There comes a time in every successful agents career when you step back …wipe your brow and think …I can’t possibly get all this done. Here are a few tips which will help you to recognize when it is time to bring someone on board to help you.
Become “self aware”: Are some of these happening to you?
1. Having to work 24/7 just to “get it done”
2. Experiencing Prospect Disappearance because you don’t have time to “get to them”
3. Experiencing Client Disappearance for unknown or unexplained reasons (but Oh… there is a reason)
4. You feel as though your career has stalled and your income has hit a brick wall
5. You sometimes feel paralyzed with your daunting daily work load
6. You cross one thing off your “to do” list and immediately add three more
Some agents have replied “I can’t afford to hire an assistant” when I suggest they get some help.
So let’s explore the mathematical equation …
Let’s imagine you are “losing” 3-4 prospects per month due to failure to follow-up. The law of averages is you will close 1 in 4 …so that is 12 transactions per year you’ve lost because of inaction. (Remember this is 12 transactions someone else closed …maybe even in your own company…not to rub it in or anything). Let’s guess your average commission per closing is $3500 …your average commission times 12 is $42,000
Now I can bet if you are a listing agent and you carry more than 6 listings in inventory, you are losing far more than 4 prospects per month…if we doubled the number …you are leaving $84k on the table.
Do you see now why my response is “You can’t afford NOT to hire an assistant”.
Starting out slow …hiring a part-time assistant for 15-20 hours a week will cost you around $15,000 a year …this alone could free you up to contact those 8 prospects a month you have not had the time to follow-up on. Is the light bulb starting to come on for you?
Next, some agents think they want to hire someone to “market” for them. This is exactly what you don’t want to do. You market TO someone …Where you build relationships WITH your Clients … all networking and prospecting requires YOU to be the “front person” …you need to be “the face” of your business. Your assistant is there in the background for support ... Freeing up your time to get face to face with more people … Resulting in more opportunity for your business and income to grow.
Lastly, build in incentives for your new assistants income when they assist you in growing your business. If they are licensed they can receive income from referrals they send to you. Example: Let them do open houses for you and then pass the leads to you to follow-up with. Train them on proper dialogue and on how to capture the prospects desire to go one step further and speak with you. Then it is you who converts them from prospect to client!
I hope this helps those of you who are wondering if it is time to bring some help on-board. The next big step after making the decision to hire someone is finding the right person …but that is a topic for another blog!
Eddie Brown ©2011
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