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Who Do I Hire? New Employee, Freelancer or Virtual Assistant? – PROS & CONS

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Understand what types of personnel will best fit your needs. Read this guide to find answers these questions:

  • What is the difference between a freelancer, an employee, and a virtual assistant?
  • What are the pros and cons of a freelancer?
  • What are the pros and cons of hiring a new employee?
  • What are the pros and cons of hiring a virtual assistant?
  • Are freelancers or new employees more effective?

 

 

First let’s define the differences between the 3 types of personnel that we’ll be comparing.

 

What is a freelancer?

A freelancer is a person who works independently to fill a needed capacity for a business. Freelancers are not considered an employee, and they work for themselves. They are contracted by businesses to perform a specific job, and they set their own schedules.

Freelancers can be found within almost all industries but are most commonly employed in writing, technology, marketing, producing art & media, art, education, design, and more.

 

Who is considered an employee?

An employee is someone who receives compensation as a result of employment, oftentimes working full-time for a business. With employees, businesses are usually required to file proper paperwork, maintain tax compliance, and observe medical and vacation benefits.

 

What is a virtual assistant?

Virtual assistants (VAs) are outsourced and usually full-time hires who provide assistance in sales development, calling, marketing, administrative, and customer service functions to their clients from a remote, home office and typically from a different country.

[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]

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Who should I hire? New Employee, Freelancer or Virtual Assistant? 

 

Hiring A New Employee

Hiring a new employee, or rather an entry-level or mid-level individual to your company will ensure that you have someone who is willing to learn and grow with the company. However there are several factors to consider.

Employees are paid a daily wage and you can ask them to do any work that is required, as long as it falls within their job description. This means they are more likely to do the required work but will cost more than freelancers. They’ll probably want benefits and a raise. Be prepared to fill out & file all the appropriate paperwork. You will also need to provide all the equipment. They will probably need a computer and a desk. If they work from home, you’ll have to pay for their internet connection.

It is known that hired employees will eventually leave at some point. This in turn has a negative impact on productivity, as existing team members get used to working with one another and it becomes a more difficult transition for someone new to come into the team.

Hiring a new employee and bringing them into your team. This is often beneficial, as you have someone who is loyal to your organization and will be willing to work even harder knowing that they are representing themselves in work ethic.

New employees are good because they tend to have more energy. They can be a fresh start after all the previous workers who didn’t work out. However, new employees cost a lot of money and time to hire.

 

 

To recap…

 

PROS of Hiring a New Employee

  • Consistent work & talent
  • Can grow and adapt with the company
  • Loyal to the organization; addressable & accountable work ethic
  • Can do any work that falls within their job description

 

CONS of Hiring a New Employee

  • Business provides work equipment
  • Tedious recruitment process, paperwork, and administrative bookkeeping
  • Costs from taxes and fringe benefits, such as sick & vacation PTO, and medical benefits

 

If a new employee doesn’t sound like a right fit, continue reading to see if a freelancer or a virtual assistant is what you need.

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Hiring A Freelancer

Freelancers can be hired by the hour, or one lump sum as agreed, for a project; and will work on specific tasks you provide. This means that, for a small job, they can potentially be cheaper than employees who generally need to be paid a daily wage. Hiring a freelancer typically means less paperwork and they usually provide their own equipment. 

If you hire a freelancer, they won’t get any benefits or raises, so in many instances, their negotiated costs could result in paying them more than a new employee. This means that at times, for a bigger project, your company may end up having higher costs than it would have with new employees.

However, freelancers are not always willing to do work that might be required that is not detailed in their initial agreement. For example, if you need a programmer to write software for your business but the only programming skills listed on their resume is ‘can code a calculator’ then you will probably be wasting your time asking them to write an entire new suite of business management software. You have to make sure the freelancer is skilled enough for your job and that they have good references.

Freelancers are good because they can help you in a moment’s notice. They’re also less administrative upkeep than new employees, but may have less motivation to understand your full vision and scope of work. It may take several tries to find the right freelancer to work hard and do the job right.

 

 

To recap…

 

PROS of Hiring a Freelancer

  • Can help you in a moment’s notice
  • Less administrative upkeep
  • Easy to replace; good for short-term jobs
  • Can work for an agreed lump sum
  • Typically provides their own equipment
  • Can be more affordable than an employee, depending on project

 

CONS of Hiring a Freelancer

  • Not always willing to go beyond agreed scope of work
  • Less motivated to understand your full vision or scope of needs
  • May take several tries to find the right freelancer for the project
  • Can be more costly than an employee, depending on project

 

If a freelancer doesn’t sound like a right fit, continue reading to see if a virtual assistant is what you need.

[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]

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So, Are Freelancers or New Employees More Effective?

 

To answer this question: If you need, for example, a new program written from scratch so that the software can be sold as an app or on a platform (with little to no upkeep required), then it is recommended to hire freelancers. You will save money and probably get it done quicker than if you wait for employees.

On the other hand, if you want someone to write software for your business (that requires regular maintenance and upgrades) and integrate it in a database so that the software will be used by multiple employees, then it is recommended to hire a new employee for the role. It might cost more, but it will probably save you time and is more efficient.

