Virtual Assistant Directory - Need a Virtual Assistant? Find a Virtual Assistant

When it comes to deciding to delegate parts of your business to another person, a partner, not only is it important to to know what qualities you would like to have in that person, it is even more important to have a plan! Whether you are ready to delegate a lot or a little, that plan can and will set you up for success in your partnership with a VA or any assistant, for that matter. Set some time aside to look at your business goals, and find the area that is zapping most of your income-producing time. Is it lead generation, contact management, marketing, listing coordination, or another area? What tasks, or series of tasks, do you feel comfortable delegating to an experienced VA? Go through on paper, your day to day duties, and decide what to delegate, how much to delegate, and what you could delegate later once your partnership is well underway. Provided below is a "VA Checklist" that not only can serve as a general list of easily delegated tasks, but are also the common talents and services available in the repertoire of a real estate VA. It's a great idea to give each task a VA rating: 1 for "Give over completely to VA" up to 5 for "Not on your life will I let a VA do this!" If you find that your needs are best assisted with in one or two major areas, your task will be to find a VA that specializes in just those areas. If you need assistance in all areas, you can find a VA that is experienced in all areas, and can certainly grow as your business grows! That should be your goal! To have a partner in growth and success~ Listing Coordination * Prepare Pre-listing Packet, CMA and other marketing materials for listing presentation * If approved by local MLS, input listings, and manage updates etc. * Arrange for Home Stager * Prepare and write well-written ad copy for the listings for coordinated placement in marketing materials * Create and send Just Listed postcards * Design & send to printer property flyers/brochures/postcards * Order/ create/post Virtual Tour on web sites * Create print ads for open houses for approval by you * Input listings into all web sites, and manage updates and changes * Enhance listings on Realtor.com * Create branded HTML ads/Postlets for use in Craigslist.com and others. * Prepare Open House materials * Prepare Seller Reports to keep sellers informed of web traffic on their listing * Set up and manage showing feedback information * Create, update and maintain all single property web sites Marketing & Lead Generation * Maintain computer based contact management and lead generation system * Design and create system for drip-email campaigns * Design direct mail marketing system to databases * Design flyers, postcards, and multi media materials * Manage and update community/neighborhood web sites * Create and run FSBO and Expired Listing campaigns * Newsletter program (printed or web-based) * Create & design Relocation materials * Create & design First Time Home Buyer Packets * Other Client Relations Management & Retention * Send out relocation packages * Respond to online inquiries * Manage the purchase & delivery of client closing gifts * Coordinate appointments * Send out special occasion cards, reminders, announcements and newsletters * Put past clients on a retention email- drip campaign * Think about planning an annual client thank you event * Other Transaction Management * Manage transaction via OTM (Online Transaction Management system, ex: Settlement Room, Relay) * Schedule inspection appointments * Coordinate lender appointments and track loan process * Coordinate closing dates & times * Other Don't have a BIG budget for next year, but still use some honest to goodness "good help"? My advice: Start small. Start with one or two tasks that you can delegate. See how it helps free up your time. See if your choice for a VA is a good fit for you, so you can how it impacts your life and your business.

I may not know you personally, but I know real estate agents and I’m willing to bet that I know at least two things about YOU. The first is you don’t have time to read this article and you are probably debating whether or not to throw it into the recycling bin…but don’t – I guarantee you’ll be glad you didn’t. The second, less obvious is you didn’t get into real estate to spend hours per week sifting through emails, stressing over ad deadlines or creating listing flyers. Of course you didn’t. You got your real estate license to sell houses and make money. Didn’t I tell you – I know real estate agents!
Are you spending too much of your valuable time on things that don’t generate revenue? If so, grab a cup of coffee, sit down and ignore your cell for the next ten minutes because if you want to make more money and free up time, you need to keep reading.

Having worked as an assistant to several real estate agents, I know there are many important things that need to happen behind the scenes to pull a deal together. You don’t have to do it all yourself – absolutely not. You can have someone supporting you administratively so that you can spend your time where you need to spend it – listing properties, selling houses and writing offers.

If you have never heard of a virtual assistant, then pay close attention right now. A Professional Real Estate Virtual Assistant, or “PREVA”, is an independent contractor with extensive administrative background in real estate support. The title of “PREVA” is given only to virtual assistants who haven proven they have extensive experience in the real estate field. A PREVA performs tasks from their own office and invoices only for time spent on your projects. There are many benefits to hiring a PREVA and among them are: s/he can free up hours per month and weeks per year; and put money in your pocket. Have I got your attention?

