The Virtual Assistant

When the poet W H Davies wrote in 1911, “What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare” he might have been predicting one of the side effects of the ICT revolution. Certainly the advent of the mobile telephone has catapulted us into an “always available” society. Whether we are walking or driving to meetings or even trying to have some quiet time to prepare reports, the mobile is ever present. Add to this the ever present call of the e-mail, also demanding instant responses and it is no wonder that trains of thought are disrupted and errors in judgment occur.

For owners of small businesses, this is a particular problem as the fewer the staff, the less able you are to shut down communications and just think. This is where the virtual assistant comes into their own. Virtual assistants work from their own office or from home and can channel and take control of telephone calls and e-mails. Depending on their background and qualifications they can also run your accounts, undertake research, write reports or manage marketing campaigns. One of the benefits of a virtual assistant is that they tend to be self employed and you only pay them for the hours that they work.

Let’s look at an example. You have an urgent presentation to prepare before you go and see a potential new client. The subject is fairly complex and a mistake will leave you looking foolish and without the client. Scenario one is that you try and prepare the report whilst juggling phone and e-mail and finish up working into the night. Worse still, in scenario two you switch off phone and e-mail whilst you prepare the report thereby annoying existing clients who can’t get hold of you. Scenario three has you diverting calls and e-mails to your virtual assistant. Your existing clients are soothed that although they can’t get hold of you they at least are talking to someone and you are able to produce the report in peace.

Callagenix can help you with your virtual assistant package in two ways. If you want to transfer your calls to your virtual assistant then the Callagenix phone service allows you to route your calls to your virtual assistant. If you have more than one virtual assistant then the calls can be diverted on a shared or order of priority basis.

For those who act as virtual assistants, the Callagenix package announces the company that the call has been diverted from before you answer the call. This means that no matter how many companies you work for, you can always provide a personalised call service for your clients.

So, in summary, using a virtual assistant and a call diversion package gives you the breathing space to think and plan without upsetting your clients. Maybe we can have time to stand and stare after all.