If you’re a real estate agent who is trying to make that jump from 60 transactions to 100 transactions like many of our agents here at the Agent First Group, you’ll likely need to hire the perfect real estate VA (virtual assistant).
In other words, you need leverage, and a virtual assistant is the most effective way to get you that leverage.
Today, we are going to walk through the process of hiring the perfect real estate VA—we’ll look at how to prep for, hire, interview, onboard, and work with a VA in one single post. There are tons of general & vague “How To” videos and articles on working with VAs, but in this one, we’re going to dig into the specifics so you know EXACTLY how to go about this process from beginning to end.
I’m letting you into MY secrets and how I’ve hired over 50 virtual assistants over the years!
Prepping To Hire the Perfect Real Estate VA
Now we’ll look at the prep work you should do to get started. This is what I have all my agents do before they look to hire that perfect real estate VA.
First, it’s essential that you get a project management tool of some sort. It doesn’t matter which you choose—it could be Notion, Trello, Monday, Asana, or whatever you want. But you MUST have some space in which to manage projects and employees if you want to operate at a high level.
Step 1 – Take Inventory of What You Do
For one week, take the time to record everything you do. This exercise is so important whether you’re looking to hire a VA or not—even if you’re just trying to run a business, you still need to know whether or not you’re being productive.
Track what you’re doing all day, stopping every 10-15 minutes to check in with yourself. Do this for a week. At the end of that week, you should know what you’re spending time on, what you’re wasting time on, what you shouldn’t be doing anymore, and what tasks you can easily pass on to a VA.
The most important aspect of this exercise is to determine what tasks are causing the most stress. Which ones do you start multiple times a day because you HATE doing them? Which do you wish you could never do again? These tasks are great candidates for passing off to a VA.
Step 2 – Create a Prospecting List
Now that you know what you are actually spending time on, think about what you should be spending time on. What can and should you be doing to make money for your business? Should you be cold calling, sending DMs, posting in Facebook groups, answering real estate questions, running social media ads?
List out those things that get you a good ROI and those things that you really should be doing on a regular basis to attract the clients you’re looking for. This is your prospecting list and it will show you what you should be doing daily to really get the most out of your business.
Step 3 – Create a Time Saving List
What takes the most time out of your day that you don’t really enjoy doing? Is it:
- Replying to emails?
- Uploading documents?
- Sending email updates?
Take an inventory and make a list of these time-consuming but boring tasks. Select the top three that you’d like to outsource and list them. I can’t tell you what these will be as we all have different strengths and interests in our businesses. However, I can make a few suggestions of things to outsource. Some popular tasks many VAs do include:
- Video Editing & Graphic Design
- Email & Calendar Management
- Phone Support
- Transaction Management
Once you have the list in mind, it’s time to take the next step and start looking for the right VA to hire!
Hiring the Perfect real estate vA
With the lists you have made, determine exactly what you need from a VA. Which tasks will you pass on to them? When do they need to be available to complete those tasks? What skills do they need to have?
Now, write out the job description. This should include:
- The specific tasks you need your VA to accomplish
- The days and times you need them to work
- How much and when you’ll pay
- Specific qualifications/skill sets
Once you have the job description, head over to job sites such as Upwork, Fiverr or my preferred site and post the job description.
Once you post the job, the applications should start pouring in. Your job is to review them…but, of course, this can be time-consuming. So, once you start receiving those applications, save time by sending out a special request to each applicant asking them to complete a task for you.
For example, you may ask them to edit a video, record a cold call script you like to use, create a design, or write a caption for a social media post. Make sure you choose something that will help you gauge the skills they’ll bring to your team and show you if they’ll complete the work you ask of them in a timely and excellent manner.
This will help you save time as only truly dedicated applicants will take the time to work on that task and do it well.
Interviewing the Perfect Real Estate VA
Now, once you’ve got some good, quality candidates in mind, it’s time to start the interviews! If you don’t have one already, get a Calendly and block out some time slots in which you can and can’t meet. Send the link to the applicants you like and they can choose the time slot in which they want to meet.
Start having interviews as soon as you can—after all, you want to see this perfect real estate VA on board and building up your business as soon as possible!
If you’d like help coming up with questions, you can always reach out to me at admin@jaimeresendiz.com and use “VA Questions” as the subject line. I can send you the questions I ask to hire my VAs!
Be sure you also take notes during each interview. You want to remember who you interviewed, what you liked about them, what may have been a red flag, and why you would or would not consider hiring this VA to help you in your specific business.
Once you choose the VA you think will work the best, make an offer! Send them an email with the official offer, including pay and hours, and ask if they’re still okay with this and want to accept. If they accept, great! You’re on your way to truly expanding your business and saving your time!
Payment
To make payment, you’ll want to use Wise, PayPal, or Payoneer. Right now I prefer to use Wise because it appears to have fewer fees and a more favorable exchange rate. This is important for me because most of my virtual assistants are not US based.
Now, here’s a pro tip: I always pay my new VAs ahead of time. That way, I show them I’m dedicated and eager to work with them. They’ll appreciate the generosity and definitely start building up loyalty to you a lot faster.
But whatever you do, make sure you pay in a timely manner! There are too many VAs out there that get hosed by employers that just suck; do NOT be that type of person.
Onboarding the Perfect Real Estate VA
Now that you’ve selected the perfect real estate VA, it’s time to actually go through the official onboarding process.
Go back to the top 3 things you wanted to outsource. For each of them, create both a written and video-recorded SOP (standard operating procedure). For example, record yourself on a cold call, record yourself sending/scheduling emails, or record your transaction management practices along with a detailed list of the steps.
With an SOP in place, you can be sure that you and your VA are on the same page. However, be sure to give them some time to adjust. Neither they nor you are perfect! It will probably take a couple of days to work out the kinks and get things running at 100%.
If you notice things aren’t how you want them to be, don’t hesitate to point them out! You don’t want to get increasingly frustrated with incorrectly done tasks simply because you didn’t take the time to explain and help your VA understand where you’re coming from.
Another great way to help your VA is to have them shadow you for a couple of days to ensure that they see exactly how you do things. That way, they can start picking up tasks naturally as they see how you work on a daily basis.
Working with the Perfect Real Estate VA
Once your VA is onboarded, all that’s left is to set up a daily workflow! Create a list of tasks you want them to perform daily. You can also create a list of the time you expect them to take on each task so they are clear on what you expect.
If you want an example of what you can offer your VA to help them get started, email me at admin@jaimeresendiz.com and I can show you the hub we create for each VA so that they have all the resources they need in one place.
That’s it! Once you’ve completed these steps, you’re ready to go! With the perfect real estate VA hired and onboarded, all that’s left is for you to streamline your business and start seeing more and more transactions coming in every day!