Here are five examples of tasks a PREVA can perform for you:

1. Email Management. One thing I hear often from real estate agents is you don’t have time to keep up with email. You spend much of your time driving to showings or meeting with clients. The Internet is being used by many, if not the majority of people who are house hunting today. If you don’t respond quickly to a potential buyer’s email, you may miss a sale. A PREVA can check your email regularly, respond to property inquiries and notify you of important or urgent issues. Your current clients will be impressed with your communication and new leads won’t fall through the proverbial cracks. Keep the commission for yourself, don’t give it away!

2. Filogix (MLS). How many times has this happened to you? A prospective buyer contacts you to ask the price on a property that has already sold. You tell them it’s no longer available, but offer to add them to your “Prospector” list. They thank you and provide their email address and phone number. You realize within the next few days that you didn’t add them, nor did you contact them. Not only have you lost a potential sale, but somewhere out there a disappointed buyer is telling their friends about their experience. They probably hopped on the phone and contacted another agent and asked to be placed on their list. If this has happened even once it’s one time too many. You can’t afford to have a blemish on your reputation, especially over something that would have taken minutes for a PREVA to do. A PREVA can upload pictures to your listings as well as forward “cut sheets” to your clients and buyers’ funding agencies as required. CMAs are time consuming and a PREVA can also prepare those for you. Do you have expired listings right now that you don’t know have expired? You better check. Consider this a free reminder! A PREVA can monitor your listings on Filogix and notify you when properties are ready to expire. You can even have your PREVA forward the appropriate amendment to your client for them to sign and fax or mail back to your office.

3. Ad Submission. Over and over again, this item makes the top of the list when I ask Realtors which non-revenue generating activities they spend too much time on. Tracking which property should go in the newspaper, writing the ads, adhering to the strict deadlines, and submitting the photos and word ad all require time. On top of that, the proof is rarely checked which sometime results in embarrassing typos. When you delegate this task to a PREVA, properties will be placed in a regular rotation for advertising and you will never have to remember another ad deadline. In addition, your proof will be carefully checked for spelling mistakes and other errors.

4. Database Management. Do you have a client database? If you do, are you using it to its full potential? Do you know all of its ins and outs? Are you using it to follow up with clients? If you can honestly answer yes then that’s fantastic. If you do not have a client database you need one. Period. Whether you are just getting your feet wet or you’re a seasoned veteran, you need to be tracking your contacts. A good database, such as Top Producer, 360 Agent or Agent Office will do much, much more than simply hold the names and addresses of your contacts. A comprehensive database takes the process a lot further. Contacts are categorized as prospects, clients, buyers, vendors or service providers. The databases I’ve mentioned will prompt you (or your PREVA) when it is time to follow up with your clients, allow you to enter showing feedback and other notes, and make your holiday card mailing much easier. If you do not have time to create and maintain a database a PREVA can do it for you. S/he will recommend a database that will suit your needs, enter your contacts and assign the appropriate follow up plans. The majority of real estate databases today are web-based so you and your PREVA can access information online. This saves space on your hard drive and allows you to access contact information from any computer in the world. Your new leads will feel like they’re receiving superior service when you call them a week into their search to ask if they’ve seen any properties they would like to view. If you are following up with them regularly, they are more likely to feel you’re forming a relationship with them and less likely to turn to someone else to help them find a home. Your current clients will be impressed that you call them each week to update them on activity on their property and happy clients turn into referrals. Would you like more referrals?

5. Voicemail Management. How much time do you spend checking voicemail each and every day? Think about it. You receive incoming calls while you’re talking on the phone and when you’re meeting with clients. You almost always miss calls. You are practically married to your cell phone and you never know if a message or a beep is from a potential buyer interested in one of your listings or from the office letting you know a financing letter has finally arrived. A PREVA can check your messages at regular intervals and prioritize them for you. Urgent messages and items of great importance are relayed back to you while your PREVA takes care of the rest. What a great time saver! You can actually turn off your phone and enjoy a family dinner or golf game knowing that someone is taking care of your business.

There are many other ways partnering with a PREVA can help line your wallet. Any business can be improved upon, especially when it comes to customer service! When your clients receive superior service they tell their friends and colleagues and this leads to repeat and referral business for you. Alternatively, an unsatisfied client also tells their friends when they’ve received less than stellar service and word spreads like wildfire.

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Are you ready to line your wallet and add hours to your day? Contact Jaime Lee Mann, PREVA and owner of Mann Made Time at 902.675.4008 or visit her on the Web at www.MannMadeTime.com for more information.