 

ULTIMATELY, you can find common ground and hire a virtual assistant if you want the good qualities of both a freelancer and an employee.

 

 

Hiring A Virtual Assistant

Virtual Assistants offer the flexibility that businesses need when finding freelancers, but also ensures accountability, professionalism & loyalty as any prized in-house employee. Beyond that, virtual assistant offer more affordability than any other type of personnel.

A talented, experienced, college-educated virtual assistant can handle the essential parts of your operations, so you & your team can focus more on making more deals and growing the business! (Even while cutting your costs — saving you up to 70% on traditional employee costs) 

 

Here are ESSENTIAL tasks a virtual assistant can do to help grow your business:

Marketing

  • Content Writing
  • Social Media Management
  • Build campaigns
  • Email Marketing
  • Sales Funnels
  • Graphic, podcast, video production

 

Lead Generation, Appointment Setting & PR

  • Appointment coordination, confirmation & follow-up
  • Nurture + pre-quality leads
  • Manage media appearances
  • Build sales funnels & produce scripts

 

Executive/Personal Assistance + Systems

  • Administrator website, CRM, IT systems
  • Phone receptionist + address customer service tickets
  • Maintain cloud files + organization
  • Manage product & service listings, online forms, blog, editorial calendar

 

To recap…

 

PROS of Hiring a Virtual Assistant

  • Consistent work & talent
  • Can grow and adapt with the company
  • Loyal to the organization; addressable & accountable work ethic
  • Can do any work that falls within their job description
  • Can help you in a moment’s notice
  • Less administrative upkeep
  • Great for handling daily operational needs
  • Provides their own equipment
  • More affordable than an employee (up to 70% cheaper)
  • More dependable than a freelancer (VAs report to you, full-time)

 

CONS of Hiring a Virtual Assistant

  • Business provides work equipment
    (solved by partnering with a reputable VA provider)
  • Tedious recruitment process, paperwork, and administrative bookkeeping
    (solved by partnering with a reputable VA provider)
  • Costs from taxes and fringe benefits, such as sick & vacation PTO, and medical benefits
    (solved by partnering with a reputable VA provider)
  • Difficult to find the right talent
    (solved by partnering with a reputable VA provider)

[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]

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Which choice is best for me?

The first thing we should consider is the nature of employment. What motivates people to work? Are they working for their own well-being and happiness or are they simply complying with orders from a superior?

We have just the right suggestion. Hire a vetted & experienced virtual assistant who is already experienced in what you need to accomplish or has the potential to do it with the right guidance. That way you can avoid unnecessary training costs, less risk in lost costs from failed searches, and save significant overhead costs!

 

 

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.

 

Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment cost
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide

 

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! Pioneers of virtual assistant services, our first client in 2008 went from five to seventeen VAs with a completely revamped organizational model in short order, and he told MyOutDesk, “Our virtual professionals have shaved $250,000 off our monthly overhead.”

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LPMAMA

Ultimate Guide to Find, Hire, Train a Real Estate ISA (Scripts Included) – Qualifying & Converting More Leads TODAY!

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This is the ultimate way that Real Estate Virtual Assistant ISAs convert leads and increase business for our clients. Last year our Virtual Assistants generated over $50 million in Gross Commission Income (GCI)! Over the last 13 years MyOutDesk has been instrumental in the success and growth of over 6,000 clients.

Read this article, and you’ll find:

  • What is an ISA in Real Estate? (Inside Sales Agent)
  • LPMAMA (The ISA Mantra)
  • How to Find a Real Estate ISA
  • Hiring an ISA for Real Estate
  • Ultimate Guide to Effectively Train a Real Estate ISA
  • Listen to LIVE Calls, Examples, and Scripts!
  • Converting leads, sellers, buyers, and expired listings with a Real Estate ISA Virtual Assistant

For those who want the ultimate guide … We’ve compiled some of example of recorded calls from our ISAs in action as they generate revenue for our clients and we wanted to share them with you so you can get a direct look into what they can do and how they convert buyers and sellers into commission for our clients.

 

What is an ISA in Real Estate? (Inside Sales Agent)

A Real Estate ISA may be the solution to your problems, no matter what kind of prospecting you do. Circle prospecting, geo-farming, expired & FSBOs, calling past clients & working referrals – MyOutDesk ISA virtual assistants ensure that you’re generating all the leads you need and not missing opportunities for more business.

A Talented Real Estate ISA, like ours, can help you:

  • Lead Generation through calling expired listings, neighborhoods around just listed/just sold houses, agent spheres with information of value and asking for referrals, geographic farms to prospect for sellers.
  • Contact all leads through phone/text/email within 5 minutes of registration
  • Check with agents at least once a day on the status of their respective leads, as this will help the agents do their follow-ups.
  • Nurture prospects, follow up, record data, screen & qualify leads
  • Move leads through the funnel, set appointments & manage communications
  • Email outreach, research market trends, prepare business reports
  • Track and measure conversion ratios & meet performance benchmarks
  • Practice, memorize and internalize scripts
  • Manage contact database system & hand off hot leads to agents
  • Submit daily reports on calls, conversations, and appointments set.

