Real estate virtual assistant SOP template

SOP title and owner

• SOP - [Task, starting with what gets done]
• Owner: [agent or team lead who keeps this current]
• Last updated: [date] by [name]

Purpose

• [What this protects: a lead, a deadline, a client's trust. What goes wrong if it's skipped]

Trigger and timing

• Starts when: [new lead / signed listing / accepted offer / date on the calendar]
• Runs: [every time / daily at X / weekly on X]
• Time it should take: [minutes]

Tools and access

• CRM: [role]
• Transaction system: [view / edit]
• Shared inbox and calendar: [which ones]
• MLS: [own assistant access, or none. Never the agent's login]
• Logins: in the [vault name] vault of the password manager

Steps

• 1. [Verb + action] in [tool]. Screenshot: [link]
• 2. [Verb + action]
• 3. [Verb + action]
• [One action per line]

Decision rules

• If [situation], then [action] and tell [person] by [time]
• If a client asks about price, value, contract terms or financing: don't answer. Book them with [agent]
• If none of these fit: leave it untouched and flag it in [channel]

Agent sign-off

• The agent approves before anything goes out: [list what, e.g. listing copy, client letters, offers]

What done looks like

• [The visible end state, e.g. lead in CRM with source, status and next step]

Who to ask

• [Name], [channel], usually answers within [time]
• Urgent and [Name] is offline: [backup]

Change log

• [Date] - [Name] - [what changed and why]

Purpose

• Every new buyer or seller lead gets a fast, human first touch and lands in the CRM with a source and a next step, so no lead goes cold in an inbox.

Trigger and timing

• Starts when: a lead arrives from [portal / website form / sign call / open house sheet]
• Runs: every time, during [working hours]; overnight leads first thing
• Time it should take: 10 to 15 minutes per lead

Tools and access

• CRM: edit contacts and tasks, no export
• Phone and text: the team number, never a personal one
• Agent's calendar: permission to book

Steps

• 1. Search the CRM by phone and email. Merge if the contact exists
• 2. Add or update the contact: name, phone, email, source, buyer or seller
• 3. Call within [15] minutes of the lead arriving, using the [intake script]
• 4. No answer: send the saved text and email, and set a task for [2] more tries over [3] days
• 5. On the call, ask only the intake questions: buying or selling, area, timing, and whether they're working with an agent
• 6. Write the answers in the CRM note, in their own words
• 7. Book the next step on the agent's calendar and confirm it by text
• 8. Add the contact to the right follow-up list

Decision rules

• Wants to see a home this week: book it and message the agent right away
• Already working with another agent: thank them, note it and stop
• Asks about price, value, offers or a loan: "[Agent] will go through that with you", then book the call
• Asks not to be contacted: mark it in the CRM at once and remove them from every list
• Existing client: don't run the script. Pass it straight to the agent

Agent sign-off

• The agent approves the intake script and saved texts, and checks them each quarter

What done looks like

• Contact in the CRM with source, status, notes and a dated next step

Purpose

• Every new listing goes live complete and on schedule, with nothing waiting on a missing document, photo or approval.

Trigger and timing

• Starts when: the signed listing agreement lands in [folder]
• Runs: once per listing, working back from the go-live date the agent sets

Tools and access

• Shared drive: listing folder template
• Design tool: brand templates
• Social scheduler: draft and schedule
• MLS: own assistant access if your MLS allows it; otherwise prepare the input sheet for the agent

Steps

• 1. Create the listing folder from the template and add the go-live date to the team calendar
• 2. Send the seller the welcome email and the document and access request
• 3. Book the photographer and any measuring or staging, then confirm with the seller
• 4. Fill in the property data sheet from the agent's notes and public records, marking where each fact came from
• 5. Draft the listing description from the data sheet and send it to the agent
• 6. Fill in the MLS input sheet, field by field, and send it for the agent's check
• 7. After approval, enter it or hand it over, according to your MLS's rules
• 8. Make the flyer and social graphics from templates; schedule posts for after the listing is active
• 9. Set up showing instructions as the agent wrote them
• 10. Send the seller the live link and put the weekly report on the calendar

