Imagine having a VA on
your side that has extensive in-the-trenches real estate
experience, and is a former national speaker for
REALTOR.com®. Tricia Fink Andreassen of
Pro Step Marketing has an unusually rich background
for helping real estate professionals reach their
marketing goals. And, as I have found out by
personal experience, her skills are matched by her
boundless energy and enthusiasm.
MI: Tricia, you
have quite an extensive background in real
estate and related fields. Tell us about that
and how this experience has prepared you for
your VA career…
TA: You're right
Michael. I first got the real estate “bug” back
in college where I bought my first property. I
loved the real estate business so much that I
quickly became an agent and from there became a
Sales Manager and then a Sales Trainer. In 1998,
I was brought on as a National Speaker for REALTOR.com®. I traveled throughout the United
States sharing with REALTORS® the benefits of
marketing their listings and themselves on the
Internet. During that time, I created REALTOR®
training sessions that focused on showing the
REALTOR® how to stand out against their
competition, get more listings by being unique
in their marketing, as well as giving them
listing presentation dialogue that helped them
explain their services to their sellers. In
January of 2002, after coming back from a family
vacation, I realized that I wanted to take all
my personal experience and knowledge to another
level. That’s when
Pro Step Marketing came to life.
MI: What is your
primary focus/niche in helping REALTORS® as a VA?
TA: Our primary
focus is helping the REALTOR® take the steps to
real estate marketing success by providing
coaching with virtual assisting solutions. Our
goal is to be the REALTOR's® “virtual web coach”
that supplies a specific plan that will create
continuity in all their marketing whether
it be in print, website marketing, or personal
promotion.
One example of our services
is the List-Assist program in where we take a
streamlined approach to the listing and enhance
it in REALTOR.com®, the REALTOR's® personal website
and other Internet avenues to bring about
maximum results. We also take the same approach
in helping the REALTOR® have a unique website
that will brand themselves and generate leads.
MI: When someone
meets you for the first time (virtually, of
course :o) what are the steps you take in
helping them to determine the first
thing they should be doing to reach their goals?
TA: Our first step
at Pro Step Marketing is to take an aerial view
look at the agent’s business plan and overall
marketing strategy. A lot of times, the agent
has bought tons of marketing tools, has several
different websites and still has not found a way
to incorporate them into a streamlined solution
to create results. As part of this analysis, we
have the agent complete a business plan and
marketing questionnaire. When doing something
like this, it really helps the REALTOR® uncover what their strengths are as well as
their weaknesses. We review the questionnaire
and all their online marketing prior to our
coaching call.
A new client of mine, Allen
Neilsen (www.therealtyspot.com)
sent me a package just like they would send out
to a relocation client or a prospective seller.
This allowed for me to take an overall look at
their print advertising and compare it to their
Internet presence. From there we streamlined an
entire approach with a new website, niche
marketing pages within their website and an
e-mail marketing campaign. When laying this type
of foundation, it sets the stage for a long term
commitment on both sides. We can evaluate where
we are, what we want to do, and where we want to
go. Most of my clients are what I call “lifers.”
We put in place an ongoing relationship of
coaching, planning and marketing. It is a team
effort.
MI: What is the
most unusual project or task you had to do for a
REALTOR®?
TA: Agents are
always bombarded with cold-calls from other web
companies or companies with web-related
marketing products. Our client feels so
comfortable with us that they will make us the
consultant for all of their solutions. I had to
call a web company regarding search engine
placement recently because he was trying to get
my client to buy into their services. We do
search engine optimization for our clients, so I
was extremely knowledgeable in handling the call
for the agent directly and taking the burden off
them.
MI: What is the
most important thing a REALTOR® should do in
preparing to work with you to ensure the highest
likelihood of having a successful working
relationship?
TA: To be able to go
to the next level in their business and achieve
the desired results, there must be open
communication and realistic expectations. Having
the goals of what they would like to achieve but
also having an open mind to change their
approach if necessary.
MI: Have you
ever refused to work with someone, and if so
why?
TA: Different agents
have different needs. With that in mind, we want
to make sure that each relationship is a good
fit for both sides. There are some services in
the VA arena that we are not specialized in, such
as transaction management, and we prefer to
direct such services to another virtual assistant.
MI: What do you
like most about working with REALTORS®?
TA: I get to work
with friends, colleagues, and people I genuinely
like to be with. With being in the real estate
industry for almost 14 years, I have “grown up”
in the business. I don’t know where my hobbies
end and my love for real estate begins. Just ask
anyone who goes with me on vacation and watches
me study all the real estate marketing ads in
that area!
MI: Last
Question: What advice do you have for REALTORS®
who are thinking about hiring a VA but haven’t
made that first step yet?
TA: It’s important
for the REALTOR® to have in mind what kind of help
they need and what they would like to accomplish. It’s important for the REALTOR® to
ask questions to see if they are compatible with
the VA and can communicate well with each other.
The REALTOR® should be able to look through
examples and call upon existing clients of the
VA as well.
MI: Tricia,
thank you for your enthusiasm and willingness to
share your thoughts and insights with our
readers!
TA: Thanks again
Michael for your support, enthusiasm to help
others and mentoring so many of us! The tools
you have provided in the real estate industry
have been priceless.
To learn more about Tricia and
her services just go to
http://www.prostepmarketing.com. You can
contact her via e-mail at
tricia@prostepmarketing.com or call her at
704-992-0278. Always remember to do a thorough
due-diligence before hiring any kind of assistant.
This interview is part of an ongoing series of VA
profiles designed to help you find that perfect VA
that will launch you to the top quicker and with
less effort than you ever thought possible!
