Has delegating tasks in a way that actually works been a struggle lately? If so, you’re dealing with a pretty common problem.
In her businessnewsdaily.com article entitled 3 Elements of Delegation Every Manager Should Know, Marissa Sanfilippo shares the following reminder:
“As a leader, you can’t possibly do everything on your own. Instead, learn to lean on your team and trust them to get the job done. As a result, you’ll see that your company can accomplish a lot more without bogging you down.”
Sounds easy enough, right? It’s human nature for some to figure, “How hard can it be? I just assign tasks to my employees and then move on.”
This overly simplistic approach to delegating has been the bane of many a naïve manager though. Learning how to delegate isn’t nearly as easy as some make it out to be. Still, solid delegation skills are in reach for those who persevere.
Delegating mistakes can lead to even more work than before if you don’t learn to avoid them. They can also hurt your company’s reputation if you fail to deliver your best efforts.
What do you do if you’re struggling to implement effective delegation and it’s costing you big? Here are some examples of common delegating mistakes and how to steer clear of them.
Micromanaging
As a manager, it’s easy to micromanage your staff without realizing you’re doing it. And the problem is that pretty much no one enjoys being micromanaged. Worse yet, if you have competent staff, it slows down the project and keeps you from getting other pressing tasks done.
The feeling of empowerment is an important aspect of your employees doing their best work. For that reason, delegate the outcome rather than the process it takes to get there. If you have a competent and creative team, they’ll take care of the how. The main thing you need to communicate is what needs to get done.
Of course, this needs to be balanced out if some training is necessary. Just be sure to call it what it is–training, not delegated work.
Failing to Provide Any Direction During the Project
Now that we’ve discussed the dangers of micromanaging, we should also mention the hazards of laissez-faire leadership taken too far. Providing no insight into a project part way through could lead to a disappointing and inferior outcome.
If that happens, you’ll be all the more tempted to micromanage the project the next time around. Often, you can provide regular feedback without feeling too suffocating to your staff.
Are you starting to lean too much towards micromanaging the project? Keep lines of communication open with your employees and tell them your goal to provide just enough info to create success without hampering the project by hovering over it too much.
Once your staff realizes you’re in their corner, they’ll help you find that balance. Another positive side benefit is they’ll respect you a lot more for your transparency and approachability.
Not Allowing Room for Mistakes
A seasoned virtual manager or on-site manager knows you can’t prevent all mistakes from happening. And the most skilled managers know that to an extent it’s okay. Setbacks or failures are an important aspect of staff having the courage to learn new skills.
Imagine a parent wanting their toddler to walk perfectly but never letting them stumble or fall along the way to their goal. Trying to prevent failure in that child would only lead to greater failure in the long run.
The same holds true in the workplace. A good in-person supervisor or manager online should keep their staff from making any glaring errors while realizing mistakes will happen.
Also, be sure to stay communicative with your staff so they feel safe about coming to you if something doesn’t go as planned.
Thinking Delegating Tasks Should Only Happen In-House
Another common delegating mistake is thinking the only way to get a task or project done is through your everyday hourly staff. Today, more than ever, that’s not always the best route to go.
Sometimes you need skills now that your staff doesn’t possess. It’s also possible your staff is too overloaded to have extra items added to their to-do list.
There’s no reason to fret over lost productivity. You can get in touch with us to find out the benefits of delegation. Feel free to schedule a free 30-minute consultation with us and start realizing your full potential.
Hiring an online business manager (OBM) or virtual assistant is a big decision, but could you be overthinking the financial side of it? This is a question only you can ultimately answer.
Having said that, if you keep getting stuck on the question of, “How much is a virtual assistant,” maybe you should look into the answer. You may have thought about hiring an online manager, virtual assistant or VA team for a while now. Even so, you’re having trouble taking the final step of following through.
Perhaps you’re struggling with several hidden fears or doubts that could be holding you back from a positive decision. Here are a few thoughts if you’re experiencing some worries over the virtual assistant price tag.
