50 Tasks You Can Outsource to a Real Estate Agent Assistant
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1702390856357{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]
Any type of business changes with the way people live, and real estate is no different. A few decades ago, the Fair Lending and Affordable Lending policy made way for more people to buy houses. While this has an obvious advantage on paper, the policy was one of the factors that led to the American housing bubble of the 2000s. Today, as the pandemic hit health and business sectors, real estate is seeing another trend among home buyers. The US housing market is once again subsidizing, as people are scrambling to escape cities to sit out the pandemic in the suburbs.* The ebbs and flows of the market can be overwhelming for realtors, brokers, and real estate agents. If you’re in the housing industry, you have a better chance to soldier on and use this fluctuation to your advantage with a real estate agent assistant.
What is a Real Estate Agent Assistant?
As its name implies, a real estate agent assistant is a person that supports a real estate agent or broker. A personal assistant for a real estate agent can also work with multiple clients or agents at the same time. They often assist in administrative tasks, although duties can extend to transaction coordination, marketing, and listing management through proper training and experience.
Why You Should Consider a Virtual Real Estate Agent Assistant
Working with someone in office is the first and apparent way to work with a real estate agent assistant. However, this may not always be the most practical solution. For one thing, home buyers’ behavior has shifted in the digital age, and people are more inclined to do their research and buying journey online. So, real estate agents or firms that shift to online processes can save a lot on overheads and even improve their leads.
Just have a look at this data collected from a study on home buyers:
- 99% of millennial consumers look into real estate websites when searching for houses to buy.
- 76% of buyers found their homes/properties through their mobile phones.
- 48% of home buyers born between 1955-1964 search for on sale properties online.
- 17% of all buyers found a real estate agent through a mobile device.
- 11% of prospects admit they researched about the home buying process online.
What’s more, these unprecedented times demand businesses to venture out of traditional solutions. More companies are shifting to online operations to cope with COVID-19, with real estate following suit. Should you work with an in-house assistant, you might find yourself unnecessarily spending for overheads or paying for full hours even with less workload. Regardless if you completely shift to virtual operations or not, working with a real estate agent virtual assistant is the more feasible way to find support.
[activecampaign form=68]
50 Real Estate Agent Assistant Duties
Real estate agents or firms hire an assistant to help them with the different aspects of business, from administrative responsibilities to more industry-focused tasks such as bookkeeping and asset management. Thanks to the many platforms and tools that support online operations, you can delegate many of these responsibilities to a remote assistant.
Here are 50 tasks you can outsource to a real estate VA categorized according to listing, marketing, transaction, bookkeeping, and property preservation duties:
Listing Tasks
A real estate agent can keep an eye on the most promising properties on the market, while ensuring all existing information is up to date. Here are a few listing tasks your VA can take care for you:
- Search local or regional Multiple Listing Services (MLS) for houses or properties that have received a listing agreement.
- Organize listings according to price or upside potential.
- Determine the type of property ownership and deed classification.
- Upload relevant documentation including bank addendums and photos.
- Source for key box and sign installation suppliers.
- Order key box and sign installation and coordinate with suppliers.
- Key in new listing data to different real estate software or online platforms, such as Top Producer, Wise Agent, REO Maestro, eBrokerHouse.
- Update listing information whenever necessary.
- Research and provide real estate agents with any property information that can affect a sale.
- Research about establishments close to potential property.
Marketing Tasks
Remember that home buyers today prefer to scour the internet for properties, rather than do their research in person. Marketing plays a crucial part in being found by clients. A real estate VA can boost your marketing reach by doing these tasks:
- Compose (or assist in writing) offers.
- Create content for your website, emails, and social networks.
- Create graphics for digital properties and materials sent to prospects.
- Provide reference material for key box installation, signage suppliers, or any print media.
- Create or monitor digital campaigns.
- Create and monitor listings in local newspapers.
- Collect or record buyer and agent feedback to seller and vice versa.
- Schedule open houses or tours.
- Book checks for vacant properties to keep them in good standing.
- Research and create monthly market analysis reports for value pricing.
