Page 93 - Social Media Marketing

Hiring Your First Assistant 73

answer the phone or stuff envelopes, although they may be do-
ing those chores, too. All your assistants must be profit centers and
income generators for your business. They need to feel as though
they are making a significant contribution to the success of your
business, so don't just stick them with menial chores.

Pay Them to Keep Them

Pay your people well. You may even want to consider rewarding
them with profit-sharing and other incentives. I'm a big believer
in bonuses as a motivational tool. I want my assistants to share a
sense of ownership in the business with me. It's bad business to pay
someone a low wage and then have to hire and train someone new
every two years. The momentum you lose training and retraining
will by far exceed the pennies you save hiring less-experienced
people.

Find good people and reward them well enough so that they will
stay. Make it worthwhile for them to remain with you. Sometimes
you can give them a reason to want to go all out for you by re-
warding them with some form of partnership, vice presidency, or
other promotion. You'd be surprised at how already-great perfor-
mance levels can improve with the right combination of rewards
and motivation.

Be Kind to Them-They're Only Human

Early in my career, in my zeal to excel, I made a mistake and drove
some of my best assistants right out the door. I set insane production
goals, expecting my assistants to keep pace, to work my hours. I
expected them to share the same obsession for real estate that I had.
I lost a lot of staff in those early days.

At one time, I had a young buyer'S assistant for years who was
outstanding. He had a good year, selling 152 properties. I sat down
and projected how we were going to sell 200 homes the next year.
Well, it kind of blew up in his brain, and out the door he went. It
pushed him over the edge. Needless to say, he quit the team and