It Could Be Time to Scale Your Company
If it’s time to grow, that old saying, “You have to spend money to make money” is applicable here. Having fears about overspending certainly is a healthy trait to have as a business leader or owner. At the same time, playing it too safe may hurt your profits down the road.
“Ask most entrepreneurs and they’ll say they waited too long to get help — and that while waiting too long might have saved money, it also slowed the growth of their companies,” says Craig Bloem in his Inc. article entitled 4 Things You Must Spend Money on as a New Business.
You need the resources to grow your business to the next level. And sometimes that means spending money on talent now so your results can improve later. If your intuition tells you it’s time to grow, now could be the right time to get the virtual support you need.
Your Discomfort Could Be a Clue
Weigh this one carefully. You generally don’t want to go against your ‘gut feeling’. Still, business growth is rarely comfortable. If you feel discomfort at the idea of hiring a VA or OBM, that could be because courage is needed at the moment. You have to make the right decision in your discomfort.
Much like a middle school boy who goes through a major growth spurt may need new shoes and clothes, you may need to make adjustments for business growth. Sure getting ‘clothes and shoes’ is costly, uncomfortable and inconvenient now. However, ‘staying in those old clothes’ will eventually be even more so.
Sometimes, it just comes down to which discomfort you’d rather have. The ever-increasing discomfort of staying where you’re at or the discomfort of accommodating growth.
Perhaps You Can’t Afford to Pass on a Virtual Support
Have you lost too much time mired in the details when you could’ve been at the helm of your business? Deep down, you know you need to be looking at the big picture and casting the vision for your company.
Your reality may look much different though. You find your day taken up with managing people and projects. You also get bogged down with pushing papers, paying bills, social media and sending yet another email. And your greatest potential is taking a hit as a result.
You’re Thinking in the Framework of Your Current Finances
You may be looking at how much you have to work with monetarily and figure it’s a ‘no go’. Part of that could be because you’re thinking of your finances where they’re at now instead of imagining how they could improve with virtual support. That added productivity may easily pay for the virtual assistant help you decide on.
You Could Be Thinking Too All-Or-Nothing
In other words, a major barrier you may be facing is you think you have to ‘go all out’ or go home when it comes to virtual support. You have to either do the VA or online manager thing super big or not at all. We all can be prone to all-or-nothing thinking at times, but it’s not always helpful.
For instance, you can always start small with virtual help and build up more support over time. This is a great strategy to try initially in some situations. As your company continues to grow, you can add additional VA help as you need it.
How Can an Online Business Manager, VA or Virtual Team Help?
At Smart to Finish, that’s a question we love to answer. And since every company is a little different, so is the solution. The virtual assistant skills and services we offer are many as well.
The best way to find out the specifics is to schedule a free 30-minute consultation with us. We can accommodate most budgets and work hard to be the best virtual assistant company money can buy. We look forward to meeting you and sharing about the benefits of a virtual assistant, VA team or manager online!
Many businesses search high and low for the best virtual assistant at basement rates. You know, the genie-in-the-bottle type who’ll offer ‘dollar menu’ prices while magically transforming your fledgling or thriving business into an empire. Although that sounds like a match made in heaven, you’ll pay more in the long run.
Think this is just a gimmick to get you to pay more for virtual assistant services? With all the ads out there for nearly ‘free’ virtual assistants, it’s not surprising if you’re tempted to believe that. The myth is that ‘you get what you pay for’ applies to other areas of life. The virtual assistant industry, however, is somehow magically exempt.
Just Google ‘cheap virtual assistant’ and see what turns up. And while the shoestring budget route may seem alluring, you’d better have some migraine medicine handy (and deep pockets readily available). Here’s why you’ll pay more for cheap VA services.
