Gone are the days when a VA sits in the background doing some admin you and keeping your inbox clear. A VA can be an integral part of your business if you pick one (or a team of) freelancer/s who have values, a personality, and skills that fit nicely into your business.
Knowing that you have someone in your corner shouting about your business, rooting for you and helping you with the next ideas, goals and those little things that get in the bloody way can REALLY change, not only your business but your day-to-day life! Business owners like you and I find it hard to separate work and life, because they can feel very much the same, and that is good! But what that also means is it’s hard to relax, unwind and remember to have fun, remember to connect to that true purpose/reason we set up the business.
So, how the hell do you get to the stage where you can outsource and how do you decide who/what/when? One place to start is to think about what area of your business needs support and to get to that we need to know which goal needs more focus. So, let’s go with client care. Most businesses have clients/customers they need to look after. At Ministry VA this is an absolute focus of ours, even if the client doesn’t first ask for it. But I’ve found, looking after customers makes everything else easier.
So here are 5 things you should consider before hiring a VA to support you with your customer process (or anything else really).
How do they look after their clients?
How easy is it to book a call with them?
Do they give you plenty of info pre-call?
How about thinking about how you found them?
What did they do that made you reach out?
For instance, if a VA is recommended to you, you already know they are doing a great job for someone else. So, if you were recommended someone, ask the “recommendee” a little bit more about how they feel treated as a client.
What is your biggest struggle when it comes to your client care?
Do you struggle to respond to messages?
Is coming up with creative ideas tough?
Do you struggle to get engagement from an ideal audience on your socials?
Whatever your struggle is, if you get clear on this BEFORE you have a chat with anyone then you are able to tell them exactly what you’re struggling with. What will then happen with a great VA is they will go away and look at this process (as a customer) and look at what is going on behind the scenes and come up with some suggestions for you. A fab VA will then put them into place and track results/get ready to see what else needs to happen. They will help you to be brave and try things, and that’s where the magic happens.
Do they ‘get’ your customer?
Working with a VA who ‘gets’ your customer and understands them, what they want, like, and what works is a bonus! That is why at the start of the blog I mentioned that a good way to match with a VA is through values/personality BEFORE skills. If they fit into your business like they have always been there, the customers will get the same vibe and it will appear seamless, easy, and fun!
Ask them who their clients are, what their experience is with your client type and why they LOVE working with that group of people. This will just give you an insight into the passion they have and what extra they could bring to the table.
Can they think like there is no box!
Do they seem positive, creative and like they can think of new things to help you stand above your competitors? A great VA will always see how much belief/ownership you will take and will ask you some key questions like, what have you tried before? Or, if you had a Beyonce/Jay-Z kinda budget, what would you do? This helps them to understand where you are at, what you are thinking and would love to do. They take that away and work their VA magic!
Have they done it before?
What success stories can they share with you? Obviously, we can’t always share client details, but asking a VA to share success stories is completely acceptable. But don’t be put off if they don’t share the full details. We don’t wanna give everything away for free, just as you don’t!
If you’re interested, this is how we look after our clients…this is an insight into the new website (coming soon yey).
So when you are looking for a VA to help your client care, these 5 things will help you pick the right one, but at the end of the day, in my experience, you get the vibe from the one that will be the best fit for your business, go with your gut! And, don’t forget you can apply these 5 questions to hiring a VA for any element of your business.
Not sure where to get started? Grab a free chat with me, if I can’t help you I can point you in the right direction.
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