Ideas Ideas Ideas...Put them into action!!

Hiring an assistant is an incredibly rewarding experience! Finally, a helper, just for you! However, it can turn into a waste of time and money if it is not done correctly. Here is a copy of an article from REALTOR Magazine that will help you focus and determine which tasks you would like to turn over to your assistant:

   Delegating 101

When you’re accustomed to doing the work yourself or think that no one else can do something as well as you can, it’s often hard to delegate. “Letting go is never easy, but it is the only path to true growth and a well-run business,” writes Robert L. Herd in his book, Become a Mega-Producer Real Estate Agent: Profit From a Licensed Assistant (Thomson South-Western, 2004).

Fear of losing control and poor planning are the two principal barriers to successful delegation. Don’t let these barriers hold you back from greater success by keeping these tips in mind:

                                                       

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               Listing Support
  
  Listing presentations are your chance to promote yourself one-on-one with sellers. Assistants can provide behind-the-scenes support to pull together presentations that will project a professional image for you and convert prospects into clients. Once you have the listing, your Virtual Assistant can maintain all upload it to all of your online resources: Your company web site, your subscription e-flyer service, free Internet classified sites like Zillow, Trulia, Postlets, Craigs List and more. At A Virtual Genie, we know of at least 15 FREE sites that your listing can be posted to, and we can send these direct links to your sellers on a regular basis! They will receive marketing udpates while you are taking more listings, showing more buyers homes, or spending time with family and friends!  
  
  
  Closing Coordination
  
  Even a signed purchase contract is no guarantee that a sale will go through; the final mile to closing is littered with details that could potentially wreck a deal. Your assistant can help you guide the customer through this paperwork and ensure as smooth a transaction as possible.
  
  
  You should prepare a closing checklist with items your assistant may need to track. The assistant can be responsible for monitoring:
  
• Loan documentation. Your assistant can double check that clients submit all relevant paperwork to the loan officer, such as tax returns, employment verification, and bankruptcy dispensations.
  
• Appointments for inspections. Your assistants can make appointments with vendors to evaluate the properties, then make sure that reports are received promptly and that sellers perform necessary repairs to their properties, if required.
  
• Important dates. Your assistant should keep tabs on your calendar, and if applicable, make sure that appointment dates are transferred from the office computer to your PDA.
  
• Coordinating the schedule for the closing. Your assistant can follow up with all parties related to the transaction to make sure they will be present at closing. Typically, this includes sellers, buyers, attorneys (for the buyers and sellers), real estate professionals, and a closing representative from the lender or title company. The assistant also should make a final check to be sure that every vendor and party to the transaction has supplied all paperwork needed to close.
  
              Web Site Maintenance
  
  
  
  Your Virtual Assistant's Web site duties might include the following:
  
• Check links. Make sure that URLs to outside sources of information you list on your site have not ceased operations or changed addresses.
  
• Add listings. Enter new listings onto your Web site, the MLS, and any other listing sites you use.
  
• Delete listings. Monitor when houses are sold and remove them from all sites where they have been posted.
  
• Collect and add new content. Research and secure permission to use content such as real estate articles from local newspapers and national publications, links to local chambers of commerce or school districts, as well as other content that may enrich your site.
  
• Create a Web site and an e-mail version of your newsletter to send to clients. Of course, your assistant also could create the copy for your snail-mail newsletter.
  
• Respond to basic e-mail requests for information in a timely fashion. Create standardized e-mail documents describing your services as well as a prelisting package, and instructions on how to locate your listings on the Web that your assistant can use.
  
  

Event Planning

Whether you want to hold a seminar, sponsor a charity event, or organize a past client get-together, event planning requires keeping tabs on a multitude of nagging details. Your assistant can coordinate the finer points of arranging your event so that you’ll have time to talk with clients and prospects.

Seminars and conferences provide an excellent networking forum, boosting your recognition within your field. Your assistant could keep an eye out for announcements in trade publications and online venues about trade events you might be interested in participating in. Once you are confirmed for the event, your assistant should handle logistics such as flight arrangements, accommodations, and rental cars. Your assistant also can let clients know when you’ll be out of town.

If you are conducting an event on your own, your assistant can be responsible for coordinating these elements:

• Reserving a room and any equipment, such as sound equipment, that you or other presenters may need.
  
• Finding a caterer to provide refreshments. No matter how fascinating a speaker you are, your attendees will likely be grumpy without pastries and coffee.
  
• Sending announcements to local press to promote the event.
  
• Distributing invitations and following up with invitees.
  
• Securing the services of a photographer to capture the event for future promotions.
  
• Preparing materials for the presentation, such as copying handouts and arranging slides.
  
• Gathering feedback after the event through attendee surveys.
  
  Company Volunteer Efforts
  
  Charity eventsraise your profile in your community and make you feel good. Volunteering also demonstrates your commitment to your community and may put you in touch with potential clients and business contacts.
  
  Your assistant can perform a number of duties to support your community involvement efforts. These tasks include:
  
• Soliciting donations of food or raffle prizes from local businesses to use at the event.
• Transporting prizes or volunteers to the event.
• Hanging posters and handing out flyers to promote the event.
• Sending invitations and following up with invitees.
• Distributing announcements to local press to promote the event.
• Coordinating food, equipment, and facilities for the event.
• Arranging for a photographer to record the event for use in future promotions.
• Sending thank-you letters to donors and attendees.
• Creating and distributing a press release on the outcome of the event.
  
  Each year, the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® sponsors the Good Neighbor Awards, a program to recognize REALTORS® for outstanding community service.
  
  For more information about how you can volunteer in your community, visit our Good Neighbor Tool Kit .
  
              Administrative Duties
  
  Give yourself more time to sell by delegating these duties to your assistant:
  
• Coordinating mail flow by scheduling and tracking direct mailings to prospects and past clients.
  
• Updating mailing lists by adding new prospects and making address changes as needed.
  
• Managing advertising production by keeping a log to ensure that advertising materials and related billing are mailed to printers and newspapers on a timely basis.
  
• Proofreading materials, such as advertising copy, personal letters to top clients, and direct mail promotions, for content and clarity.
  
• Coordinating appointment schedules for open houses, listing presentations, showings, closing meetings, and other appointments. An assistant can call to remind clients and prospects of scheduled meetings and keep you informed of changes.
  
• Maintaining a document log for each transaction as a way of ensuring that necessary materials are being received and filed properly.
  
• Acting as an office manager by supervising other full- and part-time assistants and issuing progress reports, as well as bookkeeping and payroll duties.
  
• Running errands, such as putting up and taking down “For Sale” signs, picking up and dropping off contracts, and adding and removing lockboxes.
  
• Fulfilling miscellaneous administrative tasks, such as ordering stationery and supplies, accepting deliveries, screening phone calls, and making copies.
  
• Following up with buyers and sellers after the transaction to solicit feedback on the transaction experience.
  
  If your assistant’s workload will primarily consist of administrative duties such as these, it would probably be less expensive to hire an unlicensed assistant to fill the position. There are no legal restrictions on unlicensed assistants carrying out some purely administrative activities.
  
  Tasks for Virtual Assistants