Are you a mobile rent roll owner?

Perhaps you work from home?

Or maybe you mostly work from local cafes, and meet clients at their property?

Do you ever feel like you don’t have the same advantage as the big agents with big offices?

Are you worried that landlords won’t take you seriously, because you’re a mobile agent?

Have you missed out on listings because you don’t have a big fancy office?

Fear no more!  I’m going to show you how to get more clients as a mobile agent!

Firstly, let’s start by identifying all the advantages of being a mobile agent

1. Your expenses are lower, so this allows for better profitability – this means you can either offer better fees to your clients OR you don’t have to manage as many properties to be profitable, which gives MUCH better service to your landlords
2. Total flexibility of location means that you’re not required to report to an office before going to an appointment or attend team meetings that get in the way of spending time with your landlord and tenants
3. Not having an office means that you’re more likely to meet a landlord client at a location that actually suits them – like their home, or a café, or their office (rather than yours). This also means that you can better plan your day to meet several appointments at the same café
4. Two words – Cloud Software. If you have a mobile office, you must have cloud based software.  This means that you can access your clients information from anywhere.  If you’re meeting with a client at their home, you can instantly access a work order or a statement for them (without having to go back to the office)
5. If you’re working from home, or your car, or a local café, you’re probably one of the most proactive and well-planned people out there!  Because you don’t have the routine of returning to an office, you need to plan your day carefully so that you’re efficient with your time, and to ensure you never forget a set of keys, or an appointment with someone – because you have to remember to go out to the appointment (not wait for people to come to you!)

Of course, there are plenty more advantages of being a mobile agent, but these are my top 5.

Now, let’s talk about the 3 Steps you can take to set up your business to attract more clients because you’re a mobile agent.

Step 1 – Create a Professional Image

If you don’t have a physical office, create a professional image by having a great website, social media accounts and polished first point of contact.  Your website becomes your “shop front”, your social media will reflect your brand personality (and will show what other people are saying about you), and the way you answer your phone (or your voicemail) will reflect your professionalism.

You might also decide to use an outsourced receptionist to answer the phone when you can’t, so that there’s the perception of a larger team supporting you.  I used Silent Partner in my business, and this helped my business image so much!

Remember, because you’re mobile and your operating expenses are lower than your competitors, you can take advantage of this and use your digital presence (website and social media) to attract more clients than your competitors do.

Step 2 – Demonstrate Your Agility

Big agencies who have a fixed office location often aren’t as agile as a mobile office.  They often want clients to make an appointment and come into their office to sit in their board room.  When you speak to your landlords and prospective landlords, be agile and flexible about when and how you meet with them.  Do things your competitors don’t do.  Things like:

• Meeting for coffee
• Going for a walk in the park or on the beach with a client
• Dropping in at the client’s home or office
• Holding Facetime or Skype calls, rather than boring phone calls

If you’re doing things that your competitors are too slow and boring to do, you’ll get more referrals and you can ASK for more referrals from people!

Step 3 – Get Out There

As a mobile agent who is agile and active – show this to the world!  Use social media to demonstrate this agility!  Check in on social media at different cafes (announcing that you’re having a client meeting), run Facebook live open homes, do walking vlogs (video versions of blogs) while you’re letterboxing, take photos of yourself with your clients at their home (with their permission, of course).  Social media is powerful for helping you grow your business, and it’s the ultimate tool for demonstrating the benefits of working with a mobile agent – without having to be too “promotional”

Bonus Tip!  Maintain Separation

If you mostly work from home, I’d recommend you avoid having people come to your house (unless you have a very separate area you work from, like a converted garage).  If you’re going to meet clients, do it at the property, in a café, or hire a meeting room from a professional serviced office.

I used a professional serviced office in my business as my official registered address, so that if a client wanted to drop keys somewhere, or pick up a document, I had access to a receptionist at a front desk in a professional office to help facilitate this.  You can often access a service like this in major cities for a very affordable price (often as cheap as $100 per month).  Having access to a serviced office like this creates the façade of professionalism, and can often get you into a much more expensive location than your competitors at a much cheaper price.

If it’s not an option to use a professional serviced office in your location, you might be able to set up an arrangement with a local complementary service (like an accountant, solicitor, conveyancer or mortgage broker who would be willing for you to use their meeting room on occasion and have clients drop keys to their office).

You’ll probably also want to have PO box, rather than having mail sent to your home address, if you don’t have access to a serviced office or shared office arrangement.

If you’re keen to use social media to demonstrate the benefits of being a mobile agent, be sure to download my free list of 16 Different Types of Social Media Posts for Property Management to Start Posting NOW!

If you haven’t read my last blog titled “Help!  I’m overloaded with work… Should I hire a VA or a local employee?” be sure to check that out next!