The Borderless BDM

We share how remote BDMs now run full pipelines without an office, from cold calling to Zoom appraisals, and why a team approach with local PMs builds trust and speed. We map when to add flexible BDM support, how to protect databases and territories, and what the future of BDM teams looks like.

• shifting from office-only to remote BDMs and borderless investors
• proving full-cycle onboarding via phone and Zoom
• launching a flexible, no-minimum BDM service model
• tasks to outsource across CRM, nurture and email marketing
• handling in-person requests through PM–BDM teaming
• partnering with in-house BDMs as a back-end engine
• reviving large, neglected databases with cadence
• managing multiple clients, voice and data privacy
• the future: remote BDM teams, appointment setting and video appraisals
• tiered use cases for small, mid and large agencies
• ROI from scaling lead generation across services

Natasha at mybdm.com.au
www.mybdm.com.au
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Chapters

• 1:02 From Office-Bound To Remote
• 2:20 Proving You Can Grow Online
• 3:17 Launching A Remote BDM Service
• 5:46 Flexible Engagement And Pricing
• 7:46 Why Many PMs Avoid BDM Duties
• 10:34 Handling In-Person Needs Via Teaming
• 14:15 Augmenting Existing BDMs And Lead Nurture
• 18:23 Database Discipline And CRM Workflows
• 22:54 Guardrails: Brand Voice And Territory
• 27:26 The Future: Remote BDM Teams

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:31

And shop because it just wasn't a thing, you know. I'm pretty sure you can relate to Ash. I'm sure you've been in it for a very long time. Real estate was one of the jobs that you just could not do from home at all for many, many years. Nine to five thirty, there was no for me and my experience, there was really no flexibility at all. It was purely a nine to five thirty job. And then over the years, you have seen that people are so busy now that they can't even get to the office anymore. People, there is no such thing anymore, like as in-office meetings. And from my experience the last few years, again, I'm sure everybody's got different experiences, but I have managed to onboard and cold call and go through the pipeline, convert everything via phone or Zoom if we wanted to meet in face to face. Everything can be done, relationships can be built. And again, just going back, we don't need to meet in person anymore. And I think that you can relate as in there's a lot of businesses now that don't even have an office anymore. And they are just as successful as ones that do have an office. And I know it still happens, but from again from my experience, I when we started going the BDM route, I was very surprised in how many I was actually starting to onboard. So then that experiment with that agency is what made me start this business. Start this business. So now we've started it 2025, working with a few clients. It's just been such an exciting ride. I'm also working with an agency that's in a different state. And I have helped this company build their rent roll from the ground up, and it's just amazing. It's just such a great accomplishment. And I think that's again, just so many things can be done from home. I have built the most amazing relationships just from the phone, from Zooms and all of that. And I guess having this experience of 15 years of property management obviously really helps as well. So what I'm offering to businesses is basically that is if you want an experienced person and you don't have time or you don't have the finances to hire somebody full-time or permanently, or you know, having to pay them superannuation and tax and all of that, you can use our services. There is no minimum or maximum hours that you need to appoint us for. You know, one of our clients uses us for three hours a day and they are a very small company. So, you know, the director's not wanting to hire someone full-time or part-time at this point in time. They just need someone to basically create uh the foundation of their BDM department, you know, manage their inquiries, you know, manage the CRM system, manage the email marketing, just things that property managers and other staff members don't have time for. And I think just traditionally speaking, as well, if you look at real estate officers, again, you know this very well. Not a lot of agencies have BDMs and they're getting their property managers to do it all. So, and a lot of property managers don't actually like to do BDMs, so it's more of a sales agent thing. So, this is another reason why it's good we bring something really good to the table because we are a team of BDMs. I'm an experienced BDM and property management. So I've got that sales, that sales part of me that enjoys doing the BDM, but I've also back it up with the property management experience as well. And a lot of property managers don't like to do it. And from my experience and meeting a lot of property managers out there, I know that a lot of them are time poor or just don't like doing it. So there are a few reasons why I think that what we have going on is pretty good and it can help a lot of different agencies, agencies that have just that are just brand new and you know, again, just wanting to use our services for an hour, two hours a day just to create that department, you know, filter through their inquiries and CRM system. And you know, that they can trust that they're gonna be having someone experienced as well. So that's another thing too. You just you're gonna we're gonna be hitting the ground running with experience. So yeah, I think that was a lot, wasn't it?

