Navigating the Shift: How Minnix Property Management Mastered Self-Showings

Key Results

consalidated-data-1

Consolidated all leasing data in ShowMojo

increased-showing-capacity-1

Increased showing capacity from 40 to 100+ showings per week

improved-monitoring-1

Improved property monitoring and maintenance

Wendell Burris started as Property Supervisor in 2013 when Minnix Property Management had 681 units under management. Today, they’ve grown to about 1,900 units, primarily single-family homes, duplexes, and small apartments in and around Lubbock, Texas.

In 2020, Burris said they’d reached the limits of how many properties they could show.

We had up to three agents driving around town, just showing all day. The scalability wasn’t there. We were hitting the limit of how many properties they could show.
Wendell Burris, Property Supervisor with Minnix Property Management

Burris and his team faced a choice — hire more agents or pivot to Self-Showings.

Spoiler alert: They opted for self-showings.

In the end, Minnix Property Management:

  • Eliminated the need for in-person showing agents.
  • Improved property monitoring and maintenance.
  • Increased showing capacity from 40 to over 100 showings per week.

But the company’s journey to self-showings wasn’t a straight line. They took some lumps, learned a lot, and eventually nailed it down. Here’s the story.

The Pivot to Self-Showings

Burris started the shift to self-showings with a trial on 10 properties, using an alternative leasing solution. The goal of the trial was to get experience with the system and process of self-showings.

Then COVID hit. And whether they were ready or not, it was off to the races.

Stymied by Software

The alternative leasing solution Minnix Property Management was using didn’t integrate with their existing property management software. So Burris’s team had to enter data in two different systems — an untenable solution with 100 units, let alone 1,000.

The system didn’t pull any of our property information over. So we had to manually enter the property again. And if you update something in one system, you can’t forget to update it in the other system. No one has time for that. It just makes no sense.
Wendell Burris, Property Supervisor

So they switched to another leasing solution that integrated with AppFolio, their property management software. And while that eliminated the duplicate work, Burris became frustrated with the alternative leasing solution’s lack of customizability.

Minnix PM Gets Self-Showing Right with ShowMojo

After about two months of frustration, Burris found ShowMojo. It checked all the boxes:

  • Compatible with third-party devices.
  • Native integration with AppFolio.
  • Robust set of self-showing security features.
  • Highly customizable settings for messaging, scheduling, security, and more.

The key for Burris was the customization. While the other tools he tried were secure and compatible with his system, the customization just wasn’t there.

Customization is why ShowMojo ended up being our choice. We want to be able to customize the message that goes out, the settings on when we can schedule showings, and even the security options.
Wendell Burris, Property Supervisor

The customizable features Burris is referring to include (but aren’t limited to):

  1. Security features like Automated Identity Document Verification, which collects a scan of the prospect’s driver’s license, triggering additional validations, and anti-fraud screening.
  2. Showing scheduling capabilities like giving prospects the option to confirm showings via email or SMS, automatically (or not) canceling unconfirmed showings, or changing notification settings for leasing agents.
  3. Messaging features like fully customizable canceled showing messages, showing reschedule, and showing follow-up emails.

The Pivot Pays Off

Once they were up and running on ShowMojo, Burris’s team’s weekly showing capacity shot up to well over 100 showings with zero agents.

Before we were maxing out at eight showings a day, five days a week. So 40 showings a week. If you look at our showing numbers, we’re over 100 every single week, easy. And not only that, with self-guided showings, we can do after hours and weekends.
Wendell Burris, Property Supervisor

Burris has happily sworn off all assisted showings, with few exceptions.

It’s one of our questions [when we’re talking to a new owner]. Can we do self-guided showings? If not, do we even really want this property? It’s getting to that point.
Wendell Burris, Property Supervisor

Increased Showing Capacity Leads to Cleaner Properties

With ShowMojo handling all scheduling and showing, Burris reallocated his staffing resources to what he calls “the field position”.

They are out walking properties all day, making sure things are okay, putting eyes on it, picking up trash. Checking if we need to mow, making sure the property is secure after a showing. They’re making sure things run smoothly.
Wendell Burris, Property Supervisor

Burris explained that this has helped him and his team stay on top of things and level up the quality of their service.

Better Data Leads to Cleaner Listings

By listing every unit on ShowMojo, Minnix Property Management has consolidated all of its leasing data. Burris explains, “Since everything is funneling through ShowMojo, we feel like it’s reporting the most accurate information.”

So every week, the Minnix Property Management team meets to review their Listings Activity Reports in ShowMojo.

Burris and his team checked everything that could help his units rent faster.

We’re checking the showing activity — what’s the feedback? Is it posted right? Do we have it blocked? Do we need to add a special banner to it?
Wendell Burris, Property Supervisor

In this way, Burris and his team are always looking for things to do to keep their operation running well — from picking up trash on their properties to fixing typos on their listings.

The Pursuit of Better

When Minnix Property Management launched self-showings, it was the only company in town doing it. Even now, Burris says they’re one of the few.

And that’s because Burris’s team isn’t afraid to tough out the learning curve and come out better on the other end. Since they’ve dialed in their self-showing process and technology, the Minnix team has:

  • Consolidated leasing data for improved analysis.
  • Reallocated showing staff to previously understaffed functions.
  • Increased showing capacity by more than 2.5x, from 40 to +100 showings/week.

You could see similar results with ShowMojo, and since you’re already here, you can skip the part where you have to try to find the right platform.

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