If you’re a real estate agent, you know just how difficult it is to keep on top of things. From scheduling meetings and managing property listings to social media posting, there’s no end to a real estate agent’s to-do list. Is there an easy and effective way to manage all these tasks? The answer is a resounding “Yes!” You can get more done with a real estate virtual assistant (VA) without burning out or breaking the bank.
Can a real estate agent hire an assistant for their business? How can a VA help in the real estate industry? Let’s find out!
What is a Real Estate Virtual Assistant?
A real estate virtual assistant helps real estate professionals manage their businesses from a remote location. They can provide support on various real estate business duties like marketing tasks, answering incoming calls, and other tasks that can be done remotely. A real estate virtual assistant is also called real estate VA or REVA.
Signs You Need a Virtual Assistant for Your Real Estate Business
How do you know when you need a virtual assistant for real estate? Here are some tell-tale signs:
Routine and time-consuming tasks dominate your workday.
Those who work in real estate know that it involves diverse tasks, including time-consuming, routine ones. But real estate sales agents must find ways to free themselves up from tasks that tie them to their desks. This will allow them to focus on their core responsibilities.
If you think that desk work is taking you away from your core functions, it’s time to hire a real estate virtual assistant.
Business is becoming stagnant.
Too much admin or desk work means you won’t have enough time to find new opportunities. You may use your valuable time and energy on essential yet low-level tasks instead of growth and revenue-generating ones. If you want to free up your schedule and headspace to focus on improving your business, hiring a real estate virtual assistant to help is best.
Burnout is just around the corner.
Too many tasks on your to-do list can lead to stress and burnout. It’s important to take care of your overall well-being to ensure that you can be the leader your real estate business needs. When you start to feel that your workload is unmanageable and detrimental to your health, you should hire a real estate VA.
Real estate virtual assistants can help agents manage their workload. Doing so will help improve business productivity without risking burnout. Finding the balance between work, personal life, and caring for one’s health can be challenging. But with virtual assistants, it becomes more attainable.
You’re looking for more cost-effective solutions to get help.
Your business is growing, but you don’t have the time or resources to manage it all alone. But hiring a full-time employee for the office is just not feasible, given the high overhead costs. The best solution is to hire a virtual assistant to get the job done. You can find talented VAs worldwide that can provide the support you need at a fraction of the price.
Customer experience satisfaction is low.
Providing exceptional customer service can make a world of difference for any business. It helps you continue engaging with your customer base. These happy customers can become repeat customers and even advocates for your business.
However, if you’re too caught up in back-office tasks, you may not have much time for anything else. The level of customer satisfaction might take a hit when this happens. To help address this, you need to hire real estate VAs to help you manage your load and keep customers happy.
Whether you want to keep your finances in check or just want a more sustainable staffing alternative, hiring virtual assistants is an excellent choice. To know more about what remote staffing can do for your business, schedule a free consultation today!
How Can a Virtual Assistant Help Your Business? 5 Benefits of Hiring a Real Estate VA
There are many benefits to hiring a real estate virtual assistant. Here are five of them:
Improve Business Productivity
A great virtual assistant can help you improve your business productivity. You can delegate time-consuming but essential tasks to your VA. This way, you can focus on what you do best: closing deals and growing your real estate business.
Save Money
When working with full-time employees, you must set aside resources for expenses like office equipment, transportation allowances, etc. These expenses can cause your overhead costs to balloon.
On the other hand, when you hire a real estate virtual assistant, all you have to worry about is paying for the agreed rates. They will use their own office and tools, such as a laptop and internet connection, to support you.
Focus on Growth
By delegating back-office and other routine tasks to a virtual assistant, you can regain time to focus on more high-level tasks. The time saved can be used to find or create revenue opportunities. Plus, you’ll have more time to work on building relationships with your existing and potential clients. Both are important if you want a real estate business that can thrive.
Avoid Burnout
As a real estate agent, you’re expected to spend time outside of the four walls of your office. You must attend client meetings, follow up on leads, and even host open houses. Adding back-office tasks on top of your core functions and overseeing your business can be too much to handle. When your workload becomes unmanageable, it can lead to burnout and other health concerns.
