5 Things to Know About WordPress Blogging With a Virtual Assistant
Don’t have enough time to handle the intricacies of WordPress blogging?
Blogging is a great way to attract new customers to your site and to keep your existing ones interested, too. However, it’s not as simple as typing away your thoughts and sharing your expertise.
It’s not something you can do on a whim; you need to be consistent in churning out content after content. You can’t, however, spend all your time doing this.
A virtual assistant is a great solution to your blogging problems. Here are five ways a virtual assistant can help you streamline the blogging process:
1. Content Planning and Management
You can spend time writing the content yourself or delegate the task. Either way, a virtual assistant will help you stay organized and take some of the tedious work from you.
Regular blog publishing can result in a significant increase in page visitors. A virtual assistant (VA) can help you with the following:
create editorial calendars to keep track of your posting schedule
assist in content planning
organize topics, giving priority to content your target customers want
This way, you won’t have to worry about having a day where you missed uploading content to your blog. It’s a good way to stay consistent for your readers.
2. Technical Assistance
The WordPress platform releases regular updates to keep sites secure. Even themes and plugins must be up to date. Spending time to do these technical aspects can place overhead on your time.
A virtual assistant can help you upgrade these components. They can even delete obsolete plugins that are slowing down your site.
Your VA can perform regular backups for your entire site. In case of unforeseen events, you’ll be able to restore from the latest backup. This will also result in increased uptime for your site.
3. Marketing Solution and Implementation
A virtual assistant can also help with market your blog. They can do so through different means, but social media is often the best. This is because there are at least 3.5 billion people on social media at any given moment.
They’ll help by promoting your blogs to the right people or groups. This way, you can generate more traffic to your blog site.
4. Blog Interaction
When they love your content, readers usually leave notes on your post. Reader interaction is essential to help build loyal followers and potential clients.
However, as your content grows, it can become harder to respond to all these comments. Your VA can help you stay connected with your readers by handling this task.
5. Search Engine Optimization
Making your blog content stand out on social media platforms is not enough. You also need to make your posts visible in search engines.
Getting your articles to rank on page one will yield a lot of organic traffic. Specific techniques can optimize your content so that it will rank higher.
Finding a qualified VA that can help you with this ensures the longevity of your blog. They can help by researching keywords for you to implement into your content. You can also have them optimize on-site page elements, increasing your organic search rate.
Improve Your WordPress Blogging with a Virtual Assistant
A highly-qualified virtual assistant can be effective in boosting your online presence. You’ll be able to grow your business faster without burnout. Improve your WordPress blogging with the help of a virtual assistant service today!
Do you want to hire a virtual assistant that can perform all these tasks? Contact us and we’ll help you find the VA that’s perfect for you.
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It’s safe to say that a lot of professionals would love to have a personal assistant. Having someone you personally employ, there to make sure your day-to-day runs as smoothly as possible sounds like a dream. But not everyone knows just how attainable, and truly helpful, having your own personal assistant really is. They often get caught up in a couple of reasons why they think they shouldn’t, or can’t hire an assistant. Well, this here is a short and to the point breakdown of why you should, and how you can, hire your very own virtual personal assistant. The keyword there being “virtual”.
There are two big reasons why hiring a virtual assistant to be your personal assistant is an absolute no-brainer…
Cheaper.
Reliable.
Of course, there are many reasons why a VA(virtual assistant) makes the perfect PA(personal assistant). In fact, we’ve covered that in previous articles that went more in-depth. But to boil it all down to the most important and undeniable facts, you’d end up with the cost and the reliability. Over the years, our customers have reported up to 70% in savings by hiring a VA compared to if they had hired a traditional, local employee. This is because a majority of the financial responsibilities associated with hiring an employee fall on us, being as our VA’s are still technically our employees. You just pay a flat rate monthly, per assistant. We handle PTO, insurance, benefits, etc.
Then there is the reliability factor. We only hire true professionals, who bring their own experience and skills. We test their knowledge and then categorize them based on industry/skillset. Meaning we always have the right person for the right job. Someone who will join your team with the necessary tools to understand what you need and hit the ground running. That’s not to say you don’t have to train them though, of course. As with any new hire, you’ll need to give them a rundown of what you do and what you expect them to do. So you can expect some time at the start spent getting them up to speed and established in your new processes. But the offset here is you didn’t have to waste time posting, searching, interviewing, and evaluating candidates. You just came to us, and we gave you what you needed.
Pro-Tip from Daniel Ramsey
“When you onboard a virtual assistant to be your personal assistant, obviously you’re going to train them on their duties right away. But I suggest you run them through the same training again, 6 months later. By then they’ll have a better understanding of not just how to do it all, but why they’re doing it. What they’re doing effects, what it means and to who. This will serve to strengthen their performance, increase productivity, and you’ll notice the improvement. Do it again after a year and see the difference.”
The How
So you may be wondering how a personal assistant can be so valuable, then they’re remote. It’s quite simple, being as the professional world is becoming increasingly remote these days. More and more offices are embracing remote or at least hybrid work models, as systems and technologies evolve to support that culture. On top of that, most of the things you really need a truly professional personal assistant for can be done online anyways. Digital applications like Google Suite, and OneNote are the most popular around our offices. Not only are they free, but they can be catered to fit just about any organizational need. Here are just a couple tips from Daniel on how to get super organized and efficient with both Gmail and OneNote…
“My personal process is I have my virtual assistant keeping track of all activity in my inbox. They record where every email comes from; is it a client with a concern, a potential business relation, or something high level that I need to personally respond to. They will start writing the reply for me, after categorizing and assessing what’s most appropriate. Then they keep it saved under my Drafts. When I log in the first thing I do is go to the Drafts, and go down the list. Review everything my assistant prepared for me, make edits as needed, and send off. This saves me so much time.”
OneNote
“Context has to be given when you have a personal assistant. The better understanding they have of what’s going on, and where it falls in your ongoing hierarchy, the better they can work for you. I love OneNote because of how organized it makes all of this for us. I have five categories that fit all of my needs. “
Agenda: The preparation for a meeting.
Projects: Something we’re actively working on.
Someday: Anything not pressing that you’ll get to… someday.
Waiting For: Things you’re waiting for someone else on before you can progress with it.
Archive: What’s done is done, archive it.
I hope this little advice piece is enough to help you consider utilizing a virtual assistant as your personal assistant. Because it’s not about what you have to do, it’s about what you won’t have to do anymore. Hiring a remote working personal assistant is fast becoming the norm, and we’d hate to see any serious professional get left behind. Save money and save time, when you hire a virtual assistant like ours. If you have more questions, or just want to hear even more details about how this can work for you… follow the link below. We’ll do a FREE one-on-one consultation with you, and see how we can get you started.
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If you could sit down with someone you really admire and interview them about whatever you wanted, how do you think it’d go? Would it flow like a casual conversation between two friends? Or would it be fast-moving and direct, with a series of specific questions? What would you hope to walk away having learned, after this interview? These are things you should be considering before you try to pick the brain of someone you look up to, or they may end up looking down on you. Talking to someone whom you hope to learn from isn’t as simple as just reading off a list of questions; there is actually a professional way to go about it that will benefit not only you but that expert you’re trying to learn from. Andrew Warner is an accomplished entrepreneur who wants to give other entrepreneurs something he wished he had years ago; an easy way of talking to each other. Because when you’re building something yourself, few things are more valuable than talking to someone else who already built something successful. And why stop here? Talk to several people who did what you’re trying to do, because different success stories have different beginnings.
In this podcast our CEO Daniel Ramsey sat down with the highly successful Andrew Warner, to talk about the art of, well, talking! And to plug his amazing new book, Stop Asking Questions, which drops on October 18. Watch above, or read the breakdown below…
Andrew Warner got his big break when he founded a successful electronic greeting card company which he later sold for millions. After doing so, he learned a valuable lesson that is worth passing on here: don’t be afraid to take a break. The entire experience of managing an exit from a successful business completely wore Andrew out. He had been operating at 100% around the clock, constantly in that mindset of “the hustle never sleeps”. They say if a shark stops swimming it dies; he was in the mindset of some kind of entrepreneur great white! But that isn’t the way. Taking time to yourself, to reflect and grow outside of the daily grind is incredibly important. So after closing that sale he finally had the opportunity to step away. Andrew took the time to ride his bike all over, read more, and travel. He came back from this time-off refreshed, energized, and with a whole new idea. An idea for something he wished he had back when he was getting his start.
“Life is full of moments that have more value than we can imagine.”
Knowing =/= Doing
Enter his new venture, Mixergy. A platform he started in 2004, specifically for entrepreneurs to get together with other entrepreneurs and help each other. The business had its ups and downs, it wasn’t an overnight success. But it found its footing eventually, ironically with a bit of helpful advice from a fellow entrepreneur. Today it’s a place for successful entrepreneurs to teach other ambitious upstarts. They do remote interviews, podcasts, and even teach courses. It’s a stark contrast from those entrepreneur coaches that often leave a lot to be desired. Andrew recalls paying one of those business coaches for lessons in how to grow a million-dollar business. He didn’t find it as helpful as he’d hoped, largely in part because this coach had never made a million-dollar business themself! How can you teach how to do something that you’ve never done yourself? If you wanted to learn how to rock climb, would you pay someone to teach you if all they’d ever done was learn about it on YouTube? Heck no. The future of your business is no different from climbing that mountain, so don’t trust it to someone who’s never even gone hiking.
Come Prepared
Another interview tip Andrew mentioned, was actually something he noticed Daniel was already doing himself! And that is being prepared, with a clear direction and goal for your interview. This doesn’t simply mean having your questions written out in a list. While that helps, if you rely on that too much then the interview starts to feel mechanical. This leads to people feeling bored, and might be less forthcoming and natural with their discussions. It’s good to know what you’re going to ask, but you should also know how you’re going to ask it. You sound needy and come across as whiney if you keep pestering your mentor with questions. For example, instead of “How can I grow my sales team?”, reword that to something like “How did you grow such a successful sales team?”. You’ll get virtually the same answer, except it’ll probably be even more informative and helpful. A simple rephrasing can go a long way towards getting the answer you need, not the answer you think you want. It should be clear from the start what you hope to accomplish from this talk. Where is this conversation going? What are we teaching each other and possibly others with this discussion? Who benefits from this and why? If the conversation feels aimless, or robotic, you’re not gonna have a good time. Motivate this person to want to engage with you and give you the answers and content you want. An entrepreneur who’s hustled their way to the top of their respective business doesn’t want to sit and answer 21 questions to give some other entrepreneur a shortcut. Give them that “motivated moment”. They have to have a reason to want to be there, answering your questions and talking it out with you.
