For senior executives, entrepreneurs, consultants and business leaders who are always on the road, managing their work is often only half the battle. Flights, hotels, airport transfers, restaurant bookings, purchases, deliveries, household needs, subscriptions and family related arrangements can quickly take up hours otherwise spent on clients, strategy and business growth.
The Problem
We have just this problem with one of our long-term customers.
As a professional, his schedule can change quickly as his work regularly takes him across the United States and to countries throughout Asia, Europe, Australia and other parts of the world. Meetings can be set up at short notice. Flights can be late at nite. Transportation demands vary over the course of a day. He needs to organize client dinners, get purchases made and deal with important personal things even when he is thousands of miles away from home.
The Solutions
Our job at 24/7 Virtual Assistants is simple – he concentrates on what he does professionally and we take care of the personal admin that surrounds his life and travel with our 24/7 support team.# The Difficulty of Juggling a Global Schedule and Maintaining Concentration
The constant travel to other countries creates hundreds of small administrative jobs.
A business executive may need to locate a hotel near a meeting site, make arrangements for transportation from the airport, reserve a restaurant table that allows for a confidential discussion with a client, purchase an item that is urgently needed, follow up on a delayed delivery, or inquire about the increased charges on a recurring account.
None of these tasks are complicated in themselves.
The problem is the **time and attention they need, together**.
Our client was not very efficient with going back and forth between business responsibilities and personal coordination. He needed someone he could reach out to, no matter what time zone he was working in, no matter where in the world he was.
He uses our 24/7 support team instead of having to hire lots of people in different locations.#Coordination of Hotel, Travel and Accommodation
One of the most frequent ways we assist clients is in coordinating travel.
If the client is traveling, our team can research accommodation based on his location, schedule, preferences, meeting venues, transportation requirements and budget.
“It’s not only about finding hotels that are available, it’s about making the whole trip easier.”
For example, let’s say there are several business meetings in a particular part of a city, we can search for appropriate accommodation that does not repeat the travel. We can compare options, discuss facilities and practicalities, help with bookings and keep the relevant booking information together.
If his travel plans change, our team can help coordinate changes.
Thus the client has a support resource at his disposal without having to personally waste valuable hours researching every hotel, reservation or travel-related requirement.# Airport Transportation, Pickups and Drop offs
Another important part of the service is transport.
Our team helps in arranging airport pick-ups and drop-offs and local transport during the client’s stay.
This can be particularly useful when the client is changing hotels, airports, meetings, restaurants and other locations in an unfamiliar city.
A meeting can last longer than expected. The next appointment could be on the other side of town. Sometimes a vehicle may need to be available after the meeting is over, rather than at a fixed time.
These arrangements are made by our support team and they liaise with the relevant transportation providers as and when required.
The goal is not just to book a cab. To assist in making the client’s movement throughout the day as smooth as possible.# Locating Restaurants for Business Meetings
Picking a restaurant for a business dinner is a whole different ballgame than just looking for a place to eat.
When our client needs to meet a potential customer, business partner, or associate, our team can search for restaurants based on location, ambiance, cuisine, ratings, availability, suitability for meeting, and budget.
We can find suitable venues, check their availability for booking, and book them.
That way, the client doesn’t have to do any research on unfamiliar territory right before an important meeting.
It also allows him to reach out to our team and say, in effect, “I have a meeting near this location. “Get me a good restaurant and get it going.”
Our team takes care of the coordination while he continues with his work.# Orders and shipments
There’s a lot more to us than travel and dining.
The client can also rely on our team to assist in coordinating personal purchases
This may involve researching an item, comparing the options available, checking delivery schedules, coordinating orders, or following up with the seller or delivery provider as the need arises.
Once a purchase is made, someone also has to make sure that it reaches the proper destination at the proper time.
Our team tracks key deliveries and follows up where necessary.
This is especially helpful if the client is on the go. He has a support team to help with administrative follow-up so he isn’t going to have to break an international meeting or spend time reaching out to vendors.
The result is a simple but important benefit: **things keep getting done while the client’s attention is elsewhere.
Review his accounts, recurring payments
Personal administration can also include many recurring accounts, subscriptions, services and payments.
Prices are subject to change. Services may be automatically renewed. Charges could go up. Duplicate or unnecessary services can slip under the radar.
Our team assists the client to have a better visibility on these accounts.
Where appropriate we can review charges, identify unexpected increases, organize information to compare and highlight anything unusual to the client.
It is not about making financial decisions for the client Instead we are providing yet another level of administrative oversight so the customer does not need to look at every routine transaction or service account personally.
Little savings and avoiding needless charges can add up considerably over time.# Helping With Personal And Family Needs In His Absence
Business trips a lot, but that doesn’t mean all responsibilities at home disappear.
Personal arrangements and family needs can still be taken care of while the client is in another country.
His remote management of these duties is aided by our virtual assistant support which provides an additional level of coordination.
Our team can help with the administration – whether it’s something to be bought, delivered, scheduled, researched, confirmed or followed up on.
For the professional who travels frequently, this means fewer occasions where personal and business priorities collide head-on.# One Support Team across Multiple Timezones
Availability is probably the most important part of this case study.
The client’s lifestyle doesn’t follow a traditional 9 to 5 schedule.
He could be in the United States today. He might be in Europe next week. Then he could be in Asia or Australia.
His support must therefore travel with him, across time zones.
His 24/7 virtual assistant support model means he’s never without help, no matter where his work takes him.
Instead of worrying about whether his assistant is available because it’s nighttime in another country, requests can be fulfilled in a team structure that offers extended or 24/7 coverage.
This produces continuity.
The client does not need to rebuild his support system every time he travels.# The Result: More time to work on what matters
The greatest value that we provide this client is not just hotel booking, restaurant reservations, cab coordination, delivery follow-up or account administration.
The true value is **time, attention, and ease**.
This enables the client to focus more fully on his professional priorities, while we take care of dozens of personal and travel-related responsibilities.
He walks out of a meeting, knowing that transportation can be arranged. He goes to another country knowing his accommodation is taken care of. He can say, “Find me a good restaurant for a client meeting.” and not have to spend an hour researching options. He can work and follow up on purchases and deliveries. On the personal side, administrative matters are still being taken care of while he’s away.
And most important of all, he has someone close by whenever he needs help.
That kind of support can make all the difference for busy executives and professionals day in and day out.
At 24/7 Virtual Assistants we believe virtual assistance can be much more than just administrative work. With the appropriate processes and a dependable 24/7 team, a virtual assistant can be a genuine extension of a client’s personal and professional support system.
And for this client, wherever business takes him next, our team is here to help keep everything else moving.