How a Virtual Assistant Can Become an Integral Member of Your Team
Start-ups are increasingly relying on a special class of professionals known as virtual assistants.
If you are the founder of a startup or are working at one, you would be aware of this trend.
Virtual Assistants are, no doubt, a blessing for overworked start-up founders. They can help you in prioritizing your tasks and take a lot of your burden off your shoulders.
However, many startups still don’t realize the full potential of a VA. They think of VAs as special task-takers when they can be so much more.
VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS CAN ACTUALLY BECOME A PART OF YOUR CORE TEAM IF YOU UTILIZE THEM PROPERLY.
SCHEDULE PLANNING
Your VA can set up appointments with existing as well as potential clients for you. She/he can manage your company’s calendar, by setting up tasks to be accomplished, targets to be achieved and deadlines to be met.
They can also transcribe everything from voicemails to podcasts to save you some effort.Not only do VAs plan a schedule for your company but they also act as personal assistants.
They allow you to have a healthy work-life balance. VAs can free up a lot of your time by paying attention to details so that you have time left on your hands to lead your company forward.
SECURING MORE CLIENTS
Versatile VAs generate and follow-up new leads. They think of the company as their own and help in securing more clients using various promotional measures.
Your VA can bring in new clients and contribute to the growth of your company if he/she is motivated and driven.
DATABASE MAINTENANCE
An active VA efficiently manages to maintain a database of your company’s employees and its financial records. They also maintain backups to prevent loss of data.
They ensure that the information they have is accurate and secure. VAs can also help in the payroll distribution.
A precise VA will ensure that there are no anomalies in the bookkeeping matters of your company, saving you and your team members a lot of stress and headache, not to mention fatal lawsuits.
CORPORATE LIAISON
A virtual assistant can act as a connecting link between you and other members of your team or between two different departments of your company.
In the chaotic start-up environment, often, important messages are not conveyed to the relevant person.
A virtual assistant can prevent such situations by making sure that all important messages are relayed to the concerned people.
EMAIL MANAGEMENT
Perhaps the most dreaded task in everyone’s routine, checking the inbox and replying to countless emails can be made easy with the help of a virtual assistant.
VAs can sort everything into files and folders to make your inbox more organized. They can also set-up auto-responders for similar emails. They can respond to customer queries as well.
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
VAs can work to increase the visibility of your enterprise on social media. They can create interesting and engaging content for online platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
They can even take over the responsibility of replying to comments on company-related posts. In this manner, VAs can help to build a stronger network for your company.
CONCLUSION
To sum it up, if you haven’t hired a VA yet, it’s time to do so now. Not only do VAs solve problems but they also find better and simpler ways to solve them.
You must aim to build a long-term relationship with your VA. Build trust. Give them time to adapt.
The more effort you invest in your VA, the greater will be your returns- both personal as well as professional.
