Many CEOs and senior company members feel overwhelmed by all the tasks they have to complete. If there are never enough hours in your day, it might be time to hire an assistant. But an extra full-time employee is expensive, especially if you need someone well-educated in the field who can provide an insurance agency answering service. A great alternative to in-person help is a virtual administrative assistant.
This professional doesn’t necessarily live in your area, but they can help you with a wide variety of tasks, including managing your schedule, answering and initiating phone calls, and helping you with routine tasks. Today, we’ll have a closer look at what a virtual administrative assistant is, what types there are, and whether you need one for your insurance business.
What Is a Virtual Administrative Assistant?
An administrative assistant is someone who can help businesses to stay on top of tasks like scheduling, communicating with customers or clients, and completing simple paperwork. Their role is to manage routine tasks so the other employees can focus on their jobs without having to worry about the administrative side of the business.
In the past, companies had to hire a full-time in-person employee for this job, but since almost all operations are online nowadays, it’s often easier and more convenient to go with a virtual administrative assistant. This person might not be located in your area, but they understand the needs of your business and can help you in the same way as an in-person assistant, but at a fraction of the cost.
What Tasks Can My Assistant Do?
Most commonly, administrative assistants complete admin tasks such as booking travel and accommodation, scheduling meetings with clients, organizing your team, and answering your phone. However, there are many different professionals available, and you can find someone to do more specific tasks. For example, you can hire an assistant who will follow up with your customers on your behalf or someone who is able to do bookkeeping.
Many virtual assistants work with various employees inside a firm, but others are assigned to one specific team member, for example, the CEO. This kind of personal assistant might help you with tasks outside of work, such as booking your vacations or purchasing gifts for your friends and family, and they are ideal if you are very busy. There are also assistants who can do data entry or social media marketing.
Why Not Hire a Full-Time, In-Person Employee?
People who are looking for help often wonder whether it’s better to hire an in-person employee who will interact with employees and customers face-to-face. But while this is important for some businesses, it’s no longer essential for most companies, including those in the insurance industry. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, more and more services have moved online, and it’s unlikely that your customers will expect to visit you in person every time they need help.
Instead, they might contact you over the phone or via email. A virtual assistant can help with these tasks just as well as an in-person one, and the remote worker is likely to cost you much less. What’s more, the options are flexible, so you can hire someone to work part-time instead of full-time. This is a good option for businesses that need help but aren’t quite ready for another team member.
How to Find the Best Insurance Agency Answering Service
Working with a virtual administrative assistant can be extremely beneficial for businesses because this professional allows the company to save up to 60%, speed up operations, and save a lot of time. However, not all virtual assistants are suitable, and you might not have a good experience if you hire someone independent.
Some assistants have different time zones to yours, so they might not be available when you need them most. What’s more, the level of education and experience varies greatly, and you’ll need to find someone who knows your industry and business type. Finally, some assistants who live in other countries don’t have good English skills, so they might not understand what you and your team members expect from them.
Look for Someone in the Right Time Zone
Insurance businesses generally serve clients within their state, and sometimes across the US. This means that they need their answering service to be up and running during American business hours. If you hire an assistant from Asia or Africa, you might run into problems because they won’t be around all day, so they won’t be as responsive.
Assistants located in South or Central American countries are more suitable because they have similar time zones, and they will be around when your customers need them most. Choosing someone in the right time zone is particularly important if you’re looking for an insurance agency answering service because your customers are likely to phone during the day.
Look for Someone Well-Educated and Experienced
There’s no required qualification for administrative assistants, so anyone can claim that they are a VA. This means that there is a wide range of people offering their services, and not all of them will be equally good. To avoid making a mistake and hiring someone who doesn’t have the necessary qualifications and experience, work with an agency like VIVA.
We only accept the best assistants who have a college degree and display soft skills in teamwork, great communication, and an ability to problem-solve. Depending on your needs, you can hire a new assistant, or you can select someone with a lot of experience in your industry.
Look for Someone with Good English Skills
One of the biggest reasons why some people dismiss virtual assistants is that many of them don’t have good English skills. This is a problem because it makes it hard for you, your employees, and your customers to communicate with the assistant. It also prevents them from performing certain tasks like writing grammatically correct emails or entering data.
Luckily, there are assistants available who have excellent English skills and are also fluent in other languages such as Spanish or French. Speak to us at VIVA about the tasks your VA will be expected to complete, so we can suggest an employee with the right language skills.
Types of Virtual Assistants
There are several kinds of virtual assistants. Administrative ones mainly work behind the scenes and take pressure off your existing employees. On the other hand, a service and support VA can handle some client-facing tasks. The most experienced professionals are Inside Sales VAs, and they can act as the face of your business and perform a lot of client-facing tasks.
Administrative
An administrative assistant can handle your paperwork and data entry and manage your schedule. They might have worked in your industry before or studied something related to insurance, so they understand the needs of your company. Depending on your chosen service, you can also get help with your emails, data hygiene, policy auditing, and more.
Service and Support
If you have a lot of calls and your employees are constantly interrupted because they have to answer the phone, hiring a service and support VA could be a good idea. This professional will handle inbound calls for you and answer simple customer questions. They can also manage service tickets, give quotes to your leads, and help you retain your current customers.
Inside Sales
Larger businesses with a lot of customers might need an Inside Sales VA. This person will not only answer your phone, but they will also make calls to new or existing customers. They can help you generate leads and nurture them until the person is ready to make a purchase.
This means that they will follow up with your clients and give them detailed information about your business. The Inside Sales VA is highly skilled and has excellent people skills, so they are ideal for businesses looking to increase their reach and improve their image.
How to Get Started with VIVA
At VIVA, we offer a wide variety of virtual assistants, and we can help you find the perfect person to answer your phone and complete other important tasks. We vet all our employees and ask them to complete a training course with us, so you can be sure that they will exceed your expectations. You can learn more about some of our current VAs on the “Featured Assistants” page.
Once you’re ready to hire someone, you can reach out to us and book an initial consultation. We will ask you about your budget, your business’s industry, your company’s unique features, and the kind of help you need. Then, we can pair you up with a suitable team member. Because we work with a range of assistants, we can offer you part-time and full-time help. If you need something specific, we can tailor our offer to your needs.
Virtual administrative assistants are an affordable alternative to in-person employees. If you’re looking for a highly competitive insurance agency answering service, consider asking an agency for help. That way, you won’t have to train a diamond in the rough. Instead, you can rely on experienced, well-qualified professionals who know what your business needs. Contact us at VIVA to schedule a consultation or select your assistant now.