Pro Tips for Pros
There you have it! Pro tips from actual pros. We hope this advice anyone out there, entrepreneur to otherwise. Sitting down and talking to someone in a professional capacity is something almost everyone has to do at some point. Be it an interview for a job, a podcast, business research, etc. No matter the case, these tips should prove beneficial to all. We at MyOutDesk love opportunities like this, to talk to other experienced professionals and learn from them. And in some cases just simply validate what we already know! We pass this knowledge onto our followers, our customers, and even our own employees. Because offering a wide variety of virtual assistants means having a wide variety of skill sets and knowledge. If a company wanted to hire a virtual assistant to help them conduct interviews of any kind, these very lessons would be common knowledge to any VA we provided them. If you’d like to talk more with us about how virtual assistants fit into this, and how they could benefit your own business, follow the link below. We’ll schedule a FREE one-on-one consultation whenever is convenient for you. Thanks for reading!
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There are so many Real Estate apps out there and some of them can be expensive. How do you know which ones are essential? How do you choose those that will be helpful for your business and your remote team? We’ve put together this list of free and affordable Real Estate apps to help in your research. Let’s dive in!
Trello is one of the most popular projects management tools for real estate for many reasons. It has a free version which would be adequate for most teams but for bigger teams, it has upgraded tools that can scale with any size. Philadelphia Realtor, Jennifer Geddes, uses Trello to streamline her transactions. You customize your Trello board to fit your business processes and gives everyone on your team the ability to see where the project is at and what needs to be done next. She talks about it here:
With over 30,000 customers in 91 countries, HubSpot is one of the most widely used free CRMs real estate apps and sales tools on the planet. The best part? It’s FREE. HubSpot is a CRM that also offers marketing and sales tools. Furthermore, with the free version of HubSpot’s software, it offers contact management, deal and task pipelines, email scheduling, email templates, and more. Hubspot reported a 100% traffic increase in the first three months for Rever.VN.
Custom checklists that keep you (and your team) on track. Elegant calendars to keep your clients informed and engaged. All in one central place. A starter account is free! Realtors usually go for Clozio to stay organized. Additionally, it allows you to keep clients on the same page for all the dates and to-dos that come along with a typical real estate transaction.
Broker Assist is the on-demand agent-to-agent referral network real estate app and collaborative marketplace for real estate professionals. BrokerAssist connects agents and brokers in real-time on their outbound referrals and notifies them of inbound referral opportunities in their area. As well, BrokerAssist offers a marketplace solution for agents and brokers to collaborate on fractional assistance for deal-specific tasks (showings, open houses, inspections, etc). Broker assist is Free to sign up, free to request & assist, free referral networking.
Spacio helps you maximize open house lead generation opportunities and increase ROI by automating lead capture for 100% follow-up. Make the best first impression at your open house by inviting visitors to check-in by filling out Spacio’s professional and elegant digital sign-in form. Accurately collect visitor information and automatically send follow-up emails after your open house ends. No more unreadable handwriting no more lost leads. Spacio offers a 30-day free trial and offers affordable packages for as low as $25 a month depending on your needs.
Propertybase is a powerful website builder website / CRM combo for advanced lead generation and nurture. Its well-equipped CRM does pretty much everything a Realtor could need from managing projects, opportunities, and contacts. It makes lead and pipeline management easy with a customizable lead scoring platform. You can request a demo and decide how you want to proceed after that.
Folio attaches to your Gmail account and automatically organizes transactions, documents, and deal timelines. This gives you the ability to share with your clients. You can also sync calendars, set reminders, and even loop in service providers to make sure everyone is on the same page. It automatically detects a real estate professional’s transactions and organizes them in real-time into Smart Folders. Sign-up is free.
Zillow Premier Agent offers a surprisingly robust free CRM real estate app that lets you import leads from Boomtown! or Realtor.com through Gmail. You can set up tasks, reminders, texts, and emails like any good CRM. Additionally, it also gives you a granular look at what your leads are searching for on Zillow in detail if you sign up for their My Agent program that makes you the only buyer’s agent your leads see on Zillow.
Pro Agent Solutions is a real estate app that works with you to help automatically reach out to realtors who have shown your listings. Additionally, it can get relevant timely feedback from them that you can read and pass on to your clients. You can also have Pro Agent Solutions send it along for you. If you use Supra or another electronic lockbox service, you can link your account, further automating the feedback solicitation process. Lastly, with a 30-day free trial, this is a tool that everyone should check out and see if it is worth the cost, which ranges from $3 to $50 monthly a month (paid annually).
CONCLUSION
Working from home can make you feel isolated or like you can’t get everything that you needed to be done. Luckily, with the help of these apps and all the amazing online tools that are available. Thankfully, you are now given the ability to stay on top of all the things you need to do remotely, on your smartphone. In conclusion, now all you have to do is choose whether to completely handle these apps yourself or delegate them to your team, or a combination of both.
Now you have the technology, what about people to manage them?
MyOutDesk is the leading provider of virtual assistants in real estate, generating massive GCI while cutting costs. We have white-glove service and an astringently vetted talent pool. Our virtual assistants can manage your real estate apps, keep you up to date, and research upcoming technology that can give you a competitive edge in the market.
It costs up to 70% less than a traditional employee, yes you heard that right. Realtors can access IPC and GPDR compliant productivity tracking software through the MyOutDesk Client Portal with MyTimeIn timesheets. MyOutDesk Virtual Assistants have professional experience in sales, marketing, transaction coordination, operations, general administrative management, and more.
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MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment costs
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Working with a professionally vetted virtual assistant from MyOutDesk is one of the easiest things a growing business can try. But did you know that the Microsoft Team app can make working with a remote virtual assistant even easier? Learn 5 tips for getting the most out of MS Teams and your VA!
5 Tips for Using the Microsoft Team App With a Virtual Assistant
Microsoft Teams has been around for several years but the rise in remote work due to the COVID pandemic drove major growth. The number of active users increased by 50 percent from April 2020 to October 2020.
Because of Teams’ popularity, Microsoft is constantly adding new features, making the Microsoft Team app a perfect solution for working with a virtual assistant.
Let’s look at 5 tips for getting the most out of Teams.
1. Use the Whole Office 365 Suite
If you’re not already using all of the apps available in Microsoft’s Office 365 suite, consider switching from whatever platform you’re currently on.
Teams works better with Microsoft’s own applications than any other office suite, giving you a much stronger integration between your documents and communication.
2. Use Microsoft Team App Integrations With Other Tools
While Teams integrates tightly with Office 365, that doesn’t mean you can only use it with Microsoft applications.
Microsoft provides a large selection of apps for MS Teams that integrate with other services. You can connect Teams to tools like Trello for project management or Twitter for customer service, for example.
3. Treat Teams Meetings the Way You Would Treat In-Person Meetings
While Teams can work like a chat tool or email, it’s best not to treat it as a “social” tool. Set expectations for your virtual assistants upfront and treat virtual meetings through Teams the same way you would treat in-person meetings.
Expect people to be on time, to be on camera, to present themselves professionally, and anything else you would expect of an employee working in your office.
4. Take the Time to Learn How to Use Teams Effectively
Learning how to use the Microsoft Team app effectively gives you all kinds of options for working with your VA. It offers a lot of powerful features, not all of which are obvious.
For example, you can use the screen sharing feature in Teams to show your virtual assistant what you want them to do. And if you use the meeting recording feature to create a recording of that session, they’ll have a training video they can refer back to while they’re getting up to speed with your processes.
5. Use Planner to Stay Organized
The Planner feature in MS Teams is a perfect way to break down a project when you’re working with virtual assistant services. You can set up “buckets” which are essentially projects, each with a list of tasks to be completed.
You can assign those tasks to different people, including your virtual assistant, and get notifications as they complete their assigned tasks. You can also chart the project’s progress with the built-in reporting features in Planner.
Build a Stronger Relationship With Your VA Through MS Teams
The Microsoft Team app will help you communicate with your virtual assistant as well as plan and track the progress of any projects they’re working on. This gives you a better picture of your business and helps your VA have a clear idea of your expectations.
If you’re looking for a virtual assistant to help grow your business, MyOutDesk can help. We offer a range of virtual assistant services for businesses of all sizes.
What if you could sit down with a diverse group of experienced real estate professionals, and ask them for advice? Well, we kind of did that for you. Our CEO Daniel Ramsey sat down with a handful of experienced real estate agents and asked them “How do you become more profitable?”, and he got some juicy answers. We’re gonna summarize their tips here, so any agent looking to be more profitable in the RE industry will find this blog not only helpful but easy to digest. Because in this business, time is money. And if you’re here, reading this blog, you’re looking for pro-tips and fast. Today’s market is a wild one, so there is no time to waste and no room for mistakes. Read on to find out what other realtors like yourself value the most.
Your Net Is Not Gross
“Understand what profitability is; it’s not just gross, it’s net.” – Rick Harris
Rick Harris is a long-established and highly successful broker for John L. Scott. He talked about what it means to be profitable, and how it often differs from your typical understanding of the phrase. You may already understand the difference between gross and net, but for those who need a refresher, I’ll elaborate. Gross profit is how much money a company earns from the production of its product or service offered. For example, you could say you made $1 million dollars last year, so that was your gross income. The net income is the profit that remains after all expenses and costs to do business have been subtracted from your revenue. For example, you made that million bucks but you spent about $300k on marketing, software, new hires, and your office lease. So your net was actually $700k. So what Rick is saying, to simplify, is don’t get too focused on that big number you made last quarter, year, etc. Remember to consider how much you spend on everything that got you to that number, then subtract it. That will make your true profitability crystal clear.
