How To Get The Most Out Of Your Virtual Real Estate Assistants

If you’re like most real estate business owners, you wear a lot of hats. You’re the salesperson, the negotiator, the marketer, the number-cruncher…the list goes on.

It’s a lot to manage, and if you’re trying to do it all yourself, it’s likely that something is suffering as a result. The good news is that there’s a solution: Virtual Real Estate Assistants.

Also known as VREAs, virtual real estate assistants are remote employees who can help you with a variety of tasks, from bookkeeping and marketing to customer service and administration. In other words, they can take care of all of the day-to-day tasks that are eating up your time so that you can focus on what you’re good at; selling homes.

Tips on How to Use Real Estate Virtual Assistants (VREAs) Effectively

Whether you’re looking for a virtual assistant for real estate agents or a virtual assistant for real estate companies as a whole, you should use the below tips to ensure you’re using virtual assistants in real estate properly.

Communicate Effectively With Your Virtual Real Estate Assistants

This one might seem obvious, but it’s worth mentioning because it’s so important. In order for your VREA to be effective, you need to be able to communicate clearly and concisely about what needs to be done. This means being specific about deadlines, expectations, and desired outcomes. Without clear communication from you, your VREA won’t be able to do its job effectively.

Set Up a Filing System

If you want your virtual assistant services to help your business stay organized and on top of things, you need to have a filing system in place for them to use. Whatever it is, it should be accessible by both you and your VREA so that information can be easily shared between the two of you.

There are a variety of different filing systems that your VREA could use, depending on your needs. A digital filing system could be a cloud-based system like Google Drive or Dropbox, or a software program like Microsoft Word or Excel.

Delegate Appropriately

One of the biggest mistakes business owners make is trying to delegate tasks that they’re better off doing themselves. For example, if you’re good at (or love) social media marketing or have strong writing skills, there’s no sense in delegating those tasks to your VREA when you could just do them yourself—you’ll likely end up being less satisfied with the results.

Instead, focus on delegating tasks that take up a lot of your time (or that you personally hate) but don’t necessarily require your expertise, such as scheduling showings or following up with leads via email or phone call.

On the other hand, don’t try to do everything yourself; we know your real estate business is your baby, but the whole reason you’re looking to hire a professional real estate virtual assistant is so you can free up some of your time.

So make sure you’re actually delegating tasks and utilizing your new team member(s) properly.

Trust Your VREA

Last but not least, it’s important that you trust your VREA to do their job effectively; this follows on from our previous point.

If you constantly second-guess their decisions or micromanage their work, it will only lead to frustration on both ends.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that you should be completely hands-off—you should still maintain regular communication with them about what’s going on—but try to resist the urge to micromanage every little thing they do. Chances are, they know what they’re doing!

And if they don’t, then you simply haven’t hired the right person or you haven’t given them the correct training.

Train Them Properly

As we mentioned earlier, it’s important to give your VREA the training they need to be successful in their new role. This includes teaching them about your company (its history, policies, procedures, etc.) as well as how to use any tools or resources they’ll be working with. VAs from the Philippines are quite well trained for this.

Make sure you’re clear and concise when explaining things, and be available to answer any questions they may have. It’s also a good idea to create training materials (e.g. a step-by-step guide) that they can refer back to later on so they don’t always need you to be there to hold their hand.

See also why VA’s from the Philippines are the best for cold calling.

Give Them Time to Adjust

Like with any new hire, it’s important to give your VREA time to adjust to their new position and get up to speed on your company’s procedures and protocols. This means not putting too much pressure on them right away and letting them take things at their own pace.

Of course, you don’t want them taking too long to get started either, so find a balance that works for both of you. By setting clear expectations and giving your VREA the time they need to adjust, you’ll create a smooth transition for them and avoid any initial hiccups.

Set Up Regular Check-Ins With Your Remote Real Estate Virtual Assistant

It’s important to stay in communication with your VREA, even after they’ve settled into their new role. Set up regular check-ins (weekly, biweekly, monthly, etc.) to touch base with them and see how things are going.

This is also a good time to give feedback—both positive and constructive—and answer any questions or concerns they may have.

Be Open to Feedback From Your Real Estate Virtual Office Assistant

Speaking of feedback, it’s important that you’re open to hearing—and acting on—feedback from your VREA. After all, they’re in a unique position to offer insights into how your business is being run and where improvements can be made.

So don’t just brush off their suggestions; instead, take them into consideration and see if there’s any merit to them. If there is, then make the necessary changes; if not, then explain why you don’t think their suggestion would work. This, overall, is a great way for you both to grow.

Final Thoughts

Hiring a virtual assistant for a real estate business can be a game-changer for owners who are struggling to keep up with everything on their plate.

It doesn’t matter if you’re looking for a real estate agent virtual assistant or a real estate marketing virtual assistant, in order for your VREA to be truly effective, it’s important that you know how to make the most out of their skills and abilities.

By following the tips listed above, you’ll set yourself—and your business—up for success and huge growth!