Multifamily GTM Strategy: The Definitive Guide

Listen to the full episode:

• On iTunes
• On Stitcher
• On Spotify

Catch the highlights:

There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all go-to-market strategy. If anyone tells you otherwise, they’re probably just trying to sell you something. This is especially true when building your multifamily GTM strategy. Your property, team, and market are all unique—so your plan should be too. Creating effective, customized go-to-market strategies requires an iterative marketing mindset, a concept sales leader Trish Bertuzzi champions. It’s about building a unified system that connects marketing and leasing, ensuring every lead gets the attention it deserves and turning real interest into signed leases.

On the other hand, creating a customized go-to-market strategy (or strategies) from scratch can seem daunting—even for the most seasoned of sales leaders.

So, what’s the best path forward for your company?

In our latest episode of The B2B Sales Show, Founder and CEO of The Bridge Group, Trish Bertuzzi, joins Mixmax’s Don Erwin to share strategic insights from her top-rated book, The Sales Development Playbook, and discuss best practices for developing iterative go-to-market strategies that deliver results.

Your Multifamily GTM Strategy: One or Many?

According to Trish Bertuzzi, an important—yet frequently overlooked—step in the strategic planning process should focus on identifying the right number of go-to-market strategies.

“Some business leaders assume that they only need one go-to-market strategy when, in fact, they actually need multiple strategies to achieve their revenue targets,” Bertuzzi said. “For example, you might need an ABM strategy for 20 percent of your revenue, but that other 80 percent might need to come from SMB and mid-market.”

Even when leveraging a multi-pronged approach, specific and clearly defined revenue targets must play a guiding role for allocating financial and human resources.

“Ask yourself where you want revenue to come from,” Bertuzzi said. “Keep asking yourself that until you identify a definitive answer, then put the bulk of your resources there.”

Continuous, data-driven analysis is key for ensuring each strategy achieves liftoff in a rapidly evolving business environment.

“Companies sometimes fail to reexamine their go-to-market strategies,” Bertuzzi said. “Markets change, buyers change, new competitors enter the space, new regulations come into play, which is why your strategy must be as iterative as your SDR, AE, and CSM processes.”

What is a Go-To-Market Strategy in Multifamily?

In the world of new apartment or condo buildings, a Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy is your master plan for success. It’s much more than a simple marketing checklist. As the experts at Transforming Cities put it, a strong GTM strategy is like building a carefully planned "layer cake." Each layer—from market research and pricing to branding and leasing—is built on the one before it. This comprehensive approach helps you reduce financial risks, stand out from the competition, and ultimately, fill your building with happy renters faster. It’s the difference between hoping for the best and engineering a successful launch from day one.

Focusing on the Critical Lease-Up Period

The lease-up period—the time from when you first start marketing a new property until it reaches stabilized occupancy—is where your GTM strategy truly proves its worth. A common misstep is waiting too long to start. As multifamily consultant Chris Arnold notes, many developers "wait until a few months before a building is finished to start marketing." This often leads to slow rental periods and missed revenue targets, even when construction is on schedule. A proactive GTM strategy gets ahead of this by building awareness and generating a pipeline of interested prospects long before the doors officially open, ensuring a steady flow of leases from the moment you’re ready to sign them.

Key Players in the Multifamily Ecosystem

A successful multifamily project involves a whole cast of characters, each with a critical role to play. It starts with the developers and investors who finance and build the property. Then you have the property management companies and their on-the-ground leasing teams who are responsible for day-to-day operations and filling units. There are also specialized consultants and PropTech firms that provide expert advice on everything from marketing to technology. And, of course, there are the renters themselves—the ultimate customer whose needs and desires should inform every decision. A great GTM strategy recognizes and aligns all of these players toward a single, unified goal.

