2. Online Research
• You can easily farm out Internet research to virtual assistants.
• Common requests include finding information on corporate websites,
exploring new products and vetting potential employees or business
contacts, says Sue Kramer Harrawood, president of Peace of Mind Virtual
Assistance, an Orland Park, Ill., firm that provides companies with virtual
assistants.
3. Database Entries
• Whether it's a slew of new business cards picked up at a conference or
updated information for existing contacts, keeping databases current is a
suitable task for virtual assistants.
• Be specific about your needs and expectations, and make sure the virtual
assistant has done this type of work before so there's less room for errors,
Kramer Harrawood says.
4. Data Presentations
• Turning raw data into a clear PowerPoint presentation or summarizing
research findings in a Word document can be a huge timesaver when
prepping for meetings, says Rich Pearson, chief marketing officer at
24task.com, a jobs website for freelancers in Mountain View, Calif., who
uses a virtual assistant himself.
• The data "comes back in a format I can share," he says.
5. Managing E-mail
• To keep you from wasting time in your email inbox, some virtual assistants
will filter your most important emails and respond to the rest on your
behalf, Colaiacovo says.
• Such email management is easy to do remotely, but you need to provide
guidance on how to pick out key emails and ask the assistant to copy you
before sending out any responses to reduce the risk of errors.
6. Scheduling
• Because many scheduling tools are available online, virtual assistants are
managing the calendars of many clients, says Kramer Harrawood.
• Tasks include dealing with meeting invitations from others, scheduling
appointments with clients and helping to plan events. "It's about being
comfortable and letting go of that calendar" to a non-staff person working
remotely, Kramer Harrawood says.
