Virtual Assistant versus Outsource Providers-what is the difference?

Discover the different between a virtual assistant and an outsourced worker or freelancer.

You may be trying to determine whether you should you hire outsource providers on a per-project basis, or hire a virtual assistant on a monthly basis who can perform all your outsourced tasks for you. There are pros and cons to each option. Here we can help you decide which works best for you.

The Benefits of Using One Virtual Assistant

The main benefit of using a single virtual assistant is that you can foster and build a relationship with just one person. Managing a group of outsourcees can be a troublesome task.  Instead of establishing many shallow relationships with outsource providers, if you can train just one virtual assistant and have a stellar relationship with that person, you may be better off.

If you hire a virtual assistant who is part of an outsourcing firm, there are a few additional benefits. First of all is security. You may not want to give out administrator passwords to your website to many outsourcers at the same time. The same applies with shopping carts and payment systems. And there can also be issues of plagiarism with writers. If you’re working with a Virtual Assistant from a firm, however, they generally implement their own security procedures. That usually means they have a supervisor overseeing their work to ensure your security.

The Benefits of Using Outsource Providers

The primary benefit of using outsource providers is that each provider is more experienced in their specialty. Take building back links, for example. Yes, you can train a virtual assistant on the process for building links. On the other hand, someone who has been doing it for years can do it much faster and more efficiently.

What might take an outsource provider one hour could take a virtual assistant three hours. It’s not that they’re less competent, they just have less experience in a particular area. For this reason, it is often cheaper to work with several individual service providers rather than paying for a virtual assistant.

You will also be paying on a per-project or per-result basis with a outsource provider, rather than per hour or per month with a virtual assistant. For example, for writers you will be paying per article, for link builders you will pay per link, for transcriptionists you may pay per word. That makes it a lot easier to measure the return on your investment.

Whether you should you use individual outsource providers or a virtual assistant really depends on your business model, the types of tasks and your personal preferences. If you prefer to work with one person closely, then hire a virtual assistant. If you’d rather pay a bit less and closely coordinate a handful of individual service providers, then that route may work better for you.

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Virtual Assistant versus Outsource Providers-what is the difference?
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Virtual Assistant versus Outsource Providers-what is the difference?
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Discover the different between a virtual assistant and an outsourced worker or freelancer.
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