Posted by A virtual assistant (VA) can be a critically important asset to any business. Still, I continue to hear the phrase, “I wish I could afford a VA, but I can’t.” And my answer has long been the same: “If you could hire a VA for $1,500 a month (or less), and they could bring in $3,000 in revenue, could you afford it?” The answer is always a resounding yes.
Here are the top three ways you can leverage a VA to drive visibility and income to your business.
1. Sales Prospecting and Lead Generation
Probably the most obvious way you can generate revenue for your business is keeping your sales pipeline full. One of my favorite tools is LinkedIn, a powerful platform for identifying sales qualified leads (SQLs).
You can also find leads through Google business listings, directories, Facebook groups, professional associations and more. Make sure to set a specific criteria of leads you’re searching for and record a little video clip of how to do it, and then let your VA have at it.
Here are a few additional tools you can use for prospecting:
- BuzzSumo to build lists of influencers you can coordinate with to help market and promote your products.
- Hunter.io helps you find email addresses for key contacts just by typing in the domain name of the company you want to reach, and it searches for email addresses associated with the domain.
Empowering your VA with the right tools for the job makes them more efficient, and gets you more results.
Related: Is a Virtual Assistant the Secret to Keeping Your Small Business Afloat?
2. Repurposing Content for Marketing
If you are anything like most entrepreneurs, you have created blog posts, email newsletters, social media posts and maybe even some informational videos about your product or service. The problem is, once published, they often go into the dark hole of the internet or email inbox, never to be seen again. Use your VA to turn your blog posts into email newsletters to nurture your audience. Transform your newsletters into material for your social media posts and boast a stronger presence online.
Related: 14 Easy Ways to Make Extra Money at Home
3. Media and PR Outreach
One of my favorite ways to build a following is by leveraging podcast audiences. You could have your VA research podcast hosts in your niche and send out pitches to get on their shows. My VA, Ysabelle, does this from my email address and sends a script out to podcasters with ideas we could discuss on their show to add value to their audience. This year alone, I’ve been featured on more than 50 podcasts, and I have an ambitious goal to be on 100 by the end of the year.
Podcast pro tip: Make sure that you have something of value (like a downloadable guide, resource, training, etc.) that relates to the topic of discussion you can plug on the show. This will attract listeners into your network and position you as a resource.
One other proven way to hijack press is by having your VA do research on Google to find out what publications your competitors have been featured in and collect names of the authors to start building relationships with them.
These are just a few of the way ways to leverage your virtual assistant to generate revenue for your company. What are you waiting for?