Every successful real estate agent learns early in their career that the foundation of their business lies in efforts to continue to grow their network. And while prospective clients may find you through a basic search for ‘real estate agents near me,’ your ideal clients likely come to you via referral from those delighted by your exceptional service. Your ability to deliver consistently exceptional service comes in part from managing your time well, which sooner or later means delegating tasks.
Real estate agents and REALTORS® handle many daily duties that range from marketing homes, to negotiating property values, and carefully following all aspects of a transaction. As their business grows, the workload can become overwhelming. To thrive and scale, successful agents learn to delegate effectively, focusing on high-value activities while ensuring all aspects of their business run smoothly.
But not every aspiring agent succeeds at this. Delegation involves more than just crossing things off a list; it’s about finding the right people to complete different tasks. As you grow your business, it will be critical to build a team – which might involve collaborating with other agents at your brokerage, bringing in an experienced agent, or finding a virtual assistant with industry experience.
With the right preparation, you’ll find a growing number of tasks to assign to other people. Agents can ask others they trust to make ads, set up house tours, and keep their customer contact system up to date. These are just a few examples. When agents get good at handing off tasks, they can find more listing clients, help sellers, network, and sell more houses in their area.
Why Delegating Tasks Matters for Real Estate Agents
Learning how best to hand off different real estate tasks is a key ability for real estate agents to grow. There are only so many hours in a day and a single agent can’t handle everything when their calendar reaches its limit. As you work to grow your business and increase output,you’ll need to bring in help so you can focus on high-value work and make the most of your time and distinct business capabilities. By freeing yourself up to focus on high-value work, you can make the most of their time and assets.
Focus on high-value activities
Top real estate agents have one thing in common: they know their strengths lie in grasping local market shifts, connecting with potential clients, and closing deals. While paperwork and social media management are key to keep business moving, these tasks supplement the agent’s efforts. When agents hand off jobs like creating marketing materials, following up on leads, and researching the market, they can zero in on what will build their success as real estate professionals.
Scaling your real estate business
Building a successful real estate business takes a team effort. When you delegate tasks, you save time and boost their impact. You should strive to give each job to someone who knows that task well, from people who set up properties to virtual assistants who keep schedules and manage customer lists. When you use smart ways to share the work, you can make your business run more smoothly, use your best skills, and do better at buying and selling homes.
Top Areas for Real Estate Agents to Delegate Tasks
Delegating various tasks can significantly boost your productivity and allow you to focus on high-value activities. Top areas for delegation include administrative work, financial and operational management, listings, showings, and more. You can free up time to build client relationships, negotiate deals, and grow your business by delegating these responsibilities.
Time management through delegation
Time is a precious commodity in real estate that can’t be bought, but it can be optimized through strategic delegation. By outsourcing administrative tasks and everyday responsibilities, you can reclaim valuable hours in your day. Here’s how delegation can supercharge your time management:
- Administrative efficiency: Outsource tasks like data entry, paperwork handling, and setting appointments. This frees up time to focus on client interactions and lead generation—activities crucial for business growth.
- Bookkeeping and financial management: Delegate the tracking of finances and expenses. This ensures accurate record-keeping without consuming your time.
- Listing management: Hand off tasks such as booking appointments, showing properties, and updating listing details across various platforms.
- Showings and open houses: When you get too busy, are ill, or are traveling, you can have an on-demand listing agent from Showami help you show homes to the buyers you’re working with or hold open houses on your behalf for your sellers. This way, you can continue providing excellent customer service to your clients.
Consider hiring a virtual assistant, either as a contractor or employee, to manage these time-consuming but essential tasks. This kind of support can be a cost-effective game changer in streamlining your operations.
By strategically delegating these responsibilities, you create room to concentrate on high-value activities like client consultations, market analysis, and closing deals. Remember, effective delegation isn’t about offloading work—it’s about optimizing your time to focus on tasks that directly contribute to your success and business expansion
Lead generation and follow-up
Part of effective lead generation is maintaining a strong online reputation. Positive reviews can significantly boost your online presence, making you more visible when potential clients search for top agents in your area. Delegate the task of soliciting and managing real estate agent reviews to a team member.