Mass Job Platforms Make Client/Virtual Assistant Communication Clunky
Communication is key when it comes to getting the most out of your virtual assistant experience. The most qualified virtual assistant or virtual team in the world will disappoint if the tasks needed aren’t properly understood and carried out.
Many businesses rush to mass job platforms notorious for offering VA help at cheap rates. But because mass job platforms often thrive on keeping your VA’s identity a secret, inferior communication can result. Also, the interfaces can be poorly suited for optimal mutual understanding. The process can also feel less personal. In the end, the quality of your work can suffer.
Finding a ‘Deal’ Takes A lot of Time
The reality is there are a few good VAs out there at cheap prices. The problem is, you may have to work with a dozen (or more) VAs before you find one who can deliver what you desire.
You’ll also lose a lot of time you could’ve spent with your family, keeping healthy or pursuing your greater life purpose. And time will always be more valuable than money.
While it’s easy to think going cheap is a good idea, it really isn’t. Think about all of those hours you’ll spend looking for a ‘cheap’ virtual assistant. Then, think of all the money you’ll likely spend on VAs who don’t work out. And once you finally find the ‘perfect’ virtual assistant, they could be gone. Here’s why.
The Good VAs Don’t Charge Pennies for Long
Why might your ‘perfect’ and ‘cheap’ virtual assistant be gone once you’ve finally hit ‘pay dirt’? Because quality VAs don’t get into the profession to pay half of their bills while helping businesses pay all of theirs.
Sure, a talented VA may take a few low-paying gigs at first to sharpen their skills. But they’ll quickly move on to greener pastures as soon as the right opportunity comes along. Good VAs know the value they provide and look for clients who recognize what they have to offer.
If Your VA Isn’t Paid Fairly, Their Work Will Suffer
Sometimes businesses forget something. Virtual assistants, like everyone else, need stability to function well. They do their best work when they’re treated fairly. Paying a virtual assistant way below fair pay will mean they’ll be more focused on their finances (or lack thereof) than your business needs.
It also means they won’t be able to spend as much time on your project. At the lowest rates, cutting corners or even pirating work to turn some semblance of a profit is a concern too. Virtual assistant scams abound at the lowest paying levels.
The Best Virtual Assistant Company Has High-Quality Standards
In summary, cheap virtual support coupled with high-quality virtual assistance skills is largely a farce. You almost certainly won’t get the best work your company needs and deserves if you look for ‘bargains’.
In his “Entrepreneur” article entitled Don’t Be the Cheapest, Be the Best, Mike Templeman shares that, “People are willing to pay for quality.”
At Smart to Finish, we agree with Templeman. Our goal is to be the best at what we do. We aren’t competing with our competitors on price (someone will always be cheaper).
Instead, our virtual support team strives for excellence and to be the best VA service money can buy. We possess strong communication skills and are experts at a wide variety of tasks to ensure your business achieves its fullest potential.
Whether you need a single virtual assistant, a virtual team or an online business manager, we can deliver the best for you. If you’d like to learn more, you can reach out to us for a free 30-minute consultation.
The benefits of a virtual assistant are many. Whether you’ve been asking yourself, “How much is a virtual assistant,” or, “What is a virtual assistant and what do they do,” we can provide solid answers.
If you’re like many businesses, not all the tasks you need completed are done in-house. This could be due to temporary staff shortages, the need for extra help during a product launch or the need for specialized skills.
Hiring freelancers is a great way to get help from on-demand experts but it can be challenging to manage private contractors once you have several working for you. That’s where a virtual assistant team can help.
“Having a VA team can be the best thing you’ve ever done for your business,” says Melissa Smith in her article for Medium entitled, 7 Tips to Build the Best Virtual Assistant Team.
Here are a few key ways a virtual assistant team can solve the multiple private contractor challenge.
Project Unity
Working with several contractors on projects that overlap can sometimes be like trying to make different jigsaw puzzles fit together in a coherent manner. Private contractors may not always agree with the same plan of action or meld well.
