One of the ways that a premium service like Boldly differentiates itself from other more ‘average’ competitors, is that we’re absolutely passionate about offering a service that gives you the best possible value and the highest quality for the long term.
If that’s the case, “why can’t I roll over my hours?” And while we’re on the subject of value, “why can’t I have a free trial?”
All that glitters is not gold
Let me explain why rolling over your hours is a negative for you when you’re working with a dedicated assistant—someone you count on, and someone you trust to carry your business forward for the long term. It’s counter intuitive.
There are three things at the top of the list when it comes to a successful relationship with a top-flight virtual assistant.
- You want to be able to work with someone consistently over the long-term so that the investment you make in training your VA, integrating her into your team and aligning her with you company culture pays off. The last thing you want is a VA who doesn’t stick around.
- You want your VA to be available when you need him or her, and to be able to rely on your important tasks getting done on time.
- You want to develop a strong trusting relationship with your assistant so that she or he has got your back, and so that you can hand over more responsibility over time, freeing yourself up for the strategic priorities.
Imagine that Ellen, your assistant, has 10 years of corporate marketing experience. You guys really hit it off and in the 4 months you’ve been working together she’s made a huge difference for your business. She’s writing content for you, managing your social media and other key responsibilities. She’s available part-time, and working with you and three other clients.
In the scenario where you and her other clients can roll over their hours, Ellen is struggling to plan her time. She knows you are on a 20 hour plan, so she’s reserved 20 hours for you, but in March you only used 13 hours. In April, you decided to make up the rolled-over hours and she suddenly needs to reserve 27 hours for you. The thing is—the same thing happened with two of her other clients that same month—meaning that while Ellen’s clients didn’t use her services much in March, now with 3 of her clients rolling over hours she doesn’t have enough available time to support you, and everyone’s work begins to suffer. Ellen, who cares deeply about doing a good job for each of you, is devastated.
Finally after a few months of a scheduling nightmares and inconsistent income, Ellen realizes that the situation isn’t sustainable, and she makes the difficult decision to find a more stable position elsewhere. The investment you made bringing Ellen onboard is lost and you have to start again with a new assistant. You can’t find someone of Ellen’s calibre that is willing to accept the lack of consistency, and in turn, your business suffers.
Contrast this with the scenario of working with Boldly. First we’ll work with you during the signup process to accurately estimate the number of hours you need and to set you up on the right sized plan. Ellen, your assistant, knows that if she sets aside those hours for you, that’s what she’ll be working. She’s available when you need her and she’s able to give her absolute best to you. You have consistency, she has consistency, and she throws herself into helping you develop your business. As is typical with our team, two years later you’re still working together and you’ve seen significant growth. There was just that one time in February where you had an emergency and couldn’t use all your hours. We paused your plan, so that in this exceptional situation you didn’t lose out.
A plan which doesn’t roll over, that is carefully managed, and that you can adjust as needed, will give you better results every time. You’ll have a steady and reliable relationship with your VA, availability when you need it, and you’ll win loyalty and commitment to your business.
So what about that free trial?
Let me ask you what you’d prefer. Would you rather have a one hour free trial with the ‘next available assistant’, or would you rather be matched from the start with the perfect assistant for you, meet her before you sign up, get a free hour launch meeting with your VA to create a game plan, and then have a lifetime 100% satisfaction guarantee so that if at any time you aren’t satisfied we’ll refund your month’s fees? At Boldly, we don’t do free trials, we do better.
Interested in starting a conversation? Get in touch.
