Virtual Assistants for cold calling

[Jonathan Martinez]

Hello BiggerPocketeers, 

I received a cold call from a virtual assistant (in the Philippines) regarding lead generation for someone else. I started a quick conversation asking her I may be interested in looking to hire a virtual assistant for similar work. She mentioned she was very interested and we scheduled a call for the week.

I wanted to find out a general experience from BiggerPockets members working with virtual assistants. Some questions I have are: Would you recommend it for investors/ agents? What is an average pay rate? Some good and bad experiences, pitfalls to avoid. 

Thanks in advance! 

[John K.]

@Jonathan Martinez

I would think this through, very carefully.

A majority of sellers you cold call will have an emotional connection to the property, regardless if they are losing it because of a hardship or not. This requires quick thinking on your part to deal with any objections, as they happen. The likely hood that a VA will have that understanding or even real estate experience, is slim to none.

If that call comes off as being script based, they will most likely hang up and that lead is lost forever. If the caller id shows up as anything other than local, or at least state wide, they most likely will not even answer.  

I use VAs a lot in my business, as they are a truly valuable tool. I just can't get past the many negativities on using them for cold calling, as there are just too many unpredictable scenarios that come up in these conversations, that only experience can overcome.