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What is a
"Virtual Assistant (VA)" and how do they work?
VAs, as we
are commonly known, are typically professional level
people who have left the confines of corporate America to
start
their own businesses. They work with businesses worldwide
from their fully equipped home office. They communicate
through
e-mail, phone, fax, instant messaging and mail. You decide
on the frequency and method of the communication. Your VA will
constantly keep you up to date on the status of your project.
The main benefit of the VA industry is that it allows small
businesses access to a wide variety of services that they may
not
have been able to afford as they build their business step by
step.
How do I
know if I need a VA?
Ask
yourself this, how much would your business increase if:
·
You had
someone to take care of your administrative tasks
·
You had
someone to design a professional, affordable
website AND maintain it for you.
·
You had a
professional to take care of your marketing
efforts.
·
You had
someone to answer your phone
·
You had
extra support 5-10 hrs a week/month
How do I
decide what tasks to delegate to a VA?
Delegate
the tasks that are costing your business money! Would
your time be better off spent bringing in new clients or
typing correspondence?
Is this
service expensive?
As
mentioned previously a full-time employee is expensive, VA's
are paid ONLY for the time spent on the task. VA's allow you
to
get that extra support WHEN needed. Our rates start at $25
and vary depending on the skill level required.
So how do
I start this process?
Send an
e-mail to
Affordable Office Services
with
your contact information and what you need assistance with.
We will then contact you to set up an appointment to discuss
your project in detail.
Can a VA
do everything that an in house employee does.
No, if you
need someone to meet and greet clients than a VA is
not for you, but a VA can do most anything else
Is hiring
a VA more expensive than hiring a temp?
There are
substantial savings involved with hiring a VA . There
are no overhead costs, no training and no
sick/personal/vacation
days. Our rates start at $25/hr and will vary depending on
the project required.
What about
last minute or outside office hours projects?
We can assist with any project that you may have at any time,
however we do charge a higher rate for last minute projects.
Is there a
minimum on the amount of hours that I must
use a VA for?
Absolutely not, Affordable Office Services was created to make the lives of business
owners hassle free, not to add to the stress
Who would work with
a VA?
VAs work with smart,
successful people of all kinds; authors, sales people, consultants, coaches,
executives, professionals, entrepreneurs--anyone who wants to be professionally
successful and live a more balanced life with more free time to do the things
he or she wants to do!
What's the point? I
manage everything on my own!
As you grow a business,
sooner or later, you'll find that you can do anything, but you simply can't do
everything! And when you give away the stuff that doesn't need your personal
attention, you gain space and time in your life for an abundance of other
things. Those things might include:
-
Growing your business
-
More time with family, friends
-
Responding to other opportunities
-
Balancing home and work responsibilities
If I wanted an
assistant, why would I hire one who's potentially hundreds of miles away?
Well, part of the benefit
of having a VA is that you haven't hired anyone. When you work with a VA, you
get a partner, not an employee. You get someone who chooses to work with you as
much as you choose to work with him or her. The VA's decision to work with you
will be based on being attracted to your work and on being interested in being
your partner for success, rather than because he or she is looking for "some
job." People work with VAs because they:
-
Don't have the space for someone in the office
-
Don't want someone in the office
-
Don't have the equipment needed for someone else to
use
-
Don't want to buy the equipment
-
Don't want the associated work and cost of having an
employee:
-
Payroll
-
Benefits
-
Paying for someone
else to administer payroll, benefits
-
Don't want to have
to conform to federal standards like OSHA
If what you want and need
is the most basic office support, then you might want to work with a secretarial
service.
If, on the other hand, you
want the benefit of working with someone who really wants to know you, your
business, your customers, and who really wants to be deeply involved in your
success, you'll want to work with a VA.
How can I
manage an assistant who is 100's of miles away?
Well, do you mean manage or
micro-manage? No successful business owner can afford to micro-manage. If you
need to micro-manage, you should find someone to sit right next to you in your
office. If you can refrain from micro-managing and allow your admin to think and
do on his or her own, you'll have no problems managing from a distance. Through
proper candidate selection, proper training, clear and concise instructions, and
the daily reporting I mentioned earlier, there should be no serious problems.
