Ask Mr. Internet - May, 2003
 

Dear Mr. Internet:
I'm hearing more and more about the advantages of using Virtual Assistants for my business. Where would I look to find one that really knows the real estate industry so I don't have to spend a lot of time with training?

Lynda Baker
Coldwell Banker Gundaker
St. Louis, Missouri
  
Dear Lynda:

There are literally thousands of Virtual Assistants from around the world who are making a huge difference for business people in every industry imaginable. There are times however, when you need a VA who really understands the nuances of your business and specializes in assisting REALTORSŪ. When you hire a real estate specialist VA, they are typically up and running in no time with little or no training required on your part.

Up until recently, there was no easy way to find VAs who specialize in just serving the real estate industry. Now there is a rapidly growing community of real estate virtual assistants, one that you can be part of as well...

Networked Real Estate Support

REVA Network is an online community of Virtual Assistants who specialize in supporting real estate professionals and REALTORSŪ who are interested in using their services. It was founded by myself and 6 real estate Virtual Assistants for the purpose of expanding the awareness and benefits of REALTORSŪ using VAs to grow and manage their business. There are three specific groups that make up the REVA Network community:

  1. PREVAs (Professional Real Estate Virtual Assistants) - these are VAs who specialize in assisting REALTORSŪ and have at least 6 months experience doing so. It should be noted that PREVAs often have subspecialties such as online transaction management, CMA and custom listing presentations, listings management, e-mail and Web marketing, etc.;
  2. REVAs (Real Estate Virtual Assistants) - these members are VAs who want to specialize in the real estate industry but have yet to fulfill the experience requirements necessary to become a PREVA. Typically, REVAs are mentored and trained by PREVAs as they help them with their overflow work;
  3. REALTORSŪ - real estate professionals who either are currently using a VA or are exploring that possibility.

To take advantage of all the benefits that REVA Network has to offer, you must become a member (there is no cost). You can join at any time by simply going to the REVA Network Web site and clicking any of the "Join" links. As a member, you will have access to the following benefits:

  • E-mail Discussion List - where you can "lurk" or better yet, participate in discussions between real estate specialist VAs and REALTORSŪ. This is a great forum to ask any kind of question (e.g. "How do you create CMAs for sales associates that live thousands of miles away?"), and even do it anonymously. It is especially helpful for those REALTORSŪ who haven't started using a VA yet and want to know more about the details and mechanics of working with one;
  • VA Profiles - where you can look for PREVAs that specialize in certain aspects of your business (i.e. transaction management, drip e-mail marketing, REALTOR.comŪ listings enhancement, etc.)  This is quick way to find that VA who is just right for your operations;
  • Web Discovery Sessions - live, online tutorials on how certain aspects of your business can be handled effectively and powerfully by highly trained PREVAs. For example, a recent one used real-time Web screen sharing and teleconferencing systems to demonstrate how VAs can create compelling CMAs even though they may live thousands of miles away from your market area (my speaking audiences always wonder about that one!). It was an awesome session delivered by a PREVA, moderated by me, and allowed direct interaction with participating REALTORSŪ;
  • Resources - a listing of tools and other resources to help you with your business and work more effectively with your VA.

The use of highly specialized Virtual Assistants within the real industry is literally exploding because of the massive benefits realized by those professionals that use them.  And now thanks to REVA Network, you have only one place to go to find that VA of your dreams!

Article Resources:

REVA Network - a community of highly specialized real estate Virtual Assistants and the REALTORSŪ who either are or would like to use them.

(NOTE: Mr. Internet, his company and staff receive no compensation whatsoever from any third party vendors or service providers. Investigate any products or services found on the Net thoroughly to your satisfaction before using them at your own risk.)

Mr. Internet's Tip O' The Month

As more of your business comes from online sources, it becomes important to protect your Web assets from being plagiarized by less scrupulous and otherwise lazy sales associates.

For example, top online producer Alice Held of http:/www.come2az.com has had her proprietary and very profitable cactus-themed Web content used almost verbatim without permission more than once. This can be very frustrating especially if you have spent the time and effort Alice has in creating a unique winning Web site.

Now there is an easy way to protect your virtual assets. Idea Register is a service of top domain name registrar GoDaddy.com. It allows you to easily and affordably (as of this writing US $89.95) register the copyright of your Web content with the US Trademark and Copyright Office.

So why would you want to use this service rather than just put a copyright notice on the bottom of each page of your site? While your site is typically considered copyrighted by putting the appropriate copyright notice on each page, there is no recourse from people who infringe on your material other than sending a nasty "Cease and Desist" letter.  However, if your site is formally registered with the US Trademark and Copyright office, then you may be able to sue for damages, perhaps as much as $100,000 per occurrence plus attorney's fees. This gives your rights a great big set of teeth that will likely scare away the most audacious of online content predators.

Mr. Internet is the alter-ego of Michael J. Russer, an internationally recognized Internet speaker, trainer, author, and strategic consultant to the real estate industry. He's dedicated to helping real estate professionals leverage their people skills into profit on the Internet. You'll see his column on REALTORŪ Magazine Online every month and in the magazine quarterly. Send your Internet questions to help@askmrinternet.com or you can visit his Web site at http://www.russer.com 
This article is reprinted in its entirety from the May 2003 issue of REALTOR® Magazine by permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Copyright 2003. All Rights Reserved other than mentioned above. Mr. Internet® is a registered trademark and Ask Mr. Internet!™ is a trademark of RUSSER Communications.