The more clients you bring in, the more money you are able to make. It’s simple, but unfortunately, the more clients you take on, the more paperwork and clerical tasks you take on as well. It is easy to get lost in the sea of mundane tasks you must complete as a real estate agent. These tedious tasks then end up taking away your time from your clients and from revenue generating tasks. Luckily, there is a cost effective way to dedicate more of your time to important tasks while still getting the necessarily clerical work done.
Hiring a virtual assistant is your answer. While this may seem like an uncertain path, many real estate agents, and other professionals are outsourcing their clerical work to virtual assistants. In this article I will shed some light on what a virtual assistant can do for you, the different kinds you can hire, why one would be beneficial to your team, and lastly how you can hire one. If you have found yourself drowning in paperwork and other business tasks, it is time to look for a solution, and you may have just found one.
What is a Virtual Assistant?
A virtual assistant is someone who works remotely for an entrepreneur, business, real estate agent, or anyone else who could benefit from their services. You have the option of hiring a general assistant or a specialized assistant with experience in the real estate industry. A general virtual assistant will perform broader tasks, some of those include:
- Social Media Management
- Calendar Management
- Preparing Reports for Review
- Lead Screening
- Contract to Close Tasks
- Respond To Emails
- Edit Writing
- Personal Tasks, such as making reservations for hotels or restaurants
- The possibilities are endless. You will feel that shortly after hiring a virtual assistant, they will become a vital part of your team.
Specialized Real Estate Virtual Assistants
Specialized virtual assistants to the real estate industry have background in the industry and perform a specific task or group of tasks. There are a few different kinds that many agents feel are extremely helpful, and a valuable asset to their business operations.
Transaction Coordinator. A transaction coordinator (TC) manages all of the paperwork and deadlines that come with a real estate transaction. Hiring a TC saves you time and unnecessary stress by doing various contract to close tasks. They are trained in tracking the progress of deal and making sure the transaction runs as smoothly as possible. Overall, they allow for a seamless experience from the time the buyer accepts the offer, until the deal is closed.
Outbound Sales Assistant. An outbound sales assistant specializes in generating leads. They focus on bringing in clients and growing your client base, so you can devote more time to providing a great experience to the clients you are currently working with. They are able to do this by cold calling, contacting expired listings, and other various methods. Your client base will continue to effortlessly grow when using an outbound sales assistant.
Inbound Sales Assistant. Even if a buyer or seller contacts to you, that does not mean they are ready to sell or buy at that exact moment. An inbound sales assistant works with your clients that need extra time to prepare for the real estate process. They nurture cold inbound leads until they are finally ready to buy or sell. They maintain a relationship with these clients by using email drips, marketing material, and by answering questions they may have.
Why a Virtual Assistant Would Be Beneficial To You
The ways in which a virtual assistant would benefit you are straightforward and to the point. If you are overwhelmed with all the tedious tasks on your plate, it is simply a good business move to invest in a virtual assistant.
More effective use of your time. As stated earlier, there are many clerical and mundane tasks that are necessary in the real estate industry. Your time is not best spent doing them though. As a producing agent it is important that your time is spent working directly with your clients, and focusing on revenue generating tasks. Outsourcing the clerical work will cost you money, but it will give you the ability to further grow your business and increase your revenue.
Saves money. You will be able to save money in both salary costs and training fees. Why hire someone to do your mundane work when you can outsource it for much cheaper? Most virtual assistants are paid an hourly rate. They only work as much as you need them to. Virtual assistants also do not need to be trained on using basic computer systems, or how to do basic tasks. The company they are affiliated with vets all of the assistants ahead of time to make sure they are qualified and able to do the tasks that are commonly required of virtual assistants.
Saves time. The work you do during business hours is what fuels your business and allows it to grow. If you are using that time to vet, hire, and train unnecessary employees, then you could be using your time better. Virtual assistants are verified by the company you hire them through and already have training, they just need to be informed on any specific way you want your business conducted. Virtual assistants are also extremely efficient employees. They are able to focus on the few specific tasks you have given them and complete them quickly. As opposed to someone who is juggling multiple different kinds of tasks all at the same time.
Hiring a Virtual Assistant
There are two main ways to hire a virtual assistant. Through a freelance marketplace or through a virtual assistant company. Freelance marketplaces like Upwork or Fiverr allow you to post a request for a virtual assistant, and then qualified candidates will contact you about the position. Next, you will need to select the candidate you feel would do the job best. After hiring a freelance virtual assistant it is recommended you put them on a two week trial period to see if they are a good fit for you business.
Candidates found on freelance marketplaces are often cheaper than company affiliated virtual assistants. While this is true it does take a little more time to vet and manage the virtual assistant than if they were company affiliated. A freelance marketplace is where you will find a majority of general virtual assistants. If you are looking for a specialized one, you will want to use a virtual assistant company.
Virtual assistant companies like Prialto, offer a variety of specialized virtual assistant services. When using a virtual assistant company they will vet their candidates and find a good fit for your company. You will simply be assigned a virtual assistant and they will begin the work you have requested to be completed. This outlet for finding a virtual assistant is much easier and faster, but in turn it does cost more.
Both outlets for finding a virtual assistant will most likely provide you with a helpful virtual assistant. You just need to decide how involved you want to be in the process of hiring a virtual assistant, and how much you are willing to pay for the service.
The Bottom Line
Hopefully it has become obvious that adding a virtual assistant to your team could be beneficial to you in more ways than one. Professionals in every industry worldwide have discovered that outsourcing mundane tasks is the best way to increase productivity.
Hiring a virtual assistant, general or specialized, is an investment in the future of your business. It is an opportunity for you to dedicate all of your time to your increasing revenue, and creating a lasting positive experience for your clients.
