Become A Successful Virtual Assistant

by Melissa Smith

  As he began to share how he coaches and the funnel process of breaking down his practice, he asked me rhetorically, “Could you imagine if you didn’t know your gift was communication?” Huh? I tried not to act surprised, as if I did know already. But I didn’t. What he was saying made sense. It’s a fundamental business practice and the basis for how I match clients to VAs. Additionally, I write. A lot. Oddly enough, I didn’t see that as a form of communicating.

  With this newfound information given to me, which was so painfully obvious, I had to ask myself how I could have overlooked it for so long. The answer came quickly. While I struggled through 15 years of marriage, I read every book I could get my hands on about marriage and communicating with your spouse. I went to conferences and seminars. I devoured information on communicating.

  In between the marriage books, I read books on how to communicate with your children. From toddlers, to adolescents, to teens and young adults, I consumed it all. However, since this was all long before I ever decided to start my own company, I didn’t make the connection. Honestly, I had forgotten how much time I spent reading about communication in my personal life. Instead I went back into my work life to search for clues on what I’m good at and why.

  This is the place where I am now. Between writing this book and releasing it, I discovered even more about myself. By the time you finish reading this book, you will have discovered more about yourself too.

  Summary

  Growing Your Business

  To achieve—and more importantly to receive—from growing your business, make sure it is ready and primed for success. You can get what your heart desires, but if it comes at the wrong time or all at once, you have to be prepared if you plan on enjoying it.

  Ask yourself the right questions even when you don’t have the answers. They’ll never come if you don’t. Monthly check-ins with yourself are crucial to stay on track.

  Client referrals and gifting are an essential part of growing your business and continuing to attract your ideal clients. This is the best way to grow your business using your dollars wisely and building a quality reputation.

  You don’t need another you. You need someone to complement and support you. Know when it’s time to hire support and know it doesn’t have to be business related.

  Reevaluate your success measures. If you have changed and grown, your ideal client has too. Be ready to hire a business coach to help take you to the next level.

  Marketing

  Remember, getting out of your comfort zone is uncomfortable not painful. If you are finding marketing more than uncomfortable, something is wrong.

  There are many different marketing strategies. Know which strategy is right for you and make sure you’re taking advice from the right person. Your business isn’t one size fits all. Your marketing plan can’t be either.

  While growing your business and certainly while marketing it, you may find that you’ve outgrown people and the old version of yourself. That’s okay. Growth is natural and part of the experience. In the form of growth, change can be painful but it doesn’t have to be if you can say goodbye properly to your former self and know she hasn’t gone away. She’s just not appearing daily any longer.

  It can be scary to become more successful and step into the truest version of yourself. You might find yourself in uncomfortable territory. Know which steps to take to feed your faith and starve your fears.

  Growing and marketing your business aren’t simply functional processes. They’re emotional ones. High achievers struggle just like everyone else because we push ourselves to the limit seeing our dreams on the other side. Be prepared to do the inner work, not simply the outer work.

  In the next chapter, we’ll discuss your clients’ ever-changing needs as well as technology. What is all the rage today can quickly become obsolete next month or next year. This is why I purposefully wrote this chapter last. Additionally, depending on the type of VA you are, your clients’ needs and technology will vary greatly. More than anything, it’s about staying informed and knowing what is changing before it’s too late.

  CHAPTER 8

  Step 8: Client Needs and Technology

  “A true pilot studies his craft in every season, all that concerns his art.”—Plato

  Determining what your clients need is a learning process, one which can be accomplished through networking, asking, and even surveys. People don’t like to complete surveys, so don’t bank on this. Asking other VAs in the field will definitely point you in the right direction.

  Depending on which field you begin in, there will be no shortage of software and technology to learn. Keep in mind you can learn many for free and directly from the source. Companies want you to use their software. Believe me when I say they are happy to chat with you on the benefits of using their software—what it can do, the new features coming out soon. Keep up with which technologies integrate well together and which ones don’t.

  There are some basics you should begin with. No matter what type of client you are serving, it is likely both of you need an appointment scheduling tool, a video chat system, a way to send newsletters and email marketing/drip campaigns, a file-sharing system, and a CRM (customer relationship management system). In the Resources section, I’ve listed some of the most common options in the industry. However, keep in mind what is most common may not be the best choice for you or your clients.

  Research your clients and anticipate their needs before they verbalize them. Know which software best fits their needs and budget. Many software options are free to begin with or at least have a free version with fewer options. This is part of your professional development. As an admin, I’m sure you are no stranger to professional development. You may even enjoy taking classes for fun. This is both an advantage and a disadvantage. I want to remind you that you’re not perfect and you can’t be. You can’t know everything about everything.

