Are you looking for a virtual assistant who can be your right hand in the real estate business?
You're not alone. Choosing to hire a virtual assistant is becoming more popular, as people recognize that VAs can help streamline their workflow and make sure they never miss a (potential) lead again.
Here are some things you should consider before hiring a VA for your real estate business:
Why you should hire a virtual assistant for your real estate business:
1. Find time to grow your business
Time is one of the most valuable assets you have, especially if you want to grow your business. That's where hiring VAs comes in. They can help you juggle between your business and personal time so that you're able to accomplish more.
2. Maximize your business potential
If you want to convert more leads, get more referrals from clients, or find ways to improve the efficiency of your marketing campaigns, hiring a VA will help you achieve that.
3. Concentrate on core tasks
As they say: Do what you love, and the rest will follow! It's true. If you want your business to succeed, you need to concentrate on what you're good at and let the VA do the rest. It will give your business room for growth and improvement in areas that are most important to you.
How much do they cost? What is included in their services? And how long does it take them to get up-to-speed with your workflow?
What is the average rate of a virtual assistant?
It varies from VA to VA, and it depends on their skill level/certifications, but ideally, when you're hiring a virtual assistant in the Philippines, you can expect to pay $4 per hour for part-time assistants and up to $10-$20 per hour for full-time VAs. It all depends on the types of tasks you'll be entrusting them with and the overall workload you can give your VA.
What is usually included in their services?
1. Data entry - If you need help entering or formatting data into a spreadsheet, adding text to images, or cleaning up digital photos, your VA can help with that.
2. Research - Your VA can research for you, including finding contact details of your prospects, preparing a list of potential candidates, searching for images or video to use in your marketing materials, and finding relevant information about any topic you're researching.
3. Social media - Your VA can help you with social media: they will post content, schedule and share posts, reply to comments or messages on your social media accounts, and monitor your social media campaigns.
4. Blogging - Your VA can write blog posts for you or help you edit the content of your existing blog posts. They can also help you set up a blog and manage it until you're ready to take over on your own.
5. Editing - Your VA can help you edit and proofread: your website copy, written pieces or contracts, and even books if you are an author!
6. Receptionist - Your VA can answer the phone and redirect calls to your voicemail or emails if you are not available. They can also be trained to provide customer service and guide callers to the appropriate staff member.
7. Virtual meetings - Your VA can help you schedule your appointments and prepare a presentation or notes for you on the topic of your choice.
8. Administrative support - Your VA can help you process your invoices, purchase orders, or expense reports and prepare them for filing. They can also help with other tasks such as: managing your email and maintaining your to-do list.
9. Transcription - Your VA can transcribe audio or video recordings for you if you are too busy or do not have time to listen to the recording.
They can also help you write emails, letters, or reports if necessary.
10. Marketing and sales - Your VA can help with your marketing strategy.
How to hire the suitable VA for your business
We often hear stories from people who have once tried hiring a VA, only to find out they lacked the necessary skills and no amount of training could help them. Or perhaps, most often, they were not a good fit for the job. Indeed, you can't always judge a book by its cover, but there are ways to find out if your potential VA is suitable for the job or not. It is essential to have realistic expectations and a clear idea of what you want to get from your new hire.
1. Determine what tasks you want your VA to accomplish for you and how long it will take them to work on them if you have SOPs for your organization even better, as the top virtual assistants thrive when there are systems already in place.
2. Consult a few local VAs who are already established in the industry and ask about their rates per hour and what they include in their services.
3. Ask if there are any certifications or licenses required for them for the position.
4. Ask if there are any other assistants they would recommend or vouch for, so you can get a better idea of the talent pool and quality of service available in your area.
Tips for working with your real estate VA
1. Set clear expectations and guidelines for your virtual assistant. For example, if you want them to work a certain number of hours per week, or if you want them to meet specific deadlines, make sure that they are well aware of these things from the start.
2. Communicate with your VA regularly to monitor their progress and keep them on track with goals and deadlines. The number one reason why VAs fail is due to a lack of communication from the employer's end.
3. Get familiar with your VA's work ethic, punctuality, and quality of work before hiring them. Give your potential VA a trial period or test tasks to ensure you are hiring the best possible person for the job. Then, you will know what you are getting yourself into before making the final decision.
