Virtual Assistants: A Real Estate Agent’s Secret Weapon

Outsourcing isn’t just for corporations anymore. More and more real estate professionals rely on outside help to complete tasks they don’t have the time or resources to do themselves. Demanding schedules come with the territory, but agents can lighten the load significantly by delegating tasks to assistants.

(Side note: only 14 percent of REALTORS® use at least one personal assistant, according to the 2013 National Association of REALTORS® Member Profile. That’s a handful of REALTORS® with assistants – how on Earth are the others doing it?)

Statistics aside, assistants are an important cog in the real estate machine. Call them the secret weapon in any successful agent’s arsenal. But if taking on a full- or part-time employee sounds daunting, you may want to look into hiring a virtual assistant to work remotely. They do everything a face-to-face assistant does without the burden of overseeing an employee.

A quick rundown of what a VA can do for you:

• Route incoming leads and calls
• Maintain your database
• Follow up with leads
• Set up listing appointments
• Add listings to the MLS and your website
• Assemble and/or mail prelisting packages
• Produce videos
• Coordinate transactions
• Handle billings
• Manage a blog and/or social media platforms
• Facilitate direct mailings and drip campaigns
• Touch base with former clients
• Order marketing materials, closing gifts and other supplies

With sites like Zirtual (which recently added 300 more job openings), Team Double-Click and eaHELP, finding a qualified individual is easier than ever.

Still not sold on the whole virtual-ness of it all? Consider this: compared to a full-time assistant, VAs cost next to nothing. You’re exempt from paying insurance and benefits, and you don’t have to purchase equipment (like a computer or phone) for them to use. What’s more, you only have to pay the VA when they actually do the work – an option perfect for when the market’s slow or you just don’t have enough tasks at the moment to keep him or her occupied. And, instead of clocking out at 5 each day, a VA works any and all hours required.

With agents becoming increasingly mobile, it just makes sense to have an assistant who can do the same! How have you outsourced tasks related to your real estate business?

Suzanne De Vita is RISMedia’s Online Associate Editor and social butterfly. Her former assistant duties included researching environmental legislation and marketing for a home staging firm.