Transaction Tasks
Manage client reservations or the nitty-gritty task of getting a property foreclosed or sold. Here are some ways a VA can assist in real estate transactions:
- Maintain client relations by addressing hesitations, questions, or concerns throughout the process.
- Create and manage files of real estate owned properties.
- Setup up and maintain escrow accounts.
- Schedule inspections and repairs.
- Manage calendar and set up appointments for real estate agents, lenders, homebuyers, and sellers.
- Organize timelines and ensure schedules are met by coordinating with all parties involved.
- Keep an eye on the contingency period.
- Ensure that all requirements are submitted and important documentations are saved or distributed to the proper recipients.
- Assist in the closing process.
- After a deal is closed, schedule check-ins or follow-ups with clients or ask for referrals.
Accounting/Bookkeeping Tasks
Having a real estate agent personal assistant who has training and experience in bookkeeping can be a huge asset in business. Here are the many ways they can help to keep your books balanced:
- Post invoices and bills in Quickbooks or your preferred bookkeeping software.
- Ensure that bills are paid on time through manual or scheduled payment.
- Make sure reimbursements are complete and accurate.
- Hand in reimbursements and all relevant documents to the appropriate banks or portals.
- Print checks and ensure the figures match the invoices.
- Prepare invoices or checks before handing them over to banks or appropriate parties.
- Make sure data in bookkeeping software is up to date.
- Balance books on a regular basis.
- Create reports and update real estate agent clients about all expenses and assets.
- Find ways to curb expenses or keep funds in check.
Property Preservation Tasks
Many real estate agent assistants have relevant training and experience in the industry. Some can even help you in property preservation. These are just some of the duties an experienced real estate VA can assume on your behalf:
- Organize relevant data from internal sources such as seller websites or communications, and generate reports from collected data.
- Review, order, and monitor preservation orders for properties.
- Keep an eye on property inspection to ensure timelines are met.
- Rush emergency work or preservation if the situation calls for it.
- Introduce all parties involved in preservation work to help everyone collaborate.
- Make sure that appropriate parties are informed regarding vacant properties or maintenance concerns.
- Coordinate with inspectors or contractors, so they have access to perform their jobs.
- Research about city code violations or requirements and ensure all concerned groups are appropriately advised.
- Work with local or state departments to ensure all guidelines and regulations for property preservation are followed.
- Learn more about vacant land or property issues and notify appropriate parties accordingly.
How 20four7VA Can Help
Remember that prospects are now looking through online resources for available properties and the real estate agents to help them. You need experts to help you build your online presence, while ensuring that administrative tasks are taken care of.
Whether you need your VA to take care of administrative duties or focus on the marketing side of business, you’ll find a suitable real estate assistant from 20four7VA. As a virtual staffing specialist, 20four7VA already prescreens and trains VAs before linking them with clients. This way, training assistants in industry-relevant duties is easier and faster. This is one of the many benefits of working with a staffing firm as opposed to directly hiring a VA from job sites.
As your business expands and responsibilities pile up, you might need to work with more than one person to meet deadlines, manage workload, and take care of clients. With 20four7VA, you can build your own team according to the growing needs and demands of your business with less of the groundwork that traditional employment demands.
A real estate agent personal assistant wears many hats. As the real estate business reshapes with the pandemic and its economic repercussions, you need a steady hand to help you manage fluctuations in the industry. Work with a real estate assistant who can help you with the multiple aspects and shifting demands of your business.
*(Source)
[activecampaign form=68] [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row] READ MORE26 Reasons Executives Need a Virtual Office Assistant
The desire to lead and handle even the nominal aspects of one’s business is natural among entrepreneurs and business managers. While this is normal — even necessary — at the start of business, managing everything by yourself is not the way to handle and grow a business. In fact, doing so can be detrimental to your health and your company’s well being in the long run. The ability to delegate is another mark of good leadership that you need to recognize. As it happens, delegation is a skill that many effective leaders share. When it comes to turning over business responsibilities, hiring someone to fill a virtual office assistant role is increasingly becoming the top choice.
What is a Virtual Office Assistant?
A virtual office assistant is an independent contractor or freelancer that provides business support remotely. As there are many aspects of business, there are also many types of virtual assistants (VAs).
