“You are an individual with your own strengths and weaknesses. If you’re a great speaker, you may consider doing teleseminars or in-person events to market. If you are a shy hermit who wants to stay behind a keyboard, those options may not align with your personality. For you, sending out newsletters or writing articles may be better marketing options. Don’t try and be someone you’re not.”

I’d like to add one suggestion to Susan’s idea.  If marketing your real estate business is important to you, and there’s a method you’d like to try that isn’t easy for you to do, consider outsourcing it.

For example, I know that adding video to my website and blog is a great idea.  But I don’t know how to do that and don’t want to invest the hours and hours it would take me to learn how.  Instead, I’m outsourcing the video creation process to a Virtual Assistant who is an expert at creating video.

Here’s another example.  Do you want to market your real estate business by blogging but don’t know how?  You can learn how for free by downloading my guide Blogging 101:  A Real Estate Agent’s Guide to Building Business and Generating Tons of Leads Online.  Just fill out the simple form on that page (the form is on the right-hand side about halfway down the page).

If you already have a blog but are struggling to write the blog content, consider becoming a member of my Lead Booster Club.  As a member, you receive 20 pre-written, easy-to-customize blog posts each month for only $29.95.

To marketing your real estate business your way,

Kathy Goughenour

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One thing you want to be sure that you understand thoroughly is that Virtual Assistants are not employees. The two are very different things.

A Virtual Assistant is not going to be instantly available to you eight hours a day, five days a week, in the way an employee who works exclusively for you would be.

Your relationship is one of client and professional—not employer to employee. Each Virtual Assistant has her or his own business procedures, standards and policies for working with clients and will inform you of these during your interview. Make sure you understand and approve of these policies before hiring the VA. 

To create a successful relationship with a Virtual Assistant (and avoid costly liability due to worker misclassification) be sure you understand that you are a client to your Virtual Assistant, not an employer. That means you know that:

• Your Virtual Assistant runs his own business and sets his own rates, hours and policies
• You won’t be managing or supervising her, or her work
• Your Virtual Assistant doesn’t “report” to you in the way that an employee would, such as reporting for duty, submitting time sheets, etc.
• You as the client have the right to control or direct only the result of the work performed by your Virtual Assistant, not the means and methods of accomplishing that result.

To learn more about how to ensure that your VA fits the terms of an independent contractor, read the information on these two links:

• Independent Contractor (Self-Employed) or Employee?
• Twenty Factor Checklist to Determine Independent Contractor vs. Employee Status

Don’t let these details scare you off. Working with a real estate Virtual Assistant truly is a wonderful way to grow your real estate business. And it’s easy to follow the rules once you know what they are.

If you have any questions about working with a real estate Virtual Assistant, or how to find and hire a VA, just leave a comment here or contact me. I’m happy to help!

To boosting your leads through real estate marketing online,

Kathy Goughenour

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