Building a real estate business can turn into a exhausting treadmill if you aren't careful. The more business you do, the more administrative tasks you have; the more time you spend on administrative tasks, the less time you have to generate new revenue.

The only sensible solution to growth is to multiply your manpower. Yet, you may have a multitude of reasons that prevent you from hiring a personal assistant, even though it's obvious you need one. Wouldn't it be great if you had an assistant that was always ready to work for you, but only when you need him or her? Meet the virtual assistant, a creative new labor force that provides practical solutions for small businesses and job growth potential for outsourcers.

Hire an entrepreneur

The virtual assistant takes the role of the temp and elevates it to the status of entrepreneur. Because the virtual assistant is self-employed, bills only the hours work or by tasks completed, and is dependent on referrals and steady work flow from existing clients, s/he can be the perfect solution for a busy agent.

A virtual assistant offers several advantages over a paid employee. When you hire a virtual assistant you get all the benefits of outsourcing - no employee tax and benefits issues, coupled with the loyalty and steadiness of a company employee.

If you have found that traditional staffing solutions don't work for you there may be many reasons. Temps are a transient solution, and they can be expensive. If you need someone only a few hours a day or week, a temp can prove more costly in terms of training than s/he is worth. Most are also looking for full time employment, so as soon as you find someone you like, s/he has left the temp service for greener pastures.

Paid employees come also come with a host of issues. You not only must provide tech equipment and furniture for them, you also have state and federal obligations, and employer compliance and unemployment liabilities. Then there are the benefits packages - sick leave, vacation time. It is estimated that the true cost of an employee is over double and sometimes triple the cost of their annual salary in terms of benefits and liabilities. Significant for some is also the loss of privacy and personal issues - you are sharing your small space with others. Do they make good roomies?

How practical is a virtual assistant?

As more agents move their marketing and communications to the Internet, virtual assistants become more and more the obvious solution to staffing problems. For an hourly fee of $15 to $35, less than the cost of temps or employees, agents can take advantage of professional assistance and a variety of skills at the click of a mouse.

Virtual assistants are already computer trained, and can assist with your specific needs from traditional office support services to highly specialized areas including Web page design. Call upon your virtual assistant for basic word processing, phone answering, bill paying, appointment scheduling and calendar maintenance. You can train your virtual assistant to go beyond administrative support to client development and marketing support.

There is no need to share space or even for the agent and the virtual assistant to live in the same city. Work assignments are communicated through e-mail, phone, fax, "snail mail," or diskette. The agent can take advantage of Web-based tools such as instant messengers, like ICQ, and online calendars and planners are often used as a means of keeping in touch. Schedule changes, project reports, or customer-service alerts such as new listings for a client can be performed immediately. The virtual assistant can lend "size" to your company, which will impress potential clients.

"As cable Internet, wireless Internet, and other broadband solutions grow in the marketplace, the VA will be well-placed to leverage the additional communications tools and grow even closer to the small business or startup client," says Christine C. Durst, president and CEO of Staffcentrix, LLC.

How to find a virtual assistant

There are several effective ways to find a virtual assistant. Simply enter "virtual assistant" in your favorite search engine. Another solution is to search the directory at www.staffcentrix.com. Staffcentrix is a resource/support company for virtual assistants. You can search the pool of virtual assistants manually, or use the free referral service to search the database for those who most closely match your needs. In the directory, you can learn the virtual assistant's experience level, services provided, software and hardware capabilities, and his/her email, URL address, and other contact information. The International Virtual Assistants Association also has a comprehensive directory of virtual assistants.

Contact the virtual assistant who most closely match your needs via email. Most virtual assistants are used to proving themselves with small projects of an hour or two. Any more than that and they should be paid for their time. You can set up payment arrangements by time or task.

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Blanche Evans is the award-winning editor of Realty Times, the Internet's largest independent real estate news service, where she oversees the nation's leading real estate writers and columnists. Blanche has been named one of the "25 Most Influential People In Real Estate" by REALTOR Magazine, recognized as one of nine "Notables," and was named "Top Reporter Covering the NAR." (Delahaye-Bacon's, 2005).

Professional Real Estate Virtual Assistants (PREVAs) electronically support Real Estate Professionals (REPs) from a distance. PREVAS use the latest technology available to support their clients without geographical boundaries.

