It can be daunting trying to hire someone who may be hundreds or thousands of miles away and there are no guarantees they will meet your needs or are able to fulfill their commitment to you and your business. Don’t give up before you even start. There are many good, reliable and super qualified VA’s who would be very happy to take care of your administrative needs.

Request for Proposals (RFP)

First – be sure as to what you want your potential Virtual Assistant to do.

The next step in the process is for you to create a Request for Proposal (RFP) which is the first step in sending out the message that you are looking for a VA. Those interested will submit a proposal to you listing their qualifications, prices, etc. In order for you to ensure those proposals respond to what you require you must be clear as to what you are looking for from these bidders.

How to write an RFP

Your request should include a little about your organization or at the bare minimum a link to your website and the information as to how you wish to be contacted.

• Describe exactly what you wish to have the VA do for you and what qualifications they must have. What will be their duties?
• How many hours a week/month?
• What time zone do you wish them to be available in?
• Do they require special software or experience in special programs?
• Is this a short term project or are you looking to establish a long term working arrangement with the VA?
• You are soliciting cost quotes to determine what their fees are for their services ~ ask for this.
• What is your deadline for submissions of proposals?
• How will you accept the proposals ~ whether they can send them via email or other preferred method of communication?
• Will you accept questions prior to receiving the proposals? (Don’t discuss $$ at this time)

Submitting an RFP

Once you have determined the work you need done and what requirements must be met, it is time to submit your RFP to applicable organizations or groups. One of the best places to find a Virtual Assistant is to connect with a Virtual Assistant Network such as VAnetworking, who has one of the largest numbers of members who will have access to your request.

The work you have done in completing the RFP will ensure you have a better chance of succeeding in locating a Virtual Assistant. Take a few moments, write up an RFP and submit it – it won’t be long and you will have found the perfect VA!

                          

Building an effective social networking strategy is essential for creating positive brand recognition for every company regardless of whether they operate online or are a traditional “brick and mortar” type business.

In today’s fast paced environment almost everyone researches businesses online to determine where they will eat, at what stores they will shop, or what companies can provide the services they need. They look for ease of use, prices and reliability. All of these can and should be formed by creating a business’s positive online presence.

In order to effectively market your business online there must be a specific goal set for yourself or your business whether it’s adding new clients, increasing revenue or finding new sources for your products. Make sure your goal is specific and clear.

An intricate part of your online marketing strategy should be utilizing the services of a Virtual Assistant. However, it is important that the business owner or representative be involved consistently.

What exactly can your VA do for you?

Depending upon your current involvement and skill in social networking will determine the role your VA will play in your strategy. If SM is new to you or you are unsure of what is important have your qualified VA coach you on creating a personalized strategy.

One of the most important tasks that need to be done after developing your plan is identifying which social networks apply to your business and will help you reach your goal. Let your VA set up and optimize each network and monitor them for effectiveness.

A very important way of increasing online traffic is by posting blogs, articles, videos and social bookmarking. These tasks can and should be outsourced to your VA as something she can take care of regularly using the many tools available.

Monitoring the social networks and tracking the success of your strategy should also be outsourced. Monitoring your company’s online reputation and bringing to your attention both negative and positive conversations, even researching and building your targeted followers will be an important part of her role.

Take ownership of your strategy, determine your goal, outsource where you can but remember you are the “voice” of your business. For a successful social networking campaign both the services of your VA and your own involvement is important.

                          

This might seem like an obvious way to lighten your budgetary load, but what of those prosperous times you’re planning for? If you permit the fundamentals to deteriorate (marketing, operations, customer care, etc.), what will be left when opportunity comes knocking (and it will come knocking again)? Will you be ready? Will you be sane?

