Thank you Allen for your promotion of the virtual assistant industry.  As a REVA myself, it is always refreshing to see someone speaking well of the industry as a whole, and pointing out how VA's can be benificial to your business!

I'm always happy to promote the use of a VA, Nancy.  I know of so many agents who are not succeeding because either a) they don't have the time to do more than they are doing now or b) they lack certain success skills or c) they lack certain technology that can make them more successful and fear technology enough not to get it and learn it.

So...if there is anything I can do to help you in your business, let me know!

It's a great day here on the lake in Reston....I hope it's a great day in N. Augusta!

Allen, I can attest to the use of VA's. My business tripled after my first year of using one. I also use a transaction coordinator as well and she's virtual! Most clients don't know and always ask if she's going to the at the closing table! She sits in VA along with my VA.

Allen, Virtual assistants are such a powerful way to enhance our production because VA's allow us to focus our time and energy working on dollar productive activities such as listing, selling and negotiating contracts.  I like virtual assistants for many reasons but I love knowing that the VA doen't require my time to train them...when I need a project I can simply turn it over to them and withing a day or two I have a completed project that I can use and generate business with right away.

Allen~ Another thanks for all the support you give to the VA community:)

Laura Monroe, PREVA, wrote:

"Allen....Another thanks for all the support you give to the VA community."

You are welcome, Laura, and if there is anything else I can do to help the VA's, you know I'm happy to!

Once again, I fail to see how any agent who wants to capture his or her market still thinks that he or she can get done all that needs to be done without a VA.  A good VA doesn't cost you money....her or she makes you money!

It's a great day on the lake here in Reston...hope it's a great day wherever you are!

Great information about our VA industry.  As a still farely new VA it is sometimes hard to communicate the value of a VA to someone that doesn't quite grasp the idea.  Allen (or anyone else), do you have any sure-fire methods you use to communicate the true value of your VA services?  Really, we are here to help others live up to their potential and make more money in their business...

Allen, it is so good to have some one be able to load a listing, do a virtualtour, Purchase agreement or just about anything from anywhere - yet the client has not idea that you didn't do it. What a time saver for me for sure.

Good points, all, Allen.  Although I do not have a VA that performs as many tasks as others, I am breaking into that way of thinking by using Peg Silloway (Iblogforyou.com) to do the posting and image uploading on my blogs on Blogger and ActiveRain.  Peg's help is a huge contribution to saving me time to work on more local and immediate issues.

Hope you are well and tying lost of flies for the spring season!

Regards,

Jay Burnham
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
Beverly, Massachusetts
Direct: 978.233.2828
http://www.northshorerealestate.com

Personally we have Assistants in our offices at Keller Williams, and they are very competitive in their pricing ~~~~~ BUT if I were to use a VA...I would choose Lori Monroe...... She is a total professional!!

I highly endorse using an assitant...a VA if you don't know of a competant person in your area (they CAN be hard to find)...they can let you use your time to do what we do best.... getting new clients and servicing existing ones!!

=-D

Can you write about how to pick a good VA?

Frank Borges LL0SA- Virginia Broker/ Owner FranklyRealty.com

Blog.FranklyRealty.com Featured in BusinessWeek, CNBC, WSJ etc.

I just hired my first VA to supplement my live assistant-and am SO excited about the possibilities it means for my business this year!

Thank you Allen for your continued support of the VA industry.  

I recommended Leigh to my VA who she just hired. Aren't we a great group.

Yes, Karen-you are great indeed!  Did I mention that I appreciate you VERY MUCH?  =)

This topic got me thinking a bit and I am curious if anyone has a Virtual Assistant who is amazing at creating really trick Flash virutal tours.  If you know of a VA that is awesome with Flash I would love for you to contact me.  Thanks, Sam Miller 

Frank,

The best way to determine which VA to use is to look at your current situation and your personality type.  Teaming with a VA is much like a relationship.  You make your decision based on compatibility, trust, and willingness to grow together.

Keep in mind that a VA is not an employee.  They are providing services to benefit your business, to take it to the next level.  We're only successful if you're successful!

Look at the VA's site.  Their site will tell a lot about them.  Are they sketchy about their services? Do they skirt around the issues? Are their a lot of spelling errors?  If so, they're not the one.  The way a person presents themselves, is the way of their work ethic.  

Have a list of questions written down to ask. Be ready to explain what tasks you would like to delegate. 

Ask about the type of training they've had.  Some may not have much experience, but they've received extensive training.

And last, but not least, keep an open mind and make an informed decision. 

I hope this helps. Feel free to email me questions.

Just wanted to echo Nancy Ruben's comment.  Thank you for promting the VA industry by sharing your success story.  This is a great testament to our growing industry.  VA's are becoming indespensable partners in many different types of businesses.  Any independant Sales persons, like Realtors, could benefit from a good VA.  They are also more cost effective than hiring an in-house employee.  I have a chart on my blog (http://right-hand-man.blogspot.com) that shows how hiring a VA can save you over $4,000 per year.

Alexander: I am using Laura Monroe for listing coordination and she's working out well. 

Jay: Thanks! I contacted Peg Silloway today.  

As a virtual assistant, I thank you for helping to spread the word about how a business owner can benefit from partnering with a virtual assistant.

THANKS 

Thank you so much for this information.  I will definitely have to look into this.

Allen,

Thank you so much for your wonderful support of our VA community, and for recognizing the added value that we contribute to a Real Estate Professional's business ventures.

 Taryn

Thanks for bringing this post back up to the top, Taryn. As you all can see, word of mouth is the best advertising. Ask others who they've worked well with.

I'd think one thing to look for in a VA is that they are running a real business and not just looking to make a few bucks. You don't want to work with someone who's going to disappear on you after a few months. Ask what their contingency plans are should an emergency arise in their personal lives. What happens to you?

Hey folks...if you are not using a VA....you need to try one out.

Can you please advise on how and where to find a VA and typical pricing. I have a in office assistant and looking in to a VA. Thanks so much

Ara Hunt

Team Hunt 

Ive always had many assistants in my office and enjoy them being right there.  I never really thought of someone outside my office as being reliable.  It looks like they might have some talent thought that my inhouse people dont.  Maybe worth a try.

Thanks for your continued support of Virtual Assistants Allen!

Allen, thank you for the informative post.  I will defin itely check into that .

One thing I always check is the grammar and spelling in the blog posts. If a VA talks about how to choose a VA and then has misspellings in the post, I would never think of using them.

Allen, thanks for promoting the use of a VA. Real estate professionals don't see the value of a Va until they have used one!! If all real estate professionals realized how beneficial having a VA was, they would all be jumping on the bandwagon!!!