Working with a virtual assistant team can eliminate a lot of needless frustration. You’ll have a team of virtual assistants working together on different aspects of a project and communicating with each other along the way. You can also have your own online manager through the virtual assistant company to oversee your project.
They’ll connect the dots so you don’t have to. This also provides accountability and encouragement for each team member to give their best to the larger, overarching project.
More Convenient Payments
Paying your hourly employees tends to be more automatic than paying your contractors. With your hourly employees, there’s consistency. With your private contractors, things can be quite sporadic.
Making payments to contractors from different companies can be easy to overlook with all the other demands you face each day. Making a bunch of additional payments can also turn into a time drain.
Hiring a team of virtual assistants from the same company can streamline this process. Not only is it easier to make payments, but it’s also far easier to keep track of your spending, helping you to stay within your budget.
Could a Virtual Assistant Team Be the Answer to Your Outsourcing Needs?
At Smart to Finish, we’re committed to being the best virtual assistant team available. We can complete a surprising variety of tasks for you, freeing up your time and helping you build revenue. Our team can even be your online business manager.
If you’d like to learn how our virtual assistant services can help to build your business dreams, feel free to reach out to us. Whether you need an online manager for your hourly employees and contractors, marketing help, extra support for a product launch, or more, Smart to Finish is here for you. We’ll provide a free 30-miute consultation to discuss how we could best make a positive difference in your business.
You’re finally sold on the value of getting help for your business from a virtual assistant. While that may seem like the end of the discussion, it’s actually just the beginning. The
type of support you receive could make the difference between excellent results and a bunch of work you’ll have to fix later on.
How can you keep from getting burned? First, go with a reputable virtual assistant company. Secondly, give it a try in small doses to start to see if it’s a good fit. Beyond that, there are some characteristics to look for to help you decide if you’ve found a “winner.” Here are some things to keep in mind as you consider how to find a virtual assistant.
Honesty
When it comes to intellectual property, integrity is everything. You need a remote administrative assistant or virtual assistant you have complete confidence in. The alternative is far too risky. You need a good idea of when work will be delivered and what specifically will be delivered per your agreement. You also need to know your private information will be kept confidential and safe.
Versatility
These days, the sheer number of different tasks waiting to be completed at your business can be overwhelming. For instance, successful marketing strategies for businesses have grown more complex. You typically see the best results from a blend of different strategies.
The best virtual assistant will possess a variety of skills. Also, going back to the honesty trait, your virtual assistant should be transparent when they’re not skilled in a specific task you need accomplished.
This is why it’s great to work with a virtual assistant team where the company culture exhibits the traits you’re looking for. That way, you’ll be able to get help from different virtual assistants based on their skill sets. The end result will turn out much better.
Professional Rates
It won’t take you long in your virtual assistant search to find cheap rates. Why not shop for a drastic bargain? Because your results will almost certainly suffer if you do. Those low-ball virtual assistant companies have to make money somehow and that means cutting corners.
The best-case-scenario is you could end up with poor quality work. The worst? You might receive pirated “work” that places you in legal trouble, have sensitive information stolen from your company or a dishonest accounting of hours worked.
Do professional rates always mean you’ve found a great fit. No. But they’re usually a good indicator that your virtual assistant cares enough about great results to charge realistic rates.
Friendliness
It’s not just about completing your to-do list with your virtual assistant. That process should also be enjoyable and feel like a team effort. Human interactions affect us all either positively or negatively. For that reason, choose someone who’s friendly as your virtual assistant.
In her Entrepreneur article, Ten Qualities You Need to Keep Your Virtual Assistant Clients Happy, Shelby Larson shares the following advice to virtual assistants about friendliness:
“Having rapport with your clients will take you further than you could imagine.”
Could Hiring a Virtual Assistant Benefit Your Business?
At Smart to Finish, we work tirelessly to be the best virtual assistant and virtual assistant team available. We can be your manager online, overseeing a variety of administrative tasks.