Decision rules

• A fact is missing or two sources disagree (size, taxes, fees, year built): ask the agent. Never guess
• Copy describes the property only: rooms, features, location facts. Anything about who the home would suit goes to the agent
• Photos arrive late: move the go-live date only with the agent's OK
• Seller asks about price or strategy: pass it to the agent

Agent sign-off

• The agent approves the description, the MLS input sheet, the price shown and every client-facing document

What done looks like

• Listing live, every field checked, folder complete, posts scheduled, seller has the link

Purpose

• Showings get booked without conflicts, sellers always know what's coming, and the agent sees feedback while it's still useful.

Trigger and timing

• Starts when: a showing request comes in from [system / phone / email]
• Runs: same day; feedback the morning after each showing

Tools and access

• Showing system: the role your office allows
• Seller contact sheet: view
• Team calendar: edit

Steps

• 1. Check the request against the seller's restrictions in the listing notes
• 2. Confirm with the seller by their preferred channel
• 3. Approve or suggest another time, and enter it on the calendar
• 4. The evening before, confirm with the showing agent and share the instructions
• 5. The next morning, ask the showing agent for feedback with the [saved message]
• 6. Log the feedback word for word, and follow up once if there's no reply
• 7. Send the seller and the agent the weekly summary every [day]

Decision rules

• Seller can't be reached by [time]: tell the agent, and don't confirm
• Feedback mentions an offer: pass it to the agent right away
• Feedback is harsh: log it as written. The agent decides how to tell the seller
• Never share access codes by email or text unless your office's process says so

What done looks like

• Calendar current, seller informed, feedback logged, weekly summary sent

Purpose

• Every date on an accepted contract is tracked and chased, so no deadline depends on someone's memory. The assistant tracks and reminds. The agent decides and advises.

Trigger and timing

• Starts when: the agent sends the fully signed contract
• Runs: daily check until closing; weekly status to all parties

Tools and access

• Transaction system: edit the file
• E-sign tool: prepare and send, only after the agent approves
• Shared calendar: edit

Steps

• 1. Open the file and upload the signed contract
• 2. List every date from the contract in the deadline sheet, and have the agent confirm the sheet
• 3. Add each date to the calendar with reminders at [5], [2] and [1] days
• 4. Send intro emails to the client, lender, title or escrow and the other agent, from the template
• 5. Book inspections and other visits as the agent directs
• 6. Chase each outstanding document and log the date you chased
• 7. Every [Friday], send the status update in the template format
• 8. A week before closing, run the closing checklist with the agent
• 9. After closing, archive the file as your office requires and start the past-client SOP

Decision rules

• A date looks unclear or the documents disagree: stop and ask the agent
• Anyone asks what a clause means or what they should do: the agent answers
• A deadline is [2] days away with its item still open: message the agent the same hour
• Anything about changing wire or payment instructions: don't act on it. Tell the agent and call the title company on a known number

Agent sign-off

• The agent confirms the deadline sheet and approves every document before it goes out

What done looks like

• No open item without an owner and a date; file complete at closing

Purpose

• Past clients hear from you on a steady schedule, and happy ones get an easy way to leave a review.

Trigger and timing

• Starts when: a file closes
• Runs: review request [7] days after closing, then touches on the [monthly / quarterly] schedule

Tools and access

• CRM: edit contacts and tasks
• Email tool: draft and schedule
• Review profiles: view and draft replies

Steps

• 1. Move the contact to the past-client list, and add the closing date and home address
• 2. Send the thank-you note from the agent, as approved
• 3. Send the review request with direct links
• 4. Add anniversary and birthday dates to the follow-up calendar
• 5. Prepare the monthly email or market update for the agent's OK, then schedule it
• 6. Log replies, and pass anything about buying, selling or referrals to the agent the same day

Decision rules

• Unhappy client: don't send the review request. Tell the agent
• A negative review appears: draft nothing public until the agent has seen it
• Someone asks to stop hearing from you: mark it and remove them at once

What done looks like

• Every closed client has a list, dates, a review request sent and a next touch on the calendar