Isn't it more
expensive than hiring an employee?
No. The cost savings is two-fold: financial and emotional.
When you hire an employee, on top of a salary or hourly wage, you have a ton of
things you need to administer (payroll, benefits, etc.), many things to buy or
lease (equipment, furniture, etc.), and you have to share space as well. It's
expensive and can be grueling.
Depending on the VA, you might pay–as–you–go (giving him or her only the amount
of work you actually have during any week or month), or you might have him or
her on retainer (buying a certain amount of the VAs time each month for a
pre–set and usually lower, hourly rate). Your VA's time is 100% productive time
as well -- you don't pay for a second of downtime or break-time.
No muss, no fuss. Just
great support from someone dedicated to your success.
So, how much can I
really expect to pay?
Again, VAs are in private
practice, and they price their services according to their skills, their desire
to do certain kinds of work, their experience, and their reputation. You really
need to speak with a VA, share your ideas and the vision for your success, and
ask what it might cost to have him or her be a part of that.
Generally speaking, however,
you can expect to pay $25 — $70 plus, per hour. It depends on your
needs, and the VA you work with.
Now wait — you said that working
with a VA isn't more expensive than hiring an employee, but I wouldn't pay an
employee $25 per hour!
Not in straight time, perhaps. You're more likely to pay someone with this level
of skills between $17 and $20 per hour if they were sitting in your office.
However, when you add in the cost of administering payroll, your share of
payroll taxes, having to pay certain kinds of insurance like worker's
compensation and extra liability for having someone in your home or place of
business, and the cost of making sure that your location conforms to federal
guidelines such as OSHA, you absolutely *do* pay that much per hour. And the
more skilled and talented a worker, the more their time is worth, and the higher
their fee.
The beauty is this. While
you still have the expense, you have absolutely *none* of the hassle. One check
per month. Simple. Easy. You can get on with the business of living your life on
your terms. Working in partnership with a great VA makes that all possible.
Does A Virtual
Assistance work better for any particular type of person or professional?
The benefits are enormous
to almost anyone who's busy and needs support.
What we've found is that the only people who really aren't in a good position to
work with a VA are:
-
People who aren't online and who can't understand why
this would work;
-
People who live in the urgent:
If everything you do is
last minute, if your style is to procrastinate and then rush to deadline, if
you're not organized and centered, if you're in a high-pressure field where
things run you instead of the other way around, if you want someone at your beck
and call, you probably need an in-person employee, not a VA;
-
People who don't understand the power created in a
relationship with a fantastic assistant;
-
People who aren't open to learning new ways of working
and communicating;
-
People who aren't billing their own time at
considerably more than $25/hour.
If you aren't, paying a VA
could create a hardship for you. But if you are billing at a much higher rate,
or if you work on commission and your time is valued in large chunks of cash
earned that way, then every hour you spend doing work that takes you off course,
is work for which you are paying yourself, in essence, at YOUR HOURLY FEE. It
doesn't take a lot to see the smarts behind paying someone to handle
administrative work so that you can be out earning more and more!
-
People who can't shift to seeing a VA as an equal.
If you're stuck in the
traditional boss/assistant paradigm, or if you need to be the boss, you need an
employee, not a VA.
What can a virtual assistant do?
·
Research for
potential clients or customers
·
Call contractors
(printers, office supplies, other) to get quotes for you, pass those quotes on
to you for approval, set up the contractor and baby sit him or
her for you until the job is done.
·
Screen clients
or customers for motivation or to be sure they're qualified to work with your
company
·
Process mailings
to potential clients or customers
·
Perform outbound
telemarketing calls seeking clients or customers
·
Enter your leads
into your CRM program
·
Set/cancel
appointments
·
Work with Excel
spreadsheets
·
Work with MS
Word
·
Answer incoming
calls for you
·
Return phone
calls
·
Type and send
letters or contracts
·
Make travel
arrangements
·
Call for quotes
·
Schedule your
car for service
·
Order services
on your behalf
AND MORE!