1. General Realtor® support

a. Mail, eMail, bills, reminders,
b. Birthday and anniversary cards
c. Correspondence

2. Agent field support

a. Schedule appointments and showings
b. Coordinate fulfillment stock for property flyers

3. Create and maintain intranets and online meeting rooms for team interaction

a. Attend the virtual meetings and take notes
b. Update files for the intranet areas
c. Create webpages for agendas and presentations

4. Coordinate feedback from showings

a. Gather and distribute report to agent and or broker
b. Contact seller with information from agent or broker suggestions

5. Database creation, maintenance and lead generation

a. Hotlists
b. Feedback
c. TopProducer or other farming resource

6. Website maintenance

a. Listing enhancements online
b. Upload virtual tours

7. Marketing mailouts

a. Flyers
b. Brochures
c. Just listed/sold postcards
d. Comparative Market Analysis

8. Create online multimedia

a. Web commercials
b. Virtual tours
c. Listing presentations
d. CD tours and presentations

9. Listing coordinator

a. Clerical support duties from listing to contract
b. Coordinate all support activities during listing
c. Mailout or email listing plan of action to seller

10. Transaction coordinator

a. Clerical support duties from contract to closing
b. Coordinate all support activities during process

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About the Submitter
This piece was originally submitted by Janet L. Jordan, MVA, PREVA, Master Virtual Assistant & Professional Real Estate Virtual Assistant, Trainer and practicing Virtual Assistant, who can be reached at jordan@virtualassistanceu.com, or visited on the web. Janet L. Jordan, MVA, PREVA wants you to know: Jordan is the founder and owner of Virtual Assistance U, "The Benchmark for Virtual Assistant Training." She also is a practicing VA specializing in the real estate industry.

According to Internet trainer, Allan F. Hainge, real estate agents should be spending very little time at a keyboard, meaning that their job is listing and/or selling real estate.

That's where a virtual assistant can come in. Virtual assistants can work for one agent or more than one agent performing a wide variety of real estate-related chores that will save the agent time and money, all while working out of their homes. I

The virtual assistant takes the role of the temp and elevates it to the status of entrepreneur. Because the virtual assistant is self-employed, bills only the hours work or by tasks completed, and is dependent on referrals and steady work flow from existing clients, s/he can be the perfect solution for a busy agent.

Virtual assistants offer several advantages over a paid employee, with all the benefits of outsourcing. They save the agent employee tax and benefits problems while demonstrating the loyalty and steadiness of a company employee.

As more agents move their marketing and communications to the Internet, virtual assistants become more and more the obvious solution to staffing problems. With skills such as graphic arts design or editing, they can be useful to a real estate agent.

What equipment should the virtual assistant have?

A virtual assistant should have all or most of the following: a recent model IBM-compatible computer; a top email and email merge program; a contact/office manager program such as Top Producer; a working knowledge of the most popular office programs such as Microsoft Word and Power Point; familiarity with Internet idiosyncrasies (such as how to write emails to AOL users which is not as easy as you would think;) and other office equipment such as a FAX machine, high speed Internet access, if available; familiarity with the local MLS information access program and its features; the ability to research information, upload photos and stitch them into presentations; familiarity with virtual tour technology; and more, depending on the types of tasks the virtual assistant is hired to do.

A virtual assistant can be in town or work several states away, in some cases. A virtual assistant can be on call or paid a weekly salary like any other employee.

What types of work do virtual assistants do for agents?

Virtual assistants can be the agent's techie, or marketing assistant; it all depends on what the agent needs.

North Carolina radio personality and broker Jerry Fowler, www.jerryfowler.com, has an assistant named Amy who lives several states away, yet she handles all of his advertising and web site design and management.

Amy handles the following for Fowler:

* Tips for newspaper
* Weekly classified ads
* Weekly display ads
* Weekly flyer for radio show
* Weekly flyer for BNI leads club
* Weekly flyer (4 up) of listings faxed to Realtors
* Monthly ad for real estate books
* Monthly newsletter
* Monthly prospecting from real estate books
* Flyers for listings
* Just listed/Just sold postcards
* Develop new FSBO programs
* Marketing pieces for Expired listings
* Create marketing material for open house parties new to the neighborhood for buyer reps)
* Relocation packets
* All web sites updated
* Press releases
* E-zine articles

Fowler pays Amy on commission, based on the number of closings each month. "The advantage to me is that I don't have to provide office space for her, I don't have to pay her a fixed salary or provide insurance, vacation pay, or sick pay," says Fowler. "The advantage to her is that she gets to work at home. She doesn't have to fight traffic going to and from work, she doesn't have to buy a fancy wardrobe, and she doesn't have to abide by a rigid, 9 to 5 schedule. Many people enjoy having a flexible work schedule."

