When is it time for an Assistant?

Playing in a golf tournament the other day, I had the honor of playing with a top agent in my office. He was all about golf until 6 holes in, and he found out he would have to submit an offer by 8 that evening. Though some would have said sorry I can't do this tonight, can we submit tomorrow? He did what top agents do, they get the deal done on their friends Tablet. It was pretty amazing how in 7 holes, he finished the contract. However the whole time he could only be heard saying "Why don't I have an assistant?". I could see that this agent had too much on his plate and could use some help! Honestly couldn't we all? Needless to say he will be procuring someone's services quite soon I imagine. The bigger problem as to whether you need or just want an assistant is quite simple to answer. Here are a few tips to help see if you need an assistant. 

• Do you have time to Market online everyday? If you said yes, then your probably OK, but if you have clients that are calling, and showings to do on a daily basis. Then you're not always going to have time to do it at least 2-3 hours a day. Gaining new clientele is crucial for newer agents relying on referrals. Referrals don't always come in right after you sold something, so keeping to pipeline going in the interim is crucial to success. 
• Do you have to make more than 30 calls per day, to clients, attorneys, property inspectors, loan officers, other agents for showings, and  callbacks on leads? If you are constantly on the phone dealing with all these people you are going to get bogged down fast! Someone who can make some of these calls to setup appointments for new leads, deal with loan officers for updates, and get info on where your current deals are with the attorney can save you tons of time, and help towards more lead generation.
• Do you see your family more than 2 hours a day? And I mean actual time spent, talking or going out to eat. If you can't get that time in with your family, then you'll burn out! We need something besides the stress of our job, or what's really the point! To be truly great agents, we must balance or professional and personal lives. Too much Yin and we know what happens to our Yang. 

So try to see how much time you are putting forth in these areas, and remember the key is to be the best, but not at the expense of your sanity!