Jackson (Mississippi) Association of REALTORS® AE Cheryl Bullock heard me speak about using Virtual Assistants and Consultants at the recent Association Executives Institute conference in Chicago. Then she did something that so few people ever do (regardless of their position), she put what she learned into immediate action. And, here are the results she saw.

Dear Michael,

I had the opportunity to attend your sessions at the recent AE Institute in Chicago. This was definitely one of those “Oh, WOW” classes that opens up a whole new world of possibilities. I came away totally excited and ready to try what you had shown us.

Before I even left Chicago I put out bids for my first virtual project (an electronic newsletter to replace our expensive and time-consuming printed version). By the time I got back to Jackson (2 days later) I already had 7 bids from around the world and had 13 by the time the bidding period closed.

I had some of the most talented people I could imagine bidding on my project and the hardest part was choosing among them. I settled on two different firms and began working with them. Both were extremely professional, responded promptly to all of my changes and within 10 days each of them had completed the job. Communications were all via e-mail and at a time convenient to me.

I had never heard of virtual staffing until I attended your sessions and I see so many uses for this down the road. I can’t thank you enough for these sessions and what it already means to me (and my association and its members)! The hardest thing for me was actually deciding on my first project and then defining it appropriately enough.

I spent less than $300 for both of the designers I hired. There is no way I could have hired even one designer locally for that amount of money, let alone two!

The greatest advantage for me, as an Association Executive, is that I now have access to a massive pool of talented people without having the overhead of additional employees. I don’t have to worry about salaries, vacations, benefits, or sick days. All I need to do is define my needs, put it out for bids, and choose the one best for my situation. The talent I now have available to me is not limited to technology experts, either. The categories include Press Releases, Business Plan, Technical Writing, Translation, Web Content, Human Resources Policies and Plans, Administrative Assistants, and the list goes on and on.

Thanks again for such a wonderful session that opened a whole new world of time-saving ideas for me and my members! Our first electronic newsletter goes out to my test group next week!

Cheryl Bullock
Executive Officer
Jackson Association of REALTORS®, Inc.
Jackson, Mississippi

Awesome job Cheryl --and congratulations for so successfully trying out a whole new way to run your organization!

EDITOR'S NOTE: Cheryl sat up front in all three of my AEI sessions and was brimming over with enthusiasm for the possibilities of what she was learning. As a speaker who continually finds himself in front of thousands of professionals, it is so refreshing and rewarding to see participants like Cheryl jump right in and see immediate results!

Because Cheryl is our success story of the month, she will receive a copy of my "ePOWER PRO - Online Success Strategies For Real Estate Professionals" —widely regarded as the 'bible' for doing business on the Net (and a $129.00 value!).

Remember, even if your story isn't chosen you still win because you get to see how other top performers do it. Besides, you can always try again!