Delegate the management of these campaigns to your team or a marketing specialist. This targeted approach can help you attract and nurture leads more effectively. Develop targeted campaigns for specific client groups, such as first-time home buyers
By delegating lead generation and follow-up tasks, you can significantly boost your results. Did you know that 80% of home buyers purchase after an agent has contacted them at least 5 times or more? By handing off these time-consuming tasks, you free up valuable time to focus on high-impact activities like closing deals.
Consider delegating tasks such as:
- Managing targeted Facebook ad campaigns
- Conducting initial phone screenings of potential clients
- Sending personalized follow-up emails
- Updating lead information in your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system
- Marketing through multiple channels, like emails, phone calls, and social media
- Checking follow-up outcomes to measure how well campaigns work
Transaction coordination
Transaction coordinators (TCs) manage key behind-the-scenes jobs. They keep deals moving by checking all the paperwork and setting up all the meetings, inspections, and closings. For listings or rental properties, delegate the task of scheduling and overseeing necessary repairs or improvements. This ensures properties are well-maintained and ready to show without consuming your valuable time.
A TC can handle:
- Preparing and reviewing documents
- Tracking due dates and making sure everyone stays on task
- Communicating with everyone involved in the deal
- Making sure all parts of the transaction follow applicable laws and regulations
- Coordinating property maintenance
When you delegate tasks such as creating marketing materials, following up on leads, and researching the market, you can focus on the activities that set you apart as successful as leading real estate professionals.
Marketing and social media management
When you delegate marketing and social media tasks, you can grow a strong online presence and still have time for important face-to-face interactions such as meeting with clients and attending networking events.
Create evergreen content with your distinctive answers to common client questions, such as ‘how to sell a house’ or ‘steps in the home buying process’. Delegate the task of creating, updating, and distributing this content across various platforms to keep your online presence fresh and informative.
Agents should hand off these key areas:
- Making and managing content calendars for real estate listings
- Creating custom social media strategies
- Putting marketing campaigns into action on different platforms
- Analyzing at how posts perform and reach people
Consider working with a social media management agency to gain expert help and save time, so you can focus on your main job as a local real estate agent or REALTOR®.
Market research and Comparative Market Analysis (CMA)
While you should know their local real estate market well, handing off the nitty-gritty research and number-crunching can free up time. Delegating market research tasks can save time as you work to develop valuable insight for your clients, such as determining the best time to sell a house in your local market.
To stay ahead of real estate market trends, you can also assign a team member or virtual assistant to regularly monitoring and analyzing market data. This allows you to quickly adapt your strategies to changing market conditions and provide high-level, informed advice to your clients. This information allows you to advise clients strategically, positioning you as a knowledgeable and trusted resource.
Tasks to think about passing on include:
- Collecting information on recent home sales nearby
- Putting together data on local property prices
- Creating comparative market analysis reports
- Keeping an eye on real estate market shifts and mortgage rates
By handing off these jobs, you can keep up with the market without spending precious hours on repetitive research.
How to Delegate Tasks Effectively
Communicate clearly
Good delegation begins with clear communication. You need to explain tasks, expectations, and deadlines to your team members. To enable team members to grasp the task’s goal and its role in the overall plan, you need to invest time up front to provide all of the needed information, guidelines, and instructions. You can use shared spreadsheets or emails to document tasks and deadlines in writing.
Agents should encourage open dialogue by creating a safe and accepting environment where team members feel at ease to ask questions and seek clarity, whether it’s about coordinating property upkeep or updating real estate listings.
Giving proper training
To delegate well, you need to put time into training your team. At first, this might seem like it takes up too much time, but helping people learn new skills will pay off in the long run. When handing out tasks, agents should think about each team member’s skills and strengths to give them work they can do well and enjoy while doing it. Whether it’s dealing with paperwork or running email marketing efforts.
Always be ready to answer questions, especially if you expect to see a job completed in a specific way. Don’t expect others will be a mini version of yourself.
Setting clear expectations
Setting clear expectations is key to delegating successfully.
Agents should:
- Give thorough explanations of tasks to the person taking on the job.
- Tell team members what they expect from them.
- Set up clear rules and limits with specific things to do and not do.
- Give a realistic timeline keeping in mind that people need time to learn.
- Push team members to ask questions, get help, and check their work twice.
Keep in mind that delegation is more than assigning tasks. It’s about giving people the tools, information, and resources they need to handle responsibilities well. When real estate agents stick to these tips, they can delegate tasks well, to build a productive team, and focus on work that adds value to their business, like helping clients buy a house or figuring out the best time to sell a house.
