriate individual to contact, address your proposal appropriately.
Proposal Development
Your written proposal should outline what your company does and why it would be beneficial to the apartment complex to do business with you. You might focus on low-cost, high-quality service, availability or close proximity. If you have previous experience working with apartment complexes, note this in your proposal to demonstrate your background and knowledge in this area. Invite the recipient of the letter to contact you to discuss a meeting or to answer questions. For best results, don't include your prices in your proposal, particularly if you’re open to negotiation.
Propose a Strategic Alliance
Look for ways to propose a strategic alliance as a way of doing business with apartment complexes. Using this approach, offer suggestions for creating a mutually-beneficial relationship with the complex. For example, if you sell renter’s insurance, you could propose an exchange whereby the apartment distributes your sales literature to tenants, and in return you run a free ad in for the complex in your company newsletter that goes to other renters.
A week after you mail your proposal, make a follow-up phone call or call contact the apartment complex and ask to speak with the manager or purchasing department director. Introduce yourself and say you are following up on a recent proposal and ask for a few moments to discuss the company’s current needs. Your goal in this personal exchange is to find out what service provider the complex already uses and outline how you can do the same work better, more efficiently or cheaper.
References (2)
About the Author
Lisa McQuerrey has been a business writer since 1987. In 1994, she launched a full-service marketing and communications firm. McQuerrey's work has garnered awards from the U.S. Small Business Administration, the International Association of Business Communicators and the Associated Press. She is also the author of several nonfiction trade publications, and, in 2012, had her first young-adult novel published by Glass Page Books.
Photo Credits
- Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
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