Thursday, September 6, 2007
In some respects choosing the right VA to work with can be
harder than hiring an employee. After all, due to the nature of
virtual working, the chances are you may never meet this person
face to face, or even have a phone conversation with them. All
communication may be carried out via email. So, given these
circumstances, how do you know that working with a VA, and even
finding the right VA, will be for you?
The numerous benefits of working with a VA are well documented,
and there are many, many clients worldwide who will testify to
the advantages of this way of working. The purpose of this
article is to help you in your decision of choosing the right
VA, and give you some pointers along the way.
1. The first thing to consider is what it is you want your VA to
do for you. Ask yourself these sorts of questions:
* What is the nature of my project?
* Do I need to hire a 'local' VA versus 'anywhere'?
* Do I need to have regular meetings with my VA?
The very nature of virtual working means that when working with
a VA location isn't an issue, after all a VA can carry out all
the duties a regular in-office secretary can do (except make you
a coffee!) - they can manage your diary, handle your emails,
deal with your correspondence, type up reports, make your travel
arrangements etc. etc. However, if you feel that working with a
local VA is what you need, then you should focus your search on
just local VAs. However, be aware that by doing this you may be
limiting your options when choosing the right VA.
2. Once you have decided on the above issues, and you know
exactly what it is you want your VA to do, then make an initial
contact with several VAs and send the same RFP (Request for
Proposal) to each of them so that you can make some initial
comparisons. This should include such things as an outline of
the project details, asking about their fees/fee structure, how
they would go about doing the work for you, how would you
receive/send work etc. Basically include anything that you have
thought about and would like answers to. At the end of this
report is a useful checklist for you to use when approaching VAs.
3. If you're not sure how to go about finding VAs that meet your
requirements, then there are several FREE searchable databases
available where you can source and then contact VAs directly.
These databases also list skills and location. These are:
* Alliance of UK Virtual Assistants
* International Virtual Assistants Association
* The Virtual Business Group
* Digital Women
* International Virtual Women's Chamber of Commerce
4. Once you've narrowed it down to two or three VAs, have a
phone conversation with them (rather than exchange emails), as
this will give you a good idea as to whether the VA is right for
you, i.e. do you and this person 'click'. This is very
important as you will be trusting your business to your VA and,
as you are in a 'virtual' working relationship, it is not quite
the same as having someone sitting next to you in the office -
so you really do have to feel that this person has the right
experience and you can trust them to deal with your work. Also,
from the VA's point of view, they need to feel that you are the
right client for them. This is a two-way street where you both
need to feel completely happy with the working relationship.
5. Another very important consideration is does your VA's skills
match your needs? Check out their websites, view client's
testimonials, and examine their profile. If necessary ask if
you can contact either a current or previous client for a
reference.
6. Always ensure that you sign an agreement before any work
starts so that you both know exactly what is expected of each
other. The agreement should set out project requirements, fees
(or an estimation of fees), VA's terms & conditions, client
confidentiality policy etc. Your VA will provide the agreement,
and you should both keep a signed copy.
7. And finally, contact your potential VA as many times as you
feel necessary to ensure that you are 100% happy with them
before any work starts.
And don't forget to contact me to get your handy checklist for
so that you can be sure you have all bases covered when you’re
looking for the right VA.
REMEMBER: A Virtual Assistant's role is to support you and your
business, by taking the pressure off you so you can spend more
time working ON your business instead of IN it.
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About the author: Tracey Lawton is a certified Master Virtual
Assistant with many years of experience, helping professional
speakers, coaches, and authors operate an efficient, organized,
and profitable business. Visit
http://www.traceylawton.com/tips.htm to subscribe to her
newsletter, Virtual Solutions, full of tips for operating a more
productive business and receive Tracey’s ‘The 7 Key Steps to an
Organised and Efficient Office’ special report absolutely free.
How To Create An Effective Email Signature
Whenever you receive an email from me you will ALWAYS see my
contact information at the bottom and know exactly how you can
get in touch with me. You will see:
# My name
# My company's name
# My telephone and fax number
# My email address (with an active hyperlink)
# My website address (with an active hyperlink)
# And an active hyperlink to the signup page of my newsletter
But do you have all of your contact information on the bottom of
all of your emails? If not, why? And why is it so important
that you have an email signature? Well, because:
# Your clients and potential clients know exactly how to get in
touch with you
# It's a good marketing tool
# You can use it to promote special offers
# It can drive traffic to your website
# It tells people who you are and what you do
Setting up an email signature is simple to do, and I will tell
you how! As a general rule of thumb your email signature
shouldn't be more than about six or seven lines long otherwise
it just becomes too big and may detract from your email. After
all you don't want your email signature to be longer than your
email!
Your basic email signature should contain:
# Your name
# Your company's name
# Your telephone, fax number, and email address
# Your Website URL with an active hyperlink
# And maybe a line promoting one of your services, a
special offer, a link to your newsletter, or anything else that
you would want to let your target audience know about.
Set up your email signature so that it AUTOMATICALLY goes out on
every single email that you send, whether it's a new email or
you're replying or forwarding on an email.
Here's how to set up your email signature ...
Outlook
1. Go to Tools
2. Options
3. Mail Format
4. Signature Picker
5. Click on 'New' and then enter a name for your signature i.e.
Business
6. Client on 'Next' and then design your signature in
the blank box. You can change the font, font size, and text
colour
7. Once done click on 'Finish' and preview your
signature in the preview window. If necessary, go back and edit
it.
8. Once you're happy with your new signature click on OK.
9. Ensue that the 'Use this signature by default' box has the
name of your new signature in it, and click on OK. 10.
Congratulations - You're done!
Outlook Express
1. Go To Tools
2. Options
3. Signatures Tab
4. Tick 'Add signatures to all outgoing messages'
5. Deselect 'Don't add signatures to all 'Replies and Forwards'
6. Add your signature in the Edit Signature text box
7. Once you're happy with your new signature click on OK.
8. Congratulations - You're done!
-------------------------------
About the author: Tracey Lawton is a certified Master Virtual
Assistant with many years of experience, helping professional
speakers, coaches, and authors operate an efficient, organized,
and profitable business. Visit
http://www.traceylawton.com/tips.htm to subscribe to her
newsletter, Virtual Solutions, full of tips for operating a more
productive business and receive Tracey’s ‘The 7 Key Steps to an
Organised and Efficient Office’ special report absolutely free.
Budget is not a Four-Letter Word
