This is the 7th post in a series on building your real estate portfolio with an Expert Community Resource strategy – Here is Part 1.
In the last post, I talked about how you can generate leads online without much effort or cost, and how to incorporate that into your Expert Community Resource strategy.
In this post, I’ll tell you how to develop a team and automated systems to grow your business in leaps and bounds.
First, start with the fastest way to save time: Stop Doing Things You Don’t Need to Do. That may sound obvious, but you’re probably doing things in your business that just plain don’t need to be done. So stop! ?
Seriously, spending 20-30 minutes each week preparing a list of “Things to Eliminate” will help you create a great deal more focus on what matters most, while getting time-wasting activities off your plate.
Second, automate the easiest things first using technology. Software will always run more efficiently than people, so your business should always make good use of technology wherever possible. Check out how InvestorCarrot can help you to create a Sales Vortex with automated marketing.
Make a diagram of the essential processes of your business in areas like Marketing, Finance, and HR to identify the spots where you could better utilize technology to save time and expense while reducing the possibility of human error.
Third, create systems for routine processes. Even if you’re the only one working on your business, you must build systems in each area to support your growth.
Using the diagram of your essential business processes to document how much time you spend each day/week/month on each area of your business will help you anticipate where to make changes, when to hire, and other key decisions.
Fourth, build up your partnerships with other businesses and organizations. Too often when people think of “building a team”, they think they can’t do it. They’re imagining the expensive payroll they can’t afford… instead of thinking of other business owners who have similar goals, aren’t competing with them, and won’t add to the payroll.
In addition to real estate and mortgage brokers, insurance agents, attorneys, title companies, home inspectors and other businesses, non-profits can be great partners for real estate investors. Invest a little time in building relationships with them.
Fifth: Consider hiring a virtual assistant to help you grow your team. You can save big money on the cost of setting up an office, training, payroll and other expenses by outsourcing to a professional.
Chances are good that you can even find someone who lives close enough to you to meet face-to-face on a semi-regular basis. Remember, a virtual assistant is still a person who can be a pivotal asset in the growth of your business.
As with any hire, you should have a clear plan of duties, tasks and responsibilities. You also need to chart the ROI involved with the hire to know when and how you’ll recoup your investment.
Last: Always recruit the best people you can find. You might not be ready to hire someone right now, but when the perfect person comes along, find a way!
Be creative, and use incentives, percentages, and other performance bonuses to help great people grow their income within your business. It may seem like a big stretch to pay people good money, but remember: good people don’t work for free! The right hire can be incredibly valuable to your business. Just make sure you structure the compensation so that you’re both winning together.
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