Now more than ever your Property Management Department is your most important asset in the Real Estate industry. In the last 2 years the Business Development Manager position has become a hot topic and when performed well, is very powerful in a PM Department.  Most Principals know a BDM is extremely important component for growth in the PM department but are unsure on what they should be doing day to day and what type of person would suit the position.

After being in the industry for 10 years and going from Reception to Property Manager and then becoming a full time BDM, I have to say the BDM position best suited my strengths and was the role I performed exceptionally well. So what makes a powerful BDM and what should you as the employer look for when filling the position?

-          They must be a confident networker, build strong relationships and love meeting new people.

-          They must be passionate about the department’s vision and believe in the product they are selling to the client.

-          They must understand the position is not a 9 to 5 role and be prepared to do deals after hours or on weekends.

-          They must have a competitive nature and be goal orientated.

-          They must have the ability to build and manage a large database.

-          They must be a team player and good communicator.

-          They must understand no doesn’t mean no, it means not right now.

-          They must be prepared to always think ahead of ways they can go the extra mile for themselves, the business and the client.

These traits were successful for me and I know I’m not the only one out there. Once you have secured your BDM make sure as the Principal you have a plan in place to ensure the success of your BDM. A good starting point is setting targets and making sure you have regular meetings to discuss any concerns or positive feedback you may have.

All about Tara After completing High School, Tara Milzewski commenced work as a Trainee Property Manager and within 6 years became the Business Development Manager at Wide Bay Prestige Properties. Tara has very strong passion for Business Development and understands how important growth is for a Property Management Department. Tara’s significant accomplishments include successfully securing 268 listings in one financial year and signing 30 new rental listings in one month. To contact Tara for any further information feel free to email Tara at  tara@stbinvestments.com.au

Like it or not, Skype video interviews are becoming a regular part of the job application process. Many more recruiters are now turning to video interviews to recruit. REJS are using  Skype Interviews as just part of the process for several first stage interviews.

Many people still simply prepare as they would for a regular interview.

A Skype interview is a whole different ball game, though—it’s like being on TV except you’re filming, directing, and acting in this role. Follow these tips and you’ll be set to score an Emmy (er, job) from your performance.

Wardrobe and Makeup

The cardinal rule of any interview: Dress to impress. On the internet, “dressing up” includes your username and profile picture. Your Skype info will be your employer’s or recruiter’s  first impression of you. If you’ve been using the same user name since middle school, PartyAngel99 and sexychick85  it’s time for a change. Your profile picture is so important. Choosing both a professional picture and user name will prevent your employer/ recruiter from misjudging you or having to start off the interview by asking awkward questions.

You should also dress like you would for any other interviews – no matter what your local time is, where you’re calling from, or how much of your outfit you think the interviewer can actually see. A recent experience for me was a lady on skype interview in a dressing gown, it was 8pm at night.  It wasn’t just awkward—it was disrespectful. The last thing you want to do is seem like you couldn’t care less.

Lights… Camera…

Skype is rife with technical landmines, and we’ve all had that those annoying “can you hear me now?” moments. While most employers/recruiters  are forgiving, they’re also pressed for time. Your safest bet is to Skype with a friend or family member before your interview and check all of the following:

• The Set: Find an appropriate place to make the call, and make sure to clean up the background. A keen employer will be inferring everything about your surroundings, so make sure to pick a representative location to have the Skype call.
• Internet Connection: If your connection is dodgy , find somewhere more stable. Dropped calls are understandable, but they distract from the interview and reflect poorly on your ability to plan ahead.
• Lighting: Do you look washed out? Is your face shrouded in shadows? I have interviewed candidates with all curtains closed in a dark room, so check the lighting first.
• Sound: Don’t rely on the built-in microphone unless you want to sound like you’re in a bat cave. Get a dedicated microphone and test it out. Also, make sure you’re not in an area with a lot of background noise , the kids running in and out of the room and wanting to sit and talk on your knee is not ideal..
• Script: Have your attachments – resume, cover letter, portfolio, supporting documents—loaded up before the call, so you can reference them easily without having to conspicuously click around during the interview.

Action!

In a traditional, in-person interview, your interviewer is a captive audience. Over Skype, you’re the size of the interviewer’s Skype window and it’s much easier for her to pull out her iphone and check her email, or scan the headlines on her favourite news site.