…and so much more.

 

 

LPMAMA (The Real Estate ISA Mantra)

Does it happen that you’re in the middle of the call and the flow of conversation doesn’t follow the script that you’ve posted on your wall? Suddenly you find yourself at a loss for words and completely unsure what to say next.

When you work with clients this can happen – but no need to worry, as you can use LPMAMA to guide you through each of your calls so you can make sure that you always complete the details that you need, matched with a superb quality of call with our leads as you sound more conversational and free flowing.

 

Ultimate Guide to Effectively Train a Real Estate ISA

Let’s define exactly what LPMAMA stands for…

 

LPMAMA helps convert leads, sellers, buyers, and expired listings (with a Real Estate ISA Virtual Assistant)

 

L – Location

Prior to your Real Estate ISA’s calls, have the address of the property that your lead are interested in already handy. But is this the only one?

In their training scripts, make sure that you ask the lead if they will be open to other properties within the area or if there would any other areas that may also have their interest. (We have example scripts for you further down this article.)

Examples:

  • “Aside from this property, Would you be open to other properties as well in the area? As we will also try to find you other properties similar to this one that you’re interested in.”
  • “Aside from this City; do you find yourself interested on nearby Cities as well?”

 

P – Price

Price range is very important as this will help your real estate team to narrow down the search among the thousands of properties that are listed on the MLS. This is also the right time for your ISA to ask if they are already pre-approved or if they would be willing to be re-endorsed to the Realty’s in-house Lender.

Also, take note that location and price should be compatible with each other. For example, The lead’s pre-approved amount is only $90,000.00 but he wants a property located within Brooklyn, NY wherein the least prices of homes are around $250,000.00. This will give you a signal to pitch in to the client the possibility of changing their preferred location since the Budget is not feasible within the Brooklyn Market.

Examples:

  • “I see that the house you’re interested in is priced at $110,000.00. Is this the amount that your lender pre- approved you for? What would be the price range that you’ll be more comfortable with?” (Take Note: Not all buyers are willing to max out their Pre-approved amount as this will bring them in a tight financial status)
  • “How much cash do you have in hand to purchase homes?”

 

M – Motivation

Gauging the Lead’s intent to moving in can also be done by knowing their motivation. Are they transferring to this area because it is closer to family members? Work? or Children’s School?. With all the different reasons that they might have, it also comes with a timeframe suited for every need.

For example, Its August and you made a call to a family who is looking for properties on a specific area. You asked them for their reason for choosing that location and they said that their children will be transferred to a school near that area. This gives you an idea that they are moving in really soon because its already August and the school starts on September.

Here’s another scenario: You called the lead and he said that he is interested among the properties you have in the area. Then he mentioned that he is from another state. So you would ask, Why are you transferring to this area?

He then said, “I’m being relocated by my company to that state due to our expansion and would really need to find a property really soon since we’re opening in the next two months.” From a simple question you were able to identify what is their timeframe as well as their urgency and you can use this as a negotiating tool by making them realize that you will cover everything for them and you’ll make sure that you’ll be meeting their timeline.

Example:

  • “You seem to be really interested among the properties in Brooklyn, is this actually closer your work or you children’s school? I did ask because we can use that information to prioritize which properties would actually fit you best.”

 

A – Agent

This is one of the most important questions that you need to ask. You should be able to identify how is the lead looking for properties. Is it through the internet? Driving around the Area? or They are being assisted by an agent. Make sure that they are not working with an agent, and if they do, go ahead and ask if they have signed an Exclusivity Agreement with them. It is very important that you identify this in order for you to know if you can continue working with that lead or not.

While asking this question, you may encounter someone saying that he is already working with an agent and he is just searching for homes in the area. If this is the case, you might want to ask how is their agent assisting them in the process. Also try to feel from the lead’s voice if there is any dismay from their agent as you can use this to negotiate with them to use your services instead.

How will you offer your services if they have a contract? In some states it is mandatory for them to have an Easy Exit Clause for the contract wherein they can cancel at any time the services of their agent and it’s effectivity will take place after 48 hours.

Key Questions:

  • “How do usually look for homes in the area? Is it through the websites? Driving around the area? or are you being assisted by an agent?”
  • “That’s great that you already have an agent working with you, however did you sign an exclusivity agreement with them?”
  • “Can I ask an honest question? If you’re agent is so good and he is assisting you very well in the process, how come he is letting you to look for homes by yourself?”

 

M – Mortgage

One of the key factors during a home search is how are they planning to purchase the property? Will they be buying it through cash or financing? In order for a lead to go to the next steps of the process, they should be able to secure at least a pre-approval from their preferred lenders. These approvals can give you an exact amount on what price will your lead be eligible to thus improving your home search. A follow up question for this will be how much cash do they on hand to proceed with the purchase. How much can they give for the down payment and how much will they be putting in mortgage.

