How To Create a Boutique Real Estate Team
The real estate market has been improving and getting busier over the past few years. It is predicted to do even better in 2020. Some real estate agents are getting more business than they can handle. This is a good problem to have. If this is the situation you are finding yourself in, it may be a good idea to consider building what’s called a boutique real estate team.
By adding people to your team you can be relieved of some of your duties and tasks that others can do. This will enable you to focus on what makes you the most money. The moneymaking duties and tasks in real estate are going on listing appointments, listing homes for sale or for rent, taking buyers out to show them homes and writing contracts.
Your boutique team will be a group of individuals who each has a special administrative task that will help you. There are quite a few duties and tasks that you can delegate. You may not need to delegate them all. You might find that just hiring a couple or a few administrative assistants will help you tremendously and make you more money in the long run.
Someone to Answer the Phone and Manage Files in the Office
Many businesses today and real estate agents rarely answer their phones. They let the calls go to voicemail. If you have someone to answer your phone in the office during business hours, you will surprise your callers. You may even get more business.
If a potential client is calling, they may be so impressed that a live voice answered the phone that they may give you their business. Sometimes the assistant who answers the phone will need to take messages and you will have to return the calls later. Sometimes he or she will be able to take care of the caller’s needs so as to free up even more time for you.
Your phone assistant can even make appointments for you. It may be a good idea to set up an hour or two each day to take care of the messages and call people back. Your assistant can manage files in the office, as well.
A Marketing Assistant
The homes that you list will need marketing done to promote them to prospective buyers. A marketing assistant may be able to be trained to input your listings into your local multiple listing system. They can arrange for a yard sign to be put up. They can create flyers, brochures, and postcards for your listings.
They can input your listings onto websites. They can set up email drip campaigns for your listings. They can set up open houses and broker tours. Hopefully, they will be able to do all of the marketing for your listings.
A Photographer
Top-of-the-line listing photos are critical to your listings. Taking and editing photos of your listed properties takes time. You may want to hire a photographer to take listing photos unless you source them out to a real estate photography company.
Be sure to have a professional camera with a wide lens and be sure your photographer knows the ins and outs of taking real estate photos. They may need to be trained and learn special settings on the camera and editing software if they don’t have real estate photography experience.
An Advertising Assistant
Advertising to get more business takes time. Hiring an advertising assistant is a wise investment. This person can create mailers, postcards, email campaigns and more to send to your sphere of influence and to areas and subdivisions that you specialize in. You want to keep in touch with past and present clients, as well.
You want them to think of you when they think of real estate. If you are keeping your name and contact information in front of them on a monthly basis, they will give you referrals and do repeat business with you. Just a few buyers or sellers from an advertising campaign will pay this team member’s salary for a year.
A Delivery Person or a Runner
There is quite a bit of running around and delivering in the real estate business. It can save you time if you hire someone to do the running for you. Unless you use a sign company to install your for sale signs, they need to be put up when you list a house for sale.
Flyers and brochures need to be delivered to your listings. Lockboxes need to be installed on the front doors of your listings. Some agents provide baskets of shoe covers to be placed in the entryways of your listings. Mailers need to be brought to the post office. With less running around to do you’ll have more time to perform money-making tasks.
An Assistant to Attend Closings
- Some real estate agents like to attend their own closings.
- Sitting for hours at closings is time-consuming and you could be spending that time generating new business. It may help free up some time to send an assistant to represent your team at a closing.
- They can bring the file in case anyone has any questions. They can give the clients a closing gift on the team’s behalf.
These are just some examples of boutique team members you might want to add to your team. You may have other ideas. Make the team your own. Boutiques specialize in high-quality products and services. You can still provide your clients with exceptional customer service if you hire the right boutique team members.