Robert OHaugherty, REALTOR, ABR

This past week I received 3 BPO orders from Protek and each one of them disappeared just as quickly as I received them. The first one I didn't discover for 20 minutes and it went to another vendor. The second one I missed by a mere 7 minutes and the last one I missed by 2 minutes. How does anyone ever get one of these orders? Do vendors sit and watch their screens, keeping their e-mail open 24hrs a day? If I don't capture one of these orders, is it assumed by Protek that I don't want the job? With this new week I plan to do just this: stay in view of my e-mail, my account at Protek, and my cell phone and see if I can grab one. Anyone else have this problem?

Finally, ProTech called and offered me my first BPO. The only trouble was that I had put down an incorrect zip code that was 3 and one half hours away one way and had to turn it down and I had to update my profile. Just the same, it's a start. I've called just about every BPO that I've registered with and a few were behind in setting me up in their computer. But they all were very responsive and said that they will be calling soon.

6 weeks and no orders yet from 19 BPO companies whom I've signed with. Clear Capital, eMortgage Logic have responded the quickest and seem to be the most responsible in making sure all my profiles are current. But no communication from all of the others. Getting all of the extra paperwork was difficult for both me and the BPO company: the E&O company name and policy number. It's difficult to determine whether the BPO got all of the necessary paperwork inorder to call me. More later...

We got a new assitant in our office and within a week we are beginning to get back to normal (if there is such a thing). She's a good one. Sometimes it's hard, even for agents, to sort a list of priorities and do the right one at the right time and go to the next one. This assistant we have now, caught the office current within this week and now we can move ahead with our prospecting and bringing in new business. So here's hats off to ours and all the assistants out there in the real estate industry who work relentlessly and hard to see our deals through. Thanks to you.

I'm still registering with BPO Companies, 3 more this week. That brings the total registered to 23 BPO companies. No orders yet. I have a feeling that there are thousands of agents signed up or signing up for only a few available orders. And a few agents that are doing these BPO's are doing the majority of the orders. If these agents are good at performing the BPO's then the turnover is probably small and until someone drops out, BPO's are not hiring. But I'll keep signing up. I still have about 20 companies left to contact. One of the best characteristic a person can have is persistance.