“I have the mindset of making a lot of money. You have to figure out what you want in life first, then what’s gonna get you to that.” – Lindsey Broadwell
Lindsey Broadwell is a Michigan native realtor, operating Broadwell Homes with ReMax Nexus. She believes that to be a successful, profitable realtor you should be focusing on what you already do best. After all, that’s probably why inspired you to get into the industry right? So you should take advantage of what you know, what you’re good at, and focus on crushing it there. Delegate the other stuff to someone else, like a virtual assistant. Let a remote professional handle the less glamorous, nitty-gritty stuff. You shouldn’t be bogging yourself trying to master something that you don’t even know works for you, yet. Focus on your strengths, first and always. This also means don’t chase “shiny objects”. Meaning, don’t get caught up trying to keep up with the latest tech or some hip tactic. We often slow ourselves down trying to conform to something that doesn’t fit our existing skillset. We waste time trying to do what the next person is doing when we should be focusing on what drives us already. If you can find a way to try new things, without impacting your existing workflow, then by all means give it a shot. Just don’t let it get in your way before it becomes profitable to you.
Keep Your Affairs in Order
“You know what I think is sexy? Forms, and systems. If you’re getting up every day and doing the same job over again, instead of having some system that works for you, you’re definitely decreasing your profitability.” – Paula Monthofer
Paula Monthofer is a realtor from Arizona, where she owns and operates Realty One Group Mountain Desert. She wasn’t shy about her appreciation for systems that improve organization and productivity. Be it an existing CRM to monitor/track what’s important to you, or a system you created yourself to stay efficient. Being organized is a huge part of what makes a serious realtor profitable. For example, the client intake sheet is of utmost importance to an agent like Paula. Stay on top of who you’re working with, manage your inventory, see what’s happening and what’s not happening, and where you’re at in different stages with different people. Time spent searching for a number, composing the same email you always send or asking someone for a status update is time wasted. Use a CRM to set notifications and reminders, to update everyone involved on what’s due and what’s changed. Another bonus of using different systems for your data and documentation is customization. You should be branding as much as you can, so your future clients and current clients never forget who’s working for them.
It’s Okay To Be Picky
“Success is not who you do business with, but who you do not do business with.” Rick Harris
That quote Rick used may have been around longer than him, but nonetheless, it’s just as relevant now as ever. Too many agents get caught up in trying to “hustle” as much as they humanly can. Reaching out to every single lead personally, hungry for anything and everything. The problem that can arise there, is you waste a lot of time on people who aren’t worth it. Don’t forget, not all leads are created equal! If Rick gets a text from a prospective client and he calls them back and they don’t answer, he’s done. Next! This might seem cutthroat or like it’s missing opportunities, but he doesn’t see it that way. “Some clients take up too much time, money, and energy. Sometimes being profitable means not working with a client,” said Paula, who seemed to agree with Rick. As you become more successful, you gain the luxury of choosing who you work with. If someone is dragging their feet, being difficult, not communicating in a timely manner, etc; cut them loose. Focus on someone who isn’t doing those things. Better yet, move that cold-lead to a virtual assistant to handle. Let them bug that client with texts, emails, and calls until they’re ready to make a move. Freeing you up to build relationships with warm leads.
This is the general consensus regarding staying profitable in real estate today. It was clear in our talk that these three highly successful realtors felt very strongly about the advice they were giving. These lessons are simple, effective, and hard to argue with. For those who love bullet points and lists, here is a simplified breakdown…
Be picky about your time. Clients who give you business but not necessarily profit need to be delegated to someone not as busy as you are. Time is money!
71% of every translation is a co-op. Don’t burn bridges by having bad relationships. Work with other agents effectively.
Systems! Mechanize the redundant stuff, and give personal attention to what you’re best at. Notifications, documentation, and customization. Keep it clean!
Focus on your net, not your gross. Gross is what you earned before you subtract your expenses. How much money is left after you remove everything you spent to get there?
You get what you pay for. Sometimes the more expensive software or marketing campaign actually earns you more profit than the cheaper alternative.
In The Words of Experts
One thing all of these realtors could agree on; profitability isn’t just money. Being profitable means different things to different people, so it’s up to you to decide what you’re hustling for. Profitability can be more time, more enjoyment, more expression of who you are. Some agents are on vacation more than they work; they work so they can work less. Other agents work more so that they can give more; donating to their community or causes important to them. And some agents just simply can’t get enough money! Those are the things they are working for. So when they can book that dream vacation, donate money to a charity or double their savings account that’s what being profitable gave to them. If you haven’t noticed already, virtual assistants actually fit into a lot of these pro-tips. So if you want to know how a virtual assistant can help you achieve something you’ve read here, hit that link below to schedule a one-on-one consultation. You can tell us how you want to be more profitable and we’ll evaluate if and how we can help you achieve that.
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Do you need help managing your CRM? If you’ve struggled to do it on your own, here’s why you need a virtual assistant to help you out.
Did you know that getting a new customer costs 5 to 25 times more than keeping one of your existing ones? For this reason, CRM tools are very important to your business.
But, it can be hard to find the time to invest in your CRM tools. This is where a virtual assistant can come in.
While you deal with the important daily tasks you have to do, a virtual assistant can take care of your CRM tools. Your CRM will be better with it, too.
If you’re looking for CRM help, here’s why a virtual assistant should be your first choice.
Virtual assistants can handle your CRM tools. In fact, many virtual assistant services involve managing the CRM itself.
When searching for the right person, you can look at their background. You can find someone who has worked with different CRM platforms before, or you can train the assistant to work on your chosen platform.
As long as you provide them with the proper tools and resources, your virtual assistant can accurately and easily handle the job.
What Are Some Tasks that A Virtual Assistant Can Complete for My CRM?
The great thing about hiring a virtual assistant to handle your CRM is that they can fully manage the system. They’ll become your full CRM manager.
Virtual assistants can help to automate your system so that you can stay in contact with your customers. This will help to retain them and keep a good customer relationship.
Keeping your CRM up to date and accurate is very important. A virtual assistant can help to verify and correct anything that is no longer valid. Keeping up with this will help to benefit your system in the long run.
If you’re ever in need of reports, a virtual assistant can help you download the ones you need. They’ll know how to set the parameters and get you the most accurate information available.
By hiring a virtual assistant to handle your CRM, you’re investing in your customer’s relationships with your business.
There are many benefits of hiring a virtual assistant who handles your CRM. One of the most important is that you can spend time doing other important tasks, while the assistant handles the system.
By hiring a virtual assistant, you also save money. You don’t have to hire another full-time employee, and you can outsource the work to your assistant.
Knowing the value that a virtual assistant can provide for you, it’s easy to see how they can help with your CRM. It’s an important part of your business that deserves attention.
At MyOutDesk, we can match you with a virtual assistant that can handle your CRM tools. You’ll see your customer relations improve and get better with time.
If you’re looking to hire a virtual assistant to give you CRM help, reach out to us personally! You can click the button below for a FREE one-on-one consultation with us. We’ll listen to you first, and understand your problems or concerns, then see what we can do to help.
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A hybrid business model is defined by the combination of different organizational models to produce products and/or services. Businesses have come to realize that outsourcing to virtual assistants is the best way to streamline operations, reduce costs, and grow business.
Importance of moving to quality hybrid business models
I knew the COVID-19 virus would force businesses to rethink their business model in order to stay afloat. But what I saw instead was that the best framework for business is to streamline operations, increase efficiency, and grow business. The framework focuses on outsourcing to virtual assistants.
This model is already evident. For example, there are more than 10 million virtual assistants employed worldwide.
A hybrid business model combines two or more existing business models and usually serves the same customer base.
Key Examples of Hybrid Business Models
The hybrid business model is unique because it takes two or more existing business models and combines them together. It’s like driving a car with two engines instead of one.
Three of the most common hybrid business models
1) Decentralized Business Model
Most common in large capital corporations
A decentralized business model can be a great way to increase innovation in large corporations. Decentralized models are often more affordable for small companies because they require less staff and infrastructure.
2) Outsourcing Business Model
This hybrid business model puts into practice what many small and medium businesses are already doing. However, some small and medium businesses still get confused on how to effectively use it.
“Outsourcing makes the hustle better — because you’re not burdened with many/growing expenses that you’ll need to figure out how to cover and hit profit”
The outsourcing, or off-shoring, of work to companies that use virtual assistants is on the rise, especially in departments or industries with remote working capabilities. (Such as sales development, marketing, customer service, and general administration.)
Businesses should use this hybrid business model to their advantage because it’s the best way to streamline operations, increase efficiency, and grow business.
In this hybrid model, the local workforce is used to maximize the efficiencies & benefits of both physical and virtual business practices.
The remote-physical hybrid business model can be a good strategy for companies. (Primarily for those who want to have a more efficient workspace & maximize overhead cost savings.) Workers in different locations can work together on complex projects. The virtual assistant business model is one of the most common hybrid models for US corporations.
Service industries use this business model to generate some product or service; then, outsourcing, off-shoring, or outsourcing is used to complete the rest.
Local & small businesses who are looking to incorporate this business model can see cost-effective operational efficiencies for their corporations.
If you’ve been spending too much time answering calls, managing appointments, responding to emails, or falling behind due to other administrative tasks. A virtual assistant can boost your success in the following ways.
1. Increased flexibility
Regardless of the industry, you’ll experience periods that are incredibly busy, as well as slower periods. Your goals may also change throughout the year, impacting the types of tasks that need to be addressed. In order to achieve this level of flexibility, a virtual assistant is an ideal solution.
This strategy will allow you to pinpoint opportunities that’ll likely lead to increased productivity and growth. All while you continue to develop new growth ideas and strategies.
2. Cost-saving strategies
When considering hired help, it’s imperative that you compare the potential cost-saving benefits associated with a virtual assistant. When hiring a full-time employee, you’ll need to consider costs associated with onboarding, benefits, and other hidden costs.
In contrast, a virtual assistant can help you overcome busy periods without needing to pay someone during slower periods. Although you’ll still need to pay for their services, a virtual assistant is an investment — the type of investment that can significantly boost long-term revenue.
3. Enhanced efficiency
The old saying, “Two heads are better than one” could not be closer to the truth. When hiring a virtual assistant to address x, y, and z, those tasks no longer require your attention. Learning to delegate such tasks is one of the most effective ways to boost overall efficiency.
In addition, a virtual assistant can help you become much more organized so that you can easily access the files and documents you need when you need them. From bookkeeping to CRM management, a virtual assistant will provide the level of support you need.