You’re competing with the entire internet for your interviewer’s attention, so don’t just be a talking head on a screen! From a purely visual perspective, you will look much more interesting if you move around, use hand gestures, and stay animated. Interviewers are your audience, and you’re the star of that 600×480 pixel screen.

The flip side of this is that you, too, have more opportunity to get distracted. To minimize this, close all windows except your supporting documents and make yourself unavailable or invisible on Skype to avoid interruptions. Put your mini-Skype-window below the webcam on your computer screen, too. That way, when you’re checking how you look, you still appear to be making eye contact  with the employer/recruiter.

The Rest

From here on out, the rules of the interview are pretty much the same: Do your research about the company, know what questions to expect (and how to answer them), and be your glowing self. And don’t forget the follow-up— a great idea is to still send a  send a thank-you exactly the same way you would for an in-person interview. That means, don’t follow up on Skype chat.

Nail the virtual interview, and hopefully you’ll soon be walking through the real-life office doors.

Darren Hunter is a national and international property management speaker, trainer and consultant in association with the Bob Walters Team and a director with the Leading Property Managers of Australia (LMPA). Email Darren on darren@darrenhunter.com

With Darren’s permission we have reproduced his article and it is fantastic reading….

Business owners need to be involved with their business, understanding keenly the dynamics that create successful rental departments and what good property managers look for.

Bill is a typical real estate principal and has a small sales team, also selling property himself. His real estate sales provide him with the challenge of putting together some great deals. Bill thrives on the satisfaction and thrill that comes with this.

However he also has a property management department. He views this differently from sales. It isn’t something he knows well because he has never been a property manager before, and from time to time he has to deal with complaints. Generally it doesn’t make much money but it pays the bills and just ‘ticks along’. At least it is consistent income since sales have recently slowed down considerably.

The rental department just ‘ticks’ along

Bill has a couple of property managers that keep the department going and each month they let him know how many properties are on the books, what the growth and loss of properties are, and total fee income.

That’s about all he knows or cares about on a monthly basis, and he is quite content with this ‘set and forget’ management style.

One Friday afternoon Bill gets something on his desk that he has been dreading and hoped would not happen for a long time to come. His star property manager, Jan has given him a resignation letter which is effective in two weeks!

Bill panics and tries to negotiate with Jan to stay on, but the agency up the road has offered her far more than he is able to match. Reluctantly he ‘lets her go’.

Panic stations!

Bill panics as he now has two weeks to find a suitable replacement, so he throws together an advert and places it with a job search website and the local newspaper, hoping for the best.

This story is fairly typical of what happens in real estate offices across the country and it is under these typical conditions and circumstances that we see many mistakes made when it comes to recruiting property managers.

A principal who is under pressure to recruit fast can be easily blinded to the obvious warning signs and will often overlook them in their quest to fill the position quickly. They need to unburden themselves of their problem in short time so that they can restore the rental department to a state of ‘remote control’, to focus again on bringing in sales.

Having been involved with many agencies in recruiting new staff over five years as a consultant, and having also once managed a team of 28 property managers, I am very aware that recruitment is something that requires experience and very careful consideration. Are there are lots of mistakes to be made by the unwary.

The top ten big mistakes we see

Here are the ten biggest mistakes we see principals making on a regular basis.

1- Experience does not equal competence!

The number of years that a person has been in property management does not qualify them as a good and competent operator. It is important to note that most property managers gained experience in an environment where the principal usually had a ‘set and forget’ mentality. That means no training, no procedures and no accountability! The property manager learns through trial and error, and if they survive the very difficult learning curve without guidance and get through the ‘baptism of fire’, they can often come out the other end having acquired bad habits that are very hard to undo. They ‘know it all’ and their habits are now set in place, whether good or bad.

It is my belief and experience that because most property managers work under these conditions, greater than 50% are not competent to manage a portfolio of properties in a professional, productive and efficient manner!

When desperation is a factor, principals tend to look at the length of experience only, thinking to themselves how lucky they are, only to discover months down the track with the complaints mounting, properties being lost and unhappy clients that they employed an incompetent operator.

This scenario occurs more times than I can remember!

2- Not checking references

Regretfully some principals go by their ‘gut feel’ and do not bother to check employment references, or do not check them thoroughly.

Understanding the human nature principle that ‘previous behaviour will dictate future performance’, if we can get an accurate and detailed view of how a person has performed in the last 1-2 years, then we can safely assume that this is how they will perform in the future.

