Are Virtual Assistant Prices Considered Underrated? You Decide

What Were Your Virtual Assistant Prices Again?

Companies of all types are now adopting new ways to delegate their responsibilities due to a book published in 2007 by Tim Ferris. His 322-page bestseller “The 4-Hour Workweek.” describes the benefits of outsourcing. We now seek to optimize both our personal and professional lives. The benefits seem clear. By handing over time-consuming and even repetitive tasks, you free up time for other things. Wouldn’t you want to create more value in your business and career? The question is can you achieve those goals, by looking for the lowest virtual assistant prices?

What You Get For the Cost of a Virtual Assistant.

Recent estimates suggest that there are over 3.9 million secretaries and administrative assistants working across the United States. In today’s digitally-enabled landscape a significant portion of assistants works remotely, handling a wide array of tasks which could include answering calls and emails to copywriting, bookkeeping, and even basic programming. That’s a lot of utility from someone you’ve never also had to meet in person!

Of course, if you’re looking for the lowest virtual assistant price, then you could find it challenging to meet the demands of your daily workload. After all, there’s a reason why the average salary for an in-office assistant hovers around $35-$40,000 as it’s difficult to find good talent that can execute consistently to a high standard. While cost-effectiveness is always an admirable objective for business owners, and outsourcing is a crucial method for streamlining operations; there’s a clear difference between shrewd budgeting and underinvestment. It seems as if there is often a disparity between being dependable and multi-functional. To rephrase, foreign VA’s, though cheaper, tend to be less skilled. On the other hand, a US Based VA is quite dependable and multifunctional, but higher priced. The question is which do you choose?

A Virtual Assistant Price Does Not Tell the Whole Story

In offshore locations like India and the Philippines, the virtual assistant price can be as low as $4.00/hr. In theory, this sounds amazing. You get to offload a bunch of routine, yet critical tasks while saving money. What more could you ask for? Unfortunately, in many of these cases, the virtual assistant price correlates directly to the value you get back into the business.

The Language Barrier

Many foreign VA agencies in India and the Philippines advertise native-level English fluency as a big selling point. Many foreign nationals do in fact speak English competently. However, there’s a world of difference between a casual conversation and a business-level correspondence.

Your advertising, digital marketing, and emails are all vital elements of your brand image. For customers, prospective investors, and partners first impressions go a long way. The last thing you want to do at this early stage is to come off as unprofessional. Or even worse, incompetent. Unfortunately, how cheap you are shows up in the end. It is impossible not to give off this impression with fundamental spelling mistakes, incorrect grammar, old phraseology, and unpolished language. When you actively seek out the lowest virtual assistant prices these sorts of subpar results are far from uncommon.

Remember, your VA is acting as an extension of you and your brand. So if you trust them to handle appointment-setting and lead generation with some of your most coveted clients, then you need to have full assurance that they’re representing you in the best possible light. While the virtual assistant price might be lower overseas, you could end up losing money in the long run.

On the other hand, US-based virtual assistants are well-integrated with the local culture and working practices. Many of these workers will have previous experience working in a corporate setting so they will be more than familiar with what’s expected of them in a professional environment.  Finally, when an onshore virtual assistant says they know English, you know that you can expect a level of competency that’s at least equal to your own. The cost of a virtual assistant is generally higher in the US, but you are getting clear advantages in the bargain.

Communication Delays and Missed Deadlines

Language isn’t the only obstacle between you and your offshore VA. Distance can be just as big of a concern in many instances. To start with, there is the obvious mismatch between time zones. It’s difficult to coordinate communication and project delivery times. In many cases, you might find yourself sending out urgent feedback or updates. These updates aren’t always taken into account until a whole day has passed. Are bargain basement virtual assistant prices really worth that kind of effort on your part?

This also makes it harder to collaborate on tasks that need more focused input. Often, you might find yourself dealing with a third-party intermediary instead of your actual VA. Ultimately, you’re left to describe complicated instructions to someone with little knowledge of your industry or working requirements. Finally, when work isn’t up to standard and you need urgent revisions; getting hold of your virtual assistant can be a task all of its own. With these sorts of working limitations, you have to ask whether you’re getting any actual benefit from lower virtual assistant prices.

All of these inefficiencies add time and expense to an already packed work schedule, which is the very thing you were looking to avoid in the first place. You might think that the cost of a virtual assistant in the US is more than you can afford, but the flexibility and efficiency these employees offer cannot be argued.

Quality Concerns

While the cost of a virtual assistant might be greater in the US. These onshore employees bring a lot to the table as well. At A2Zva our virtual assistants are certified in specialist functions like accounting, payroll, and IT support and they bring specialist software like Quickbooks and Soho to help them plan and execute the technical tasks required for these areas of your business.

At the end of the day, your business is dependent on sound, well-managed finances and a functional IT infrastructure for daily operations. If your virtual assistant fails to perform adequately in these critical functions then you might be left dealing with tax penalties, unpaid bills, and a completely unreliable IT infrastructure. Are you really prepared to put these responsibilities in the hands of overseas agencies offering a virtual assistant price that is even less than minimum wage? Remember, these employees will be tasked with keeping key areas of your business afloat. US virtual assistant prices might be higher, but these employees come with resumes and references that can be easily confirmed through a few background checks. When they aren’t executing according to your requirements they’re always within distance for a quick call or email.

Although you might be able to get away with jettisoning repetitive, low-effort tasks to a cheap offshore VA, any project that requires real guarantees of quality is better left to a virtual assistant that is closer to home. At A2Zva, our virtual assistant prices represent value for any client that needs skilled, reliable support as they grow their business.