PPB May 2020

U sing virtual assistants (VAs) is one of the best things about running my business. I’m able to work less than four hours a day and be out in the ocean near Santa Cruz paddle boarding with dolphins because I know that VAs are taking care of my clients. My job is to focus on sales. I bring in the clients and I’ve created the systems so that my VA team can take care of them after I send in the POs. The best part is, you can do it, too. As described in part one in the April issue, VAs are people who work as freelancers within your business to handle everything from small tasks to all the duties and responsibilities you’d hire a full-time employee to manage. They work as an extension of your team, but you control the hours every week depending on workload. Discovering Tasks For A VA If I were to ask you to list all the specific things you do in a given day, you’d be hard-pressed to remember everything. Before even thinking about hiring a VA, you must first be crystal clear on all the tasks you currently do and be able to prioritize them. Then go through the list and mark the tasks that require your expertise and ones that must be done but not necessarily by you. Think about your strengths and what you enjoy doing and hire a VA based on your weaknesses and the things you don’t like to do. For example, if you are a great salesperson but find yourself wasting time on non- sales activities that don’t require your specific skillset, then VAs might be right for your business. However, if you struggle in sales, then this system isn’t for you. It works best for those who know how to sell but can’t keep up with the demand. To help you with this step of identifying tasks for a VA, I recommend going to my website (CloneYourselfU.com) and checking out the podcast and free resources. Look for a tool called the “Time Audit,” a worksheet that will help you to identify those time-sucking tasks. Prioritize those you need to do and identify which ones can be outsourced to a VA team. Hiring Virtual Assistants If you are strong at sales but spending too much time on non-sales tasks, a VA can be a valuable solution. Second in a two-part series by Sam Kabert 56 | MAY 2020 | THINK