4. Consistent customer service
Some weeks seem as though they hit you like a ton of bricks. As you try to catch up, prospective business is not addressed as it should be. Whether you are following up with last week’s clients or are sending out client documentation, you are wasting valuable time and resources.
In turn, your clients/customers are not getting the attention they expect — and your business could suffer. Virtual assistants can address all of your customers’ questions and concerns, all while you focus on driving your business forward.
5. Greater lead generation
Just imagine being able to grow your client list while you strengthen your relationship with current clients. Perhaps you have a contact list that you have not yet used for marketing purposes? If so, a virtual assistant could create an email or telemarketing campaign to gain more leads and in turn, grow your client list.
If routine, non-dollar productive tasks are steering your business into a rut, it’s time to eliminate these tasks off your plate. MyOutDesk has been serving business professionals across the country for 10 years, becoming one of the top service providers. After serving more than 5000 clients, we’ve branched out into the industries listed above. We’re here to help you scale, leverage, and grow your business.
Innovation & Planning: Integrating Hybrid Business Models
Businesses are going to have to change in order to survive. The switch is already happening. In 2020 & 2021, most business owners report making a pivot in their business model. Hybrid business models are here to stay, and this dynamic is forcing many of us to learn a lot about efficiencies. All businesses need to get to a hybrid model in some way, shape, or form. This applies to any corporation, no matter the size of their business or the size of their budget.
In order to excel, businesses need to figure out how to offer more quality services & close more deals. In some cases, that means outsourcing. Many productive entrepreneurs & CEOs do business with virtual assistants. Using virtual assistant services is a good option for getting more work done in less time. Many business leaders choose virtual assistants to stay organized, complete the grunt work, and help with sales & marketing (SEO, inside sales, etc.).
The thing I like most about using virtual assistants in my business model is that I have more time to focus on the things that matter.
Further benefits of hybrid business models
CEOs have enough work to do on their own, so they need a way to get ahead. That’s what outsourcing is all about. It’s a good business model for any company that wants to stay competitive in the future.
Access to more human capital, while saving on costs.
Lower overhead, more profits & income.
More minds maintaining quality service, data, and overall brand.
Hybrid business models can benefit corporations because they can help companies to innovate easier. Corporations can be innovative in-house or through outsourcing. A hybrid model allows the corporation to try out new ideas without giving up control of its core business operations. Hybrid business models are advantageous for corporations in that they allow them access to a bigger talent pool and broader customer base.
Simply put, MyOutDesk equips entrepreneurs & marketing agencies owners with tools, strategies, and virtual employees – and when combined, businesses have a competitive edge and find growth while efficient systems and processes are put in place.
MyOutDesk proudly provides additional free business growth guides, books, and strategy calls.
See what we are about, and schedule a free consultation with us. We’ll take the time to learn more about your business and offer solutions to foster top talent and lower operational costs for your company.
Did You Know? MyOutDesk’s origin story is set during the last global financial crisis of 2008. Yes, that’s right — our business started by scaling businesses with virtual assistants during a recession! Our first client in 2008 went from five to seventeen VPs with a completely revamped organizational model in short order, and he told MyOutDesk, “Our virtual professionals have shaved $250,000 off our monthly overhead.”
Focus on your growth & scale your operations
ENVISIONING OF A NEW REALITY FOR YOUR BUSINESS
Simply put, MyOutDesk equips entrepreneurs & business owners with tools, strategies, and virtual employees – and when combined, businesses have a competitive edge and find growth while efficient systems and processes are put in place.
MyOutDesk proudly provides additional free business growth guides, books, and strategy calls.
See what we are about, and schedule a free consultation with us. We’ll take the time to learn more about your business and offer solutions to foster top talent and lower operational costs for your company.
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MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment costs
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“I just have a hard time believing that I’d have a business anywhere close to what I have today, had I not hired my first Virtual Assistant 7 years ago,” Misty Soldwisch – top-producing agent in Iowa
The Misty SOLDwisch Home Selling Team is one of the top teams in the country. A true pioneer in her field, she jumped on the Virtual Assistant train fairly early on. She hired Paola, her first Virtual Assistant, in early 2012. While she may have been taking a gamble, ultimately it paid off. With Paola’s success, Misty added 3 more.
Do you want a strong foundation to build your team and grow your business, just like Misty? Then, schedule a Double My Business Strategy Session today and find out how!
One of the most common questions regarding virtual assistants is about their schedule. Specifically for those virtual assistants who live on another continent, and thus in a completely different timezone. How do you make that work? In the case of MyOutDesk virtual assistants, it’s actually quite simple and easy. As the company employing our virtual assistants, we have procedures in place to designate and assure their availability for clients in any timezone. We also track their activity during scheduled work hours, to ensure transparency for both us and whichever client of ours is utilizing them. Not to mention we just pick the right people for this kind of job. People who recognize the opportunity, appreciate the luxury of working from home and are passionate about having a stable career. There’s a degree of real commitment present in their ability to shape their daily life around this job. Let’s talk about a day in the life of the average virtual assistant at MyOutDesk. Maybe it’ll paint a reassuring picture for anyone on the fence about how this dynamic truly works!
Being as our VA’s(virtual assistants) are in the Philippines, a lot of them work night shifts. Not all of them though; some are assistants for companies that don’t require interaction during the day, US time. So the VA is free to complete their assignments and submit logs of work done during their own day time, while their boss in the US sleeps. But of course, some companies prefer having their VA available during the day, stateside. This is when a willing VA is assigned to work opposite hours; sleeping during most of their day, and working during what is their night time. We asked one of our VA’s about their daily routine, to get a more detailed idea of their work/life balance. Let’s check it out…
One Virtual Assistant’s Schedule
9 am – Around this time the VA has finished their night shift. They’ve clocked out and prepared “breakfast”, then relax with a book or watch something before going to sleep.
3 pm – Around 6 hours later the VA wakes up in the afternoon. They spend a few hours hanging out with family/friends, run some errands, do chores, etc.
7 pm – At this point in the evening they often take a short nap, to recharge their batteries before beginning their night shift.
It may be strange to read, from our viewpoint in the states. We’re so used to waking up when the sun rises and being up all day until after the sunset. Our work/life schedule tends to coincide with the day/night cycle. But plenty of people here locally work night shifts too! Lots of businesses are 24/7, and thus require someone to work that late-night shift. The same goes overseas for these VA’s, looking for steady, reliable work. Part of our hiring process is evaluating not just the experience and skill set that someone brings to the job, but their personality. We only accept folks who are clearly hard workers, passionate about their careers, and excited to be a part of the opportunity.
Day or Night
These folks make themselves available to the company they serve, at whatever schedule is agreed upon at hiring. So if you want an assistant to work the same hours as you, so they’re available throughout the day; we have plenty of VA’s working all night for exactly that. Even if you don’t need to interact with them throughout the day, and maybe just need some tasks handled after hours, we have VA’s for that too. They can get the work done for you, while you sleep and it’s their day, so you wake up to a job well done. That’s the name of the game when you go with a MyOutDesk virtual assistant; flexibility, reliability, and results. So if you’re at all curious how a VA might help your growing company, don’t hesitate to follow the link below. You can request a free one-on-one consultation with us, to evaluate your needs and discuss some options. Day or night, we have a professional for your needs.
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Let’s talk prospecting: the real estate jobs that every agent loves to hate. If you’re an agent, you find reasons to avoid it. If you’re a broker, you deal with pipeline issues because your agents are avoiding them. You might try passive lead generation or even buying leads to get around it. Alas, you’ve still got to call them and still very time-consuming.
Prospecting is a hit-or-miss activity that takes a lot of time, patience & skill – and it definitely requires a thick skin. There’s always the worry that you’ll get a negative prospect on the phone yelling at you. This rarely happens, but it’s still a worry – especially when you’re prospecting expired or FSBO leads. That’s where a Real Estate ISA comes in.
A Real Estate ISA is a real estate virtual assistant who prospects for you. They spend the time to work your inbound leads, client follow-ups, circle prospecting, FSBO & expired leads: you name it, they’ve got it. Working all day long generating hot leads for you to close.
Think of your ISA as your own personal gunslinger. Quick on the draw, nimble with the tongue, and trained with proven, practiced scripts that convert prospects into appointments. You already know that 7% of your contacts will enter into a real estate transaction this year. A Real Estate ISA will find them and get them scheduled and do it for 1/3 the cost of a local in-house full-time employee.
DELIVERING MASSIVE ROI
See the numbers for yourself! Watch the video below as Wall Street Journal’s #1 Real Estate Coach (and longtime MyOutDesk Client) Bob Corcoran reviews the amazing production volume of Rex, a MyOutDesk Real Estate ISA. Rex set 199 appointments, resulting in 142 transactions, 7 million trackable sales volume, and over $200,000 in GCI!
PROSPECTING ISN’T ALL AN ISA CAN DO
That’s not all your ISA does, however. Being a full-time phone warrior enables them always to be ready for immediate follow-up on your inbound leads. Remember those charts talking about 5-minute turnaround? Get ready to make that a reality!
Your ISA is also skilled in follow-up calls, which helps them stay on top of past clients, warm leads, and anything else that requires periodic phone contact & nurturing. Are you ready to get prospecting off of your plate forever? Grab a free strategy call below and we can show you how we can find a Real Estate ISA talent with your desired skills and traits that fit your company culture perfectly.
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MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment costs
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You know that old saying, time is money? Well to Knolly here, that’s not true. Knolly Williams has been featured on ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, Newsweek, and over 300 newspapers worldwide. He is an Author, Trainer, National Speaker, Entrepreneur, Real Estate Broker, and Pastor of the Front Row Church. He’s a top-performing Real Estate Broker who has coached tens of thousands of agents & brokers around the world – and he’s a big fan of MyOutDesk virtual assistants!
Knolly has been with MyOutDesk for about 7 years and has great things to say about working with a virtual assistant. He finds that he’s able to focus on his passion because he has three Virtual Professionals take care of the details so he can simply show up and deliver.
Schedule your Double My Business Strategy Session today and find out how a MyOutDesk Virtual Assistant can support you to boost your business.
“MyOutDesk has freed up my life: I just spent 2 weeks in Maui and my VA’s ran my business while I was gone – we didn’t lose any production or business while I was out. People say that time is money, but time is so much more valuable than money – and with MyOutDesk I’ve been able to get my time back and my life back. I’m spending less time working and making more money. If you want to double the money that you’re making, MyOutDesk is where it’s at.”
