Start Small, Win Big: Outsource Email Management For Huge Time Savings
What could you get done with a few extra hours of free time each week?
There is no better time than the present to take stock of your business. What is working? What isn't? Periodic reevaluation of your strategies can help you explore innovative ways to enhance future productivity and growth.
For solopreneurs and businesses with small teams, outsourcing some key operational and administrative tasks can be a game changer. Freeing yourself from some repetitive and recurring tasks will allow you to focus instead on the high-impact activities that drive growth.
Utilizing a virtual assistant is an excellent move if you are looking to optimize your workflow, streamline tasks, and free up your valuable time. By outsourcing even just one administrative responsibility each week, you can begin to reclaim your energy and allocate your time more efficiently.
CONSIDER HOW MUCH TIME YOU SPEND IN YOUR INBOX
While the amount of time small business owners spend sorting emails and responding to inquiries varies, many report spending anywhere from one to three hours per day managing their inboxes. Maintaining consistent communication with clients, partners, and stakeholders is important as it helps build your brand and encourages loyalty. It is an important tool for marketing, documentation, customer support, networking and more. However, spending nearly a third of your day clicking "reply" is draining and not the best use of your time.
Handling your email is an administrative task that is time-consuming, administrative in nature, and repetitive.
Even though email is an absolutely essenital business tool, the management of your inbox should be delegated to a skilled virtual assistant.
Email management involves organizing and responding to messages, handling customer inquiries, and prioritizing emails.
Having someone handle your email for you can be a great place to start your outsourcing journey. Because managing your email involves a series of regular and recurring actions, it is a relatively easy set of tasks to delegate.
Imagine creating a simple "if/then" list of how you handle unread emails. You can very quickly train your virtual assistant by walking them through the procedures you currently have in place. A simple screen-sharing session will allow a virtual assistant to watch you work within your email. Following your lead, they can quickly replicate your processes (or improve them!) so you can spend your time doing whatever comes next on your to-do list.
LET IT GO
A Freedom Maker virtual assistant can categorize emails, flag those requiring immediate attention, and organize others for later follow-up. You can work with your virtual assistant to design an email management system that aligns with your preferences. You can also work to establish clear guidelines regarding the confidentiality and security of specific emails and how you prefer your virtual assistant to handle sensitive information.
By entrusting a skilled virtual assistant with sorting, responding to, and prioritizing emails, you can ensure that your communication with clients and potential customers remains streamlined and responsive while you handle other tasks.
Check out the benefits of outsourcing email management:
GET SYSTEMIZED!
A well-organized email folder system that categorizes and stores emails based on priority, projects, clients, or other relevant criteria will prevent delays and dropped balls.
- HOW IT WORKS: Based on your preferences and business needs, your Freedom Maker virtual assistant will create filters and rules to sort incoming emails into appropriate folders automatically. The prioritization created will identify and filter important emails that require your immediate attention.
CORRESPONDANCE MADE SIMPLE
Imagine cutting down on the amount of time crafting well-written, grammatically correct, and prompt responses. No more writing, re-writing, editing, spell checking! You can start this process closer to the finish line by outsourcing your email management.
- HOW IT WORKS: Your Freedom Maker virtual assistant can draft emails, proposals, or other business correspondence and send routine emails, responses, or acknowledgments without your oversight. They can also proofread outgoing emails to catch errors or inconsistencies and create, customize, and manage pre-written templates for email threads and follow-ups.
NO MORE SCHEDULING SPAGHETTI
How about Friday at 10 am? Sorry, I'm not available. Thursday at 2 pm? What time zone? UGH! Once freed from the chaos of an unorganized inbox, you can utilize your email system to schedule appointments, meetings, and calls.
- HOW IT WORKS: Your Freedom Maker virtual assistant can create automations or integrate a program like Calendly into your workflow. By adding a signature block that includes your Calendly link, your calendar will populate meetings and events when you are free. Your Freedom Maker can also handle the back and forth sometimes necessary to handle your calendar the old-fashioned way.
MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT
Want To Unsubscribe From This Email? Yes, please! Your Freedom Maker virtual assistant can routinely clean up your inbox by archiving or deleting unnecessary emails and conducting periodic purges. The result is a clutter-free and efficient email environment.
- HOW DOES IT WORK? With access to your inbox and guidance regarding your preferences and needs, your Freedom Maker will be empowered to log in, manage your spam, and maintain the integrity of your inbox so that it remains a clutter-free hub for your business.
OUT OF YOUR INBOX, INTO YOUR CRM
Squeeze those emails for every last bit of information! Good email management will allow you to build out your CRM with relevant data obtained through your customer and client correspondence.
- HOW DOES IT WORK? Your Freedom Maker virtual assistant can perform data entry tasks related to contacts, leads, and other business-related information, helping you ensure all critical information is in the right place and retrievable when needed!
Outsourcing your email management to a virtual assistant frees you from doing this tedious task yourself. As an added benefit, the fresh set of eyes your Freedom Maker brings to your inbox will enhance the efficiency of your email communication. Getting those extra hours back each week will allow you to focus on higher-level tasks like refining your business strategy, networking to identify new opportunities, or digging into your creative side to innovate and stay ahead of your competitors.
Take the first step toward transforming your business this year by contacting our Discovery Team today to find out how a military spouse virtual assistant could be the catalyst for your success. Start small - with your email management - and watch as your relationship with your virtual partner grows into a partnership. Let 2024 be the year you redefine productivity, maximize your time, and propel your business to new heights!
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