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There are many virtual assistant companies and freelancers who offer their services. It can be challenging to choose the best one. This guide will help you to sort through all the options available and choose the best solution for your business.
What Is A Virtual Assistant?
Executives who need administrative support remotely can use virtual assistants. Although the responsibilities aren't necessarily comparable, they can also be called virtual executive assistants. The term "virtual" might be confusing because it implies something is unreal. Executives receive remote support from virtual assistants.
Technology has enabled executives to be more independent. It has become rare for full-time assistants, from voicemails to calendar apps and email. It may not be necessary to have a person guard your office, but paying yourself for work that can be easily handed off to another at a cheaper cost isn't always a good idea. This will also improve your efficiency.
The availability of cloud-based software, chat channels, video-conferencing tools, and high-speed internet that can be accessed from anywhere makes it possible for executives to hire assistants on a part-time basis without having to pay office rent or full-time employees.
Why You Need A Virtual Assistant
You need a virtual assistant if you can't accomplish your business goals because you're too busy keeping everything operating and need more time to plan effectively. Entrepreneurs and business owners frequently strive to cut costs by taking all possible measures. They eventually reach a point (if their business expands) where they can only manage some of the administrative tasks in their division or company.
Signs That You Need A Virtual Assistant
- Work-life balance is a fragile thing
- Poor service is a complaint from customers
- Follow up on sales leads quickly enough
- Employees are leaving
- Data on sales, customers, and financial information is in chaos
- Your invoices are not up to date
All of these symptoms point to the fact that you don't devote enough time to guiding your business ahead. Your family, coworkers, and clients must receive the required attention. When you are unable to get paid or receive invoices, you're in significant danger.
What Can A Virtual Assistant Do?
Virtual assistants can do different types of tasks, including:
- Executive Administration
- Support for Sales and Marketing
- Back-office operations
- Personal Life Tasks
- Specialized Skills
Look At The Specific Tasks That Virtual Assistants Can Perform In Each Category:
Executive Administration
Executives spend an average of 16 hours per week on tasks that are not business-related. This is 40% of their week. What is the time?
Some Examples Of Time Spent By Executives On Administrative Tasks Include:
- Email for 3 hours per day
- Schedule each meeting for 23 minutes
- Every business trip requires 12 hours of planning
Twenty-three minutes is a little, but the time adds up quickly. Consider the typical administrative assistant stationed at the front of a physical office when you consider the executive administrative responsibilities a virtual assistant can carry out.
There Are Many Administrative Tasks That You Can Do:
- Scheduling meetings & calendar management
- Answering emails and phone calls
- Sending emails and making phone calls
- Plan your travel and events
- Filing of expense reports
- Reaching out to the professional network
- Templates for preparing and maintaining documents
- General data entry
You can cut down on the three hours a day you spend reading and responding to emails by using a virtual assistant. Your assistant will become familiar with your email habits and monitor your inbox. It can notify you when significant contacts try to contact you. It can also reply to emails that take little attention.
Virtual Assistants Can Also Perform The Following Tasks:
- Storing email in folders according to categories
- Confirming appointments to avoid no-shows
- Archiving emails that no longer have relevance
- Update your calendar
Virtual assistants can also help busy executives expand and maintain their professional network, which can be challenging when you're pressed for time. The assistant can schedule meetings around your schedule by creating a list of priority contacts.
For instance, if you're traveling, your virtual assistant can schedule meetings with key people in your target region. They can keep tabs on your preferences for meeting times and places (or those of your acquaintances).
Virtual Assistants Are Used By Professionals To Perform These Tasks, Including:
- Investors and executives like venture capitalists meet
- Sales executives who schedule sales calls
- HR executives scheduling job interviews
- Real estate executives who meet with buyers and vendors
Support For Sales And Marketing
The administrative workload on sales and marketing teams is likely more significant than you realize. According to numerous studies, salespeople spend most of their time engaging in non-sales activities and only 11% to 36% of their time making sales.
The Time Allocated By A Sales Manager In A Typical Work Week Is As Follows:
- Administrative and paperwork: 7.3 hours
- Email correspondence and management: 8.2 Hours
- Internal communication: 6.66 hours
- CRM Management: 2.2 Hours
A virtual assistant will relieve sales leaders of their workload, allowing them to spend more time with their clients and potential clients. Meeting planning, email management, document preparation, and other front-office tasks are everyday demands for sales executives.
Tasks Unique To Sales Include:
- Data entry and management for CRM
- Research and Targeting of Customers and Leads
- Leader generation
- Social media communication
- Prospecting
- Follow up on Sales Leads
- Managing email campaigns
Begin by prospecting. 40% of sales teams need help to do so regularly. You can make a list of known or unknown contacts to get in touch with them. You can utilize your CRM database or a third-party platform like LinkedIn to find connections based on factors like industry, firm size, and job title.