SPEAKER_01: 4:55

That was a lot, and oh my god, I don't even know where to start because I've got so many questions for you. And I want to also ask questions that might be what people would say as a negative, and I just want to like squash those ideas. Okay, so I hopefully I'm not hitting you with anything too hard, but it's just I I want to make sure that people get a full picture of it. So we have we've got a mutual client and you and I, and you are perfect, uh perfect for what they need. They've got a very small rent role, they um have you coming in to support, and it's ideal because they have a fantastic database. So I would assume that you are working that database. So I know personally that I very rarely go out and do appraisals these days because we're very much doing borderless property management. I mean, you've got I mean, borderless investing, sorry. So we've got a lot of investors that aren't even in our location buying properties, and that's making up such a high portion of investors, therefore, we don't get the opportunity to meet them. However, if there's somebody listening and they say to you, okay, but what happens if someone does want to meet someone in person? What would be the process for that? What would you do?

SPEAKER_00: 6:13

So, in our journey so far, we are very close to the people that's working in the office with the with my other colleagues, so uh such as the director and the property managers. Our mutual client has a senior property manager there, as you know. I know you're working with her as well. So I am very close with her and we work hand in hand. So when I am dealing with new prospective landlords, clients, I am introducing us as a team, as in myself and the property manager. So it's creating that team, that team that will be working with them. So it's when I'm saying I try to do everything on the phone, online, all of that. But if they are wanting to meet in person, that's when I would be uh letting the property manager meet them. We have done Zoom calls as well. So when they're in the office with the property manager, I would be on the Zoom call as well just to stay, keep it connected. But yeah, the answer to that is just being close to who is on the ground and just keeping it, making sure that you're saying that right from the start. So it's not like you're just dealing with me and then oh, can I meet you in the office? Oh, yep, Sam will be there, but you haven't mentioned Sam. So right from the start, I'm mentioning that we are a part of a team. We are a team.

SPEAKER_01: 7:29

So if there was an office that didn't have a property manager and wanted to start from scratch, would you recommend that they get the property manager in first so that that per that base person is there and then complement it with you? Would that be a recommendation?

SPEAKER_00: 7:45

Yes, I would. Yes, definitely. It's always good, especially if we're dealing with people that are on the ground and around, then of course that we would be working as a team. So whether it's them meeting them first or me electronically, then yes.

SPEAKER_01: 8:02

My next question is if we've got an office that is well established with a, let's just say they've got a portfolio of 300 and they've got a BDM, have you are you currently working with, or do you see opportunity with you coming in as a second BDM to maybe work the the database or the cold calling? Because I'd imagine a large portion of your workload and marketing and lead gen would be the cold calling of the database. And I know that there's like so many BDMs, me included, that doesn't like the cold calling. And I like sort of that the social media side of things. So would it be fair to say that you would be able to complement and help create a team of BDMs, making sure you're capturing that as well?

SPEAKER_00: 8:50

Absolutely, and the thing is you would use our services as to the best to the best as possible. If you've got a BDM in-house, we want to see that BDM going out, meeting people, you know, doing those appraisals and stuff. So we would be able to do all the back-end stuff. Cold calling is something that we do every single day. I know I've heard many people say that cold calling is dead, but it is absolutely not dead. Not from my experience, but and I'm sure that you would say the same as well. But yes, we can definitely work with a BDM team in the office as well, one or more stuff.

SPEAKER_01: 9:24

So you would could sort of be ultimately like a lead generator, so just nurturing the leads in the back end and then and passing them over. If there is a BDM who is needing just the admin support, so they're just needing, they're converting, but they want support with just the paperwork and all of that. Is that something that that you do or is that not part of the services?

