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Mr. Internet is the alter-ego of Michael J. Russer, an Internet speaker, trainer, author, and consultant. You'll see his column on REALTOR®Magazine Online every month and in the magazine quarterly. Send your questions to help@askmrinternet.com.
Tip of the month
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| | Hiring a virtual consultant
Outsourcing, Internet style
Want it better, faster, cheaper?
Get someone to do it online.
DEAR MR. INTERNET:
I have all kinds of new marketing ideas for my business, but I never seem to have the time (or skills) to implement them. Help!Louise Drier, ABR®, CRS®
CB The Real Estate Group Inc.
Fox Cities, Wis.
DEAR LOUISE:
Your question hits on one of the biggest conundrums in our industry: It's not that we lack for ideas but rather that we frequently don’t have an effective way to convert those ideas into practical business-generating solutions.
When we do try to implement a new plan, we often feel frustrated that we’re using time we could more profitably spend on other projects.
Let me share an incredible secret that allows you to work less and achieve better results.
The key is hiring the right talent for the right job. You can do that by outsourcing every aspect of your business that doesn't require your direct involvement, such as press releases, direct mail letters, accounts payable, and data entry.
Of course, there are a few minor details: How do you find those skilled people? Where do you put them while they do their work? How do you afford their salaries? In a traditional business setting, those are significant issues that often stop projects before they ever get started.
Online, however, such roadblocks simply go away when you learn how to tap the appropriate “virtual consultant” for your job. A virtual consultant is a professional who can complete specialized, project-based tasks for you via the Internet. You eliminate the need for your contractors to be in geographical proximity to you. And using the Internet to locate one or more virtual consultant broadens the scope of your available resources.
Using eLance.com, you can easily find virtual consultants for just about any kind of project you can dream up. Categories of available talent range from bookkeeping to graphic design. And because workers bid against one another for your job, prices are often more competitive than you might find closer to home.
Here's how it works:
1. Register as a "buyer" on the elancesite. There’s no cost for you to use the service. The winning service providers pay a part of their fees to support the site.
2. Post your project as a "request for proposal" (RFP). elance provides well-designed, context-related forms that make it easy to be specific about what you need to accomplish. The more explicit you are in describing your needs, the better your results are likely to be.
3. Choose your expert from the bids you receive. elance makes it easy for you to pick the right person for your job with tools such as a five-star rating system (based on feedback from previous clients), the ability to view a bidder’s “portfolio” online, and an extensive array of filtering and sorting options.
It's as simple as that. When the work is done, you pay eLance, which then pays the provider. It’s worth noting that some providers are “eLance guaranteed,” which means you must be satisfied with their work or you don't pay.
Here are just a few examples of the ways my colleagues and I have used this incredible resource to great advantage.
Within 24 hours of posting an RFP for an editor to work on my new, 256-page book, I had 22 bids. I finally picked a five-star, “eLance-guaranteed” editor for $250. I’ve also found someone to write my press releases for much less than I could ever do it myself.
- Crystal Pittet, a salesperson with RE/MAX Partners in Calgary, Alberta, found a Web designer to redesign her site, calgarylistings.com, for just $100 Canadian.
- Judy McCutchin of RE/MAX Preston Road North, Dallas, found someone to write the “Chester Chronicles” on behalf of Chester B. Chatsworth, the “spokesdog” at her site, dallashomes.com.
- Iggy Dybal of Iggy Realty, Lenexa, Kan. (iggy.net), found a programmer in the Philippines who wrote special spreadsheet macros to help him manipulate his direct mail database. Dybal paid just $100.
Thanks to the power of elance, you’re now in the position to outsource just about any kind of business-building project you can dream up, from direct mail campaigns to FSBO tracking systems.
You no longer have to feel limited by your lack of resources, talent, or time. And you can change your business focus from “doing” the many tasks of real estate sales into “being” a business innovator. Through the power of delegation, you can reach a place where business and life are less exhausting, just as profitable, and infinitely more rewarding.
Tip of the Month
Imagine having your own "geek" on call any time you had hardware or software problems. Well, stop imagining, because that capability is available now. You can find this special kind of virtual consultant online in minutes at expertcity.com. I call it "geek in the box."
Expertcity.com enables you to be "chatting" with a computer expert online within minutes of the time you post your question. As with elance, prospective experts "bid" to help you, and payment (through ExpertCity) is due only if you’re satisfied.
The real innovation behind expertcity's service, however, is its exclusive, real-time “desktop streaming” capabilities. If you give permission, any expert you choose can access and run your computer over the Internet. That way, experts can get to the heart of the problem much quicker than by trying to talk you through it. It’s like having a computer expert sitting right next to you, but much less expensive.
Article Resources
elance.com: A freelancer marketplace where you can find many kinds of professional talent, all bidding for the right to help you get your job done. | |
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