From Developers and Investors to Leasing Teams and Renters

Getting every player on the same page is essential. When marketing generates a lead, the leasing team needs to follow up instantly. When a renter gives feedback, property management needs to hear it. This alignment doesn't happen by accident; it requires clear communication channels and shared processes. This is where technology can connect the dots. Using tools with AI-powered workflows helps ensure that tasks are automatically routed to the right person, follow-ups are never missed, and everyone from the marketing department to the leasing office is working from the same playbook. This coordination is key to creating a seamless experience for prospective renters and turning interest into signed leases.

Why a Strong GTM is Critical in Today's Market

In a crowded market, you can't afford to just open your doors and hope people show up. A solid GTM strategy is your roadmap for cutting through the noise. It forces you to answer the tough questions upfront. As Chris Arnold outlines, a winning strategy involves a clear sequence of actions: "Know your renters. Differentiate your project. Craft your message. Get on the radar. Drive demand. Nurture your prospects." This isn't just a marketing exercise; it's a business discipline. It ensures that your property isn't just another building, but a distinct destination that connects with a specific audience on a meaningful level.

Responding to Market Pressures and Increased Competition

The pressure is on. New buildings are constantly entering the market, and renter expectations are higher than ever. People want more than just a place to live; they want a community, top-tier amenities, and a seamless digital experience. A well-researched GTM strategy allows you to respond to these pressures effectively. By deeply understanding your target renter, you can design amenities, craft messaging, and set pricing that truly resonates. It helps you find your unique position in the market, turning potential weaknesses into strengths and ensuring your property doesn't just compete, but leads.

Key Components of a Winning Multifamily GTM Strategy

A successful go-to-market strategy in the multifamily space is more than just a marketing plan. It’s a comprehensive approach that covers everything from brand identity to the technology your leasing team uses. It’s about creating a property that people are not only excited to live in but also proud to call home. Getting these components right from the start is what separates a slow lease-up from a building with a waitlist. Here are the four key pillars that support a winning strategy.

1. Building a Property Brand That Connects

Your property's brand is its personality. It’s the story you tell that helps potential residents picture their life there. This goes far beyond a logo and a color scheme; it’s about creating an emotional connection that makes your building feel like the only choice. A strong brand sets expectations and builds a sense of belonging before anyone even signs a lease. It’s the foundation upon which you’ll build your marketing campaigns and, ultimately, your community. When people resonate with your brand, they aren't just renting an apartment—they're buying into a lifestyle.

Telling a Story About Location and Community

People don't just live within their four walls; they live in their neighborhood. A powerful GTM strategy tells a compelling story about the location and the community it serves. Are you next to the city's best dog park? Is there a beloved coffee shop on the corner? Highlight these details. Creating a clear story helps people connect with the property on an emotional level, making them feel like they belong. Frame your property as the key to unlocking the best of the neighborhood, and you’ll attract residents who are genuinely excited to be part of that specific community.

Ensuring the Living Experience Matches the Brand Promise

A great story is only effective if it's true. The most critical part of branding is making sure the living experience delivers on the brand promise. If you market your building as a hub of modern convenience, every smart-home feature needs to work flawlessly. If you promise a vibrant social scene, you need to organize community events that bring people together. Trust is fragile. When the reality of living in your building doesn't match the marketing, you risk negative reviews and high turnover, which can be far more costly than getting it right from the start.

2. Creating a "Demand Engine" to Build Buzz

Before your property is even ready for move-ins, you need to get people talking. A "demand engine" is all about building excitement and momentum during the crucial pre-leasing phase. This involves a mix of digital and physical tactics, from targeted social media ads that reach your ideal resident profile to creative pop-up events at the construction site. The goal is to create a sense of anticipation and scarcity, making your property the most talked-about new development in town. A strong buzz not only fills your lead pipeline but also validates that your brand and messaging are hitting the mark.