If they have had a series of jobs where they have only stayed 6 months, no matter what they say to you, it is likely they will be with you for only 6 months also!

However, sometimes when a principal is desperate their judgement is greatly clouded. I know of a situation where a property manager was dismissed on the grounds of misappropriation of funds. The enquiring recruiting principal seeking a reference found this out, but still employed the individual because they needed someone desperately who had experience, as unbelievable as this sounds! They just hoped the property manager would ‘come good’ for them!

If you have a situation where you cannot get a current reference because the property manager doesn’t want their current employer to know they are looking elsewhere for employment, then maybe ask them ‘if we do employ you, and on your first day on the job we call your current employer for an employment reference, will this be OK?’.

If they look uncomfortable with this proposition of reference checking, then you possibly have a negligent operator.

3- Not testing knowledge

I have found that to uncover a negligent operator, we only need to ask some basic property management questions to find out if they know the answer. Competent property managers know the basics well, however negligent operators have never taken the time to get to know the fundamentals.

It is important that you do not test on advanced issues, but go ‘as low as you can go’ with the basics!

Ask questions like; How many days notice must you give a tenant to vacate on a non-fixed term agreement (under the different conditions)? What legislation form must be used in this instance? And even, What is a well-known clause featured on a typical management agreement used in your state?

I like to also ask the question, ‘if the rent is $350 a week, what is the calendar month rent?’ and give them a calculator. Competent operators should know the right answer. It can be worked out 3 different ways, but only one way is correct! Poor operators get stumped either giving a wrong calculation or simply admit they have never learnt to do it manually as their computer system has always worked this out for them!

You’d be amazed what this simple testing brings out. But sadly most principals do not understand even the basics, and therefore are unable to test property managers with these vital enquiring questions.

4- Not focussing on attitude

Attitude is the foundation on which all the skills and attributes of a property manager are laid. Attitude is described as the willingness and determination to perform an action in a certain way. What will drive a person’s attitude are their beliefs and values.

Richard Branson from the Virgin brand teaches to ‘hire the attitude and train the skill’. However the other way is impossible, as attitude cannot be trained. Instead we see principals focussing more on experience than attitude, overlooking vital factors that greatly impact performance.

A good attitude always brings good performance and likewise good results. Therefore the overriding factor that must score high in every interview is always the attitude. If attitude scores low, but experience is high we must always resist the temptation to hire based on this factor alone.

5- Not understanding the attributes of a good property manager

As discussed before, experience does not equal competence, so what does? This lies in understanding what are the ingredients that create a good property manager. To do this, we simply take a look at successful professionals and what has made them successful.

Based on the attributes of great property managers that I have worked with (and also looking at my own success traits when working the frontline), here is a list that allows you to see the various levels that comprise a competent property management professional.

a) Computer Skills- With computer basics, a good property manager needs to be familiar with organisation tools like Outlook and everyday working platforms like MS Word. Also having  a reasonable typing speed, they can work efficiently and competently using modern technology, and adapt quickly to technological change.

b) Time and Task Management Skills- the ability to work with checklists and right priorities when under pressure are the essential ‘must have’ survival skills in a busy property management environment.

c) Communication and Conflict Management Skills- property management is little to do with bricks and mortar. The ability to form and retain key relationships and diffuse conflict quickly are the essentials of the modern property manager. Further, the ability to communicate effectively through different mediums such as email, letters, SMS, phone and face to face (and knowing the right medium to use at the right time) make up this essential attribute.

d) Initiative and Problem Solving Skills- solving problems quickly in a high pressure environment, bringing them to a right solution isn’t a skill everyone has. Even a person with a great attitude can stumble and fail if they cannot problem solve effectively and use their initiative.

e) Customer Service Focus- closely associated with attitude, this attribute can also be known as a sense of urgency and the ‘care factor’. Simply, the ability to focus primarily on the needs of the client and fulfilling them quickly is an attribute greatly lacking in the property management industry amongst a large number of property managers today.

f) Accuracy and Attention to Detail- the ability to complete forms, checklists, communication and reports with a minimal error rate requires a person who thrives with processes and systems. Not every person has these key attributes, but these are essential to keep the paperwork flow highly accurate.

g) Professional Presentation and Manner- when we are managing millions of dollars worth of other people’s investment properties, presenting anything less than professional isn’t acceptable. Unsightly piercings, visible tattoos, ‘alternative’ hairstyles and poor standards of dress all lead the client to unfavourably judge in their mind that the property manager concerned cannot competently manage their property. Professional attire and speech are essential to win the trust of our clients and their business. Therefore they must also ‘win us over’ in the interview with their presentation and manner.

