Renae Bolton ~ Marketing 4 Realtors

You Want to Pay Me How Much to do WHAT?

Recently, I was told that it might be a good idea for me to sign up on a certain online forum to bid on projects posted for Virtual Assistants. (Company name held to protect the not-so-innocent.) I thought it was a great idea. What I found blew me away!

After setting up an online profile and taking numerous online tests to declare that I knew what I said I knew, I started browsing through the posted projects on the jobs board. What I found in the real estate section, posted for a Real Estate Virtual Assistant was something similar to this:

That part was actually typical for what a real estate agent would need a Virtual Assistant to handle for them.

Here was the Zinger! Hourly Rate: Below $3.00/hr

Um, huh? I think I read that wrong. Hang out here while I go check that one more time. <play Jeopardy music in your head here while you wait>

Ok, yep. Below $3.00/hr.

What Virtual Assistant living in the United States and in their RIGHT MIND would be able to afford to charge less than $3.00/hr to work for this "busy real estate company?" And to top it off, they wanted someone to work 30+ hrs/wk. That's almost full time. Again, who in their right mind could afford that? If you live in the United States and work full or almost full-time and don't even make minimum wage, there's a problem, don't you think?

Here's what I'd like real estate professionals to know from the point of view of the REVA:
1. You get what you pay for! This is not to say that you have to pay $100/hr for a Virtual Assistant. But if you ask someone to work for pennies and give you a high quality level of work, something is going to suffer.
2. If you expect to get paid for the quality work you do, you should expect to pay your REVA the same way. Quality is quality, regardless of where it's coming from.

Here's what I'd like REVAs to know from one REVA to another:
1. Value yourself. If you don't value yourself, your time, your skills - no one else will, either.
2. Don't get caught in the rat race of "the lowest bidder wins." You'll end up getting contracts that you have absolutely no desire to complete and then who will suffer? Well, the client for one because you'll always put their work on the back burner. And then, so will your reputation. Which is extremely difficult to get back once lost.

I'm just sayin.

~Renae - Market 4 Real!

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Need help with consistently marketing to your leads and your listings? Don't put it off! Contact us today for assistance and get started on the road to turning your leads into clients and your listings into SOLD properties!

A Kodak Moment Isn't Staged

Those of us who have children know that most of the time, they will ham it up for the camera. If you whip it out, they will whip out a crazy look, a kooky smile, or do something off-the-wall. But a true Kodak Moment cannot be staged. A true Kodak Moment happens naturally. It catches you when you least expect to see it. And it rips your heart away if you don't forever catch that moment on film.

As many of my blog readers know, we have six children - 5 boys and a girl. Our 6 year old daughter is stuck right in the middle - 2 boys older than her, 3 boys younger. As the only girl in a house full of boys, she does quite a bit of juggling to get her quiet time. Usually, her quiet time is spent in her bedroom with books or paper dolls (she's definitely a girlie-girl). But sometimes, just sometimes, she catches a moment when all time seems to stand still.

I was visiting a client's house on this particular day and decided to take Sarai with me. It was just at the end of this past summer (2010) and had just gotten so that we needed jackets going outside. She is always excited to go with me without any of the other children and chattered away all the way to my client's house. When we arrived, the first thing she saw was this baby Weeping Willow tree.

She spent the entire time outside playing under the willow. When it was time to leave, she asked if she could take the tree with her because it made her feel comfortable. Since that wasn't going to happen, she told the tree goodbye and that she would see it later.

The entire time she spent walking under that tree, talking to it, and just sitting quietly. It was so precious I had to get it on film. And every time I look at this picture, I think of how peaceful she was for just those few moments.

This post is written as a submission to the ActiveRain 'Kodak Moments' contest. I have the chance to win the KODAK EASYSHARE M580 Digital Camera

To participate in the ActiveRain contest, visit the blog post announcing the contest from Kodak and ActiveRain.

~Renae

My Holiday Miracles and the Rainbow at the End of the Rain - Two Peas In A Pod

I've been trying to write this for a few weeks now - since I read about the Holiday Miracles contest.  For some reason, I've just been hampered by tears (of both sadness and joy) and unable to actually do it.  So I'm a little late but I'm going to give it my best shot anyway.

