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Our service standards

Answering service or virtual reception

VA or virtual assistant

Core Business virtual PA

PROS

PROS

PROS

Perceived to be cheap

Moderately inexpensive

Usually costs less than 5% of a full time salary

Claim every call answered

Good for generic administration

Named person dedicated to your business

Usually buy a package of calls

Lots of choice

Highly flexible service

 

 

Well-briefed PA knows how to handle all your different requirements

 

 

PA knows your business and uses initiative

 

 

PA can take orders, update database, manage diary etc. often at no extra cost

CONS

CONS

CONS

Usually a call centre environment

Usually not equipped to handle calls in company name

Can be perceived as more expensive – as with any quality purchase (see Free Trial and 3 WEEK MONEY BACK GUARANTEE)

Inflexible service

Usually not equipped to handle more than one call at a time

 

No personalised service, anyone could answer your calls

Usually a one man band

 

No initiative able to be used, business model requires speedy calls and immediate messaging

Holidays and sickness may mean interrupted service.

 

 

May not be entirely available when busy with other clients

 

 

 

 

Virtual PA versus answering service or outsourced reception
We all know the difference between a receptionist and secretary/Personal Assistant. The same applies to our virtual Personal Assistant service and any answering service or virtual reception. A personal assistant will take on responsibility, consider your needs, whether you need interrupting, or whether the caller can save until later or take the initiative to deal with it herself.

We recognise that you may not necessarily want an inbox full of immediate email messages advising on each call, and that you may not want your mobile bleeping every few minutes with an immediate sms. For some, ending the day with an inbox full of unanswered messages is not appealing, you may prefer to read a summary, at your convenience of what your virtual PA has done for you that day, and specifically what she feels your priorities are from here, rather than a list of people you need to call back or contact.

Your virtual PA will naturally fend off sales calls, register you for TPS if preferred, handle calls of a non-urgent nature, take orders, fill out forms, book meetings using an online diary, make call backs and screen calls as you would expect from a secretary with whom you have a comprehensive business relationship. Your PA is dedicated to you, though backed up by a small team of professionals briefed and ready to help out in a scaleable way when your business needs it.

Virtual PA versus virtual assistant
If your business requirement is more of an administrative nature, then a VA or virtual assistant is a useful recruit.

Virtual assistants are rarely able to offer a service that deals with calls in a technically superior way, and of course, can usually only answer one call at a time. But as a typist or general administration assistant, they are useful and the market is growing fast, not only in terms of demand, but also supply.

However bear in mind that a VA will need holidays, inevtibly be ill on occasion, have other clients who will be busy at other times, deal with interruptions and go for lunch.

Your Core Business virtual PA is your named lead PA, so you get all the highly personalised service you can expect from a dedicated employee, but your virtual PA is also backed up by a small team of allocated individuals who have also been briefed on your business and are familiar with your needs. This way you get reliable service, resilient technology and most importantly, comprehensive office cover whenever you need it, seven days a week.

Decide what it is you want to get out of the help you buy for your business. Do you regard your PA as an investment, a quick fix, or a cheap route to an answering service.

If you want a heap of messages to respond to at the end of the day, when you’ve done your day’s work, then consider an answerphone, in spite of what many answering services may claim (sometimes their statistics are a little dated), people are far more used to leaving a voicemail than ever before. Alternatively pay a bit more for a human answerphone in a message service.

Terms and conditions
Click here to download our Terms and Conditions in PDF format.

Core Business Virtual PA
5 Flag Business Exchange
Vicarage Farm Road
Peterborough PE1 5TX

Tel: 0845 838 5097
Fax: 01733 297589

Company Registration Number: 04220706

email: services@corebusinessvirtualpa.com