Different business owners hire virtual assistants for different reasons. If you’re struggling with time, making both ends meet, or the daily grind that is running a business, it’s high time to hire a VA. However, you don’t always have to wait for the last minute until you hire a VA. Even from the get-go, hiring a VA can be an excellent idea and a worthwhile investment that you can do for business.
26 Reasons To Hire a Remote Office Assistant
There is a myriad of reasons why business executives hire a virtual office assistant. There are full-scale and indirect benefits, and there are more distinct and business-specific reasons.
The more your company expands, the more you’ll find ways to benefit from this virtual work setup.
To start, have a look at these 26 reasons why executives hire a virtual office assistant:
Full-Scale/Indirect Business Benefits
1. Future-proof your business
Virtual assistants have long been dubbed as the future of the workforce, but the pandemic has highlighted this fact all the more. As more businesses shift to online operations, the need for virtual office assistant services also increases. Working with a VA is ensuring your operations continue despite lockdowns and economic threats. Working with a VA is investing in the future of the workforce.
2. Reduce business costs
Major business expenses like rent, utilities, and office supplies can all be eliminated when you work with VAs. Should you partner with a staffing agency such as 20four7VA, you can also stop worrying about payroll, training, and other employee-related costs like bonuses and insurance. All these are being taken care of by the staffing firm.
3. Scale your business quickly
Need to hire an extra pair of hands for seasonal sales? Hire a VA to help with the extra work. Hit a sales slump and need to regroup? Reduce work hours until you can recover. Whether you need to scale up or down, virtual assistance is a work setup that can adapt with your needs. You’d be hard-pressed to find this flexibility in traditional employment.
4. Expand your talent pool
Hire people based on talent and qualifications, rather than logistics convenience. Virtual assistance makes it possible for businesses to work with skilled people regardless of their location.
5. Increase productivity
People are more inspired and well-positioned to exceed in what they do when they work from home and around their schedule. What’s more, many VAs prefer a long-term working arrangement, so you can expect less employee turnover.
6. Improve strategy and analytics
VAs understand the demand of remote work. To be more hirable and qualified, they invest in their craft through continued learning. VAs are well-equipped to provide strategy and analytical input in business.
[activecampaign form=68]
Relief from Administrative Tasks
1. Data entry
Encoding important information to your database can be tenuous, but it’s an inevitable part of business. A VA will relieve you of this responsibility, so you can focus on your executive duties.
2. Calendar management
Executives regularly meet with suppliers, partners, investors, or clients whether virtually or in person. Add this on top of your daily responsibilities and you can easily get distracted or overwhelmed. Working with a VA will ensure your day, week, or month is organized, so you are more productive.
3. Business correspondence
Thanks to technology, businesses can now enjoy multiple communication channels. On the other side of this coin is the responsibility to initiate or answer different forms of communication. Delegate this task to your VA to ensure no important call or message is missed.
4. File management
Both virtual and brick-and-mortar businesses handle a substantial amount of files. From employee and client information, to operational and transactional files, business data must be handled with care and strategy. A VA can store, manage, and backup all business data, so you can access it anytime.
5. Personal errands
The benefits of virtual assistance extend even to solopreneurs. A VA can take care of personal errands, so you can focus on business responsibilities. This can include making travel arrangements or paying bills.
Creative and Marketing Advantage
1. Create a buyer persona
Buyer personas are semi-fictional characters that embody your target and ideal customer. Having one will help you fine-tune your marketing campaigns. Your VA can research about your company’s buyer persona, so you can tailor your marketing efforts and improve your products accordingly.
2. Social media management
There are multiple social networks, and having a virtual office assistant to handle and monitor your accounts is a must. A VA can help you from account setup to daily management and strategic use of social media for business. Here’s a big list of tasks you can outsource to a social media VA.
3. Email marketing
Despite the massive influence of social media, it’s been proven that email is still an effective form of digital marketing. To ensure this aspect or marketing doesn’t go amiss, hire a VA to write, design, and monitor email campaigns. VAs can also set up automated emails from welcome emails to abandoned cart follow-throughs. New to email marketing? Check out these 6 email marketing tips for beginners.
