You have hired your ?super star? Real Estate Virtual Assistant your excited and eager to start but you don?t know where to begin. When I speak with new clients the first thing I tell them is sit down and write out your ?To-Do list?. This can be broken up into sections of most urgent and what you have wanted to start to implement but haven?t had the time to do. Your Real Estate Virtual Assistant can then see where your needs are and see how best she/he can assist you.? The reason you are hiring an assistant is because you obviously can?t do it all on your own, you have ideas, goals and aspirations for your business but just haven?t had the time or energy to get to ?everything? on your list. You can only wear so many hats before you get burnt out. So giving your Virtual Assistant a list of things you have wanted to implement but just haven?t got around to is essential, talk with her/him about your goals for your business and where you see yourself in 5 years.
A good Virtual Assistant will then be able to help you in working out a road map of how to get there and what she/he can do to better assist you in that process.? A Virtual Assistant is not just another vendor they should be seen more as an intricate piece to the puzzle on the road to success.? Think about it everyone needs a right hand man/women to get them there, nobody does it alone. That is how you should see your Virtual Assistant fitting into your business model or plan.
A great amount of trust is needed between yourself and your Virtual Assistant when it comes to handing off stuff and putting trust in this person to get the job done. You don?t want to be focusing on the items that they are doing when you should be focusing on building new or maintaining old revenue.?
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?You would be amazed as to what your Virtual Assistant can do for you. Depending upon your needs you may need to hire more than one assistant to get the job done.? If you have a wide range of tasks that need to be completed and want to ease into working with a Virtual Assistant the best thing to do is pick the type of work that is going to bring in the most revenue so you may be able to hire more assistants down the line that ?specialize? in other areas that you need assistance in. Many Virtual Assistants and Real Estate Virtual Assistants have a list of services they offer and some focus on one or two things. ?Check with your assistant to make sure they offer the services that fit your needs ?most.? Also Virtual Assistants network with each other and most likely if they do not handle work in the area you are needing assistance in, they likely know of another awesome Virtual Assistant that does. ?Communication is key!
Below are some examples of how your Real Estate Virtual Assistant may be able to assist you with your business (this is not a complete list of services this is more a reference to get your mind flowing):
1.)??? Lead Management- When you have new leads coming in whether they are internet leads, phone leads, referrals etc. You need to have a system in place on how to handle each type of lead. Your Real Estate Virtual Assistant can assist you in implementing systems to keep in touch and follow up with leads. Your Virtual Assistant may also be able to ?pre-screen? your leads and see how serious they are about finding a new home. Depending upon how you have your system set up they can assist you in scheduling appointments to get your ?hot? leads in to see you. ?
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2.)??? Showing Schedules- Whether you are a buyer?s agent or a seller?s agent you are going to have showings.? If you are working with buyers your Real Estate Virtual Assistant can assist you in getting the information from your buyers leads on what properties they want to see and setting up a date and time for you to show them these properties. Your Real Estate Virtual Assistant can check to make sure that the properties that they are looking for are still available and work with the listing agents to get appointments set up.? If you are a seller?s agent your Virtual Assistant can assist in maintaining your schedule and field calls from buyer?s agents and make sure they have the correct information on how to show your listings.? Your Real Estate Virtual Assistant will then follow up with the buyer?s agents and get feedback for your clients on the showing.
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3.)??? Listing Presentations- Depending on what you use for your listing presentation your Real Estate Virtual Assistant can assist you in preparing for your listing presentation. If you use a power point presentation they can assist you in updating it so that it pertains to the current appointment.? I have one client who likes to use actual pictures of the property in his listing presentation and provides mock sales flyers and brochures. Your Real Estate Virtual Assistant can complete all of this for you and have it ready to go before your appointment.
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4.)??? Listing Coordination- So you have had your listing presentation and the potential sellers are so impressed with your stunning presentation (that your assistant helped you create) they are eager to move forward you come back from the appointment with a signed contract. You now need your assistant to impress your new clients even more and show how on the ball you are and assist you in fulfilling your promises to the client.? Your assistant will then take the information pertaining to the property and get it uploaded into the MLS (depending upon your MLS rules), she/he will then get the marketing materials in place whether it is for online or offline marketing.? She/he can order the pictures or schedule a time for you to go and take pictures ( if you didn?t do that before you left the listing presentation).? Your assistant will get your new clients access to your transaction management site so they can see what you are doing with their property.? She/he should set up reminders for you and him/her to follow up with your new clients and give them updates or answer any questions they may have along the way. ?????????????
