Are you ready to hire a Virtual Assistant?
You know that the time has come to delegate some of the tasks. Handing over some of the jobs to a Virtual Assistant can free up your time and give you the extra support you need, instead of trying to do it all yourself.
How do you start to bring a Virtual assistant on board?
If you are beginning to feel you are getting close to needing help but are not quite ready yet what steps could you be putting into place to start that process?
Get Clear on what you can outsource
Where are you spending your time that isn’t productive? How do you spend your working hours?
Note down all the tasks you complete each day, each month, and even though those annual tasks.
Think general, not specific at this stage:
- responding to client enquiries and emails
- research for marketing
- following up new leads and updating your CRM database
- sending your newsletter
- social media content
- booking appointments – restaurants, hotels, taxis, car servicing
- holding meetings
There will be some tasks you like doing and where your expertise is needed but what about the ones that are not generating income or the ones that you really don’t like to do?
Perhaps there are even tasks someone else could do better than you in less time!
Next prioritise the list – are there regular deadlines or essential tasks that use up your time that are high on the agenda to delegate?
Are there parts of a process that you could outsource to help you make better use of your time?
What’s the Why?
What are you looking to achieve by outsourcing? Maybe that’s more family time, maybe it’s Friday’s off, maybe it’s flexibility or just get more done to generate more income.
Are the tasks you are doing taking you towards your goals or keeping you treading water not making any progress? Being clear on why you want to outsource can help a VA identify areas why they can offer support to you.
Outline your workflows
Whilst a Virtual Assistant can give you help to put new systems in place, having some of your regular workflow processes in place beforehand can really help when starting to outsource.
Keep a record of your social media links, note your processes for taking and recording orders, the detail needed for estimates and invoices or where you record your customer contact details.
You can make simple Standing Operating Procedures (SOPs) by creating a Word or Google document with a numbered list of steps to follow to complete a specific task, such as the SOP for “How to publish a blog post on MyCompany website”.
Knowing your workflows can help the handover of tasks a smoother process and a VA can help develop these and maybe even introduce new ones.
Think about specific procedures that you want your VA to follow for certain tasks – mapping out your thread from beginning to end of a task can help you see the parts that only you can do, and what elements you could hand over to a Virtual Assistant.
Check out our delegation tips
Budget for a VA
Using a Virtual Assistant is often a flexible cost-effective way of bringing in help, when and as you need it. What is freeing up your time worth – can you spend the time are higher income-producing tasks or stop working every evening?
Read more on the Cost of hiring a Virtual Assistant
Who is a good fit for you?
VA’s come in all shapes and personalities. Depending on the skills you need them to have and the personality types you enjoy working with, you may need to try a few before you find the right person for you.
Do you need someone outgoing and confident on the phone to make calls on your behalf, or to have commercial awareness so you can bounce ideas off? Will you want someone task-driven where you hand over set projects or someone who is happy to have a freer rein and support you in a more as-needed way?
Apps and Tools ready to go.
You may already have tools, apps, and resources that you use frequently. Check you know the login details for the social media platforms, software, and apps you need to grant access to. Many accounts will require two-step verification the first time your VA accesses them, so be prepared to help your VA through this when the time comes.
There could be better ways of working, new tech you haven’t tried– your virtual assistant may well have used great apps with other clients and could make recommendations.
There will be a learning curve at the start of working with a Virtual Assistant but if you put some preparation time in, you should be up and running and shortening your to-do list in no time.
If you want to find out more about how you could be ready to outsource arrange a free discovery call.