The Gritty Virtual Assistant

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Great Virtual Assistants love helping their clients. They put smart systems, policies and standards in place because they know that ultimately these things allow them to deliver greater service to their clients. They also know that excellent communication is absolutely key to the relationship. Now, while there are lots of things Virtual Assistants do to facilitate great communication flows, it is a two-way street. Following are some things you can do as the client to help your Virtual Assistant help you.

1. Clearly communicate your goals and objectives. Your Virtual Assistant wants to know why you do what you do and where you’re ultimately wanting to go. She (or he) can then be more proactively involved in helping you achieve those things.

2. Provide the big picture. A Virtual Assistant’s help is limited if you only give her or him a piecemeal understanding of a task or project. Let your Virtual Assistant know how the task or project fits into the whole. She/he can then make sure all the pieces fit together even better and often will have suggestions you might never have thought of. Two heads are always better than one!

3. Place a priority on meetings. Virtual Assistants who offer telephone meetings to their clients do so as a benefit to them. They know that regularly touching base nurtures the collaborative process and keeps both of you in sync. Your work and goals can only be as important to your Virtual Assistant as they are to you. If you don’t make the relationship a priority, you may find yourself looking for a new Virtual Assistant.

4. Organize your thoughts. The more “stuff” a Virtual Assistant has to wade through, the more likelihood there is for simple human error and having some things fall through the cracks. You can help your Virtual Assistant when emailing work requests by keeping messages limited to one idea, one project or task, at a time, and providing a clear and descriptive subject line.

5. Too much detail is better than too little. Don’t assume your Virtual Assistant can read your mind. It’s better to be overly forthcoming with details, especially when you first begin working together. A confident Virtual Assistant is not going to be defensive. She/he will appreciate your effort to be thorough in providing everything needed to do a great job.

RESOURCE: Virtual Assistants are administrative experts who very much appreciate business owners who extend them the same professional courtesy and respect they give to clients. If you want to be a great client, make sure you understand and honor how Virtual Assistants want to be treated: Working With a Virtual Assistant.

About the Author: Danielle Keister is a business advisor and innovator in the Virtual Assistance profession. An administrative professional of 20+ years and veteran Virtual Assistant of 12+ years, her logical, no-nonsense approach to business development has gained her recognition as one of the leaders in the field. She loves what she does and is passionate about sharing her knowledge and know-how with the world. She’s all about inspiring others to reach for their highest excellence. When not taking care of clients in her own Virtual Assistant practice, she is busy leading the Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce and helping Virtual Assistants create six figure businesses.

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