4. Content creation
From blog posts and website content to product descriptions and marketing materials, content is indispensable in business. In fact, content plays a major role in turning passive website visitors to regular customers. A task as important as this must be delegated to an expert. Luckily, many expert and experienced copywriters and content strategists work virtually.
5. Website and eCommerce store management
A website or blog is a must for running a business today. A business website will put you on the map and bring customers to your doorstep. It is a way of meeting partners and brand ambassadors. It gives you a chance to show and sell your products without leaving the comforts of home. A website is both a storefront and marketing catalogue, and must therefore be setup, managed, and monitored by experts. There are many VAs who specialize in this field.
6. Paid ads management
Which paid ads are more suitable for your business and how do you design them? How do you know these paid campaigns are worth it? Have a VA research, setup, and review paid ads, so you can channel your funds in the right platforms.
7. Handle other marketing outlets
Take advantage of other media outlets like radio outlets and podcasts. This is how you expand your brand influence and win over more customers. For instance, podcasting is a platform with a rich marketing potential that not many businesses have taken advantage yet. You can hire a podcasting VA to help you maximize this for business. Check out how a podcasting VA can boost your content.
Focused Customer Relations
1. Order process
Monitoring and processing orders and inventory is a daily operational task that executives must delegate. Make sure orders are processed promptly and correctly and inventories are updated accordingly with the help of a VA.
2. Customer service
Take care of customer inquiries and concerns without letting this task run your day. Customer service is another task executives should delegate to a VA.
3. Moderate reviews and ratings
Have a VA solicit for customer ratings and respond to product reviews. Consumers are bound to make quicker purchase decisions through service ratings and reviews.
4. Reputation management
Deescalate complaints and verify negative feedback with the help of a VA. Reputation management is yet another way of creating and maintaining a strong online presence.
5. Social eavesdropping
What are customers and social media followers saying about your posts and services? Their input can help you improve your services and processes. Your VA can also research for the trends in your industry and how similar brands are reaching your target audience.
6. Complaints and refunds management
Complaints and refund requests can be inevitable. Apart from handling complaints and refunds, your VA can verify the reasons behind these requests and feedback to better your service.
7. Virtual events
Organizing virtual events can stir and keep brand interest, especially when people are now cooped up at home. A VA can research, organize, and run virtual events to keep your customers and prospects interested.
8. User-generated content
Word-of-mouth endorsements have gone virtual but remain as powerful as ever. A VA can encourage people to post about your products or service and incentivize user-generated content.
Where To Hire a VA
Staffing firms like 20four7VA and websites like Upwork are the go-to sources for hiring a virtual office assistant.
As a virtual staffing expert, 20four7VA can hook you up with different types of VAs and help you build a remote team. Whether you need someone to relieve you from administrative tasks or a specialist VA to handle the creative side of business, you can find the suitable office assistant from 20four7VA.
[activecampaign form=68]READ MORE
Wix vs WordPress: Which Website Builder Is Better?
Planning to build or improve your website? If you do some research on the best website builders, you are sure to find Wix and WordPress on top of the list. The Wix vs WordPress battle can be confusing, especially for beginners. To find out which is better, you need to compare each platform’s long list of features and decide which one suits your business more.
Why Having a Website is Important for Your Business
Before addressing the differences between Wix versus WordPress, however, it’s important to understand the significance of having a business website in the first place.
After all, there are multiple social networks that you can sign up for free. Why bother having a website for your website at all?
Have a look at these 5 reasons why having your own website is important in business:
- It gives you a competitive advantage. A survey by Visual Objects revealed that having 40% of small businesses do not have a website. Should you choose to invest in one, you instantly gain a competitive advantage over similar companies. Here are 5 other ways your business can beat competitors.
- It brings consumers to your doorstep. 4 in 5 consumers search local business information using a search engine. Having a website increases your chances of being found by prospects. Search engines like Google will literally put you on the map, so people will know where and how to find you.
- It is a marketing vehicle. Social networks have a fixed layout, limited characters in a post, and a set of rules to follow for posting and account maintenance. Although it has a crucial marketing role to play, it can be a limiting place for businesses to show brand identity and market services. However, you call the shots when you have a website. You have free rein when it comes to design, layout, and content. Plus, you can link your social media followers to your website for a more elaborate catalog of your products.