3. Designing a Better Resident Experience for Retention

Your GTM strategy doesn't end once the building is full. In fact, that's when the most important work begins. It costs far more to attract a new resident than to keep an existing one, which is why designing a superior resident experience is essential for long-term success. This means being proactive with communication, responding to maintenance requests quickly, and offering thoughtful amenities that genuinely improve daily life. Happy residents are more likely to renew their leases and recommend the property to their friends, turning your community into its own powerful marketing engine.

4. Selecting the Right PropTech Stack

Technology can either be a major asset or a major headache. The key is to choose the right tech tools that empower your team and improve the resident experience, not just add complexity. While resident-facing apps are important, don't overlook the tools your leasing team uses every day. An AI sales execution platform can help your team manage their pipeline and focus on the most engaged leads, right from their inbox. For instance, with Mixmax, leasing agents can use AI-powered workflows to automate follow-ups after a tour, ensuring no lead goes cold. This frees them from manual admin work, giving them more time to build relationships and sign leases—which is how you hit your occupancy goals faster.

7 Factors That Shape Your SDR Team

So, what’s the best way to structure your SDR team to ensure alignment with your go-to-market strategies?

As with the strategic planning process itself, there’s no cookie-cutter approach to building an effective SDR team. In fact, as Trish points out, there are seven key variables that must be considered prior to structuring your SDR team:

1. Brand recognition.

2. Your ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) and buyer personas.

3. The quality of your inbound funnel.

4. Average deal size.

5. Who you’re selling to within an organization. (i.e., Director of Ops, IT Manager, etc.)

6. How your solution fits into the adoption lifecycle. (i.e., innovator vs. rip-and-replace)

7. Length of your sales cycle.

Carefully considering all of these variables puts you in a better place to build an SDR team that’s optimized for your go-to-market goals.

Aligning Your On-Site Teams for Success

Your go-to-market strategy doesn't stop once a lead comes in. All the work you do to define your ICP and build your brand can fall flat if your on-site teams aren't prepared to carry the baton across the finish line. Just like in B2B sales, the handoff from marketing to sales—or in this case, from marketing to leasing—is where deals are won or lost. Getting this alignment right is non-negotiable for hitting your revenue targets and building a property that people are excited to call home.

The Central Role of the Modern Leasing Team

Think of your leasing team as your account executives. Your marketing campaigns generate interest and drive traffic, but it's the leasing professionals who turn that interest into signed leases. They are the human face of your property, and their ability to connect with prospects is paramount. A skilled leasing team does more than just unlock doors and point out the gym; they are sales experts who guide people through one of the most significant decisions they'll make. They uncover needs, handle objections, and build the trust necessary to close the deal. Without a strong, well-trained leasing team, even the best marketing funnel will leak potential residents.

Qualities of a High-Performing Leasing Professional

So what separates a good leasing professional from a great one? It starts with exceptional communication skills and genuine empathy. They need to be active listeners who can understand a prospect's unique situation and match them with the right living space. Beyond that, they need sharp sales acumen and deep product knowledge. They should know every floor plan, amenity, and neighborhood perk inside and out. Their performance directly impacts your property's online reputation, as positive interactions lead to glowing reviews that attract future residents. A great leasing professional is organized, persistent, and understands that their job is to build a community, one resident at a time.

Breaking Down Silos Between Marketing and Leasing

One of the most common failure points in any GTM strategy is the gap between marketing and sales. In multifamily, this chasm often exists between the marketing team and the on-site leasing staff. Marketing might be celebrating a high volume of inbound leads, while the leasing team is frustrated with low-quality traffic that doesn't convert. When these teams operate in silos, you waste marketing dollars and lose momentum. Marketing has no idea which channels are producing actual leases, and the leasing team doesn't have a clear way to provide feedback on lead quality. This disconnect leads to missed opportunities and makes it impossible to adapt your strategy effectively.