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Some items included in listing management are:
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A)???? Virtual Tours
B)????? Postlets/Vlfyers
C)????? Craigslist ads (reposting several times a week)
D)???? Updating your website to reflect the listing and all pertinent information
E)????? Updating the MLS with any changes to the listing
F)????? Ordering flyers to bet kept at the property
G)???? Ordering your sign to be placed at the property
H)???? Online syndication of your listing
I)??????? Direct mail just listed postcards to your COI, Past Clients, Buyers Leads etc.
J)?????? Send out e-mail blast to other agents in your area of your new listing
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5.)??? Transaction Management- Your assistant did such a great job in marketing your listing and managing your showing schedules that you have found a buyer. Your Real Estate Virtual Assistant can assist you in managing the transaction to make sure that everything moves smoothly to closing. He/she will make sure you have all documents signed, makes sure all inspections are ordered and completed on time. ?Your Real Estate Virtual Assistant will keep a constant line of communication between you, the buyer?s agent, your client and anyone else that needs to be informed as to what is going on with your listing.? Once the listing has closed your Real Estate Virtual Assistant will then take all documents pertaining to that closing and will burn them onto a disc and give one to the seller and one to buyer?s agent and keep a record of it for your records.
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6.)??? Closing Gifts- Once your listing has closed some agents feel it is necessary to give their client a closing gift. Whether it is a gift basket, we?ve moved postcards with the seller?s new address etc. Whatever it is your Real Estate Virtual Assistant will be on the ball and make sure this important step is not missed.
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7.)??? Social Networking- Your Real Estate Virtual Assistant can assist you with your social networking whether you are on 1 site or 100 sites your Virtual Assistant can assist you with your social networking and assist you in streamlining your efforts. Whether it is managing your tweets on twitter or making sure your WordPress blog posts are then linked and created on your Active Rain Blog, which in turn gets sent to your Facebook Fan Page and your Twitter Account, then is automatically posted on your Linked In account. ?Getting you on as many sites as they can with the least amount of effort is key. ?This creates back links to your website if done correctly and gets your name out there so you are seen as an expert in your field.
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8.)??? BPO Support- If you are an agent who also works with banks and asset management companies and performs BPO?s for them your Real Estate Virtual Assistant can assist you with this as well. You can have it set up so your assistant accepts the orders for you as they come in. Schedules you to go out there and take the pictures and do your assessment or if you have someone you have hired to take the pictures for you they will then send that order to the field and manage the work order so that it is turned in on time and there are no problems.? Once you have the information together you can then hand it off to your assistant who can in turn update the bank or asset management company with the information and pictures pertaining to your BPO. Whether it is on a website or via forms that are faxed or emailed in your Virtual Assistant can make sure all of your information is kept up to date with the banks and asset management companies. Your assistant can also make sure you are paid for the work you have done and track your payments and when they should be coming in.
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9.)??? REO Support- If you are an REO agent you have a lot on your plate with managing vendors at the property (i.e. landscaping, plumbing, contractors etc.) , you most likely have to keep the utilities going and have monthly reports you have to send in to the banks throughout the listing of these properties. Your Real Estate Virtual Assistant can assist you in staying on top of all the things that go along with an REO listing. Also managing your invoicing to the bank so you get paid and reimbursed for the costs that you are putting out.
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This of course is just a minute sample of what your ?Superstar? Real Estate Virtual Assistant can do for you. Remember write down what you want from your business, your goals and communicate with your Real Estate Virtual Assistant. This should get some ideas flowing on how you can best use the assistance of a Virtual Assistant.? Remember just because they are not in your office does not mean that they are not going to be as affective in servicing your needs.? Real Estate Virtual Assistants are highly trained professionals who work hard at maintaining a working relationship with each and every client they serve.
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