- It will boost your sales. Nowadays, half of the shoppers buy online than in stores. You help consumers make quicker purchase decisions when you can link them to an eCommerce store. Consumers also begin their shopping online. Whether they decide to buy in-store or online, people start by doing online research of a product or service. You tilt the scales to your advantage by giving them a platform to browse your products, view prices, and read reviews from other customers.
- It strengthens customer connections. Having a business website inspires customer trust. According to a survey by VeriSign, 84% of consumers in the US feel safer when a company has its own website instead of a mere social media profile. A website is also an elaborate platform to tell customers about your business, bolster your brand identity, and educate people about your products.
Wix vs WordPress: Which Website Builder is for You?
Now that you know why having a website is important, it’s time to zero in on the more appropriate website builder for you.
Have a look at how these two popular website builders fare in terms of core difference, price, design and functionality, and maintenance.
| Wix | WordPress | |
| Core Differences | Wix is an all-in-one website-building + marketing platform | WordPress is a highly flexible CMS with thousands of plugins |
| Pricing | Basic ($4.50/month)Combo for Personal Use ($8.50/month)
Unlimited for Entrepreneurs and Freelancers ($12.50/month) VIP ($24.50/month) |
WordPress.org is free, but the domain and hosting needs to be purchased elsewhere
WordPress.com has a free plan and the following paid plans: Personal Premium Business eCommerce |
| Design & Functionality | 500 free design templates. Drag and drop website builder
Free and premium plugins and tools for email marketing, eCommerce, scheduling, social media, etc. |
Hundreds of thousands of plugins and themes to choose from, both free and paid |
| Maintenance | Wix has a customer support team to assist users with issues | For issues with themes and plugins, users need to contact the plugin developers directly |
Wix vs WordPress: Core Difference
Is WordPress or Wix Better? While both Wix and WordPress can be used for building a website, the two platforms provide different approaches for doing so.
Wix is a website builder at its core. It is an all-in-one website-building platform that includes hosting, so you don’t have to look elsewhere. Other than web hosting, Wix also lets you pick your domain or website name and the templates to start building your online turf. Wix has a straightforward approach to website building. In fact, the platform lays out building websites from scratch in 6 steps only. This makes it the preferred platform for beginners or users with limited technological experience. The trade-off for this ease of use is having minimal wiggle room for customization and expansion.
WordPress, on the other hand, is an open-source Content Management System (CMS). Although anyone can use WordPress, additional website building necessities such as a domain name, hosting and customization come with extra costs. Because WordPress relies on third-party plugins for customization, it’s easier to get the exact features, design, and functionality you want with WordPress. Learning how to use WordPress can be tricky at first. However, it has broader functionality and personalization options in the long run. WordPress, therefore, is the platform of choice for building more complex or distinctive websites.
Wix vs WordPress: Price
You can use both Wix and WordPress for free. If you want to go beyond the basics, however, there are certain costs to consider.
Wix
Wix lets you build your website without having to pay anything. In exchange, the platform will display ads at the top and bottom of your site. Free Wix domain names also come in this format: yourusername.wix.com/sitename
Wix currently has 4 paid plans for regular websites:
- Basic ($4.50/month) – which lets you connect your domain and enjoy 500MB storage with 1GB Bandwidth
- Combo for Personal Use ($8.50/month) – which removes ads, offers a free domain name for 1 year, and lets you enjoy 3GB storage space, 2GB bandwidth, and 30 minutes of video.
- Unlimited for Entrepreneurs and Freelancers ($12.50/month) – which comes with unlimited bandwidth and 10GB storage. Users can enjoy an ad-free website, a 60-minute video, and a year-long free domain with this plan.
- VIP ($24.50/month) – this ad-free plan comes with other premium features including unlimited bandwidth and 20GB storage, year-long domain, social media logo files, and VIP support and priority response from the Wix team.
WordPress
If you don’t need the full flexibility of having a personalized website, WordPress.com is for you. If you want to call the shots on how your website functions and looks, then WordPress.org is the way to go.