Creating a Unified Feedback Loop to Adapt Strategy

The solution is to build a unified feedback loop. This requires intentional communication and shared technology. Schedule regular meetings where marketing and leasing review key metrics together—not just leads generated, but tours completed and leases signed. The leasing team holds invaluable on-the-ground intelligence. They know which questions prospects ask, what features they love, and what objections come up most often. This feedback is gold for the marketing team, allowing them to refine ad copy, adjust targeting, and create content that speaks directly to what buyers care about. Using tools with AI-powered workflows can help automate this process, ensuring feedback is captured and acted on in real time, turning your GTM strategy into a living, breathing system that constantly improves.

Trish Bertuzzi on Smarter Tactics and Messaging

Carefully constructed strategic plans offer minimal value without proper tactical foresight. Case in point, engaging mid-market leads with a message that’s too vague or optimized for enterprise buyers can undermine even the best go-to-market strategy. That’s why Trish Bertuzzi recommends a top-down messaging approach that simultaneously empowers SDRs to do what they do best.

“There’s a significant difference between creating the message and using your own style to communicate the message,” Bertuzzi said. “I fall on the side of letting SDRs use their own style to communicate a corporate-derived message.”

What’s the best approach for developing a message that actually resonates with potential buyers? Once again, it all goes back to understanding the buyer’s needs in relation to your solution.

“It depends on who you’re selling to and where they’re at in the adoption lifecycle,” Bertuzzi said. “The message to a well-educated buyer in a well-understood space could be much different than that of a rip-and-replace, commoditized environment.”

Relevant wording and proper punctuation aren’t the only ingredients for an effective message. Where and when you tell your story can be just as important.

“Never tell your story in one communication,” Bertuzzi said. “Use voicemail, emails, and social to tell little chapters of your story instead of going for the whole enchilada in one communication type.”

Applying Proven Sales Principles to Leasing

Trish’s insights on B2B sales aren't just for software companies. The core principles of understanding your customer and building a relationship apply directly to the world of multifamily leasing. At the end of the day, you’re selling a high-consideration product: a person's home. Renters, like B2B buyers, go on a journey. They do their research, compare options, and take their time making a final decision. Your job is to guide them through that journey and show them why your property is the right choice. This means shifting from a purely transactional mindset to one focused on nurturing prospects and building trust long before they’re ready to sign a lease.

Nurturing Prospects Through the Renter's Journey

Renters rarely tour one building and sign a lease on the spot. They might start their search months in advance, weighing location, price, and amenities. As Chris Arnold notes, the key question is, "How are you staying top-of-mind and building trust so that when they’re ready to sign a lease, it’s with you?" This is where nurturing comes in. It’s about consistent, valuable communication that keeps your property on their radar. Instead of one-off emails, think in terms of a sequence. A follow-up after a tour, a check-in a week later with new photos, or an email about a neighborhood event. Using AI-powered workflows can help your leasing team manage these touchpoints without letting anyone slip through the cracks, ensuring every prospect feels seen.

Using Organic Content to Build Trust and Connection

Nurturing isn't just about asking for the lease; it's about giving before you get. Creating helpful content is a powerful way to build a genuine connection with potential renters. Think about what someone new to the area would want to know. You could write blog posts about the best local coffee shops, create a video tour of the neighborhood park, or share a guide to local transit options on social media. This kind of content positions your team as helpful local experts, not just landlords. It shows you care about the resident's entire living experience, not just the four walls of their apartment. This builds a layer of trust that no list of amenities can replicate.

Essential Tactics for Your Multifamily Playbook

With a solid strategy in place, it's time to focus on the specific tactics that will fill your pipeline and keep occupancy high. A successful multifamily playbook isn't about a single secret weapon; it's about executing a handful of fundamental tactics consistently and effectively. These actions help you build awareness, stand out from the competition, and create a positive feedback loop that attracts more high-quality renters over time. From pre-marketing a new development to managing your digital footprint, every step plays a crucial role in your property's long-term success.

