Okay, so you read my last post about my venture back into the "real" world of real estate and what I encountered.
Here are some questions that I was asked by some of the realtors I came in contact with. Maybe you have been asking the same quesions.
These questions are from perplexed agents who saw the need to advance their understanding of technology, but where not sure how they could:
The answer to all of these questions is the same - and it lies within the virtual assitant industry. Hire a virtual assistant. You can pay for as little or as much as you need. So you don't need full time right now but you need some help. Not a problem. Most virtual real estate assistants would be happy to find an affordable plan to get you started and thus grow your business. Because they work with many different agents across many different states, they dont rely on you for all of their income and thus are able to offer you just as few hours as you need. !0 Hours all you need a month? I would be happy to accomodate you! What can it hurt to find out more?
Be sure to check out my next blog post where I plan to blog about the importance of "BEING REAL IN THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY" One thing that I encountered in my 9-5 job were many phony people who didn't act or deliver as they had promised. The only thing you have to offer your clients really is yourself. At least give them the benefit of encountering you. Nothing bothers me more, than 2-faced people. IF you dont like me - that is absolutely fine! But at least be real about it!
It has been a while since I have blogged here! Unfortunately circumstances forced me to put my Virtual Real Estate Business - An Assistant On Call - on hold for a while and seek work in "the real world." I was out of it for about 2 years! However, now I can return to my own business with updated knowledge and experience that I may pass on to those that I assist.
I went to work for a local real estate office as an administrative assistant, and I wanted to share what changes I noticed since I was in the same position over 2 years earlier.
The basics, of course, remained unchanged. But there where several striking differences:
1. Agents are much more dependent/comfortable with online technology than they were even 2 years ago - Previously, some agents seemed to enjoy what the internet could offer, but some agents still chose not to participate in what they hoped would be a passing phase. Now agents are almost "forced" to explore technology so that they are not left behind! The internet and its online resources are no longer optional, but instead required. If you don't want to make it in real estate or be an effective agent, I urge you to ignore what technology has to offer. This leads me to my second similar point:
2. Home Buyers/Sellers are much more tech savvy than they were even 2 years ago - Client are becoming increasing tech savvy and they expect and agent who is the same. Gone are the days where people HAD to RELY on a person with a license to show them what homes are available before they are ready to look. Almost all people KNOW they can turn to the internet before they ever have to contact an agent - shouldn't your name be out there? They now have this information at their fingertips. They want an agent who has more to offer than just the ability to pull mls listings and take them to houses - ESPECIALLY the sellers. There are so many different systems in place now to effectively market a home. Zillow, CraigsList, Virtual Tours, E-listings and so many more - you can even put your listings on Facebook now!!!
3. There is so much to be done on a daily basis that the highly productive agents cannot survive without an administrative assistant! - You are a realtor. Your job is to meet with the clients and do the things that require a license to do. But what do you do about the day-to-day items? How do you get it all done? Simply, YOU CAN'T! As tech savvy agent, you get dozens upon dozens of emails a day regarding your online marketing. Do you have time to give each one individualized attention? NO! You have buyers to take out, houses to list etc. But someone back at the office can handle the mounds of electronic mail that you get per day. They can make sure that all of your internet marketing for all those houses you listed with technology friendly sellers is up-to-date. They can make sure that these same sellers receive information on their internet marketing which is readily available for those who have it. This assistant can make sure that sellers are getting steady feedback and updates that today's technology allows - did you know that you can get a "play-by-play" of when your house is shown? Bottom line, - even though you may not need an assistant now - you will in the future if you hope to be productive.
In summary - IF YOU WANT TO BE ONE STEP ABOVE OTHER AGENTS, AND GET THE LISTINGS AND SALES, YOU MUST BECOME TECHNOLOGY SAVVY.
Check out my next blog post on questions that I encountered during my journey into the "real" world. I also have an easy answer for those questions. Read On.
I am certified real estate support specialist with over 6 years experience in the real estate industry. My services include everything for transaction coordination to creating marketing materials.
I have 12 years experience as an administrative assistant, and 5 of those years were spent working as a marketing coordinator for a local real estate office. It is here that I learned how to write copy for real estate ads, and create marketing materials such as just listed/sold postcards, property flyers, and CMA's.
I am a member of the IVAA and the SEVAG. I have earned the designation of Certified Real Estate Support Specialist (CRESS) from the IVAA. I am RevaCoach trained in Relay, and an accredited VA for SinglePropertySites.com.
I decided to start An Assistant On Call after situations in my personal life drove me to quit my job at a local real estate office. I had just gotten married, and then my father had passed away 6 days later. I had a mother who is disabled and needed to move in with us along with a little girl that was about to start kindergarten. Needless to say, I need to find something that would allow me to work and generate income, but also have built-in flexibility. I started to review the different types of work-from-home sites. I am ashamed to admit, but I did get caught up in several scams. I finally realized that I probably wasn't going to be able to find something reliable that way, so I began to look into medical transcription. It is while I was researching medical transcription that I come across an industry that I had never heard of before. This industry was known as the virtual assistant industry.
Furthermore I learned that there was a specific group of virtual assistants that dealt primarily with real estate. This was right up my alley. I spent almost 4 years in a local real estate office, and I really like the kind of administrative work that I was doing. I also remember that many of the agents in my office often had a need for additional support at times, but they didn't need full time or even part time assistants. Just a couple of hours here or there, or maybe a special project or two. I have even had some agents in my office pay me to help them with special tasks on my free time. This is were the idea for An Assistant On Call was born.
From my research online, and from the help of other virtual assistants I learned that I could take the skills that I had gained from hands on experience in a local real estate office, and make all of them virtual. I have clients that I only do a couple hours of work for a month, and then some that I do several hours of work for a week. It doesn't have to be a big project or even an on going project for me to take a client on. One of the best things about being a real estate virtual assistant is the diversity of what I get to do everyday. It keeps things interesting and challenging.
On of the main goals
I truly love what I do!
Programs I have vast experience with (and use on a daily basis):
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