Now that we are aware of the key attributes, we know need to formulate key questions that require an open answer, where an explanation is required by the interviewee.

For example, if we are testing on task and time management skills, one of the key skills I look for is their habit of planning and writing a list of what they need to do every day, in order of priority. Therefore an open ended question could be ‘with so many things to do, how do you plan ahead, what do you do to remain organised?’ This is a very vague open ended question that requires specific information. Listen carefully to their answer to hear the key information that confirms that they possess the skills required to competently do the job at hand.

Construct these open ended questions for each key attribute required and score them out of ten for each, looking at the total scores for each interviewee at the end of the interviews.

6- Adverts restrictive in content

Looking at the adverts that principals and managers write either on internet employment sites or in the newspaper, we commonly see a lot of restrictive requirements like ‘(name) computer software experience required’ or ‘at least 5 years’ experience’ or ‘sound knowledge of the residential tenancies act’. I believe we need to be careful with the writing of adverts and instead sell the benefits of the position to the applicant.

The danger we run into in an age where it is difficult to attract the right people is ‘restricting out’ the people we want applying for the position. Leave more restrictive requirements to the short listing and interview stage and attempt to get as many people as you can enquiring on the position.

Advertising instead phrases like ‘great team environment needing a peak performer or ‘be the best paid in the industry’ or even ‘we focus on your personal training and professional development to make you the best in the industry’. These all espouse the benefits of joining your team, for maximum enquiry into the position. I always like to advertise the total $ salary being offered in a prominent part of the headline if this is known to be an attractive feature in that skill marketplace.

The best position you can be in is to have a number of possible candidates applying, from whom you can short list and have good candidates to interview as you avoid restricting good people at the advert stage.

7- Ignoring boasting

When the reality TV show Australian Idol is on TV, I always enjoy watching the auditions. There are two groups of people being auditioned; Those with talent and those who have none!

However those who lack talent all have one thing in common, they all seem to boast before they audition. They state they are the ‘next best thing’ and the ‘next Australian idol’ and think the judges will be floored by their performance. The audition results are far different from this!

Interviewing can also display the same dynamics. People who lack skill and talent tend to boast about these attributes. If they use wording like ‘I am the best in my company with chasing rent arrears or ‘I always ensure I charge every fee’ it usually means the opposite. Whatever they boast actually represents what they told you they are hopeless at, in nearly all cases!

People feel the need to boast about what they are lacking in, to compensate for it! The problem however is further compounded by a real estate principal who is desperate to fill the position and usually gets seduced by the boastful comments, thinking they have just employed a very competent operator.

They think they are having a really lucky day with their problems about to be well resolved. The truth is if they hire the person (which they probably will) their problems and headaches have only just begun!

8- No training

Sadly we see that nearly all property managers starting off inexperienced receiving no induction training, wrestling through the ‘baptism of fire’ of trial and error and a very steep learning curve. The truth is that many people don’t get through this stage, instead resigning disillusioned by their experience with property management.

Bob Walters, Australasia’s foremost property management expert likens this typical induction training to ‘here is your desk, here is your phone, good luck you’re on your own!’ As humorous as this sounds, it occurs all too often!

Having the resources to train a person should be the desire of every company offering property management services. When a person has the benefit of initial training before they are eased carefully onto ‘the frontline’ the success rate in a short space of time increases significantly.

Throwing them into the role is like throwing them to the wolves- only the really strong survive!

9- No procedures or systems

Training a person to a written method of property management is a far smarter way than asking a new person to remember everything.

Property management is quite complex with at least 15 major procedures and to do this thoroughly they must be in written form. Without this, we allow our service to be compromised, causing errors and problems that take 3-4 times more time to fix, increasing staff stress levels and burnout.

Without written procedures being used to train a person, it will take 6, 9 and even 12 months for a person to be confident in their role, having learned through trial and error.

