21 Jul Considering Hiring a Virtual Executive Assistant?
Common Objections Answered.
Many business owners understand that today’s access to connectivity allows people from anywhere in the world. But they still are apprehensive about hiring a virtual executive assistant (VEA).
Common Questions business owners ask themselves about hiring a VEA are actually objections.
| QUESTION | OBJECTION |
| Will it be difficult to get the VEA up to speed? | It will take them too long to get up to speed |
| Will my VEA understand my business? How will I know if it’s going to work? | I can’t commit to something if I don’t know it’ll work |
| Will my confidential business and/or personal financial information be safe and secure? | Working with a virtual executive assistant doesn’t seem safe or secure |
| Will there really be a true cost savings? | Hiring a VEA is too much of a financial investment |
| Am I too busy to deal with training them? | I’m too busy to hire a VEA, I have no time to train someone |
The questions above are actually Objections:
#1 It will take them too long to get up to speed
#2 I can’t commit to something if I don’t know it’ll work
#3 Working with a virtual executive assistant doesn’t seem secure
#4 Hiring a VEA is too much of a financial investment
#5 I’m too busy to hire a virtual assistant, I have no time to train or manage them
OBJECTION #1: IT WILL TAKE A VEA TOO LONG TO GET UP TO SPEED
Even if you had the time to outline the details of what you want to delegate, you might be thinking to yourself that your virtual executive assistant will take too long to get up to speed or even worse – just won’t get it.
It’s hard enough to manage someone in person, how will you be able to delegate to someone that might be working half a world away?
Today’s business owners need to be focused on doing the things they need to do to grow their business. Think about workflow and what you need to do that adds the most value to your company that only you can do. Once you figure that out, the rest you can delegate to your VEA.
OBJECTION #2: I CAN’T COMMIT TO SOMETHING IF I DON’T KNOW IT WILL WORK
Hiring a VEA will take your time and commitment to find, interview, onboard, and get your virtual executive assistant up to speed. You will need to manage your VEA – so they can learn and understand your way of doing business.
Communication is key to a successful working relationship with your virtual assistant. Speak to your VEA on a regular basis. If you commit, communicate and delegate you will have a winning partnership with your VEA.
If you are overwhelmed with administrative tasks that keep you from accomplishing your goals for your business, you need admin support, because your loss of productivity will cost you money in the long run. Just think what you could you do to advance your business goals if you weren’t so overwhelmed by admin tasks?
Remember, it will take commitment from you and your VEA.
OBJECTION #3: HIRING A VIRTUAL EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT DOESN’T SOUND SECURE
Cyber security is on every business owner’s mind these days. Making sure that your virtual executive assistant is trustworthy and abides by security best practices is imperative.
In today’s business world, we interact with others remotely via phone, email, and video conferencing every day. Some of your most sensitive data (credit card information, various email, logins, and passwords) must be given to your VEA. If this leaves you feeling uneasy, there are certain secure ways to give your VEA tiered access to data you’d like to keep secure.
Create a clear security policy and train your VEA on these policies. You can protect your information by clearly outlining policies, establishing a strong training program, and by ensuring that you, as the business owner, lead by example. With the landscape of social media platforms and software platforms always changing, it’s a good idea to continually review your security procedures and policies.
OBJECTION #4: IT MAY NOT BE COST-EFFECTIVE TO HIRE A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT
How does hiring a VEA save money in the long run? Most business owners have experienced the high cost of hiring in-house employees, and even higher costs to replace a salaried employee.
Think about when you lose a salaried employee – there are real costs for replacing that position – advertising, screening, interviewing, hiring, training, benefits, taxes, IT infrastructure and support, facility costs, a work computer, and not to mention how much time it takes away from running your day to day operation.
Generally, when you hire a virtual executive assistant, your costs will be 50-75% of what it takes to hire an in-house employee. Since VEAs cover their own costs associated with taxes, insurance and benefits the risk factor to hire virtually is a lot less than if you were to hire an in-house employee to do the same job.
OBJECTION #5: I’M TOO BUSY TO HIRE, TRAIN, AND MANAGE A VEA
It’s perfectly normal to think that working with a virtual executive assistant will require a lot of detailed, hand holding, up-front management. You’re probably thinking, “I don’t have time to figure out how and what to delegate”. It’s totally normal to feel stress just thinking about the time it will take to find, hire, train, and manage a virtual executive assistant.
So what’s the solution? Think of it this way – you know you need help so you can focus your efforts on growing your business. That’s the first step. The time you invest today, WILL save you time and money tomorrow (and in the future).
At Ann Albrecht Consulting, we understand that it can be challenging to hire, train and trust a virtual executive assistant. It is our goal to make the process as seamless and effortless as possible. If you are considering on-boarding a VEA, call us and let’s talk about working together. You can also visit our website at www.annalbrechtconsulting.com.