You know all too well that the real estate industry is a fast and busy workforce. It’s a marketplace filled with different kinds of people buying and selling properties that have become more and more competitive. So we, in the real estate business, need to do more with less. Cover more ground, pitch to more people, and get more results for less investment of our time and money. Hiring a virtual real estate assistant will give you the power to leverage your time and level up on your real estate business.
You’re reading this blog post right now because you need to know how to find the right person or company that will help take the load off your shoulders. Here are 5 steps that will guide you through the process of hiring a great real estate assistant
1. Establish what your needs are
Your business is steadily growing, and you need an extra set of hands to help. List out what tasks you need your real estate assistant to know and potentially have experience doing. Identify your top tasks by priority. Most real estate tasks are recurring. It’s best to start delegating the most straightforward tasks but make sure your assistant also has an idea of what tasks will or might come in the future if it all works out.
Proficiency and skill level is essential to identify. You’re looking for help, not a trainee. When qualifying your real estate assistant, ask for their work experience and what tasks they can confidently do. Having just one real estate assistant makes communication a lot easier, but having a whole team at your disposal would be a great advantage as well!
2. Get organized
It’s essential to prepare and have ready the tools that your real estate assistant will need once you have made your selection. Delegation can be a dreary process. Be prepared with your tools and expectations and things will go smoothly and successfully. This process is usually the hard part as it can be time-consuming but, trust me; it can make an enormous difference.
Logins
Get your login credentials organized so they can be quickly understood and easily updated whenever you need to change passwords to your accounts. You can store logins in a word document, Google spreadsheet, or a password manager; this will help you share logins securely. Lastpass.com is the preferred password manager used among many real estate assistants. It’s free, You can have your real estate assistant create an account for you, but I would do this part on your own. LastPass will read your computer’s existing login credentials during the setup. Making the setup process much faster. If you need help understanding how to use LastPass, ask your real estate assistant they should be able to help.
Platforms and tools
Prepare the platforms and tools you need your real estate assistant to use to make the work and communication fluid. Decide what CRM works best for you, VOIP, or digital phone line for the real estate assistant (REA) to make and take calls and text messages for you. Online accounts needed to store/gather information, like LinkedIn or Hunter for data mining leads. Let the assistant know that these are the tools you need him or her to know to be able to qualify.
Instructions or Screencast Video Tutorials
Even if they have the experience, the real estate assistants still need to know your specific process. Having a list of detailed instructions, even a step-by-step process of the task will allow them to understand what is important to you and what they have to spend their precious time on. From experience, having the list of instructions and the video tutorial is the best way to duplicate yourself. When these are available for the real estate assistant to use for checking and cross-checking, you give them almost zero room for errors and nearly 100% room for success!
3. How to search
For the general public, Google has always proved to be the best place to start your search for the perfect real estate assistant. You can search for the top real estate options, read countless blog posts and pay monthly membership fees. There are a few companies or virtual professional websites that you can try like MyOutDesk, Indeed, or TaskBullet.com
However, since you’re looking specifically for a real estate assistant, you need to look for a company that caters to the real estate industry. The leader in the industry is Business & Real Estate Solutions & Service ( BRESS). BRESS.co will get to know you, your business and your needs. Train their team of highly proficient real estate assistants internally. With BRESS, you have one account manager. That account manager will have several assistants. They are organized and disciplined, and you’ll achieve the goal of being able to do more with less and level up your business.
4. Communication
Once you’ve hired someone you need to discuss and set expectations. What do you expect of your assistant? What time do you need him or her to be online and available for you? When do expect outputs to be submitted? You’ve chosen who your real estate assistant will be, and you need to get them started. It’s best to get to know them. Aside from skills and experience, find out their availability, Internet speed, power back-up and other details you consider important.
A simple call would usually do. However, you can set up a share screen call using Skype or Zoom so that you can discuss how-to’s right away. Try not to overwhelm your assistant and start with more straightforward tasks during the introduction call.
5. What you need to say
Allow some time for a learning curve and communicate corrections well. After some time, you’ll notice your real estate assistant’s effectiveness and efficiency will manifest in the results of work you can delegate. If you can do more meaningful work for your business, add and gather more clients, earn a return of investments, grow and expand your territory, it won’t hurt to let your real estate assistant know that you appreciate their help. Appreciation goes a long, long way when done correctly. It inspires and empowers them to work harder and better.
With a real estate assistant at your disposal, you can have more time to take on the things that will help you grow your business to the next level. Congratulations! On your promotion from being your boss to becoming a master delegator! Invest in your future, today. Step up and contact BRESS.co for your real estate assistant!