Could you use some help with your business? Whether you need an online business manager, a virtual marketing assistant or more, we have you covered. Our virtual assistant company can complete a variety of tasks to ensure your business continues to thrive.
Are you interested in what we can do for you? Feel free to get in touch to set up a 30-minute free consultation with us.
Laissez-faire leadership can be a scary venture for a business (especially initially). It can feel like you’re a passenger on the plane you own while somebody else flies the aircraft. Sure, you can get many other essential tasks done while someone else operates the controls, but what if the pilot goofs up?
Those who conquer this fear of failure, can reap many benefits for their business along the way by taking this approach, however. Just what is the laissez-faire leadership style and why should you care? In honor of National Delegation Day (coming up on August 28th), let’s go a little more in-depth on the topic.
What is the Laissez-Faire Leadership Style?
Also known as the delegating leadership style or free-reign leadership, this model only gives guidance to staff that’s deemed the most necessary. The belief is employees will do their best work if they’re free to find their unique solutions to challenges and work demands.
The laissez-faire leader can experience a number of positive results. What are some benefits of delegative leadership? Let’s take a look.
Makes Sense When Your Staff has the Skills Needed for Success
Back to that airplane analogy, you’ll feel far more comfortable handing the controls over to someone who knows what they’re doing. This can be a tough balance because there will always be more skills your staff could learn. There needs to be some established trust before the laissez-faire approach will work.
This is a great leadership style to use when you hire known experts (or up-and-coming ones). The best approach is to allow them to solve problems you can’t. Sure, provide some accountability, but you don’t want to cramp their style either.
Creative Fields are a Great Place to Use Laissez Faire Leadership
Delegative leadership doesn’t work best in all scenarios. And there are certain settings where laissez-faire leaders will thrive better than in others. For example, creative fields such as ones that deal with design tend to operate better under a laissez-faire model.
In her article for Very Well Mind entitled, “What is Laissez-Faire Leadership?,” Kendra Cherry shares the following:
“Working in a creative field where people tend to be highly motivated, skilled, creative, and dedicated to their work can be conducive to obtaining good results with this style.”
Works Well When Your Projects Are at the Right Stage
Although laissez faire means “hands-off”, to say it should be completely that way in your business would be an exaggeration. A better description is that it’s generally meant to be hands-off.
To be successful in your business, you may need to employ different leadership styles at different times. For instance, the start of a project may require more direction and oversight. However, once you get further into that same project, you may get more satisfying results by giving a lot more autonomy to your staff.
Could a Virtual Assistant or Virtual Assistant Team Help Your Business?
In conclusion, the laissez-faire leadership style works great when your business is dealing with proven experts. When used correctly in an appropriate setting, you can also drastically increase your company’s productivity and quality of services.
At Smart to Finish, our team of virtual assistants can provide excellent results with minimal supervision, freeing you up to complete those essential tasks. We can also do the delegating for you if you’re short on time.
If you’re curious about how we could help your business grow, feel free to reach out to us. We also offer free 30-minute consultations.
Is your company delegating tasks enough of the time? With National Delegation Day coming up on August 28th, now is a great time to re-evaluate how you’re doing. And there’s no better day than today if you want to learn how to delegate better.
In his business.com article entitled, “Delegate or Die—The Only Way to Grow Your Business,” Harrison Rogers shares the following:
“While it takes time and effort, delegating effectively will empower you to be more productive and grow your business. Your staff will gain new opportunities to develop their skills while contributing to the success of the company.”
Although over-delegation comes with its inherent risks, not delegating enough in your business will also result in some troubling symptoms. What are signs you need to delegate work more often? Here are some to consider.
Unusually High Stress Levels at Your Company
Stress is an unavoidable aspect of any business pursuit. Yet properly managed stress isn’t always bad. It can push those at your business to excel even further than they initially thought they could.
How do you gauge if your stress levels are too high? A valuable question to ask would be, “Is the amount of stress at my organization challenging my employees to do even better or is it breaking them down instead?”
