MI: Your
business has a dual focus that we don’t
commonly see with VAs. How would you
describe the two sides of your services for
real estate agents?
CC: I work both
in Real Estate coaching and Virtual
Assistance. I believe this gives each client
the best of both worlds: #1 someone to help
them build their business and, #2 someone
who has the ability to do “adminis-trivia”
work for them so they may continue doing
what they do best: selling real estate.
MI: What
kind of experience or career path led you to
coaching: and why did you decide to coach in
the real estate industry?
CC: Well,
actually, my three best friends I have had
for over 20 years are in Real Estate. That,
combined with working for over 14 years as a
Local Area Network Administrator for 3
student computer labs at a local college,
gave me plenty of experience in anything
software related or strategy related. One
day, a coaching company called me and asked
if I wanted to interview for a coaching
position within their company. Even though I
did not think I knew enough about Real
Estate, I decided to go for the interview
anyway. I really adore people much more than
computers, since they seem to be much more
fun when having problems! During the
interview they asked me very specific
questions concerning Real Estate: some
questions concerning FSBO’s, Expireds, drip
marketing and Listing Coordination. When I
was done answering their questions, they
hired me on the spot. Not only did they hire
me, but they were more than happy to wait
for a month while I recuperated from eye
surgery!
MI: So you
started with coaching and then added more
traditional VA services later. How did that
come about?
CC: It actually
came as a natural flow when I was coaching
one of my clients. We were discussing the
need for revamping his website when he
stated that he did not have time to learn
how to do it. I just simply told him I could
handle that for him and I was off and
running in my VA career. That was over 8
years ago.
MI: These
services seem to complement each other well.
What percentage of your clients utilize
coaching as well as VA administrative
services?
CC: It truly is
a 50/50 split between clients in my VA
practice and clients in my coaching
practice. I find more often than not,
clients come into my coaching practice and
end up building their business and decide
they need VA services. As they attain their
goals, they realize they really don’t have
the time or don’t want to have the time
(since they now have realized more of their
dreams in their life) to do the more routine
things their business requires of them.
However, there have been several times VA
clients have decided they needed my coaching
program because of the total fragmentation
this industry often imposes upon them. With
these clients, they already know they need
help in the day to day responsibilities of
being a real estate agent/broker, but
perhaps have never figured out how not to
work “by the seat of their pants” and
putting out fires all day long. I help them
find their true goals and help implement
them so their lives are not so chaotic. The
important thing here is that, no matter what
type of client I am working with, we work
together as a TEAM so every part of their
business is addressed.
MI: On the
VA side of the business, what services do
you focus on with clients, and why?
CC: Most of the
time, people come to me for website design
and modification. Since I used to be a coach
for Advanced Access, clients are comfortable
in knowing I can make a website not only
look more attractive for them, but also gain
more leads. I also am working with many
clients who use Number 1 Expert,
Point2Agent, Superlative, Homes.com,
Sizzling Studios, Z57 and countless other
templated sites. I also have helped several
people in creating/modifying custom sites as
well. My second forte is marketing: creating
brochures, postcards, flyers, etc. and
developing strategic marketing strategies.
MI: When a
real estate agent begins working with you,
where do you typically start the process?
CC: We start
with a consultation where we outline their
strategies: marketing, personal, software:
where do they need help and where do they
want to be? What are they doing/ utilizing
now? Is it cost or time effective? Do they
have money going out on software they never
use? Do they have a follow up program? How
many hours are they spending on their
business? Do they have a vision of where
they would like their business/life to be?
Do they have a life?
After receiving their
answers to these questions, I can start to
see a pattern to help them outline their
personal or business requirements. From
there we start creating a personalized
strategy where we outline basic goals and
timelines or priorities with how many items
they want to hand over to a VA. Whether I
have a VA client or a coaching client, they
all seem to get a combination of both parts
of my business. You truly can never take the
coach out of the VA and visa versa.
Sometimes we even find out they need to
start with coaching instead of the VA
services they were looking for or need VA
services when they thought they really
needed a coach.
MI: Are
there some problem areas that seem to be
fairly common with many clients?
CC: Above all
else it is time management! In this hectic
world, most every client I have feels they
are out of control and never have time
enough in the day to accomplish things they
truly want. I teach them how to use my “Flex
Scheduling” and integrate it into their
lives. The very next item that seems to be a
problem is follow up. Without the time to
manage their time, they very rarely have
figured out a way to integrate keeping in
touch with their clients or prospects. This
is a crucial mistake several REALTORS® make.
Using a follow up plan to regularly keep in
touch with clients and prospects can mean
the difference between earning $50,000 per
year or being the top producing REALTOR® in
their area. The price for ignoring both of
these problem areas is astronomical.
MI: What do
you find is the biggest challenge in helping
real estate professionals move their
businesses to the next level?
CC:
Communication. Oftentimes they come to me wanting
me to “fix” their business or take some
administration items off their plate but
they do not have any idea what they are
willing to let go of. I can help each
REALTOR® find out where they need to start
or what they need to let go of. However, I
can’t do this without clear and consistent
communication. Sometimes REALTORS® seem to
think VAs or Coaches can read minds. We
cannot. Teams cannot be created with anyone
assuming the details of what needs to be
accomplished: after all, communication is
KING!
MI: You’ve
mentioned the importance of working together
as a team. What should both the VA and the
agent look for when making a decision about
working together?
CC: Synergy:
absolutely! You know when you have met a
person where you automatically “clicked”
with them? Well, it should always happen
when hiring a coach or a VA. People have
several different communication styles and
sometimes your style is not complimentary
with other members of your team. This can
lead to an absolute bar to developing
synergy within your relationship with your
VA or coach and undermine your success.
MI: Having
worked in this industry for quite a few
years, do you see any trends or changes
coming in the delivery of virtual services
or real estate support?
CC: As more and
more real estate technology moves up to the
web, I see a change to where any top
producing real estate agent or broker will
have at least 2-5 VAs in order to have a
successful business. No one can stay up to
date with the latest and greatest in
technology and still be available to list
and sell homes by themselves. I also see a
direct change in real estate agents who really want to
get their priorities straight and live the
fullest life possible and with passion for
what they are doing. Gone are the days of
the single agent doing and knowing it all.
Now the industry is at a much faster pace,
real estate service has taken on a new face:
the face of a team where everyone has their
own specialty and works together for the
greater good of the group.
MI: Crystal,
thanks for sharing your story with our
readers: you’ve given us quite an
interesting look into the your unique brand
of real estate support!
CC: Thanks for
all your interest, Michael and thanks for
the opportunity to share my ideas!
To learn more about Crystal and her services
just send her an email at
reva@coachcrystal.com or cal her at
801-252-0432.
