When Your Marketing Strategy Lives in a Google Doc (But Nothing Actually Happens): The VA vs. OBM Question You Need to Answer
A conversation with Sammy Bohannon about bridging the gap between brilliant plans and actual execution
Let me paint you a familiar picture: You've invested in a marketing consultant. Maybe you sat through a strategy session, hired a brand expert, or even worked with someone like me to map out your content calendar and launch plan. You have a beautiful strategy document sitting in your Google Drive. You know exactly what you should be doing.
So why is your LinkedIn still crickets? Why haven't you launched that email sequence? Why does your "content calendar" feel more like "content wishful thinking"?
Here's what I've learned after years of watching brilliant business owners get stuck between strategy and execution: knowing what to do and actually doing it are two completely different skills. And that's where the right support, whether it's a Virtual Assistant (VA) or Online Business Manager (OBM), becomes the missing piece that transforms your marketing from a pretty plan into actual results.
But here's the rub: most people have no idea which type of support they actually need. Enter Sammy Bohannon, founder of Bohannon Virtual Solutions, who helps business owners figure out exactly what kind of help will actually move the needle.
I sat down with Sammy to get real about the difference between VAs and OBMs, how to avoid the most common hiring mistakes, and why the right operations support might be the secret ingredient your marketing strategy has been missing.
The Great Confusion: VA vs. OBM (And Why It Actually Matters)
Let's start with the confusion factor. A lot of business owners hear "VA" and think "someone who schedules my dentist appointments," or they hear "OBM" and think "expensive luxury I can't afford yet." How do you explain the difference in a way that actually clicks?
"This is such a great question," Sammy says, "and I've come to learn that the titles differ greatly depending on who you're talking to. But in the context of my work, I'm the online business manager and I do planning, strategy, and management. I'll also execute things that take a higher level of knowledge, specifically project management, team management, and building workflows.
My virtual assistants are executors who complete things that already have a process. The work a VA does is repeatable or can be done with minor tweaks to a given process.
Let's say you need a brand new workflow for your CRM; you'll want to work with me so I can plan it, build it, and test it. On the other hand, if you need the exact same workflow you've built three other times, but in a different area of your CRM, you'd want to work with a VA. They have the execution skills, but not as much strategy or planning."
Think of it this way: if your marketing strategy is a recipe, a VA can follow it perfectly once it's written. An OBM helps you figure out what ingredients you need, how to prep them, and how to coordinate multiple dishes so everything comes out hot at the same time.
The Hiring Mistakes That Kill Marketing Momentum
You work with service-based business owners who are often wearing all the hats. What's the most common mistake you see when people finally decide to get help?
"The most common mistake I see is not having realistic expectations - not from a place of malice, but from misinformation," Sammy explains. "If you're hiring a VA or an OBM, they are a contractor. They work with you a set number of hours a week and often plan their work in advance. You won't get access to them all hours of the day."
This hits on something I see constantly in my marketing work: business owners who treat their support team like employees but pay them like contractors, then wonder why things aren't getting done.
"Asking someone who works less than five hours a week for you to answer every communication request or complete any task in less than two hours is unrealistic," Sammy continues. "This causes frustration and tension in relationships."
Her solution? Plan in advance. "Make a point NOW to plan for things you'll need. Learn to anticipate what you need before you need it and give your contractor plenty of time to complete the task."
At Bohannon Virtual Solutions, they're upfront about their 24-hour response time (excluding weekends and holidays) and charge double for rush requests that need to be completed in 48 hours or less.
Bridging the Strategy-to-Execution Gap (AKA Why Your Marketing Plan Is Gathering Dust)
Here's the scenario I see constantly: Someone invests in a marketing strategy, knows exactly what they should be doing, but months later, nothing's actually happening because they're drowning in client work.
How does having the right VA or OBM support actually bridge that gap between "I have a plan" and "the plan is actually working"?
Sammy breaks this down into two scenarios that will probably sound familiar:
You Might Need a VA If...
The Scenario: You've hired the consultant and you know exactly what you need to do. You have the workflows mapped out and you know they'll work. You just need someone to execute.