If you’re unsure of the answer, it wouldn’t hurt to do an anonymous survey to get everyone’s perspective. It could tell you whether the “engine” of your company is running properly or if it’s overheating.
More sick days than normal, poor morale and a general lack of contentment are some signs to watch out for. Also, gauge how overwhelmed your employees generally feel. If you’re in the danger zone stress-wise, it could be an indicator that you’re not delegating enough or properly.
Although it can seem costly to delegate since mistakes could initially be made, it’ll likely cost you far more in the long run if you don’t. Employee turnover and customer dissatisfaction can burden even the best businesses in these situations. Speaking of costly mistakes, they tend to happen more frequently when there isn’t enough delegating taking place.
Costly Mistakes are Happening too Frequently
Mistakes happen at any business. However, if it seems like you’ve had more than your fair share of costly blunders lately, this could be another sign you need to delegate responsibility more often.
Customers or clients receiving work they’re unhappy with, missed deadlines or skewed numbers are a few common signs of employees that are maxed out. Many of these shortcomings may have little to do with the competence of your staff. Instead, they could have more to do with everyone being stretched too thin.
You Don’t Trust Your Employees
“No one can do that task as good as me,” you say. That may be true, but are the bigger tasks you need done getting neglected because the many smaller ones? If so, it may be a great time to practice effective delegation.
A few hours of training now could save you hundreds of hours in the future (not to mention, a lot of money). Plus, you may be pleasantly surprised by what happens when you give trust to your employees more. They’ll likely feel empowered and return the trust as evidenced by increased productivity.
Could Your Business Use Some Help with Delegating Tasks?
If so, you don’t have to let the negative results of past delegation shortfalls erode the effectiveness of your company’s future any longer. What is delegation when it comes to a remote assistant? Our team of virtual assistants at Smart to Finish can help you reach your business goals in a variety of ways.
Not only can you delegate tasks to us. We can also help you with the delegation process. Sometimes, all you need is someone outside of your business to give you a fresh perspective about what’s going on. If you’d like to learn more about how we can help, feel free to get in touch. We also offer a free 30-minute consultations.
You’ve probably heard it all by now when it comes to developing a hire strategy. Some things you’ve tried have panned out great. Others? Well, quite the opposite. Every single business out there goes through similar challenges.
For obvious reasons, it’s wise to continually hone your hiring solutions. Few aspects of your business can increase revenue and deliver outstanding results as building the right staff can. The negative flip side of that is equally true.
Knowing how to hire will also have a huge impact on whether your staff are happy at your organization. If they feel valued by the team you build, they’ll stick around. If not, they’ll walk. In light of that, here are some things to look for when hiring.
Make Sure Your New Hire Will Be Compatible
Your prospective employee may be an uncontested all-star when it comes to their job performance and abilities. That doesn’t make them an automatic shoo-in for the position, however. You’ll also need to judge their compatibility with your existing employees.
Think about how much it cost to develop the staff you already have. Now imagine if this newcomer frustrated your valued workers so much that they stopped giving their best, or showing up or to the point they called it quits. This is all the more crucial for supervisory positions. As the saying goes, “People don’t quit bad jobs. They quit bad bosses.”
If you hire the right person, you’ll add another reason for your employees to show up for work every day. If not, you’ll have created a dark cloud when it comes to morale. It’s best to work together as a team to decide if compatibility exists in a job candidate to get a balanced perspective when hiring.
Check Their Social Footprint
Digging into someone’s online social activity when hiring isn’t considered “creepy” like it once was. Heck, people even check someone’s social footprint before going on a date. And these days, who can blame them?
Take a close look at your potential employee’s social activity. It’s entirely possible that a minute’s glance will tell you to move on to the next candidate. However, it’s equally possible you won’t want to move on to the next candidate after doing some searches.
