Comments on: 5 Things You Should Stop Doing Tomorrow

By: Rajesh Kumar

Sat, 29 May 2010 21:37:09 +0000

My experience: you could get this done for 5 USD per hour from VAs in India. (if you try to do the same thing it will take double the time). Best part: end of the day you assign the work to be done and next day morning everything’s in place! Because of the time difference, your VA was working for you when you were asleep! With Min commitment of just 15 days a month – I find it worthwhile.

By: Rajesh Kumar

Sat, 29 May 2010 21:29:29 +0000

50 to 60 USD an hour? Wow, I pay 5 USD an hour and I get 6 days a week work done. And the minimum commitment: 15 hours a month. May be it helps that I am based in Singapore mostly and India isn’t that far
BTW, I have associates based in the US and UK who use this.
One thing I can vouch for: MY 1 hour is worth a lot more than 5 USD and I learnt not to waste my precious time on doing chores that don’t add value to my business – the hard way.

By: Tola

Tola — Sat, 01 May 2010 08:13:17 +0000

Hi Karl

This is a brilliant piece of advice. It’s really a no-brainer but it takes deep insight. My business is really small so hiring a VA is a definite no no for now. However, I had gotten this piece of advice so many times and wondered how in the world do I pull this off! Now I know better and will be sharing it with buddies in my position. Once again, thanks a million!

By: Colin Wilson

Colin Wilson — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:22:55 +0000

I have used both real assistants and virtual assistants. The real ones, if they are good, will observe, see how they can help and move in… and will obviously do more than listed to help make life easier. Virtual ones are more difficult… they have to be given specific tasks… which can often take longer to explain than time saved. The other disadvantage is that the virtual ones are not there… they can’t handle the physical paper… they can’t do the filing… or make the coffee! I worked for 3 years with a virtual and probably wont do it again because I don’t think the value was there… which may be down to the way I work, but that still means I don’t get the value for me.

I also have to agree with Karl’s point… don’t give anyone the option of delegating their sales responsibility… it is often the process of inputting that triggers thought and action… delegate it and accountability soon gets forgotten.

By: Jan Visser

Jan Visser — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 15:27:56 +0000

Good caution, Karl – and very valid points.

Obviously, what I didn’t mean to imply that you outsource the “qualitative” element of forecasting or updating your CRM.

It’s YOU who still needs to decide *what* needs to happen. It’s someone else who can execute on the administrative task. In other words – “put these accounts with these percentages in this spreadsheet template” or “update account X with this contact information” is something you can instruct someone else to do.

The point I tried making was that it’s the mundane labor you outsource, not the brain activity.

By: Karl Goldfield

Karl Goldfield — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 14:44:05 +0000

Great advice if you can afford it! For those of you that cannot part with the coin today, I suggest delegating these activities to the times when you cannot be calling or visiting prospects/customers. If you are looking to become a career sales professional, these tasks should be done in your early, EARLY morning, or after the calling day is done.

There are two of the five that I am cautionary about delegating if you do not have a system to stay apprised. Those are CRM management and forecasting. Removing yourself from these processes can remove you from the sales process as a whole. It is important to listen to, write down, re-type, read, and say out loud, the things your prospect/customer has told you. These different forms of communication hold with them different forms of learning. Utilizing this method, you can better come up with objectives for your next call or visit.

Delegating your forecast can also be a risk if you do not stay on top of it. These are your potential sales, thus your future, and to ahnd it off to another to manage is well, risky.