As the CEO of your company, you’ve got a lot on your plate. There are important meetings to run, paperwork to file, employees to manage, and daily activities that constantly need your attention. As your business grows, so do the number of things you need to get done. At some point, you’re going to want to delegate some of your responsibilities to someone else so that you can focus on the big picture CEO-type stuff that only you can get done. A great way of accomplishing that is by hiring a virtual assistant.
What exactly is a virtual assistant?
A virtual assistant is very similar to a receptionist or secretary, the only difference being that a virtual assistant works remotely instead of at your company headquarters. While virtual assistants can’t provide support for office activities, they can pretty much do everything else. This includes answering the phone, manning your website’s online chat, and achieving overall customer satisfaction.
What’s great about virtual assistants is that they’re cheap — or at least far cheaper than hiring an on-site receptionist. You can get a virtual assistant for around $300 per month, or $3,600 per year. Hiring a receptionist, on the other hand, will usually cost you around $30,000 annually. With these numbers, that’s a difference of $26,400 per year, which is a whole lot of money that could be spent on improving other areas of your business.
So why is hiring a virtual assistant so cheap? The answer lies in the way virtual assistants conduct their work. Typically, virtual assistants are employed by multiple companies. The reason for this is that most new businesses don’t have enough customer inquiries to actually keep a virtual assistant continuously busy throughout the day. This allows the assistant to man the phones and provide customer support for multiple companies simultaneously, all the while maintaining the highest level of satisfaction for both customers and employers.
The awesome benefits of a virtual assistant.
Chances are, during the initial phases of your business, your employees and you shared the responsibilities of handling the phones and addressing customer concerns. Now that you’re delegating these tasks to a full-time professional, not only will you have more time and energy to focus on growing your business, but your level of customer satisfaction will also likely increase as well. Most virtual assistants have a likable personality and friendly voice. What I’m about to say might hurt your feelings a bit, but there’s a good chance your customers will prefer communicating with your virtual assistant over chatting with you, even if you are the CEO!
A virtual assistant can also allow your company to incorporate a live chat feature on your company website. An online chat system makes your site seem more professional, and gives customers who don’t like speaking on the phone an option to effortlessly get in touch with someone who can assist them. As a result, this feature can increase your website’s conversion rate by a remarkable amount.
Overall, the option to hire a virtual assistant is perfect for newer companies that don’t necessarily need an on-site receptionist or secretary. It’s a surprisingly cheap role to fill, but one that can save you a lot of headaches. If you find yourself bogged down with tasks that a virtual assistant can easily handle instead of focusing on activities that will grow your company, then give this idea a shot!
