By Ollie Atkins, chief White House photographer at the time. See ARC [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Scheduling.  An Executive Assistant is a calendar Jedi, it’s true.  A great administrative assistant understands the ins and outs of calendar management and scheduling, and they take everything into consideration when doing so: the time it takes to travel from one end of town to another, whether a particular client is a “talker”, delays (or cancellations) due to inclement weather, scheduling around familial obligations, etc.  The intricacies of scheduling meetings are more complex than they may seem, and admins do this for a living which means they’re professionals.  Great admins will also consider your travel schedule and suggest meeting with new or existing clients in other cities, perhaps details you would overlook.  They know the best places to meet for lunch or dinner meetings, they take note of your preferences, and, more importantly, the preferences of your clients.  Talk about a lasting impression!

Customer service.  Your business is to sell your business’s products or services, get face-to-face with clients, and continually promote your brand, creating trust and strengthening relationships.  An Executive Assistant can help you remain at the forefront of that mission by providing customer support services to callers and/or creating, drafting or editing an eBook or newsletters so that your existing customers stay in-the-know, particularly if you’re the CEO of a small business.  Added bonus: your company is positioned as a thought leader, thought leaders trusted, and companies that are trusted acquire and maintain more business.

Details.  Imagine this: you walk into your local coffee shop in the morning and the barista greets you from behind the counter, “Good morning, Joe!”  For a moment in time, you’re remembered and made to feel special because someone did something as simple as remember your name (major bonus points for remembering your usual order, am I right?).  You mention to a colleague that your sister/son/cousin is in a play and they ask you the following week how it went.  These small details are what help build strong personal connections with people.  Hiring the right admin can help ensure your business stands out because of these personal connections.  Have your admin write hand-written thank you notes after a client meeting, send follow-up steps to a customer who had an inquiry, or even send personalized birthday cards for existing clients.  Admins are experts in detail work, following up and following through, so for them, this is a (birthday) cake walk.

Image attribution: By Ollie Atkins, chief White House photographer at the time. See ARC [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

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