Most of the agents do require at least 20% down payment for the home. And in some cases, pre-approvals are used by the Agents to prioritize which lead should be attended to ASAP. But in cases that your lead has not gone through the process yet, endorse them to your preferred lender so they can give them a call and provide them an estimate for their pre-approved amount. Just make note of the minimum credit score accepted by your lender so you can also check if your lead qualifies among their standards or not. If your lead does not know their credit score. Have them login to annualcreditreport.com but remind them that pulling up their records will have a negative impact on their scores.

Key Questions:

  • “How are you planning to purchase your home? Is it through Cash or Financing? – How much cash do you have on hand to purchase homes?”
  • “How much down payment can you make?”

 

A – Appointment

Last but most important of them all is the date of appointment. Giving your Agent an opportunity to meet the lead face to face or to have them in the phone will definitely be an advantage as they can now use their negotiation skills with the lead thus making them inclined to have a contract with your agent in buying or selling homes. Remember that setting up an appointment should be done assertively as you need to make them feel that you are guiding them in the process. Majority of the Leads are First Time Home buyers and they are definitely in need of someone who will guide them in the process and to show them what their next steps will be.

Another Key to having them agree to have an appointment is to let them know what will be the benefits that they can have when they choose to meet up with the agent. Always emphasize the “WIIFMs” What’s In It For Me? And there are a lot of things that you can offer to them which they will not get by simply looking at the homes available via the internet or by walking in inside an Open house event to talk to the listing Agent. Offers may come as Special listings with great offers and discounts which are never posted on the internet, Ability of your Agent to further understand the type of home they’re looking for to narrow down or expand their search, Prioritization when it comes to Inquiries and Showing appointments and many more.

Examples:

  • “Let me schedule you for an appointment tomorrow with my Agent so he can have a better understanding on what type of home you’re really looking for. I can have you booked at 3PM or 5PM, which one will work for you?”
  • “Why don’t I have the best local agent in the area call you at 5:30 this evening and provide you with more details about this listing as well as pre-approvals and more options for some of the top listings in this area? There’s no commitment at this point. It’s just over the phone with my agent — who really listens…”

Feel free to create your own questions on how to ask them about that specific information and contact us so we can also compile all those great questions for everyone to use, and click here to schedule your free business strategy call now!

 

How to Find a Real Estate ISA

You’re not maximizing your real estate team’s potential without a Real Estate ISA/Prospector— each week up 60% of your team’s time is wasted on busy-work (pre-qualifying leads, cold-calling, nurturing, etc.) It’s time to get more efficient AND lower operational costs. Hire a Real Estate Inside Sales Agent (ISA) so that you and your agents can dedicate your time to the more important, dollar-productive tasks (a.k.a. closing the deal!).

You can find Real Estate ISA candidates, with varying talents and capacities through your own recruitment efforts, or with a cost-effective partnering service that specializes in affordable full-time virtual assistant ISAs, like MyOutDesk.

Hiring an ISA for Real Estate (Inside Sales Virtual Assistant)

Focus on the bigger picture — close more deals & grow your business. How? With an experienced Real Estate ISA virtual assistant to operate a more efficient funnel, MyOutDesk cuts your costs (up to 70% on employment costs) all while helping you to scale business. To book an interview with those in our talent pool, click here.

 

Listen to LIVE Calls, Examples, and Scripts!

 

Buyer Leads

Your Real Estate ISA can do follow-up and appointment setting for your Buyer leads. In the call below, our ISA is calling to follow-up on an inquiry on a specific property. She is able to ask the lead some qualifying questions and ask about some details that they need as well. In this call, she is able to set-up an appointment so they can visit the property. Click below to listen.

 

Seller Leads

Find more sellers and earn more commission with our Real Estate ISA’s. Our Virtual Assistants help our clients with this every day. Here’s an example:

 

Expired Leads

We know that one of the best lead sources are Expired Leads. After your sphere of influence, expired leads are a great source because they are people raising their hands and saying “I actually want to sell but the last guy couldn’t.” Your Real estate ISA can be a huge help closing these deals. We’ve got people trained to make these calls for you, listen to one such example below.

 

These are just a few of the thousands of calls our ISA’s make in a day. We have over 500 Real Estate ISA’s, each one hitting about 20-50 dials per hour having 20-30 conversations a day. That is at least 2,800 dials and conversations EVERY DAY. Are you able to focus on your prospecting as much? Do you want to be able to prospect at this level for your business? Would you like to “duplicate” yourself?

Our talented and motivated Real Estate ISA’s always have great scripts that they practice and role play on a regular basis. One of the tried and tested scripts we have is the LPMAMA. LPMAMA stands for Location, Price, Motivation, Agent, Mortgage, and Appointment. This simple little script has led to many a closed deal. This is how it works.

Download Our Script

To help you out, we’d like to give you this script! You can download it HERE (2018 version).

Stay up-to-date >> We have MANY MORE timely & helpful scripts + downloadable strategy guides on our free consultation signup page, below.

Gain more leverage and time to work on your business instead of in it. Hire your Real Estate ISA and keep your pipeline flowing while you focus on your revenue-producing activities to grow your business!

 

Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment cost


Access a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide
(+ Instant access to MORE scripts & real estate strategies)

 

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.” 

