As a busy real estate agent with more than you could possibly do in a day on your plate, hiring a real estate virtual assistant can make a large impact. It can be the perfect way to get out from under a never-ending to-do list.
Before you go ahead and start hiring, here’s your game plan for maximizing the benefits of a VA so you can make the most of your time.
What is a real estate virtual assistant, and what do they do?
A real estate virtual assistant is a contractor who is hired to help real estate agents manage their workload. VAs perform a range of online activities like administrative tasks, lead qualification, marketing tasks, and more.
What tasks should I assign my virtual assistant?
Before you start scrolling resumes, figure out what kind of help you need the most.
Log into your real estate CRM, and look at the kind of tasks that sustain your business. Which of these activities need your personalized attention? These are your core tasks, like connecting with your sphere of influence. These types of activities should stay with you.
Anything else, especially if it’s repetitive and easy to train on, can be delegated to a VA. A good place to start is by evaluating gaps in your skill set as well as tasks that take a disproportionate amount of your time and energy.
Here are some types of roles a virtual assistant for real estate can take on:
Administrative: data entry like reviewing your real estate database and keeping it up to date, updating documentation, reviewing new contacts to complete their profile, inbox upkeep, and general paperwork help for sales teams.
Bookkeeping: accounts receivable and payable, tracking expense receipts and invoices.
Coordinator: appointment scheduling, travel arrangements, coordinating real estate transactions.
Social media management: create drafts, publish posts, manage replies, write newsletters, manage overall online presence
Video editing: take your clips or long-form content and make cohesive reels, YouTube shorts, and/or TikTok videos
Search out new technology & tools: find useful software, compile a list for you to review
Research local events and opportunities: events, conferences, small businesses to collaborate with, and professional development opportunities
Event planning: book venues, compile themes and ideas, compare pricing
Look outside of the ‘real estate’ label
As you can tell from the list of tasks above, your VA doesn’t need to label themselves as a “real estate virtual assistant” to benefit you.
You might need to find a differently ‘categorized’ VA based on the type of tasks you want them to do.
When you go to hire you’ll find individuals with different specialties, ex. they may call themselves a ‘social media VA’, ‘small business VA’, or some other title.
Even though they don’t categorize themselves by the real estate industry, that doesn’t mean they’re not the right person for you.
You might not need help with your business tasks at all
So… you have more than you could possibly do in a day on your plate. While your first instinct is to get help for your real estate business, the place you actually need the most help could be in your personal life instead.
For instance, some virtual assistants can help you with personal or household tasks like trip planning, holiday planning, and more. This might look like:
- Trip planning
- Flight comparisons
- Hotel research
- Excursion planning
- Itinerary creation
- Booking reservations
- Researching travel restrictions
- Shortlisting possible gifts/personalized gift guides
- Finding themes/décor ideas
- Researching local events
Or, it might be that what you actually need is the occasional Task Rabbit to help you in a pinch, or a cleaner, meal delivery service, or similar in-person help with general life stuff so you can focus on other things.
There are a lot of different options out there for different budgets. Look around at what’s available to you at your price point.
How do I hire a real estate virtual assistant?
There are four main ways to find and hire your VA:
- Browse resumes on a VA board + direct offer
- Post a job
- Use a managed service
- Ask around, and get a referral
Note: payment terms and hours will be dictated by your hiring method, so keep that in mind when you’re choosing. Some platforms like Upwork require you to exclusively hire, manage, and pay your VAs via their platform. If direct hiring, please note you may need to pay in your VA’s local currency if they are located elsewhere in the world.
Browsing resumes & direct hiring
Virtual assistant boards are directories where folks looking for positions post their resume, availability, and salary expectations. Depending on the platform, you might also see:
- A list of jobs completed through the platform
- Reviews
- Background check status
- Personality profile, like DISC assessment results
You can browse profiles and direct message VAs that seem like a good fit with an information package (brief intro, job description, next steps for interview/offer).
Be aware when trying this method that you might be declined.
The first time I went to hire a VA I was shocked when a candidate whose profile matched my needs turned my offer down. In my mind, if someone is on a job board they’re actively looking. However, the person I sent the offer to had too many other projects on the go and couldn’t take another one on. The platform didn’t give them the option to put up a “not currently looking” status.
