1. Set Up CRM Access
Give your assistant access to your CRM system (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho CRM).
Create a new user account for them with standard user permissions. This will allow them to view and edit contacts, manage leads, and access reports.
Your assistant will familiarize themselves with the CRM system and start managing customer data within their first week.
If instead of a CRM, you use spreadsheets for tracking customer data, share an editable version with your assistant.
If you are starting from scratch, we recommend creating a new spreadsheet in Google Sheets and using that to start.
2. Provide Knowledge Resources
Give your assistant access to any resources you already have like:
- Product documentation
- FAQs
- Company policies and procedures
- Customer personas
Your assistant can also keep these documents updated with new information for you.
3. Assign a Responsibility
Assign your assistant to the part of the sales funnel that needs the most help.
The more clear their responsibility, the more effective they will be.
If you’re not sure where you need the most help in your sales process, you can have your assistant shadow you or your sales team, helping with whatever is most urgent, until it becomes more clear.
Common responsibilities:
- Client onboarding
- Lead generation and lead enrichment
- Finding expansion opportunities
- Customer success
- Reporting & analytics
- Administrative work
Responsibility 1. Client Onboarding
Create an onboarding checklist in Google Sheets with columns for each step of your onboarding process. Your assistant can:
- Add new customers to the checklist soon after their purchase
- Update the checklist regularly, marking off completed items
- Send you a daily email summarizing new customers, completed onboardings, and any outstanding items
Responsibility 2. Lead Generation
You can expect your assistant to utilize prospecting tools to find potential leads matching your ideal customer profile. LinkedIn Sales Navigator can be helpful for this.
Set the priority for your assistant to connect with these prospects regularly. Quick personalized messages soon after the initial connection work well.
Be clear that recording all new leads in your CRM is important, including details like name, company, job title, and contact date.
Your assistant should provide a weekly lead report as a responsibility. This report can summarize new connections, responses received, calls scheduled, and conversion rates.
Responsibility 3. Finding Expansion Opportunities
Your assistant can:
- Monitor customer activity for potential upsell chances
- Utilize email templates you provide to suggest relevant upsells
- Track upsell attempts and successes in the CRM
- Work toward a monthly upsell goal you set for them
Responsibility 4. Customer Support
Responsibilities can include:
- Checking for new tickets at regular intervals during business hours
- Categorizing tickets appropriately (e.g. Billing, Technical, Feature Request, General)
- Responding promptly using provided templates
- Escalating complex issues to you via a dedicated communication channel
Your assistant can also compile a daily support report summarizing new/resolved tickets, average response times, and any escalated issues toward the end of the work day.Â
For more information on how to set this up, view our article on delegating customer support.
Responsibility 5. Reporting and Analytics
Utilize a dashboard template for tracking important customer journey metrics. Your assistant can:
- Update this dashboard on a weekly basis
- Alert you to significant changes or trends related to areas such as lead generation, onboarding completion, customer satisfaction, retention rates, etc.
Responsibility 6. Administrative Work
Prepare for Meetings and Calls – For upcoming sales calls and meetings, your assistant can send reminders to the rep with the agenda, prospect background information, and any necessary materials like product guides or pricing sheets.
Have your assistant prepare custom proposal documents or slide decks tailored to each prospect’s needs. You can also have them join sales calls to take detailed notes or provide a post-call summary.
Handle Deal Finalization –Â For prospects ready to finalize their purchase, your assistant can assist with:
- Processing contracts and collecting signatures
- Setting up new customer accounts and credentials
- Guiding new customers through onboarding processes
4. Document Sales Processes
Schedule a screen sharing session where you can walk through your current sales processes step-by-step, providing examples along the way. Your assistant will take notes during this call.
After the call, your assistant can create a detailed document in Google Docs capturing all the steps and processes you went over. Review this document together and provide any additional feedback to ensure it is comprehensive.
5. Continuous Review & Improvement
Consider setting up bi-weekly calls with your assistant to review the documented sales processes. During these calls, your assistant should highlight any areas that could be optimized based on results or feedback from the sales team.
Be open to suggestions from your assistant on ways to further improve and streamline the overall sales workflow based on their experience.