With an extensive background in administration
and operations, VA Lisa Morgan of
Virtuoso Administrative Services in
Springfield, Ohio knows what it takes to keep a business
running smoothly. Here’s how she helps her clients
create and implement operations and marketing plans so
their businesses run effortlessly.
MI: How long
have you been a VA?
LM: Virtuoso was
established in July, 2004. Prior to that, I
telecommuted from my home office for three years
in my previous career in Mortgage Servicing, so
I’ve been working virtually for about 4.5 years
now.
MI: Tell us
something about the work experience that
prepared you to be a VA working with real estate
clients.
LM: I have over 20
years experience in providing executive level
administrative support; 16 of those were spent
in the Mortgage Servicing industry, which I
loved! The last 12 years of my corporate life
were spent at Chase Manhattan Mortgage where I
started out as an Administrative Assistant and
worked my way up to a Business Analyst/Project
Manager in our division. I also spent some time
working in the REO (real-estate owned)
department and had worked quite a bit with
real estate agents to coordinate the disposition of
properties.
MI: Why did you
decide to become a VA rather than continue to
work in the more traditional business arena?
LM: My division was
going through a major corporate restructure, and
the scope of my position was being modified in a
way that wasn’t in line with my career
objectives. I telecommuted several
days a week for three years (and enjoyed being
far more productive in my own office than when I
worked on-site!), so I began exploring the idea of
offering my services as a home-based consultant.
When I discovered the term “Virtual Assistant”
in an article on Monster.com, it was one of
those moments when the heavens open up and an
angelic choir sings! I spent a couple of months
researching everything I could find out about
the industry, and was absolutely convinced this
is what I’m meant to do.
MI: What support
services does your company provide?
LM: My area of
specialty is in Executive Level Management and
Marketing. I strive to work in a true
collaborative basis with my clients to manage
their overall operations for them, which would
include working with them to identify and
develop their business and marketing objectives,
developing strategies and mapping out a plan,
administering it, then reporting the results.
With that, I assist with documenting process
procedures and business policies, research and
evaluate products and vendors, serve in
identifying additional resources and
coordinating work flow. With my marketing
services, I work with my client on not only
assisting in marketing properties, but with
their personal marketing as well by helping to
establish or enhance their web presence,
mailings, article submissions, inclusion in
directories, newsletters and blogs. Generally, I
become their right arm in managing the
administrative functions for their business.
MI: Can you give
us some examples of how you work with clients in
this area?
LM: Oftentimes, a
client will have a general idea of where they’d
like their business to be, but they don’t really
have a roadmap to help them get there. Without
going into detail about every aspect of the
process here, some of the things I’ll do is to
spend time with my client learning about their
target market (or helping them define what that
is in some cases), what they’ve done and are
currently doing, what's working and what
isn’t, their budget considerations, and then
helping them to establish priorities and develop
a plan to not only monitor results, but to
provide feedback as well. I’ll establish a
process where I’m researching changes in their
target market, services they may need, and if a
client is working with multiple VAs (or needs
to!) I’ll identify resources, do a screening to
make sure they’d be a good fit for the team,
assist in getting them started, work with them
to ensure objectives are being met, then
communicate that information back to my client.
And that’s just a start!
MI: Would you
describe the most difficult challenge you face
when starting to work with a new real estate
client?
LM: I’d have to say
getting them to take the time to plan their
business and marketing strategies. As a business
owner myself, I know how easy it is to want to
get results right away, but it really is
imperative that you go through this process, and
it’s a process that should be ongoing once
established. I think some feel if it’s written
down then they’re locked into something
immoveable. But it’s really a road map - a
“plan" - and it can be modified as needs allow.
The benefit is that they don’t have to come up
with this alone! It's really an enjoyable process
when you can brainstorm ideas with someone fully
committed to your success, and you’d be amazed
at how quickly the information flows.
MI: What do you
feel is your most valuable talent that you can
offer to real estate professionals?
LM: My business
background, creative thinking and expertise in
technology, enhanced by a collaborative agent
effort, creates this amazing synergy that
results in innovative business processes and
leading-edge advancements for agents to grow
their business and increase their market share.
MI: Things
change quickly in today’s real estate industry.
What steps do you take to keep on top of new
technology and new vendor services so you’re
able to help clients stay current?
LM: It is a
challenge to keep up, but it is an exciting one
to me, as I have an insatiable appetite for
learning. I am continuously learning new
technologies, products and software relevant to
the real estate industry (on my own or by taking
classes) to not only stay of top of all the
changes, but to be a source of information for
my clients as well. I’ve been trained to use a
variety of products, including
ConnectingNeighbors, Rainmaker by the Gooder
Group, eNeighborhoods, Agency Logic, Visual
Tour, and Imprev to name a few, and have
recently earned the Real Estate Professional
Assistant (REPA) designation from NAR.
MI: What is the
most rewarding aspect of working with real
estate clients?
LM: Buying and
selling a home can be an exciting, but stressful
life event, so when my real estate clients can
focus on devoting their time to making that
experience an efficient, and more importantly,
memorable one for their customer, it's extremely
satisfying to know that my efforts contributed
directly to their success. I’m in business
because I absolutely love knowing at the end of
the day, I’ve made a real difference in not only
helping my client have the business they want,
but in giving them back time to have a personal
life too. It's far more rewarding than dealing
with the politics and red tape of corporate
life!
MI: Lisa, thanks
for being so generous in sharing your story and
thoughts with us.
LM: Michael, thank
you for giving me the opportunity to talk about
just one of many ways Virtual Assistance can
work wonders for a real estate professional’s
business. Its been an honor.
To learn more about Lisa and her
services just send her an e-mail at
Lisa@VirtuosoAdmin.com or call her at
937-399-2832.
Always remember to do a thorough due-diligence before
hiring any kind of assistant. This interview is part of
an ongoing series of VA profiles designed to help you
find the perfect VA or VA team to help you get
organized, profitable, and in control of your business.
