After spending over six years following her
husband around during his Air Force career, this
Military Spouse VA found a way to offer her
considerable skills no matter where they
relocated. Specializing in contact/ lead
management and listing management marketing, her
business,
Mountainsolns.com, also includes the
creation of virtual tours; website and newsletter
enhancement, email marketing and personal promotion
marketing solutions.
MI: Tell us
about your job(s) and lifestyle(s) before
becoming a VA?
PS: I spent
six-and-a-half years in the Air Force and
obtained my Master’s in Human Resource
Management during that time. I pursued
positions in HR as I followed my husband
around in his career with the AF.
MI: What
triggered your interest in becoming a VA and
why?
PS: Due to our
moves with the military and some of the
locations, I found it hard to get good
paying jobs in HR. I attended the pilot
program started by Staffcentrix where they
introduced the “portable career” to military
spouses. I thought it was the perfect thing
and originally thought I would continue with
HR. I had spent time as an office manager of
a real estate office and was also offered an
opportunity to attend training provided by
Realtor.com. That did it! I stuck with real
estate!
MI: Talk a
little about the “lead management” internet
system you are currently familiar with.
PS: A new system
is currently being developed which will
hopefully make it easier on agents and VAs
alike to manage and organize their leads in
an online system.
MI: How does
the system work and what are its goals? What
are its advantages for agents? What is your
job as its VA?
PS: The system
is set up to receive leads from various
sources (manual or direct input). When you
login to the system as a VA you can have
several agents set up and only have to have
one login. When you go into the account for
a particular client, you receive a list of
tasks that need to be completed such as
assigning the leads to a campaign or passing
them on to the agent, etc. Many agents do
not have a central database for their leads
and this new system will make working with a
VA a snap.
MI: How does
the system relate to marketing and sales, in
general?
PS: We can
customize the emails that go out in the
campaigns to the individual agents so they
continue to brand themselves. A broker can
have it set up where each agent will be able
to login and see what leads are assigned to
them. The broker has the ability to track or
check up on the agents to ensure the leads
are being managed or choose to pass them on
to someone else.
MI: What
benefits did the “boot camp seminars” yield
for you?
PS: It was a
wonderful opportunity in many ways. The best,
of course, being the networking involved with
not only fellow VAs but agents as well.
There is so much energy in the room at a
boot camp seminar, you have to experience it
first-hand to truly comprehend it. For the
first time in my VA career, I was also able
to meet clients before being hired.
MI: What are
the benefits of a “portable career”?
PS: Obviously
for any military spouse it is the ultimate
in career paths because we can take it with
us! I had always worked, and so when we ended
up in locations where it was hard to find a
decent paying position, it was very
frustrating. I did not want to work to pay
child care. Now I have the luxury of taking
my kids to their sporting events, setting my
own hours and working on the tasks that I
enjoy the most!
MI: What are
your areas of expertise?
PS: I specialize
in lead management and listing coordination.
MI: Briefly
comment on the kind of personal /
professional satisfaction you get from
working as a VA.
PS: Being a VA
to me means I have found my niche and there
is no greater satisfaction than completing a
project or hearing a client say they landed
a listing based on the expired campaign we
were working on.
MI: Thank
you, Peggy, for sharing with us the steps
you took to become a top-notch VA, while
insuring your own steady employment, job
satisfaction and a more enjoyable lifestyle!
Contact Peggy for information on lead
management and listing coordination services;
creating online virtual tours and other
marketing tools. You can check out her Web site
at
www.mountainsolns.com or contact her at
406-868-5728 or via e-mail at
Peggy@mountainsolns.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.
