You have many tasks that you need to finish, but you just don’t have time to do it all by yourself. When it comes to running your business, you’re probably working hard to get ahead of your competitors, increase your sales, market your brand, stay on top of your taxes, make your internal processes more efficient – the “to do” list ‘ is endless… If you’re thinking that all the weight is on your shoulders, think again.
Using a virtual assistant can cut hours out of your work week. If you’re still a little hesitant to delegate parts of your business to someone you’ve never met, you’re not alone. The idea of hiring a virtual assistant may seem strange at first, but you’ll soon realize that it’s all about selecting the right tasks for them to handle.
There are many misconceptions in the market around the concept of virtual assistants and their role in helping organizations. The reason these misconceptions exist is that companies often hire virtual assistants, spend zero minutes training them, and then end up disappointed and confused when things don’t go as expected. The problem is not necessarily in the quality of the virtual assistant’s work, but in the choice of tasks assigned to her.
online research
Enlist the help of a VA to conduct any time-consuming Internet research and receive the best information on any topic, product or competitor in the time frame that suits you best.
social media marketing
A virtual assistant can post to your social media channels on your behalf and market your SEO content, increasing the visibility of your brand, products, and services. VA social media expert can help you create a social media strategy, integrating it with the rest of your marketing strategy.
Data presentation
Do you have an important meeting with a new client and want to make a great impression? A virtual assistant can make an impressive PowerPoint presentation to your specifications so you can make the most of your productive time.
ghostwriting blog
Content marketing is the name of the game today. Your blog will get an incredible amount of traffic, if done correctly. A VA can help you write quality new content for your blog. Your virtual assistant can also post to Medium or Pulse for you. This is essential to increase the reach of your content and drive direct traffic to your website.
Schedule management
Every entrepreneur needs a secretary. A secretary answers calls and controls her agenda. If there are places he needs to go and people he needs to call, it’s best if someone reminds him to do so. Sure, you can download some software that does it for you, but procrastination can still keep you stuck. You will complete your tasks much faster if you let your Virtual Assistant manage your schedule.
Customer and Partner Management
It’s always a good idea to send a gift card to your customers on holidays and anniversaries. These are fairly easy tasks but very time consuming and require creative effort. You could even have your VA congratulate a partner or client on a new job or deal, especially if your client or partner uses social media.
Website maintenance and e-commerce
Websites require constant maintenance and updating. Many virtual assistants are familiar with WordPress but also with other website builders like 1&1. A VA can give you a real hand when it comes to running your eCommerce site. Writing compelling product descriptions, editing product listings or images, updating prices and inventory online, or processing orders are all tasks an expert VA can do for you.
internal training
Training your employees on how to use a new software or service can take up a good chunk of their productive time. Why not leave this job to a virtual assistant? You could even train your staff remotely, using Skype for example, saving costs.
Spreadsheet Management
As a business owner, you probably have to deal with a myriad of reports that need to be completed on a regular basis, from staff timesheets to expense or client lists. The natural idea is to let your VA do all of this. A virtual assistant can import, export, and sort any type of data, while also handling spreadsheet design and general maintenance.
customer service support
A Virtual Assistant can respond to your queries within a stipulated time frame. A business inquiry can be anything from a dissatisfied customer to a potential customer. A VA can help you stay on top of your customer service tasks, creating new business opportunities, resolving and escalating cases, responding to complaints appropriately.
Whatever tasks you decide to outsource to a virtual assistant, the most important thing is to build trust and make them really understand your business; this will take some time at the beginning of the relationship, but it will be worth it in the future.