We all have time consuming tasks we don’t want to do, but when is the right time to hire an assistant, and how much should we pay them? Should we look for assistants who have a similar personality to ours? What traits make an assistant great, and how can expensive is the turnover? In this episode, Kathleen Metcalf speaks about how picking the right assistant can make your life less stressful and help you earn more.
Most of the tasks you need a real estate agent to do, do not require a real estate license. -Kathleen Metcalf
Three Things We Learned
The perfect assistant is good at doing the things you hate
The secret to success is not constantly pushing yourself to do the things that make you miserable but finding people who are willing to do it for you and enjoy the process.
When you hire, make sure you don’t select a candidate who wants to be in sales or one that has your personality. You need someone who is all about systems and details. If you hire your clone, who is going to do the tasks you hate doing?
The formula for compensation
In the employment realm, compensation has to make sense in the context of the market, the value brought to the table and how much you are willing to pay. You should aim at earning at least 4-5 times more than you pay your assistant and move up to 9-10 times. But in order to move up on the scale, you need to make the hire in the first place.
Turnover is expensive
When you find someone that makes your life easier, make sure you have at least 3 months on your payroll in case you are experiencing a dip in business. Excellent assistants are hard to find and training someone takes both time and money. In the long-term, you are saving money if you work on keeping your turnover rate low.
The right assistant is detail and system oriented and doesn’t have any ambitions for the sales department. You have to make sure you don’t hire a wannabe agent but someone who enjoys administrative tasks. High-quality assistants are hard to find, and this is why when you find one, even if your business takes a dip due to a market shift, it’s wiser to keep your assistant instead hunting for a new one and training them.
Guest Bio
Kathleen Metcalf helps business owners find solutions to their problems and improve their communication with their team. She served as a bridge between entrepreneurs and assistants for over 6 years, and she was herself an assistant to top producing real estate agents. You can find her free guides to hiring, training and coaching at https://www.kathleenmetcalf.com/