Using a virtual assistant can reduce your work time (Get Economical Virtual Assistance Services), but it can be challenging to determine which tasks to delegate for those just starting or growing their business. Many virtual assistants are contractors or freelancers who work from home and focus on administrative tasks, such as executive assistants or secretarial work. Websites that are specialized in contract work, such as odesk.com and elance.com, list a plethora of virtual assistants.
According to Jaleh Bisharat, vice president of marketing at oDesk.com, the more virtual assistants there are, the more professional they become, making it easier to find the right person for your organization. Entrepreneurs can also use these virtual assistants in order to do everything from calling vendors or customer service to sending thank you cards to their potential customers. Just like with full-time employees, it’s essential to build a relationship of trust.” They become team players who happen to work remotely,” says Bisharat. Not sure where to start? Here are ten ways you can use a virtual assistant to improve your business. (Get economical Virtual Assistance Services)
Bookkeeping | Virtual Assistance Services
Keeping track of invoices and other bookkeeping tasks is one of the easiest things to hand off to a virtual assistant, says Kathy Colaiacovo, director of marketing for the Henderson, Nevada-based International Association of Virtual Assistants. Mr. Colaiacovo added, You need to hand over some control, such as passwords and access to accounts. Most of the small businesses choose to share their bookkeeping systems with various virtual assistants so that they can follow up on tasks such as unpaid bills and unpaid invoices.
Online research | Online Research VA Services
You can easily hand over your Internet research to a virtual assistant. Sue Kramer-Harwood, president of Peace of Mind Virtual Assistance, which provides virtual assistants services to companies, said common requests include:
- Looking up information on company Websites.
- Researching new products.
- Reviewing potential employees or business contacts.
He cites Be sure to send clear instructions, along with a username and password, so your assistant can access specialized search tools and paid sites. Tristen O’Brien, an eBay marketing specialist in Westfield, Indiana, has assistants who help her find topics for her blog and proofread her blog about eBay sales [link: www.the ebay entrepreneur. com]. She looks up what is trending and precisely reports back to me, O’Brien says.
Enter the database | Database management Services
Kramer-Harwood says you can also reduce multiple mistakes by being specific about your expectations and making sure your virtual assistant has done all these types of work before. For business owners, follow-up is a big deal. In addition, sometimes a customer will fax or scan a business card to us and (the virtual assistant) will plug it into the database.”
Data presentation
Converting raw data into an easy-to-understand PowerPoint presentation or compiling research into a Word document can significantly reduce the time spent preparing for meetings, says eLance.com, a freelance work site based in Mountain View, Calif. says Rich Pearson, chief marketing officer for eLance.com, a freelance website based in Mountain View, Calif uses a virtual assistant. The data is returned to them in a format they can share,” he says.
Manage email
Some virtual assistants filter out the most important emails and reply to the rest for you to avoid wasting time in your inbox, says Colaiacovo. This email management is easy to do remotely, but to reduce the risk of errors, you should instruct your assistants on how to pick out the most important emails and ask them to copy them before sending a reply. (Cheap Virtual Assistance Services)
Social tasks
Virtual assistants can also do tasks such as writing holiday cards as well as sending thank-you notes very well. In addition, Bisharat notes that social chores have become a prevalent task. Such studies can be draining for managers, she says, but a good virtual assistant can do it all for you.
Travel Research
According to Pearson, virtual assistants are a valuable resource for finding hotels, booking flights, and creating itineraries, whether for business or travel. These assistants can take advantage of the growing number of travel research tools and review sites on the Web. They can also help you book by phone and navigate time zones while researching international travel options.
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