The Crane Property Management Podcast

In this episode of The Crane Property Management Podcast, Peter Lohmann and Mark Brower tackle growth challenges, sales ethics, and fee transparency. Peter shares how his company recently hit 750 doors and entered what ProfitCoach calls the "trough of sorrow", a profitability dip that occurs between 750 and 1,000 doors. Mark reveals his company actually shrank from 620 to 540 doors while becoming more profitable, sparking a discussion about whether door count is the right metric for success.They discuss:Why hiring and managing managers requires a different skill set than managing frontline staff, and how A players pay for themselves through higher profits and better team structureCold calling tactics in the property management industry, including when persistence crosses into deception and how to approach peer-to-peer outreach ethicallyThe opt-in versus opt-out debate around resident benefit programs, inspired by a class action lawsuit against Entrata over mandatory rent reporting feesHow emotional momentum in the rental process affects consumer choice, and why disclosure timing matters more than most operators realizeThis episode offers practical insights for property managers navigating the tension between growth, profitability, and ethical business practices.Topics:(00:00:00) - Intro(00:01:40) - The trough of sorrow at 750 doors(00:04:06) - Hiring and managing managers(00:08:35) - Why A players are free(00:11:48) - Cold calling ethics and tactics(00:17:10) - Defining what counts as a lie(00:18:05) - Getting past gatekeepers peer to peer(00:21:00) - Opt-in versus opt-out resident fees(00:22:50) - Good profits versus bad profits(00:28:56) - The emotional momentum problemPeter Lohmann:• ⁠LinkedIn⁠: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pslohmann/• ⁠Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/pslohmann• ⁠Website⁠: https://www.peterlohmann.com/• ⁠Crane⁠ – Private PM Owner Community: https://www.joincrane.co/Mark Brower: • ⁠LinkedIn⁠: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markbrower/• ⁠Twitter / X: https://x.com/markbrower14

Peter Lohmann and Mark Brower launch The Crane Property Management Podcast with a sharp look at recent platform changes affecting residential property managers. The conversation opens with Zillow's controversial decision to remove phone numbers from rental listings unless property managers pay for upgraded accounts—a move both hosts see as monopolistic leverage rather than value creation. They discuss:Why Zillow's removal of phone numbers from free rental listings feels like fee extraction rather than partnershipHow Google's new anti-gaming policies for reviews mirror Yelp's longstanding enforcement and what that means for property managersWhether review volume matters beyond a statistical threshold and how consumers actually evaluate online ratingsWhy well-run review platforms elevate entire industries by incentivizing better customer serviceThis episode offers a candid take on the power dynamics between property management companies and the digital platforms they depend on, with practical insights for anyone navigating online reviews and rental listing strategies.Topics:(00:00:00) - Intro(00:01:02) - Zillow removes phone numbers from rental listings(00:03:42) - Zillow's pricing inconsistency problem(00:04:38) - Could Zillow be a partner instead of a bully(00:07:22) - Comparing Zillow to Google's fair auction model(00:11:14) - Legal action as the only remedy(00:13:57) - Google bans review manipulation(00:16:26) - Why Google is cracking down now(00:19:06) - Trust drives review platform value(00:25:22) - How consumers actually use reviews(00:32:18) - Legitimate reviews elevate entire industriesFind Peter Lohmann and Mark Brower at:Peter Lohmann:• LinkedIn • Twitter / X • Website • Crane – Private PM Owner Community Mark Brower: • LinkedIn • Twitter / X