Tasks Real Estate Agents Should Not Delegate
While handing off work boosts productivity, you should always maintain direct control of certain jobs:
- Building and keeping strong client relationships
- Creating overall marketing plans
- Molding team culture
- Making and improving listing pitches
- Attending home inspections and appraisals
- Helping clients on closing day
These jobs need your expertise and personal touch and as you build the foundation for your success in a competitive real estate industry.
Using Technology to Delegate in Real Estate
Tech tools can boost how you approach and manage delegation. Different applications and software can help you simplify operations. They can simplify operations, automate everyday tasks, and zero in on high-value work that helps define you as a go-to real estate agent in your local market. Proptech tools such as Showami can help relieve the burden of simultaneously trying to be in many places. Our on-demand licensed showing agents are professional and ready to help you scale.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems
A good CRM system can have a big impact on how you handle your client interactions. These systems help to automate lead nurturing, organize data, and make it easier to follow up based on information you’ve gathered to develop a client’s profile and track their preferences. A recent National Association of Realtors (NAR) survey showed 36% of real estate agents surveyed said that their CRM gave them better-quality leads than any other sources.
Key CRM features to look for:
- Contact management
- Lead generation and follow-up
- Automated email marketing campaigns
- Task management
- Analytics to track performance
- Mobile access
Project management tools
Real estate project management software helps agents oversee all aspects of their listings and transactions from start to finish. These tools streamline planning, execution, and monitoring processes.
They ensure every aspect of a contract or transaction gets completed on time, within budget, and meets stated requirements. This is particularly beneficial when you are juggling multiple property listings and deals simultaneously.
Key features of project management tools include:
- Task planning and tracking
- Budget control for real estate investments
- Storage for property-related papers
- Tools for talking in-person or virtually
- Reports and data on project progress
Automation software
Automation software makes many repetitive tasks easier, freeing you up to focus on key activities like home appraisals or mortgage rate discussions with potential buyers. Real estate automation can help you run and market themselves, boosting productivity while cutting down on low-level, repetitive work.
Here’s how automation can help:
- Social media management: Tools like MeetEdgar help create and schedule posts across different social media platforms to keep you visible online.
- Email marketing: Set up automated email campaigns to make sure clients get timely and important updates about homes for sale or market trends.
- Lead nurturing: Automated systems can keep leads warm.
- Open house management: Tools like Open Home Pro automate open houses and help agents spot promising leads among potential buyers.
When you use these tech tools, you can delegate tasks more effectively, keep important details from falling through the cracks, and close more deals with less drama.
Conclusion
Mastering the art of delegation is crucial for real estate agents looking to increase productivity and grow their business. By identifying tasks to delegate, choosing the right people or tools to handle them, and implementing effective delegation strategies, you can focus on high-value activities that drive your success.
Delegation isn’t about offloading work—it’s about strategically leveraging your time and resources to achieve greater results. Start small, refine your process, and watch as your efficiency and business growth accelerate.
To streamline your showing process and further enhance your delegation strategy, consider using a service like Showami. Showami offers on-demand showing agents who are trained, and professional, to show your listings when you’re not available. Contact Showami today to learn more.
FAQs About Delegating Real Estate Tasks
Start with time-consuming but straightforward administrative tasks like data entry, appointment scheduling, and social media management. These essential tasks don’t require your personal expertise, freeing you up for high-value activities like client interactions and closing deals.
Clear communication is key. Provide detailed instructions, set clear expectations, and establish a system for regular check-ins and feedback. Invest time in proper training and be available to answer questions, especially in the beginning.
For many agents, hiring a virtual assistant can be a game-changer. A virtual assistant can handle a variety of tasks like lead follow-up, transaction coordination, and market research, allowing you to focus on client-facing activities. Consider your workload and budget to determine if it’s the right move for your business.
Technology tools like CRM systems, project management software, and automation platforms can streamline your delegation process. They can help you assign tasks, track progress, and manage communication with your team, making delegation more efficient and effective.
Start small by delegating one or two tasks you find particularly time-consuming or unenjoyable. As you see positive results, you can gradually increase the number of delegated tasks. Remember, delegation is a skill that improves with practice.