My holiday miracles are my identical twin baby boys, Joshua and Micah.  They are 2 years old.  On Saturday, December 19, 2009, Joshua (the oldest) woke with a raging temperature, immediately followed by a seizure. From that point on, he was unresponsive.  We called 911 and had him rushed to the emergency room.  At the hospital, he had several more seizures and lapsed into a coma.  That was when the testing began.  On Monday, December 21, 2009, Micah began exhibiting similar symptoms to his brother and was also rushed to the hospital.  They put him into a medically-induced coma that night.  Both boys were in comas until Wednesday night, at which time we were told to prepare ourselves for them not making it through the week.  Can you imagine what horrible words those are for parents to hear about their babies - not one but TWO of them?

They eventually came out of the comas but were on ventillators for several weeks afterward.  They did not seem to know who we were and were terrified of all the doctors and nurses who kept coming and going.  You see, the boys were diagnosed with having contracted the H1N1 virus (we still have no idea how) and it resulted in a rare disease called Guillian-Barre Syndrome.  GBS caused them to lose all muscle strength, reflexes and some memory.  When they finally were well enough from the H1N1, the ventillators were removed, only to find that they had forgotten how to suck their bottles and did not have strength to hold up their heads. They had to build the muscle strength to sit up unassisted again, learn to crawl, learn to eat, learn to walk, learn to swallow.  It was a horrendous ordeal and heartbreaking to boot.

Well, the boys were hospitalized until the end of April, 2010.  At that point, they were on an out-patient basis - we went to the hospital every day for speech, occupational, and physical therapy - stayed all day and went home in the evening.  Joshua used a walker for much of the summer but has since discarded it because he can't keep up with the other kids while using it.  Both boys have a long way to go but they are almost happy, normal 2 year olds again!

Here we are, almost a year to the day when this all began and I look back on all the rain we have endured over the course of the last year.  The rain was for a purpose, I know that.  The rain was so that we could understand exactly what it's like to feel as though you are going to lose a child.  The rain was so that we could understand what it's like to deal with long-term major illness.  The rain was so that we could relate to someone who has a child with disabilities.  The rain was so that we could learn, on the deepest level, to empathize with others.  And now we are just about at the end of the rain.  You see, the rainbow has formed.  It's there - I can see it!  And the end of our rainbow are our two happy, relatively healthy little boys.  And I thank God every day for it - the rain AND the rainbow that's coming!!

~Renae

So, I've got news! I want to brag on myself for a minute. hehehe

I have been accepted as a columnist at Examiner.com! I'm really excited to announce that I am the new Cleveland Telecommuting Examiner!

What I'll be focusing my writing on is anything that has to do with working from home, telecommuting, and the careers that go with it. This is an extremely exciting opportunity for me to write (for pay - haha) about a subject near and dear to my heart (kind of like my kids). I love working from home and I love writing so this is just great.

Oh, and if you are interested in writing about events local to your area, you should consider writing for Examiner.com. It's a great way to further expose your services to your local community. And that's the whole point, isn't it?

So, congratulations to me! (And in what other world can you give yourself such a pat on the back and not have people think you're boasting?)

~Renae - Market 4 Real!

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Need help with consistently marketing to your leads and your listings? Don't put it off! Contact us today for assistance and get started on the road to turning your leads into clients and your listings into SOLD properties!

Do You Have "The Touch"?

Not touched in the head. Not "touch me in the morning." (Remember that song by Dianna Ross?) THE Touch. And, as a real estate professional, do you realize that you have this special power - "The Touch"? Have you used "The Touch" lately?

Now, your special power does not allow you to leap tall buildings in a single bound. It does not allow you to fly through the air. It doesn't even allow you to see through walls or miraculously cure the sick. Your special power is much more interesting than that!

"The Touch" will cause people to call or e-mail you seemingly out of the blue. "The Touch" will cause people far and wide to have warm fuzzies about you. If used correctly, "The Touch" will even bring you untold amounts of additional income.

What is this touch, you ask? It has to do with dealing with your past clients and prospects. How many times have you been in contact with, or TOUCHED, your past clients since they've closed? How many times have you put relevant information into their hands or into the hands of your leads? These "touches" will make or break your business.

Simply put, your extraordinary power, "The Touch," is a gold mine in the making. If you use it wisely, "The Touch" will make the difference between getting by and thriving. Just remember: With great power comes great responsibility!

~Renae - Market 4 Real!

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Need help with consistently marketing to your leads and your listings? Don't put it off! Contact us today for assistance and get started on the road to turning your leads into clients and your listings into SOLD properties!