 Things aren’t always going to work out between you and your Virtual Assistant. We all know just wanting something to work isn’t going to make it work. I’m not talking about money issues, personality issues or even capability issues. I want to talk about the three key problems that will kill your relationship with your VA that are all your fault. (Sorry!) The great part is that these three items are something that you can (and should) address even before you hire your assistant.
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 Happy New Year!
Each year we, as individuals, profess a litany of resolutions that we believe we can achieve. And most fall by the wayside - pretty quickly. I personally have decided to curb my enthusiasm for, shall we say, “blue” language. I have an English degree and should be more eloquent, even when I’m just sitting here at home talking to my cats or the TV. I don’t want to make resolutions for Your Gal Friday. Instead, I just want to remind everyone of our Commitment to you this year (and every year!). Honesty - We’re always going to be honest with you with our capabilities. I have had several people contact me, asking for services that I just can’t provide. We’d love to be able to help everyone, but it’s just not possible. We won’t like and try to fake it. That’s not cool, and it’s not helpful. Helpfulness - We are here to help you. We want to make your life easier. We want you to succeed. When you succeed, we succeed. And we think that’s awesome. In those times when we don’t know what we’re doing, we’ll tell you. And then we’ll help you try to locate the right person to help you. We are connected with SO MANY wonderful, smart, brilliant, talented people that we would be happy to refer to you. We’re going to do whatever we can to get solve your problems. Hardworking - We’re busting our butts to get your work done, on time, quickly and affordably. We’ll continue to stay in touch. We’ll continue to ask questions as we need to. We’ll continue to find better ways to help you succeed. We’re committed to making your 2019 a fantastic year for your business. We appreciate you allowing us into your business lives, and we look forward to meeting new entrepreneurs and business owners who are ready to take the next step to grow their businesses. ~The Your Gal Friday Team  The new Fall TV lineup is in full swing. I’m watching one new show. Just one.
No, I can’t tell you what it is. No one knows. I record it and watch it the next day when no one is around. No one must know that I enjoy this show. I really shouldn’t even be writing about it here. Because the fates will hear. And then...CANCELLED. You see, I am the person that cancels your favorite shows. I watch them happily and am excited for the next episode. Only, there is no episode, because shortly after I start watching, the show gets cancelled. I am THAT person. And it doesn’t stop at TV shows. No, my adoration and appreciation for wonderful, amazing things can shut down just about anything. That amazing cigar bar? That was me. That fantastic cocktail and tapas bar - a gem in the midst of nothing. Closed. The 100+ year old restaurant with the amazing, homemade slices (hunks) of pie so fresh that they were still warm when served. Also gone. And that’s just here in Michigan. I’m afraid to think what chaos I’ve caused in my travels around the country. (I’m sorry, favorite hotels, restaurants and interesting places to visit!) And so, my dear clients, I will refuse to enjoy your communications. I won’t think fondly on your businesses. I might even sigh deeply and with great frustration when I do your work. Because I want our relationship to last. I don’t want your business to be cancelled.  There is something that has been bothering me, and I need to get it off my chest.
A few weeks ago I was on Instagram and I happened to see a live feed from a business coach. I decided to stop and see what kind of motivation she was offering. For the first minute or two everything was going well. And honestly, I don’t remember exactly what she was saying, but I was still listening so I think it must have been good. But then she started talking about how she gains clients, and this is where she lost me. Now I’m going to paraphrase here, but this is the sentiment: “If someone is on the fence with signing up with me, I just ignore them. If they email me or call me, I won’t answer. I don’t have time for that. I don’t have time for people who are unsure if I’m right for them. That doesn’t make me money. So don’t waste time on people that aren’t going to make you money.” I shut down the video. Did I hear that right? A coach doesn’t want to help anyone that isn’t ready to commit and pony up the cash to her ASAP. Even now I’m throwing my hands up and my head is shaking frantically. HUH???!!!?!?! You’re a coach. Don’t coaches help people? Don’t they motivate them? Don’t they put them in the right direction? I can’t imagine giving up on someone I just met - someone who I know needs help, who came to me for help - and just because they were nervous about the steps, or the investment or whatever. And not answer their emails or calls. Lady, you’re in the wrong line of work. We are all in the service industry. Coaches, virtual assistants, social media experts, web designers, etc. - all of us. We sell ourselves as helpers, serving others so that they can benefit from our knowledge and have a strong support system to help them grow. Just because someone is hesitant doesn’t make them unworthy of help. If anything, they’re the ones that need more of your help. So someone can’t invest in you right now. It’s okay. Keep in touch with them. (Isn’t that what newsletters are all about?) And don’t people say it takes at least 6-8 touches before someone will feel secure enough to want to buy from you? So why would you let someone go after the first contact? When you choose to help people, it’s because you want to help them, not because you want access to their bank accounts. If that’s the case, you’re in the wrong line of work.  One of the more difficult things to learn when you’re working with a virtual assistant is how to assign her work. I want to share three tips with you that can help keep things sailing smoothly in your work relationship together.
Last Minute Work Doesn’t Work It’s 4:59pm on a lovely Friday afternoon. Your virtual assistant is shutting down the office for the weekend. “Ding” She gets an email from you, asking her to do a laundry list of tasks. And they all need to be done before Monday morning. Don’t do that. That’s just cruel. Virtual assistants are working on time tables and schedules and have developed excellent routines to fit in all of their work daily. If you send an email at the end of the day, or right before a weekend, or a holiday, or vacation (you get the point), you’re putting your virtual assistant in a corner. She wants to help you, but she has a life outside of work. A family. Friends. Laundry to do! Plan your schedule and tasks so that she can get things done at your deadline, but while not infringing on her off hours time. Know What You Want You fire off an email to your virtual assistant. Maybe it says “look up some flights to New York for me.” No. Take that email back immediately! It’s so important to give your virtual assistant all the details she needs in order to do her best job for you. Looking up flights to New York is generic. From just that one task I can ask:
Details are key. We know you’re in a rush and you’re doing a million things. But if you can take an extra minute to think about what it is you actually need, your virtual assistant can get right to work for you with little to no questions. Change is Bad You’ve got your task. You tell your virtual assistant to create a landing page for you and she gets to work on it. Twenty minutes later, you tell her that instead of the images you gave her, you decided to use different ones. She removes the old images and adds the new ones. Then you change the text. Then the images again. Then the coloring and call to action. Then the images again. And more text. And your virtual assistant is now pulling out her hair. If you’re changing things that much, you’re not ready to assign the task. And this goes back up to tip #2 - you have to know what you want before you can assign a task to your virtual assistant. Keep these three tips in mind and your virtual assistant will greet each task you assign with a much happier attitude! |
Author28+ years of business experience. 15+ years of virtual experience. topics
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