It is the nature of any business to have tasks pop up quickly, often requiring immediate action. For your real estate franchise this will be no different. Not only will your agency have internal needs, your clients will often call on you for recommendations when it comes to making preparations for selling their homes.
Readying a home for sale can often be a balancing act. Your client may wish to do things to freshen their property up in an attempt to make it more appealing to prospective buyers, however, they don't wish to spend a great deal of money doing so. Time also becomes a factor here, where various tasks such as painting often need to be performed quickly and with short notice.
Your real estate agents will often be asked for recommendations regarding the best professionals/companies to use for these tasks. To fulfill these requests, your agency should build a database of companies/people whom you know can be trusted to do a good job.
This database should contain the best contacts for a variety of different jobs. Painting is a very common request, as is gardening. A handyman for odd jobs is also a convenient to have. As home staging is becoming more and more popular, it may also be worthwhile to have a property stylist with connections into furniture hire companies in your system.
The people on your contact list are ones that you will possibly need to call to work with a day's notice. They need to be professional, understand that you are working within a tight time frame and their prices must be reasonable.
It can often be worthwhile to have a couple of different contacts under each job category. This can be helpful if your first choice is unable to commit to the work.
Remember that by recommending these particular professionals they become almost an extension of your business. Although the contractor does not work for your agency, if something goes wrong it has the potential to reflect badly on your company.
Building up relationships with various contractors can also be a smart way to generate more business for your agency. If your contacts enjoy working with your agency, they may be inclined to recommend your business to their own contacts as a good real estate agency to approach.
In the end it comes down to effective time management. If you need a job performed to a good standard yet swiftly, it usually pays to employ somebody whose work you are acquainted with. If your real estate agency can build up a database of trusted contacts that are readily available, you should end up with smooth prepared properties and satisfied clients.