Hiring a virtual assistant vs staying in-house: How to sell yourself

As someone who offers remote support, we are sure that you know the wide-reaching benefits of hiring a virtual assistant – but it is very possible that the people you meet out and about do not.

So, what is a VA at a networking event to do when pitching to someone who clearly needs them… but has only ever hired in-house?

We’ve got the scoop. A combined 20 years in VA services has meant our team knows the exact pain points to soothe when selling services to a business owner or HR manager – and they never fail.

The trick is to hit on the three big objections: cost, experience and availability, and use it not only as an opportunity to educate, but actually get hired.

It’s time to shout from the rooftops what a remote VA can do.

3 great benefits to hiring a virtual assistant remotely

You’ll spend less than the cost of a full-time worker

As with so many things, price will be the first thing a prospective client wants to know about. 

The key here is to focus on benefits over a monetary figure.

Sure, giving them a ballpark based on their available hours and needs can help, but the real trick is to make them see why hiring a virtual assistant actually works out to be more cost-effective than a permanent staffer overall. 

If you haven’t yet, getting up to speed on our free Rates Report is a good idea (even if just to make sure you’re not undercharging yourself for your type of niche). We’ve conducted research on a number of VA areas, including:

• Virtual reception
• General administration
• Project support and management
• Events
• Bookkeeping
• Travel assistance
• Human resources (HR)
• Spreadsheets and report management
• Data and research preparation
• Marketing and social media
• Website maintenance
• Design, content and copywriting
• Podcast management
• Workflows and automation
• Technical support
• NDIS Administration

We found that in almost all areas, hiring a virtual assistant remotely worked out to be more cost-efficient. This is for a few reasons:

1. Clients pay no hefty agency or recruiter placement fees, which can be incredibly expensive when you consider many recruiters also include a trailing commission structure.
2. Clients receive tax-deductible invoices in Australian dollars, with no international exchange rate or unfavourable currency conversion fees.
3. Clients are not responsible for employee expense costs – these are the operating costs ordinarily needed for permanent staff like downtime, insurances, annual leave, sick leave, long-service leave, superannuation, equipment and office overheads, phone lines and internet plans. Remote VAs manage their own affairs at a fully inclusive rate. 
4. Clients are able to pay for hours and work they need – when they need – in a scale-up, scale-down approach, eliminating idle time costs.

So, while no client is exempt from the relevant contractor entitlement laws of their state or territory, in many cases, hiring a virtual assistant can be a great way to save overall, and benefit from less commitment burden.

You’ll tap into experienced, local intel and prowess

After the price splice, you’ll usually encounter a potential client’s next big objection: ‘but I need someone who is actually good, and going to stick around!’.

Resist the urge to roll your eyes, and try to remember that they might have had a poor experience outsourcing part of their operations in the past. This could have been through a bad agency, or with an overseas supplier.

Instead, focus on a couple of the glowing statistics we found in our 2023 Rates Report research for local, Australian VAs:

1. The average amount of years of in-office corporate experience for remote VAs was between 15-52 years.
2. 45% of all respondents were trained in a specific industry or sector niche.

So, when they go ahead with hiring a virtual assistant from a reputable jobs community like the VA Lead Network, they’ll likely benefit from:

• Fewer language barriers
• Aligned time zones
• Access to a wealth of experience
• Diverse, local knowledge
• Complete flexibility – working Mums and Dads know how to juggle expertly
• An understanding of local cultures, markets, laws and regulations
• Precious time back: they’ll no longer get bogged down in the day-to-day admin, allowing them to focus on revenue-generating work

Access round-the-clock, round-the-year support

Hiring a virtual assistant can result in having a great addition to your team without the commitment that comes with a permanent employee – including not being limited to a typical 9-5 arrangement.

For so many business owners, the nature of their work may very well be outside the scope of a normal week.

Just think about the hours or seasonality of travel, beauty services, real estate, retail, digital services and healthcare… a VA in these industries could easily be needed for only a few hours in the day, odd hours, during seasonal peaks, or even only weekends and public holidays.

So, while finding (and compensating) a permanent staff member who wants to do these hours ongoing may prove tricky, there is likely a working VA or OBM for which it would suit perfectly in their calendar or client rotation.

Let a potential client know what options are available to them, including the ability to scale up and down this support as needed, and you’ll probably find that the idea of hiring a virtual assistant is well on their radar.

So, time to hand over a business card, add them on LinkedIn for a quick follow-up or get their number.

Common roadblocks to outsourcing and how to object

Keep these quickfire objection handlers in mind if you’re finding prospective clients aren’t totally sold on the notion of hiring a virtual assistant remotely.

And remember, if it doesn’t lead to a sale immediately – keep in touch. You never know when their circumstances might change, and you want to be front of mind if they do.

• Not knowing what they can outsource – “Anything that you do can be supported and assisted by a remote VA – and better than that, we can actually make your life easier and less finicky in the process with our recommendations.”
• Fearing remote access and knowing how to keep your business safe – “Most VAs will be up-to-date with the latest password and data encryption technology, or be proficient in software solutions that do. We can also learn what you use and simply be added as a user to that, with all of the built-in security measures applying to us.”
• Lacking the experience or knowledge to set a realistic budget – “Let me send you a link to the VA Lead Network Rates Report via email – it’s a trusted source of information from real VAs, and I can also give you a ballpark of my own rates if that’s helpful.”
• Finding a VA or OBM who is happy to increase and decrease hours to suit unpredictable cash flows or seasonal business variations – “Many VAs are used to being needed for Christmas or New Year rushes, Black Friday sales, or times where you have heavy events or travel plans. We thrive on flexibility and some don’t like being tied down to something permanent either.”

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