Should Real Estate Agents Hire A Virtual Assistant?

July 14, 2017

Esther Lee

Have you been on the fence about hiring a virtual assistant? There are many benefits to delegating smaller responsibilities out. However, as with anything, there are both pros and cons to going virtual in your real estate business. It just requires doing a little digging to figure out which areas of your business needs a boost, and to research which virtual assistant companies are the best fit for your needs.

Pros and Cons of Hiring a Virtual Assistant

Several BoomTown clients have seen great success from hiring a virtual assistant to pick up some real estate responsibilities. There are many benefits to having a staff member who does not take up space in your physical office.

Pros

Hiring a virtual assistants is cheaper than hiring an in-house team member. There is no overhead cost and they don’t need physical space in an office.

There is also less time commitment required to onboard a virtual hire. Most companies provide training across several technology systems, so they already know how to navigate your CRMs and email systems right from the get-go. Taking the training out of your hands means all you need to do is an initial coaching call and a few consistent check-in calls.

You also spend less time overseeing and managing a virtual assistant. Because they are contractors versus full-time staff, you don’t have to fill out HR paperwork or make sure they are settling in with the rest of your team.

As an added benefit, many companies will try to pair you with an assistant who best fits your needs and meets your requirements. You also have the option of hiring an assistant for part-time work, per project, or on as-needed basis.

Cons

However, hiring a virtual assistant doesn’t come without its shortcomings. Some real estate agents have more trouble trying to maintain accountability with a long-distance hire than one in their office. Even though these virtual assistants come from reputable companies, some may still feel nervous about handing over a lot of trust to an individual they have not met in person.

Another concern that some real estate agents have is that because virtual assistants don’t have the local knowledge that an in-house hire would, it may appear obvious to clients that they are speaking to non-native hires. However, this has not been a problem for many who have employed virtual assistants. Most companies hire individuals who are professional and have a mastery of the English language, so any client interactions are smooth and seamless.

However, one thing to keep in mind is that even hiring a virtual assistant is not a completely hands-off experience. You need to have at least the initial coaching call, and set expectations for the goals moving forward.

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Who Should Hire a Virtual Assistant?

While real estate professionals at any stage can benefit from a virtual assistant, it may be the most effective choice for newer agents who are just starting to build their business. As a new agent, you will start to reach a point where you don’t have time to do everything yourself, and may not yet have the money to hire an in-house assistant.

When your business starts to grow, you will find yourself with more responsibilities but less time to do everything yourself. And when the tasks start to pile up, you can start to lose focus. Losing focus on lead follow-up means losing money by letting opportunities fall through the cracks.

The good news is that you don’t have to do everything yourself. Virtual assistants can take some of the smaller time-consuming tasks off your plate, so you can focus your time and effort on more important, profitable tasks.

Virtual assistants can handle anything from lead follow-up, transaction management, scheduling meetings, filtering emails, marketing tasks, social media posts, MLS listing input, and other general administrative duties. Make sure that you are only giving your virtual assistant tasks that you already have a system in place for. Virtual assistants should not be responsible for creating systems and processes for your business from scratch.

Grow Your Business With BoomTown

No matter which route you choose to take, BoomTown is here to help with business buildings tips and lead follow-up strategies. Check out our Video Library for more insights and best practices for growing your real estate business.