With written procedures this can be fast tracked. Training a person thoroughly to written procedures and checklists allows a person to be moved into the role competently in 6, 9 or 12 days, accelerating the competency in the position from minimal to no experience to being able to handle most straight forward procedural matters that arise, with minimal supervision. Procedures make a big difference! Naturally for this to work well, the person must have the right property management attributes as not everyone is suited to the role.

10- Not being involved in Property Management

Finally, how can any business owner successfully recruit or run any business that they do not understand or focus on? It is a fact that business owners do not need to be a property manager to be successful at it. In fact many property managers are process driven and a lot of the time do not have or develop an entrepreneurial flair.

Business owners need to be involved with their business, understanding keenly the dynamics that create successful rental departments and what good property managers look for when moving to a new step with a new company. When this vital part of their business is ignored, it can only at best just survive in a fog of crisis, problems and a high staff turnover, driving good staff away and invariably attracting the wrong people like a magnet to the business.

Just like a great business attracts great staff and becomes the employer of choice, the opposite is also true, and we see plenty of examples of businesses that have regretfully adopted this business model of ‘set, forget and ignore’.

You deserve what you get!

Over my many years working in many departments, I have discovered that every business gets their just desserts! They are always in complete control of their results.

The Law of Return is very simple- you get back what you put in!

The great thing about mistakes however, is that they are a great teacher. If you recognise that you have made a mistake (like those that we have outlined in this article), then do what you can to avoid it happening again. We learn how to become successful one mistake at a time, with our learning curve becoming our success path guide.

Property management is a great business when it is done right. We wish you all the very best of success with yours.

8th May 2012, Real Estate Job Search

Nikki and Richard, I just want to let you know how happy I have been with the service provided by REJS. Your service from start to finish has been exemplary and on a professional, knowledgeable and far exceeds all other recruitment agencies. nothing ever seems too much trouble and I have been made feel unique and not just another client. you have found a job for me that does not only suit my criteria but also my personality which is very important to me. I will certainly be recommending you both and Real Estate Job Search to my colleagues. Thank you form the bottom of my heart.

Kind regards Christine  – Adelaide  – South Australia – Senior Property Manager

As we are sure you are aware, the making or breaking of any company in an industry as competitive as Real Estate often comes down, purely and simply, to finding the right staff. The property game is a high-energy profession, where individuals who are motivated and driven thrive, and those that aren’t do not!

Now – if you are looking for a great deal to assist you in locating these guys then read on……

 www.realestate-careers.com.au the site that just works.

INVEST FOR 6 MONTHS FOR ONLY $495, GET ANOTHER 6 MONTHS FREE!!

That’s a one-off price, with no add-ins or strings attached. You can post as many jobs, in as many different locations, as often as you like. On other job sites you pay for a month, and as that month goes by your ad gets pushed further and further down the list, attracting less and less attention as each day passes. By using Real Estate Careers and having unlimited re-postings, you’ll not only ensure your jobs are constantly sent back to the top of the list, but that they also receive coverage on all the other job sites, and all our social media platforms, including LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

We’ve got  Real Estate applicants from every state and location around Australia, ready and waiting for their next job opportunity.

It couldn’t be easier to get started – just call the Job Site team on 1300 219 522 and the team will get you started over the phone or email sales@realestate-careers.com.au or go straight to the site to start your job postings, hit the link POST A JOB and get started now www.realestate-careers.com.au - Best of luck, it truly works.

There’s nothing we enjoy more than when we contact one of our talented REJS Property Managers that have just started in a new position, and hearing that everything is going perfectly, the portfolio that they took over is great, the transition when they started went really well and that they’re up to speed on all they need to know and understand!

Sound familiar to you – unfortunately this doesn’t happen all the time.

Property Management is an industry that deals in vast amounts of data and information, and with all manner of individuals, including landlords that who need very little attention, and landlords who require a lot! As a consequence, handing a portfolio to a new staff member can be tricky and full of pitfalls.

While an office manager can comfortably teach new team members about company protocols and best practices, the best person to get a new Property Manager on track is the outgoing Property Manager if this is an option. If the incumbent has left your employment then you will need to find someone that can do this in an efficient way or you may run the risk of the incoming Property Manager leaving out of frustration.

By developing a system for handing over portfolios and helping with the transition of new Property Managers in to your work environment you’ll save time and cut down on teething problems traditionally associated with taking on new responsibilities.

