If leads are coming in faster than you can follow up the same day, hire an acquisitions VA (or lead manager) first. If you have plenty of qualified leads but they aren't turning into signed contracts, hire an AM (acquisition manager) who can make offers and close. An acq VA keeps your pipeline worked and organized; an AM gets the contract signed.
“Acquisitions VA” gets used for two very different jobs, and hiring the wrong one is expensive in time. Here's how I split them for my own land wholesaling company, and how to figure out which seat you need right now.
Acq VA vs AM: what each one does
Acquisitions VA or lead manager
Day to day, an acq VA works every lead that comes in from callers, texts, mail or ads. They call back new leads fast, qualify motivation and timeline, follow up on the ones that aren't ready yet, pull property info, and keep your CRM clean so nothing slips. When a lead is ready, they hand it to whoever makes offers with notes that don't need a second call.
AM (acquisition manager)
An AM comps the deal, makes the offer, handles the back and forth with the seller, and gets the contract signed. They own the number. It's a senior seat, and the person needs to be comfortable talking money with a seller who's on the fence.
Plenty of operators hire one person and expect both. It rarely works for long, because follow up gets dropped the minute the AM side gets busy.
What to hire first
Look at where deals are dying right now:
- Not enough leads? Hire callers. Neither an acq VA nor an AM fixes an empty pipeline. See the cold callers guide.
- Leads piling up without follow up? Hire an acq VA or lead manager.
- Qualified leads, but few contracts? Hire an AM.
- Contracts, but deals aren't selling? Hire Dispo.
- Closings getting messy? Hire a TC.
If you're still making every offer yourself and you're the bottleneck, that's usually the sign it's time for an AM. If you're spending your day calling back leads instead of making offers, get an acq VA first.
What to look for when hiring
For an acq VA
- Fast, consistent follow up. Ask how they'd handle 40 open leads on a Monday.
- Clean CRM notes. Have them write up a sample lead.
- Can qualify without pitching. They're finding motivation, not closing.
- Comfortable with property research, especially if you wholesale land.
For an AM
- Recorded offer calls you can listen to.
- Can comp your property type. Land and houses comp differently.
- Handles price objections without caving or getting pushy.
- Tracks offers made and contracts signed, and can tell you their numbers from their last role.
Managed staffing vs one time placement
There are two ways to hire through an agency, and the right one depends on how much you want to run yourself.
Managed staffing means the agency stays in the picture after the hire. They handle the relationship with your VA, deal with replacements if someone falls off, and you're not on your own if things go sideways in month two. It fits operators who want the seat filled and kept filled without becoming an HR department.
One time placement means the agency finds, vets and places the person, then you hire them and run them yourself. It fits operators who already have training, scripts and KPIs in place and just need the right person in the seat.
Vita does both. On a call, Mo will ask how built out your systems are and tell you straight which one makes more sense.
How Vita vets acq VA's and AM's
Mo, our lead recruiter, vets every candidate himself before you meet them. We place acq VA's, lead managers and AM's for land and house wholesalers, and I hire these same seats for my own land company.
No Fit, No Fee: you pay nothing until we place someone. After that there's a 30 day replacement guarantee, up to 90 days on senior roles. We've had 63 paying clients, including David Choi, Josh Pierce and Rylan at Land Insights, and we're rated 4.7 on Trustpilot from 31 reviews.
If you wholesale land, the land wholesaling VA guide covers what's different about land hires.
FAQ
Who should I hire for acquisitions VA?
Someone who follows up fast, keeps clean CRM notes, and can qualify motivation without pitching. If you need someone to make offers and sign contracts, that's an AM, not an acq VA.
What's the difference between an acquisitions VA and an acquisition manager?
An acq VA works and qualifies leads and keeps follow up moving. An AM comps the deal, makes offers, negotiates and gets the contract signed.
Should I hire an acq VA or an AM first?
If leads are piling up without follow up, hire an acq VA first. If you have qualified leads but few signed contracts, hire an AM. If you don't have enough leads, hire callers before either.
Can one person do acquisitions VA and AM work?
For a short stretch, maybe. Over time follow up gets dropped when the offer side gets busy, so most operators end up splitting the seats.
What should I ask an AM candidate?
Ask for recorded offer calls, have them comp one of your properties, and ask for their offers made and contracts signed from their last role.
How does Vita vet acquisitions hires?
Mo, our lead recruiter, vets every candidate himself before you meet them. You pay nothing until we place someone (No Fit, No Fee), and there's a 30 day replacement guarantee, up to 90 days on senior roles.