Don’t Waste Your Energy
Preparing his presentations, finalizing event details, and other finer tasks are delegated to his VP. This allows him to arrive at his events refreshed and full of energy. Exactly what he needs to be an effective speaker. Thus, virtual Professional frees up Knolly’s time and allows him to focus on the activities that require his personal expertise.
Knolly is one of many coaches, trainers & top-producing real estate professionals leveraging virtual assistant services. Just imagine being able to trust someone that you can delegate detailed work, so you can focus on what you do best. Having a real estate virtual assistant can make a huge difference in the way you run your business. All it requires is spending a little time sitting down with them and integrating them into your business processes.
Schedule your Double My Business Strategy Session today and find out how a MyOutDesk Virtual Assistant can support you to boost your business. It’s free, and it’s one-on-one. No pressure. We’ll hear you out, make our case, and the next move is up to you.
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MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment costs
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Do It, Document It, and Delegate It to a Virtual Assistant
Hiring a virtual assistant may seem daunting if you’re considering the “training” period. It’s true that your assistant can’t work effectively if they’re not familiar with your expectations, the software you use, and the everyday workflow.
However, there’s a method to increase productivity and ease the training period by paying attention to your work processes.
With this in mind, read on to learn all about process documentation for a seamless work environment!
Identify the Tasks
One of the hardest aspects of beginning documenting processes is compiling all the tasks that you expect your virtual assistant to handle. This is because you want to choose the tasks that you expect your assistant to handle on a daily basis and eliminate the unnecessary tasks.
Document Procedures
Your next step is to document, step-by-step, the procedure to execute each task. It’s important to be as clear and thorough as possible. This will enable your virtual assistant to confidently refer to you for assistance when they’re just getting started, boosting business productivity as a result.
You can document these procedures in a simple Word doc or use one of many process documentation tools in order to speed up your workflow. Here are a few commonly used tools:
We recommend opting for a tool that you’re already familiar with–this can greatly speed up your business documentation. Remember that you can use screenshots and video capture to make your processes even easier to understand.
Your work isn’t complete after writing down all your procedures. Next, it’s important to test all the procedures you’ve documented to ensure that each step is covered. For instance, if you want your virtual assistant to document all the calls created in your CRM software, you’ll want to include how to use that software after the call has taken place.
You’ll also want to include when you expect a task to be done. Updating your CRM platform every time a phone call or email is placed may be important if your assistant will be interacting with multiple clients a day.
Delegate the Tasks
Documenting these work processes is helpful even before you even hire a virtual assistant. This is because you’ll be aware of exactly the kinds of skills needed in order to confidently complete your processes each day. You’ll also be in a better position to communicate your expectations and find the right virtual assistant for you.
As you delegate tasks, remember that it’s important to still stay open to feedback. Update your documents over time so that your assistants are being trained with the best practices.
Process Documentation Tips for Productivity
It’s possible to increase productivity and reduce friction when it comes to onboarding a new virtual assistant with detailed process documentation. Take your time to consider the tasks you’d like your assistant to handle each day, with special attention placed on repetitive tasks.
Once you write them all out, your assistant will know exactly what you expect of them. They can also refer back to the document as they get accustomed to their new role with your business.
Ready to save time and money with the aid of a virtual assistant? Schedule a free one-on-one consultation today.
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MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment costs
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More often than not, unfortunately, people running a growing business don’t realize they need something until they needed it yesterday. Like assistance; you realize something isn’t working the way it should and hasn’t been long enough to eventually get your attention. That’s when you know you need that assistance, immediately. However, finding help is another task in itself. And tasks equal time. So how about you have fewer tasks to worry about and more time on your hands? It’s possible with virtual assistants.
Did you know that the average length of the hiring process here in the US is 23 days? That’s almost a month of your professional time, spent trying to find someone to help you have more time. Silly. The average length of time to go from requesting a MyOutDesk VA(virtual assistant) to having one at your disposal, ready to work; is 14 days or less. That’s essentially 1 to 2 weeks, or, almost half the time as the other way. Correct me if I’m wrong, but you aren’t in the business of wasting your own time. You’re in the business of growing your business, and we’re in the business of helping you do exactly that. So now let’s go over why letting MyOutDesk find the perfect match for you is the most efficient and effective way to get help.
Our Recruitment Process
The professionals apply through our careers page.
We schedule them for an exam, specific to the field they applied in.
Our recruitment specialists review the completed exams and make their selections.
Those selected are scheduled for a Zoom interview with a recruiter.
If approved, they are scheduled for a 2nd/final interview with a manager.
If selected for hire, we begin the next phase…
Verification and On-boarding
Verify all provided references(3 professional, 2 personal) with FBI-grade background checks.
Verify their identity and location.
Run a system check of their computer and home network to ensure it meets our standards.
Place them in a pool categorized by experience and skillset. Ready for work.
Hire The Human
As you can see our hiring process is very in-depth, despite the fact that we receive an average of 150 applicants per day. We’re also not just evaluating them based on their hard skills and experience but on other factors that have a meaningful effect on their eventual job placement. Like their personality, character, and perceived commitment and passions. We want to ensure that everyone we hire into our assistant pool is not just a skilled professional with relevant experience, but a good person who’s eager to work and excited to be a part of something. People with the drive to be rockstars at their job, commitment to their responsibilities, and a positive, outgoing attitude that will mesh well with any office environment. We’re not just throwing assistants into any role at any business, simply because they can manage a spreadsheet or answer a phone. We’re placing hard-working, wonderful people with other hard-working, wonderful people. Because each and every assistant we assign to a company is a direct reflection of us.
As you can see, MyOutDesk takes the brunt of the hiring process so that you don’t have to. We take care of all the evaluating, testing, and verifying so that when you come to us for help, you know exactly what you’re getting, and fast. Not to mention, a lot of our assistants are graduates of a 4-year university, on top of years of relevant industry experience. These aren’t rookies coming in blind. On top of all that there is, of course, the matter of insurance, benefits, PTO, etc. We take care of all of that too. No need to worry about the cost of providing your virtual assistant with things like healthcare and time-off. That is all handled by us and through us. You just pay the agreed-upon flat rate for their services, ultimately saving you up to 70% of the cost if you had hired on your own. Not to toot our own horn or anything, but that’s a pretty sweet deal.
We Can Help You Help Yourself
In short; if your growing business needs help, then the quickest, most efficient way to get exactly the kind of help you need is via MyOutDesk virtual assistants. We handle all the parts of hiring(and supporting) professional talent so that you can focus on the other part; utilizing them to your benefit. So if you’re thinking that your growing business could use some extra hands and eyes, save yourself some time and money by reaching out to us. Be it administrative tasks, front-desk services, billing, marketing, customer support, you name it; we have proven professionals ready to dive in. You can count on them because we count on them. Follow the link below for a free one-on-one consultation, so we can discuss your needs and how we might be able to help.
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MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment costs
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Stop chasing and begin attracting the right customers. Here is how to get attraction marketing in four simple steps.
WHAT IS ATTRACTION MARKETING?
It’s simple, attraction marketing is where people or businesses seek out products or services that could add value to their life or business on their own, by referral, or by search.
Remember, this isn’t about you. If you are out there in the world shouting from the rooftops about “Me, myself, and I”, this is your first mistake.
“How you attract people is by making it about them and what you can do for them. Or how you can make their life or business better or what problem you can solve. That’s how you attract people.” – Cari Heibel-Briner, President of Freedom Coaching
It’s all about what you can do for others. Rather, how can you help your people?
You must figure out the problems you solve, how it benefits them, and develop messaging that communicates this that anyone can understand.
2. MASTER YOUR VALUE PROPOSITION
Master the message and how you can be consistent with this message is essentially for attraction marketing as it tells people who you are, what you do and how it benefits others very quckly.
Let’s take a real estate company for example. A fantastic value proposition for a real estate professional who focuses on seller clients would be: “I help people get more money in less time when selling their home”. Conclusively, this is an extremely simple and powerful way to tell people what you do and how you can help in less than 10 seconds.
Here is a quick and easy formula, “I help (who is your ideal customer), to get this benefit (the client wins), doing what for the client (industry/product/service)?
Pool Construction Company: I help homeowners create their dream backyards, with energy-efficient pools.
What are the key elements of a Value Proposition?
Your ideal client should be climbing over the table to say, “I want it”, “where do I sign”, “how can I get some”, or “I’m ready!”
If that isn’t their response, you’ve gotta go back to the drawing board.
If you haven’t achieved good levels of attraction marketing, it may be because you are trying to speak to everyone and are not being true to your authentic self. Unfortunately, not enough people know who you are and that’s why some entrepreneurs are forced to go out and chase business.
Find your tribe.
Facebook groups, Clubhouse clubs, Linkedin groups, Telegram groups, there are many places where people go to be a part of something that piques their interest. Thus, your people are out there! You just have to find them.
Start building the relationships that will be the bedrock for attraction marketing for your business.
Choose a platform & community you are genuinely interested in that can also benefit from your service
Example. A lawyer who loves motorcycle riding could find a motorcycle enthusiasts group!
What content are you sharing and where?
What content will help serve this audience?
Do you have something of value to give away for free?
E-Book
Course
Document Template
Anything that can be of use to your audience but not a detriment to your business, be creative!
Go offline
What are some groups or meet-ups locally that are of interest to you?
4. BE CONSISTENT AND EFFICIENT
What are some habits that can help you be consistent in continuing to deliver on these?
As you transition from chaser to attractor, there is also a personal transformation that needs to happen. Indeed, the transformation to attraction marketing is going from ‘Entrepreneurial’ to ‘Strategic’.
You need a strategy in place that can allow you to be consistent in delivering your message week after week. Secondly, building a schedule that fits your lifestyle and business needs for weekly planning, messaging, and measuring success.
MARKETING VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS ARE TINDER FOR ATTRACTION MARKETING STRATEGIES
Once attraction marketing has begun to build and results are coming in, it then becomes about managing and improving the process. It’s vitally important to create standard operating procedure documentation around this process. Furthermore, you can identify which parts, or the entirety of this process, to delegate to an employee.
