How to Get the Best Out of Your Relationship with Your Virtual Assistant

Previously we look at the 3 Essential Steps to follow before hiring a VA as well as How to ensure you hire the best VA for your business.  This week focuses on starting your working relationship with your virtual assistant.

Once you have appointed your Virtual Assistant, it is important to have realistic expectations.  You both need to adjust to working together.  Plan for a trial period and gradually inch your way into outsourcing.

Learn when to outsource to a virtual assistant and when it’s faster to do it yourself

It’s almost always faster to do it yourself if it is a one-time thing.  If it’s a repetitive task, it’s probably worth training the VA to do it.

Communicate clearly with your virtual assistant

Clear communication cannot be emphasised too strongly.

No one knows your business as you do. Communicate clearly and often with your VA and make adjustments as you go.

At the start, let your VA know what your goals for your business are and how you intend to use their services to best support your needs.

First, assign the tasks including all the relevant information and clear and concise instructions that will contribute towards the success of the project.  Be sure to indicate your deadlines – most Virtual Assistants need a 24 – 48-hour time frame to complete assignments, so plan accordingly.

Provide your contact information and indicate the best way to contact you.

Provide training where necessary for your virtual assistant

Although your VA is a professional business person, it is a good idea to schedule some one-on-one training to help him/her to understand how you like things done.  This also gives the VA a chance to ask questions

Create a manual of key processes for your virtual assistant

This works especially well with repetitive tasks.  It will speed up the training process as well as provide a benchmark for a job well done.

Expect an accounting of the time spent on your business

You don’t have to micromanage your VA, but it is reasonable to expect a summary of the week’s accomplishments or tasks completed, as well as any problems the VA may be experiencing.

Make use of online collaboration tools

Dropbox

This is an awesome tool with allows for online backup, syncing, and file sharing.  It is super easy to share important documents like marketing materials, digital signature files, contracts, and more.

Google Docs

Google Docs provides a free online word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, and form service that makes collaboration a cinch.

Jing

It allows you to quickly create training videos (including screen captures) on various things you need your VA to do.

Skype

Skype allows you to have quick chats, phone calls, and video calls with ease. If you need to record your Skype conversation, there are free tools like MP3 Skype Recorder.

Asana

Asana is a great online productivity and organisation tool.  It allows you to create projects and tasks for your VA, and to track progress in real-time.

TimeTrade

This is an online appointment scheduler with automatic reminder and Outlook and Google Calendar integration.  You can simply provide people with your own personal URL so that they can set up an appointment based on your calendar availability.

Before long, the work will now get done that you didn’t have time to do before. It feels great when you actually have time for yourself.  Maybe with the extra time you have created by working with a VA, you can plan for that much-needed vacation – No, wait.  Your VA can do that for you too!

How to make sure that you hire the best Virtual Assistant for your business

Last week we looked at the 3 essential steps to follow before hiring a virtual assistant.

This week’s post is about what to do once you have received responses to your advertisement.

Once you have sent out your advertisement or request for proposals, you can start evaluating the responses you get.

Beware of responses with resumes attached.  A VA is your business partner, not your employee, and those sending a resume may still be in “employee” mode.

If you posted an ad asking for very specific information, the VA should respond answering all your questions.  If they fail to do so, you can assume that this VA does not take the time to read basic instructions and will often forget minor details that contribute to the successful completion of any task.

Also, search for grammatical errors in the responses.  You need a professional who can effectively write and convey their message.  You never know when you may need your VA to write an email on your behalf, or to help with proofreading or content creation.

Once you narrow your selection, it’s time to dig into the details.  Most VA’s have an online presence. Is their site polished and professional or does it look like a butchered template from the ‘90s seasoned with poor grammar?  It may sound a bit biased to judge them on their site’s appearance, but you have to take into consideration they are a business owner just like you.  If they have a strong online presence free of inaccuracies and errors, it clearly indicates that they are committed to this profession in the long run.

Do a Google search on the VA’s name.  What image does this person portray?  Do they broadcast the most intimate details of their personal lives to the world, or is their communication meaningful and professional?

Think about what you want the VA to do for you. For instance, if you want your VA to help you maintain your social media profiles, what does theirs look like?  It will give you a good indication of the type of support you can expect to receive from them.

Conducting an interview

The ideal is to find a long-term collaborative partnership in order to fully benefit.  Time is money, and you don’t have time to repeat this process.  That is why it is important to find a VA that will fit perfectly with your needs.

Select 3 – 5 applicants for your shortlist based on your research above.  Contact them and arrange for an interview.  Look for clues such as the response time to answer your email.  If they take a while to respond, more than likely they have a full plate with more than they can chew.