  Why do I tell you this? Because I see virtual assistants often get trapped in this stage. They don’t offer their services because they’re not the best. They’re afraid someone is going to ask them to do something they can’t do even though they can find the answer. They’re not worried about not figuring it out. They’re worried about how to charge for something they don’t know how to do yet.

  A few things to keep in mind:

  Don’t charge for your time to learn.

  Be upfront and confident about your skills simultaneously.

  Set your fee for what you would charge if this wasn’t your first time.

  How do you figure out that last one? Ask the company that produces the software or technology. One of the reasons I was so valuable as an EA is because I always went straight to the source. I was and am still very low-tech. I hate apps. I don’t enjoy online research. I’d rather pick up the phone and ask my question to someone who can answer it. So that’s what I do. Instead of exchanging numerous emails back and forth, I ask my questions in real time, and in the process I learn how to easily get answers to my future questions.

  Some companies do not offer customer service over the phone, but they usually have pretty good online customer support. If not, you should seriously consider whether or not you want to work with them. Again, ask people in your network what they do when they run into issues with specific technology. You even can ask them about how much time a certain project should take.

  Part of gathering information is to continuously stay up to date and to keep abreast of the latest and greatest. However, there is a point where it becomes too much. You can only take in so much information. How do you know when enough is enough? When you are learning things you never use and cannot retain. Here are few tips:

  Get your information curated. Not only does this put everything in one spot, but the curator is usually not biased, so you can get the pros and cons of multiple products at one single time.

  Use trusted sources. Don’t read and listen to everyone. They will contradict one another. Find the
sources that are easy to read, bookmark, search, and—most importantly—helpful. Trust those sources and follow them.

  Set aside a training day. Don’t simply learn information. Put it to the test. Schedule time to see if it works how you thought it should. Is it as simple as it sounds? Make sure there aren’t any missing steps.

  What about technology that phases out assistants, like artificial intelligence? There are two sides to every coin. Not all intelligence is artificial, and not all artificial computers and robots are intelligent. Think about how you can use them to your advantage. You have two distinct advantages to artificial intelligence—you have the common sense and a sense of humor that artificial intelligence lacks.

  There once was a special episode of “Gilligan’s Island” where the Harlem Globetrotters played a basketball game against robots. (Don’t ask.) The Globetrotters were losing the game badly, even though they were considered the best. However, when they did the exact things that made them the Globetrotters, they won the game. What did they do? Their tricks, gimmicks, and fun maneuvers.

  As technology advances, the fear remains the same. People in all fields fear losing their jobs because of technology. It’s only half true. Even by the year 2075, it’s estimated that 45 percent of current jobs will be obsolete. That’s just under half. However, ten years ago we couldn’t have predicted the jobs we have now, and we can’t predict the jobs of the future. Work with what you know and play up to your strengths. Don’t fight technology. Figure out how you can partner with it. Find the win-win.

  Some of your clients’ needs may be best served by artificial intelligence. These are the jobs you don’t even want to do because they will take up too much of your time without providing any satisfaction. It’s part of the reason chatbots were invented. What if your business as a VA was to help clients with chatbots?

  Client needs and technology are constantly changing. Your job is to keep on top of these changes. Know what is a fad, when it’s time to switch and migrate, and when old-fashioned has become new again. This is what makes you invaluable to your clients. This is what makes you better than a robot.

  As a virtual assistant, you need to know your competition intimately. No longer is your competition solely another human being or VAs in low-cost countries. Now we are competing against artificial intelligence, the same AI that makes our own lives easier. Virtual assistants must embrace technology while being responsible with boundaries and expectations, looking after the quality of life for those we support. This means that you have to work on this as well.

  So how do you compete with bots?

  Know which bots are good for your clients and which aren’t. Not all bots are created equal. Throwing away all options isn’t an option.

  Prepare your research so you’re always ready to speak to your clients. It’s not solely on the basis of productivity and efficiency. We’re talking about the quality of a person’s life. Just because you can do something all the time doesn’t mean you should.

  Discuss bots that are available and how they fit into your clients’ plans for having assistance available when you’re not. Consider bots as a collaborative partner.

  Don’t be afraid to ask the tough questions or say what needs to be said. Your clients’ health could very well be at risk.

  Never underestimate the power of having your clients know you don’t just work for them, you enjoy working for them. Tell them how much pleasure your work brings you. Since a bot doesn’t have real feelings, it can’t reciprocate in the same way.

  Technology is always changing. You won’t be able to stop all advancements, and that isn’t the point. What you need to do is educate yourself and understand your competition. Especially learn the advantages you have over technology and how those advantages benefit your clients and yourself.

