OBM! VA! WTF Do I Need?

Hey there,

This year, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking through everything in my business. My approach to this work, my offers, how I connect with clients, and where I go from here.

And if you’re a service provider, you know this work is hard to do on your own—we’ve all got blind spots and can’t typically pinpoint what’s wrong in the moment until we’re on the other side.

This week, I’m talking to someone who is great at seeing those blind spots and helping beings of chaos like me get their shit together so they can move forward and focus on the right things—the things that bring them more business and more joy.

Sammy Bohannon is an online business manager (OBM) with a team of virtual assistants (VAs) who provide operations and administrative support to small businesses with teams of less than 10. Collectively, Sammy and her team take over routine tasks and manage your team and operations to help you grow your business on your terms without having to make sacrifices.

Enjoy!

Sammy, I love to kick things off with a fun question—If your brand were an animal, what would it be?

I would be a German Shepherd, just like my girl, Penelope!

German Shepherds are such natural wranglers—loyal, alert, and always keeping things running smoothly. That definitely tracks with all the moving pieces you help people manage.

Our work is similar in the sense that we look at the whole picture—not just marketing, for example, but how you show up everywhere. From your perspective, how can working with an OBM boost a brand’s credibility and authority?

An OBM helps make sure you’re living up to your own expectations of your brand and your clients’ expectations of your brand. When your ops are in order and everything is happening when and how it’s supposed to, you look like you’ve got your shit together and know what you’re doing.

That alone escalates your brand’s credibility because the first thing people want to know about you is: Do you mean what you say, and do you get the job done?

Your OBM is working behind the scenes to make sure what’s important to you shines through all the technical and less-than-fun parts of the business. That way, when you show up every day as the face of your business and the one making the big moves, you’ve got the processes and workflows to back it up—showing your clients you care and take their success seriously.

I love that when you talk about processes and workflows, you’re thinking beyond just a “sales system” or a “marketing system.”

A lot of people treat systems like they exist in silos—but your work touches all of it. Why is that holistic approach so important for business owners?

You want to make sure all of your systems are “saying” the same thing.

Let’s say you use a copywriter to help your sales and a different copywriter for your marketing. Unless your brand is SOLID and you have everything documented very well, each of those systems is likely going to talk to your current and prospective clients differently, simply because they are going to reflect the style of the person you hired to help you build them.

Of course, building one system at a time or outsourcing different systems to different people can make sense if you have a strong grasp on your brand and messaging, and you can give ample examples of what you want your funnels and systems to feel like.

Yeah, I think that’s where people sometimes get tripped up—they assume “systems” just mean tools and processes, but those things are carrying your brand voice, too.

If they’re built in isolation, you can lose that thread.

While my work does encompass a little of everything, I highly recommend consulting with people who specialize in certain areas to make sure your exact goals are being met.

For example, I can create a system for marketing that includes the when, how, and why, as well as building the actual schedules, funnels, and automations. But I will always recommend outsourcing the content itself to someone who writes copy for your preferred marketing method (if you are not doing it yourself).

Can I do it? Absolutely! But that doesn’t always make me the best person for the job. I can make your marketing experience feel consistent within all of your systems, but I am not skilled in sales psychology or marketing strategy. And often, the copywriters aren’t the greatest at setting up the tech or the workflows for delivering your message. So we really are a package deal.

I consider myself a generalist, but I’m also a big fan of choosing a lane—and it sounds like you’ve found yours!

So with all of your experience, what’s a system or workflow that you think is undervalued but makes a huge impact?

It’s definitely what happens when someone books a call with you.

It’s become so normal for people to use online calendars and booking systems, but it feels incredibly impersonal. There is so much opportunity here to let your personality shine and show people what’s important to you and how you want to be perceived by them. Basically, show them you think they’re awesome and why they should think you’re awesome.

Some of my favorite ways I’ve seen this done:

• Sending daily emails between the time of scheduling until the day of the meeting to give them more information about you and your offer, and hype them up about meeting you.

• Sending one main email with a FANTASTIC introduction, as well as FAQs they may have before your meeting, to help them narrow down what they want to ask.

• Sending reminder emails that feel super personalized (even though they are automations).

• SENDING REMINDER EMAILS! You wouldn’t believe how many people I’ve booked with who do not send a single reminder email.

• Sending a video in your confirmation email, letting them know you are excited to meet with them, and answering preliminary questions you frequently get asked.