What You Need: Someone who can handle the actual doing—setting up the tech, tracking metrics, keeping the strategy moving forward.
How a VA Closes the Gap: "A VA will make sure you stay on track with your marketing strategy by assisting you or even doing the marketing for you," Sammy explains.
Example: You've created an Instagram strategy. You know your main ideas, post types, and messaging. You just need someone to actually create the posts and get them published. A VA can handle content creation, posting, and even engagement to keep your account active.
You Might Need an OBM If...
The Scenario: You've hired the consultant and you kind of know what you need to do. You have the marketing plan, but not the plan for how to execute it and make sure it actually gets done every week.
What You Need: Someone to help you strategize and plan. You need a workflow to get from where you are to where you need to be, including all the tiny details.
How an OBM Closes the Gap: "You have this great idea and you're excited about it, but you need someone to help you bring it to life," Sammy says. An OBM creates processes and systems for your marketing strategy, explaining exactly how it will be executed regularly.
Example: You've decided to create weekly podcast episodes that will be repurposed into blogs, LinkedIn posts, and YouTube shorts. Your OBM will help you choose tools, hire editors, decide what information gets repurposed where, create the workflow in a project management system, and manage the entire process so nothing falls through the cracks.
Why "Bohannon Virtual Solutions" (Not Just "VA Services")
I love that your business is called Bohannon Virtual Solutions, not just "Bohannon VA Services." It signals something bigger than task delegation. Can you tell us about your approach?
"First of all, I believe that business is very personal, at least for the types of small business owners I work with," Sammy says. "Every single one of them, even those making seven-plus figures, are doing this for a personal reason. By keeping this in mind and treating people as people, I can give them something much more valuable than operations and admin support. I can give them peace of mind."
This resonates deeply with how I approach marketing. Your business isn't just a revenue machine—it's an extension of who you are and what you value. The right support team understands this.
"My business is different because we focus on what works for our clients, not what we think is best," Sammy continues. "It doesn't matter to me if you use my personal preferred tech or service provider. My team and I really, truly want to see you succeed."
But here's what I love most about Sammy's approach: she takes time to understand the person behind the business. "I want to know what gets you out of bed in the morning? What do you do on your day off? Where do you go on vacation? When I understand those things, that's when I'm really able to make changes in your business that support your life."
The Marketing Connection (Or: Why Operations Support Makes Your Marketing Actually Work)
Here's what I've learned from working with dozens of business owners on their marketing: the best strategy in the world is useless without systems to support it.
You can have the most brilliant content calendar, but if you don't have a workflow for actually creating and publishing that content, it stays in planning mode forever. You can map out the perfect customer journey, but if there's no system for nurturing leads through it, potential clients slip through the cracks.
This is where the right VA or OBM support becomes a marketing multiplier:
They turn your one-off efforts into repeatable systems so good marketing happens consistently, not just when you remember
They handle the execution so you can focus on strategy and client relationships
They create accountability so your marketing actually happens instead of getting pushed aside for "urgent" client work
They spot the gaps between what you planned and what's actually working
When I work with clients on marketing strategy, I always ask: "Who's going to actually do this?" Because the most elegant plan is worthless if there's no one to execute it.
The Bottom Line: Your Marketing Needs Operations (And Vice Versa)
Whether you need a VA to execute your existing marketing systems or an OBM to build those systems in the first place, one thing is clear: you can't do everything yourself and expect consistent results.
Your marketing strategy and your operations strategy aren't separate things—they're two sides of the same coin. Great marketing requires great systems. And great systems require the right people to build and maintain them.
So before you hire another marketing consultant or sign up for another course on content creation, ask yourself: Do I have the operational foundation to actually implement what I learn?
If the answer is no, maybe it's time to talk to someone like Sammy.
Ready to stop letting good marketing strategies gather dust? Connect with Sammy Bohannon at Bohannon Virtual Solutions to explore whether VA or OBM support is the missing piece in your business operations.
And if you want marketing strategies that actually account for real-world execution (not just pretty plans), let's talk about how we can build marketing that works with your operations, not against them.
