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REALTOR®
MARKETING MACHINES WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. –
October 10, 2002 – REALTOR.com®, RUSSER Communications and
Staffcentrix today launched a pilot program designed to help real estate
professionals to maximize their Internet marketing programs – and do their part
for the country. The companies have
identified and trained virtual assistants, including spouses of U.S. military
service personnel, in Internet marketing and specifically in REALTOR.com’s®
online advertising products. These virtual assistants are now available to help
busy real estate professionals with their online marketing tasks. According to the National
Association of REALTORS® Member Profile 2001, 14 percent of
its REALTOR® members have office assistants. A virtual assistant (or
“VA”) is similar to an office assistant except that they perform tasks remotely
using the Internet, phone, and fax. Because they do not require extra space in
the office and do not adhere to an ordinary schedule, VAs offer real estate
professionals with increased flexibility at a lower cost than traditional
assistants. Selected participants in
Staffcentrix’s Military Spouse Virtual Assistant (MSVA) program have been
trained on REALTOR.com® online media products. Because military families
tend to move frequently, military spouses are excellent virtual assistant
candidates. Programs
like MSVA help the U.S. military to retain vital personnel by providing spouses
with a ‘portable career’ as virtual assistants. These programs provide military
spouses with skills and clients they can move easily from one base to another
without sacrificing stability. “Top producing real estate
professionals are great candidates to hire virtual assistants to handle their
Internet marketing tasks,” said Allan Dalton, REALTOR.com’s®
President. “By
using a VA to handle the mechanics of their online marketing, real estate
professionals will be able to focus on what they do best —listing and selling—
while still getting the most from their online investments.” “The use of virtual
assistants is an emerging trend in the real estate industry. The Realtor.com
program, which helps professionals work less and earn more, is significant and
a win for all involved, especially at this time when our military can use all
the support we can give them,” said Michael Russer, (a.k.a. industry speaker
and columnist Mr. Internet®), RUSSER Communications’ CEO. To inquire about how you can
employ a virtual assistant go to: http://imarketing.realtor.com. ABOUT REALTOR.COM® REALTOR.com®,
operated by Homestore, Inc., is the official Web site of the National
Association of REALTORS®. Ranked as the No. 1 homes-for-sale site,
REALTOR.com® currently offers potential homebuyers more than 2.2
million homes listed for sale as well as the most brokers and agents to
contact. The site also provides home sellers with the Internet's largest
marketplace to reach millions of potential buyers. # # # Contact: Dan Wool (805) 557-3817
dan.wool@realtor.com |