Sales Development Reps – The True Catalysts in Business

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About 50 percent of the virtual professionals we place with clients are fulfilling clients’ sales development outcomes (that’s over 5,000 virtual professionals we’re talking about). So over the years, we have garnered real evidence about how virtual assistants as Sales Development Representatives are real catalysts in business.

We share this concrete system to show how any business who integrate virtual assistants in their business can also scale operational capacity while also lowering overhead costs.

 

 

Virtual assistant can help you and your business enormously when it comes to generating and converting leads — that is, taking a potential customer who may have an interest in your business, or even may never have heard of your business, and turning that lead into a warm opportunity.

That warm opportunity would include a sales meeting, and if all goes well, a sales quote. Preparing virtual professionals to succeed with this out- come is one of my favorite things to do because the path to having your investment in sales development reps (SDR) pay off in terms of revenue is clear-cut and highly measurable from an outcome basis.

When I say pay off, I’m not speaking merely of an increase in sales. In business, I like a three-to-one return. If I’m spending $5,000 to put someone in place, I want to see a $15,000 return. Your top concern about onboarding a virtual sales team will probably be “How do I do this?” Well, you could just put someone in a seat and say, “OK, now go sell for me,” and ask that individual to be accountable for some metrics you have made up in your head. In fact, as an entrepreneur, your go-to mode is probably that you jump right in first and worry about the how later. That is classic entrepreneur behavior, and in general, it’s a great attribute. In this instance, however, I’d like you to resist that and reframe your thinking.

 

 

This is a situation in which having a concrete plan will pay off in real dollars. Think about onboarding an SDR as if you are running a relay race and you have a baton in your hand. You’re fully committed, and you’re killing it at Usain Bolt speed. As you approach runner number two, she holds out her hand expectantly to receive the baton. But instead of passing it to her, you throw it to her. It misses its mark, striking her in the head, and she stumbles. Not smart, right? You have just set up your talented teammate to fail. And that is the biggest mistake that people make when they hire VPs: They chuck the baton rather than smoothly hand it off. So, all you need is a recipe for a smooth handoff.

 

Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment cost
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide

 

Have Bulletproof Scripts

Scripts are in the virtual professional’s arsenal. Here are the elements you should painstakingly document in written form for your new sales team members. Of course, the content will vary depending on the type of business you are in, but for the moment, I will give you examples based on what we use at MyOutDesk.

A Clear Elevator Pitch

Know your elevator pitch. The base formula for a good elevator pitch is “I serve [who] to do [what], so they [get this result].” Ours is: “We instantly scale growing companies with virtual professionals.” That is what we do at MyOutDesk, in a nutshell. The elevator pitch is such an important piece for you to craft and for your VPs to absorb. You all need to be on the same page as you communicate your company’s value, and once you have articulated this clearly and documented it transparently, your VPs will be able to advance that message. They will communicate it in exactly the way you would.

Know Your Value Proposition

This might seem a bit obvious, but many business owners think their value proposition is just that—obvious—and they fail to document it concretely for their virtual sales reps. Give them the information they need to be clear in their conversations about why your clients choose you. What is the benefit they see? We hear time and time again from our clients that they are overwhelmed, and alleviating that overwhelm is where we add massive value. They are so busy, and we are the “easy button” for finding talent to help them. There is no way they could find five people to interview in forty-eight hours…but we can. We have already vetted them. The MyOutDesk value proposition: “We provide indispensable VPs to growing businesses.” If you can articulate your value proposition clearly to your virtual professionals and have that in written form somewhere they can refer to, you are hitting one out of the park from the outset.

 

Have a Process for Handling Objections

When you give your virtual professionals your value proposition, you are giving them the ideal outcome. But you also have to prepare them for the challenges they’ll encounter. Document all the objections that a potential customer might have for your product or service, and your virtual professionals will wear it like armor in their conversations with leads. They will be ready to answer potential customers’ objections in a friendly way. Why might a customer say no? What answer could your virtual professionals give that might turn that into a yes? Help them to anticipate these issues.

Have a Positioning Document

A positioning document expresses how your product or service fills a need that competitors don’t, so this is a critical piece for a sales development rep to know. At MyOutDesk, our positioning document has expressions along these lines:

  1. We have helped over five thousand clients grow their businesses.
  2. We make sure that every virtual professional you interview is exceptional and MOD-certified because of our thorough vetting process.
  3. We have been in this business for twelve years and built an industry around serving medium and small businesses.
  4. We provide Market Force™ personality profiles to accurately match talent.
  5. We provide medical benefits, microloans, vacations, and conferences for our virtual professionals.
  6. MyTimeIn is our proprietary software that helps track outcomes and provides daily task oversight.
  7. We have a Chief People Office in the United States that personally vets our virtual professionals.
  8. Your partnership with us benefits our Charity Impact Movement (503c). We give away thousands of dollars every year to impoverished communities.

These are points on which none of our competitors can compare. Anyone who tries to stack up against that will have a huge challenge, and the only way they can win is through offering a lower price and lower quality. MyOutDesk is the price leader and has the highest quality available, so this is exactly where I want our competitors to be (a lower-priced alternative). If they offer lower prices, we can say, “Look at all the value we have to help your business scale. If you are looking for the cheapest, that’s not us. If you are looking to scale effectively, while ensuring a great end product that gives value to your customers, we know how to do that.”

