Why You Should Consider a Real Estate Virtual Assistant
In the game of business — and life — it’s all about growth.
This means the ability to leverage your time is crucial.
If you’re stressed out or stagnating, it’s time to let go of the idea that it’s somehow more comfortable, or more cost-effective, to “just do it myself”. It’s not. Think about it. What could you do with all those mornings or afternoons spent scheduling meetings, organizing paperwork, or updating your listings? How many calls could you make? follow-ups could you do? How many more deals could you close?
Using estate virtual assistants helps you win back your time so you can focus on the high-impact work that brings in Revenue for your real estate business. The fact is, real estate virtual assistants are the best-kept secret top agents used time and time again to get to 7 and 8-figure status. But you’ve got to be able to do it right.
Before you rush off and hire your first full-time VA, you need to have a genuine need for a VA. Layout a step-by-step process with crystal clarity on what precisely you need them to do.
What are the Tasks Should You Assign to a VA as a Real Estate Investor
Once you see a tangible uptick in transactions, now it’s time to get creative and start exploring the full spectrum of VA talent. Of course, if you want help with lead response, you’ll definitely want to go with an expert ISA. But for most agents, you’re better off starting with an admin guru who can take the small, death-by-flea-bite tasks off your plate. Help get your workflow locked down so you can focus firmly on rainmaking. Here are some of the many things a great virtual assistant can do to help you scale your real estate business:
Marketing
- Create buyer’s packets and powerpoints
- Send mailers to your spheres of influence
- Graphic design for digital and print assets
- Schedule (or even write) blog posts
- Schedule email
- SEO updates
- Command, update, and advertise on social media
Operations
- Transaction management
- Data entry
- Listing presentations, coordination, and updates
- Research buyer & seller leads
- Update your CRM with notes on leads
- Collecting feedback from your clients and team members
- I&E and P&L tracking
Sales
- Follow up with leads.
Admin
- Responding to emails
- Setting up meetings
- Managing your calendar
- Personal admin (holiday cards, organizing family events, etc.)
Best Practices When Hiring a Real Estate Virtual Assistant
This is an obviously good business practice to give you legal protection, but it makes things official. It ensures the contractor knows exactly what they should be doing. If you’ve done that effectively, it will be easy for you to check the deliverables and make sure they’re on point. How do you know if they’re really working all the hours they’re billing you for? The answer to these questions begins and ends with clear outcomes. You must get your house in order first so you can set your expectations clearly from the beginning. If you’re ever in doubt, many outsourcing tools have software on the back end to precisely track how your virtual assistant uses their time. But when the right expectations are set, you shouldn’t need to be a big brother.
Start by getting your own business system and process in place. Assess where the key bottlenecks are and tease out the exact tasks and outcomes. It would help remove those bottlenecks and get more deals flowing in. Then write up a job description with precise results and an idea of what success looks like in this role.
There are some agreements you’ll want to make when hiring your contractors as well. Firstly, you’re going to need an independent contractor agreement in place, signed by both parties.
How to Determine the Cost-Benefit When Hiring a VA
There is a wide price range for virtual assistant services.
Depending on where you’re looking, fees can range anywhere from $5 per hour to five figures a year. It’s better to think about this cost in terms of what your business really needs. The value you’ll be getting for your investment is the #1 priority.
Here are some of the factors to consider.
Experience Level
Some agents recommend going with jack-of-all-trades. Others recommend finding an expert in the type of work you’re looking to outsource. Many VA service providers are experts at matching you with a VA with the right educational background and level of experience for your needs.
But of course, real estate-specific experts with excellent experience will have a price tag to match. Suppose you’re taking your first step with outsourcing. In that case, we recommend starting with a VA who’s more of a generalist, but who has demonstrated an ability to communicate clearly and shown that they’re comfortable with the list of outcomes and expectations you’ve provided. Some agents recommending trialing the VA with a project-based project, then moving to a set hours per month agreement when they’re sure they’ll be happy with the work.
However, suppose this isn’t your first rodeo, and you’ve got the Revenue to justify it. In that case, it’s definitely preferable to go with an expert, as these guys can get some of the more significant, juicier tasks off your plate. It will help you accelerate your growth even more quickly. Many expert estate virtual assistants will even have experience and ideas that can create revenue opportunities for your business that you might never have thought of.
Where to Find Your Perfect Real Estate Virtual Assistant
There is no such thing as perfect right? but highly professionals are trained individuals that could exceed your expectations on Real Estate Investment. As with who you hire, where you source your real estate virtual assistant will have everything you are in your business. While many real-estate-specific companies choose from, many agents getting started with a VA have found great talent on Upwork or even Craigslist.
You find your perfect VA is not nearly as important in being clear and confident about the outcomes and job description you’ve put together. Wherever you decide to start, make sure your estate virtual assistants successfully fills the right holes in your business and can be seamlessly integrated into your workflow. For example, many VA providers require you to have another tool like Vulcan or Mojo before you can get set up with them. Know what you need, and make sure your house is to spend more time at your existing home without sacrificing the value you provide to your clients.