ARE YOU READY TO HIRE AN ASSISTANT?

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Ok, it’s official: real estate has been tough over the last few years. But now many of us that are left are finding a whole new challenge… NOT ENOUGH HOURS IN THE DAY!!! I talk to agents all the time that are swamped and are considering if it’s time to hire an assistant, so I thought I’d discuss that a little bit today. Here’s some food for thought (cookies!):

In many communities over half of the agents have left the business, but the closing volume continues to climb. However the prices of homes have also cut in half so therefore our commissions! What’s left is overworked agents making half the money for 4 times the work! How do you know if you’re ready to take on an assistant?

- Are you making enough money consistently to put someone else’s family’s livelihood at risk? Once you hire someone your are somewhat responsible for them, especially if they leave another job to come work for you.

- Have you considered “outsourcing” some of the duties you need covered? For example, you can outsource just about everything these days (yes, they cost money, but so does hiring an employee and being responsible for their payroll taxes too!): Closing Coordinators, processors, short sale negotiations, newsletter mailings, social media updatings, website/blog updates, personal assistant duties, virtual tour pics/setup, just about anything you can think of!

- Do you really need an assistant? or do you need a buyer’s agent or a listing agent? Maybe you can team up with a newer agent whose business isn’t as steady as yours and share the commissions on your referrals. If you’re not following up with leads timely, you’re losing them… half of something is better than all of nothing!

- Are you at a point where having the assistant would allow you to take your business to the next level? Maybe you have marketing that’s not being done due to time constraints, maybe your filing isn’t getting done… having someone else do the little stuff can free you up to go do what you get paid to do: sell houses!!! (keep in mind when you’re filing, etc., you are doing minimum wage tasks. when you are selling you are making well above minimum wage. do more of what pays you well and outsource/hire the rest!)

- Have you considered starting with someone part time? Or maybe sharing an assistant with another agent in your office? Just a thought!

If you are ready to take the leap, there are tons of very well qualified people out there. When we recently hired a new real estate secretary, I was amazed at the quality of applications I received. Right now I’m interviewing for a new property manager and I’m getting bombarded by VERY well qualified resumes. It’s overwhelming!

And to save you a little bit of money, Washington has announced some new incentives to spur people on to hire new employees. To read what Kiplingers had to say about the new tax breaks, CLICK HERE

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