Top 3 Benefits of Real Estate Virtual Assistants

Have you been asking yourself if it’s finally time for a real estate virtual assistant? Maybe you’ve weighed the pros and cons and still don’t know how to feel or whether or not you can justify the added expense to your business. What’s the big deal with virtual assistants anyway? 

Real estate assistants provide a lot of support to a busy agent or team and can be vital to scaling your business, freeing up your time, and helping you close more deals. The right assistant at the right time can realistically be measured in revenue—you’re probably leaving money on the table if you aren’t employing an assistant for your real estate business—virtual or otherwise.

Virtual Assistants Vs. In-Person Assistants In Real Estate

What’s the difference between an in-person assistant and a virtual one? There are a few things to consider before making a decision on one or the other. In-person assistants are great to have around and easier to get to know, if only because of proximity and interaction. They also tend to have less flexible schedules and higher rates and come with added expenses you may not have yet considered, like additional space in your office and the additional cost of supplies and equipment.

Unless you’re certain that the benefits of an in-person real estate assistant outweigh the additional costs, I recommend going with a virtual assistant to start. Their costs are generally lower, their schedules tend to be more flexible, and the fact that you don’t have to live in the same time zone can be an incredible advantage to your business’ operating hours.

If you determine that you want to give an assistant a shot but don’t know exactly what kind of benefit they’ll bring your real estate business, here are the top three benefits of real estate virtual assistants.

Virtual Assistants Help With Time Management

Being a real estate professional is time-consuming, and agents who want to hire a virtual assistant are likely looking for some of that time back. The most important thing a real estate virtual assistant does for your business is assist with time management. This can come in any number of forms: a virtual assistant can manage your schedule, answer your calls, assist with paperwork, or respond to emails.

However you want to use your virtual real estate assistant, you can. Measure the time you spend on daily tasks for a week or two and recognize that many of those tasks can be handled by the virtual assistant you now plan to hire. How much of your week will you get back? What else can you use that time for? If you aren’t focusing on those administrative tasks, you’ll have greater bandwidth to close deals or find new business. Your new virtual assistant will help you do more of what you actually want to do for your business.

Virtual Assistants Create Marketing and Social Media Excellence

Marketing your real estate business isn’t necessarily difficult, but it can take a lot of time and effort that you might not be willing to sacrifice to it. This is where your new real estate virtual assistant comes in—marketing through social media and other channels is readily handled through some focused effort every day. Giving this task to your assistant will also bring consistency to the voice of your brand messaging; if your assistant is the common key in all your marketing strategies, consistency is likely. When you don’t have time to market consistently, utilizing your virtual real estate assistant is a surefire way to leverage your time more effectively.

Virtual Assistants Fuel Your Follow-Up and Customer Service

Another time-saver is to let your virtual assistant act as the customer service department for your real estate business. They can follow up on inquiries, handle problems, and confirm appointments, saving you hours upon hours. By virtue of their job, virtual assistants are great at speaking on the phone and making clients and customers feel satisfied and at ease.

You may be great with clients or wonderful at sales, but your virtual assistant will serve as another point of positive contact with your business. Their job will be to keep up with customers or your SOI and follow up accordingly, passing people to you in the moments where your presence is the most useful and important.

If you haven’t looked into a real estate virtual assistant yet, it’s time to give it more thought. A virtual assistant will help you grow your business, get back your time, and focus on the revenue-generating pieces of your day-to-day work.