To help protect your physical and mental health, you need to let go of tasks that don’t need your immediate attention. You can easily delegate tasks to your real estate virtual assistant. This way, you can balance your time between work, taking care of your health, and other personal responsibilities.
Scalable Staffing Solution
Remote staffing or hiring a virtual assistant is a highly scalable staffing solution. You can customize the virtual assistant services you get based on your requirements.
For example, if you’re starting, you may not need someone to work with you full-time. You can hire a real estate virtual assistant to work with you part-time and handle admin tasks. But as your business grows, so will your staffing needs. You can easily find another real estate VA for additional support or a VA that can work full-time.
Real estate is a cutthroat business. But you don’t have to face it alone. Hiring a VA to support you as you face new challenges is vital. While you focus on getting new clients and growing your business, your VA will handle time-consuming yet important tasks so you don’t have to.
Types of Real Estate Virtual Assistants
Here are the different types of real estate virtual assistants and the kinds of assignments they can handle for you:
Administrative Tasks
Real estate professionals have a lot on their plate. Repetitive tasks like data entry and taking calls may not be the best use of their time. The answer? Hiring Admin Real Estate VAs. Here are some admin and personal tasks you can delegate to a Real Estate Admin VA:
- Database Management
- Data Entry
- Managing Phone Calls
- Inbox Management
- Other Business Admin Duties
Business Support
Back-end office tasks can be time-consuming but crucial in keeping your office running smoothly. Doing such tasks might not best use the real estate agent’s time, so delegating them to a real estate VA is best.
- Real Estate Market Research
- Multiple Listing Service (MLS) Management
- Basic Bookkeeping
- Customer Support
- Schedule Meetings
- Feedback Solicitation
- Spreadsheet Management
- Transaction Coordination
- And More Business Support
Real Estate VA Tasks
Real estate industry-specific tasks are important but time-consuming. If a task does not need a real estate agent’s immediate attention, it can be delegated to a Real Estate VA instead. Here are some examples of such tasks:
- Lead Generation
- Lead Nurturing
- Inside Sales Agent (ISA) Tasks
- Scheduling Appointments and Open Houses
- Tenant Screening
- Buyer Pre-qualification
- Property Title Research
- FSBO Listing Lead Generation
- Property File Management
- Loan Processing Coordination
- Home Inspection Coordination
- Investment Property Research
- Creating Listing Presentations
- Performance Reports
- Market Trends Research
- Other Real Estate and Sales Tasks
Marketing Support
Marketing is a key component of any business, including those in the real estate industry. If you want your real estate business to increase brand awareness, reach its target audience, and engage with more clients, working on your marketing strategy can help. Luckily, real estate agents don’t have to handle tasks like creating and scheduling social media posts. They can always hire a Marketing Support Real Estate VA to do the following:
- Social Media Management
- Graphic Design
- Content Writing
- Copywriting
- Email Marketing
- Video Editing
- Property Listing Optimization
- Property Listing Marketing
- Other Marketing Tasks
Want to know what else real estate virtual assistants can do for you? Check out our remote staffing tips or schedule a free consultation with our Growth Experts to learn more.
Essential Skills and Qualities of a Real Estate VA
Before finding your real estate virtual assistant, it’s crucial to have a list of skills and qualities you want your VA to have. The list may look different depending on the needs of your business. But to help you get started, below is a list of the essential qualities your real estate VAs must have:
Computer Proficiency
Computer proficiency is essential for virtual assistants working in the real estate industry. They will provide their services online, so they must be comfortable operating their main tools: a computer and a stable internet connection.
They must also be able to pick up new tools as well. Your real estate virtual assistant will likely use MLS management software, social media management programs, etc. If they’re comfortable and proficient with computers, they’ll find it easier to learn how to navigate such tools.
Time Management Skills
To help you maximize your time and energy, you need a real estate virtual assistant with good time management skills. Time management is more than just meeting deadlines. Your VA must also know how to prioritize tasks to help keep your business running smoothly.
