The employer is screening for calmness under pressure, ability to gather complete information from an external party, and whether you can protect a real estate transaction's time limits without overstepping your authority.
Acknowledge the urgency, confirm the caller's deadline and contact details, summarize what you cannot decide, then immediately create a visible, time-stamped handoff for the agent. Never promise a decision on the agent's behalf, but always promise a confirmed follow-up.
Start by thanking the caller for the heads-up and immediately confirming the hard deadline, the buyer's agent's name, number, and the exact time they expect a response. Say plainly that you cannot accept or negotiate the offer, but you will personally ensure your agent sees every detail the moment they are free. Then take down what matters: the offered price, any contingencies, the earnest money amount, the proposed closing date, and any conditions that are deal-breakers for the buyer. Read the details back to the caller to confirm accuracy, and ask if they have a backup number or a preferred way to reach them after 5 p.m. Once you hang up, create a time-stamped note in your shared system, flag it as urgent, and send a text or voicemail to your agent's phone so they see the summary even before checking their inbox. Avoid promising a counter or acceptance, but do promise that the offer is in motion, and that you will confirm receipt of their call within a specific window. This shows you respect the deadline without overstepping your role.
Many Filipino candidates freeze and say 'Sorry po, wala po si agent, tawag na lang kayo mamaya.' That leaves the caller frustrated and loses the deadline. Instead say, 'My agent is unavailable until about 4 p.m. but I can take down your offer details and make sure they call you back before 5 p.m. May I have your name and number?'
Situation
In my previous role as a virtual assistant for a busy insurance brokerage, a client's adjuster called while my supervisor was in a two-hour claims hearing and could not be reached.
Task
I needed to capture the time-sensitive claim details, set expectations with the adjuster, and prepare a concise handoff so my supervisor could call back within the deadline.
Action
I answered professionally, repeated the deadline back to the adjuster to confirm I understood, and asked for the claim number, the specific decision needed, and any documents already sent. I opened our shared task board, created an urgent task with a 4 p.m. reminder, and logged the call in the CRM. I then sent my supervisor a text and email summary with the key facts and the exact callback number, and I set a status in our chat tool showing I had handled the initial contact.
Result
My supervisor returned at 3:40 p.m., saw my summary, and called the adjuster with enough time to resolve the claim before the 5 p.m. cutoff. The client later thanked us, and I was given ownership of a new urgent-call protocol for the team.
Document every urgent call's decision point and deadline before the stakeholder becomes available.
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