« Shopping and Travel Planning with Outsorcerer.com | Main | I’ll be there for you- your Virtual Asssitant »
Making the most of your Virtual Assitant (VA)
By Admin | May 22, 2008 -->1,063 views
The most important benefit you will immediately perceive after hiring a virtual assistant (VA) is the time you will save by outsourcing your time-consuming day-to-day tasks. The only difference here is that in most cases he/she will operate from a different office premise and help co-ordinate over the phone as well as send emails, faxes and electronic files while handling other business requirements.
Often firms that offer virtual assistance at comparatively lower costs may even help you save money because you would be then able to do away with hiring regular in-house office staff. Your reduced overheads could actually be leveraged to yield greater productivity. Now comes the most important part of your relationship with your VA: that of making the most of their abilities.
How do I make the most of my VA? ……..You ask yourself!
Since a VA use their own office equipment and charge you only for the work completed, they could be located just about anywhere in the world. VA firms or individuals are specially trained to deliver professional inputs and represent you in your business, thereby helping you to achieve a multitude of tasks in a limited amount of time. As valuable administrative or executive assistants, these are some of the things they can do for you:
- Handle phone calls and queries
- Receive and send mail on your behalf
- Call for quotes and compile data
- Research important information
- Design your presentation
- Send faxes and transfer large files
- CRM- Contact/relationship management
- Meet with clients and virtual staff
- Pay bills
VA’s who are certified professionals with special skills could also help you upgrade your business through strategic inputs since they are also likely to have a vast array of experience, that could help you gain better insights into your line of business. Some strategic services that VA’s provide:
- Internet marketing services including online branding e-mail marketing campaigns, etc.
- Graphic design
- Website development
- Copywriting and editing
- Developing and managing strategic alliances
- Design customized software
For entrepreneurs and businessmen, a VA is a great asset. Since your profitability depends on following hot leads and clinching lucrative deals, your VA could sort out through the sea of less profitable ones, provide expertise in several areas and help you troubleshoot your problems too, thereby saving you a lot of time. Let’s take the process of making the most of your VA it step by step:
Divide all the tasks of your business into three main categories: Core, secondary and the regular.
Tick mark the ones that only you’d rather do, then differentiate the complex ones from the simpler tasks
Decide to delegate those to VA’s. After carefully screening their expertise, you could hire more than one for specialized tasks.
Decide on a budget: You could hire on hourly basis for the regular tasks and decide to hire on project basis for assignments like website design, drawing up a legal document, etc. Some VA’s also work retainer basis for a specified number of hours per month.
Since you would like to be sure about their capabilities and professionalism, it would be worth your while to hire a trained VA with the relevant skills and experience. Instead of settling for the lowest rates, be prepared to pay that bit extra for someone who suits your business needs and is likely to turn in quality work. Sites like Outsorcerer.com. AskFriday.com, Guru.com, manage large databases of VA’s offering a large variety of services including administrative, technical, legal, secretarial, editorial and personal among others.
Sites that can help you outsource
http://www.OutSourcerer.com
http://www.OnlineBizU.com
http://www.allisonlane.com/
Other Readings:-
What is a Virtual Assistant
Outsource Web Services To India To Improve Your Operating Margins
Outsourcing - The Great Advantage
An Outsourcing Success Story
Learn the Pros and Cons of Outsourcing
Topics: Working with VA |
RELATED POSTS :- Work Life Balance
- Best Practices in Productivity
- Outsource or not :- Can you really do it all ? ? ?
- Tips on Outsourcing Personal Tasks
- Working With a Virtual Assistant
March 28th, 2009 at 6:16 am
??????? ??????? ?? ????? ?? ??? ?????? ????????? ???. ?????? ? ???? ???? ??????? ?? ??? ????. ???? ????? ???????? ??? ??? ??????? ??????????? !