Start Marketing Early to Get on Renters' Radar

The best time to start marketing is before you even need to. Don't wait for a unit to become vacant to begin your search for the next resident. As Chris Arnold advises, you need to "let renters know your building exists, and start early enough." For new developments, this means building buzz months before opening. For existing properties, it means creating a waitlist or an "insider" email list for people interested in future openings. This proactive approach builds a pipeline of warm leads, so when a lease is ending, you already have a list of interested people to contact. It reduces vacancy loss and gives you more control over the leasing cycle.

Differentiate Your Property in a Crowded Market

In a competitive rental market, most buildings offer similar amenities. To stand out, you need to "figure out what makes your building unique and different from others." Is it your pet-friendly policies and on-site dog park? Your commitment to sustainability with EV charging stations? Or the vibrant community you foster with regular resident events? Whatever your differentiator is, it needs to be the core of your story. Weave it into your website copy, your social media posts, and your tour talking points. This unique brand identity gives renters a reason to choose you over the nearly identical building down the street.

Manage Your Online Reputation to Build Trust

Before a potential renter ever contacts your leasing office, they’re going to Google you. What they find—or don't find—will shape their first impression. A good online reputation is non-negotiable for building trust. This means actively monitoring and responding to reviews on Google, Yelp, and apartment-listing sites. Thank residents for positive reviews and, more importantly, address negative feedback thoughtfully and professionally. A proactive approach shows that you value resident feedback and are committed to providing a great living experience. This transparency can be one of your most powerful marketing assets, turning happy residents into your best advocates.

How to Iterate Faster with Mixmax

Mixmax is an outbound communications management tool that’s built to help you scale all of your go-to-market initiatives. From automated sequences to rich media email templates to data-driven reports, Mixmax creates the bandwidth you need to reach more people and iterate faster.

Start your free trial of Mixmax today.

Empowering Leasing Teams to Execute Flawlessly

A brilliant go-to-market strategy is only as good as the team executing it. In the multifamily world, that team is on the front lines: your leasing agents. If your marketing and leasing teams aren't working together, you're wasting leads and losing momentum. True collaboration between marketing and leasing teams means sharing feedback, adapting to what works, and ensuring no lead gets lost. This alignment transforms a plan on paper into a pipeline of signed leases, turning your property into a well-oiled demand engine that consistently hits its occupancy targets.

Using AI-Powered Workflows to Nurture Potential Renters

Your leasing team is busy. Between property tours, current resident needs, and a flood of inbound leads, it's easy for potential renters to slip through the cracks. This is where AI-powered workflows become a leasing manager's best friend. Instead of manually tracking follow-ups, you can use tools like Mixmax to automate personalized outreach. Imagine a potential renter downloads a floor plan; an AI-powered workflow can automatically send a follow-up email with a virtual tour video the next day, keeping your property top-of-mind without adding to your team's manual workload.

Staying in Touch with Prospects at the Right Moment

Timing is everything. A follow-up email sent at the right moment can be the final nudge a prospect needs to book a tour. But how do you know when that moment is? Engagement signals are the key. When a leasing agent can see that a prospect has just reopened their pricing email for the third time, that’s a clear signal to reach out immediately. Because Mixmax works directly inside Gmail, your team gets these real-time alerts where they already work, allowing them to act instantly and connect with interested renters at the peak of their interest.

GTM Applications Across the Multifamily Ecosystem

A go-to-market strategy isn't just for new lease-ups. It's a living, breathing plan that applies to everyone involved in the property lifecycle. Markets shift and buyer preferences evolve, which is why your strategy must be iterative. For PropTech companies selling into the space and investors evaluating opportunities, understanding and applying GTM principles is essential. A strong GTM plan shows you can not only attract renters but also reduce risks and beat competitors in a crowded market, making it a critical tool for growth and stability.

