Resources for Learning How to Be an Assistant

Occasionally, an agent who is hiring his first assistant will ask me about training for that person. In the beginning, the agent should be teaching his assistant how to do what he’s already been doing himself. It’s just that now he’s just delegating his 80% to his assistant. That’s why the agent should create a first 100 days. It’s everything he wants his new assistant to learn in about the first 3 months of employment.

After that, it’s up to the assistant to learn on her own. I’ve discovered in myself a particular knack for figuring stuff out. Give me something new and I will learn how it works. Either on my own or by reading about it through a book or online. I think they call that “learning”.

So I thought I would share with you some of the resources I’ve used over the years to help me get educated.

Keller Williams Resources

I have never been with another company. I started with KW in 2004 as the Marketing and Administrative Assistant for The TAG Team in Kansas City, MO. I’m still with the same market center, but now I work for Ron Henderson & Associates.

Keller Williams University

I consistently reference the materials in the Keller Williams University. Some of it is outdated, but there is still a LOT of good information there.

After logging in to mykw.kw.com, hover over the Education tab and click Keller Williams University. In the left hand navigation menu, click All Products and then click Browse A-Z. Then just read everything. Not only should you be reading the things that you think apply to your position, you should also be reading the stuff specifically for agents. You’ll understand what the agents are supposed to be doing and then help them develop systems to accomplish those things.

Here are a few titles to start with:

MREA Admin: Contract to Close
MREA Admin: Lead Tracking and Follow-Up
MREA Admin: Managing and Servicing Listings
MREA Admin: Managing the MREA Office
MREA Operations Manual & Forms Appendix
MREA: Systematizing Lead Generation
Win with Buyers
Win with Sellers

Agent Mountain

Hover over the Home tab and click on Agent Mountain. Gary Keller’s interviews are the best. They are usually less than 30 minutes and you can download them and listen to them in your car.

What I love about these is that each agents talks about something specific that they implemented that helps make them successful. Let’s face it, you don’t get asked to interview with Gary Keller unless you are doing something REALLY well!

Monica Reynolds – The Perfect Real Estate Assistant

The sub-title is “How do you create an assistant who is irreplaceable?” The cost is $199 per months for 6 months. The first call of the month is for the rainmaker and calls two and three are for the assistant. It is WELL worth the cost.

Here is what to expect taken directly from the course description:

Numerous customer service scripts to ensure repeat customers and referrals
Checklists for 75 critical activities
More than 50 excellent customer service letters
A complete office procedures manual
Detailed job descriptions with proven work schedules
Office manual built over duration of program
This program is for both agents and assistants

It’s that last line that really made me want to take this course. As assistants, sometimes we have trouble getting buy-in from our agents when we want to implement something. Monica speaks directly to the agents and tells them what she is covering with you so that they understand the importance. I think sometimes that when the information comes from a “higher authority” it carries more weight and the agents are more apt to buy into a new program or system.

It wasn’t until after taking this training program that our own team implemented our current tracking system for dials, contacts, appointments, and signed contracts. The system I use is only a minor tweak from Monica gave us and now I know exactly how many contacts our agents need to make and by when in order to hit their goal by the end of the year.

To find out when the next session takes place, Hover over the Coaching tab and click Group Coaching. In the window that pops open, scroll all the way to the bottom and you will find The Perfect Real Estate Assistant 101 in the lower right corner. I haven’t taken the 201 course yet, but clearly I should!

Books

I am one of those people who read several books at once. I can’t help it. At minimum, I read a non-fiction book of some kind centered around self-improvement, leadership, or productivity, and I read a fiction book just for fun.

Here are a few titles that I have found quite valuable to my position as an assistant:

The Millionaire Real Estate Agent – This book is the blueprint for real estate teams. Read this first. And then read it 12 more times.
The One Thing – Another book worth multiple reads. If you like minimalism, this will sit well with you. And even if you don’t, it will help you get clarity.
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking – I just like books that talk about me. Especially when I feel like someone out there actually understands me and why I am the way I am. It’s hard to be among real estates agents all day long especially when they make their living by talking to people. Talking on the phone, talking to agents in the office, talking to me. They are my world that can’t stop talking. This book is the quiet I need.
All the books by Jeffrey Gitomer especially Jeffrey Gitomer’s Little Golden Book of Yes! Attitude: How to Find, Build, and Keep a YES! Attitude for a Lifetime of SUCCESS – Attitude is such a big part of this job. If you find yourself having a bad day, get this book out and instantly feel your mood lift.
The Slight Edge: Turning Simple Disciplines into Massive Success and Happiness – I’ve read this one a few times. I feel like I’m always looking to improve myself this book talks about guidelines for making that happen.
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success – You might hear people talk about growth mindset. This book explains what that is and how you can develop it. A team will not grow unless everyone adopts the growth mindset.
Anything by Brene Brown – This is another woman who just gets me. You’ll be glad you read her books.