WordPress gives you full creative control. In exchange, you need to pay for domain and hosting services elsewhere. Basic shared hosting can cost about $5-$10/month, although hosting prices can quickly increase depending on your bandwidth requirements. Domains usually start at $10 annually.
Beyond these unavoidable costs, WordPress can be used for free. This includes having a slew of free plugins and themes to choose from to curate the functionality and look of your website. Check out these free WordPress plugins to try in 2020 — ranging from tools to boost your website loading time to plugins that track your website performance and block spam.
Wix vs WordPress: Design & Functionality
Wix lets users choose from more than 500 free design templates. The platform also displays the themes according to the industry including Business, Online Store, Photography, Blogs, and Forums among many others.
The templates come with sample content to help users visualize their potential. This pre-populated content also serves as both inspiration and foundation from which you can build your site. It’s especially helpful for novice website owners or solopreneurs who are building their online platform from scratch.
Although Wix comes with a free regular website, you can add an eCommerce store starting at $17/month. This lets you accept payments and view sales reports and analytics — all in an ad-free space.
As for blogging, Wix lets users add a Blog section on their site for free. This comes with all blogging essentials such as a plain text editor, categories, archives, photos and videos, and tags. However, the free blogging function of Wix does not have a native comments section.
Wix also offers free tools and plug-ins such as pop-ups and forms, visitor analytics, and site badges. Users can browse the tools they can add to their website according to a category, including Communication, Media and Content, Marketing, and Online Selling.
WordPress, on the other hand, is popular for its expansive design and usability. There are thousands of free WordPress themes and templates to pick from. The range of WordPress themes goes from personal blogs to full-fledged eCommerce stores. Here are 38 free WordPress themes for business.
Users can directly download and install free themes from WordPress. There are also several third-party shops where you can browse and purchase premium WordPress themes, such as StudioPress and Themify.
WordPress started as a blogging platform, so its blog function is far more advanced compared to Wix. It has all blogging essentials including a text and HTML editor, photos and video, gallery, a native commenting system, and the Gutenberg block editor that allows users to create and modify the layout of their site.
WordPress users who want to add an online store can add WooCommerce, which is the platform’s native eCommerce plugin. WooCommerce contributed to the popularity of WordPress, thanks to its free base form, simplicity, and customization feature. Customization starts at approximately $12/year which allows users personal domain and $5-$20 for hosting.
WordPress also trumps Wix when it comes to available plugins and tools. WordPress features thousands of free and premium plugins. These plugins allow users to sell online products and courses, install Google Analytics, create contact forms, collect payments, add an extra layer of website protection, and boost search ranking among many others.
Wix vs WordPress: Maintenance
Wix takes care of maintenance and housekeeping as an all-in-one website builder. The platform has a technical team that monitors and takes care of security, updates, and data backup. All updates and repairs are automatically deployed to every Wix website. Users can just relax and keep their focus on content creation and basic website management.
WordPress users, however, need to be more in charge when it comes to website upkeep. Updates, data backup, and advanced security features need to be done deliberately by WordPress users. You’ll need to keep an eye out for bugs, website issues, and other setbacks that may keep your website from performing its best. You also need to backup and secure your data. Fortunately, there is a myriad of WordPress plugins to help you with these functions.
Going Beyond the Basics of Building a Website
Both Wix and WordPress have their own sets of pros and cons. Your resources and purpose will significantly determine which website builder is better for you.
Whether you choose Wix or WordPress, however, you need an extra pair of hands to develop, grow, and ultimately monetize your website.
20four7VA has a team of WordPress website virtual assistants that can help you develop your website, integrate an eCommerce store, create content, and manage your day-to-day operations. You can choose to work with an IT virtual assistant to get the ball rolling or monitor the performance of your website. You can hire content managers and admin experts to provide customer support and basic website housekeeping.
Wix and WordPress are two of the widely used website builders. Use this guide to determine which website builder is more suitable for you.
[activecampaign form=68]READ MORE
Client Success Story: Adam Whelchel
Adam Whelchel is the founder of Spark Bookkeeping, a remote accounting, and bookkeeping firm. Spark Bookkeeping provides top-quality billing, payroll, invoicing, and QuickBooks services for business owners who want to spend less time on back-office tasks and more time on the things that move a business forward.