During the interview, feel free to ask them for testimonials.  Your VA will potentially have access to important business and personal information, so you need to make sure they are trustworthy.

Also, ask them about their work experience and education.  You need to make sure that their background makes them a good fit for your business.

Look for clues when speaking to the VA.  Does the VA speak with confidence and have great phone etiquette?  Were they timely and prepared for the call?  Did you feel a sense of trust and chemistry?  Did the VA listen carefully and show interest in what you do by asking smart questions?

You need a VA who demonstrates great skills and a strong business sense so they can manage your workload effectively.

After the interview

Contact the VA of your choice and let them know you have chosen them.  You can also finalise a contract, rates, hours of work, and methods of communication.

Have a straightforward contract that clearly stipulates your expectations for your virtual assistant as well as what they should expect from you.

Hire the VA for a test run.  Assign some non-essential tasks in order to see how they handle communication, as well as how diligent they are in completing the tasks as assigned.  This type of trial allows you to see whether you and your virtual assistant are a good fit.

Look out for next week’s post on how to get the best out of your relationship with your VA.

3 Essential Steps to Follow Before Hiring a Virtual Assistant

Last week I spoke to several small business owners who were interested in hiring a virtual assistant for their businesses but did not know how to go about it.  I decided to write a short 3 part series to help them to make the best decisions and to find the best virtual assistant for their needs.

A virtual assistant can help your company in ways you probably haven’t imagined along with freeing up a great deal of your time.  You never have to worry about holidays, sick days, payroll taxes, etc. as they are independent business owners and you will only pay for the time spent on your tasks.

However, hiring a VA can be a big boon to your business, or a flop.

What can you do to ensure a greater success rate in hiring a VA?

There are all types of virtual assistants.  They come from a variety of different backgrounds and offer a variety of different services.  Some are freelancers who call themselves virtual assistants because they work remotely from their home-based office, some are business owners who operate as a business and provide high-level support based on their background and experience.  Sometimes VA business owners operate a multi-virtual assistant business where they have a team of virtual assistants who specialize in different areas, so you may work with two or three VA’s through that one company.

When looking for a Virtual Assistant, these options can seem daunting. Below are some steps you can take to make the task easier. 

1. Determine what you really want in your business

You definitely need to know what your needs and budget are, as well as what you expect in return.  When you think about what you expect in return, think not only about what you need/want them to do for you, but what you want the financial return to be.

For the money you spend:

  • Will your business make more money, because their efforts garner more leads, prospects and, eventually, customers, and/or
  • Will the business make more money because of what you can do with the freed up time, assuming you earn more “per hour” than you spend to hire them – and you use that time accordingly?
  • If they are technical people, will the product or service they (help) create turn into a worthwhile profit centre?

2. Determine what a Virtual Assistant can do for you

Do research to find out what a VA can do for you.  Some places to look at include 101 Ways to Use a VA and VA Networking.

Develop a to-do list of what needs to be done for your business to run successfully.  What items are on your to-do list that you never have time to get to?  What repetitive tasks can easily be accomplished by someone else?

Decide what you’re willing to delegate.  With good instructions, your VA can complete virtually any task with minimal guidance.  Based on your list, estimate how much time you will need your VA each month and what you are willing to pay for their services. Some VA’s require the purchase of a monthly retainer plan.  They typically charge $15 – $55 per hour and give discounts if you require their assistance for more than 10 hours per month.

Also, think about how you will use the extra time if these tasks are taken off your plate.

With your plan on what to outsource you can now start looking for the perfect Virtual Assistant.

3. Create a Virtual Assistant advertisement

Once your research is done, you can create a plan based on your business needs and what options are available to ensure the best return on your investment.

Write up a detailed advertisement or request for proposal of what you need done, and what you are looking for in your Virtual Assistant.  The more specific you are, the greater the chances are that you will attract your ideal candidate.

Where to advertise for a VA

There are many places where Virtual Assistants hang out online.  You can do a Google search to find them.  There are also many job sites such as Guru, People Per Hour, and Upwork.  However, I would recommend looking for a quality Virtual Assistant here:

Twitter

You can tweet about it.  You can instantaneously receive messages from VA businesses and people who can recommend a VA.

Upwork

You need to register to advertise.  Upwork provides nifty tools such as a tracking tool, as well as the ability to search for your ideal VA.  You can also set your budget and ask for people to bid within a fixed budget or per hour for a certain number of hours a week.

Linkedin

You can do a search to find a VA.  Those you are connected to will appear first in your search.  You can also hang around in various VA groups to get an idea of who is available and who is active.

Look out next week for the next step in the VA hiring process: How to make sure you hire the best virtual assistant for your business