Popular virtual assistant job boards include:
- Upwork: talent is located across the world.
- Online jobs: virtual assistants based in the Phillippines
Posting a job
You’ll do this on the same job boards you can browse & direct hire from. This is where you’ll post your list of tasks, budget, and timeline as your job description, and allow people to apply.
This is my preferred option for a few reasons:
- I’ve been surprised by applications from great candidates that didn’t show up in my searches when I was browsing profiles.
- I’ve received bids from applicants I was interested in, but couldn’t meet their preferred compensation. I would have excluded them from any manual outreach.
Using a Managed Virtual Assistant Service
Managed services come with additional costs, but you can be more hands-off with hiring and managing. If you just want to make a list of your tasks and have the rest taken care of for you, this option is worth considering.
Generally, these managed services offer pricing plans. You choose the plan with the number of hours of help you need. Then they will either assign your assistant to you, or give you a short list of vetted individuals to choose from.
There are typically other add-ons such as the agency providing training, figuring out time off coverage, currency conversion, managing issues, and other services to make it a seamless experience.
Popular Managed Service Companies include:
- VirtuDesk: they source real estate virtual assistants from the Philippines for you, and offer set pricing per hour.
- BELAY: they match you with US-based, pre-vetted assistants.
- Time, etc.: they match you with US-based, pre-vetted assistants.
- Zirtual: they offer pricing plans for a set number of VA hours per month.
- Squared Away: they allow you to hire a military spouse for a set number of VA hours per month.
Ask around
This one is pretty self-explanatory, but asking your network who they use can save you tons of time finding and vetting your VA.
Choosing the right real estate virtual assistant
Parsing applications, setting up a meeting time (potentially across time zones), and conducting interviews can be incredibly time-consuming. It’s also not ideal if your goal is to free up time, not spend it in new ways. Thankfully, depending on the scope of your needs, you might not have to bother with any of that.
You don’t always need to interview your VA
For instance, if you need someone for a small project, going off of reviews and a quick online interaction can be enough for you to get a feel of the person’s communication style.
Or if you’re using a managed service, you can just be assigned to a pre-vetted person that matches your needs.
If you find yourself in a situation where interviewing is needed, keep these tips in mind:
- Keep the skills needed for the position at the forefront
- Is it software skills, writing ability, or something else?
- How can you evaluate that they have those particular skills?
- When they’re talking about past work experiences, can they talk through how they developed the skills you’re hiring for now?
- How many years of experience do they have?
- Are they competent? To evaluate this:
- Ask to see a portfolio.
- Read reviews if available, and see how the candidate responded.
- Hire them for a small project to get a true sense of what working for them is like.
- Who are they going to be working with, and what is needed for them to integrate well with that person or team? New hires, whether virtual or otherwise, can really change the dynamic of a team. If your virtual assistant is working with others, consider how that might impact workflow.
- For instance, if they’re in a different time zone and they’re working with your team members who need something from them right away, that might not be the best fit.
Onboarding your real estate virtual assistant
Maximize your VA’s time by having everything ready to go for them.
Have a list of the apps they need access to. Set them up with temporary access to usernames and passwords using a password manager
Have clear instructions. Minimize role uncertainty, and create a positive environment for everyone by being really clear about:
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- What do they need to do
- Are there preferred tools or software to get the task done
- What’s your preferred delivery method for the task
Provide training resources so it’s clear how to complete a task.
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- This can include a Loom video of you briefly showing what needs to be done
- Links to the support center for any software they need to use
Be reachable for questions, and be clear how any questions should be communicated to you. Will you respond to them fastest by text, email, or Slack? Are there set times you can be reached? Let them know.
Conclusion
A good real estate virtual assistant can be a great asset for your business. They can lighten your workload, allowing you to focus on the tasks necessary for generating revenue. With a little bit of up-front legwork, you can enjoy the many benefits of a helping hand for your business.
The key to hiring a virtual assistant is to be really clear about what you need. From there, use a virtual assistant job board or a managed service to hire a VA whose skills fit that need. Once you have the right person, provide them with the tools and instructions they need to succeed.
