September – 2007 – The Gritty Virtual Assistant Blog

Monthly Archives: September 2007

September 5, 2007 – 10:00 am

Are Background Checks Necessary?

Dear Gritty VA:

A client I have been consulting with now wants me to submit to a background check before deciding whether to work with me or not. Is this customary? –DE

Um, no… it’s not customary.

You aren’t going to be this client’s employee ("client" being the operative word here, not "employer"). Even though a Virtual Assistant’s support to her clients is very closely collaborative and personal, this still boils down to commerce between two businesses, plain and simple. You both choose to do business together according to the usual standards of business–not employment–or you don’t.

Clients should be exercising their due diligence and choosing a qualified Virtual Assistant based on value, chemistry and business fit. That is accomplished by reading the business information on your website, reviewing testimonials, going through your consultation process, and talking to current or former clients if possible. But a background check… no, I think not. And if they choose to work with you and realize it’s not a fit, they simply take their business elsewhere.

This kind of request is a strong signal that the client lacks the understanding that you are NOT their "worker" or employee, but in fact are a vendor. Honestly, do they ask all their vendors to submit to background checks? Not unless they are a defense contractor or something similar, LOL. It’s such a ridiculous idea, one that only seems to plague the Virtual Assistant profession for some reason. (Well, I know the reasons why, but that’s a rant for another day…).

We’ve had this same conversation many times on my Virtual Assistant association forum (most recently when a member reported a prospective client wanted her to also submit to a drug test!)

One of my funniest friends and Virtual Assistant members, Sandi Johnson of Virtually Yours LLC, joked that if a client asked her to submit to a background check, she would tell them, "I’d be happy to meet your requirements. However, in the spirit of reciprocity, I require prospective clients to also submit to a drug screen, personal AND business credit checks, as well as psychological testing."

We all laughed, but you know, that just might get the point across very well indeed.

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By Danielle Keister | Posted in Business Savvy, Dear Gritty VA, Virtual Assistant/Virtual Assistance | Tagged Background Checks, Virtual Assistance, Virtual Assistance Profession, Virtual Assistant, Virtual Assistants | Comments (0)

September 4, 2007 – 10:00 am

Ixnay on the Spam Filters

Yes, spam is a problem. If you use email, you know what I’m talking about.

I don’t have any new solutions, but I do want to say that I think we shoot ourselves in the foot with some of the spam-fighting tools out there.

Take those spam filters, for instance. You know, the ones that require those who email you to fill out a form for their email to be "approved."

These can be incredibly offputting. I can’t imagine doing this to clients, and especially not prospects! This puts your spam burden onto those who want to correspond with you (you know, like those pesky clients and prospects)–why on earth would you want to make it more difficult for them to do business with you? How many will simply move on to contact someone else where communication isn’t such a chore?

On top of this, I have found that many folks using these spam filters lose incredible amounts of legitimate email even after you have confirmed and been approved by them to send email through. I can’t tell you how much ill will it creates to get really spotty, unreliable responses, or to send message after message, get no response, and then find out later that they were never received in the first place.

I think we have to continue to fight spam and do everything we can sort legitimate email from the spam (such as making use of rules, reporting spoofs and phishers, and adding spam emails to our blocked senders lists).

But to my thinking, spam filters are not the answer, and putting your spam problems onto the shoulders of clients and prospects is definitely not the solution.

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By Danielle Keister | Posted in Business Savvy | Tagged Business, Spam, Virtual Assistance, Virtual Assistant, Virtual Assistants | Comments (1)

September 3, 2007 – 10:00 am

The Problem With Autoresponders

I’m not talking about autoresponder services like the Aweber autoresponder service. Autoresponders are a fantastic tool in your business; if you haven’t yet, I encourage you to explore the myriad possibilities they present for your business and marketing right away!

Rather, what I’m referring to are those simple autoresponders that most hosting packages provide for where you can set up a generic message that will automatically be sent to anyone who happens to email the address you set it up on.

Used appropriately, they can be a useful–albeit limited–tool to facilitate communication.

But having recently been on the receiving end of someone’s autoresponders when they went on vacation, I can tell you for sure that they can be annoying as all get-out when used without foresight.

I also spent the last week trying to communicate with someone whose autoresponder was doing a great job of telling me she’d get back to me within 24 hours. Not only did I get the same impersonal, generic message every time I emailed her, she also never got back to me–even after an entire week!

I surely don’t appreciate having my IN-box cluttered up with unnecessary messages that create more work for me and my assistants to delete. And if we find it annoying, just think what your clients and prospects trying to communicate with you will think!

Before adding an autoresponder to your business email, think it through carefully. Will it be more annoying than helpful to those who email you? What do your clients and prospects really think about them? If you begin an email exchange beyond initial contact, are they getting your generic autoresponder every single time they email you? How annoying or offputting might they find that?!

If you are intent on using an autoresponder, here’s what you might do: Create a special email address, one that was connected and used ONLY in very specific situations, such as your online client contact form, for example. That way, anyone using that form would get the autoresponder only once. If you then began an email dialogue, you would switch to your regular business email address–the one with no autoresponder attached.

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By Danielle Keister | Posted in Business Savvy | Tagged Autoresponders, Virtual Assistance, Virtual Assistant, Virtual Assistants | Comments (0)

September 1, 2007 – 10:33 am

Don't Be Left Out! Participate In the 2007 Virtual Assistant Industry Survey

Since we got a late start this year (by nearly two weeks), we’ve decided to extend the survey period. If you haven’t yet submitted your responses, now is your chance.

Here’s the link to take the survey: http://gs-survey.com/s.asp?s=1700&bhcp=1

There are 97 multiple choice questions and three free-form response questions. But don’t worry–the survey is super fast-paced and should only take you 20-30 minutes tops.

Tell your friends and colleagues. Feel free to copy and paste the info from this page to your blogs, and any Virtual Assistant forums and listservs you participate in.

And remember–everyone who participates get a free copy of the results (we anticipate over 100 pages of information!).

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