Many assistants are Jack's
or Jill's of all trades, some are more specialized, but some of the tasks a
virtual can do are: Accounting, Bookkeeping, Human resources, Concierge
services, Collections, Sales, Marketing, Travel arrangements, Research, Word
processing, Appointment setting, Meeting arrangements, Event planning, Letter
preparation, Transcription, Reports, Proof reading, Manuals, Newsletters,
Flyers, Mailings, Data entry, Data processing, Document scanning, E-mail
processing, Answering phone calls, Procedure documentation, Customer support,
Copyrighting, Web design
VAs are typically a very intelligent bunch. Many are college-educated
and even more have countless years of solid business experience to draw on. This
comes in very handy when you're looking for ideas.
How can a virtual assistant help me
make more money in my business? How are other professionals using virtual
assistants?
Perhaps the most important
thing a VA can do is relieve you of the mundane, time-consuming tasks that keep
you from selling. As a business professional, your time needs to be spent out on
the streets or on the phones and in front of clients, not with your head tucked
in a filing cabinet. VAs can also be your telemarketer, can do follow up calls
after post cards or letters have been sent (which by the way, they can also mail
those post cards or letters for you). Follow up calls and outbound cold calling
are essential in any business to keep touching new potential clients -- your VA can also do the cold calling for you. Give them a simple script,
tell them what you want done with the good leads, and unleash them on your
prospect list! If the prospect appears to be a good lead, ask them to gather as
much information for you as they can and send the good leads back to you for
follow through.
Your assistant can also take your inbound calls for you. I do not
recommend using a company which utilizes a bank of people answering phones. Each
and every client should be treated as the individual that they are. Each client,
regardless of how big or small should be assigned just one admin. This admin is
then able to get to know your clients/customers, your business, and how you like
your work performed. That's how the personal touch and true human element stays
intact. Sending your callers to a bank of phone operators generally doesn't
foster that kind of relationship or human contact. Answering your inbound calls
for you is as easy as forwarding your existing business line to your admin.
A virtual assistant can save you money because
you don't need to rent office
space to accommodate him or her, you don't need to buy a computer or desk for
them
to work at, he or she is an independent contractor so you don't need to pay FICA,
health insurance, vacation time, Social Security, or other taxes and benefits.
A virtual assistant can help you make more money
by also acting as your
marketing assistant. He or she can take inbound customer calls or make outbound
telemarketing calls. He or she can search for leads so you only have to follow up
with the hot ones.
How can hiring a virtual assistant benefit me
and my business?
As a business professional,
you need to constantly have new leads flowing you're your sales pipeline. A
virtual assistant can help you find those leads, help you qualify them, and
basically act as an extension of you. This keeps you out there selling and can
ensure a constant flow of new leads. VAs work best when plugged into your
current marketing system. If you're doing marketing campaigns that already work
well, but need to do more of it to keep the leads coming, task portions (or all)
of that out to your VA. Let him or her do the prep work so-to-speak and free you
up for the more critical activities like closing the sale.
They're the savviest of the savvy when it comes to operating on a low
budget and using technology to their advantage. Their cost consciousness should
extend to your business expenses as well.
Most are equipped with the latest software (and
lots of it), multiple phone lines, Internet, e-mail, fax machine, cellular
phone, copy machines, scanners, and a great attitude. Many even come with a cat
or dog! He or she should use all of the latest technology to communicate with
you and get your work done as quickly as possible. Hiring a VA that already comes with all
of the best software saves you hundreds of dollars by not having to purchase all
of that software yourself.
A virtual should only "clock in" when they're on your project. This means
you don't pay for his or her time playing solitaire on the computer or while
they're
waiting for the next assignment. A virtual assistant can free your time to do
what you're good at and what's important to your company. Whether that's making
sales, following up on leads, attending speaking events, or doing the other
meaty tasks your business requires.
How can I trust a
person I've never met in person, and never will, to keep my leads and my
business confidential?