 

Have a System for Measuring Results

You and your sales virtual professionals will know you are scaling the business when you have clearly defined processes for measuring the following:

  1. Leads received:This is the number one thing you must track. How many leads are coming into your business every single day, week, and month?
  2. Number of calls: How many calls did your virtual professionals make to those leads?
  3. Leads converted: How many of those calls went from being just a lead to an actual opportunity to sell?
  4. Speed to lead: This is a metric that really matters. How much time elapses between when the lead comes in to when the call goes out, and does it convert successfully? For example, a lead might come in at 1:00, and they get a call five minutes later.
  5. New clients/sales: How many new clients resulted from this process? This is the bottom line. Have a system in place that tracks all these things in a way that is easy for everyone to understand.

Avoid These Failure Points

What I have described so far are the things you need to do to be successful in scaling with your virtual SDRs. Based on my vast experience, I’d also like to give you come common pitfalls to avoid.

  1. You don’t have enough leads: I like to have five hundred new leads a month, but your number will depend on what industry you are in and what your sales cycle looks like. I always like to have three to five salespeople behind our virtual SDRs. An SDR’s job is to convert a lead into an opportunity, right? And the salesperson’s job is to turn that opportunity into a client. It is important for the SDR to feel like he or she is on the same team with the salesperson, and vice versa. Having enough leads and enough salespeople allows you to test who is closing and who is not. We once had a client come to us because he was upset his team wasn’t converting enough leads. It turned out that the salesperson wasn’t immediately calling the leads once they got converted into an opportunity, instead letting them go for two or three days before calling. It’s very important that you have enough people and a measurement for speed to lead for both the VP and the salesperson here in the United States.
  2. You aren’t doing daily and weekly meetings: I like a daily morning meeting with a little music and a little coffee, so everyone can talk about the wins. Everyone is talking about where their energy is and how they are feeling, and we are putting positivity out early in the morning so that feeling can be conveyed through the phones. Weekly meetings are for making commitments to sales and conversation goals.
  3. You aren’t tracking conversations: Someone who is having forty or fifty conversations per day is going to have a different result than someone who is having ten. You want to set concrete goals for the number of conversations and share those in your daily and weekly meetings.
  4. You don’t have activity-level measurements: Your system for measuring results should include everyone on your team. How many calls did each person make? How many times did each person try? How fast did each person handle the opportunities in front of him or her, and how often convert? These are important metrics to have for each individual.
  5. You aren’t going after the 3Rs: As I mentioned in chapter 11, referrals, recommendations, and reviews are critical to your business. It is astounding how many businesses fail to harness the power of these three things. We chase them ruthlessly at MyOutDesk. In fact, we get referrals all the time from people who have never even done business with us. There is a woman in Texas who has sent us three or four clients. I had only one conversation with her, five years ago, and she hasn’t bought from us, but she keeps sending us people because I had a great conversation with her. If you aren’t pursuing the 3Rs with your team, you are miss- ing out. As you can see, my prevailing message about how to set up your virtual SDRs for success is communicate, communicate, communicate. Assume nothing, and document everything.

SDR Example Calls

Here are a few snippets from a call being made to a seller lead:

 

Here are a few snippets from a call being made by one of our Real Estate ISA VAs to a Buyer Lead:

 

Here are a few snippets of a call being made to an Expired Listing Lead:

 

 

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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.” 

 

Explained: What is a virtual assistant?

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Considering a virtual assistant for your business? — This page has everything you need to help you make an informed decision. Hiring a virtual assistant marks the beginning of a new and exciting time for you, your current employees, and the company. Employing a virtual assistant means that the company is making an investment in your team and looking to achieve the next level of excellence and performance.

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Is Your Email Marketing Failing? Here’s How To Fix It!

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Email marketing is one of the most powerful and cost efficient tools for generating & nurturing leads. Its non-obtrusive nature and immense flexibility gives you a lot of room to find creative ways to market to your clients. You shouldn’t underestimate the possibilities that can be created with a strong email marketing strategy.

Email marketing requires attention and consistency. Leverage a MyOutDesk Marketing Virtual Assistant to implement your strategies for email and all your marketing responsibilities. Schedule your ‘Grow Virtual’ Strategy Session to find out how.

 

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If your email marketing is not as effective as you might hope, there are a few factors that might be holding you back.

1. You aren’t doing it.– Surprisingly, there are a huge number of entrepreneurs who do not utilize email marketing in their business. Email is 40 times more effective at acquiring new customers than Facebook or Twitter. According to studies, email beats social media by 40 xs for customer acquisition.

2. You aren’t personalizing it. – Automated emails are convenient ad easy. There is nothing wrong with writing blanket type emails that may generally appeal to a large portion of your niche. You do not have to write an individual email to your contact list, however, little touches of “personalization” are important as well. For example, using their names is a great touch. “Hey Greg!” is still better than a non-descript greeting. Many email platforms allow you to customize greetings and can be programmed to pull names from a list. Aside from that, use words or terms that are related to your niche, this tells your leads that you really know what you are talking about and are here to help them.

