Hey guys , ryan DeMint from Chasing Financial Freedom podcast . Hope you guys are having a great day . Today on the podcast we have Pam Butera and she's a realtor at Keller Williams Sorry . Realtor and owner of the franchise Greater Philly Cyber Backers . Pam , welcome to the show .
Thanks , ryan , happy to be here .
Thanks for coming on . Hope you had a good long weekend .
Oh very much . It's like instantly fall though .
Is it ?
Oh gosh , yeah , it's like overnight it happens Starts earlier and earlier every year .
What's the temperature supposed to be like there ?
Right now it's only like 68 , 70 , but it's the wind . The wind is our challenge . The wind is about 20 miles an hour , so that's what's making it feel too cold for me .
And are you a native East Coast person ? I ?
am , yes , born and raised in the Philly area .
Yes , you can always go south for the winter right .
Oh yes , I've been thinking about that a lot more these days , no doubt Well cool .
Before we get into what you're doing , can you tell the listeners a little bit about yourself ?
Yes , I've been a realtor all my life and I've always had a team . And when I say I've had a team , I've always had an administrative assistant , sometimes more than one .
I've had up to three , and about five years ago I was introduced to the virtual admin concept and I really embraced the idea , so much so that I bought the local Greater Philly Cyberbacker franchise , and so now I'm working to build up our business with clients in the five-county Philadelphia area and we work in all industries .
Clients in the five-county Philadelphia area and we work in all industries . Our admins are not exclusive to real estate , which is how I started and was introduced to them . We have a client that is an architect . We have one that owns a bar actually . We have one that owns a roofing franchise . We have a doctor .
The wellness industry is really starting to catch on . Our admin can help them on a lot of different levels . So that's a little bit about me .
So are these assistants only going to be so ? You just said that you're only going to focus on assistants or helping people within the Philly area . It's not nationwide , so you're limited to that area .
Oh , that's a good question . No , I am not limited to that area . It's a good question . No , I am not limited to that area . It's a franchise . Anyone that's looking to get an admin in the greater Philly area , the five county area , would work through me . However , we have franchises all throughout the country and you don't have to sign up with a franchise .
We can help you anywhere in the US is the bottom line .
Okay , and are these ? Are you guys calling them virtual assistants , or are they actually true on-site assistants ?
No , they're all virtual . All of our VAs are physically located in the Philippines . And the reason that we have such a ? On a weekly basis we get over 10,000 job applicants from the Filipinos because they get to work from home .
And it's such a draw because , if anyone's familiar with the Filipino culture , family is a high priority for them and a lot of times they are multi-generations living in under one household . So by being able to work from home , this allows them to obviously tend to the family's needs .
And then we also have a higher pay grade , purposely to attract real talent , because we also know that here in America we have high standards and one of them being their English and their grammar . So even though we get over 10,000 job applicants per week , we hire less than 2% because our standards are so strict .
And we keep having that draw for more and more Filipinos because not only do we have a higher pay grade , we also offer health benefits , which apparently in the Philippines it's very hard to get health insurance . We also have a profit sharing plan which can help them with their retirement savings . It can help them to buy a car .
So it's not just you get a paycheck , there's a lot of other advantages . And then the community that CyberBanker has built there is pretty amazing . We have over 3,000 VAs that work throughout .
We have clients throughout the US , so there's a large community in the Philippines , which is also a real advantage to you as a client , because they all talk and help each other to grow and learn so that you , as a client , have a really well-educated and a very efficient admin at your service .
If someone's listening to this episode , where would they not ? Where ? When would they ? What would be the ideal time for them to actually execute and say I need a VA ?
So one of the things that we say on a regular basis is a VA helps you leverage your time and grow your business . For example , this weekend I was communicating back and forth with one of our clients business . For example , this weekend I was communicating back and forth with one of her clients .
He's he owns a roof max franchise and his business has exploded because of his VA , has been able to set more appointments , keep track of things much better for him and he says Pam , the best thing is I have more time now because she has stepped in , because he's on the road all the time .
So I don't even know how he was juggling his business to start and he's quadrupled his business and his VA has only been working with him . I want to say he started with us in March , so what's that ? Five , six months , and so his business is exploding and which is causing him to buy more territories because he feels he can .
Now , because he has the leverage that he always wanted for his business to grow like it is , he's going to buy another territory and ultimately , he's going to be able to retire earlier . I think it's a great scenario . Earlier , I think it's a great scenario .
So it sounds like these VAs have multiple skills . It's not just admin skills .
Sounds like that he's using somebody that has the ability to do cold calls ? Yes , and I'm really glad you brought that up . And so when we meet with a new client , we design their job description , which usually has 10 to 12 items on it , and then , based on what their job description says , is how we decide who to match them with .
We want to match them with the appropriate virtual admin . And when I say that CyberBanker has designed their own personality assessment so that we understand if you're someone that is an analytical and likes numbers , you're most likely not going to be an expressive and want to make cold calls and answer the phone and interact with the public .
You are someone that's going to probably be in the accounting field potentially . Like I said , one of our doctors uses our VA for their billing system to help them with that . We match the VA's personality to the job description and we find there's much greater success on both ends .