VA's are
as concerned with your business success as they are with their own. In fact,
their success depends on your success. So, a VA can become one of the best
assistants and business partners you've ever had. Just like you, they are
business owners and very interested in helping their clients.
It's also a good idea to get your VA or the
company providing the VA under strict confidentiality agreement. Make sure the broker thoroughly
screens all of their contractors to ensure the best quality. Ask if they have
tested for flexibility, trustworthiness, reliability, candidness, assertiveness,
and whether or not they have a helping disposition. Ask the agency or broker if
they stand behind their contractors. If a bad one slips through and doesn't work
out, will they replace that person immediately? You should expect similar from
any staffing agency you work with -- and get it in writing.
How do I train my virtual assistant to do
what I want?
Training
a virtual assistant should be no different than training an in-person assistant.
Use the latest technologies that everyone has access to in order to facilitate
training. Communicate your needs via telephone, instant messenger, and by
emailing documents for review.
Ask your potential virtual or the virtual staffing agency supplying the
virtual if there is a free training period. I highly recommend asking for at
least two hours free time for training. Assistants do occasionally leave (or not
work out), you shouldn't have to pay to retrain a new assistant each time this
happens.
How do I ensure quality with my virtual
assistant?
The best
approach, if you're hiring on your own, is to get a complete history of the
virtual before hiring. While this isn't always foolproof, it does help.
Next, require the VA to send you a daily reporting of what is accomplished
and how many hours was logged. I recommend asking for this report in a simple
end-of-the-day email. Then you always know the status of your tasks and what
you're spending.
Carefully review everything your assistant
returns to you completed until you've developed a comfort level with their work.
Correct mistakes quickly and immediately when they happen. No one can
learn to do things differently if they're not told that they made a mistake.
When you catch an error, notify your assistant and tell him or her how to
correct it. Don't offer to correct the mistake for them but ask them to fix it and send it
back to you.
What
does it cost to have a virtual assistant?
A VA
is far more cost effective than a regular employee. You may pay more per hour
than a regular employee, but leave out the FICA, state unemployment taxes,
Social Security, health insurance, vacation time, sick time, 401(k), profit
sharing, Christmas bonus, holiday pay, and other benefits you need to offer a
regular employee, and a VA's wage comes out far lower than that of a
regular employee.
We recently tabulated the cost of hiring an in-house assistant for the
average business. It breaks down like this:
Cost (based on 1,960 productive hrs/yr) Item
$13.00/hour Employee wage
$ .53/hour Two weeks of vacation time
$ .27/hour One week sick time
$ .48/hour Health insurance
$ .99/hour FICA (7.65% of wages)
$ .42/hour Unemployment insurance (3.25%)
$ .77/hour Desk, chair, computer, supplies
$ .32/hour Holiday pay
$ .06/hour Placing a help wanted ad in the paper
$ .10/hour Your time spent interviewing candidates
$ .03/hour Profile test
$ .08/hour Payroll processing
$ 3.06/hour Office rent (based on $500/month rent)
$20.11/hour Total cost
Your $13/hour employee just became a $20/hour employee plus you have
greater liabilities and you still have to manage her and replace her if she
doesn't work out, thus go through that whole process again.
A virtual assistant should be set up as an independent contractor
and never
as an employee. You don't want to be held liable later on for their office not
being ergonomically friendly or for them developing carpletunnel syndrome. Hiring the virtual as an independent contractor is
also what gets you out of paying all the taxes, health insurance, and so on.
A VA can save money in other areas as well. How much does it cost you
to maintain office footage, a computer, a phone line or two, a refrigerator, a
microwave, a desk, electricity, heat, air conditioning, and parking for your
regular employees? With a VA, you don't need any of those things - he or
she supplies his or her own.
The fee for a VA usually depends upon the area of the country where
he or she is located and their areas of expertise. VAs charge between $25
and $75 per hour. But, you only pay for the time he or she actually spends
working on your tasks. Others still may agree to a flat fee based upon
individual project requirements.
Either
way, you come out ahead.
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