If you’re at a point where the pressures of daily business processes are dropping your efficiency and productivity, hire a virtual assistant.
It’s not just about working hard anymore; it’s about making the right calls when you need them.
Find and enlist the help of a skilled remote professional, and don’t allow time constraints to stall your business growth.
In this blog post, we’re going to help you find your VA powerhouse, breaking down the steps, costs and a few considerations.
Is it Worth it to Hire a Virtual Assistant?
Totally!
Hiring skilled VAs to support your daily operation is a critical step towards growth in the digital age. Continue to pile workloads and risk falling behind and halting growth.
Let a virtual assistant be your remote sidekick and experience their full-on benefits.
Cut Costs
Hiring remote professionals is a lot cheaper than hiring full-time employees. Why? Because you don’t pay for rent, utilities, equipment or benefits, saving you 78% of operating costs each year.
VAs thrive in a remote setting and take care of their own tools to deliver their service.
Increase Efficiency
The behind-the-scenes work is serious, but it doesn’t require your personal attention. You can hand them over to a remote assistant so you can focus on impactful work.
Access to the Best Talents
Remote professionals come from different walks of life all over the world. This gives you a wider pool of talent to choose from, increasing your chances of hiring the right assistant, unbounded by geography.
More Time to Do What You’re Good At
Admit it. There are specific tasks in your business you’re not skilled at, where a virtual assistant excels. Enlisting an expert doesn’t only improve the quality of output but also allows you to complete tasks that only you can do.
Avoid Burnout
The repeat button duties bleed you dry. They’re menial and simple, but they’re “time suckers.” Passing them on to a remote professional means having control of your time and enjoying work-life balance.
Free Up More Time
By outsourcing a virtual assistant, you can reclaim lost time and invest it in all the things you love to do. You can dedicate enough time to every aspect of your life and be enthused at work, full of innovative ideas.
Stand Out from the Competition
VAs are sourced from different corners of the world. They bring diverse backgrounds and expertise that you can’t find in the local scene.
These help in cooking up new strategies that appeal to the global stage and encourage inclusivity.
Get Help Whenever You Need It
Your remote assistant operates in various time zones, and you have global clients. This is the perfect arrangement! While you’re sleeping, they can still get to your patrons, addressing needs promptly and enhancing customer experience.
Avoid the Complications of Hiring and Replacing Workers
Compared to old-school hiring, virtual assistant recruitment is more straightforward. You can connect with remote workers online and work with them around flexible contracts.
If your VA fails to meet expectations, there are hundreds of freelancers who are eager to take on the job.
Focus on What Truly Matters
You’re the boss, so act like one. Stop working in your business; instead, start working on it.
With the support of a virtual assistant, you can see the full scope of your company and push for growth ventures.
Ways a Virtual Assistant Can Help You
There is a spectrum of ways a virtual assistant can lift your everyday burdens.
Administrative Work
Business owners like you spend around 40 hours of your workweek on repetitive administrative tasks. This keeps you from moving forward with your business. Bummer.
Hand off the following tasks to a dedicated remote assistant and work smarter.
- Schedule meetings
- Calendar management
- Answer and make calls
- Plan travel arrangements and events
- File expense reports
- Prepare comprehensive documents and presentation
- Data entry
- Research
- Customer support
- Coordinate the teams and the project
Sales and Marketing
Sales and marketing are critical aspects of your organisation where a virtual assistant can truly shine. They can improve customer experience and consequently double the sales.
- CRM management
- Lead generation
- Email marketing
- Prospecting
- Social media management
- Follow up on sales leads
- Lead research
- Carry out and manage marketing initiatives
- Support with the development of marketing strategies
- Website management
Back-End Operation
Every time-consuming task that transpires in the back office can be handled by a virtual assistant.
Although necessary, these tasks are often overlooked due to their behind-the-scenes nature.
- Update books
- Chase down unpaid invoices
- Collect payments
- Data entry
- Basic bookkeeping
- Generate reports
- Process payments
- HR recordkeeping
- Organise and maintain records
Personal Errands
Personal activities consume 25% of your time. Most business owners and busy entrepreneurs hire a virtual assistant to manage everyday chores. This results in an increase in productivity and time invested in what matters most.