You can outsource the work to a virtual assistant. Compiling a list of prospects based on predetermined criteria takes a lot of time and effort. The list can be expanded with additional requirements, or you can make several lists for different market sectors. It's only the start.
Assistants Can Be:
- Invite prospects to email events
- Use business rules to enter response data into the CRM
- Follow-up on responses
- Schedule appointments
- Complete missing contact data
- Update sales sheets and proposals
Email management can be challenging for sales teams. Clinching a transaction usually takes six to eight touches, but 70% of people give up after just one. Why? The salespeople are under pressure, and the process takes too long. Increasing your sales outreach by eight will be difficult if you're currently busy. You can get assistance from your virtual assistant with many scheduled emails.
Virtual assistants can be programmed to send follow-up emails, manage your inbox, and ensure you are always on top of things.
- Follow-up on qualified leads at the appropriate frequency for your business
- Inbox: Don't ignore essential messages that are buried deep in your inbox
Following up quickly on sales leads is crucial:
- 78% of customers purchase from the first responder
- Sales conversion rates are 391% greater in the first minute of contact.
- After five minutes, the conversion rate drops by 80%
- The average company takes five days or longer to respond.
You can use a virtual assistant to be your main follow-up ninja:
- Answering inquiries as soon as possible
- Follow up on calls and emails
- Scheduling sales call
CRM management is a critical component of a successful sales force. To be successful in business, it is essential to maintain accurate data about customers. This data is typically stored in a CRM. Companies that implement a well-designed CRM are more successful.
- Customers are willing to spend an additional 20%-40% with companies who use CRM
- Companies that use CRMs improve retention and customer satisfaction by 47%
- CRM users can see a 300% increase in conversion rates
- For every dollar invested in a CRM, the average return is $8.71
Only 30% of companies have a robust CRM.
When your CRM is updated and you have specified rules for contact data, a virtual assistant can extract lists, complete information gaps, check the status of pipelines, and add new contacts. The assistant can process data, create lists, and deliver email campaigns.
Virtual sales assistants can help you maximize your CRM by:
- Filling out additional information on your contacts and entering them into your CRM
- It is essential to keep track of every contact you make with leads.
- Keep your data up-to-date by updating statuses, removing duplicate information, and filling in any missing data.
- You can now access the most recent insights into your pipeline by running reports.
Virtual assistants are also able to take on tasks related to marketing that closely align with sales processes.
- Launching and monitoring emails campaigns
- Build workflows for email cadences
- Promoting and posting blog posts
- Social Media Management
- Update product descriptions and products on online stores
- Content Management
- Search engine optimization help
Back-Office Operations
The back office includes all tasks that support the infrastructure and systems of your business. Virtual assistants can take on these time-consuming, essential tasks.
Executives Spend, For Example:
- 8 hours per week are spent creating templates for documents such as proposals, contracts, and sales sheets
- 7 hours per month are spent entering data into bookkeeping software
- Overdue payment pursuit for 20 days a year
It is easy to overlook the importance of back-office work. A dedicated assistant responsible for getting the proper documents to customers, updating the books, and tracking down late invoices can make a massive difference to the bottom line.
Impact Of Back-Office Operations:
- Cash flow your lifeline
- Compliance
- You can hire anyone you want
- Customer onboarding
Virtual Assistants Can Perform A Variety Of Back-Office Duties, Including:
- Data entry and cleanup
- Light bookkeeping
- Invoicing and billing
- Payment processing
- Collections
- Reports can be generated
- HR record keeping
- Compliance documentation
The executives would only be doing the task in the first place if it were necessary. A virtual assistant is available to ensure that all back-office chores are finished. Back-office operations also include CRM management, particularly regarding forecasting, supply chain management, and inventory control.
Personal Life Tasks
The average executive spends up to 25 percent of their workday on personal pursuits. It's not necessarily a negative thing. Shopping, planning vacations, and making doctor's appointments can help you free up evenings and weekends to spend with family and friends or for exercise. Remote work is on the rise, and the lines between work and personal tasks have blurred even more.
Virtual assistants are often asked to handle personal tasks by executives so that they can spend more time working and boosting their productivity. They also want to spend more time doing what is important to them. Virtual assistants are often asked to perform both personal and professional duties for executives.
Some Personal Tasks That A Virtual Assistant Could Perform Include:
- Calendar Management
- Planning vacation travel
- Schedule fitness classes
- Schedule medical and personal appointments
- Sending flowers and gifts
- Online shopping
- How to pay your bills
Specialized Skills
Businesses can also use virtual assistants to provide specialized skills that are needed periodically or continuously. These skills are usually beyond the scope of a traditional administrative assistant. Virtual assistants are trained to perform these functions and are the only ones who do them. A marketplace is an excellent choice for task-based or one-off project needs. Virtual assistant agencies are available that specialize in specific disciplines.
