The specialist’s time is invaluable. Sure, they always have a profit, a commission, or a salary, but from the standpoint of the shortage of specialized labor, the truth is that a specialist does tasks that no one else is capable of. This is why having them handle data entry, basic outreach, and responding to basic questions that potential buyers and tenants have might be a bit of a waste.
Just think about it, a surgeon’s hourly wage is the same regardless if they’re in the O.R. or if they’re taking a break on the couch. It doesn’t stop in this industry. This is why having a real estate specialist respond to tasks or fill in Google Sheets may be a bit wasteful.
The best way to avoid this is to hire some help.
When hiring an assistant, you’re always looking for someone reliable. However, what separates a real estate virtual assistant from their generalist counterpart? Let’s find out!
1. Look for someone with industry-specific experience
The first thing you need to understand is that while some tasks are quite similar to other industries (data entry, email outreach, etc.), the core tasks like research and scheduling maintenance are a bit more specific to the real estate industry. Sure, you could perhaps draw parallels to some other tasks, but in reality, it is quite unique.
Now, the good thing about this is the fact that finding specialized virtual assistants for the real estate industry is really not as hard as it used to be. A Rocket Station Virtual Assistant will have no trouble adjusting since they usually have a ton of industry-specific experience or really customized onboarding and training.
You need someone accustomed to the tools used in this field, and someone who understands how to do the local real estate market research. While this is something that one can be taught rather quickly, the experience and looking past the surface is the bottleneck of the industry.
Just remember that, regardless of everything else, research will be the key responsibility of the virtual assistant in real estate. They have to go through all the property listings and find something that fits the bill. Everything else can be compensated for.
2. Special emphasis on outreach and customer relations
Customer relations are the most important aspect of being a virtual assistant in real estate. Sure, they’ll spend the most time on data and administrative tasks, but you can’t underestimate the amount of time they’ll actively communicate with clients and leads.
The importance of email outreach for this industry cannot be stressed out enough. You have to reach out to property owners, potnetnail tennants, potential leads, and this comes down to so many emails throughout the day. Even with the right email marketing automation email, you still have an actual person on the other end of the line.
The role that the real estate assistant also fills is the one of customer support. This means that they’ll be the ones who communicate with clients when they have issues that need to be resolved. This also means that you have to pick someone with decent conversational skills, as well as someone patient and emphatic. After all, they represent your business.
The reason why you need someone patient is that, like in most customer support, your clients will use them as a replacement for a FAQ page. In other words, they’ll respond to the same set of questions over and over again. At the same time, they’ll act as a buffer (and a sort of triage for you). If there’s something that requires your direct attention, they’ll be the ones to send them your way.
3. Schedule running is one of the most important aspects of work in real estate
One of the main reasons why you’re hiring an assistant in the first place is so that you can focus on those tasks that you just can’t do without you. This usually involves meetings with strategic vendors, attending tours, and more. The bottom line is that even this can be hard to schedule, but if you have an assistant, things get a lot easier.
First of all, you’re working with cloud-based calendars. This means that you no longer need someone to make edits on a whiteboard or your own notebook. You can simply check out all the changes they’ve made (even get notified about it) and make adjustments.
These human-run schedules are, arguably, better than those made by robot assistants.
Why?
Mostly because schedule-making requires a deeper (human) understanding of one’s capacities, capabilities, and need for rest. This is something that’s unique to every person and something that a human assistant will understand better than any tool ever could.
4. Someone who can adjust to industry trends and new technology
Ultimately, you need someone who is tech-savvy. Why? Well, because the industry is advancing at a rapid pace, and there are a lot of technologies that your virtual assistants will have to understand.
Smart contracts will make interactions between tennants and landlords a lot simpler and more streamlined. Seeing as how property management is one of the biggest fields in real estate industry, this is a major industry-wide shift worth keeping in mind.
Smart homes, in general, are dominating the industry. So, while looking for them, you need someone who understands the field.
Virtual tours are getting talked about quite a bit; however, they’re still not used by the majority of real estate firms. At the same time, even agencies that are currently not using them have an intention to do so in the future.
Social media marketing is huge in the field of modern real estate. After all, Instagram reels, stories, and all short video formats on other platforms are just perfect for displaying your property. This is why you need someone who is social media savvy enough to create, curate, and schedule updates for this content.
Wrap up
In the end, having a good assistant will free you up to focus on your real tasks and what really requires your direct attention. Still, all of the above-listed perks only work if you hire the right person. This is why you have to put as much effort as you can into making the right call. Take your time and make your pick.