As your real estate business grows, you may eventually hit a wall trying to get everything accomplished on your own. It may be time to hire an assistant. Here are a few guidelines to follow when it’s time to bring help on board.

Are you ready to hire help?

Being busy with work, leads, referrals and transactions is a good thing as a real estate agent, but not when you’re sacrificing future business opportunities along the way. If you find yourself referring out leads because you don’t have time to bring on new clients, it could mean you’re ready to hire an assistant. You should be financially prepared to take on an employee with funds available to provide them with about two months of work before hiring. Getting help can be a great investment but you might not see the payoff right away, so make sure you’re financially prepared.

Getting help on a budget

If you don’t yet have the funds to hire a full-time assistant, considering hiring someone for part-time work or time-sharing an assistant with another agent in a similar position. You may also consider hiring a virtual assistant to help with paperwork, marketing and basic administration without the overhead and costs associated with in-person help. You might also consider getting help for just a few hours to set up and host an open house, for example, to help you in your busiest times.

Tasks for assistants

The best tasks to assign to assistants tend to be behind the scenes. This may look like administrative duties such as preparing copies and mail-outs, answering telephones and responding to general email inquiries, scheduling appointments, assisting during open houses and delivering documents to brokers and agents.

Don’t forget to train

Spending a few hours up-front to train your new hire through the correct processes can save you days and weeks of headaches down the road. Well before your assistant begins their first day with you, you should have a clear outline and plan of the tasks you want them to accomplish and what knowledge, skills and tools they’ll need to succeed. Regular check-ins ensure that your assistant continues to be productive and happy at work.