I have observed this recurring pattern many times. Instead of delegating low-value tasks to individuals who are appropriately compensated for them, employees, managers, and leaders often choose to perform these tasks themselves.
For example, I have witnessed a Head of Marketing earn $150K annually and spend hours preparing weekly reports and dashboards for internal use. I have seen highly paid managers at top digital agencies waste time navigating the confusing and ever-changing Meta business manager interface while updating Instagram ads. Sales leaders have double-booked themselves and failed to attend one of the meetings because they manage their own calendars. Media account strategists have spent hours analyzing Meta ad analytics to find information. Senior sales leaders have manually cleaned up their lists and copied information from Apollo.io and ZoomInfo before launching cold email campaigns. Senior developers in agencies have updated blog posts on WordPress for their clients.
This problem becomes even worse as companies scale, and many founders feel overwhelmed because they believe that hiring more people is not the solution.
These are just a few examples of highly paid staff members in our companies who are stuck doing low-value but important tasks. This situation, which I call the BNP Syndrome (Busy, Not Productive), is truly an epidemic.
If you or your staff members experience the BNP Syndrome, keep reading. For those who have already found a way to be productive and efficient, I wish you continued success.
For the rest of us...
The workday keeps getting busier for our staff, but we fail to see their high-value productivity as they get bogged down by low-value tasks. Eventually, people become frustrated because they are doing work that does not fulfill them. If someone in your organization finds satisfaction in mundane tasks rather than focusing on their core responsibilities, it may be time to consider letting them go.
In his book "Who Not How," Dan Sullivan discusses the importance of effective delegation and not trying to figure everything out on your own. Instead, hire or delegate tasks to someone who excels at them. Sullivan emphasizes the importance of working in the zone where you love what you do and excel at it. When you start working on tasks that fall outside of this zone, even if you are good at them, you are wasting your time.
Personally, I am skilled in web development and have been doing it as a hobby since 1998. I can still create impressive webflow websites in a few hours. However, despite my proficiency, I have realized that the time spent on webflow does not allow me to reach my true potential. Although I am good at it, I do not enjoy it. So, what did I do? I found someone who is not only great at webflow but also loves doing it day in and day out.
As an entrepreneur for 18 years, I have experienced both successes and failures. I have incubated and invested in over 15 companies across various countries. My vision is to empower 100 entrepreneurs from minority backgrounds in emerging economies to pursue their passions, make a difference in their communities, and be appropriately compensated.
In successful companies where the flywheel of sales, operations, and finance is functioning smoothly, we prioritize delegation at a ninja level. Ninja-level delegation leads to mutant-level scaling. I have witnessed this phenomenon so often that I have become an advocate for delegation. Through my work with entrepreneurs worldwide, "delegation" has become my mantra.
Because of my passion for delegation, I founded this company called Rekruuto. We specialize in providing top virtual assistants to companies that want to unlock their true potential.
By utilizing a virtual growth assistant, you and your team can delegate low-value but important tasks to someone who specializes in and enjoys performing them. This allows your team to free up their time and focus on more significant matters without letting anything slip through the cracks. It prevents the need for constant firefighting as small tasks accumulate and become overwhelming.
If you are a B2B company, your sales team can benefit from an SDR Growth Assistant who can assist with the following activities:
- List building: They can create a list of potential clients with email addresses and phone numbers that match your ideal client criteria, such as job titles, locations, technology used, industries, number of employees, and funding raised. Think of them as power users of Linked Sales Nav, Apollo.io, and other lead generation software.
- Lead generation: They can generate leads and book appointments by reaching out to your target market through cold emails and social media outreach. They can also make cold calls, optimize scripts, handle objections, and provide feedback to increase the number of prospects entering your pipeline.
- Lead qualification: An SDR growth assistant can pre-qualify leads for your Account Executives (AEs) to ensure they target the right market. This allows your AEs to focus on solving their problems rather than wasting time on unqualified leads.
- Inbox management: They can manage and respond to inbound and outbound inquiries and replies.
- CRM management: A growth assistant can keep your CRM up to date and provide data analytics and reports tailored to your preferences using platforms like HubSpot, Pipedrive, Dynamics, or Salesforce.
We have also helped companies hire growth assistants for other roles besides SDRs, such as customer support analysts, data analysts, creative designers, HubSpot analysts, paid media analysts, Power BI analysts, SEO analysts, video editing assistants, and marketing assistants.
You can see some of the roles that we are helping our clients currently.
