Once upon a time, you had a desk. Now you have paper. Lots of paper. You're pretty sure there's still a desk below the towering piles of paper, but it's hard to tell. You also vaguely recall owning a desk calendar, which would have been nice to have before you forgot about your scheduled meeting with a potential client this morning. An apology email would probably help remedy the situation...if you could remember where you put his contact information. Oh no. Emails. You were supposed to respond to several of those earlier today.
Sound like a typical day in your life? It shouldn't. Everybody has days where nothing seems to go right, but if you just can't seem to get organized, you may need a little help. Running a successful business is hard work, and you don't have to do it alone.
Not ready to admit that you might need a virtual assistant (VA) just yet? Here are some warning signs:
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You aren't responding to emails in a timely manner. The 2010 Customer Experience Report for North America found that 55% of customers will stop doing business with a company if the company fails to resolve issues in a timely manner. 85% of customers are willing to pay more for exceptional customer service.
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Your schedule is a mess. Forgetting about scheduled meetings and losing contact information makes you look unreliable and can damage important relationships. Using a VA to organize your schedule will keep you running on time—and take a load off your mind.
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Your day is spent doing logistics. If you find yourself constantly sending emails and making phone calls to organize meetings and other events, you can reduce your time spent by putting a VA to work. You'll still have to provide your personal touch to the process, but the tedium will be off your plate.
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Research prevents you from doing creative work. For many professional, their “secret sauce” is their creativity. Unfortunately, researching facts, figures and statistics can consume the bulk of their time. Fortunately, this is something a good VA can easily handle. Just set them up with all the information they need, and get back to what you do best.
Unplug the coffee maker and put your stress ball away. An efficient virtual assistant can help you stay organized without ever setting foot in your office. Virtual assistants contact customers, check emails, order supplies, and schedule meetings. Some VAs are also skilled in accounting, web design, and writing web content. After you tell your assistant what you need, you'll be free to focus on more important things. Like your customers.
