As a virtual assistant, I’m used to guide or assist my clients in the process of delegation. Normally, as solo preneurs, people are not accustomed to delegate. And this is where professional virtual assistants add value. We take care of this process, guiding our customers and showing them how to use our services.
Some time ago I was contacted by a potential client.
I’m a VA so I want to help my clients. I usually have an interview with each of my possible customers.
During the interview, I try to know
What are their expectations
If they are interested in long-term relationship
What are their passions?
Why are they in the business they’re in?
If they have a list of the most important, most critical things they need to get done right now
In short, I want to understand what they do, why they do it, and a little about their personality.
Ideally, the interview is both ways. And the prospects usually want to know what I can offer and whether I can meet their expectations.
However the first thing this guy asked was, “How much do you charge?”
When I informed him about my rates, he seemed not to be interested in all the services and expertise I had to offer.
He said that for less money we could get another Virtual Assistant to do the work he needed. Maybe sometime he would contact me again.
After few months, this guy contacted me again. He admitted he was not sure whether to hire a Virtual Assistant. He was disappointed because of the bad experience he had with his last assistant.
As he didn’t know how to appropriately choose the person in whom to delegate, he had problems with his clients, used much time repeating instructions and was unable to develop new products.
I explained him that as experts in organization and keeping in mind the productivity of our customers, their objectives and their action plans, virtual assistants collaborate in order to free time and to achieve delegate tasks in an orderly and efficient manner and he will surely find the suitable Virtual Assistant within my team.
Fortunately it was.
Hiring the wrong person can cost you and your organization significant time and money.
Choosing the right person for a task requires a careful evaluation of the experience, knowledge and skills of the person you want to delegate.
You may need someone who is good at organizing, or who is a good leader for your team, or who works well under tight deadlines, or who has initiative.
There are two reasons to select the right person: the individual is the best qualified and can achieve the best results. Or the individual will be the most benefited by learning from this experience to take the job.
Consider whether the person you hire has the qualities and attitude for the job.
Anyway, you must remember that often delegate means having time to train the person who will carry out the work. Usually, a learning curve is necessary.
Note that delegating requires hiring people with the right skills, not the least expensive.
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