Real Estate Technology : General Technology Information
Assist Your Business with Virtual Assistance!
Struggling to increase your production? Terrified about what it takes to create a
great web site? Don't have the time to follow up on all of your leads? Can't afford
a full time assistant but still want to increase your production? If you answered
"yes" to any of these questions, then consider doing what we did at RealEstateCoach.com
— Hire a Virtual Assistant!!
You already know about real estate assistants, but are you familiar with a "virtual
assistance"? As far as we're concerned, our "VA" (virtual assistant) Shane Bowlin
pretty much walks on water. Shane has worked with us since 1999. She oversees the
administration of our three web-based businesses, publishes our ten monthly
E-newsletters, updates us with ideas and innovations that give us a competitive
edge, and keeps us focused on what's most important to our business.
VA's are well-trained support professionals who work as independent contractors
from their own office and provide a host of customized services. Although their
services may seem a little expensive at first ($15.00-50.00) per hour, the level
of expertise they bring to the job is well worth it. Even better, you're only
charged for the time you use. Because VAs are independent contractors, you don't
have to worry about workman's comp or any other the other challenges you face
when you hire a traditional "employee" assistant to work in your office.
What types of services can you expect from your VA? Since VAs are not usually
licensed, they will not be able to show property or attend closings. Where a
great VA shines, however, is in keeping you in front of buyers and sellers
while they attend to the chores you hate to do. Here's a list of just some of
the things a VA can do for your business.
- Put together and publish your Email Newsletter
- Post your new listings to the web including setting up your virtual tours.
- Keep your web site up-to-date and respond to web inquiries.
- Set up the autoresponders on your web site so you can be more efficient in
responding to web leads.
- Conduct lead follow-up and help you stay in touch regularly with your referral
database. Most VAs have no problem tracking hundreds (even thousands) of people in
your database.
- Handle your bookkeeping including evaluating which aspects of your business are
profitable and which aspects are losing money. Shane recently spotted where we were
bleeding money on web site fees. After researching several alternatives, she arranged
for us to move somewhere less expensive that offers better service.
- Keep you abreast of the latest trends and ideas on the web to give you a
competitive edge against other agents.
- Oversee your transactions including coordinating inspectors, repair people,
and closings.
- Set up appointments.
- Complete CMAs
- Coordinate closings
- Be a resource in solving your problems. The best VAs belong to organizations
such as the International Virtual Assistance Association (IVAA)
www.ivaa.org or
www.AssistU.com. When one of them has a challenge and doesn't know
where to find the answer, they put it out to the group. Instead of one
person helping to solve your problem, you literally have access to hundreds.
To learn more about Virtual Assistance,
www.REVAteams.com,
www.AssistU.com,
or www.ivaa.org.
If you are considering hiring a VA, the first step is to place a "RFP"
(request for proposal) at
www.AssistU.com,
www.ivaa.org, or
www.REVAteams.com.
Your RFP should include all the tasks you want the VA to handle. It's smart to
rank order what you hate to do the most and would like the VA to handle.
Once you complete your RFP, it will be mailed to all active VA's currently taking
clients. Those who feel they meet your criteria will Email you back. Then, you
interview the VA and the VA will also interview you to see if you are a good fit
for each other.
The next thing you will have to decide is whether or not you want to work with a retainer. Many VAs will give you a price break if you guarantee a minimum number of hours per month.
If you're concerned about the cost or are nervous about delegating activities, start slowly. Your VA is actually trained how to coach you to work best with them. In most cases, your VA is ready to take over what you hate long before you're ready to let go of it.
As you let go of all those headaches (your VA usually is very good at doing what you absolutely hate to do), don't be surprised at how this investment reaps rewards much greater than you could have ever anticipated!
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