First impressions are everything! And this is an undervalued and underused space for creating a solid first impression and giving people insight into what it’s like to work with you.

And you have totally nailed this approach! When I booked my first call with you, the automated message was SO GOOD! I immediately knew what to expect and what type of energy you’d bring to our conversation.

I hear a lot of solopreneurs say they want to offload their marketing tasks to a VA because they don’t want to do them. What’s your take on that? Would you recommend they do that—or something else instead?

It really depends. I have known VAs who were really amazing at marketing, and I’ve known VAs who can’t even write their own captions and have someone else do it.

Regardless, if you want to ask a VA, social media manager, or anyone to help you with creating marketing content, you need to have a very solid understanding of what your brand is before you can ask someone else to replicate it. I’ve seen incredibly talented VAs deliver fantastic work—only to have clients feel disappointed because it didn’t match their brand or voice. The issue was really that the client didn’t have a solid grasp on it themselves, or plenty of great examples to work from.

All-in-all, a VA can replicate what has been done, but you should never expect a VA to create a marketing plan or strategy. The vast majority of VAs do not possess the skills for what that takes. I don’t typically take on marketing tasks unless it’s setting up a funnel or outlining the workflow.

Can we meet on a rooftop somewhere and yell this together?

What are some of the other things people get wrong about OBMs and Virtual Assistants?

There’s so much!

The first thing is that we are not the same.

One is not better than the other, and both are completely necessary. But there is a time and a place for them both. Which one you need right now depends on what exactly you need help with and the level of support you’re looking for.

There are so many lessons we could learn from you! What’s something you wish more founders knew about how operations shape their brand?

I wish they understood that every piece of the puzzle affects their operations.

This is an extreme version, but think of people like Ellen, who had great customer-facing operations and brand presence, but her behind-the-scenes self was quite different. So when employees came out with allegations of how they were treated, her brand suffered greatly.

THE TEA WAS PIPING! 🫖

I’d love to hope anyone reading this isn’t quite that extreme, but the point stands that literally every single move you make says something about you. And if your operations don’t convey the message you want people to hear, or the true version of yourself, it will come out and turn away good clients and good team members–and could cost you everything.

That is such a good example—and a lesson no one wants to learn the hard way.

Now, if you hired an OBM today, what would be the first thing you’d ask them to do?

Work on my Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)!

SOPs are seriously some of the most important documents you can have in your business. It’s nearly impossible to delegate to someone else without strong SOPs. And mine really need to be updated.

Relatable! It can get very “Cobbler’s children have no shoes over here."

It’s one of those things that’s extremely important, but also difficult to make time for when you’re in the thick of things.

Plus, if something is going awry, it’s difficult to see what your process looks like on a larger scale and pinpoint exactly where the issue might be. If your SOPs aren’t up-to-date, you can’t actually see what the process looks like.

But to your point, it can be overwhelming to think about bringing someone else on board to help with these things when you don’t have an understanding of what exactly the problem is to begin with.

So what’s the #1 sign that someone’s ready to work with an OBM?

The #1 sign is that you want more growth for your business, but you are maxed out on what you can do yourself without help.

You know it’s not the actual tasks eating up your time—it’s the management of your business. The daily processes, the workflows, the constant oversight. All of that keeps you from doing more without sacrificing the things you love outside of work—whether that’s time with family and friends, your pets, or even just lounging in bed with a book on a Saturday night.

Ooh, and speaking of the things I want to do more of—I love karaoke! If your business had a karaoke song, what would it be?

Ummmm…. I’m not sure. I’ve never really done karaoke!

I can think of good lyrics that represent my business, but I can’t think of an entire song! I feel like many of the songs I’m coming up with have elements in them that do not represent my business. I’m obviously overthinking this!

Maybe a karaoke mash-up is in your future then! And if you ever want to try karaoke, you know where to find me.

Where can folks find you and soak up more of your knowledge?

The best place to enter my world is my email list. I send a newsletter, Business & Balance, every weekend, and I share my BEST stuff there.

I have a weekly section on systems you should have, a quick one-hour win to make a big difference this week, ideas for delegation, and a section for cheering you on to take time to do what you love.

I also share my blog updates every week. It’s the only place I’m actually consistent about getting my content out because all the best people are on my email list.

Thanks for chatting with me, Sammy!

And thank you for reading,