Do you remember how it felt the first time you sent a virtual calendar link to a client and told them to schedule a time to talk with you? Think of the pride you felt when you were able to simplify the appointment-booking process for yourself and those you conducted business with by a landslide. No more putting them on hold while driving your car and fumbling through a planner. No more double-booking appointments or struggling with back and forth emails and texts to find a mutually beneficial time to meet up or chat. The possibilities were endless and, more importantly, you were left with more time to focus on growing your business.
As your business continues to grow over the years, you will add more valuable team members, business allies, and delegate more tasks to others. The more you grow, the further removed you will become from the day-to-day processes of your company. As peaceful as that initial moment of utilizing calendar management tools might have felt for you, could you have possibly created a rift between you and your potential client without knowing it?
Although technology has single-handedly transformed our businesses, our productivity, and even our personal lives, nothing quite matches the lasting impact of a warm, personal touch. Simply put, companies that lack human interaction in the initial stages of the customer inquiry process can risk losing potential customers to a competitor that does. This is where hiring an outsourced admin™ can prove to be your best move. Should an unexpected obstacle arrive, a brief email requesting a reschedule could rub a client the wrong way. An empathetic call from an executive assistant requesting to reschedule an upcoming meeting would not only send the right message, but it would be better received. The same applies for accommodating last-minute client meeting requests. We’d like to see Calendly do that for you!
At Hamilton Raye, we onboard our clients quickly and easily with comprehensive questionnaires consisting of a variety of questions to learn more about a preferred calendar layout and scheduling preferences. Examples include: Are you comfortable with back-to-back meetings or do you prefer to have a break between meetings? Are there specific individuals or clients where meetings should be prioritized over others? Is there a maximum number of hours meetings should be scheduled each day? From there, we build a standard operating procedure that empowers us to make decisions on your behalf – the right ones. Your scheduling and rescheduling needs are quickly handled personally and professionally by executive admin experts with the ability to learn your habits and preferences, unlike the incapability of an impersonal link.
As you grow into the full maturity of your business, it’s time to recognize when it’s time to elevate the value of your team and the interactions with your clients in order to reach future goals. The opportunity cost of not having the right processes in place to help you reach those goals can prove to be detrimental. Executive admins are dependable, reliable, and worthy of the responsibility of representing you and your business. Investing in someone to trust and speak intelligently on your behalf, use judgment to move things around on your calendar in a non-obtrusive way, accommodate meetings for an executive team or clients, and execute problem-solving skills is essential to maintain professionalism, excellence, and growth and an investment in yourself.