Benefits of Using Skype For Your Business

How do you stay in contact with your Virtual Assistant?

Email is the obvious response and I would imagine that the majority of you use this method the most.

The second response is probably by phone.

If your VA is based locally then it’s fairly easy to pick up the ‘standard’ phone to discuss a project status or some new requirements. But how often do you talk to your assistant? I bet if you work out how much time you spend on the phone over the course of a year, you’ll be surprised at how much those costs rack up.

And if your VA is based slightly further afield, then using the ‘standard’ phone becomes even more expensive.

I’ve no doubt you’ve heard of Skype. Many of you are probably using it for business purposes already. Perhaps some of you are just using it to stay in touch with friends and family overseas, and then maybe there are some of you not even using it at all. But why not? If nothing else, it’s free!

Skype is hugely beneficial to your business, and here’s why:

1. Price: By simply signing up to Skype (free-of-charge), you can speak to your Virtual Assistant no matter where they’re situated, for free.
2. Collaboration: As a business owner time is always of the essence. Well the beauty of Skype is that at the push of a button you can see if your VA is available by checking their Skype status. You can also send instant messages to quickly check if they are available for a catch up – this is particularly good if something urgent has cropped up. Then whilst talking (for free) you can easily share files, share screens, communicate 1-2-1 or pull in other team members no matter where they are based, and you can even choose to use video conferencing so it feels like you’re in an office together.
3. Ease: Not only can you use Skype in the normal way i.e. connecting via your computer, laptop or iPad, you can also use it via your mobile phone. If you’re unavailable you can choose to receive voicemail messages by connecting and listening, or have them emailed or texted to you (at a minimal charge). It’s easy to redirect your Skype number to another landline number or to your mobile phone if your computer is offline. And finally if you’re part of a larger team, you can upgrade to Skype for Business which allows you to create multiple colleague accounts making it great for staying on top of business spend and resource management.

There are more than 663 million users on Skype, for sure your Virtual Assistant is one of them. So I’ll ask again, if you’re not, why not?

• It will reduce your overheads.
• It will help you stay in contact with your remote team more easily.
• It will help you remain contactable no matter where you are.

For that last point perhaps we can push a little blame at Skype too!