4. Work alongside your VA by giving them training and mentorship to help them learn new skills, techniques, or processes at a faster pace.
5. Ask for recommendations from other local real estate professionals about their experience working with virtual assistants in your area and vice versa. You will get a better idea of the quality of work you can expect from your new employee.
6. Reward and recognize your VA for their hard work, just like you would reward an in-office worker. It is up to you to motivate them to give their best every single day!
7. Invest in good virtual assistant management software to help you monitor the progress of your VA and stay on top of deadlines.
The do's and don'ts when it comes to hiring VAs for your real estate business
1. Do hire a college graduate or an individual with previous experience working for other firms as a virtual assistant to help you with simple administrative tasks. Having someone on board who is well-trained and knowledgeable about their role makes it easier for you to concentrate on more critical tasks.
2. Don't hire a VA if you want to offer them full-time work but have only part-time tasks to fulfill. You should hire a VA to free up more time for yourself, not add more pressure and stress.
3. Do create expectations set at realistic levels, and make sure they are clear from the start - this will ensure your VA knows what they need to do and how long they have to do it. It would help if you also made sure that the tasks assigned are specific, so your VA can avoid any misunderstandings about which tasks or projects you want them to work on.
4. Don't expect a part-time virtual assistant to be able to handle all of your business administrative tasks (especially if most of your business consists of selling real estate and managing listings) - this is just unrealistic.
5. Do ask for recommendations from your friends, family, or colleagues who have hired virtual assistants in the past. It's always a good idea to trust someone you know when making important decisions about hiring employees!
6. Don't become too dependent on your VA - if you are the type who is easily stressed and tends to be workaholics, it's best to hire a part-time virtual assistant instead of a full-time one.
7. Do create a team of VAs for all kinds of tasks to prevent overload and get more tasks done faster. For example, you can assign different VAs to work on specific resources or fields within your real estate business, e.g., one VA for listing pages and another for assisting with maintenance (buyer/seller) replies.
Even though virtual assistants are available in most major cities worldwide, you need to make sure that you'll get the best one for your business keeping all of this in mind!
The skills and qualities that make the best assistants
1. Friendly & Courteous
2. Are self-motivated and independent, able to work without supervision most of the time (unless specified otherwise per task)
3. Good planning skills - know how to manage their time well to complete daily tasks satisfactorily
4. Able to communicate effectively and work well in a team
5. Excellent customer service skills - respond quickly to client's inquiries, solve issues or problems promptly
6. Ability to work under pressure (specific deadlines) and meet tight deadlines without sacrificing the quality of work
7. Great attention to detail - accuracy is essential for virtual assistants who are in charge of creating and updating real estate listings
8. Good at multi-tasking - able to tackle several tasks at once without getting overwhelmed.
We hope you enjoyed our definitive guide when it comes to hiring a virtual assistant for your real estate business. With this helpful information, you will be better prepared to make a more informed decision regarding hiring VAs for your real estate business.
FAQs about hiring a VA for your real estate business
(i) Do I have to be present at all times when I'm working with my VA, or can she work independently without me being there every second?
This depends on what type of tasks you are assigning to your VA. For example, if you have tasks that involve working with different clients, like managing listings or responding to inquiries and buyer/seller messages, then it's a must that the virtual assistant can work independently at all times when she's dealing with multiple clients' inquiries, etc.
(ii) Can I give her access to my personal email account so that she can answer questions from potential clients while I'm out of the office.
This depends on whether you want to give her access to your private email account. For example, if she will be handling messages related to other people's business (e.g., inquiries from potential clients), it might not be a good idea for her to have full access to your personal email account. But, if you prefer this method and decide to give her access to your personal email, make sure you set up a separate one for business purposes and let her use that instead.
(iii) Will my VA be available only at certain times of the day or night?
Again, it depends on the type of tasks you give her to do. If you want your virtual assistant to respond to buyer/seller inquiries and messages, then she should have full access to a computer during those times when buyers and sellers tend to message most frequently. (eg: 9-10am, 3-4pm and 8-9pm)
(iv) Can I fire her if she isn't working out?
Like any other employee you hire for your business, it's essential to spell out how long the trial period will take. Letting your virtual assistant know that you can 'fire' her anytime during the trial period is an excellent way to make sure that she'll work hard for you and motivate her to do her best.