6 Ways A Virtual Assistant Can Help During The Holidays…

With Thanksgiving now over, the month of December is quickly going to turn into a blur. Between family functions, holiday shopping and traveling this can be a hectic time for most. And if you’re a business owner, the stress can multiply.

Here are 6 ways a VA can help you during the holidays so you can enjoy time with your family and friends:

1.Christmas Cards/ Thank You Cards

This is the perfect time of year to thank your clients! Yet, picking the perfect Christmas card can be time consuming.  Let a VA find the cards and send them for you. With sites like Shutterfly, a VA can send you a few samples to view. You pick the card and then the VA can mail it out for you. If you’re going for a more old fashioned approach, your VA can hand write cards to your clients and send those also.

2. Social Media Management

Keeping up with each Social Media site is a chore all by itself. Add a dose of the Holidays in and you can quickly get in over your head. Let a VA take care of the Holiday posts; Christmas, After Christmas Sales, New Year Extravaganza etc.

3. Email Management

Most busy professionals know how the holidays can put a damper in your communication with clients or potential clients. Let an assistant manage your email. You can spend time relaxing with your family knowing that your clients are being answered and those interested in your services are getting the information they need.

4. Travel Arrangements

With so many deals during the holidays it can get overwhelming. Finding the best bang for your buck can take time. Let a VA find the best flight, hotel or rental car for you. It’s Friday, December 2nd and you need a flight for Friday December 23rd, don’t stress…a VA will find the best flight deal to get you to your Mom’s just in time for Saint Nick.

5. Gift Buying

If you love shopping, then sites like Amazon can suck you in. Before you know it you’ve spent 5 hours searching for the perfect gift for your picky Sister-In-Law when you should be implementing a Holiday marketing plan for your business. Let your VA find that perfect gift!  Worried about handing out your credit card info? Then don’t (seriously, don’t)! Amazon allows you to set up your own account and put in your CC info without sharing it with others. Your VA can save items in your cart and you click the “purchase now” button.

6. Preparing for Tax Season

Yes, I’ve saved the worst for last. No one likes talking about taxes, right? Let your VA help you get organized for the visit with your CPA. They can generate a year end report, reconcile all holiday expenses, organize business receipts etc. All the fun stuff you really (don’t) want to do.

There are so many more ways a VA can help you during the Holiday season. And who knows? You may find them so helpful you can’t live without one again!

Enjoy the Holidays…You deserve it!

Stephanie McIntosh offers virtual support to busy small business professionals. You can find out more at http://www.virtualmcintosh.com or send her an email at Stephanie@virtualmcintosh.com

 

Not All Virtual Assistants are Created Equal

If you’ve heard of the term ‘Virtual Assistant’ you have either thought of becoming one because it sounds so easy, dreamed of hiring one or you’ve actually used one.

If you haven’t heard of a virtual assistant before let me explain what they do and who they are. A virtual assistant is a business owner who assists other business owners or busy professionals with a wide variety of tasks. They are not an employee, you do not provide benefits and there is no need for desk space. There work is done completely online from their home office.

Because our world revolves around technology and communicating virtually, the tasks a virtual assistant can do are really limitless. But not all Virtual Assistants are created equal. Just as not all professionals with the title Doctor or Consultant are created equal either.

Below you will find a description of what kinds of Virtual Assistants are out there. Some Virtual Assistants can literally do it all (at a higher price) and some specialize in just one area.

 

GVA (General Virtual Assistant)

These VA’s assist with the tasks most people would think an assistant would do. Typically, they offer:

-Calendar Management

-Email Management

-Bookkeeping

-Data Entry

-Online Research

-Customer Service

-Travel Arrangements

-ETC.

 

REVA ( Real Estate Virtual Assistant)

These VA’s typically assist Realtors, Brokers or Loan Officers and have experience in the Real Estate industry.

-Email Management

-Scheduling

-Comparative Market Analysis

-Contract to Close assistance

-Posting properties online

-Vendor Research

-ETC.

 

Technical Virtual Assistant

Technical VA’s may market themselves as ‘SEO Virtual Assistant’ or “Web Development Virtual Assistant’.

-Develop your Webpage

-Implement Keywords on your site

-Competitor Keyword Research

-Shopping Cart Setup

-Teleseminars

-Autoresponders

-ETC.

 

Authors Assistant

These VA’s specialize in helping Authors. An author should be spending their time writing not administration.

-Assist with creating an E Book

-Product development and launch

-Scheduling

-Social Media Management

-Proofreading/editing

-Blog posts

-Research target audience

-ETC.

There are so many other types of VA’s out there, such as, Legal, Medical, etc.

Now, Before you go and hire a VA make sure you know exactly which type of VA you are looking for. Be selective and be practical.

Ask around and find out who you know that has hired a Virtual Assistant. I can guarantee they will tell you that a Virtual Assistant has been crucial to the growth of their business and their overall sanity.