Here are some of the tasks our dedicated growth assistants do that save companies anywhere between $80K - $200K per year and this is NOT an exhaustive list:
- Help the founder/CEO with email/calendar management
- Arrange travel and accommodations as necessary
- Manage and reply to social media & engagement on Amazon, Facebook, Instagram & TikTok
- Repurpose content across various social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok
- Schedule and manage Pinterest content posting
- Set up trustmetrics.io reviews for Amazon/Shopify/Etsy and publish them on the website
- Respond to customer support emails/DMs/chats
- Respond to IG and Facebook ad comments
- Arrange and schedule freight pickups
- Process purchase orders into our warehouse
- Other data entry tasks
- Monitor customer concern emails and promptly respond to inquiries
- Assist in order processing and ensure timely fulfillment
- Monitor inventory levels and coordinate with the relevant teams for restocking
- Other ad-hoc admin tasks
- Manage financial records, including bookkeeping and accounting
- Prepare and manage financial reports
- Fill out and submit applications for various financial purposes
- Run reports on financial data and present findings
- Manage emails and calendars for the team
- Perform other administrative tasks, as needed
- Research and identify new leads as per target market and persona
- Build a list of prospective clients
- Scrape and verify data for accuracy before outreach
- Cold call prospects to schedule appointments with the company’s CEO
- Lead follow-up by phone, email, and LinkedIn.
- Manage inbox for replies and action steps like email outreach responses, responding to inbound form fills, scheduling and running qualifying calls, and setting appointments for qualified leads.
- Proficiently using email automation platforms to set up sequences, manage templates, and automate sales processes.
- Monitor and track engagement, response, and conversion metrics to optimize sales efforts.
- Reply Monitoring and Lead Management
- Prioritize and categorize leads based on their level of interest and effectively communicate with potential clients.
- Coordinate and schedule appointments, demos, and meetings for the sales team.
- Follow up with leads to confirm appointments and provide necessary details to all parties involved.
- Sales Administration Support: Assist in the preparation and organization of sales materials, presentations, proposals, and contracts.
- Conduct research on potential clients and competitors to support sales initiatives.
- Maintain accurate records of sales activities, including pipeline management and sales forecasts.
- Collaborate with the sales team, marketing team, and other relevant stakeholders to ensure the effective implementation of sales strategies.
- Provide regular updates and reports on sales automation performance and outcomes.
- Understand our Ideal Customer Profile (ICP).
- Conduct customer research
- Develop a strong knowledge of the company’s products and services to facilitate the lead gen process
- Generate leads online with prospect emails and contact information (from target market companies)
- Upload lead information in our CRM/Database/Google Sheet
- Schedule cold email or messaging automations in our outreach software.
- Follow-up with booked leads to reduced no-shows.
- Follow up and engage with leads that responded but did not convert
- Reporting and analyzing campaign results
- Create and implement email marketing campaigns for our Shopify store using Klaviyo
- Collaborate with our marketing team to develop email marketing strategies that align with overall marketing goals
- Segment email lists based on customer behavior and demographics to ensure targeted messaging
- Monitor and analyze email campaign performance metrics to optimize results
- Continuously test and refine email marketing campaigns to improve conversion rates and engagement
- Stay up to date with industry trends and best practices in email marketing
- Manage and implement Meta Ads campaigns for Instagram Shop
- Create, manage, optimize, and grow Amazon advertising campaigns
- Develop and execute advertising strategies that align with business objectives
- Conduct keyword research and targeting analysis to optimize campaigns
- Monitor campaign performance and adjust bids and targeting as needed
- Analyze and report daily on campaign performance to senior management
- Stay up-to-date with Amazon advertising trends and best practices
- Conduct comprehensive keyword research to identify high-potential opportunities for clients targeting the US market.
- Perform on-page SEO optimizations, including content optimization, meta tags, and URL structures.
- Develop and implement effective off-page SEO strategies, including link-building and outreach campaigns.
- Monitor website performance using industry-standard SEO tools and analytics platforms.
- Analyze data and provide actionable insights to improve SEO performance, conversion rates, and user experience.
- Collaborate with content creators, developers, and designers to ensure SEO best practices are integrated into website development and content creation.
- Stay updated on industry trends and algorithm changes to ensure our strategies are always cutting-edge.
- Provide regular reports and updates to clients on the progress of SEO campaigns.
In conclusion, the BNP Syndrome (Busy, not productive) can hinder the productivity and growth of your team. By recognizing the value of effective delegation and leveraging the expertise of growth assistants, you can unlock your team's true potential. Rekruuto provides top virtual growth assistants who excel in various tasks, allowing your team to focus on high-value work.
Try out a virtual growth assistant for one week and experience the transformative impact on your team’s productivity. Don’t let low-value tasks hold you back—empower your team and save costs with a growth assistant today!
Are You Convinced Yet?
Join the ranks of satisfied clients who’ve leveraged Rekruuto’s virtual assistants to achieve unprecedented growth and efficiency. Let’s start this journey together!