by Tina Hilton of Clerical Advantage

Part 1: Finding the Perfect Virtual Assistant
On the heels of my three part series on selling virtual assistance, it only makes sense to follow up with a four-part series on just how to choose and use one.  This week our installment is ‘Finding the Perfect Virtual Assistant”.   You’ve read about VA’s here on Home Office Warrior, you’ve listened to testimonials and you think having one could help your business. Now what?
Lets begin with how to search for one.  The first step is deciding just what tasks you’re going to want your virtual assistant to perform.  Do you want them as more of a personal assistant, making travel arrangements, keeping track of your schedule, scheduling your appointments, etc?  Or are you looking for someone to take care of the accounting?  It’s important that you have a clear idea of just what you want your virtual assistant to do. 

Do you want a VA that’s located in your own town? State? Country?  Does it matter where they are located?  How much are you willing to pay?  Remember, you’re hiring expertise, so be prepared to pay between $25 and $50 dollars an hour on average.  If the tasks that you’re going to have them complete are highly skilled, expect it to cost more.  Don’t let that discourage you, chances are it will still save you money since there is no overhead, equipment or other employee costs.
Now that you’ve got an idea of what tasks your new virtual assistant will be asked to perform, you can begin the actual search.  Of course you can Google, but truthfully, it’s going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack that way.  Starting at one of the Virtual Assistant Directories makes more sense.  Try the one at the Virtual Assistant Forums or VA Networking. Of course, you can also do a search for ‘virtual assistant directory’ as well or check out yellowpages.com. Narrow it down first by the location that you decided earlier, then look for someone who provides what you’re specifically looking for.  Be sure to check out their Bio page and look for Testimonials. Choose 3 or 4 that you feel might be a good fit for you.
Contacting most virtual assistants is easy. They may have a contact form on their website that you can fill out. Others may give an e-mail address or phone number to contact.  Take a separate piece of paper for each virtual assistant, put their name at the top of the paper and make two columns labeled ‘Fit’ and ‘Doesn’t Fit’ ( Pro/Con or any two words that help you weigh pluses and minuses). In your initial contact, explain who you are, what your business is and what tasks you are looking for a virtual assistant to perform.  Ask all of the pertinent questions like “What experience do you have with this/these task(s)”  “How much do you charge for these particular tasks?” “What hours are you available?” and “Do you have samples and references?”.  Also include any other questions you may have concerning just how you will be communicating with one another and the logistics of getting your tasks completed.

 As you receive your answers from each Virtual Assistant, add all of the positive aspects of each one to their “Fit” column on their ‘interview’ sheet.  Anything that you’re not comfortable with or iffy about goes on the “Doesn’t Fit’ side.  It only makes sense that the Virtual Assistant with the strongest ‘Fit’ column should be your choice. BUT…don’t underestimate how you and the virtual assistant interact.  It’s possible that the one with the most ‘Fit’ items just ‘feels’ awkward when you’re talking or corresponding with them. If that’s the case, you may want to consider one that you feel more comfortable with. After all, the key behind a successful business relationship with a Virtual Assistant is building a strong rapport.  If you feel like you might never leave the awkward stage, you’re better off finding someone else that you can picture yourself becoming more in tune with.
Ok, so you’ve pretty much decided on who you’re going to sign a contract with, you’re ready to go right?  Not quite
Now it’s your turn to answer questions.  What questions?  I’ll share them with you in next weeks installment entitled “Being the Perfect Client”.