Some examples of virtual assistant skills that are specialized include:
- Graphic Design
- Web Design and Development
- Accounting
- Writers of content
- Search engine optimization
- Project Management
Virtual assistants will have some experience in these areas. However, they must also develop an understanding of your company and its message.
How Much Does Hiring A Virtual Assistant Cost?
It varies. That is the brief response to how much hiring a virtual assistant will cost. Depending on What kind of work do you need?
- What kind of relationship do you want?
- You can choose the level of quality you want
- You can choose the day-to-day management and training you wish to undertake
The cost of a virtual assistant also depends on the method you use to hire. Three ways are available to hire a Virtual Assistant:
- You can hire a freelancer either directly or via a marketplace.
- Virtual assistants on contract
- Virtual assistants for managed services
Read More: What Exactly Was A Virtual Assistant And What Do They Do?
What Is The Cost Of A Freelance Virtual Assistant?
Hire for virtual assistant jobs using a marketplace such as Upwork or a job board such as Indeed.com or Craigslist. Freelancers are usually the least expensive option if:
- It would help if you had short-term, project-based work
- You want a relationship that is transactional and sporadic
- You want to be responsible for quality control directly
- You are ready to take on the day-to-day management and training
- You need specialized skills that go beyond the virtual assistant role
Freelance virtual assistants are perfect for project-based, short-term work because they work with numerous clients. They can also be used to acquire specialized talents like accountancy or graphic design. They are not part of your team.
One danger is that the advertiser might need to have the abilities claimed. Quality control is challenging because they frequently work as you sleep in offshore time zones. Prepare yourself to iterate. You are also in charge.
Cost Of A Virtual Assistant Agency On A Contract
You can choose from a list of virtual assistants provided by contract virtual assistant agencies. Most are drawn to long-term agreements and group pricing based on monthly retainers. The location determines the cost.
The Agency Charges A Fee, So You're Paying More For Contractors If:
- It would help if you had ongoing administrative support
- You are willing and able to put in the effort necessary to build a successful relationship
- You are interested in being responsible for quality control
- You're ready to manage and train staff daily
Most organizations serve as matchmakers. You are in charge of developing a good rapport and ensuring excellence. There is little assistance. Not all businesses have expertise in virtual assistants. Others provide additional services, including accountants, graphic designers, and web designers.
What Is The Cost Of A Managed Virtual Assistant Service Provider?
Virtual assistants can be hired, trained, and optimized for you by managed virtual assistant service providers. The service provider employs virtual assistants.
Account managers are your partners in ensuring that the service is successful. This high-touch hiring model allows you to hire quickly and manage the day-to-day management and training, as well as quality control and relationship building if:
- You can choose between executive admin, sales, or back-office assistance.
- You need a service that provides assistance with training on your systems and tools.
- You want to be guaranteed a certain service level
- You don't need more managers
Account managers will collaborate with you and the virtual assistants to document processes before the engagement. They will instruct them on using the client's systems as well. On the first day, assistants are prepared to begin contributing. The account manager mentors the assistant after receiving client feedback.
Many additionally offer standby assistants who can take over if the leading assistant is unavailable. They have a laser-like focus on virtual administrators and are experts in best practices for generating predictable outcomes. It's a convenient approach to obtaining specialty services. The agency might need help to provide professional guidance on where to look for a virtual assistant, though.
How To Hire A Virtual Assistant
How to recruit a virtual assistant will be directly impacted by the price and business strategy you select. Each has distinct benefits and risks.
Three Ways Are Available To Hire A Virtual Assistant:
- Hire directly
- Use a contract agency
- Partner with a Managed Service Provider
Directly Hire A Virtual Assistant
As was already indicated, you can employ a virtual assistant through a job site or marketplace. The cheapest and most time-consuming option is to hire a freelancer.
There Are Many Advantages To Hiring Freelancers:
- Reduced hourly rates
- You can decide how to work with your assistant
- You can choose your hours
- Hire for specific skills such as web development or graphic design
You can hire a freelancer to assist you with errands and deliveries in your neighborhood.
There Are Better Options Than Directly Hiring Virtual Assistants For Those Short On Time Or Wanting To Avoid Risk:
- It takes time to recruit, interview, and vet candidates
- You should invest in project management, training, and performance management
- Payroll and legal compliance in the home country is a significant overhead.
- You can start again if the virtual assistant does not work out.
- Inadequate control over data, devices, and networks
- Your virtual assistant might require software.