When that happens, you are ready to hire a Marketing Virtual Assistant to manage these procedures.
This will free up time to focus on other important aspects of business or life while your revenues continue to grow.
We have a ton of awesome (and free) resources to help any entrepreneur scale up their business, you can access that by clicking this link.
Are you ready to double your business? Sign up for a 100% free “double your business strategy call” to see how we can tailor a plan to help elevate your business with Virtual Assistants today!
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MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment costs
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If you’ve used one lead generation service, then you’ve used them all. Except that’s not true in the case of Likeable Agent. They’re a lead generation company that goes the extra mile for their clients, and they couldn’t do it without virtual assistants. In this testimonial our CEO, Daniel Ramsey had a very insightful chat with John Reh, the founder of Likeable Agent. John has been utilizing virtual assistants since 2016, to help him and his team with a wide variety of tasks. Ranging from simple inbox management to conducting research, his VA’s(virtual assistants) have become happy, productive members of his team. Read on, and watch above, to learn exactly how he was able to find so much success employing professionals halfway around the world.
John had years of experience as a recruiter before he founded his own business. That experience came in handy when turning to MyOutDesk for some virtual assistants. We talent match our people to fit specific business needs, but finding the right person goes way beyond just skills on paper. John actually finds more value in finding the right personality first, then building up the necessary skills. Because anyone can learn how to do just about anything, but not everyone is reliable, friendly, passionate or motivated. And John wanted someone he could count on as well as get along with before he trusted them with valuable business duties. Luckily we value personality as well when we hire. Every VA we’ve assigned has not only got the job done well but got along great doing it.
“Consider where you can use help. What can I do and what should I do? Those are often different things; could I be doing something that’s more productive?”
What brought John to MyOutDesk was the realization that he was spending too much time doing work that should be delegated out. He needed reliable help with the busy work so that he could focus his experienced time on more dollar-productive tasks. Like focusing more on client relations, personally. Onboarding his new VA’s was easy because his company already had created templates for most of the tasks they’d be handing over. One such task was able to exist because of the VA’s; customer support. They created an inbox and a text message line specifically for existing customers to reach out to for help. The VA managed incoming questions and resolved issues accordingly.
One of the ways Likeable Agent sets itself apart from other lead generation companies is the quality of leads they provide. They don’t just hand over a list of cold calls, they take time to curate those leads and organize them based on viability. This is another area that our VA’s came in handy; doing the research needed to better understand those leads. They do the homework to learn about every lead and determine who is warm and who is cold. This frees up people like John to focus their time on those warm leads, so they can be sure the leads they provide are truly valuable. And on the flip side, they have VA’s handling new customer intake. Building up the accounts of new clients, welcome them to LikeableAgent while local employees focus on getting more clients. It’s a beautiful cycle.
“They show up early and stay late. Very, very dedicated and I appreciate that a lot.”
It’s now been several years since John and his team at Likeable Agent started using our VA’s, and the success continues. All of the busy work is handled in an organized, efficient manner. Meanwhile, John is free to focus on building relationships and save money while he’s at it. He claims his income quintupled in the first year after onboarding a couple of VA’s. That’s wild! If you’re at all interested in a similarly wild story of success for your growing business, don’t hesitate to reach out. The link is below, it takes seconds to schedule a free one-on-one consultation. We’ll discuss the problems you’re facing and determine if a VA might help solve them.
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MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment costs
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If you’re a small business owner just starting, you may not have the resources to hire a full-time assistant. In this case, you may end up doing tasks that take you away from growing your presence in the marketplace.
A great solution is a virtual assistant service. It’s growing as technology makes it easier to work remotely.
This article will cover the top reasons why hiring a virtual assistant (VA) is the best option for your business. Keep reading to learn the benefits of virtual assistants.
Virtual assistant services come in different forms. You can hire a company that outsources VA services, a talent agency that provides virtual assistants. Or you can hire an independent assistant.
The skills offered by VAs are wide-ranging. The skillsets can be as simple as someone who perform basic clerical duties and answers calls. You can also find VAs who can perform accounting duties, marketing, and social media management.
To find a virtual assistant, enter “virtual assistant near me” in your Google search. If you do not find a local agency, it’s okay.
The VA doesn’t have to be in your area, city, or state. With the internet, the person you hire can reside anywhere.
It’s Cost-Efficient
Regardless of what your individual needs are, the cost to hire a remote assistant will most likely cost less than a full-time employee. Because their skill levels are diverse, you can cover multiple requirements with a single assistant.
In addition, there are no benefits to pay. Plus, VAs are independent contractors, so you don’t have to worry about payroll taxes. If you go with a virtual assistant service, you pay the agency a fee, and they take care of the rest.
It Can Help Grow Your Business
The best virtual assistant services can help you grow your business. There’s no longer a need to bypass the essential functions of running a business. These one-stop shops have everything you need.
Services include:
Administrative assistants
Customer cervice
Help desk & support
Marketing assistants
Receptionist support
And more
With the money you’ll save, you can invest in ways to grow your business and remain competitive.
It Provides Flexibility
The flexibility offered with hiring a virtual assistant is immeasurable. One of the important factors to consider is the ability to extend your business accessibility to clients.
Customer service features often come with either business hours that go late into the evening or 24-hours. You’ll also have someone to answer calls, allowing you to focus on more pressing issues.
Plus, you can finally take a much-needed vacation without closing your business.
Is a Virtual Assistant Service Right for Your Business?
A virtual assistant service is beneficial to many businesses. Determine the specific needs of your company and measure them against the services offered by a virtual assistant.
When you’re ready to take the first step in increasing the efficiency of your business operations, we’re here to help. Schedule a free “double your business strategy” call today.
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How would you like some high-quality, name-brand marketing, for free? If you’re not utilizing Google My Business(GMB) then you’re essentially answering “No, thanks” to that question. And why would you ever turn down free marketing!? You wouldn’t! Because GMB is an incredibly valuable and easy-to-use, free service. With a business page on Google, you can control and display important information, interact with the community and manage your reputation, curate photos, and videos, and gather helpful insight on your customer base. You just need some pointers on how to get started. So that’s exactly what I’m going to discuss here. It’s easy, it’s quick, and it’s effective. Especially when you have a headstart thanks to an informative writeup like this one! And an even bigger bonus is when you let a skilled virtual assistant take over all of this for you! But we’ll talk about that part later; for now, let’s discuss why you should be using Google My Business…
According to Net Marketshare, approximately 80% of all searches happen on Google. To put things into perspective, there are 3.5 billion searchesper day. With stats like that, you can’t afford NOT to utilize a Google My Business page!
First things first; Google My Business is where you’ll get started. You’ll be asked to enter basic, essential information about your business. Such as the name, phone number, address, website, etc. Once that’s done, you’ll be asked to verify your account by submitting a code that Google sends to your business via postcard. It shouldn’t take long, and once you get that postcard you should immediately follow the instructions to enter it on Google. Because once this final authentication step is done, your account is verified and you’ll have access to all of the GMB features we’re about to go over.
You Have Arrived
Okay so you’re verified and your My Business account on Google is ready for use! Here are a few tips to keep in mind when it comes to entering and managing your business information from the beginning and going forward…
Don’t enter the bare minimum and then abandon it! Enter as much information as you can, and optimize it to fit your business specifically. For example, don’t enter “cosmetology” if you run a nail salon. Be specific.
Fill out your business attributes. Think of these details as questions your potential customers will be asking, and you’re answering them before they get the chance.
Make sure your information is up to date and cohesive across your other online presences. Your address, contact information, and pricing should always be accurate and up to date. Inconsistencies will adversely affect your search ranking.
A picture is worth a thousand words! So make sure you have a good profile picture, that accurately reflects your business. A study found that “listing with photos are 2x as likely to be considered reputable and 35% more clicks.
Don’t stuff your listing with keywords in an attempt to hype up your search results. Google will notice and again, adversely affect your search ranking. Consider your keyword strategy, be specific, and let the algorithm do the rest.
Let’s Go!
So your business is live on Google! All of your information is entered and accurate and you’ve got some pretty photos to catch their eyes. From here the car is driving down the information highway, but it’s up to you to steer, watch the gauges and manage accordingly. So now I’m going to go over what you should be proactive about going forward. Because if you leave your business page in the dust and expect it to do everything for you, you’re shooting yourself in the foot. It mostly will be fine, but you don’t want “fine”. You want great. So you should be checking in, updating information, sharing content, and engaging with your community. These things help keep your business a step above the rest. So let’s go over what that looks like.
Google allows business pages to create and share content via Posts. It’s just like posting something on Facebook, except a GMB post expires and deletes itself after 7 days by default(you can schedule it to expire sooner). Use these Posts to share content with potential and existing customers, like company news, product announcements, and upcoming events. It’s a simple and quick way to show the community that you’re an active business they can’t help but notice. You’ll also want to curate a healthy gallery of photos and videos about your business. You can upload professional photos of your product and location, as well as video clips from promotional events or a little commercial. User-uploaded photos can be highlighted and organized as well, making it easy to show off the very best of your business in the most organic way possible.
Reviews
Community reviews are a fantastic way of engaging with your customers. A study showed that 90% of people read reviews before purchasing. You should be responding to every review you can, and I don’t just mean one or the other. If it’s a glowing review; reply with a thank you and appreciation. If it’s kind of a neutral review, reply and ask what it would take to improve that score for next time. Lastly, if it’s a bad review; reply with sincere apologies and try to fix it. Don’t get salty about negative reviews; use the opportunity to make it right. And if you’re not getting enough reviews, don’t be afraid to ask for them! Google encourages that actually. Here’s how…
Open Google Maps, and search for your company
Select your business when it appears, and click the menu option at the top left corner
Then click “Share and embed map”, and copy the link they give you.
Now paste that link in an email or text or social media post, inviting people to share their feedback!
Messaging
A study found that 90% of business leads would rather receive a text message than a phone call. Luckily, GMB has a messaging feature that you can easily enable, and of course, it’s free. Simply go to your Business dashboard and click “turn on messaging” to start. You’ll be asked to enter a phone number, but don’t worry, this number isn’t shared anywhere with the public. It’s only as a means of routing messages for you. To really keep things organized and simple, set up a Google phone number associated with your business email and use that for the messaging. Then you can keep up with customer questions, and use it to reach out to leads. Maintaining a form of direct communication can increase customer engagement, and ultimately help close the deal.
