Outsourcing 101 – Why You Should Outsource Your Calendar

One of the most luxurious things in owning your own business seems to be having someone who manages your calendar and acts as a gatekeeper. Having an assistant manage your calendar is also one of the most important to business growth. If you’ve never outsourced this task before, you may think ‘why should a VA manage my schedule?’

Outsourcing your calendar and scheduling tasks to a virtual assistant is valuable both in terms of saving your time and bringing more value to your organization. Let’s look into each of these more closely. 

Save Time

If you’ve ever tried to make an appointment with a busy lead, client, or colleague then you know how much back and forth it can be. Even if you have a calendar like TimeTrade (my calendar of choice), there’s still follow up to make sure the appointment gets scheduled, files get sent and any changes are communicated.

Instead of spending valuable time each week setting up appointments or chasing down those who aren’t that interested in talking with you, your time can be spent on the phone or working with those who have scheduled calls.

(What if I don’t schedule calls now? People just call…)

And if you don’t schedule calls now then I have to warn you… it’s a dangerous sign of desperation. One of the lessons that each one of my clients works on at some point is that experts are busy, the best are booked, consistently, because of the very reason that they are good. While it can be hard to turn away business, telling someone that you’re not available right this second because you have clients, obligations and boundaries can not only be empowering to say but also elevate your value.

Think about it a moment, if you wanted to call the owner of a major corporation could you get him or her on the phone immediately? Can you just call up the President of the country? Of course not. I know, you’re not a politician or even have a multi-million dollar company. But the same principles apply – you have treat your time as valuable or no one else will.

Besides, I really want to know, how much work do you actually get done when your day is totally unstructured? Are you accomplishing all of your goals? If you’re struggling then it’s time to create a schedule that works for you and protect your time and an assistant can help with that as well.

Maintain Your Focus

Imagine you’re in the midst of a client call, things are going well, you’re loving the flow of conversation and then, in the corner of your eye you see an email come up canceling your upcoming call with a lead. Suddenly you’re distracted, wondering what happened? Did they find someone else? Is everything okay?

And just like that it’s easy to become distracted from the call you’re in now and thinking about the lead.

Instead, having an assistant who fields these emails and changes, updates your calendar, and checks in when you have a free moment enables you to stay focused.

It’s also a benefit when your day gets off balance and you’re delayed by 10 or 20 minutes. Instead of cutting calls short or canceling on an important contact, you can have your assistant let those on your calendar know that you’re behind and relieve some of the pressure.

Bring More Value to the Team

While it’s fun and good to be a solo entrepreneur, when you begin up-leveling your business with a team it increases the value of your services because even if you’re the most efficient and effective person in the world, you still only have 24 hours in a day.

When you invest in your team it also sends a message that you’re serious about the future of your business and are willing to bring in the support it needs long term.

Finally, no matter how many times you invite your leads and clients to email or call you with questions it can be intimidating. Having another person in the business who can answer questions can be a comfort to your clients who are nervous about speaking up or fear that they’re “bugging you” with inquiries.

If you have an assistant now, approach the subject of managing your calendar together. If you need an assistant to grow this piece of your business, be sure to grab my free video series 5 Days to Hiring Fabulous Help for your Online Business by filling in the boxes at the top of this page!