 

 

 

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff… why Realtors need a Virtual Assistant!

If you’re spending 10% of your time dealing with administrative tasks, that’s 10% you could be using towards the more important aspects of your business. You’re busy drafting letters, marketing via email and social media, contacting leads, etc., yet you’re wondering where your clients are. Why are you spending all of this time on building your brand and not seeing results? I will tell you why, and from experience. You need a virtual assistant to handle the small, tedious tasks so you can finally see growth.

Wait, what did I say? Virtual assistant?? Yep, you read it right. A virtual assistant. Why virtual? They are not employees – i.e., no employee taxes, no desk space, no spending days/weeks looking for the right candidate or any other ramifications that go into hiring someone. They are independent contractors. In other words, they are like-minded business owners that want to make YOU more successful.

Now, you’re thinking, “but they are small tasks. I don’t need to pay someone to do them.” And you’re right. Somewhat. They are small tasks, but I want you to calculate how much time you spend in a week or month to do them. Is it 10 hours? 20 hours? 40 hours? Even if it’s 3 hours, that’s 3 hours you could be spending on the more important things. And let’s face it; the most important thing is landing that sale. The phrase “Time is money!” could not be more true to ANY Realtor. So, paying a virtual assistant a fraction of what you could potentially make should sound more appealing. Hopefully.

If you’re not SOLD (see what I did there?) on hiring a virtual assistant, here are some reasons why you should reconsider:

Manage Email

That’s right! They can handle your email for you. Do you need to email 500 people in your target area to get your name out there, but don’t have the time? (If you do have the time, you’re spending way too much time in your email!) Another plus to having a virtual assistant manage your email is leads. They can connect with the leads right away. One thing I learned in my Real Estate career is that if you do not connect with someone within the first 15 minutes, they’ve moved on. That’s right 15 minutes! Now imagine you have been out with a buyer for 8 hours on their 100th showing. Do you know how many missed opportunities you had during that time? No, you don’t… until you get home and see all the dead leads you received that day.

Manage Your Calendar

Now this one is crucial. Not only is it crucial to keep all of your business appointments, such as showings, listing appointments, etc., but it is also crucial for your personal life. How many of you feel as though you’re neglecting yourself, your spouse, your children because you are too busy keeping afloat in your business? Now picture your virtual assistant making dinner reservations for you on your anniversary, scheduling inspectors, appraisers and even the glorious closing. They can even keep track of your friends birthdays, previous clients birthdays, your parents anniversary.  If you cannot manage your personal life, how do you expect to be truly satisfied in your business endeavors? You can’t. You too, even as a Realtor, need a work-life balance.

Listing Assistance

Many Realtors have Type A personalities. And let’s be honest, you have to be Type A in this business. So, you will have a hard time letting certain things go because you only trust yourself to get things done. That is not a bad trait to have. You want things done a certain way and it is a struggle for you to have help. But think about this; after you put your listing in the MLS, there are many different avenues to publish a listing that the MLS won’t do for you… one of those being Craigslist. Let a virtual assistant market your listing on Craigslist. Have your assistant create flyers or email other Realtors about your listing. Or maybe you have an amazing rental property you want to market. Your virtual assistant can help with that, too. Hello VRBO!

Online Advertising

Now, this one is by far the most important marketing tool any Realtor can have. Ahhhh, the power of social media. Not only is it free to create a page, but hashtags do wonders. With so many different options – e.g., Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIN, Instagram… even Pinterest, let an assistant help you with managing these accounts. It’s natural to get on Facebook and spend way too much time divulging on what trip your friend just went on when you could be marketing your brand. If you let your assistant help you with your social media, pretty soon that same friend will be following you to see what amazing trip you went on with your hard earned money. Just kidding, Realtors don’t get vacations. No really, I’m kidding, Realtors do get vacations. After all, it’s your business; you decide when you want a break! Your assistant can post relevant information, post your listings and help you with advertising.

Concierge Services

Spending too much time deciding on the right kind of wine or fruit basket to send your client to thank them? Let your assistant handle that. Want to send out birthday cards to each lead or previous client? Let your assistant handle that. Are you finally going on that dream vacation? Let your assistant make your travel arrangements! Use your assistant as a tool for your productivity! After all, that is what you are paying them for.

Bottom line, your assistant will be a small business owner like yourself. They know the importance of keeping YOU successful because they want to be successful. The list of services an assistant can do for you is endless! Need help with bookkeeping, setting up a website, data entry, picking out what color tie you should wear for the day, finding a gas station with the lowest rate? Get a virtual assistant. The possibilities and potential are endless.

Don’t sweat the small stuff, delegate it!

Stephanie McIntosh is a former Realtor and Property Manager. She now specializes in a virtual assistance for Realtors, Small Business Owners and Entrepreneurs. To find out more visit her webpage http://www.virtualmcintosh.com