Data
I saved the best for last; analytics. Not the sexiest stuff to talk about, but it is incredibly important when running a business that has any kind of online presence. Luckily GMB has built-in analytic reporting features, called Insights. So, familiarize yourself with the Insights section of your dashboard, and use that information wisely. You can track the entire customer path and use that knowledge to better understand your strengths and weaknesses. Like, how they found your business(direct VS discovery), where they found you(search VS maps), and even what area they live in. Because demographics are important! You can also track what actions customers are taking on your business page; clicking your phone number, viewing your photos, or just reading reviews. To clarify a previous point; a direct search means the customer already knows your business and looked for you specifically. A discovery search means they were looking for the service/product you offer in general terms and came upon your business. Keep this in mind when going over the analytics.
Google + MyOutDesk = Big Success
You should be using Google My Business and using it appropriately. The above guide should be all you need to get going and keep going. It’s literally free marketing that you have complete control over. It will help with your SEO(search engine optimization), provides data about your customers and potential customers, and gives you multiple means of engaging with the community. There arent many means of advertising a business in ways that genuinely help you earn money, while not spending any money at all. And if you really want to make this an incredibly valuable experience for you and your business, you can take it one step further and hire a virtual assistant to handle all of this for you! Yes, we have experienced professionals who can log in and manage everything I talked about above while you focus on the big league stuff yourself. Follow the link below to request a one-on-one consultation! We’ll talk about how the freedom of a Google My Business page coupled with a virtual assistant can be lightning in a bottle for just about any business.
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A Real Estate Inside Sales Agent (traditionally referred to as a telemarketer) is an industry secret used by many top-producing real estate brokers and agents. Furthermore, people filling this role can be virtual! Relying on salespeople to call prospects & past clients directly, then implementing a full-time real estate inside sales agent team model can be what pushes businesses to the next level. What does an inside sales virtual assistant do? This is the main person who stays on top of all lead generation and follow-ups. They are a key part of a sales machine!
A Real Estate ISA is a highly talented salesperson who is not only comfortable but productive in spending a majority of their time (80-90%) on the phone, taking care of leads. This individual (or team) would handle all leads for immediate follow-up and scrubbing.
Servicing inbound leads from sign calls and other internet sources
Converting leads to appointments for a team’s sales agents
Sometimes bigger teams have outbound and inbound inside sales virtual assistants as the team and business grows.
An outbound inside sales virtual assistant would be focused on making outbound cold calls. At the same time, an inbound inside sales virtual assistant would be more suited towards taking incoming calls focused on customer service and building relationships.
An Outbound inside sales virtual assistant generates new leads by prospecting for FSBOs, expired listings, just listed/sold, COI, past clients, geographic farms, etc.
Inbound inside sales virtual assistants respond to incoming leads from internet sources, sign calls, and nurture them into qualified appointments.
How do you know if the ISA model is right for you?
As business builds, employees may begin to feel stretched thin. The team may have a tough time finding the bandwidth to stay on top of prospecting and even inbound inquiries. This causes the lead pipelines to suffer. Additionally, hiring an inside sales virtual assistant gives a guaranteed gatekeeper of all leads and inquiries. This will leave key employees focusing on crucial responsibilities and not feeling like they are overworked. Nothing slips, no opportunities are lost.
Hiring a Real Estate ISA allows for the ability to focus on core roles. They are typically charged with uploading all of the contact information and conversation notes into databases. This frees up employees from most admin tasks—so, for example, buyers agents don’t have to worry about anything administrative other than writing up a contract.
The trickiest part about this is finding exactly the right people or persons to cover this task effectively. Not to mention additional expenses that will incur in expanding the team. This is why going virtual can be the best move. Real Estate ISAs can get a lot of the preliminaries done for real estate agents. Then, agents can pre-qualify or set an appointment for a said call or even a meeting. They can also help nurture leads and start laying the foundation for you to build a great relationship with them.
There’s a lot of noise about what personality types work best for ISAs, but it’s critical to make searching specifically for the unique needs of the business and a company’s culture. A good rule of thumb for the position is to find out who’s jazzed about prospecting and lead generating. In addition, you need candidates that are comfortable with the rigors of cold calling and skilled at communicating a team’s value.
While there may be some trial and error in the search, as Tom Ferry says, “Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will your team. This is a learning process. You will quickly learn what and who works best for you.”
At MyOutDesk, we use a tool called Market Force. This is a tool that measures one’s working personality and strengths and weaknesses. Then, coupled with the business needs of our clients, we determine which talent is the best match. Additionally, we only send candidates that we feel will provide true value for you.
How to Train Real Estate ISA:
Successful ISAs should train regularly with things like daily scripting, objection handling, and role-play sessions. Tracking activities and determining conversion ratios for key metrics like contacts-to-appointments are good ways to motivate an ISA and help them hone their skills. On the nurturing side, response times, follow-up attempts, and conversations must be tracked, with notes, in the CRM for future use. Finally, all the activity tracking should be compared to preset goals, maintaining accountability, and addressing any issues.
If you want to find out more about real estate inside sales agents, click the button below.
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“I have a day off now!”, is just one of the proclamations made by a very satisfied customer of ours. His name is Aaron Shishilla, and having a real day off is exciting for him because he has two jobs! He’s the Marketing Lead and Owner of WolfPack Advising; a marketing company that Aaron started as a side hustle. His primary gig is that of Marketing Manager at Waypoint Property Inspection, based out of Tampa, Florida. Clearly, he has a lot on his plate, juggling two major roles at two successful and still growing companies. The vision Aaron and his team share are that of empowering businesses with the tools necessary to grow. All while being a thought leader themselves, who uses their experiences to elevate everyone. Basically, both companies he works at are in the business of helping other businesses see calculated, positive results. But what about their own growth? Who’s helping them see successful results? Virtual assistants are.
Aaron had heard about MyOutDesk via word of mouth, from other connections who spoke highly of their experience using our VA’s(virtual assistants). He found himself spending too much time juggling non-dollar-generating tasks while trying to fit in his higher-level responsibilities as a leader in two different marketing roles. This was proving a major speedbump while they were trying to grow the company beyond their local region. It was time to seek assistance from the outside, which led him to follow his colleague’s advice and seek remote help. A little over six months ago Aaron came to MyOutDesk and we matched him with a couple of VA’s hand-picked to help him and his team with those side-tasks that were bogging them down. The experience was immediately satisfying.
“I’m so incredibly impressed because I can say something to her and she knows to take notes, and add it to her guidebook. And the next week she’s on it. And I’m like this is amazing!”
Aaron is a very organized, and forward-thinking person. So he knew before our VA even started that they would need the proper guidance and toolset to ensure they were set up for success. He took the time to prepare a guide using Google Docs, with a list of tasks, timelines, etc for the VA to use as a reference once they started. This ensured the person we assigned had everything they needed from the get-go, and the support from Aaron to hit the ground running. From there it was just a matter of checking in with them over Slack when necessary. Because our VA’s are educated in the English language, coupled with opposite work hours than ours, it makes for perfect professional synergy.
“They speak better English than I do! They are just perfect, their grammar is better than ours because they have studied it for so long.”
The Freedom To Focus
Now Aaron and his colleagues have more time to focus on important duties that run the business, like focusing on the service they provide their clients. Meanwhile, our VA has been handling administrative tasks and social media duties. This has been a great help while they expand their brand outside their region, and focus on customer relationships. All while saving money! The average all-inclusive cost of a VA from MyOutDesk is roughly $21,000 a year. Aaron says had they gone with a local specialist to assist them, they’d easily be paying double that.
“There is stuff that you do every day that is repetitive. That you can easily scale, having a VA handling it for you, so that you can focus on something else.”
Aaron Shishilla came to MyOutDesk seeking virtual assistants to help his two growing companies. It ended up being the kind of success for him that just drives us to keep at it. Our mission is to help grow other businesses, be they small and getting started or huge and well established. Your success is our success. So if you’re at all curious about utilizing a VA for your own business scaling, don’t hesitate to reach out. Follow the link below to request a free one-on-one consultation where we’ll evaluate your needs and determine how we might be able to help.
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MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment costs
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If you’re a busy entrepreneur, then you know that sometimes there are not enough hours in a day. How does one perpetually juggle all the ins and outs of a business, let alone a personal life?
Enter the Virtual Receptionist.
A Virtual Receptionist or Virtual Assistant can help you grow your business. We’re talking about making more money, having more time for yourself, and cutting overhead costs.
Read on, and we’ll tell you how to find the best virtual receptionist for your business.
First off, how do you know when you need a Virtual Receptionist?
Ask yourself the following questions:
1. Do you regularly work long hours?
2. Is there a lag in your response time costing you customers/clients?
3. Are low-level tasks eating up your time?
4. Do you dislike your work?
Did you answer yes to any of those questions? If so, you might benefit from some administrative help.
Virtual Receptionist Vs. In-Person
But what kind of help do you need?
Should you bring someone on board in person? Or, can you recruit professional services remotely?
Both options are viable. But, as the Covid-19 crisis showed us, remote work is here to stay. And the benefits are vast.
Virtual receptionist services can reduce your operational costs by up to 78%.
Further, a Stanford study found that virtual assistants increased productivity by 13%.
Yes, we are saying that virtual receptionists save you money and increase productivity. Once you make the move you’ll wonder how you ever managed without one.
You have some options when it comes to the type of services offered virtually. The following is a general overview of some of them.
Automated
This type of service uses a computerized call system. Options for callers are limited to pre-recorded options.
Options include checking balances, making payments, or answering simple questions like operating hours. All without speaking to anyone.
Message Only
These services can have a human operator. But, they can also just use prerecorded messages.
If they have live operators, messages are usually written like in live chat offerings.
Call transfer
Some virtual receptionists can answer and transfer calls.
Transfers could go to a different internal extension, a landline, or a mobile phone. You can choose to have live operators or automated options on those lines.
Live Answering Service
Just like it sounds, this gives you an actual person on the line.
Some virtual receptionist companies will guarantee the same representatives each time. Others opt to use a rotating list of operators to handle incoming calls
These can include scripted call centers and specialized centers. Great if you operate in a specific niche and need someone with industry insights.