There are two sides to handing over a property portfolio to a new manager – the formal, and the personal. The formal side of things is obvious, and revolves around ensuring the out-going staff member has all documentation and contracts in place, that any relevant information, such as outstanding rent arrears or pending maintenance are clearly documented, and that all contact details for both owners and tenants are, to the best of their knowledge, up to date and current.

The personal side of things is something many companies neglect. Property Management is a profession which revolves around relationships, and a Property Manager will inevitably build up a certain amount of knowledge on each individual client they deal with – what they expect from their Property Manager, their likes and dislikes, and their personalities in general. Encourage out-going staff members to make notes on their clients. If their portfolio is too large to go over everyone, prioritize the most significant clients. This should be done in a relatively informal manner, as you’re looking for a genuine insight in to the clients.  Every client/ landlord / tenants have their different traits.

By doing this you’ll be giving the new team member a head start, and hopefully helping them avoid making any mistakes and continue the original Property Manager excellent work when developing relationships with specific clients.

It’s important to communicate with your clients, and let them know that a change in personnel is taking place. You’ll find that the vast majority of your clients will be completely understanding and patient, and will volunteer important information to their new Property Manager.

Take the other road though, by trying to conceal the fact that a new Property Manager is on board, and you run the risk of clients mistaking any teething problems a new employee may have for your company having suddenly become incompetent overnight!

In essence, a successful hand-over boils down to communication – between the out-going and in-coming employees, and between your company and your clients. Take some time to get this right and any transitions you have to make will be a breeze!

Best of Luck  Nikki Taylor

Often when I am talking to real estate talent,  I would always suggest a candidate seeking work in the Real Estate market should brush up on their  self -promotion skills and invest in up-skilling to safeguard against the effect of a tight and competitive job market.

In today’s Real Estate job market, particularly here in Australia there are always  excellent career opportunities up for grabs and history shows us that this will continue to be the case, regardless of the current economic climate.

Do you see this Real Estate job market as highly competitive?

If your answer is yes, then we are on the same page and I would love to help you find your way in this maze of opportunities.

Firstly, don’t ever underestimate the potential, of you really selling your abilities and achievements to a potential employer.  This skill will play a huge role in initially securing and then ultimately ensuring, your newfound job security.  Not to mention the added bonus of your ideal job description, salary and benefits that you really want.

It is rare that our Real Estate Job Search talented candidates that we put forward are not invited to an interview. In fact on most occasions, a position is offered, because of our rigorous review of candidate/job suitability. The REJS team are also out there very day looking for talent.

Overall, our strategy is to attract the right people with experience, positive attitude and motivation and to provide them with opportunities and business tools to achieve their goals.

So, if you are curious and would like some advice about the maze of Real Estate job opportunities, please contact us at:

 Nikki Taylor / Director

 Real Estate Jobs Search

 B: 1300 219 522

 M: 0414 624 521

E:nikki@rejs.com.au 

This article has come from the Directors of Real Estate Jobs Search, daily we meet with Principals across Australia and the question has often come up about the role of a Business Development Manager for your Property Management department.  

BDM or BDO, All this jargon, what do we do to increase our rent roll in a very competitive Property Investment market

In todays world of property management we have the  buzz words or phrases that are thrown around as Real Estate principals’ are now looking to grow one of their best assets’, their rent roll. The realisation is now upon as a Real Estate company we need to have a strong healthy growing rent roll to flourish in the current market.

The challenge is how to do this, should I just go and buy a rent roll, should I wait just for organic growth or do I get aggressive and go out and hunt down the business? We are seeing a growing demand for the use of a BDM/BDO (business development), in real terms a salesperson, who understands property management and is able to hunt down and find new business out there in the haze of investment property.

As in any sales position there are skills and attributes that your current property manager may not have or they may not like or want to perform this part of their current position. As in all fields of Real Estate it makes sense to have someone specialising in a position that is going to bring in more business and having them liaise with the PM division at the same time. At REJS there is a growing demand for us to locate for our clients this exact person that not only understands how a PM and the PM division works but also has the ability to be able to win over new landlords as well. As mentioned there are separate skills for this type of position and when looking to employ someone to do this for your office you need to consider, am I looking for a property manager or am I looking for a business developer.