So if I'm a business owner , I'm stretched on time . I want to grow my business . How do I best start and look at this option as using a VA to help me expand my business .
That's a great question . So a lot of our clients have never had an assistant before . So we do training for their VA . They have 10 business days of training based on their job description , again for whatever their needs are , and then myself and my own VA can do additional training for them .
We also have a SOP , a standard operating procedures manual , to give them a template to help them get started , because we understand one of the biggest hurdles in someone hiring a VA is the training . So we get that . So we've got their back in the sense of how much training that we do for them .
And then I'm going to go back to the community , the VA community , because what we believe is when you give a test to your VA , the VA then needs to figure out on their own how they're going to accomplish that . We don't believe that you should be the one training your VA . Maybe I should qualify that all the time right .
For example , I wanted to get a new website , look upon herself to go onto YouTube , to go into her community , her VA community and learn how to create a website . And now I have a new website and I'm thrilled with it .
I guess this might be a little crazy question , but I need to ask if you've not had a VA before . Where do you step in into this place ? And what I'm asking that is I have a VA that does all my post-production on my podcast and helps with my social media .
I'm probably going to get another VA that will help out with some operational items , which we could talk about that after the episode , but there are some people that are very hesitant and they might be a little gun shy because of the cost . How can you help a potential client get over those hurdles ?
take the time upfront to form a relationship . And when I say that , I think one of the biggest challenges that people that aren't familiar with VA is they don't understand the virtual idea . And even though they're halfway across the world , they're still people right , they still need direction , they still want your feedback .
And one of the things about the Filipino culture , if you're familiar with it , is they are the most loyal and dedicated and hardworking , one of the most loyal and dedicated and hardworking cultures . So when you gain their trust and when they get on board with your mission , the sky's the limit .
There's nothing that they wouldn't do for you , which is the experience that I have had and that's caused me to buy the franchise , because I could not believe how these people , who have personally , physically never met me , just would work tirelessly to help me and my business to grow and succeed succeed .
And now to your point about the cost of a VA is a fraction of the cost of an in-person admin , so typically the cost isn't one of their hurdles . In my experience , their hurdle is the whole virtual idea . Like how do I talk to them ? And I'm like they have cell phones . Their phone works just as easy as if it was someone that's sitting next to you .
We do a lot of zoom calls , and they actually let the audience know that our vas have us , that we provide them with a cell phone and a zoom account . They also we provide them with an email account too , and everybody chooses which way they're going to communicate with their VA . Some of them will use WhatsApp , some will use Facebook Messenger .
I'm email or I pick up the phone , or I text , which is how I communicate with all my clients . So to me it's no different , and with technology today , that text goes through instantly . And my VA responds to me instantly , so there isn't any delay there at all . But you bring up a really great point .
I actually thought that the VA idea would have taken off more so , with a lot of people working from home and working virtually . But it's interesting , a lot of people still struggle and would need someone in person .
It's tough to adjust to . For sure I've had one for four years now and it was tough . It is , but once you get a cadence down on how to communicate and setting them up for success , it works very well . I have to go back to it because I know I had the question and I want to get it out there and I'm not trying to pigeonhole you into it .
Typically , range-wise , what do people look at to invest in their first VA ? As in dollars ?
Oh , money , yeah , okay . So our VAs can work part-time , which would be $1,000 a month , okay , and full-time is $1,500 a month and there's a one-time setup fee of $750 . So for full-time , it's not even 20 grand a year .
So that's great and you get somebody that has skills and then do you guys pre-vet them so you'll interview them and go through the whole process and then allow your client to then interview and then say yes or no .
going onto your Zoom , call each of the candidates . You're sent their resume , their personality assessment and a video that they have filmed so you have a taste of each candidate prior to your rapid fire interview with them and then you do your interview . Each interview is about 15 minutes . You can call them back if you have more questions .
If you decide none of those candidates work for you , we'll start over and find new candidates for you until we can find the perfect match for you .
Is there any type of contract ?
that is required . Yes , so we have either a six-month or a one-year contract .
Okay , because I was thinking , like you brought up website design . Yes , that would be a short-term thing , so is there an option for that , if someone wants to get something ?
done short-term . Can they come to you guys ? That would be on a case-by-case basis and I'll tell you the reason why is because our VAs like the stability of knowing that they have a somewhat long-term job rather than just project-based , and then after a month they don't have to go find another client .
We find that you get better talent when you do it that way , because there's more job security and personally , what's happened with me and many of our clients . So then okay , so they did that website . Then once the client realizes how much the efficiency and the capability of the VA , then they have all these other projects that they can assign to them .
Would you say most of the VAs have multiple skill sets Did you say most of the VAs have multiple skill sets .
Yes , the other thing I should let our audience know is more than 50% of our VAs are college educated , because that is something that parents instill upon their children is to get an education .
Then you can decide go do what you want to do and , like I said in the early part of the podcast , because our pay grade is so much higher , that's why we attract the talent that we do .
