Five Specific Tasks Tradies Can Outsource to a VA
Get your jobs done.
We wrote recently about Jack the builder and his virtual assistant being a (professional) perfect match. And it’s true: a busy tradesperson with sought-after skills and a talented VA who can confidently take care of the administration details are an ideal combination. Outsourcing allows a tradesperson to take their time back, spend time working on their business “big picture”, and maybe even take a holiday every now and then.
So now, we delve into the specifics: which tasks exactly can a virtual assistant take off a tradie’s plate? There are many business owners out there who would benefit greatly from some assistance but are not fully aware of which tasks they can hand off. Every tradesperson we have worked with has a list of admin jobs they would love to never do again. If you have a similar list, here’s some good news: chances are, you can delegate them completely!
Here are five of the top tasks we take care of for tradies. Do you spot something on this list that you would love to hand off?
When customers and potential customers call, they like to speak to a person and not an answering machine. Skipping or missing calls is not a good look for tradies looking to grow their business. Not only are they missing out on a potential job lead, but they are affecting their customer service reputation. Word of mouth is an incredibly important marketing tool for tradespeople, and you don’t want people to hear “they don’t answer their phone” when they ask their friends or family about your business.
Working remotely, a virtual assistant can take calls and deal with enquiries. This doesn’t just mean taking a message, either. With a little training, VAs can answer FAQs, deal with minor issues, look up account information for a customer, and even schedule jobs. In a nutshell, they can up your customer care game significantly.
There are many fantastic scheduling tools available in our modern digital age which make it possible for virtual assistants to book in your jobs for you, making your initial customer service interactions almost entirely hands-off.
Having a VA to answer calls and handle the conversations around scheduling will give any busy business owner a huge amount of time back. It’s a very popular service and becomes a smooth process as the tradesperson and VA become familiar with how they each operate. Busy taking a kid to rugby practice on Wednesday afternoons? No problem, just let your VA know and they’ll schedule around it. Easy!
There’s a pesky extra (but essential) step between doing the work and getting paid for it that can become a real time suck for tradies. Creating invoices is a task that can have you stuck in front of a computer for hours each week, wasting billable time. Definitely a job for a virtual assistant!
If you track time and products used for each job, it’s simple to delegate your invoicing out to someone who has the skills and time to make sure that they are correct, tidy, and sent to the right person. The consequences of forgetting to invoice your customers are obvious. Struggling to stay on top of this? A virtual assistant will save you money as well as time.
Money goes in, money goes out—and unfortunately for busy tradespeople, it’s necessary to keep track of all of it. Virtual assistants can take care of this onerous admin task.
Many VAs in New Zealand, the Released team included, are experts in Xero. This fantastic homegrown accounting software makes it easy to manage the books remotely, so you can hand the job off and focus your time and energy elsewhere. From debtor management to payroll, invoicing, GST returns, filing, and reporting, the services a virtual assistant can offer make the financial aspect of running a business exponentially easier.
We often hear from clients who have good intentions when it comes to social media and other channels of communication. They are aware of the huge benefits that come with this form of marketing: more than 75% of New Zealand’s population is active on social media of some kind. However, when it comes down to it, regular posting is a task that quickly gets pushed to the bottom of their to-do list.
Creating effective, attractive, and professional social posts—and other types of communication such as email newsletters—can take time and specific expertise. Many VA agencies have the necessary talent at their fingertips. Hiring a graphic designer, copywriter, and social media guru individually is not a possibility for most tradespeople. But a diverse VA agency provides access to all you need to unlock the full potential of your social networks and contact lists.
These are far from the only things that a VA or VA agency can take care of for a tradesperson. But if you’re new to the idea of hiring a virtual assistant to make your life much easier, these popular tasks are a good place to start.
Delegate a few of these time-sucking jobs and you’ll have more extra hours than you know what to do with. What you do with them is up to you: take on more paid work, invest some effort into advancing your business, or just take a well-deserved holiday!
Tradies, this is your sign! Get in touch with the Released team to learn more about how we can help you keep those balls in the air.
