Hire a Virtual Real Estate Assistant
The plate is always full for a realtor. Real estate is a highly competitive business and for a realtor, there's a lot to do- research, networking, managing social media, sales support, paperwork and the list is endless. There are some things that you can't be completely outsourcing because it gives direction to your business. For example, networking- you can't say no to it, marketing- it absolutely drives your business and closing deals- this brings you the money. For anything else, you might want to consider hiring a virtual real estate assistant. What is a Virtual Real Estate Assistant? A virtual real estate assistant is a remote employee who can be hired for part-time or full-time support. They come with professional training and prior experience of working in the real estate industry and can assist you with real estate related tasks. A virtual real estate assistant operates out of their own space and has good connectivity to the internet to work with you remotely on an everyday basis. They are a great value addition if you wish to free-up some time to focus on your core business activities. What Can a Virtual Real Estate Assistant Do? There are numerous tasks that you can outsource to your virtual real estate assistant. Here are some tasks that we've listed down for you: 1. Manage your property listings online The real estate industry is also booming with technology and adopting to newer ways of business. According to Real Estate in a Digital Age report, 94% of people look for properties online. So it's not just about listing it online, it also involves uploading it there quickly, promoting it on social media as well as your website. This tedious and time-consuming task can be outsourced to free up your time. 2. Social Media Management Social media is an extremely powerful marketing tool that can connect you with a pool of leads, while you build trust and authority with your brand online. But managing multiple social media portals, sharing posts regularly, engaging with audience, measuring the impact can be very time-consuming. Your virtual assistant can relieve you of this time-drain. 3. Lead generation You need to constantly find ways to find new people to pitch your products to. You can't settle down for the like or followers that you generate online. Email marketing , sending newsletters, creating landing pages on sites, managing and inviting people to subscribe to your mailing list, these are just some of it. Your virtual assistant can be the right help in targeting those warm leads. 4. Calendar management You can get your calendar managed, appointments scheduled and reminder sent while you're busy preparing for these events. Your virtual assistant will efficiently manage your calendar so that you can simply focus on what needs to be done. 5. Creating promotional material Marketing requires a lot of promotional materials. Social media is a platform that can move mountains for your business if you have well-designed material, powerful content or creative series presentation. People are experimenting all over and setting new standards to creativity to get that attention. You can absolutely get a virtual assistant to help you with the same so that you don't waste time over it. If you're not equipped with skills to manage such tasks, then it's a double brownie! 6. Respond to inbound queries As a real estate business, you're working on multiple properties or projects at any given time. This means that your inbox will be constantly flooded with queries from leads who might just be interested to know more. At this level, the queries are mostly generic and having a preset template for answers and outsourcing the task to your virtual assistant can be a great bargain. 7. Data entry and database management Managing multiple projects and various leads can lead to so many databases that get created. You can't just leave it at that! It needs to be regularly updated and followed up on. Your virtual assistant can help you enter data and manage these databases on a regular basis. Steps to Hire a Virtual Real Estate Assistant Step 1. Look for services online You simply have to go online and type virtual real estate assistant. There are many services that provide virtual assistants like Zirtual , Wishup etc. Sites like Fiverr , Upwork have freelancers who are available to be hired as virtual assistants. There are numerous options! Step 2. Research well if it suits your realtor needs Many companies provide virtual assistants but they might have not have industry specific experience. Step 3. Compare available options Do a thorough homework and compare all the options available in terms of pricing, quality of services etc. Take reviews from people who have used virtual assistants and take into consideration all options before you make the final choice. Step 4. Connect with your VA Once you find the service provider you need, the next step is to connect to the virtual assistant who is going to assist you on your tasks. Have a telephonic conversation or even a video call to understand if the person fits the bill. If not, look for another option that suits your need. Finding the right VA in the company is equally important. Step 5. Mutually chalk out your virtual working plan and next steps Once your VA is ready, the next step is to lay out a work process. Since it's a virtual working process, it's better to lay down expectations, task routines, quality of outcome, modes of communication and much more. This will ensure that the work is automated and doesn't require to be micro-managed. Virtual Real Estate Assistant Job Description Samples We have compiled some job description samples for you if you're looking to hire a virtual assistant to help you with your real estate business. You can edit it to suit your requirements. Virtual Real Estate Assistant Job Description Sample 1 If you're a real estate firm looking to hire a virtual