Strategies for PropTech Companies

If you're a PropTech company, your GTM strategy is focused on selling to developers, owners, and property managers. Your success depends on proving how your technology solves their biggest challenges, whether it's improving operational efficiency or enhancing the resident experience. You can use targeted outreach sequences to tell your story in chapters, educating prospects on the value you provide. By focusing on a specific niche and tailoring your message, you can effectively demonstrate how your solution helps multifamily businesses grow and operate more smoothly, making your product an indispensable part of their tech stack.

Market Insights for Investors

For investors, a GTM strategy is a critical indicator of a project's potential for success. When evaluating a new development, look beyond the blueprints and amenities. Does the team have a clear plan to attract the right renters and build a community? A well-researched GTM strategy demonstrates that the development team understands its target market and has a data-driven approach to filling units. This foresight and planning significantly de-risk the investment and provide a clearer path to profitability, making it a key document in any due diligence process.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the first practical step to creating a GTM strategy if I’m starting from scratch? Before you think about logos or ad campaigns, get specific about your ideal renter. Who are they, really? Go beyond basic demographics. Think about their daily life, what they value in a home, and what problems they’re trying to solve by moving. Once you have a crystal-clear picture of this person, every other decision, from your property’s brand story to your pricing, becomes much easier to make.

My marketing team generates leads, but my leasing team says they're low quality. How do we fix this? This is a classic disconnect, and the solution is to build a feedback loop. Get your marketing and leasing teams talking to each other regularly, at least once a week. The goal is to review which lead sources are turning into actual signed leases, not just website clicks. Your leasing team has invaluable insight into what questions prospects ask and what objections they have. Sharing this information allows your marketing team to refine their messaging and targeting, which results in better, more qualified leads.

The post mentions an "iterative" strategy. What does that mean in practice? An iterative strategy is simply one that you adjust based on what the data tells you. It’s not a plan you create once and then file away. In practice, this means setting a regular time, maybe monthly, to look at what’s working and what isn’t. Are your ads on one platform generating more tours than another? Is a certain floor plan getting all the attention? It’s about making small, informed adjustments over time to improve your results, rather than overhauling your entire plan every year.

How can a small leasing team nurture dozens of leads without spending all day sending follow-up emails? This is where you use technology to your advantage. You can’t manually follow up with every single person who shows interest, but you also can’t afford to let them go cold. The key is to automate the predictable parts of your communication. For example, you can use AI-powered workflows to automatically send a thank you email after a tour or a check-in message a week later. This ensures every prospect gets a personal touchpoint, which frees your team to focus on the high-value conversations that actually close leases.

We're an established property, not a new lease-up. Do we still need a GTM strategy? Yes, absolutely. A GTM strategy isn't just for launching a new building; it's for maintaining long-term success. For an established property, your strategy will focus more on resident retention and managing your online reputation. It’s about making sure the living experience consistently delivers on your brand promise, which turns your current residents into your best source of referrals. Your strategy simply shifts from "filling the building" to "keeping the building full and thriving."

Key Takeaways

• Build a custom GTM strategy: Your property and market are unique, so your plan should be too. Treat your strategy as a living document that adapts to performance data and market shifts, not as a one-time checklist.
• Connect your marketing and leasing teams: Stop losing deals during the handoff. Create a direct feedback loop where on-the-ground insights from your leasing team are used to constantly refine marketing's message and targeting.
• Treat leasing like a modern sales process: Renters are making a big decision, so guide them with a nurturing approach instead of a single transaction. Use tools with AI-powered workflows to automate follow-ups, which frees up your team to build relationships and sign leases.

Related Articles

• How to Develop an Iterative GTM Strategy with Trish Bertuzzi | Mixmax
• AI-Driven Go-to-Market Strategies with Jordan Crawford
• Tips for Better Sales and Marketing Alignment | Mixmax
• How to Master Multi Channel Prospecting in Outbound Sales | Mixmax
• Enterprise Prospecting: 10 Strategies to Land Large Accounts | Mixmax