It's not surprising that burnout is rife in the real estate industry.
As a real estate professional, you deal with people's lives, future financial security, and happiness. Plus, even when the real estate market struggles, agents must hustle, meaning added high pressure during uncertain times.
If your work-life balance is out of whack or you find yourself or your staff working longer and longer hours with high mental exhaustion, you might want to consider hiring a specially trained remote assistant. Remote team members not only help to future-proof your business but alleviate the pressures you're experiencing currently.
In this blog, we'll explain why real estate agents are prone to burnout, some strategies to help, and an easy way real estate professionals can find virtual assistants for their businesses.
There's no one "typical" day in the life of a real estate agent. Depending on the needs of buyers and the market, agents could be in the office, out on the road preparing viewings, or taking care of any additional tasks that go into the sale and transfer of a property.
Some of the tasks involved in real estate agency include:
data entry
marketing duties
market research
updating contacts
chasing down leads to
meeting clients
closing deals
making calls
sending emails
filing paperwork
organizing open homes
Each task can compound and lead to massive burnout, no matter how big or small. Plus, if you're still feeling the pressure of ongoing duties and mentally exhausted by the end of the day, these may be some critical signs of burnout.
What can real estate professionals do to protect against burnout? Start by recognizing the signs, then get help!
The first step against combatting real estate agent burnout (for you or your team) is to notice the signs:
negative thoughts
fatigue
overwhelmed by your work
headaches and muscle pains
lack of motivation
huge increases in workload
decreased productivity or work performance
If you're noticing some of these signs personally or in your staff, it may signify that burnout is on the way.
Burnout runs deep and can be impacted by out-of-office health factors such as sleep, nutrition, and exercise. So be sure to create a workplace supported by a healthy environment and monitor the performance and behaviors of your staff.
Creating a more flexible WFH (work from home) policy or scheduling downtime for your agents may be necessary to avoid the stressors causing their burnout symptoms. In addition, provide opportunities for staff feedback and encourage honesty in group and one-on-one meeting spaces.
Mindfulness practices such as meditation and yoga, as well as exercise and walking, are great ways to alleviate some of the pressures of burnout. Consider some voluntary training in mindfulness to encourage staff to build these habits.
If your team feels like they're bogged down in the day-to-day and mundane tasks, then real estate virtual assistants are the solution!
One of the root causes of burnout is a feeling of being overwhelmed by tasks and duties. To help overcome this cause of burnout, skilled VAs from VPM Solutions can take on the everyday time-consuming tasks to free up your agents to do what they do best: sell.
Real estate VAs or property management virtual assistants are highly skilled and can help with a range of real estate agency-related tasks, including but not limited to.
data entry
social media management
lead follow-up
transaction coordination
customer service
leads and customer relationships
administrative assistance
real estate research
website maintenance
virtual leasing agent jobs for lease expirations and renewals
Hiring real estate virtual assistants to handle repetitive low-level tasks like these listed above (and others) helps reduce burnout, increases productivity, and helps your business grow!
When you hire a virtual assistant to build remote teams, you're hiring a readily trained external assistant who can take on the day-to-day tasks that are eating into the time of your agents.
Additionally, VAs can assist by:
Increasing productivity: Virtual assistants are usually trained in the latest productivity and marketing tools, meaning they can take charge of recurring tasks.
Save on workforce costs: Virtual assistants are far more cost-effective than onboarding a full-time team member. However, you only pay for a VA's hours worked, and most virtual assistants don't quality for traditional "employee" benefits, like healthcare or vacation time off.
Peace of mind: Rather than juggling multiple tasks, a virtual assistant can take control of admin and workload, meaning both you and your agents can focus on outreach and growing the business.
If you're ready to add a VA to your remote team, start by setting up a free Company Profile through VPM Solutions. We are the only virtual assistance platform with thousands of VAs ready to get to work for property managers and real estate professionals. In addition, because VAs can take advantage of our free certification programs, you can find a virtual contractor with training and skills in real estate and property management!
By following the strategies above, you'll be able to detect, mitigate, and eliminate burnout in your real estate agency. To create a more balanced and productive environment, avoid platforms that only function as a temp agency for property management! Instead, find highly-skilled, long-term remote team members through VPM Solutions, where we make it easy to find, pay, and manage virtual assistant teams.
Get our free "Real Estate Virtual Assistant Hiring Kit" for more resources to find your ideal VA!