3 Keys to Working Successfully with a Virtual Assistant
Hiring a virtual assistant (VA) can be a little scary, not unlike leaving your child with a sitter for the first time. You might even wonder whether you should just continue handling everything yourself.
Keeping the following three thoughts in mind will make a world of difference and bring you a huge return on your investment.
Key #1 – Be open to trying new things
There is all kinds of specialized software that can be implemented to help you and your VA to work together, so be open to trying them out. If your virtual assistant already uses a project management system like Central Desktop or Basecamp, be willing to learn to use it in order to streamline performance.
Key #2 – Don’t be afraid to let go
It may be very difficult for you to let your VA take ownership of certain tasks, but letting go is essential if you want the relationship to work. As a professional, your VA is in charge of how things get accomplished; you only have to accept or approve the results and the deadline. If you don’t let them do it their own way, it can lead to frustration and misunderstandings on both sides. As long as the work is completed by the due date you provide, then when and how it is done is really not your concern. Let go, and you’ll be happy you did.
Key #3 – Take time to grow the relationship
It takes time to build a good relationship with your VA, so give it time to work. Everyone communicates differently and it takes a while to get to know each other’s methods and styles. For this reason, most virtual assistants prefer to develop long term relationships with their clients. Experienced VAs often require an automatic monthly retainer for this very reason.
Trust your gut
If you’ve given it a reasonable amount of time and things just aren’t working out, you may need to end the relationship and move on to someone else. But remember that everyone is different, so don’t let a bad experience stop you from contracting with someone that you feel more comfortable with.
Hiring a virtual assistant can offer a huge return on your investment, but if you’re not ready to try new things, let go, and take time for the relationship to grow, you may not get the results you need.
Go into this adventure prepared and with your eyes wide open, and you’ll see tremendous success.