Attention to Detail
Small mistakes like incorrect contact details or an extra “0” in a spreadsheet can cause issues. Some errors may be easily corrected, while others can lead to client complaints or even legal issues. To avoid such problems, your virtual assistant must be detail-oriented and catch even the slightest mistakes.
Integrity
A real estate virtual assistant will have access to confidential information such as personal data and trade secrets. You must find a VA that has integrity and can keep things confidential. This way, you can protect your data and your client’s information. Additionally, a virtual assistant with integrity can be trusted to do their job even without close supervision. They respect deadlines and agreements. An honest virtual assistant will work hard to submit assignments on time and meet client standards.
Communication Skills
Excellent communication skills are a must-have for any real estate virtual assistant. They are the key to maintaining good working relationships, avoiding misunderstandings, and meeting the client’s demands.
It would help if you had a real estate virtual assistant to communicate professionally and clearly. Hiring someone who knows how to deal with various internal and external partners is best. These partners can include potential clients, existing customers, landlords, tenants, and other real estate professionals. Additionally, real estate VA must have strong listening and comprehension skills to understand the client’s needs.
Adaptability
A real estate virtual assistant recognizes that the digital workplace is constantly evolving. New tools can be launched to improve a business system or process. Their client may switch to a new communication app for more seamless communication. Many changes can happen since technology is still improving. Your VA must be open to learning new things or adjusting to improve their output or achieve business goals.
Relevant Education or Work Experience
It will help if you have a real estate virtual assistant with relevant background or work experience. It can help cut down the time for training if they have a working knowledge of the real estate industry, including common terms and programs used.
If you’re also looking for a real estate VA to handle more specialized functions like bookkeeping, it’s best if they have the right educational background. This way, they are better equipped to do their job and meet your expectations.
Want to know more about virtual assistant services? Claim your free consultation call to learn more about what virtual assistant services can do for your business.
How to Hire a Real Estate Virtual Assistant
There are many things to consider when hiring a real estate virtual assistant. You need to set your budget, create a job listing, schedule interviews, and more. Here’s a quick rundown of the typical virtual assistant hiring process:
- Enumerate tasks to be delegated
- Set your staffing budget
- Craft a comprehensive job ad
- Post job ads on relevant sites, including those specializing in virtual assistant services
- Screen real estate virtual assistant application submissions
- Shortlist candidates
- Interview shortlisted candidates
- Administer test tasks
- Accomplish background and character reference checks
- Extend the job offer to the selected real estate virtual assistant
- Onboard and train your new virtual assistant
- Manage your real estate VA
The above list is considered the “happy path.” Of course, it can take longer if your selected VA quits unexpectedly or doesn’t accept your offer. However, this desired path to getting the remote talent you need can still take up your valuable time. If you want to make hiring and working with virtual assistants much more hassle-free, it’s best to work with an experienced virtual assistant staffing company like 20four7VA.
Get the Best Real Estate VAs with 20four7VA
20four7VA has over a decade of experience making the most suitable client and virtual assistant matches. We’ve helped more than 2,500 clients from across the globe get cost-effective remote staffing solutions. And we can do the same for you!
20four7VA End-to-End Remote Staffing Solutions
When you hire your very own real estate virtual assistant with 20four7VA, you can gain access to our award-winning end-to-end services. These include:
- Free, No-Strings-Attached Consultation Call
- Free Client-Virtual Assistant Matching Service
- Onboarding Assistance
- Time Tracking
- Payroll Processing
- Dedicated Account Manager
- IT Helpdesk Support
- Virtual Assistant Performance Management
- In-house Training
- And more
A real estate virtual assistant can help you with more than just checking off things on your task list. They provide the support you need so you have more time and energy to focus on your core functions. And by partnering with 20four7VA, you can get a real estate virtual assistant to get the job done without overshooting your budget.
Ready to hire a Real Estate Virtual Assistant to help you take your business to greater heights? Schedule a free consultation with our Growth Experts today!