SPEAKER_00: 9:47

No, it's definitely something that we do. We do anything to do with BDM. We at the moment we're helping with email campaigns and marketing, social media, you know, managing the inquiries, the pipeline. So any aspects of BDM we will we can handle and manage.

SPEAKER_01: 10:02

Amazing because I am finding personally, like with my clients, that the pay in point that they're experiencing is really that database nurturing. So I find that the you know, just the regular emails, maybe the workflows, the newsletters, and it's not that it's hard, it's just that it's not a priority to them and it's a time thing, and then they question what they send out. So I feel like that would be pretty amazing if for someone that's listening that is not doing that. And I I this is so bad, and I'm I'm displaying my flaws here. But I so we've had our business for 20 years, come February, and we've got this massive, massive database. It's got like 50,000 people on it. I think I've now got that down to 43,000 on purpose because we have not done anything with that database. So we recently migrated over to the Phoenix, which is the PropertyMe CRM. So we're using that one, and I have been sending out emails with the intention that I want people to unsubscribe if they're old because um I've I've had them on for so long. And um, and I am only just, after 20 years in business, paying attention to my database, and I am okay with sending out emails and newsletters and all of that, but what I find is that I'm really inconsistent. So it's one of those things that I'm just doing when I remember, when I've got that spare time. It's never anything that we're prioritizing, and it's great to know that you do it because me personally This is where we come in.

SPEAKER_00: 11:41

This is the service that we provide, you know, all those aspects. And we are the we have our own procedures and processes in place to manage this. So we are very excited to say that this is something that we can help all agencies, right? All those little nitty-gritty things that you don't have time for, but at the same time, you don't want to palm it off to a junior or you know, because I find that a lot of these emails and phone calls and all of that, you know, you need experience. So that's a that's a really big thing. I think that's where another really good point of what we do is the experience behind us is what really helps because you can appoint a junior to do things like that. But if they don't understand property management and all of that, then yeah, it could be hard.

SPEAKER_01: 12:29

Yeah, and I feel like it would be a little bit more difficult for like an offshore person to also do it because they just don't have that same understanding of the market and information you need to do. So, yeah, the questions I'm asking are purely selfish, so I know uh when the time comes, please ask because we I've got an intention to really build a team of BDMs and they don't necessarily need to be in Perth, like the team of BDMs can all serve a purpose, and so that's why I quite sort of I really really am drawn to your services. Can you provide some thoughts on people that would say or ask a question? Well, if you're working with lots of officers, how do you remember or how do you make sure that you BDMing with their point of difference and all of that? How does that work?

SPEAKER_00: 13:37

Well, at the moment we've got we're working with two clients at the moment, and the way we separate things, I guess it's just based on relationship and being really organized. We've got you know certain times and blockout times for each client. You know, I've got a very good relationship with both offices. Both offices work very differently as well. We've got one that's just very different, and the other one very different. So I guess it's just being really hands-on and involved with the office and and knowing what their style is and doing it the way that they're doing it, and you know, separating that from obviously the other office. We were we work with um, we work and plan, we make uh individual plans for each agency, for each client. So, and we execute execute it accordingly, so it's very separate. Each client would be very separate.

SPEAKER_01: 14:26

And then how would you work, I guess, down the track? This will come up, but how will you work down the track with areas? And of course, you it's probably would it be fair to say you wouldn't you'd have to have zones for each for each office, or would it be their database is their database, so it doesn't actually really matter?

SPEAKER_00: 14:45

We haven't crossed that line yet. We haven't got there yet, but obviously all details are very privacy, we're very strict on privacy and confidence. So any data that we handle is strictly in confidence. We haven't quite crossed that path yet about getting a client in the same zone, but I would be very upfront and honest with you know, when it comes to that point, I would definitely see how that agency feels about about that and would we would create a plan accordingly. I would definitely not share each other's clientele. So yeah, look, I think that database, just strictly that database, strictly that database would be the best way to separate it. Yeah. But again, just up up, you know, honestly as well. If I get a client and they're in the same area as client A, I would tell them if they're uncomfortable, then of course I wouldn't push it. Honesty, transparency is always the best way.