real estate assistant, then here's a sample for you. Job Summary We are looking for a virtual assistant to help our team with different administrative and research related tasks for our real estate company. We require someone who can give us full-time support and has some prior experience in the real estate industry. Our ideal candidate would be a quick learner, with good people skills and a great multi-tasker. Roles and Responsibilities Manage customer queries and respond to them with the relevant pre-set template. Customer follow-up. Generate leads online. Manage the social media handles and upload property photos and engage audience. Create and maintain the database of leads generated. Create presentation and property marketing materials. Manage appointments and schedule and send reminders. Job Requirements Graduate Prior experience in a similar role in the real estate industry Good typing speed Well-versed with Microsoft Office tools and G-suite. Virtual Real Estate Assistant Job Description Sample 2 If you're a realtor looking for a virtual assistant to help you with your business as well as personal tasks, here's a sample for you. Job Summary I'm on the urgent lookout for a virtual assistant who can work remotely to assist me on my daily business as well as personal tasks. You will be primarily working on tasks related to the real estate industry as I have a successfully growing realtor business. The ideal candidate would be willing to work in my time zone, must be organised and have prior experience in the real estate industry. Roles and Responsibilities Send out new property deals to customers. Regularly share property photos on our social media handle and create attractive posts. Manage customer queries and respond to them with the relevant pre-set template. Customer follow-up. Constantly research for new leads and maintain database for the same. Research for market trends and news and communicate it on a weekly basis. Create presentation and property marketing materials. Manage appointments and schedule and send reminders. Create content for newsletters. Set up appointments with potential customers. Job Requirements Prior experience in a similar role in the real estate industry Good customer management skills Willing to work in my time zone. Well-versed with online designing tools. How much does a Virtual Real Estate Assistant Cost? Well. there are virtual assistant services worldwide. So the cost depends on where you hire your VA from. A country with low cost of living like Philippines, India will provide you a virtual assistant for less than USA. Â But from a ROI perspective, it definitely is worth what you pay for! COUNTRYCOST USA$25-50/hour India$6/hour or less Philippines$6/hour or less Australia$30-50/hour Europe$6-20/hour Benefits of Hiring a Virtual Real Estate Assistant Here are some of the benefits of hiring a virtual assistant for your real estate business. 1.Maintain strong online presence You don't need to compromise on your online presence due to lack of time or overburdening. Your virtual assistant will keep you on track and bring you all the attention online. 2. Get administrative support You can get all the administrative support you want without having to hire a full-time resource. Virtual real estate assistants are trained with present market tools to manage your tasks effortlessly. You can opt for full-time or part-time support. 3. Find more time to spend on core tasks As a realtor, there's a lot on your plate already. You can now focus on your core business activities and revenue generation instead of having to spend time on mundane tasks. Your virtual assistant can take care of those little things so that you can work towards greater goals without a worry. 4. Pocket-friendly resource Imagine being able to hire just for the amount of help required. Isn't that profitable? Virtual assistants can be really beneficial because you don't need to spend on those extra perks, benefits, employee fund etc. You just partner for the work required and pay for it. Frequently Asked Questions At this point, you might have some questions in your mind regarding this. We have answered some of the most frequently asked questions to make it easy for you: 1. Do these virtual assistants have prior experience in the real estate industry? Yes, these virtual assistants have experience with a lot of administrative and real estate related tasks. Some of them have also associated with real estate firms in the past. 2. Can I hire a virtual assistant for full-time support? Yes, virtual assistants are a flexible resource. They are available for part-time as well as full-time support. Each company has its own subscription offers that you can choose from as per your requirements. 3. Can I hire the same virtual assistant for different periods in a year? Well, virtual assistants are a shared resource. Once they're off a client, there will be another one walking in to replace. So this can be really tricky because your VA might not have the bandwidth to work for you now or might have changed companies altogether. 4. Do these virtual assistants have a support staff? Yes, virtual assistants if hired from a service provider company like Zirtual , Wishup etc., come with a support team that acts as a mediator for all operational and grievance related issues. 5. Will a virtual assistant work in my time zone? Virtual assistants are present all over the globe and are an extremely flexible resource as they work in different time zones and you will surely find one to work in yours. Conclusion Hiring a virtual real estate assistant something that all real estate businesses can benefit from, if used efficiently. You must do your homework well on comparing virtual assistant options globally to find one best suited to your budget and requirements. Lastly, virtual assistant are diverse and more beneficial than local assistants and can be a great return on investment.