As we warm into this new financial year, it is time to tie up the loose ends we carried over from the previous one.
Outsourcing work virtually is a cost-effective way to get those time-consuming tasks completed efficiently.
Getting the right processes in place for the new financial year could take your business to the next level, make it run way smoother and have you smiling wide by next June.
Here are some key areas of your business you should look into outsourcing:
1. Bookkeeping
This can be one of the most time consuming tasks within any business, so why not have someone else keep your books up-to-date?
A virtual assistant will be able to easily and automatically manage your billing and invoicing, bank reconciliations, refunds, debt collections, financial reporting and BAS statements, through cloud based app solutions like Xero.
2. Market research
This is important to the success of any business, no matter what size. Outsourcing research to a virtual assistant will help you to find objective and relevant information, analyse said information, and deliver the results in a clear format. This is a critical component to generating leads and can greatly increase the productivity of your sales team.
3. Administration
Your virtual assistant will help you undertake any basic administration tasks, including managing your calendars, scheduling appointments with clients on your behalf, capturing and responding to messages, and writing letters and memos.
4. Customer support
Outsourcing customer support is a cost-effective solution, providing flexibility across different shifts and time zones, which can be invaluable for individual businesses that do not have the same resources as a large company.
Providing technical and administrative support, and a range of email, phones, and live chat support on demand is critical. Your customer support can be outsourced to a virtual assistant with excellent communication skills and years of experience.
5. Web development
Through offering remote online management tools, outsourcing your web development to an experienced virtual team will allow you to focus on other elements of your business.
The interview process to find a web developer suitable to your needs is undertaken, including a thorough screening process, coding tests, and design tests, with any further interviewing that you may require done through Skype.
6. Content writing
Getting the right message to your target audience is important and takes time when formulating the right words in an effective way to achieve cut-through.
Have some or all of your content written for you – from web material and newsletters, to blogs, brochures and presentations – with an experienced virtual writer.
7. Sales assistance
Managing the sales process is vital in terms of attracting and retaining clients. A virtual assistant will save you time by managing sales leads and CRM, giving you more time to focus on generating additional leads and translating those leads into sales.
Provide a virtual sales assistant to your current business development team and witness how many more calls and meetings they’re able to attend.
8. Data entry
This is a basic task that can take up valuable business time. Have your data entered into a format that will allow you to access information in an easy and organised way, allowing you to get the most out of your data.
Tasks such as this are so easy to delegate, can easily be done virtually, and are too menial for senior managers to be doing.
9. Email management
Answering emails cannot only be a mundane task, it can also be time-consuming and distracting. Consider what you could be doing in that time instead of reading and sorting through your mail. A virtual assistant can help to organise, sort, create folders, file, and manage priority mail on a daily basis.
10. Social media
With social media becoming one of the most common ways to network and communicate, it is an invaluable tool for business growth. It is therefore important to ensure frequent research, communication, and management of your social media platforms is undertaken.
Utilise a virtual assistant to save you time by managing your social media daily, researching market trends, and managing ongoing messaging and communication to your followers and prospective clients.
Kevin Mallen runs Sydney-based outsourcing firm, Virtual Coworker. They help businesses recruit and hire professional staff based in the Philippines. Virtual Coworker provides a range of convenient, easy and cost-effective services, and world-class management through time-tracking software, allowing individual businesses more time to focus on business strategy and clients.