I came across this article at writetodone.com explaining how he finds virtual assistants useful. Since real estate agents are essentially freelancers, I think it fits very well. When he speaks about “billable” hours, think of marketing or contact time with your clients.
The “secret” here is not so secret at all. Of the 28 hours I spend behind the desk, only approximately 14 are billable hours. That’s a dismal 50% billable rate. I simply must increase my billable hours to 75% of my total time, which will increase my income by 25%, with no time adjustment on my part. How?
By hiring and training a virtual assistant.
Can’t afford it you say? Let’s look at it this way: if you bill at $70/hour and pay a virtual assistant $30-40/an hour, by regaining those billable hours, you’re netting $20-40 more per hour.
And at I’m Virtually There, we are only charging $17 per hour for typical services. More specialized work like behind the scenes web work and editing your letters and copy-writing are more.
Sometimes we oversimplify math but it doesn’t seem to be a stretch of any kind to say that if someone can do tasks for you, that they enjoy and are well-versed in, then it may be worth.
Ask yourself a few questions
- Do you market everyday?
- Do you get slowed down with menial tasks?
- Do you update your listings immediately with changes on appropriate sites?
- Do you ask for feedback with a survey within 12 hours of a showing?
These are some of the things we help you do.