HELP! I'm Buried and I Can't See My Clients

By Kelly Poelker
Posted Monday, September 6, 2004

Tired of spending more than half your time behind a desk buried in paperwork? How long has it been since you spent the majority of your week on revenue generating tasks? When is the last time you paid a personal visit to your top ten clients?

Amidst the Internet craze, millions of email exchanges, and web and teleconferencing, many sales people have literally ‘lost sight’ of their clients. In a day and age where we thrive on customer relationship management, personal sales calls have taken a back seat to technology. Further, today’s economy has forced more layoffs and corporate downsizing which has impacted the availability of internal support systems. The lack of internal resources has forced companies to rely on already overburdened staff to pick up the slack. Staff such as sales people who are now spending more time doing administrative tasks than they are generating sales. Put an end to the madness and partner with a virtual assistant.

You Can See Your Clients But They Can’t See Me
Partnering with a virtual assistant affords you the luxury of spending more time in front of your clients and less time behind your desk. Because virtual assistants are independent professionals they come equipped with their own office, their own equipment, the latest software programs, and the know how of running a successful business. They don't, however, come equipped with added expenses like payroll taxes, expensive benefit packages, paid vacations, holiday pay, or "free time" (that you pay for) spent talking to co-workers. They're only there when you need them. Sometimes they're even there when you don't think you need them!

"I write marketing materials for a billion-dollar software company, but some days it's hard to find even one free hour to sit down and write. Employing a virtual assistant lets me dedicate more of my time to the process of writing." says Alison Bolen, Corporate Communications Specialist, SAS.

Less Paperwork Means More Revenue
A virtual assistant, or VA, is an independent business professional who can help busy sales and marketing professionals handle administrative tasks so they can focus on growing their business. Utilizing the latest technology your VA can:
o Manage your email
o Manage your calendar
o Tweak or create your presentations
o Make travel arrangements
o Be your own personal concierge
o Write letters
o Transcribe notes and interviews
o Follow up on trade show leads
o Handle literature fulfillment

They can even prepare your expense and call reports. The possibilities are endless once you start to see how many tasks you really can delegate.

Mark Loudenslager, VP of Sales, Cathay Pigments USA states, "I don't know what I'd do without my VA. As a sales professional who works out of my home and travels extensively I don't have an on-site staff to keep things moving. I can rely on my VA to prepare marketing materials, organize my contacts, send out letters, and keep me on track with special projects. Delegating routine tasks and special projects to my VA allows me to spend more time growing the business."

A VA is like having your own business partner, business support specialist, personal assistant, executive assistant, appointment scheduler, client relations manager, marketing consultant, web designer, word processor, concierge, or whatever role you need them to play. They use the latest technology to communicate work assignments via the Internet, e-mail, web-based calendars, virtual networks, and disk transfer.

"Since I work with clients who are trying to improve both their sales numbers and get some of their life back, a Virtual Assistant is a crucial element in any future plan. My suggestion is to try using a VA for just one month and you'll be hooked for life! It's an amazing thing for someone in sales to actually have the time to visit clients and build relationships as opposed to being buried in paperwork everyday." says Scott Stratten, President of Un-Marketing.com.

Perhaps you’re one of the reported 70% of sales managers overburdened with paperwork. Maybe, you’re an independent professional without corporate backing. Whatever the case, if you’re spending too much time on administrative tasks it’s time to make a change. It’s time to get out from under the paperwork and get back in front of your clients!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kelly Poelker is a certified Master Virtual Assistant, President of Another 8 Hours, Inc. and Co-Author of Up Close and Virtual: A Practical Guide To Starting Your Own Virtual Assistant Business. (www.UpCloseandVirtual.com) To learn more about how to utilize a virtual assistant visit her website at (http://www.Another8Hours.com).