Research without the rabbit holes: delegate it to an EA

Research looks productive but rarely is — hours disappear into tabs, spreadsheets, and sources that may or may not be reliable. A Trusty Oak EA takes a defined research question and returns a structured, sourced deliverable, so you get the answer without losing the afternoon. Across our client base, we've logged 36 research engagements covering everything from competitor landscapes to vendor vetting.

What your executive assistant handles

Concrete tasks our team takes on — not vague promises.

Competitor Analysis

Your EA maps competitor positioning, pricing, features, and messaging using tools like SimilarWeb and SEMrush, giving you a structured comparison you can act on — not a raw data dump.

Lead List Building

Using LinkedIn Sales Navigator and Apollo.io, your EA identifies and qualifies prospect lists based on your ICP criteria, including contact details, company size, and industry filters.

Market & Industry Research

Your EA pulls relevant industry reports, trend data, and market sizing from sources like Statista, IBISWorld, and government databases so you walk into decisions with context, not guesses.

Vendor & Tool Vetting

When you're evaluating software or service providers, your EA compiles side-by-side comparisons of features, pricing, reviews from G2 or Capterra, and contract terms so you can make a faster, better-informed call.

Contact & Background Research

Before a key meeting or partnership conversation, your EA researches the individual and organization — pulling LinkedIn history, press mentions, funding rounds, and relevant news — so you show up prepared.

Content & Source Research

For blog posts, reports, or presentations, your EA gathers credible statistics, citations, and supporting data using Google Scholar, PubMed, or industry-specific databases, saving you the sourcing work before you write a word.

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How the handoff works

When you bring a research task to your Trusty Oak EA, you start by sharing the question you're trying to answer, the format you want the output in, and any sources you already trust or want excluded. Your dedicated Client Success Manager helps you define these parameters during onboarding as part of your Strategic Delegation Plan, so your EA isn't guessing at scope. In the first week, most clients start with one contained research request — a competitor overview or a vendor comparison — to calibrate depth, format, and turnaround expectations before handing off recurring work. From there, research tasks are typically submitted via email, Slack, or a shared project management tool like Asana or ClickUp, with a clear deadline and a structured deliverable returned on time.

Tools our team works with

We adapt to your existing stack — no forced migrations.

Statista

SimilarWeb

Apollo.io

LinkedIn Sales Navigator

SEMrush

...and many more!

What research support costs

Drag the sliders to build a monthly plan that fits your workload.

Executive Assistants

~$35/hour

10 hours $350

Specialists

~$50/hour

20 hours $1,000

Fractional Executives

~$95/hour

0 hours $0

Your monthly budget

$1,350

Starting at $1,000/month. One-time $300 onboarding fee includes your Strategic Delegation Plan.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know the research will be accurate and from reliable sources?

Your EA is trained to cite every source and flag when data is limited, outdated, or conflicting — you're not getting a summary with no paper trail. During onboarding, you can specify preferred sources or databases, and your Client Success Manager documents those preferences so they're applied consistently.

What if my research needs are irregular — sometimes heavy, sometimes nothing?

That's exactly what the Trusty Oak model is built for. Unused hours roll over each month, so a light month doesn't mean wasted spend — those hours are there when a big project lands. You're not locked into a fixed weekly schedule.

How long does a typical research task take?

It depends on scope, but a focused competitor analysis or vendor comparison typically runs two to four hours; a broader market landscape report may take six to ten. Your EA will flag scope concerns before starting if a request seems likely to exceed your expectations, not after.

Can an EA handle research that requires industry-specific knowledge?

Trusty Oak serves clients across 16+ industries, and we match clients with EAs who have relevant background where possible. For highly technical domains, your EA focuses on structured data gathering and synthesis rather than expert interpretation — and will clearly note where a subject-matter expert should weigh in.

Stop doing research you could delegate

Plans start at $1,000/month with a one-time $300 onboarding fee that includes a Strategic Delegation Plan built around your actual workload. Talk to us about whether a Trusty Oak EA is the right fit.