Christmas – a time to celebrate and rejoice. But for the busy entrepreneur it can be a lot more stressful than it should. Getting everything wrapped up in time for the holidays can really pile on the pressure as you juggle not only a shorter working month, but also a host of parties, dinners and other festivities. Thankfully, there are many ways you can get last-minute help over this busy period. Here are 7 virtual assistant services that will help see you through the festive period.
1. Give thanks to your clients
Your clients are the lifeblood of your business, so taking the time to say thank you for their support is a lovely way to reaffirm your relationship, and what better time than Christmas? However, it is time consuming to sit and hand write-cards, address them all and get them sent out. Even if you prefer to use the more environmentally friendly e-card, it will take time you are unlikely to have. A virtual PA can manage this whole process for you. They can source cards, hand-write personal messages and send in time to ensure they reach your clients before they leave for the holiday. They can even buy gifts if you want to go the extra mile. Simply brief your PA on budget and the size of business and they will source cost-effective and beautiful presents that will help ensure you stay top of mind in the new year.
2. Run a festive promotion
Christmas is a time when most people and businesses wind down, so one way you can proactively encourage more sales is to run a festive promotion or competition. Virtual assistant services can offer support in a variety of ways. For example, a virtual PA with specialist digital marketing skills can help ensure you maximise your promotion. They can help setup email marketing or social media campaigns, and update your website to reflect the offer you are promoting. They can also send out newsletters to your current database to help push last-minute sales or let them know about upcoming deals in the new year. It may be just what you need to grab those all important orders during the quieter winter months.
3. Stay on top of emails and correspondence
Just like most of the working population, you are probably keen to wrap up before Christmas and take a few weeks off. However, not all of your clients will be doing the same. It won’t look good if you simply ‘go offline’. Emails still need to be answered, social media channels need to be updated and orders still need to be processed. Luckily, you can outsource all of this to a virtual PA, who will keep things ticking over nicely during the holidays. This keeps your clients happy, and you get to enjoy some much needed R&R over the festive season, safe in the knowledge that everything is being taken care of by professionals.
4. Manage your diary throughout the holiday season
December should be a time for festivities and relaxation, but any busy entrepreneur knows that in reality, it is a lot more hard work than it sounds. You have Christmas parties and festive get-togethers to book and attend, both personally and privately. In addition, you may have additional travel plans to organise if you are going away over the holiday and have the added headache of booking flights and accommodation for the whole family! A virtual PA can take all the stress away, by using their expert organisational skills to coordinate your whole diary, send you reminders for upcoming events, book venues and organise all of your own personal travel plans.
Ahh, slowly but surely, it’s starting to feel like Christmas…
5. Plan an office party
If your clients are the lifeblood of your business, then your employees are the heart and soul. It might not be appropriate this year but any other year show you appreciate them by throwing a Christmas party that they’ll never forget! A competent virtual PA company will have the resource and know-how to get you booked up with something in no time. Simply brief them on budget, numbers and location requirements and they will set to work finding you a fantastic last-minute deal so that you and your employees can celebrate in style.
6. Chase outstanding payments
It’s not what we want to have to think about at Christmas, but invariably you will have a few clients who have gotten a little tardy over the year and still owe you money. That is a hangover you don’t want to start the new year with, so why not consider outsourced credit control, by using a virtual assistant to do the hard-work for you. A good virtual credit controller will have a lot of experience in this area, and will handle the subject sensitively and professionally, ensuring that you can start the new year on a fresh financial footing.
7. Plan for the New Year!
As a business owner your time is best spent steering your proverbial ship. That means that towards the end of the year you should be focused on planning for the new year ahead. But how can you possibly do that with mundane tasks building up, and all the other festivities to enjoy? It’s simple. Hire an admin virtual assistant to take care of all of those administration tasks that would otherwise keep you wrapped up until it’s time to clock off for the holidays. Virtual assistant services can take care of everything from bookkeeping to answering the phone, so offload those tasks and allow your business the time it deserves from you.
This year, get Christmas all wrapped up in style. There’s no need for you to be feeling winter blues, this is a time to make merry. Even Santa gets all the help he can at this time of year, so why shouldn’t you call in your very own troop of elves? And once all of the cards are sent, emails are answered and parties have been attended, you can put your feet up in front of the fire and enjoy the Christmas season with the ones you love!
We hope you found our blog on 7 Virtual Assistant services for the Christmas season useful. If you’re short on time during the festive period and could do with some daily task management help or would like to know more about our virtual assistant services feel free to call us on 0800 994 9016 or use our contact form in the menu above.