CRM vs Virtual Assistant: Which One Do You Really Need?
Hello there, darling! Welcome to Le Blog, a free resource for creative business owners who want to spend more time doing what they love and less time sending emails. My name is Chloe, and I’m a client experience strategist—which means I help you improve every touchpoint in your business so your clients can’t stop talking about how easy it is to work with you.
In this blog, I want to talk about the difference between a CRM (client relationship manager) and a virtual assistant, so you can make informed decisions about what help you need and where to put it.
First things first, What is a Virtual Assistant? And what is a CRM?
What is a Virtual Assistant?
A virtual assistant is exactly what it sounds like—someone you hire to assist you with admin tasks, like sending emails, scheduling calls, answering emails, etc. The goal is to outsource the repetitive tasks you don’t want to do so that you can focus on the work you really enjoy, whether that’s planning weddings, mapping out travel itineraries, and everything in between.
I actually was a VA (virtual assistant) for a little while, working with a few photographers, service providers, and wedding planners. I did everything listed above, but the task that took up the bulk of my time was managing my clients’ CRM. Each of the people I worked with had a bare-bones CRM setup that was 1) out of date and 2) didn’t reflect how they actually worked.
They didn’t have the time (or desire) to sit down and update their CRM… so I did it for them. And eventually, I realized that if their CRM worked properly, it could be doing a decent chunk of the work they were paying me to do. After designing a few CRM systems for my VA clients, I decided to make CRMs my full-time gig. It felt slimy to let them keep paying me to do something that the software they were already paying for could do instead! Now, I design fully bespoke CRMs for service-based businesses.
What is a CRM?
If we’re chatting all about CRM’s, it’s important to understand what it actually is. A CRM is a software that manages the “behind the scenes” of your business. This single platform can manage invoices and contracts, send questionnaires, automate emails, and so much more. It tracks your clients, guides them through the process of working with you, and organizes information so you can find exactly what you need when you’re looking for it.
You can get a deeper dive into what a CRM is and why I recommend one for all service providers in this blog.
CRM vs Virtual Assistant: The Full Breakdown
The truth is, you can have both a CRM and a virtual assistant. But if your goal is to manage your business efficiently and you can only use one… well, I know what my vote would be.
Things a Virtual Assistant Does that Your CRM Could Be Doing Instead
When your CRM is set up correctly, it can do nearly everything that most people hire a VA to do. Lead and inquiry management. Scheduling. Inbox organization. Onboarding and offboarding communication. All of it can live inside a well-built CRM.
Here’s the thing: you shouldn’t need a VA to manage your business. Your CRM should do that for you. BUT—and this is very important!—this doesn’t mean that a CRM can fully replace a VA! Hiring a VA can still be a valuable move for your business. My goal is to outline what a CRM can do for you so that if you do hire a VA, they can focus on the work that will be the most worthwhile.
TLDR; I’m not against hiring a VA, I just want you to have the right tool for the job! (And sometimes that tool is a CRM)
The Cost
If we’re honest, finances are often the real deciding factor for most small business owners. And the cost difference between a well-designed CRM and ongoing VA services is significant.
Let’s think about this. A VA works for $30/hour for what, roughly 10 hours per month? This is pretty average, and at first glance, it doesn’t seem like all that much. But when you add it up, this costs you $300 a month, which pans out to $3,600 a year. Meanwhile, a CRM runs somewhere between $40 and $60 per month, depending on the platform.
The most popular CRM platforms for creatives are Honeybook and Dubsado.
Honeybook:
- Starter Plan: $36/mo if billed monthly or $29/mo if billed yearly
- Essentials Plan: $59/mo if billed monthly or $49 per/mo if billed yearly
- Premium Plan: $129/mo if billed monthly or $109/mo if billed yearly
Dubsado:
- Starter Plan: $35/mo if billed monthly or $28/mo billed yearly (no automation)
- Premier Plan: $55/mo if billed monthly or $44/mo if billed yearly
Sometimes these platforms run sales and you can really take advantage of stacked discounts. For instance, you can get 30% off your first year or payment of Dubsado with my code, ‘itschloeg.’
Personalization
The biggest hesitation many people have when it comes to using a CRM and automating client communication is the fear of losing that personal touch. In fact, this came up on a recent client call and I’m going to tell you exactly what I told that client.
There are so many ways to personalize your client communication—yes, even when it’s automated. Dubsado has SmartFields, so we can drop in personalized details that Dubsado pastes in for each client automatically. It’s very custom without you having to lift a finger! And even then, there are two types of automations, and not everything is fully automated. Some can be set up so everything is drafted and ready for you, and all you need to do is review it and hit approve or add a customized sentence. For example, when sending a proposal, you can add a couple sentences pulling from something the client mentioned on their inquiry form.
Canned emails get a bad rep but they’re much more personalized than people think. If it’s done well, you won’t even know it’s a canned email. Most of my clients have no idea that everything I send them is templated.
On the call, my client was nodding. She answered, “I get it. You can’t hand-type an email for every single client. It’s just not possible.”
She hit the nail on the head with that comment. When you’re scaling your business, typing out every email starts to cost more than it’s worth. With personalized canned emails, your CRM can send documents to your clients, request information, and remind them of calls and invoice dates without you (or a VA) needing to do a thing.
CRM Solutions for Busy Business Owners
So many business owners hire a VA because they feel like running their CRM is too much to handle on their own. But I promise, you will be surprised by how easy it is to manage your CRM once it’s been properly set up and you’ve been shown how to use it. And you should feel empowered to run your own systems.
Imagine working with a VA who knows everything there is to know about your CRM. They’re fully managing it for you, and you’re happy with this arrangement. But it turns out, your VA has bigger dreams. They’ve decided to pursue their passion for baking, and are slowly transitioning out of VA work. You’re happy for them, but suddenly you’re face to face with a system you have no idea how to use.
My goal is to create a system that works for you intuitively and seamlessly. I have no quarrel with VAs—I was one, after all! But I do have an issue with the fear and overwhelm that business owners deal with daily because they don’t know how to utilize their CRM.
Education is a huge part of what I do here. I’m not interested in designing a stellar system that you still feel intimidated by. No, I want to create a platform that fits beautifully into your business and then show you exactly how to use it. This way, your CRM doesn’t really need to be managed. And if you choose to hire a VA, their time and energy can go towards true admin word, ops support, and non-CRM tasks so you’re getting the biggest bang for your buck—in every area of your business.
Learn more about my bespoke CRM setups and fill out the calling card on my contact page to schedule a (free) consultation call. If that sounds like the shift you need, let’s chat.