SPEAKER_01: 15:38

Australia is a big place, you'll be fine.

SPEAKER_00: 15:40

It is, it is so far, so good. So look, if if we do take off and we do get that, I'll definitely cross the bridge where you know when it comes to it. But I I've worked in in areas and we all know that there's a lot of food, there's a lot of there's a lot to eat. So, you know, that there's lots of properties out there and lots of agencies in the same area. So it would be, we would work the same way.

SPEAKER_01: 16:04

Yeah, excellent. Now I want to touch on the future of BDMing. It's something that I've been thinking about for all roles for property manager, you know, leasing consultants, BDMs, and I've really been thinking a lot about what the future roles look like. So, you know, traditionally we've got BDMs that, or BDMs in offices that traditionally, you know, do their social media, maybe they do their database, they do their letterboxes. Do you, and I guess I'm just sort of thinking out loud, but if I think about the BDM role as it's been in the five last five, ten, twenty years, I don't know if it's really changed a lot. I feel like it's sort of the same. Do you have any like random out of the world ideas of what you think the future of a BDM in an office would look like?

SPEAKER_00: 17:04

Well, look, I think I think what we're doing is gonna be the next step, to be honest. I, you know, business owners can save so much money with having remote staff or you know, appointing our services. And I do think that remote is the future. Remote BDM is the future, you know, having obviously having someone on ground for physical appointments, but remote is is the way to go, and you utilising things like social media and all the platforms that we're all on, that's the future.

SPEAKER_01: 17:37

It's it's ultimately no different to having a BDM work from home. Like it's the same thing, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00: 17:45

I I look I agree. I've proved that in in my journey, in our journey, we we've proved that that's exactly the case. And I haven't really met somebody, I haven't lost business because I haven't been in person. And I'm not to say that I'm I I won't, but my journey so far, I have not lost business due to not being there in person. So that that says a lot. But it wouldn't even be a conversation.

SPEAKER_01: 18:09

People would just assume that you're in the office.

SPEAKER_00: 18:13

That's right, you're there. And that that's just going back to what I was saying is we'd be intro I introduced myself as a team. So I'd be talking about the colleagues that I work with and who I'm working with and the director and where our office is if we do have one. So that that gives them that feel as in, you know, that that we're there, the presence. It gives them the feel of presence is what I was trying to say.

SPEAKER_01: 18:36

Oh, yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00: 18:37

Yeah, so and the thing is another thing is well, with experience too, when a lot of conversations that we do have with clients, a lot of the conversations are about property manager management. So being experienced, we easily talk about that. So, you know, when when landlords aren't happy about maintenance or, you know, court hearings or rentaries or whatever it is, it's something that I can answer those, you know, we can answer those questions with. Whereas if you were to appoint someone that doesn't have experience, that's where the difference, the point of difference would be.

