How Cyberbacker Helps Realtors Adapt to Shifting Trends
The real estate industry is in a state of disarray, with interest rates remaining high while salable properties have grown scarce. As a result of these trends, Business Insider notes that many real estate agents are being driven out of business. This report came even before the Missouri court decision, which is expected to drop commission rates, forcing realtors to make even more deals to generate the same income.
For real estate agents who were already stretched thin by the extensive demands of running a successful agency, this comes as bad news, yet there are ways to work smarter, rather than harder. According to Craig Goodliffe, a Keller Williams MAPS coach and the founder and CEO of leading virtual assistance company Cyberbacker, when realtors focus on what matters and eliminate what doesn’t, they improve their profitability.
How can realtors work smarter? By prioritizing the work that only realtors can do themselves and enlisting the small business support services of Cyberbacker to cover the rest.
What is Cyberbacker?
Cyberbacker is one of the world’s leading suppliers of virtual assistants. Many small businesses find these team members invaluable in providing administrative support, customer service, and other professional assistance.
“People are often surprised when I talk to them about the wide range of tasks that virtual assistants can handle,” Goodliffe says. “These assistants are incredibly smart people who can take direction and think quickly. So long as you are clear about your needs and expectations, they will fulfill them for you efficiently and happily.”
According to Goodliffe, virtual assistants are a boon for realtors in particular.
The kinds of work Cyberbacker can handle for realtors
Goodliffe knows how virtual assistants can help realtors better than anyone since he was once a real estate agent himself. “When I was a realtor, the very first thing I hired an assistant to do was to help answer my phone calls,” he says. “I was being interrupted by phone calls constantly. They came in at bad times, and I felt forced to take them, but I realized my productivity was being negatively affected as a result.”
When Goodliffe hired that first assistant, however, he noticed immediate relief. “I knew I’d never miss an important call because there was always someone to pick up,” Goodliffe says. “I could call back when the timing was right for me, and my clients the fact that they could always communicate with someone at my agency. Even just having someone pick up the phone, take messages, schedule appointments, and communicate basic information quickly became a competitive advantage.”
Virtual assistants can take on other tasks for realtors as well. “Social media marketing is a huge part of the real estate business today,” Goodliffe says. “You need to sell yourself to sell property, and social media is a major way to distinguish yourself and connect with potential clients. Still, it’s not exactly profitable to have someone with a real estate license sitting around creating content all day when they need to be out meeting clients and closing deals. Luckily, plenty of virtual assistants specialize in communications in general and social media in particular.”
Other virtual assistants have a penchant for legal matters. “These are the right people to work with your contracts,” Goodliffe says.
Specialization means superior performance
Goodliffe emphasizes the importance of realtors focusing on the aspects of their work that only they are qualified to do. “That’s the secret to success in this industry,” he says. “As a real estate agent, you are a specialist, and you need to put as much time as possible into the key areas of that specialization. The good news is that those areas also tend to be the most profitable parts of your business. When you hire an assistant, you’re able to spend your time more effectively, which means making more deals and money.”
According to Goodliffe, when real estate agents try to do everything themselves, they spend too much time doing things that someone else could do for a lower salary. What’s more, these one-person shops deprive themselves of the services of people who specialize in those kinds of tasks.
“Hiring virtual assistants enables you to take advantage of the superior skills of other specialists,” Goodliffe says. “They can be better and more efficient at those tasks than a realtor with no training would be.”
Don’t waste time on the hiring process, oversight
Few real estate agents want to take the time to look for the right assistant, however. Luckily, Cyberbacker is the solution to this problem. “We hire people so you don’t have to,” Goodliffe explains. “Our team handles all of the recruiting, vetting, interviewing, hiring, and matching. We’re also the ones who cover their payroll and benefits to save our clients from having to worry about taking on additional work while trying to eliminate work.”
Moreover, Goodliffe adds that Cyberbacker provides management and oversight for their virtual assistants to ensure each client’s needs are routinely and successfully achieved. “There shouldn’t be any performance issues,” Goodliffe says, “but in the rare case that there are, we take care of it.”
Rethink outdated ways of working
If you are a real estate agent, current conditions in the industry necessitate rethinking outdated ways of working. To survive and thrive today, realtors need to prioritize the work only they can do and focus on marketing properties to the best of their abilities. The rest should be offloaded onto virtual assistants.
“From my experience, you’ll only end up doing work more and being less successful if you try to do everything yourself,” Goodliffe says.