Any personal assistant who is to help your business grow must have the standard traits of a good assistant: good time management, good communication skills, and good organizational and follow-up skills. Equally as important, he or she must possess, either before they come to you or after the proper training, the necessary technical skills that will enable you to reach more prospects in less time than ever before and to service your present customers and clients in a more time-efficient manner. Unless your personal assistant is able to use today’s technology, you are handicapped in your marketing efforts. In short, you are working too hard for the money you get!

Based on my study of those Allen F. Hainge CyberStars™ who have personal assistants, here’s a checklist of the technical skills a good personal assistant needs in today’s marketplace. He or she should be able to:

• Be familiar with and comfortable in using Windows (probably the #1 required skill, as a knowledge of Windows will make him or her more comfortable using any software)
• Use a good word processing software, including its mass mailing feature, inserting photos into documents, and other key features
• Be able to put together printed presentations using Microsoft Publisher, particularly flyers, brochures and business cards
• Be able to operate a digital camera and to take photos from it and place them in either printed or multimedia presentations
• Operate your real estate specific database with ease
• Have the ability to deal with tech support, either for various software or for computer hardware problems
• Effectively use email, including attachments and personalized group mailings
• Navigate the Web with ease and be able to conduct research on it

Most importantly, he or she should not fear technology but rather embrace it as a way of helping you increase your market share.

Editor's note: This article is an excerpt from Allen F. Hainge's new book, Making Money With Today’s Technology!. For more information about the book, visit Allan's Web site at www.afhseminars.com.