As Spark Bookkeeping grew, Adam needed to hire an extra set of hands. But he didn’t have the time to find good help. To avoid the burden of finding the perfect person in a sea of unvetted and untested candidates, he reached out to 20four7VA.
Adam recently sat down for a chat about his experience with 20four7VA and what it’s like working with a virtual assistant. Here’s what he had to say:
What do you do and how do you operate?
Spark Bookkeeping started in 2017 in Central Florida. We had a few remote employees in the US and then we found that we had some tasks that could really be done anywhere. So we reached out to 20four7VA and started utilizing their team to help us with some of the data entry and some of the manual tasks that we needed help with.
What are your main responsibilities at Spark Bookkeeping?
My job in Spark Bookkeeping is to keep it going, keep it growing, training new staff members, and acquiring new clients.
What made you decide to hire a VA from us?
When I met the guys at 20four7VA, the staff there looked at what I needed, put together a profile of the skills and the availability I was looking for, and they found me the candidates. I got to choose and test who I wanted to work with before I had to make a huge hiring decision.
I decided to move forward with 20four7VA because I felt like I could always talk to somebody [there] about my VA. I had a direct line to the administrators and they were always available on Skype when I needed them to be. Really, every issue that I had, we found a way to handle it. And the staff that they gave me, I’ve always been happy with.
Are you happy with the results?
I’ve been really happy working with the team at 20four7VA! As we grow and expand, I just reach out to my contacts there and say, “Hey, this is what I need, this is what we’ll be doing next, and I need a couple of weeks to get ready. Can you send me over some candidates and we can look at the skills and requirements I need?”
They’re very fast, they communicate very well, and they find the people that I really think I can work well with. Just so far everything’s been great and the skills are exactly what I needed — and more!
Tell us about your VA. What’s it like working with him?
My first VA, I started working with him and we just got along very well. I was able to communicate with him via Skype every day and we started solving problems together. I ended up needing to stop that contract because my client and I separated. But as soon as I got another client that I needed help with, I asked for that VA again because I really enjoyed working with him. So he came back and did a second contract with me and we’ve been working together ever since.
It’s just been going very well! I really count on him to not just wait for me to tell him what to do. He’s very proactive, very able to see what needs to be done. He gives me an update in the morning of what he saw that hasn’t been done and we communicate about what we’re going to do that day. It’s very collaborative and I really feel like he’s taking initiative and being very proactive in everything that he’s doing.
How did our VAs and the company in general help your company? What value did we bring to you?
One of my goals with hiring a VA was to hire somebody who had skills that I didn’t have. And there were some technical skills that I didn’t really know what to look for in a candidate.
Reaching out to the guys at 20four7VA, I was able to meet some candidates who had skills that I didn’t have and I was able to let them create this role for me and help me decide where I should take that job and what I should do with it and what skills I actually needed for that job. I’ve been able to use 20four7VA to help me learn about my own company and figure out what skills are actually needed in the roles that we are building.
Would you refer us to friends who are facing similar staffing challenges?
I would say to anybody who’s thinking about using a VA for a role in their business that they should give it a try. There’s not a lot of risk. You can tell the team at 20four7VA what you’re looking for and they will find the candidates for you that have the skills in those areas. And it will help you see what it’s like working with somebody remotely.
I feel like I’m always in constant communication with my team. And I’ve been very happy with the flexibility I have with the scheduling, the skill sets, and even just the type of work I have them doing. It’s just been a really great experience so far and I would highly recommend it!
Thank you, Adam!
With 20four7VA, Adam was able to identify new job roles that were needed at Spark Bookkeeping and what skills were needed for those roles. Hiring 20four7VA virtual assistants was the low-risk solution that allowed him to test those new positions and find people with a wide variety of skills to fill them.
Are you struggling with staffing issues like Adam was? Book a free consultation with our Business Growth Specialists and we’ll help you figure it out.
Spark Bookkeeping also offers employee training and bookkeeping support to keep teams informed about the latest on bookkeeping technology and practices and to help them perform faster.
READ MORE