3. You aren’t responding quickly enough. – Speed to leads applies to emails too. Over 88% of prospective customers expect a response within an hour, but this is rarely accomplished. You should respond to inquiries within the day of receiving them AT LEAST., the sooner the better.

4. You aren’t mobile friendly. – Mobile accounts for up to 77% of email opens! When creating your emails, make sure that they are mobile friendly as well. People are constantly on their phones and you want to be sure that your email has readability across different devices. Testing your emails before sending them out so you can make adjustments is a great way to ensure that you are.

5. Your content isn’t dynamic. – Nobody wants to hear the same things over and over again nor do they want to feel that all you are doing is selling to them. Mix-up your content by talking about different aspects of human life that relate to your services. Find different ways to touch on your audience’s personal interests and perspectives.

6. You aren’t testing your content. – A/B or split testing is a highly effective tool when you are trying to figure out your market. Testing the efficacy of different kinds of content can greatly help your marketing strategy. Every audience is different. You must test to know what works. A/B tests can improve conversion rates by 49%.

Email marketing can indeed be a powerful avenue you can use to grow your business, but sometimes it takes the kind of time and attention that you just do not have. A MyOutDesk Virtual assistant can be instrumental in ensuring that your marketing campaigns are effective.

Schedule a ‘Grow Virtual’ Strategy Session so we can help you make the most out of your email marketing!

 

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Achieve the Dream – Scaling as a Franchisee | With Brian Beers

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Brian Beers and his family currently own and operate 12 Midas® franchises in the Philadelphia area. He shares what talent means for his franchise businesses and his journey to getting the leverage that he needs.

 

“We used outsource companies in the past and have some varying experiences. I really like about [MyOutDesk] is all the work that you guys do upfront to find the right virtual assistant — ensuring that we’re getting a high-quality, well-vetted candidate because the biggest challenge or a roadblock is TRUST.”

 

How to scale profits with a franchise business

 

Brian’s family has been in business of owning franchises for a long time. With a virtual assistant, they doubled their business in the last 3-4 years, and the next couple years they’re looking to double again. His virtual assistant, Ann, handles tasks independently. Brian compliments her achievements in our interview.

 

The virtual assistant directly works with his managers to get things done. These tasks are now completely off his radar, and Brian shares his “great experience for his franchise locations!“

 

“We got to try to multiply our efforts, and that’s really where the virtual assistant comes into play. They take away the everyday tasks, so that I could focus on higher-value outcomes and continue to work towards these larger goals.”

 

 

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 VAs with a completely revamped organizational model in short order, and he told MyOutDesk, “Our virtual professionals have shaved $250,000 off our monthly overhead.” 

 

ENVISIONING OF A NEW REALITY FOR YOUR FRANCHISE BUSINESS

Simply put, MyOutDesk equips entrepreneurs & franchise 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.

 

Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment cost
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide

 

 

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.”

 

 

Beat Low Housing Inventory With These 8 Strategies

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We’re facing a historically low housing inventory in 2020. Fluctuating mortgage rates have forced many to stay put in their homes and forgo upgrades and downgrades. While we have seen a bit of improvement as of late, trends say that if current market conditions persist, we may see further dips in inventory.

Do you want to ride the ups and downs of the Real Estate market unscathed? You need to be able to focus on your business and have the best support in place to do that. Book your ‘Grow Virtual’ Business Strategy Session and find out how a MyOutDesk Virtual Assistant can give you the leverage to thrive and not just survive.

 

MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment cost
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Here are eight foolproof tactics you can apply that will not only help you find more homes in markets affected by low inventory but will help you generate more listings as well.

1. Know the Price Points of ALL new construction in your area

Majority of new construction housing will never even land on your MLS. If you are in a low housing inventory market, this makes a HUGE DIFFERENCE. Find out all the information you can about new construction neighborhoods and build relationships with developers. You will not only have alternative options for your buyers, but you stand a high chance of getting recommendations and referrals from developers as well. Your knowledge of your local community will help establish trustworthiness.

2. Tap your Sphere of Influence

Both Personal and Professional. Don’t be afraid to use your personal network to find new business. Send out a personal message or meet-up with them to ask if they know anyone looking to sell their home. Don’t forget to contact your old clients as well, and you never know what you may stumble upon.

3. Post a Wanted Ad

There will most likely be people around your community who want to sell but haven’t listed yet or are waiting on one thing or another. You can attract a potential seller with “Seller Wanted Ads.” You can use flyers or take out an ad in a local newspaper or even use targeted social media ads for this. If you have a serious buyer, describe specific features of a home they are looking for, why they want to move into a specific neighborhood and a general deadline. You might even get a chance to list the property!

4. Zillow’s “Make Me Move”

Make Me Move by Zillow is a feature where first-time listers name the price that would make them sell their home. You can do specific searches and find “Make Me Move” listings in the area your buyer is interested in. While some prices might be a bit too high, it is an option you can show your buyer and the fact that someone made an effort and named their price is a positive sign.