Keeping yourself surrounded with good talent is critical. However, to afford it during a cash crunch, small business entrepreneurs must start to think outside the box when it comes to managing their people. Here are 5 ways to get more bang for your outsourcing buck:

1. Barter for services. Chances are you’ve got a product or service up your sleeve that you could provide to a virtual assistant, web developer, writer, consultant or coach who has a skill you want access to. Give some of what you have in exchange for an equal dollar value in hours. Be clear upfront about what is to be exchanged as well as time lines for product delivery or service completion. This will protect the working relationship from going sour due to misunderstandings or false expectations.
2. Move from an a la carte arrangement to a retainer. While the upfront cash outlay might be intimidating, there are many advantages to using retainers. Most virtual assistants will discount your hourly rate in exchange for the security of being paid in advance. Moreover, you can rest easy knowing that your VA has slotted those hours for you exclusively.
3. Stop thinking on a monthly schedule. Most retainers for administrative services, including virtual assistance, are committed to on a monthly basis. While this can work well for staying on top of recurring tasks, some activities happen in fits and spurts throughout the year. For example, purchasing a specialist’s expertise in 5- or 10-hour blocks of time upfront without the obligation to use that time by month end could help you get that pet project off the ground even before you’ve fully defined its scope.
4. Only hire proven talent. This might seem obvious, but if you’re going to invest cash, time and energy into a new team member–even if that team member will only be with you for a the short term–do your homework. Get referrals from others in your industry, check out portfolios and past clients, and always make sure to get the final agreement in writing. A contractor or VA who doesn’t make you feel comfortable with your decision might end up costing your business rather than helping it succeed through tough times.
5. Be able to articulate your needs upfront. Ask yourself why you’re looking for outside help in the first place. Yes, outsourcing is often more affordable–and profitable–versus hiring more staff. But what do you want exactly for your money? You must be able to explain this to whomever you bring into the fold. Otherwise, you’ll both be flying blind and things will end badly. Not to mention how wasted time, effort and dollars will impact your bottom line, leaving you in an even weaker position to go shopping for help again.

In a recession it’s tempting to focus only on cost cutting. After all, no cash means no business to run. But a cautionary outlook must be balanced by a proactive view to the future. Think strategically about the talent you pay for and know that you will reap dividends long after this recession ends.

                          

What’s going on here and why should you pay attention as a business owner?

oDesk points out that offshore outsourcing is on average $6 an hour cheaper than US homeshoring. That can have a substantial impact on the bottom line of small business owners who routinely use BPO to float the boat. And in such an historically dire economic crisis as the one we’re seeing in the U.S, one cannot ignore the need for businesses to cost cut wherever it makes sense.

However, it seems that today’s American business owner may be starting to think about BPO as an investment in the long term viability of their businesses rather than a short term expense that could put them in the red.

More importantly though, if we look at the whole of oDesks’s recent BPO statistics in the context of recession, the numbers imply that satisfaction with a job well done is, at the end of the day, the least costly alternative of all.

If homeshored services can be done right and done right the first time, business owners spend less time and energy micromanaging and more growing their business. Not to mention saving them from potential ruin.

I’d like to think those same business owners also put out less cash for the project overall versus struggling with an offshore alternative that may not fully understand their business requirements from the get-go.

Offshore alternatives have their place. The point is to look at a longer time horizon when deciding which BPO strategy makes the most sense for your bottom line.

                          

In a recent press release, our VAnetworking.com founder, Tawnya Sutherland, said this:

While the VAnetworking.com Forum itself enjoys a free membership base of over 10,000 people-many of them very active in the ongoing discussions there-we knew that within this market there was a segment of VAs who were prepared to invest in something geared specifically for their entrepreneurial growth and development. Right here, in the throes of a US recession, we’ve got this tightly knit group of business owners coming together to uncover very real income opportunities.

In addition to unmatched networking and educational opportunities, virtual assistants who join VAinsiders receive immediate access to various takeaways to use in their own businesses, including over 125 business templates, e-books, tutorials, charts, articles, coupons and sample contracts.

What’s incredible to me is that VAinsider membership numbers continue to increase. This tells me 2 things:

1. Women entrepreneurs know that outsourcing is not just good for business, it’s good for business during tough economic times. It makes sense, for example, to ramp up a marketing campaign when clients are scarce. It makes even more sense to hire a high end VA (read: VAinsider) to help execute that strategy. It’s cost effective and you get results much faster than if you were to try to hire and train for such in-house (oh the pain).
2. Women entrepreneurs understand the importance of staying sharp, focused and in the know. Recession be damned. It’s always the right time to shoot for the stars.

It would seem that recession may be pushing this bandwagon right up a hill instead of down.