By Tina Hilton of Clerical Advantage

Clerical Advantage offers virtual assistance services utilizing the latest technology in order to work independently and remotely. They provide skilled professional support and services to busy business professionals. Collaboration with Clerical Advantage saves time, money and frustration while freeing the business person to pursue opportunities to ensure the success of their business.

Here is Part One from Tina Hilton:

I don’t know about you, but I get sucked into those VH1 Top 100 countdowns all the time. So I thought it would be fun, as well as informative, to do our own here at the Home Office Warrior. The Top 100 ways that a Home Office Entrepreneur could use a Virtual Assistant to benefit their business. Like the musical counterpart, this countdown will come to you in four installments, one each week for the next four weeks. At the end of the four weeks I think you will have found at least a few ways a virtual assistant could fit you and your business and at the same time you will have learned a bit more about the world of virtual assistance.

100. Set up a customer/client /contact database. Send all of those business cards to your virtual assistant (or VA, for short) and let them transform it into a database that allows you to sort and filter information, find information easily and speed up mass mailing with mail merge.

99. Design and coordinate printing of invitations for your next event. Your VA can design an invitation that incorporates your logo, find a quality printing service to print them at a competitive rate and have them mailed right to your door.

98. Coordinate and plan your next event. Not only can your VA take care of the invitations, they can book the venue, find and schedule a caterer, work with you on decorations and order them to be delivered , and even find someone to put the decorations into place.

97. Manage RSVP’s. Have all the RSVP’s for your event sent to your virtual assistant, they can keep track of who is and isn’t going to be there, design name tags for those that attend and arrange for printing and delivery.

96. Prepare Power Point presentations and slideshows. Perhaps you need it for a meeting with an important client, or you teach classes. Your VA can take your information and transform it into an attention getting presentation.

95. Prepare handouts for a presentation or class.

94. Provide registration management for seminars or classes. Forward all of the registration information sent to your virtual assistant, they can keep track of information, let you know when the class or seminar reaches capacity as well as other pertinent information that will help make your class or seminar a success.

93. Create a customer/client survey. Want to know just how the participants felt about your class? Or what your customers experience with your product was? Have your virtual assistant prepare a survey. It can be mailed, e-mailed or accessed on the web.

92. Compile information gathered in surveys. When the survey is complete, your VA can compile all the information into an easy to read format.

91. Organize and maintain mailing lists. Do you have several groups of contacts that need different information from you company? Do you wish you could send out an e-mail just to the customers that purchase Item B? Let a virtual assistant transform contacts into mailing lists and manage them.

90. Create an instruction/training manual. Does your product require instructions? Do you have guidelines that must be followed by clients? Your virtual assistant can create a manual for customers and/or clients

89. Transcribe your speech, presentation, papers, letters, etc. Just record it on your computer, e-mail the file to your virtual assistant and they will transcribe it and e-mail, fax or mail it to you in your desired format.

88. Post job opening with newspapers and online services. Thinking of hiring a remote employee of some sort? Your VA can draft the ad and submit it for you.

87. Verify former employment of potential candidates for the position. Now that you’re getting resumes a VA can verify that they were employed where they said they were.

86. Screen potential employees and conduct telephone interviews. Shorten the hiring process by having your virtual assistant conduct telephone interviews. They can even call the best candidates back to schedule a second interview with you.

85. Prepare employee manual. Now that you’ve hired that remote employee, maybe you need a manual? Yup, your VA can do that.

84. Make business lunch reservations. You know that great restaurant that your best client loves? The one that requires reservations two weeks in advance? Have your virtual assistant call and get the table with the best view. Or the quiet corner booth for uninterrupted business discussions.

83. Provide directions to your afternoon meeting. Not quite sure how to get from that fancy restaurant to your next meeting? Your VA can get directions and send them to your e-mail for easy access.

82. Set up an online calendar. Your appointment book is a wonderful thing, too bad it is too big and bulky to carry in your pocket. Your virtual assistant can transfer all the appointment goodness from your book to an online calendar that you can access from any computer or mobile web device. And if those options aren’t available, you can call your VA and they can access it and tell you what’s next on your agenda.

81. Burn meeting materials, etc. onto a CD. Would it be helpful to give the participants of your meeting or class a copy of that slideshow, marketing graphs or other materials? Positive that paper documents won’t make it off the meeting room table? Your virtual assistant can take the files and burn them onto a CD for you to hand out. You look technologically advanced; they take the CD back to their office.

80. Respond to requests for information. Can’t keep up with the calls and e-mails for more information about your business or your latest product/service? Give out your virtual assistants contact information as the person to talk to for more information.

79. Create an address book. Are you always typing in e-mail addresses from little slips of paper? A virtual assistant can set up an address book in your e-mail program that will make those slips of paper trash can fodder.

78. Update customer/client information. You know you got a change of address card from a client a week or so ago, but now you can’t find the new information anywhere. A VA can keep all of your address book and customer information databases up to date for you.

77. Respond to customer complaints. Everyone hates complaints, but it’s vitally important to your business that they are addressed in the proper manner. Let a virtual assistant use their customer service skills to find out just what’s wrong and help you help your unhappy customer.

76. Customer /Client follow-up. Are you looking for feedback on how to improve your business? Did you promise a customer or client that you’d check In with them? A virtual assistant can do your follow-up contact for you as well as provide a report.

Are we at 25 already? That’s just the tip of the iceberg. The ways to use a virtual assistant are as varied as business itself is. Not all virtual assistants offer every service listed on the Top 100, but the beauty of virtual assistance is that you can hire a different VA for different situations based on their expertise. And if you didn’t find something in today’s list that you feel can help you, I’m sure that in next week’s installment you will.

If you have questions concerning virtual assistance or have an interest in working with a virtual assistant you can contact Tina Hilton or visit her business website for Clerical Advantage.