In today’s fast-paced world, busy business owners and property professionals often find themselves juggling multiple tasks, wearing too many hats, spinning plates, and struggling to maintain a healthy work-life balance. But the smart ones are calling on Virtual Assistants to alleviate their workload, enhance productivity, and essentially, buy themselves another pair of hands! Property Virtual Assistants (and Remote Specialists) are remote property professionals who provide a vast range of business, technical and creative support to busy individuals or businesses. Working with a Property Virtual Assistant (VA) can bring a wealth of benefits for you and your property business and give you peace of mind. But how do you go about choosing the right property VA for you?
With the demand for high-quality remote professionals on the rise, it’s crucial to choose the right property VA who is a great fit for you, your brand, and your team, and who can meet your specific needs. In this insight article, we will guide you through the process of choosing the right VA for you.
Assess Your Needs
Before diving into the process of choosing the right property VA for you, it’s essential to think about what it is exactly that you are looking for from a remote professional. Think about specific skills and experience they might need, and the type of person that you would work well with. Once you have identified your specific needs and requirements, take some time to think about the specific tasks that you need support with, such as researching areas, sourcing property deals, managing pipelines, setting up systems and processes, scheduling appointments, social media management, content creation, marketing support, proofreading, sales and lettings admin, diary management, or any other tasks or projects you can think of. By understanding your needs, you’ll be better equipped to find a property VA who possesses the relevant skills and expertise.
Research Property Virtual Assistant Companies
To get started with your search for the right property VA, you’ll want to conduct thorough research on various VA agencies and providers, as well as consider freelance assistants. Start by searching for reputable VA providers online and asking for recommendations, taking time to read reviews, testimonials, and case studies from their clients. Look for companies that have a strong track record in the property industry, positive feedback, and a demonstrated ability to deliver exceptional service. You might also want to check that they are insured and ICO registered.
Evaluate Experience and Skills
When choosing a property Virtual Assistant, their experience and skills are paramount. Look for property VAs who have expertise in your specific industry or the tasks you require assistance with. Consider their years of experience in the property industry, areas of specialisation, and any relevant certifications or qualifications (such as TPO).
A property VA or remote property specialist with industry experience will already have a good understanding of the jargon, challenges, and requirements specific to your field. This is crucial in the property industry, where there are legislation requirements, compliance, and lots of industry-specific jargon.
Determine Availability and Communication
Another crucial aspect to consider is the VA’s availability and communication methods. Assess their working hours and determine whether they align with your schedule. It’s important to find a property assistant, or property specialist, who can be readily available during the times when you require their support. Additionally, establish how they usually communicate with clients, whether it’s through email, phone calls, or project management tools. Clear and effective communication is most certainly key to a successful working relationship. Remember, establishing communication preference should form part fo the onboarding process, and your VA should guide you through how to onboard them successfully, particularly if you don’t already have your own process.
Assess Reliability and Professionalism
You’ll want a VA you can be proud to call a member of your team. So, reliability and professionalism are non-negotiable when it comes to choosing the right property VA for you. Whether they’ll be customer facing or not, you’ll want them to be an extension of your brand and represent your business in a good light. Don’t be afraid to ask for client references or testimonials to get a sense of their reliability and work ethic. A reputable VA, or VA provider, will be happy to share references and examples of work, to demonstrate their quality standards and reliability.
Assess the Pricing Structure
Pricing is of course an important factor to consider when choosing an outsourcing provider. If the VA or VA provider does not clearly list their prices on their website, make sure you get an understanding of their pricing structure following your initial discovery call. You of course need to make sure that it aligns with your budget, but do be mindful that lower rates will generally get you generalist support, and higher rates will buy you specialist support from a remote professional who offers a wealth of experience in your field. It’s therefore important to consider the value for money by weighing the quality of service and industry knowledge against the cost.
Choosing the right property VA is a decision that can have a substantial impact on your productivity and work-life balance. We hope that this article gives you some insight into how to find the right property VA who aligns with your needs, possesses the right skills, and ultimately, is the right fit for you.
If you found this article useful, you might also enjoy reading about the differences between a Virtual Assistant and a Remote Specialist.