5. Pre-foreclosures

As banks are putting foreclosures into motion, it is important to know that most of these homes are near equity. Current homeowners aren’t aware of this, but the banks are, which is why they are being targeted first. Find these properties and reach out to homeowners and let them know that they can sell their homes, you help both your buyer and give the potential seller hope.

6. The Best Time for Expired Listings

Right now is the best time to prospect Expired listings because the market has recovered. While these listings may have been priced too high in the past, their prices may be perfectly acceptable now. Try going for really old expired listings as well!

7. Find Unrepresented Sellers (FSBO)

Seeking out FSBO can be another great resource. Think about it. They are already actively selling their homes, in a low inventory market, finding FSBO and connecting them with your buyers may just be the ticket.

8. Create your dream team

We’ve given you solid tips to overcome your low inventory market. Now, implementing them is another story. Set-up a team that can take these tips and run with them! MyOutDesk Virtual Assistants are ready to be part of that team and can give you the leverage you need to be successful in a low inventory market! Start building your dream team right now! Book your ‘Grow Virtual’ Strategy Session and add a MyOutDesk virtual assistant your business today!

 

Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment cost
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide

 

Top Social Media Platforms & How to Best Leverage Them

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Social networks are one of the fastest growing industries in the world, with a projected annual growth of 25% over the next 5 years. Social media marketing increases your brand’s awareness. 63% of buyers who search for houses online are more likely to use ones with informative social media presence. Not just brand awareness, social media also has the power to increase customer loyalty. 71% of consumers who received a quick response on social media would recommend the service to others too.
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When Sometimes Hustle Just Isn’t Enough

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Are you happy? Think about it for a moment: are you really, truly happy in your career? Studies have shown that the human mind finds fulfillment & happiness in doing tasks that are useful, so it’s likely that you get an emotional reward from your work – otherwise you would have changed careers long ago.

Still, before that first cup of coffee, do you come in filled with excitement about the day ahead, or do you have trepidation about a pile of unsolved problems that you have to tackle while simultaneously pushing your business forward?

Maybe the problem isn’t you or your job – it’s that you’ve missed a critical off-ramp to the world of hustle. You’re still stuck in the fast lane pushing as hard & fast as you can, despite the fact that the more successful you become the harder you have to push just to keep pace with all of the demands.

What did you miss? In a word: help. Schedule your ‘Grow Virtual’ Business Strategy Session today to find it.

 

 

When you’ve got a tiny business, you can wear all the hats, do all the jobs, and keep all the profits. Even on a small scale, it’s a lot of work, but at least you can keep up with things. Then, as your business starts to grow, the demands increase. More customers, more prospects, more demands on your time – more hustle.

As a business owner, you’re like a frog in the pot of water – it’s easy to miss the slowly increasing heat as it comes to boil, until you’ve reached a point where you’re waking up early & staying up late just to stay on top of things. You never would have taken a job working for somebody else doing this kind of work, but for some reason you torture yourself with it because it gives you freedom.

Freedom? We need to redefine the term, because you’re definitely not free and able to determine your own course in life if you spend all day, every day running just to keep up. Perhaps we could say that “creating your own trap is better than being bait in somebody else’s” – but that’s still a dark, pessimistic view of things, and it doesn’t have to be that way.

As your business grows, you need to add team members to handle the busy-work that you no longer have time for. Your job is to be a leader, provide vision & inspiration, and handle key tasks that nobody else can manage – and maybe even sip the occasional Pina Colada on the beach of a tropical resort along the way.

The way that you get from here to there is by hiring staff to handle the hustle for you – which is exactly what MyOutDesk does for thousands of clients across the United States. We provide higher-quality staffing with prices 70% less than you’d pay for in-house staff, with the flexibility you need to handle any type of assistance required. Schedule your ‘Grow Virtual’ Business Strategy Session today to find out more!

 

MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment cost
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No More Distractions: Scaling Your Business & Growing Profitability

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It can be a real challenge to perform at an optimum level in our increasingly distracted world. If you’re a person who really wants to be the best version of yourself, this podcast is for you.

Mark Struczewski is a productivity expert and online trainer that helps people be productive in a distracted world. He is also the host of The Mark Struczewski Podcast.

 

THE MARK STRUCZEWSKI PODCAST
Scaling Your Business and Growing Profitability – Daniel Ramsey

Podcast Link

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In this episode, Daniel and Mark discuss the 3 stages of entrepreneurial growth, leveraging, 96% versus 4% versus 0.04%, the downfall of tribal knowledge, and control freaks.

Daniel Ramsey is the founder and CEO of MyOutDesk, the highest-rated virtual assistant company in the marketplace with over 500 verified 5-star reviews, and over 13 years of experience, serving more than 6,000 clients across industries. Back in 2008, he was inspired by his own time-management struggles to find a better way to help agents leverage their time & energy, and created MyOutDesk to provide a trusted, reliable solution to the office administration, marketing & prospecting tasks that every agent has – but most lack the time to focus on. In 13 years with MyOutDesk, Daniel has helped thousands of clients scale their businesses and grow profitability.

Visit Mark at https://www.markstruczewski.com/.

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