Are you ready to take your business to the next level?

Let me ask you a question: Have you ever had a month where you did six or eight deals followed by a month where you did zero deals? Odds are that’s not the market’s fault; it’s yours.

If you’re not generating new business it wouldn’t be long before you have no business to service.

If you’re so busy that things are slipping through the cracks and you don’t have time to prospect, it might be time to hire an assistant.

Here are three other obvious signs it’s time to hire an assistant:

1) Doing things at night that could be done during the day

Have you ever received a showing request from a REALTOR® at 2 am? Have you ever been that real estate sales professional? If your family is starting to complain that they never see you because you’re busy entering contacts into your CRM and managing paperwork (ie. tasks that could be done during the day), you might want to consider hiring an assistant.

2) The desire for more

As much as you have the desire to increase your production level, you just don’t feel like there’s any more time left in the day. Maybe you want to try a new lead-generating source to increase your sales, such as geographic farming or online lead generation, but your schedule just wouldn’t allow for it. Maybe you want to go on an actual vacation, you know, the kind without cell phones and email? Hiring an assistant to run your systems will not only help you free up time to do more lead generating it will also allow you time to actually take a break.

3) It fits within your budget

Obviously you need to make sure the salary or compensation you choose to pay an assistant fits within the budget for your business. Typically, hiring an assistant makes sense at the production level of about 25 – 36 transactions a year. Of course, it depends on your market place, what a typical commission cheque is for you and how much you’re paying for an assistant. In an area like Vancouver, where agents don’t use lockboxes and the average cost of a home is over a million dollars, the transaction number for an agent needing an assistant is probably on the lower end, closer to 25 a year.

Remember that hiring an assistant is a long-term investment in your business. Odds are there will be a month where you make less money than you did before. To help with this you may find it useful to save up six to twelve months worth of your assistant’s salary before hiring them so that even if you have a slow month you can still afford to pay your assistant.

Finally, remember this: hire slow – fire fast. Take your time when hiring and make sure whomever you hire is a good culture fit for your team but don’t be afraid to let them go quickly if they’re not impressing you in the first few months.

We’re always looking for more ways to help you improve your business and help you deliver the unexpected in your market place. Did you find this post useful? Is there anything else you would like to know about hiring an assistant? Feel free to leave a comment below or subscribe to our blog for more information on building success in your business and in your life.