With experience as an agent, and a passion for
handling administrative details, Michigan VA
Kandra Hamric of Assistant for Real Estate,
has found her niche providing real estate
listing marketing support. Here’s her story.
MI: Tell us something about your work
experience prior to becoming a Virtual
Assistant.
KH: I was an assistant in a Real Estate
office, during which time I sought my REALTOR®
license. I became a REALTOR®, and ended up
practicing full-time for three years. Then, in
2005, I launched my current company, Hamric
Enterprise / AssistantForRealEstate.com.
MI: How did you move from working as an agent
to having your own practice as a real estate VA?
KH: I’d like to be able to say that I just
did it, but it was a little more involved than
that. While I was a successful agent, I always
had an affinity for the administrative and
technology side of the business. When the
REALTOR® I was working for suggested that we
each work from our respective homes (because of
the growing costs associated with his office
space), I jumped at the chance. Soon thereafter,
other Realtors® inquired about my availability to
assist them (from my home office), and before
long I found myself working full-time as a
Virtual Assistant.
MI: Now that you’ve worked both as an agent
and as a VA, why do you feel you made the choice
to work on the administrative side of the
equation?
KH: Well, aside from my passion for
technology and administration, I really
appreciate being able to work from a home
office, which allows me to able to be at home
when my family is around. When I was practicing
real estate on a full-time basis, I often had to
work nights and weekends, and that
lifestyle --which exciting at first-- in the long
run just wasn't for me. Once I made the switch
to working for that one REALTOR® from a home
office, the decision to make that transition a
permanent one was easy. I have a natural knack
for technology, administration, and
working as a VA provides the win-win-win
situation I'd always been looking for.
MI: What kinds of administrative support
services do you provide for your clients?
KH: While listing coordination is my primary
focus, I also offer lead management and design
services to clients who need them. Many of my
clients appreciate the work I do in the lead
management area, which often involves monitoring
leads and making sure that they are
appropriately followed up on, i.e., added to
drip e-mail campaigns, newsletter mailings, etc.
On the design services front of the equation, I
create 'Just Listed' and 'Just Sold' products,
feature sheets, absorption reports, and
customized listing presentations, just to name a
few. For those clients who need creative
services, a VA with an eye for design is icing
on the cake.
MI: In the overall picture of the many kinds
of support services VAs provide, how important
do you feel listing coordination is for agents?
KH: Oh, without a doubt, listing coordination
is a critical function that is often
over-promised and under-delivered by agents. By
working with a VA who knows all the ins and outs
of the listing coordination process, agents can
place themselves in a different category from
their competitors, which ultimately leads to
more sales and higher production. Knowing this
has helped me to position myself as a leader in
listing coordination-related services.
MI: Describe your approach to managing
listing support for your clients.
KH: We live in a high-tech, low-touch world
and I believe personal contact is important to
the success of my relationships. I meet with all
of my clients on a weekly basis either by phone,
video-chat, or in some cases, if their office is
close enough (which for me means within an
hour’s drive or less), in person at their
location. During these short but productive
meetings, we discuss exactly which elements of
my ala cart menu of services they need. Services
might include the creation of listed and sold
post cards, feature sheets, updates to web site
listings, Realtor.com® listing enhancement,
creation of virtual tours, feedback response
from showing agents, buying and sending out
closing gifts, recording listings in an
interactive voice response system (IVR), or
creating and maintaining new databases for a
variety of different purposes.
MI: Once you have the initial conference to
decide what services the client needs, how do
you go about putting these services into place
and maintaining them?
KH: It all starts with the sharing of ideas.
Right up front, I let prospective clients know
that as a Virtual Assistant, I bring a lot more
to the table than the typical administrative
assistant. Having been a REALTOR® myself, I know
what it takes to be successful, and I can fully
appreciate the myriad of details and plans that
need to be created and monitored. At the outset
of the relationship, after hearing the client's
goals and strategy for attaining them, I will
often share my own insights, which have been
acquired as a result of having been in their
shoes and having supported others in similar
efforts. Each week, outside of the scope of the
normal day-to-day activities, I follow up with
the client to discuss how things are progressing
with respect to their short or long-term goals.
Once we get to the point where everything's
headed in the desired direction, those weekly
check-ins become regularly scheduled monthly
evaluations.
MI: What’s the biggest benefit you feel a
real estate agent receives by having a VA handle
this process for them?
KH: I think it makes them shine to their
sellers because nothing falls trough the cracks
anymore. The average REALTOR® cannot and does
not focus on the administrative side of the
equation as much as they should, and that they
do not is entirely understandable (at the end of
the day, leads and sales matter, and that’s
where REALTORS® choose to spend their time and
focus). I do choose to focus on the
administrative side of the equation, and that
makes the REALTOR® shine in the eyes of his or
her perspective clients.
MI: When you’re making the decision to work
with a prospective client, are there any
qualities or characteristics that you feel are
the most important?
KH: I’m glad you asked this question because
it’s an important one. They have to be goal
oriented and they have to know what they want
and have a realistic plan for getting there. I
really enjoy working with top producers and
savvy up-and-comers.
MI: Do you have any words of wisdom for
agents who are just learning about Virtual
Assistance and feel that working with a VA might
be the right move?
KH: Personality matters—don’t underestimate
the value of personality in any potential short
or long-term working relationship, especially where
the bulk of the communicating will be done by
phone or e-mail.
Finding someone who can buy into your goals
is also important. You don’t want to hire just
anyone—you need to have someone who literally
believes in you and what you’re trying to
accomplish.
They have to be qualified—the best VAs are
likely to be the ones who themselves have worked
in a fast-paced real estate office, and/or who
hold a REALTOR® license. Always ask for and
check references, and don’t be afraid to ask for
a sample of their work or ask them to complete
some simple tasks for you as part of the
interview process.
MI: Kandra, thanks for taking the time to
share your story with us.
KH: Thank you; it has been my pleasure.
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
the perfect VA or VA team to help you get
organized, profitable, and in control of your
business.
