As we approach 2024, it’s wise to review the progress your business has made in the past 12 months. Optimally, most of the changes you have made have effectively increased your bottom line, improved your rapport with your clients, and made your daily workflow more manageable. 

Now is also a perfect opportunity to strategize and develop new methods to further advance your potential. For example, you may wish to hire a virtual assistant. You may not have the capital or desire to hire a traditional assistant, but you can still benefit from the help a virtual assistant can lend. 

If you do hire a virtual assistant only to discover that you still require additional (in-person) help, consider adding an hourly freelancer. These two rates combined will still be far more affordable than hiring a full-time assistant to work alongside you in your office.  

Before you decide whether or not a virtual assistant is right for you, please consider the following information breakdown. 

Capabilities of a Virtual Assistant

Your first step is taking the time to analyze your needs and which tasks you are most eager to outsource. These fleshed-out details will guide you as you screen applicants, conduct interviews, and explain the duties your virtual assistant can expect to take on. 

A virtual assistant is typically hired to perform the following kinds of work:

• Administrative tasks are the main motivation behind an agent’s decision to hire a virtual assistant. Once a real estate agent’s business gathers momentum, the sheer amount of added administrative work can prevent further expansion. Your assistant will answer incoming emails, texts, and phone calls. They will also schedule your appointments and take over your calendar management. 

• Operations is an umbrella category that can cover day-to-day bookkeeping, data entry, management of your client database, organization of your documents, and tracking the patterns revealed in your business’s closed deals. Market analytics are important all throughout the year, every year!

• Marketing is the lifeblood of your business. While this task may be too important to outsource entirely, your VA can help by sending out mailers, scheduling your email blasts, planning your social media posts, tracking SEO patterns in our area, and creating basic graphic designs. 

• Sales tasks you might outsource are CRM lead note updates, cold calling, setting appointments, acting on leads gathered, and prospecting.

• Developing repeatable tasks is essential to free up your time, but it is also tedious, and it may be difficult for you to decide which tasks should be automated. Your VA can analyze your workflow and create repeatable tasks customized to your business. Note that these tasks can help you for years to come, so it’s nearly always worthwhile to hire help in this capacity. 

Limitations of a Virtual Assistant

Your virtual assistant will not be able to place your signs, refill your property listing sheets, read through your physical mail, or run your errands. If you mainly want your assistant to help you out around town, consider focusing on a freelance assistant instead.

Pros and Cons of Choosing a Virtual Assistant

Clearly, there are dozens of reasons to hire a VA. An additional motivation is the savings when compared to the cost of overhead. Leasing and furnishing additional office space will add a hefty amount to the already considerable cost of hiring a full-time traditional assistant. 

Hiring a VA who has already worked for a real estate agent in the past will mean they can already navigate the necessary software, understand the workflow, and are familiar with the terms they will encounter on a daily basis.

You’re already busy, so choosing a VA may be ideal if only because their whole job hinges on their ability to work remotely and nearly wholly independently. You won’t be expected to engage in small talk, and you will avoid interruptions to your scheduled blocks of focused work. 

If you have a set budget you can comfortably put toward hiring a VA, you will be able to hire someone who will work for the rate you set, even if that means limiting the hours you can afford at first.

Of course, it’s not all sunshine and roses. We advise being aware of the following snags agents can encounter when they hire a virtual assistant.

Consider how challenging it may be to properly vet prospective VAs when you can neither interview them in person nor observe their work ethic as the first few months go by. While references and letters from past employers can help, it may be impossible to feel fully confident in your VA until the two of you have developed a long-standing working relationship. 

Your clients will likewise be communicating with someone they can never meet. While younger buyers and sellers will likely be unfazed by this dynamic, anyone over the age of 45 may only feel comfortable once you have taken the time to introduce your assistant via email or three-way phone call. Only you can properly read what your target clientele will prefer, and your approach should change as your experience dictates. 

Do a Trial Run

The decision of whether or not to hire a VA doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing one. For example, test the waters by hiring someone on a trial basis. Explain what you need and expect in clear language in writing. You must also ensure that your contract includes a transparent agreement to enter a trial employment period. Explain the length of the trial period, and that you will not necessarily explain your decision to terminate their employment. 

While you may decide to elucidate the cause of your displeasure, it’s equally likely that you will not feel comfortable entering into the conversation at all. By communicating this reality from the outset, you will protect yourself from potential conflict in the future. 

The Takeaway

Take your time deciding whether to hire a Virtual Assistant. If you go for it, enter the fray with your eyes open, and bring your business savvy into this new territory! You are fully capable of handling the challenge.