Updated Jan 31, 2023
As a real estate business owner, if you feel like you might be running behind or all the tasks you have to deal with are causing you stress, one of the ways to make things easier is by adding virtual assistants for real estate to your team.
Having a remote team member (or two) allows you to complete more of the tasks that need your attention while giving other tasks to an assistant who can finish them for you. When you choose a real estate assistant, you can also help future-proof your business by giving it a stronger foundation and more support. The more solid your business is built, the more it can weather potential storms in the future.
Here's what to consider when hiring an assistant for your business in the real estate industry and why a virtual contractor can be an excellent option for future-proofing.
What Does It Mean to Future-Proof Your Real Estate Business?
Future-proofing your business means helping it become more resistant to adverse changes in the future. By planning for the potential of future events, your real estate agency or company can be more prepared.
While it's impossible to future-proof for every eventuality, many instances can be prepared for and considered. Backing up data, for example, can protect your company from losing important information. Likewise, shredding documents may reduce your risk of a data breach.
Additionally, the level of customer service you offer and the professional nature of your communications can make a difference in how your company is perceived moving forward.
As you move through future-proofing, consider the areas most important to your customers and how you can protect your ability to continue offering those services, come what may.
Why Is It Important to Future-Proof Your Business?
The primary reason to future-proof your business is to increase its chances of long-term success. So while we're not suggesting you worry about all the bad things that could befall your real estate brokerage or company, it's important to be aware of things that could go wrong and set your business up to overcome them.
In other words, you want to prepare for what might happen, so you'll be ready if it does. As long as those preparations aren't hindering your current work, you can benefit from future preparation.
Real estate professionals work with many types of clients, including buyers, sellers, and investors. So, how you serve each of these groups needs consideration when you look for a real estate assistant to help secure your company's future.
Some of the best benefits of future-proofing include:
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Maintaining your business's financial health
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Continuing to provide employment opportunities for your community
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Keeping your ability to serve your customers better than your competitors
As your company moves into the future, it needs to stay financially healthy. Companies that cannot do that often die out or are overcome by their competition. To keep your strength in the market, your real estate business's financial health is vital.
Supporting Your Team
Additionally, your company will need to offer employment and allow W-2 employees and independent contractors (like real estate virtual assistants) to serve your customers adequately. Without enough job roles with your company, your customers can't get what they need.
However, without enough customers, your company won't have additional employment opportunities.
These two areas work together. When they are both successful, they also add to your business's financial health and well-being. That increases the future-proof nature of your company and adds to your peace of mind.
Audit Tasks to Identify Outsourcing Areas for Your Future
When auditing tasks you or your team regularly perform, you can identify areas you can outsource to a virtual assistant for real estate agents. Finding a high-quality virtual assistant is essential because your business and clients will rely on them for many different tasks.
Which tasks should you consider in your plans to outsource to a remote assistant? Look for:
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Repetitive tasks
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Challenging tasks
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Neglected tasks
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Valuable tasks
All of these tasks are good options for outsourcing when you're planning to choose a virtual assistant for your needs.
What Do These Tasks Look Like?
How can you classify different tasks into the four categories mentioned above? Why is it important to do this?
When building your remote team, not every team member will be ideal for every task. Depending on the team member and the nature of the task, you can assemble an efficient team that allows each virtual assistant to contribute in a way that best suits their skills.
Repetitive Tasks
that can be completed through outsourcing mean you'll free up your time for other areas that might need more individualized attention. These low-level tasks don't necessarily require specialization and could be ideal for a virtual assistant with general real estate industry or administrative experience.
Challenging Tasks
Challenging aspects of your operations are good for outsourcing because they can be difficult and take time. However, giving them to someone else with the ideal skill set means you're freeing that time for additional future-proofing to grow your business!
Virtual assistants are also a low-cost option for handling challenging tasks to free up more of your budget dollars for additional preparations for the future.
Neglected Tasks
Do you have tasks that never seem to get done (or your in-house team doesn't seem to want to do them)? Neglected tasks are another excellent area where you can consider virtual assistant services.
Unfortunately, many minor tasks are often pushed to the side and aren't completed when or how they should be. That can become a problem for future-proofing or growing your business and ensuring your current clients receive the care they need now.
Valuable Tasks
The right VAs can also handle valuable or high-level tasks. As long as they are well-trained in what they need to do for your real estate company and have the right experience, trusting virtual assistants with important tasks can be a smart decision for your company's future.
These tasks can include coordinating with clients, data entry, transaction coordination, managing listings, work that addresses growth, social media management, bookkeeping, or related areas.
What Tasks Are Ideal for Virtual Assistants for Real Estate?
We've mentioned a few, but there are plenty of tasks virtual assistants for real estate can handle.
Choosing remote team members from a platform like VPM Solutions means you get talent with industry-specific training and experience to add to your team. These skilled assistants can process important documents or contracts, support your sales team as inside sales coordinators, work with your real estate photographer to shoot the next property you'll list, schedule virtual showings, and more.
Remote contractors can become valuable assets for your in-house team and your company's future!
Choose Virtual Contractors You Can Rely On
Finding the right real estate virtual assistant can be crucial to ongoing success as a real estate agent or broker.
However, a business owner must add team members they can trust and rely on. That means starting with a pool of high-quality and experienced virtual assistants as you begin your search to fill various roles. The right virtual assistants can easily become part of a team and work together just as well as they could if they were in the office.
In addition, virtual assistants for real estate are cost-effective options when building a team that supports your business and growth long-term. Compared to full-time W-2 employees, virtual assistants deliver excellent work at lower pay rates. Companies also build a team without the requirements of many in-house employees, like office space, equipment, and traditional benefits.
Future-Proof With the Best Virtual Assistant for Real Estate Agents
With a quality virtual team member supporting your business in the real estate sector, you'll be more likely to keep your company moving forward and give your team the kind of help and support they need to serve clients effectively. In addition, when challenges arise, bringing in short-term or project-based virtual assistants for real estate can help you fill gaps or add much-needed resources to protect the future of your business.
VPM Solutions has the virtual resources real estate agents and brokers need to help future-proof their companies for added peace of mind. Start a Free Company Profile and connect with virtual assistants you can count on!
Find more ways to benefit from remote team members when downloading our free resource, the "Guide to Using Virtual Assistants for Your Real Estate Business."