SPEAKER_01: 19:12

Yeah, absolutely. I I don't know how much the role can change apart from having, you know, the remote, but I do feel like offices, what what we'll see in the future is officers creating teams of BDMs. And I think that we either have offices that don't have a BDM, and like you said before, they have their property management team doing doing it. And the second option is that you've got offices that just have one BDM, and that's just normal one BDM and that's it. And I am a huge believer and I am working towards it, but creating a team because the return on investment, and I absolutely believe the BDM's wages and investment is really, really good. And I think that it's uh I just don't know, you know, why we create sales teams, but we don't create BDM teams. Yeah. Because ultimately a BDM could potentially be bringing sales leads, and I feel like the BDM role will probably eventuate into more of that lead generation but for the office. So it'll be lead generation for sales and property management and any services that someone needs. It might even be for finance or if they need a mortgage broker or settlement agent. Basically, they're that network person. I feel that they will be they could even potentially be appointment setters. So that would be something, you know, that's something a remo a remote. BDM could do, or you're like someone like yourself, where they just set appointments for the team and keep the BDM accountable with appointments in their diaries. We don't tend to have a lot of appointment setters in real estate, and I think that we will probably get to that point where we do. And appointment setters absolutely don't have to be local to the office. They're wherever. And I think even going as far as like appraisals and all of that, I have done appraisals through walk like FaceTime where the client has actually FaceTime me through the property. And only a couple, and it was because maybe they were working late and they wanted an eight o'clock time. And I'm like, listen, I can't come out at eight, but do you want to do FaceTime? And they've done it. So when people realize that that's an option, and I guess where property management businesses can start now is by offering FaceTime appraisals so that then owners or investors don't have to have the inconvenience of someone coming through. They probably don't feel like they've got to clean the house, even though they don't clean the house before someone comes through. They can do it at any time that suits them. And then they only need to really block out probably 15-20 minutes as opposed to maybe an hour if someone came out. So I but the thing is that even though most people would be happy to do a FaceTime appraisal, because it's not marketed as an option, people don't know that that is an option. But it's getting there. It's getting there. And that is the future. I'm coaching myself as I'm talking, thinking that's a good idea. I need to be doing that more. And I think that's that's some that would be a step in the direction of the next stage, which is going to be beneficial for you and what you're offering as well. Because yeah, if someone could do a FaceTime, that would be perfect. Uh FaceTime through the property. And we I actually have done a few, uh, so it it is, it's very beneficial. Yeah. Otherwise, apart from that, I don't know. Well, I mean, of course, like property management's going into that advisory role, so that's sort of a little bit different, but yeah, very much lead gen marketing appointment setter role. Yeah, I feel like it's what the BDM's gonna be. So I think you'll be able to create a big team in no time because it's gonna be the normal.

SPEAKER_00: 23:20

And just the the small success that we've already proved so far has it's just been so exciting. So I do definitely want to get more clients out there and spread the words here. We I think we can help any kind of agency, big or small. Yeah, I'm happy to make unique plans for the next the next season of clientele.

SPEAKER_01: 23:41

Yeah, I'm really excited to see how you go. So I'll just sort of recap from a business point of view. So you've got offices where they've maybe got the one property manager, but maybe don't have the finances to bring on the BDM just yet, an in-person BDM. So using Natasha to help with that with the support of the property manager is a great ideal situation. For offices that maybe have two, 300 properties, have one BDM already in place, but they do maybe again don't want to invest in a second BDM. Or the other thing we find is that sometimes our existing BDM is not wanting to bring on another BDM because it can potentially mean that their commission is going to reduce because of you know another person in the office. Yes. If that's the case, you would be ideal to bring in to help create the appointments, the lead gen, and keep the momentum going. As that BDM that's already in the office is getting busier with appointments and leads to be able to bring in more over and above, which maybe then would allow the office to see, oh, now we've got room to bring in a second BDM and still have you in the back and really holding them accountable with opportunities. Yeah. And then you've got then the next tier would be sort of more of the larger agencies where they've got maybe 500 or 1,000, but they're not actually doing their database very well. Um, so their email newsletters, personalized blogs or educational content out. Maybe it could be doing educational content just to their existing database, sorry, um existing um owners as well that they already manage. I think that that would be really good. And then probably as we get to offices that are a thousand, maybe not a thousand plus, maybe like 1500, 2000 plus, those people probably would bring in an in-house marketing person or something like that, but there would still be benefit with you doing the Legion in the back end. Yeah. Um, but yeah, I just wanted to showcase that timeline of ways that your services could be used in different ways to match the size of your business. So that's that's my have I done that right? Do you reckon you have? I loved every part of that. So yes, absolutely. Amazing. Now, what's the best way for people to get hold of you?

SPEAKER_00: 26:08

Um, look, so you can attach my email, my email address. So Natasha at mybdm.com.au. We've got our website www.mybdm.com.au. Easy to remember. Yes. We have Facebook and Instagram. So yeah, feel free to reach out. Amazing.

SPEAKER_01: 26:26

Well, I really appreciate your time. I love what you're doing. I'm so excited that you're working with one of my clients at the moment and um and really uh look forward to seeing how you go with all the services and how it can help so many officers as well. So well done, and thank you so much. And I'll talk to you soon. Thanks, Sash. Thanks for having me.