I highly recommend purchasing the physical versions of these books and underlining passages that speak to you and writing in the margins or in a journal how the book applies to you either in a work setting or at home. The physical act of pen to paper helps cement ideas into your head. Ryan Holiday has a system for this if you are interested.

(As a side note, if you don’t already have an Amazon Prime subscription, it is SO worth the money! You get second day shipping on anything marked “Prime” which most books are.)

Blogs

I subscribe to a number of blogs. Probably more than I should. But these are the ones I get the most value out of:

ryanholiday.net – This guy reads a ton of books and shares what he’s gotten out of them. If you’re looking for book suggestions, this is your resource.
penelopeloveslists.com – I love being organized and having systems and using pretty things to get those things done. Meredith has great suggestions for everything.
fourhourworkweek.com/blog – Tim Ferriss is such a hacker. He’s always looking to do things better. I like when he talks about entrepreneurship because there’s so much we can learn from other industries outside real estate. He usually has good advice for marketing as well.
loriballen.com – I follow Lori everywhere. Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, and I get her emails. She’s figured out how to get her name everywhere and get business doing it. She shares it all and also has systems you can buy. Get on her mailing list. She hosts webinars as well. Love her!
Happy Grasshopper – More marketing tools and tips. They hold webinars too.

Videos

Chris Smith | Curaytor | WaterCooler – I first learned about Chris through his blog Tech Savvy Agent. He has since handed that off to Steve Pacinelli and gone on to many other things. In The Water Cooler, he and Jimmy Macken interview agents and marketing professionals. Nearly every episode I end up taking a ton of notes and end up implementing one or two things immediately.
TED Talks – Again, I love expanding my thinking and growing as a person. There are a ton of these talks and I just randomly find ones that I think sound interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever listened to one and then been disappointed.
Brendon Burchard – Brendon is the new Tony Robbins. I love Tony and now I love Brendon. He’s just so darn nice! And he gives good advice about improving yourself and becoming a leader.
Brene Brown – Listen to her speak with such passion, and you will instantly fall in love. I know I’m very hard on myself and quite the perfectionist, but she’s helped me get over myself.

Podcasts

I use Stitcher to listen to podcasts on my phone and play them in my car, but all of these are available on iTunes as well.

Achieve Your Goals – Hal Elrod – I read Miracle Morning and I admit that the only thing I stuck with was morning exercise. Hal conducts some great interviews and I always take away something from these podcasts.
The Tim Ferriss Show – The blog is great and the podcasts are even better. Be prepared though, they usually run 90 minutes or more. I always learn something new or I find someone new to follow or read about from his interviews.
Pat Hiban Interview Real Estate Rock Stars – Ahh, Pat! Most of his interview are with agents and occasionally he’ll interview someone who can contribute ideas that are real estate related. My agent listens to these too so it’s nice that we can talk about any new ideas we heard that we might want to implement.
Addicted 2 Success – Just another self-improvement podcast. The host Joel Brown in Australian and I love listening to his accent. So maybe subconsciously that’s what I love about the show. But he does interview some big names and I like listening to the advice they give about success.
The Art of Charm – This one’s a little different. This is actually a show for men about how to “be charming”. The subtitle is “Where Ordinary Guys Become Extraordinary Men”. It’s really so much more than that though. Even though I’m female, we live in a male-dominated world when it comes to business and it help to know how they operate. If I can learn how to adopt some of their networking and negotiation strategies, then all the better for me.

Webinars

Man, have I watched a LOT of webinars! Several of the above mentioned sources also do webinars and if you get on their mailing list, you’ll get invited to the webinars.

Agent Mastermind Webinar Series – These happen every Tuesday at 11:00 AM, but once you get on their email list, they will send you a replay link. Lots of good marketing classes with this series.
The One Thing Webinar – One of the authors Jay Papasan interviews success people in their field. I always take away something from these webinars.

Online Coaching and Training Course

And then there’s the course that I teach myself. Systems Success Course is a 12-week small-group and one-on-one coaching and training course for real estate executive assistants. It’s an in-depth look at what systems and tools you’ll need to set up the operations side of any real estate business.

Get all the details, plus the registration link on my Systems Success Course information page.

At the End of the Day…

It’s a lot, I know. I don’t watch every episode or listen to every podcast. I pick and choose and mostly listen watch or read this stuff when I have some down time. I time block for things I’m especially interested in.

What about you? Share your favorite or most helpful books, blogs, videos, podcasts, and webinars with me in the comments below!