Guide
Cold calling company or a virtual assistant: which should you hire?
A VA is cheaper on paper and more expensive in your time. A managed company costs more per month and removes the management. Here is how to decide, honestly, based on how many hours a week you can spend running a caller.
In this guide
What a VA actually requires from you
A good VA is a good caller. They are not a dialer administrator, a QA reviewer, a script writer or a data analyst, and the job needs all four. When you hire a VA you hire the person and become the rest of the department: sourcing lists, configuring the dialer, listening to calls, coaching, replacing numbers that get flagged, and replacing the VA when they leave. Investors who do this well spend five to ten hours a week on it.
What a managed company removes
Recruiting against a standard, training before live work, the dialer and its upkeep, daily QA, coaching, reporting, and replacement at the vendor's cost when someone underperforms. You still choose the caller and own the strategy; you stop running the floor.
The real cost comparison
- VA at $6/hr × 120 hrs = $720, plus dialer about $370 (ReadyMode IQ with remediation), plus data $300, plus 6 hours a week of your time
- Managed caller from $1,100/mo, data-included tiers quoted on a call, zero hours of your time running it
If your time is worth more than $20 an hour, the VA is the expensive option. If you enjoy running a sales floor and have the hours, a VA is fine.
When a VA is the right call
You have one market, you have run callers before, you own a dialer, and you want to be hands-on. Or you already have a lead manager who can absorb the management. In every other case, start managed, learn what good looks like, and bring it in-house later if you want to.
Questions people ask
Can I hire my caller from Valtiera full-time later?
Teams are dedicated to your account; moving a specialist to your payroll is a conversation we have had before and will have on a call.
Do I choose the caller at a managed company?
At Valtiera, yes. You interview and approve every hire; nobody works your account without your sign-off.
What happens when a VA quits?
You start over: sourcing, training, ramp. A managed vendor has a bench and replaces at their cost.
Talk it through with the founders
One 30-minute call. Bring your market and your numbers; leave with a plan.