- Finding a virtual assistant with solid skills can be challenging
- Since freelancers have multiple clients, availability can be an issue.
Make a virtual assistant job description that will draw in qualified individuals. Specifying work requirements when looking to employ your first assistant can be challenging.
Hire a Virtual Assistant Contract through an Agency
You can shorten the time required for recruiting and candidate screening by working with a contract agency to hire a virtual assistant. When the remote assistants are employed, you can pay the agency in US dollars, and you won't need to worry about compliance difficulties.
All The Other Benefits Of This Model Are Similar To Those Of Hiring A Contractor:
- You can decide how to work with your assistant
- Most agencies only offer monthly packages, but you can still set your hours.
- There are many agencies that offer web design and development as well as graphic design.
It is similar to hiring a freelancer to hire a virtual assistant through an agency. However, you are not required to invest time in hiring, screening, and recruitment.
- Take on project management, performance management, and training.
- You can start again if the virtual assistant does not work out.
- Since most contractors have home offices and personal computers, IT security is a concern.
- Contactors may have several clients, so that availability could be an issue.
- The agency may not have the expertise to find you what you are looking for if it does not specialize in virtual assistance.
You can find a virtual assistant in your locality through a contract agency.
Hire A Virtual Assistant Service Provider
Instead of an assistant, you use the managed virtual assistant services provider. An account manager, a virtual assistant, and backup managers and assistants will be on your team.
This model has the main benefit of eliminating all of your hiring and management tasks, including hiring, vetting, and training contractors and managing performance.
- Hire faster
- You can leverage the expertise of a partner to help you use a virtual assistant.
- A virtual assistant is pre-trained in your processes and powerful tools.
- Account managers can help you document your business and delegate more tasks.
- Account managers provide ongoing service optimization.
- With backup assistants, you will never have to start again.
- The assistants are subjected to background checks, have access to secure networks and computers, and receive training in a secure environment.
This model is only suitable for some.
The Disadvantages Of Managed Virtual Assistant Services Include The Following:
- Packages of services with a set number of hours per month
- The cheapest option is not always the best.
- It works best for repetitive tasks but not as well with creative work such as web design and graphic design.
Most risks associated with hiring virtual assistants are borne by virtual assistant service providers who specialists oversee. The service provider employs the assistants, pays them, and provides them benefits and career prospects.
This concept will also appeal to businesses concerned about how providers treat their employees that labor overseas and their working conditions.
How Do You Manage A Virtual Assistant?
Managed and unmanaged virtual assistants are the two main categories of remote virtual assistants. You will engage, onboard, train, and supervise the virtual assistant's performance in a managed service when you hire virtual assistant through an agency or freelancer. The service provider employs, trains, manages, and compensates helpers in a Managed Service.
Unmanaged Assistants
It would help if you were clear about what you expect from a virtual assistant that is not managed. Business executives with many processes in their heads often need help to define what they want. These executives need help delegating these processes. Managing someone's performance in a new role can be difficult.
You can track down someone with sufficient industry knowledge to help you out. It is advantageous if your assistant utilizes the same email, calendar, and accounting services as you. Reduce the amount of training you need to undertake to save time. A virtual assistant may need more time to complete your procedures.
The lifting required to perform other tasks, such as payroll, HR paperwork, and performance reviews and feedback, will vary depending on the hiring model. Most of the time, contract agencies will handle some of this, but as a freelancer, you'll be in charge of it. Think about the network and computer risks related to the virtual assistant.
Managed Assistants
A managed virtual assistant service has the main advantage of handling all management tasks.
The Service Provider Is:
- The assistants are hired
- Document your processes, tools, and preferences
- Train the assistant in these processes
- You can now get your personal assistant.
- Manages performance
- Backup assistants are available
This model is ideal for individuals who need more time or resources to educate and onboard virtual assistants. This approach may be expanded as needed because it is simple to add more assistants. Managed service providers also cover the previously mentioned IT security problem. They run background checks and offer secure facilities, networks, and computers.
The standard model for managed VA services is a monthly retainer, where you pay a predetermined number of hours each month. These services are inappropriate for ongoing projects like quarterly reports, creative endeavors requiring fresh design, writing assignments, or graphic design jobs.
Conclusion
If you have reached a point in your business when you are time-constrained, it's time to recruit a virtual assistant. Virtual assistants are a practical and affordable answer to this issue. By extending the day for you and your team, they can boost productivity. They also increase productivity by allowing more attention to be paid to the expansion of the business.
With over 25,000 services accessible, it might be challenging to find the ideal virtual assistant. This information will assist you in reducing your choices. You can use it to specify the kind of job you want to delegate, the manner in which you want to communicate with your assistant, the level of management you want, and the price range you want.