Amy can handle work from several agents, so she's still able to enjoy a nice paycheck every month, says Fowler, and thanks to her laptop, she doesn't miss out on vacations.

What do virtual assistants get paid?

Fowler pays Amy a flat rate based on number of closings, but another agent might offer a flat monthly rate with bonuses for certain production levels. Other virtual assistants charge an hourly fee of $15 to $35, according to Staffcentrix president and CEO, Christine C. Durst, www.staffcentrix.com. The more the virtual assistant has to offer, the higher salary she or he can command.

"As cable Internet, wireless Internet, and other broadband solutions grow in the marketplace, the VA will be well-placed to leverage the additional communications tools and grow even closer to the small business or startup client," says Durst.

Where do virtual assistants get found?

Durst's company places virtual assistants in a number of industries. Another source, The International Virtual Assistants Association, http://www.ivaa.org, also has a comprehensive directory of virtual assistants.

Other virtual assistants get started by notifying local brokers that they are looking to get into the real estate industry and would like to assist a top producer with their technology and Internet solutions.

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Blanche Evans is the award-winning editor of Realty Times, the Internet's largest independent real estate news service, where she oversees the nation's leading real estate writers and columnists. Blanche has been named one of the "25 Most Influential People In Real Estate" by REALTOR Magazine, recognized as one of nine "Notables," and was named "Top Reporter Covering the NAR." (Delahaye-Bacon's, 2005).

You originally accepted the challenge of a real estate agent for many reasons. It may have been due to your love for meeting new people, or finding just the right house for the specific needs of a family. Then you discovered all the planning and paperwork involved in the process. There is marketing, contact management, client acquisition, client retention, design, along with many other administrative and development issues.

In a perfect world you could hire someone who would only come to work when you really needed them and they’d always know just what to do. They would never call in sick, take up space in your office, or bother you with insurance concerns.

Welcome to a Perfect World

The idea of a virtual assistant may sound unique and perhaps even a bit futuristic, but a Real Estate Virtual Assistant can provide the perfect opportunity for you to do what you do best without the hassle of many undesirable elements of real estate sales including transaction coordination, marketing design work, client database management, data entry, lead follow-up, and lead generation.

A web-based virtual assistant can aid you in critical times, allowing you to more fully concentrate on what you enjoy most - serving your clients and selling property.

Practical Reasoning

Virtual assistants never take up room in your office, they never call in sick, they aren’t entitled to workman’s compensation and best of all they take care of you in some very specific ways.

Ÿ Reduce administrative tasks

Ÿ Increase market awareness

Ÿ Handle design tasks

Ÿ Perform transaction tasks

Ÿ Free up time for agent

Ÿ Track and follow up with leads

Ÿ Stay in touch with past clients on agents behalf

Ÿ Perform direct mail marketing campaigns

Ÿ Configure and maintain contact database

You might already have a capable assistant in your office, but by learning more about the services of a Real Estate Virtual Assistant you might think twice about hiring a replacement when they leave.

A Virtual Assistant - What Do They Do?

A virtual assistant will make your business their business for as long as you need them. They take care of all the details you know are needed, but hate doing. Ask yourself, who do you think would do a job better…someone who wishes they weren’t doing it or someone that makes it their specialty?

A virtual assistant is someone who makes use of available technology to help you build and maintain your business.

Change Can Be Good

We understand this idea may seem strange to the sensibilities of some, but as communication methods, technologies, and software have advanced so have opportunities for cost effective outsourcing that frees real estate agents to pursue more lucrative endeavors.

If you have a need for an assistant, but wonder about the cost effective nature of such a hire, consider the benefits of a virtual assistant providing both a viable short and long-term strategy as well as saving you time and money.

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Sarah Reiter is president of Creative Agent Solutions, an Arizona based online marketing company that specializes in virtual real estate services. Sarah Reiter is an ethics checked Certified Real Estate Support Specialist (CRESS) with the International Virtual Assistants Association (IVAA), a Professional Real Estate Virtual Assistant (PREVA) with the Real Estate Virtual Assistant (REVA) Network, a CyberStarVA Member, an affiliate of the Southeast Valley Regional Association of Realtors (SEVRAR), Scottsdale Association of Realtors in Arizona (SAAR), and Arizona Small Business Association (ASBA), as well as a Certified Virtual Assistant (CVA) with the Settlement Room ™.