These people are often highly skilled, working full-time on their terms. In short, they have skills and are satisfied with their work.
We recommend first getting clear on what tasks you need help with. Armed with that personalized needs list, you can figure out who offers what you need. And where you can get it for the price point you want.
Don’t Delay, Delegate Today
There is money to be made and time to be saved! Hiring the best virtual receptionist is your ticket there.
Why wait another minute trudging through work that isn’t bringing you joy? Reach out today, and learn what creative solutions MyOutDesk can offer you.
Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment costs
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The Philippines is one of the top destinations major corporations outsource their business needs. Doing so allows businesses to keep overhead down on expenses such as office space, equipment, internet connection, taxes, and even benefits.
Even though this provides significant cost savings to business owners , it also greatly benefits a Philippines-based Virtual Assistant as well. They get to work from home, be closer to family, and removing 2-4 hours of a daily commute. All while taking in a great wage.
While several other countries are well-known for offering virtual services, such as Malaysia, South Africa, and India, it’s the Philippines making headway in the outsourcing world. Here is our 2021 “State of Virtual Assistants” Report. In that report, we discuss the top types of virtual assistants and how they affect businesses.
Filipino people are globally known to be loyal and hard-working. The deeply rooted spirit of being family-oriented is a great benefit as an employer. Filipino Virtual Assistants will work hard for their families’ well-being and thusly, their employer. Since the Philippines was occupied by Spain for several hundred years and was liberated by America in the early 1900s. Filipino people are open to different cultures. They are primarily influenced by western media and culture, thus making it easy for them to understand your culture.
The Philippines boasts a 95% literacy rate wherein the medium of instruction is mainly in English. Many companies outsource jobs to the Philippines because the accents of Filipinos are primarily neutral. This means they can easily be understood by western customers. Furthermore, the Philippines is currently ranked #27 out of 100 countries globally on the English Proficiency Index and is ranked #2 in Asia as of 2021.
The Education and Job Market
According to the Philippine National Statistics Office, there are 42.5 million Filipinos in the labor force whose median age is 23 years old. The Labor force Participation Rate is at 60.6%. The Philippines has also been recorded to have a High English Proficiency rating of 60.59.
They are #3 in Asia and #15 out of the top 80 countries. English is the medium of instruction in school and the official language of businesses.
Lowered Cost and Liability
When hiring a Virtual Assistant, that can qualify as a deduction from the taxable income of 50% of labor expenses and consigned equipment. All legal risks are transferred to the outsourcing provider. As mentioned earlier, this provides significant cost savings as well. A Virtual Assistant will be working from their home, so no need to provide office space, they will have their own equipment and internet connection. If you sign-up with a company like MyOutDesk, we handle all benefits and HR concerns for you!
How to Hire a Virtual Assistant for Nearly Any Industry
Hiring a virtual assistant empowers businesses to delegate nearly all non-revenue productive tasks. This allows a business or team leader to focus on the most important work ON your business instead of in it. Remember, if you don’t have an assistant, you are the assistant.
Outsource your Virtual Assistant Services today! Schedule your business strategy call today and find out how a MyOutDesk Virtual Assistant from the Philippines can help grow your business!
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MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment costs
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“You get out what you put in,” says Dan Smith, of his experience onboarding a few virtual assistants(VA’s) from MyOutDesk. Dan is the Operations Manager at ‘Modern Lending’, a young but fast-growing mortgage company. He’s a firm believer in investing your time and effort into something, or someone, to improve the results you expect in return. Basically, if your input is the bare minimum then your output will match it. That’s one of the reasons Dan had no issue turning to us for a few virtual assistants to help his company with administrative work. Besides of course the positive word of mouth, proven track record, and competitive prices.
Dan and his team needed more helping hands with various company duties, but finding people with the knowledge he required was tough. Not to mention expensive, when you’re hiring freelance or from a temp agency. Dan knew that no matter where he decided to hire from, some degree of training was going to be required. So why not hire some people who’ve already been screened and evaluated, thus eliminating some of his headaches. While still being a blank-slate enough that he can build them from the ground up to fit his company needs! After all, their mission at Modern Lending was to make the entire home buying experience as positive and stress-free as possible. Buying a house is the most expensive purchase the average American will ever make, so you should come out of it happy, not just relieved it’s over.
“Anyone can fool you for 30 mins in an interview. Then you get them in here and it’s like what happened to that other person? We haven’t had to deal with anything like that at MyOutDesk.”
Modern Lending currently has 6 VA’s supporting their in-house loan processors. They started with just a few, whom Dan personally trained for several hours a day during the onboarding process. This might sound like a lot of effort, compared to hiring someone who already knows what they’re doing, but do they really? Every office works a little differently and has specific strengths, goals, and processes. Dan wanted whoever was going to be handling these sensitive tasks to not just know how to do them but to understand why they were doing them. What the importance of every step was, and how it affected someone else down the line. Over time the results were so satisfying, that they hired a few more VA’s from MyOutDesk. Eventually expanding their duties to involve increasingly high-level responsibilities, as they became more adept and trusted.
“I’ve had zero issues, ever, with MyOutDesk itself. Everything we needed, we got it, often in less than 24 hours.”
High Value, Low Cost
In the end, Dan and his team have been beyond satisfied with their experience hiring VA’s to support their processors. Not only were they able to secure six hard-working professionals as soon as they needed them, but they saved money doing so. Dan says he expects they save at least 60% of the costs they would have incurred had they hired elsewhere. In other words, the blended model of virtual assistants supporting his local staff has only helped their company continue to grow and be successful. If you’re at all curious how you can have a similar experience of success and savings, follow the link below. We’re happy to schedule a free consultation where we can assess any business problems you might have. Then we’ll determine how one of our VA’s might solve them.
Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment costs
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Proving in-home healthcare is one of the most selfless, valuable, and admirable jobs a person can do. By stepping into a career like that, you’re giving up your time to take care of another human being who truly needs it. That said, as the person giving that care, you need some care yourself! Providing in-home healthcare is a very busy, demanding job. The people devoting themselves to this role can’t do it on their own, at least not as successfully as they could be if they just had a little support. That’s where a virtual assistant(VA) can step in and be the perfect remote support for a person who can’t be remote themselves. The caretaker’s job requires in-person duties, but a VA can be anywhere in the world, helping with everything else. Let’s briefly go over exactly what that “everything else” can be when you employ a MyOutDesk virtual assistant.
First, let’s cover why you might need a virtual assistant. Does any of the following apply to you?
Trying to do it all yourself, without enough hours in the day
Struggling to simultaneously maintain your service while promoting too
Unable to properly research new materials/practices vital to your industry
Emails and voicemails piling up, while your calendar is in disarray
Feels like you’re busy, but not necessarily productive
Get Help While You Give Help
If even just one of those speedbumps is slowing your service down, then a VA is worth looking into. By going with MyOutDesk for an assistant, you have access to a pool of verified, talent-matched professionals with experience and dedication. Our VA’s are a reflection of us, so we make sure everyone we hire for placement is up to a certain standard of professionalism. This saves our customers from having to do the interviewing and evaluating themselves. Let us pick the perfect match for your specific needs, whatever they may be.
Here are just some of the various duties/tasks our VA’s can assist an in-home healthcare provider…
Admin/Marketing
Admin assistant
TA/TC coordination
Calendar management
Accounting/Bookkeeping
Online Marketing
Social Media
Multimedia
Recruiter/Sales
Recruiting calls
Candidate screening
Follow-up Calls
Lead nurturing
Trouble ticket management
Scheduling
Communications
As you can see, your bases are covered with a MyOutDesk virtual assistant. Just about anything that isn’t part of your in-house duties can be handled by a VA remotely. Free yourself up to focus on providing excellent service directly to your customers, while a VA handles the busy work behind the scenes. While you’re in-home, taking care of a valued customer, the VA is responding to messages, following up on leads, scheduling appointments, posting to your social, etc. You’re the business, they just help run it for you. If you’re at all curious about getting some help growing your business, follow the link below to schedule a FREE one-on-one consultation. We’ll discuss your potential problems and determine if one of our VA’s can hep solve them.
Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment costs
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide
Hiring a virtual assistant is a big decision for your business. It’s different than hiring someone who will become an in-house employee. With the growth in virtual assistant services, the person you hire can be located in a different city or state.
To hire a virtual assistant, you can find someone on your own or go with an agency that will connect you with the right person.
If you’re considering virtual help and don’t know where to start, we’ve you covered. Keep reading for a quick guide on how to hire the right virtual assistant for your business.
Before You Hire a Virtual Assistant, Assess Your Needs
Do you need a remote virtual assistant? This is a question you must ask yourself when considering this route. Virtual assistants have diverse skill sets that are beneficial to any industry.
In assessing your needs, you’ll have to weigh the pros and cons of having an assistant in-house and being able to work with someone remotely.
Are there tasks that an assistant performs, such as making in-person contact with customers, city officials, or running errands? These duties may now become your responsibility, or you’ll need someone to handle them.
Understand what is more beneficial and cost-effective to the business reaching its goals in the long run.
Create a List of Requirements
Create a list of requirements for the virtual assistant role. Do you need someone for specific tasks? Is there customer relationship management software that your business uses that the assistant will need to learn?
Start making a list and add things that you may not do today but would like to add. Consider tasks like social media management, accounting software, and after-hours call support.
Do Your Research
When looking for virtual services, do your research. There’s a lot of people offering virtual assistant for hire services. This does not mean they’re qualified or can meet your needs.
It’s best to seek a reputable firm to ensure the person you hire has been vetted and has the qualifications you need. If you choose an independent virtual assistant, request a resume and at least
The last step before making a final decision is to conduct interviews. You want to make sure the person you choose is compatible. Create a list of essential questions to ask.
If you’re hiring someone local, schedule a local interview. For a virtual assistant out of the area, schedule a Zoom call. Video conferencing is better than over-the-phone interviews.
Get the Remote Help You Need
If you hire a virtual assistant using this guide, you’re on your way to building a stronger team. Remember, the assistant you hire is an essential team member. Don’t assume that the person can’t complete specific tasks because this is a remote worker.
If you’re looking for vetted virtual receptionists today, check us out! We’re happy to help. You can also click the button below for a FREE one-on-one consultation with us. We’ll listen to you first, and understand your problems or concerns, then see what we can do to help.
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