I don't remember being that high in the Philippines , but that's nice . I like that . I've got one that was a nursing student , went back to nursing school , finished and decided that she wasn't going to become a nurse and now she's a virtual assistant . I don't know , we all do that . We've all done something crazy like that in life .
From a real estate perspective since I'm in that space also how would you say a VA has changed your business ?
Oh my gosh , my to-do list is not this long every day anymore . My to-do list gets checked off every day now . It's amazing , and it took me a little while to realize that I can give her everything . I was still trying to accomplish some of these tasks , which is silly , because the highest and best use of my time is selling . I'm not a very good admin .
I'll try and figure something out . I'm like , why am I doing this ? She's so much better at this . This is what she excels at . So what I love is anything that I think of she can accomplish . Our marketing plan is on point , because she keeps me on track with it right , like the beginning of the year . I'm sure you do the same .
You have your marketing plan on how you're going to stay in touch with your clients and you can easily get derailed from that and get doing things , and she doesn't allow that to happen , which is pretty awesome .
That's great that she manages that way . That makes life so much easier . So how long have you had the actual franchise ?
I'm in my third year .
So I'm guessing you had a VA a little bit longer than that .
I have . I've had a VA for five years .
With that being said , what would you say from the start of getting your first VA ? Is this the same VA for five years that you've had ?
No , it's not the same one .
Okay , yeah . So from the very first time that you got a VA to now , what would be three nuggets you could share with the listeners that you would say has been life-changing by having a VA ?
Like I said earlier , you want to establish a really great relationship with your VA so that they've got your back , and I think in the beginning it'll be somewhat cumbersome because you're going to have to take more time to train them . I would advise training them on Zoom .
What I learned quickly when I did that on Zoom was she records every one of our calls and that's how we got the standard operating procedures manual which is now up to 63 pages , right , and I never had one as thorough as this . She has graphics in there so we can give it to anybody and it's a Google Doc and they can edit it .
So I recommend doing your trainings and having your conversations over Zoom if you feel it's something that you want to have transcribed , and then if I would try to picture them like in your environment , don't think of them as , oh God , they're so far away in the Philippines , because that never crosses my mind .
She's there for me from nine to five , takes a lunch break . She's just as if she was sitting next to me .
She's working nine to five your time , so that's in the wee hours of the morning in the Philippines .
Yes , and she's always there and available . So that's why I say just put that out of your head , because you're not even going to realize once you start working together , because she's going to respond to every single email . She can respond to your texts there .
And we have men too no-transcript you down and I would probably not . Probably . I know from experience that is . That is a problem for all business owners . You get in the weeds and you should actually not be in the weeds . You should be working on the business , not in the business , and that's a problem .
We're getting close to the bottom of the hour , but I wanted to ask a couple other questions . So one from the standpoint of using a VA . Would you say , if someone's a little bit gun shy , what would be the best steps for them to do to understand the process , because I talk to people all the time they're like how can you use a VA ?
It's very simple you have a conversation , you go through it . Some people are very hesitant in that . What would your words of advice be on that ?
On occasion , we'll do promotions and give to give them a taste of what it's like to have a VA , because I do know the hesitancy that is there . You can certainly I'll tell you one of the things that I have done is , if I'm doing a presentation , a lot of times I'll have my VA with me .
On the presentation she sells herself and once you see her and see her in action , it's a no-brainer .
So I would encourage someone and they can absolutely reach out to me , I don't care where they are , I'll help them , because I just believe in this so much that once they have the same experience that I'm having , I know that they'll be hooked on it like I am .
Because the one thing that , the one thing I should share too , is once the VA gets to understand your business . It takes about four to eight weeks for them to really get in their groove . Once they understand your business and understand how you like to run it , then they start offering ideas on how to improve it , and that's when I really was sold .
I was like , oh my gosh , I never even thought about it . I'm on LinkedIn like I've never been on LinkedIn . It's amazing . I can't even believe how many conversations I have on LinkedIn and what a phenomenal vehicle that is on a professional level to communicate with other professionals . That's all her doing . Most of her videos she comes up with the topics .
She also made my life so easy and was the one that told me about the CapCut app that has the teleprompter with your script , so you look like a professional . I never knew about this and we set an appointment every week . Right , and I don't miss it , and that's when we'll film a bunch of videos . And now she's got content . Do my social media promotion .
That all wasn't happening on my own .
It's game-changing , for sure . It's totally game-changing , it for sure is . And then , if somebody wants to reach out to you , where's the best place they can connect with you and discuss VAs ?
My cell , which is 215-205-8130 . Or , if you like email , it's Pam at the Butera Group , which is spelled T-A-E-B-U-T-E-R-A groupcom .
Do you guys have a ? Do you have a website for the VA stuff and ?
that's virtual leverage solutions with an S dot com .
Okay , I will put all that in the show notes so people can reach out to you . Thank you for coming on . I love what you're doing . It's a great thing because it's game changing once you find a VA that you can work with , because he or she can change your life and help you grow your business .
Yes , yeah , it's changing lives on both ends it is yeah . Thank you for having me .
You're more than welcome .
Fun , appreciate it .