At Neon Burnsville in Minneapolis, sales manager Marie Almberg glances up at a wall of Winners’ Circle Cards and medals from the Connor Olympics hanging in the office. When she sees those heartfelt cards and medals, of course, she’s proud, but that success comes with added satisfaction knowing this was earned, and those medals didn’t come easy.
Neon Burnsville is one of 17 properties that earned gold in the Connor Olympics in October. With only two months left in the competition, we’re featuring three markets that are finding a way to win in order to make it on the podium come December.
“We are obviously always trying to hit gold every single month, so the fact that we hit gold and we hit it early, was the best feeling ever,” Marie said.
It was no easy journey for Neon to earn their second gold medal in the competition. In fact, earlier this year, people might have assumed, they were down for the count.
“In February, with no manager in place, our customer survey scores and occupancy were slipping.” Marie shared. “Turning it around took a determined team effort.”
After assembling the right team, the property started seeing results.
“We have a 4.38 customer service score. We’re crushing our goals,” Marie said. “The fact that we have a committed team who is so hungry and motivated is just so exciting.”
In order to deliver results, sales lead Dylan Kurtz is handling 70% of renewals and property manager Hannah White is doing 30%. Sales associate Bailee Mackedanz doubled her rental goal in October. The service team of lead tech Mark Keeler and turn tech Eian Schulz is helping the property maintain its strong customer survey score.
“Everyone knows what role they play and the importance of that role,” Marie added.
The Minneapolis market is the second largest in our portfolio and the competition is fierce.
“When you’re in a market as large as ours, you don’t want to be the fifth property ranking. You want to be number one,” Marie said.
Marie and her team use the large market to motivate them, as they are surrounded by cultural icons.
“Amanda Barnes, Michelle Murphy and I go way back,” Marie said. “I think just having two senior directors and three partners in the market, who are very driven, is helpful.”
Another partner who stepped up this month is senior manager Courtney Rohricht. Courtney returned to Domain at Bennett Farms after five months in Cincinnati.
“It’s incredible to be back,” Courtney said. “As much as I am honored to help in other markets, my heart is in the Indy market and I know this property like the back of my hand.”
Property manager Megan Stewart filled in at Domain alongside lead tech Amber Hisel and turn tech Christopher Larson until Courtney could come back with only 10 days remaining in the month. The team managed to pull off its first gold medal in the competition.
“It is so rewarding,” Courtney said. “It just goes to show that with the right mindset, it can be done.”
While it feels good to be gold, Courtney is focused on the long-term plan for Domain.
“We didn’t spend too much time celebrating because we need to do this six months in a row to position Domain for sale,” Courtney said. “I was there when we got the keys, and I will get the most satisfaction adding a tile to the wall at CSO.”
The Nashville market celebrated their gold medals by hitting the links with partner and regional vice president Kristen Rutledge.
“Kristen is a great golfer, so it was cool for her to give lessons to me, and I’m not a good golfer,” said general manager Chrissie Beard.
For two months, Chrissie was overseeing Cross Creek at Murfreesboro and The Everly at Historic Franklin. At The Everly, it was property manager Kris Horton’s first month running the property on his own after getting placed.
“This medal meant something different for me personally,” Chrissie said. “It was watching the success of training Kris and watching him be able to keep up with those high results. He’s doing a really good job.”
The Everly is one of five properties to earn gold every month of the competition. Cross Creek has earned gold for three months in a row. Cross Creek tracks their results with a board, personalized for each month.
“It’s the planning piece,” Chrissie said. “We make sure we’re hitting our numbers by the 25th of each month. If we’re off track, it’s really just sticking to the systems and making sure that’s our top priority.”
Nashville’s other key to success is working together as a market.
“Both properties have an awesome staff right now,” Chrissie said. “We’re talking to each other and motivating each other. It’s really cool to see Nashville come together.”
Even as Chrissie steps in to support Louisville, she’s confident the Nashville market’s momentum will continue to grow.
“I know our Nashville team is ready to keep leading by example,” Chrissie added. “You’re going to see Kentucky follow suit because we are earning our first gold medal. I’m not too worried about everybody else.”