  Is Your Planning Coming at the Expense of Your Productivity?

  I love planning. My office is literally covered in calendars. I have written all kinds of events, meetings, telephone calls, and vacation days on these calendars. They are a constant visual reminder to me of how busy I am, how much free time I have, how I shouldn’t spread myself too thin, and when I need to pick up my pace.

  Then there is overplanning, those subtle ways we try to trick ourselves into believing we’re being productive with our planning when we’re not. Do you find yourself doing any of the following?

  Planning to the point of procrastination. In your mind, you are aware that as long as you keep planning, you don’t have to take action. Planning is merely the pathway. Action is what will take you to the desired location. The sooner you start the journey, the sooner you’ll arrive at the destination.

  Planning for perfection. Having a Plan B is good. Having a Plan C, D, and E is too much. Find this habit hard to break? To successfully change this behavior, think of a way to hand over the reins or at least share them with someone else. Chances are, if you’re a perfectionist, you are a people-pleaser as well. If you have to share responsibilities with someone else and they say you are driving them crazy, you’ll be more likely to change your behavior. Another tip is to do something with your creative mind instead of your analytical mind. Art is a great way to find beauty in the imperfections.

  Planning because you’re afraid. You tell yourself you’re preparing for the future, while what you’re really doing is planning for the worst. This is not a good use of your time. The future is rarely as bad as we make it out to be, and some of the things that we call “bad” actually turn out to be the best blessings.

  In April 2015, I was fortunate enough to attend HustleCon, a conference for non-technical startups. I heard from many great founders who spoke about the early days of their companies. They shared about the problems they faced, the daily struggles, the financial setbacks, the failed attempts, and the constant changing of their circumstances.

  The founder that had the biggest impact on me was Andrew Warner of Mixergy. At that time in his life, he was speaking about already achieving success and selling his company. Now he was trying something new and was feeling overwhelmed by how he envisioned the future.

  During his travels, he came across a focus bead bracelet. He used the bracelet to focus his energy and to keep things in perspective. He didn’t need a million followers. At the time Andrew just wanted to get to 200. Whenever he got sidetracked or overwhelmed, he held the beads and ran his fingers over each one, repeating to himself that he was on his way to 200—200 was possible.

  Maybe you don’t struggle with overplanning. What is stopping you from being productive? For many of us, the very thing that we’re so good at also stands in our way to success. If you’re a chef, do you keep adding ingredients to the plate? If you’re a painter, do you keep painting long after your artwork is complete? If you’re a speaker, do you keep talking even though no one is listening? If you’re in sales, do you keep trying to sell to someone who isn’t buying when the next customer is actually ready to buy?

  Whether you use focus beads, the Serenity Prayer, a quick pep talk to yourself, or something else, take a moment to stop when you feel yourself overwhelmed and the pressure is rising. Being productive doesn’t mean you hit the goal today. It’s taking action to get that much closer to it.

  Summary

  Client needs and the technology you’ll use will vary depending on each of your clients. Be sure to review the Resources page for what every client will (or at least should be) using as a foundational tool. Your clients don’t have to use any of these, but chances are they will. Do your research to discover the options that best fit not only your clients’ needs but their budget as well.

  Researching, planning, and learning are great until they affect your productivity. At some point you have to make the leap and experiment with what you know. Be honest, transparent and—most importantly—know how to get immediate help and support.

  I’ve included a bonus section for those of you who have yet to go out on your own as a VA. (Although a lot
will still be useful for anyone who is already a VA.) Whether you are ready to leave your current position now or have a plan to exit in the future, you can definitely start preparing using the information in this bonus section.

  BONUS—BEFORE YOU GO OUT ON YOUR OWN

  What Is the Future of Executive Assistants?

  In the age of bots and artificial intelligence, some might say that no job is safe. I agree. Whether or not technology advances are purposely trying to eliminate jobs, it’s happening. One industry advances while another slowly becomes obsolete. Could executive assistants be next?

  In Deloitte’s 2016 Millennial Survey, the company addressed how millennials no longer should be seen as the leaders of tomorrow but as the leaders of today. Seventy-five percent of those leaders have a desire for freedom, flexibility, and location independence.

  The majority of research says that by 2020, 50 percent of the entire workforce will be remote. Statistics of companies increasing their remote workforce have also steadily risen and are projected to continue rising in the coming years. (You can read some of the latest studies at Global Workplace Analytics.)

  Don’t think it can happen to executive assistants? Ask a journalist. Research the diminishing sales of print advertisers.

  Look at the similarities between journalists and executive assistants:

  Companies need skilled assistants. American citizens need experienced, trained journalists.