It’s full-speed ahead for Michelle Spalding,
former legal assistant, and now, owner of TMC (Transaction
Management Consultants), a multifaceted real
estate support company. In addition to reducing
brokers’ standard on-site office expenses, she
offers a new “feedback” service to capture
clients’ experiences and uses video conferencing
to communicate with them directly.
MI: Tell us about
your professional background and/or past employment.
MS: I’ve been in the
real estate industry for about 12 years. I started
as a legal assistant, then went on to become a
paralegal who managed the real estate department for
a law firm in downtown Orlando, Florida. I was in
charge of taking a file from start to finish
including doing most of the closings and preparing
the HUD-1 Settlement Statements. At one point, I
took a break from the firm and became a Realtor®. I
loved helping buyers and sellers, but found no
passion in showing homes, much less spending all the
time in traffic it took to go from appointment to
appointment. I was good at it in spite of myself. I
consistently broke office sales records and goals
and was regularly the top producing agent month
after month. In 2002, I received the Realtor of the
Year award in our office. Unfortunately, I guess I
am a bit too analytical and never understood why if
I showed a buyer three varieties of what they asked
for, they didn’t buy one of them. AGH!! I am sure my
listening skills weren’t what they should have been
either. After some personal changes in my life, I
went back to work at the law firm and it was there
when the idea for TMC was born.
MI: How long have
you owned your business and how did that come about?
MS: In early 2005, I was
trying to find a way to help my team at the law firm
with our productivity. I searched for a resource
that could help us and came across an online product
called SureClose. I thought it was perfect and even
saw adding a new service to our firm to help
Realtors® manage their transactions. The lawyer I
worked for wasn’t as excited about the idea as I
was, however. So, in the fall of 2005, after months
of research and planning, I opened the doors at TMC.
MI: What makes your
business different from others?
MS: For starters, we
work in a commercial office space. We have regular
business hours of 8:00 am EST to 5:30 EST Monday
thru Friday. Each of us has our own work space, with
common areas for us to collaborate and share ideas.
We go out into the local community, visit our
clients often and volunteer on the local Board of
Realtors as well as taking an active role in other
community events. I always do what I can to “give
back” as often as possible, and encourage my team to
do so as well.
MI: Explain your
work with brokers.
MS: My initial marketing
approach was to meet and talk with as many agents as
possible. While this resulted in many fabulous
clients, I found that the brokers and/or sales
managers truly welcomed our services for their
agents. Many we work with use our services as a
recruitment tool. Additionally, when they are
coaching one of their agents and a situation
relating to productivity comes up it is often traced
back to the time it takes to manage a transaction.
Having us as a resource can help the brokers and/or
sales manager coach their agents to new levels and
profits. It really means a lot to be recommended to
agents by the broker and/or sales manager.
MI: How has the
“team” approach enhanced your business? Who does
what? What are the areas of expertise of team
members, including yourself, of course?
MS: By having a team we
are able to bounce ideas off each other when a
situation comes up. Someone being out sick or on
vacation is never a problem as there is always
someone in the office to take over a transaction
when needed. This also helps to ensure that our
clients’ needs are always being met. When one
coordinator gets busy, there are others in the
office to help out and provide back-up. I am
privileged to have such an awesome team that I work
with. Two of our coordinators come from title
companies and bring a wealth of knowledge with them
as well as about 8 years experience between them. I
am also very fortunate to have a team member
bilingual in Spanish and English. She has come in
very handy on many occasions. We have a part-time
admin person who is also a wiz at computers. He
helps us keep our computers up and running and has
even found ways for us to use the computers better
and make our jobs easier. I round out the team and
have been in the real estate industry since early
1995. In 2005, I obtained my Florida Real Estate
Brokers license.
MI: Talk about how
you establish and maintain solid relationships with
your clients.
MS: Yes, we all work
very hard at that. Our clients are my most valuable
resource. My goal is that they call us when they
have a question, on just about anything. We’ve
helped our clients locate plumbers, contractors for
repairs, and even a person to come out and remove
piles of junk left by a tenant the morning of
closing. Sometimes we just offer an understanding
ear when needed. Having that kind of a relationship
with our clients is huge to me. Just today, I was
helping a client do some research on the net and
introduced him to websites he wasn’t aware of. We
talked about a property he has the listing on that
is going into foreclosure. I love that our clients
feel comfortable and confident in our skills and
call us when they need something. We routinely send
our clients thank you cards, birthday cards,
interesting news articles and emails letting them
know they are in our thoughts. This has also been
helpful and who doesn’t enjoy getting a nice card in
the mail?
MI: You have a
talent for seeing the “big picture”, personally and
professionally. How do you incorporate this view
into your business?
MS: I think if you are
going to dream, then you should dream BIG. I see TMC
as a multifaceted real estate support company in the
near future. Presently we enjoy helping our clients
grow their business through our transaction
coordinating services. In the future, we plan to add
a listing coordinating and marketing department.
Presently, I am working on a training program for
Realtors® and their assistants in transaction
management. I am also working on a book that will
include stories from Realtors® in the trenches doing
the work. I want it to be positive and yet
realistic. I’ll let you know when it’s published.
MI: Describe the
“virtual” part of your business and how you provide
solutions to your clients’ business needs.
MS: Many of our clients
come from our own back yard here in Central Florida.
However, we work with them in the same way we work
with those we service in other parts of the country.
Our local and national clients alike communicate
with us by phone, fax or email. All receive access
to a customized online system we’ve created for them
using SureClose. After closing, they all get a CD
and so does their buyer or seller. Our office door
is always open and our clients can stop by anytime,
but they love that they can simply pick up the phone
or fax and email us just as well. Honestly, I think
with us being virtual, it helps us all with
productivity.
MI: How do you keep
motivated in a very competitive industry?
MS: The first thing we
do is focus on our client’s needs and not the
competition. Our clients have been great to us and
we proudly display the many notes we have received
from them thanking us on a bulletin board in our
office. We all pass it often during the day and it’s
a constant reminder of how much our clients think of
what we do. It’s also a great way for me to motivate
my team as well. They love to get great feedback
that can be posted on the board.
MI: Thank you,
Michelle, for sharing the nuts and bolts of your
business and your productivity philosophies! Yours
is a great example of how the success of a business
depends not only on maintaining a competitive edge
through the use of new technologies and business tools,
but also on staying motivated and creating a
reputable presence in the communities it serves.
MS: It’s been a real
pleasure. I am inspired each month by your
newsletter filled with fabulous ideas and the
articles about the wonderful people you’ve
interviewed. I am thrilled to be a part of it this
month.
Let Michelle assess your big picture
with a business plan that takes you out of the office
and into the market! Contact Michelle and her team at
Transaction Management Consultants, 866-683-4862
or by email at
michelle@protmc.com
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.