There is no right or wrong answer to these questions as each office is very different and what needs to be considered is affordability, the existing rent roll size, your current growth and also projected growth. As a rule of thumb if you are paying a BDM/BDO $50,000 pa then they need to return approximately one new management per week or 50 per annum to your office for you to cover the cost of your investment in this person. You must remember that they are also increasing the size of your asset and this must not be undervalued either. The use of dedicated business developer will also allow you the ability to be able to go through your existing rent roll and perhaps identify a few of the properties/landlords that you do not want to keep due to issues that you may have had in the past, sort of a cleansing process that will allow the rent roll to be more profitable for you as well. Your current property managers will love you for doing this and perhaps removing a headache or two!

Other questions that we are getting regularly are what do I pay a BDM/BDO, how do I create a job description and how do I find this special type of person.

At REJS we can assist you in answering all of these questions and find the right person as well. Remember there is no standard answer to the “money” question, as in all of the talent scouring that we perform, the number one priority is to locate the “right” talent first and then negotiate so that both parties enter into a win/win situation.

The REJS team will be interviewing a couple of our recently placed BDM/BDO’s on video and placing these interviews on our REJS site so that you can understand the experience from their perspective as well as get a feel for what the encounter on a daily basis.  ( Coming soon )

So you say where to from here! Simply contact the team at REJS on 1300 219 522 to make a time for one of the directors to chat with you about your requirements and you can soon be well on the way to growing your rent roll, your asset, your way.

We look forward to assisting you.

A bird in the hand…

When it comes time to recruit team members for your Real Estate company, the old adage that a ‘bird in the hand is worth two in the bush’ is very relevant.

We see a lot of managers and company principals who are determined to keep doing things the way they’ve always done them, and in this instance we’re talking about putting a closing date for applications when you list a job.

Too often we see employers refusing to see an applicant because the closing date they’ve put on their advert doesn’t roll around for another fortnight. And invariably, that applicant finds another position, and the employer has no luck at all, and ends up coming to us, bemoaning the fact that they missed the opportunity to hire the perfect person two weeks before applications closed!

Any Real Estate company with aspirations to be successful is searching for a superstar to join their team, and you’ve got to realise that competition to secure the services of these individuals is intense. You just never know when you’re going to stumble across the person who is perfectly qualified and will be the ideal fit for your working environment, so you’ve got to remain open minded and ready to react when you do find them.

By advertising roles without a closing date you immediately become more versatile and flexible. You can react as the applications roll in, bringing the interview process forward if interest is high and quality applicants are flooding in, or letting it run, without constantly re-advertising.

In a competitive market the last thing you want to do is sabotage yourself. To give yourself the best opportunity of attracting first-rate employers remain open – open minded, and open-ended!

The Real Estate Recruitment leader, Real Estate Jobs Search continue to match the best people with the best positions. We help candidates and employers find what they looking for.

The Role: Telemarketer/Appointment Setter – Brisbane Fringes – hourly rate plus bonuses

Our client based on the Brisbane city fringes provides professional real estate services to their clients in Brisbane. They are looking to further their level of customer service and seek an exceptional Telemarketer to assist them with this. This is a unique opportunity to join a dynamic organisation with a vibrant culture and future, who genuinely believes that their people are their best asset.

Hours will be flexible and could be worked over 2 – 4 days of the week and over 3 – 4 hours each day, these will be agreed on between you and our client.

The role is simple, you are an experienced Telemarketer, so you know what to do! You will be provided with real estate scripts and dialogues.  Your bright personality, teamed with your strong communication skills will create a fantastic first impression to potential clients as you contact surrounding suburbs and provide a happy courtesy call to advise of our real estate services. There is further view to generate appointments down the track.

To be considered you will need to have the following:

•         At least 2 – 3 Years proven experience

•         Ability to show results at interview

•         Ability to cold call and develop new relationships

•         Excellent verbal communication skills

•         Be motivated by providing outstanding levels of service

•         Professionalism in manner

A little about our Client:  Our client is a very successful boutique agency located close to the city and they have a very high profile and a very loyal client base. Here is a chance to be part of a great team, either from home or their office (for the right person).

What is on offer: The successful candidate will be offered an hourly rate plus bonuses.

Apply:  For more information on this role, please contact Richard Taylor 1300 219 522 or 0414 581 472 or email your resume in a word document to:

Richard Taylor Email: richard@rejs.com.au

Nikki Taylor Email: nikki@rejs.com.au

REJS Headquarters: 1300 219 522

Skype: rejs2011

Website:  www.realestatejobssearch.com

Real Estate Jobs Search

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