Office managers are the unsung heroes of the real estate industry. They would be excellent cat-herders in an alternate universe, but in this one they’re spending their energy herding agents, brokers and clients instead.
Inman is profiling office and branch managers in real estate as part of a brand-new profile series. Want to participate? Send answers to the questions below, plus a high-resolution headshot of yourself and your office, to amber@inman.com:
Have you ever managed an office outside the real estate industry? What kind? How did you make the transition to real estate?
How many agents work out of the office you manage? How many brokers?
How many listings does your office manage at any given time (estimate is OK)?
Describe your office. What is the floor plan like? What is the decor like?
What CMR does your office use?
What email system does your office use?
Do you have a live person answer your phones, a messaging service or some other way to manage phone calls?
Do you have any office manager assistants, or are you doing it all yourself? If so, how many and how do they support you?
Are you involved in the social media strategy? How so? If not, who manages social media for your brokerage?
Have you ever sold real estate? If not, do you have any interest in selling real estate yourself?
Walk us through a day in your life. What’s the first thing you do when you get to the office and the last thing you do before you leave? What happens in between?
What’s your favorite part of your day? What’s your least favorite part?
What does lunchtime look like for you — do you leave the office for lunch or eat a brown-bag at your desk?
How do you support agents after hours and on weekends?
Would you recommend this career to someone else? Why or why not?
What has been the biggest change to your job over the past year?
What sets your brokerage apart? How do you differentiate yourself?
If you were forced to work in any industry other than real estate, which would it be and why?
Are you involved in any technology investment decisions?
Do agents rely too much on you to handle things?
To what extent do you help with closings?
What broker or agent habits drive you crazy?
If you had a magic wand that would grant one wish related to your job, what would it be?