“Asking personal questions won’t get you anywhere, and could be awkward and uncomfortable for both parties. Rather, you or your human resources team should be analyzing the candidates’ presence on social media,” says Steve Olenski in his Forbes article entitled, “6 Tips for Hiring the Right Employee.”
Assess Their Ability to Persevere
Sure, you need someone with the right skills who’s a fast learner but you need more than that. You’re looking for a candidate who can handle setbacks and adversity. Because sometimes one’s workload can knock the wind out of them on the bad days.
You need a staff member who’ll keep going when things get tough. Challenges are inevitable but can be overcome by a worker with persistence. What are you specifically looking for? More than anything after you have the correct skillset, you’re searching for a positive attitude.
This skill isn’t taught in any school yet is, nonetheless, essential. Perseverance only comes about through disappointment and setbacks. Failures are inevitable for everyone. The choice to continue the trudge to success despite failure is what separates the truly successful from the rest of the pack.
Find someone who’s determined and who won’t give up while maintaining their optimism and you’ll have a winner. Hire them quickly before someone else does!
Could You Use Some Extra Help with Your Hire Strategy?
A good hire doesn’t just happen. Recruitment and the hiring process are a painstaking process well worth the effort. Knowing how to hire is only half the battle, however.
Sometimes your current staffing demands make it hard to devote the time needed to add to your team. If this struggle sounds all too familiar, Smart to Finish can help you with this process. Our team has experience making sure your next hire is the smart hire.
We know firsthand that the right staff makes all the difference in a successful business. That’s why we’ve learned how to recruit and pass that good hire on to you. After all, when you’re successful, so are we.
Do you have additional questions about how we could help to make your hiring a big win? We’d love to interact more with you through a free consultation.
“What is a virtual assistant?” is a common question for businesses that feel maxed out or are starting to fall behind. Maybe you could benefit from help with marketing, a product launch, inbox management or hiring among a host of other tasks.
One of the key aspects that sets a virtual assistant apart from an hourly employee is their skill level. When you hire a virtual assistant, you’re choosing an on-demand expert who has experience and skillsets in the areas you need now.
Your company hiring process can be time-consuming and unpredictable. You also have to train your new hire which can be quite expensive (in time and money). Companies lose thousands to millions of dollars each year due to being understaffed or by not having the skills they need when they need them. That’s where a virtual administrative assistant can save you both time and money.
Having said that, your company’s needs may have outgrown the demand for just one personal assistant. You may benefit best from a virtual assistant team. Here are some tell-tale signs that your business needs help from more than one expert.
The Volume of Needs Are More Than One Person Can Handle
Simply put, the needs of your business have grown. Whereas one virtual assistant or remote executive assistant was enough to help in the past, that isn’t the case anymore.
Is the sheer volume of additional remote administrative tasks you need done too weighty for one person? It could be time to hire a virtual assistant team.
Your Business Needs Are Diverse
Not everyone can be an expert at everything. There are only so many hours in the day to learn new skills. Besides that, we all have things we’re naturally good at (and things we aren’t).
When your business needs become varied in the types of expertise you need, this signals it could be time to consider a virtual assistant team. A good virtual assistance company employs a variety of VAs who specialize in different tasks from writing to web design to product launches.
Hiring a VA team means you’ll be able to multiply your effectiveness. Each VA, working as a group, will play to their strengths instead of against them. They’ll all be working together to ensure your end results are excellent.
You Don’t Have the Regular Staff You Need Yet
It could be that you need to fill multiple positions at your company. However, the last thing you can afford is for your business to come to a screeching halt because of a worker shortfall in the meantime. You need informed and skilled solutions today.
Sure, you could panic because all your “ducks” aren’t in a row as you’d hoped. But that won’t get you the results you want and need. Plus, all that stress is bad for you and your employees’ morale and health. It’ll also negatively impact your bottom line.
In light of an employee shortage, you can still have the best workers helping you until things change. In these situations, a VA team can be a lifeline.
