Virtual Secretariat

Here are my Top 5 Questions asked about Virtual Assistants and how you can answer them. While marketing your business you are sure to come across these questions and it’s best to be prepared with answers that best explain what a VA does and how a business can benefit from hiring a VA.

Remember when you are talking about your business to potential clients, lead with the benefits your services will bring their business rather than explanations of what you do.

1. What is a virtual assistant(VA)?

A VA is an administrative professional who assists other professionals from a remote location – typically their own home office. VAs are contractors, not employees for the business or professional they assist. They can be contracted for small, one-time only projects, or large projects that span several months on a retainer agreement. VAs save their clients time and money by providing their own equipment, training, and office space.

2. How will a VA benefit me and my organization?

Hire a virtual assistant and you’ll free up your time to develop your business, spend time with your family and concentrate on working at what you do best. A VA can take over the time consuming administrative functions required to run a business, provide services that you cannot or don’t want to do and help you reclaim the time you lose each day on administrative tasks. Your assistant can give you valuable time to focus on more important things – like running your business!

By contracting a virtual assistant, you will not only save time but money as well. Virtual assistance cut employee costs because your VA will work only when you need them, you pay only for the services you need done and only when you need them. You are not responsible for the employee costs of benefits, vacation, overtime or sick days and payroll taxes. Your virtual assistant supplies their own computer, equipment, software and expertise from their virtual home office.

You can build your business while we take care of your administrative tasks.

3. How do I know a VA will do a good job of my projects?

When you hire a VA, you are hiring another professional and business owner. My job is to make your life easier and your satisfaction is key to the success of my business. A VA is a partner in business and you should expect a solid and reliable performance on a continuing basis. You can trust me as your virtual assistant to take care of your business needs as if they were my own because my business is helping YOUR business succeed.

4. How will my VA communicate with me?

Communication is key to developing and maintaining an effective relationship with your virtual assistant. We can communicate via telephone, fax, or email. All of your communication with us will be answered within one business day. If everything is going well, communicating once a week is usually sufficient and we will keep you updated on the progress of all of your important tasks.

Other options for communicating with your VA are:

- text messaging
- instant messenger programs
- conference calls and web cams
- virtual help and remote assist programs

5. Can I afford a virtual assistant?

Virtual assistants may be much more affordable than you think. The real question is, can you afford not to have a VA? Time is a valuable commodity, and in short supply for most people today. Hiring a virtual assistant is an economical way of outsourcing time-consuming tasks, and in a sense, you’re literally buying back your own time. Imagine all you could accomplish with just a few more hours in your day!