4 Ways Virtual Assistant Can Revolutionize Your Real Estate Business

Hiring an assistant is a way to give someone else a part of your tasks and free up some of your time for tasks that just cannot be done without your direct intervention. In a digital age, there’s no reason why this person shouldn’t be hired remotely.

Now, before we proceed, there’s one thing we have to get out of the way. A virtual assistant is not just a person performing the job of an assistant remotely. In real estate, this is a person who has some previous experience in the industry and can handle some complex tasks (when necessary).

Here are four ways a virtual assistant can revolutionize your business. 

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1.  Managing your marketing

The importance of marketing in real estate cannot be overstated. In a competitive field, the ones who get discovered first or present their offer as the best will be the ones who will make the most profit. The more competitive the field, the more you have to invest in marketing, but this investment is sometimes made in work hours, not just money. 

One of the tasks that a virtual assistant can assume is content creation and curation. With modern generative AI tools, even someone without assistance can get some insights, have the platform adjust the style, tone, and voice to the target audience, and even fact-check segments of their text. This is, of course, without generating it all with an AI tool. 

Social media marketing is just as important, and you can use it to get ahead in the field of real estate. Platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, and even TikTok are amazing for people to discover you. If you’re willing to pay for ads, even Facebook can make a difference.

Outreach is incredibly important, and it comes in many shapes and forms. Sending emails and cold calls through telemarketing or social media DMs are just some of the ways to do so. Not only are assistants great at this, but it’s somehow more professional to have an assistant call in your stead. 

2.  Handling research and data entry

Those with the best data triumph while others lag behind. What does data research entail in the world of modern real estate? Well, going through online listings and checking out properties. Other than this, you have to research neighborhood metrics and read municipal development plans. An assistant can do all of this.

This raises an important issue - can a virtual assistant really do this as efficiently? It’s just important that you keep in mind that these are not regular assistants that we’re talking about. You can find a person who specializes as a virtual assistant for real estate agents. Such a specialist can easily handle this, often more quickly than you could (if not more thoroughly). 

The key issue you have to remember is that this requires continuous effort. What does this mean? Your research and data entry are not one-and-done. Urban landscapes always evolve, and you need someone who will tirelessly check and recheck what’s going on. 

While this is not a complex task, it would take a lot of time for you to do so on your own. Sure, it’s worth it, seeing as how it has to be done, but what if you could just leave this in the hands of someone else?

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3.  Tending to bookkeeping and accounting processes

While accounting is quite complex, the truth is that most of the time, you’re just handling the simplest of tasks, like sending and receiving invoices and writing down every single one of these transactions. This is something that a virtual assistant can do without breaking a sweat. Keep in mind that there are not many tasks that are more important than this and the sooner you get someone to deal with it, the better.

For those who are wondering about how an assistant would find their way around all these forms, you have to keep in mind that they’re using software either way. This means that they’re using all the assistance they can get and, provided that they already know a thing or two about finance (even if it’s just basic), this form of bookkeeping will be a walk in the park.

Now, chances are that you’ll already outsource your accounting to someone outside of the company, but this doesn’t mean that you won’t have to do a thing. Combining an accountant with virtual assistant bookkeepers is a simple way to create a pseudo-in-house accounting department.

This greatly helps with property management. Here, there are so many invoices from tenants to landlords and from landlords for maintenance services to process. 

4.  Acting as your call center and customer support

Image: Joyce Busola

The thing about client relations is that you need to give them your personal attention, but not everyone who calls and asks for a quote is a client. You’re too busy to handle it all on your own, which is why you need someone to act as an intermediary, a buffer, or even a gatekeeper to your own attention.

Virtual assistants can answer queries quite easily. Even when these are simple questions (like something that they could find in your FAQ or ask a chatbot about), people who take time to reach out prefer a human on the other end of the line. Your virtual assistants can act as your customer support and be on the line with them.

Moreover, they have to learn how to simplify some industry-related terms to their audience (similar to what is done in the tech field).

Another massive question is - can they give an answer to all of these questions? The answer is, most of them, yes! They have all the materials you give them (including underused resources like FAQs and chatbots). However, if they don’t know the answer, they can just send them your way. This way, they perform a sort of triage to determine who absolutely needs an audience with you.

Virtual assistants can also help you run your schedule. This way, they can take control of your meetings and get an even stronger grip on who is worth your time.

Ultimately, you have to get some help, and the sooner you do it, the better. A virtual assistant is employed remotely, has a flexible work arrangement, and provides you with a wide variety of services that you desperately need. This is an opportunity that’s too good to miss out on.