You Have an Influx of Work that Won’t Always Be There
Another reason to consider hiring a virtual assistant team is you need a high volume of skill-specific work for a short time but then it will end. You don’t want to sustain the costs of hiring and training only to lay off your employees once the flurry of work dies down. This could be due to a major marketing push, preparation for launching a new product or the need to mass hire.
In all of these situations and more, it makes sense to hire a VA team. In a variety of ways, such a decision will save you time and money. As a little side perk, you’ll probably sleep a lot better at night knowing things are getting done too!
What is a Virtual Assistant Able to Help With?
What does a virtual assistant do? The virtual assistant job description is pretty pliable in most cases. A quality virtual assistance company will employ multiple VAs to help with a variety of tasks regardless of your location. That way, you’ll get exactly what you need for your business at just the right time.
In her article for Medium entitled, “7 Tips to Build the Best Virtual Assistance Team,” Melissa Smith shares the following insight: “The beauty of hiring a VA is there is one available for just about anything you can think of. This means you can hire multiple VAs to do everything that is taking away from you expanding and building your business.”
At Smart to Finish, we’re here for you whether you need a single virtual assistant or virtual assistant team. Would you like to learn more about how we can help you? Feel free to reach out to us. We offer free consultations.
Wondering what the best email marketing service for your business is? You have email marketing that needs to get done. The time demands, however, can sap the strength you and your staff require to meet daily customer needs. Still, it has to happen.
Yes, growing your customer base is critical. No, you don’t want to lose existing customers because you can’t keep up with their needs while sinking time into email marketing.
What can be done if you’re facing a similar challenge? A virtual assistant, or better yet, a virtual assistant team may be the answer to your web marketing struggles. Here are a few of many reasons why the best email marketing service for your business may be provided by a virtual assistant.
Help Creating Your Email List
Deciding who is and isn’t a good lead for your email marketing strategy can be time consuming. From qualifying leads to compiling them in a coherent manner, there’s plenty of work to be done.
You also may need to upload info from potential clients or customers who signed up manually during a marketing event or exposition. These contacts can then be added to a spreadsheet and eventually to your platform. A skilled marketing assistant can help you get your email list in working order. That way, your campaign will run smoother and reach the correct demographic.
Email Templates Created by a Virtual Assistant
Your business’s email marketing campaign can get stuck in the mud before it ever gets going without the creation of quality email templates. Worse yet, those templates won’t convert like you’d hoped if they’re “thrown together”.
A virtual assistant or virtual assistant team can help you to create winning templates that score big leads. Text, font and graphics all need serious attention but it takes more than that. You need email templates that speak to your customers’ pain points and encourage them to take action.
Scheduling and Sending Emails
Once you’ve established your email list and created effective templates, it’ll be time for scheduling and sending emails. Your virtual assistant can work with you to decide on the best timing and frequency of your emails to maximize results.
Having help with email scheduling will eliminate your worry that you may forget to manually send those emails. Instead, they’ll just go out to your email list at the prescribed times.
Tracking Your Email Marketing Results Through Remote Assistance
Once you’ve put all that time into your email marketing strategy, you’ll definitely be interested in your results. Many platforms have inbuilt analytics systems for easy access to this information.
A virtual assistant can provide this research and compile relevant marketing summaries for your business. Things like measuring your click-through rates and comparing them with industry averages will be a cinch.
Analyzing and tweaking what days and times you received the best response rates will be easy as well. This research will enable your company to grow even more efficient at your email marketing efforts.
Do You Need Some Help with Your Email Marketing Campaign?
Smart to Finish strives to be the very best email marketing service available but that’s not all we do. We have an entire team of virtual assistants who can help you with a variety of services. You and your staff likely have enough on your plate already. Our virtual assistants can help you every step of the way.
Do you have more specific questions related to your industry type and our email services? If so, you can schedule a free 30-minute consultation to get a better idea of what we can do for you.
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