- Plan travels
- Schedule personal appointments
- Manage personal calendar
- Make online purchases
- Pay bills
- Send gifts to family and friends
Want to hire an e-commerce site operator?
Signs You Need a Virtual Assistant
So, when do you wave the white flag and ask for the support of a virtual assistant?
- When you need a quick hire to fill in a short-term position
- When you don’t have the capabilities to accomplish a task
- When you spend too much time on routine tasks
- When you’re missing opportunities
- When your employees are leaving
- When your customer service is failing
- When your work-life is off balance
- When sales are starting to slow down
- When you’re not following up on sales leads quickly enough
- When invoicing is lagging behind
All of these signals indicate the dire need to onboard a virtual assistant. Why? Because you simply don’t have enough time to move the business forward.
Your customers, your team and your family are also not getting the time they deserve. And that implies you’re in trouble and you need a VA hire.
Who Usually Hires Virtual Assistants?
There’s no doubt about the advantages that virtual assistants bring to the table. They’re cost-effective, flexible, scalable and highly efficient.
These are just some of the most attractive assets of working with a remote professional. In every task you delegate to them, they always deliver. It’s no wonder that companies of all sizes demand virtual assistant services.
- Business Owners and Entrepreneurs
- Busy Professionals
- Large Corporations
- Coaches
- Online Educators
- Content Creators
- Digital Marketers
No matter what industry your business is in, integrating a remote assistant into your operation optimises performance and productivity.
How to Find and Hire a Virtual Assistant?
Consider your virtual assistant a partner rather than just another employee. They fill an important position in your business, which is why you can’t slack off in the recruitment process.
These crucial steps will lead you straight to a remote assistant who’s worth every penny.
- Make a task list to delegate to a virtual assistant.
- Once you have a list of tasks you want to outsource to a VA, create a clear and concise job description.
- Post a job ad or, better yet, reach out to a virtual assistant company like VAV and choose from prescreened candidates.
- After the list of candidates has been trimmed down, conduct a background check.
- Set an interview and connect with your top prospect
- Administer a skills test related to the position to evaluate the capacity of your virtual assistant
- Begin your partnership with a trial period and see if your new hire measures up to your expectations.
How to Choose Your Virtual Assistant?
Outsourcing VAs is a hands-on project. It doesn’t matter if you’re working with your remote assistant part-time or long-term. You must collaborate with someone you get along with, or you’ll end up failing the working relationship, like a bad marriage.
Beyond the resume, scrutinise the core qualities that align your remote assistant with your culture, environment and requirements.
Compatibility
Does your chosen virtual assistant match your needs? Does he or she have the competence to do the job?
Professionalism
How does your candidate interact with you? Are they cordial and respectful in answering questions?
Fluency in Technology
Is your remote assistant knowledgeable in using various software tools? Can they work their way around the company’s existing systems?
Remember, there’s always a risk when you’re hiring online. The best way to mitigate the risk is through partnering with a virtual assistant company. VA agencies like VAV have trained virtual assistants who not only meet your needs but also evolve along with them.
What’s the Price Tag of Hiring a Virtual Assistant?
It depends. On what? On a few factors such as…
- The virtual assistant service you need
- The location
- The type of working relationship you need
- The quality control you require
- The quality control you require
Now, there are two ways to build your dream team of virtual assistants.
Through Freelance Marketplaces
Websites like Upwork, Fiverr and Guru offer different types of virtual assistants for your every need. Out of the two VA sourcing platforms in this list, online marketplaces have the most affordable freelancers. Then again, this comes with a compromise of you spending more time and effort on hiring them.
Contract Virtual Assistant Company
Companies like VAV provide virtual assistant services to help you find the right talent.
As a VA company, we maintain a bench of pre-screened virtual talents who are seeking long-term growth. We also offer competitive pricing packages that start at $515 USD per month.
Read on: Should You Hire a Virtual Digital Marketing Assistant?
The Bottom Line
If your business growth is on pause due to your limited time to keep it moving, outsource a virtual assistant.
Remote professionals are the most affordable way to do it. They can take your productivity and efficiency to the next level by giving you and your team more time and better focus on pressing matters.
Hustling alone doesn’t guarantee success. You need to play it smart and yield greater results from your efforts.