Davey Bacaron: Myths About Virtual Assistants

Welcome to the Davey Baron blog. Today I'm going to clear up a few misconceptions about virtual assistant so that you can make decisions about your business that are based on reality and not rumor. Ready to get you to learn? Here we go.

Virtual Assistant is way too expensive

Who says? Virtual assistants are contractors being paid according to working hours. If you think that’s way too expensive, consider then all the money you have to spend on hiring in-house staff. You have to set up a desk, computers, printers, labels, etc. You also need to manage their income tax, their insurance, and benefits and paying them not just for their completed tasks but as well as for staying at the office.

A VA can do everything, immediately, with zero training

This is a big misconception about virtual assistants, and it’s something that has caused many a headache for both business owners and Virtual Assistants alike. So it is very important that you discuss with VA the tasks and the time frames or deadlines for each task. In this manner, you will also get to teach VA's how to manage their time in shape with your business requirements. VA’s are known to be hardworking and dedicated; you just have to be honest about how quickly you want work to turn around.

VAs are available 24/7

Not all Virtual Assistants are moonlighters. If you need a virtual assistant who’s available during regular business hours, you’ll certainly be able to find one. But the reality is that many virtual assistants are not available during regular business hours; they’ll do their work in the evenings and on weekends, with some VAs working part-time hours on weekdays.

Confidential information can’t be entrusted to VA's

I say this is untrue! You have to be very careful in entrusting your company’s confidential information from everyone whether in the house or an offshore worker. As the word suggests, it is confidential, you don’t just give it to someone who has worked with you for one day. You have to get to know your online virtual admin assistant first. They take pride in being trustworthy. Our biggest asset is our integrity.

First, check all references the VA offers and (if you’re particularly nervous) ask how those people feel about the candidate’s trustworthiness and ability to keep things confidential.

Next, get yourself a solid non-disclosure or confidentiality agreement for your contract with whichever virtual assistant you end up hiring. This will make your expectations absolutely clear right from the start.

Finally, look into using a platform such as LastPass to share your passwords. LastPass lets you grant someone the ability to use your login information at any specified site, without revealing your actual credentials. It’s pretty cool if you ask me here.

Having a Virtual Assistant adds more work and consumes too much time

At first, but in the long run, you’ll find yourself at ease. Provide about 3 to 5 days to sit with your virtual assistant and discuss all the tasks he/she would need to do for you. It should be enough to get them running. It might take up hours or so, but sacrificing 3 to 5 days is a lot less painful than a month or more of errors and complications.

It’s very complicated to communicate with a Virtual Assistant

Perhaps due to cultural differences or the extra noise you hear when speaking to the phone makes things unclear for both of you. Both bear in mind that VAsare is very patient when they try to understand the instructions you give them. If voices over calls are unclear, the internet provides a lot of alternatives. If you’re going to discuss the task, make sure to leave a file of instructions, even if they had taken down notes.

So if you know you’re going to need someone who can virtually get the job done, don’t hesitate for a second. VAs might just be the ones who can help you come up with the right solution. They’re always on the go for you no matter what the task.

Stop having second thoughts about it. Hire your VA today. 

About Davey Bacaron

Davey Bacaron is a general virtual assistant for 6 years and is very passionate about helping entrepreneurs and small businesses. Davey wants to make each and every client feel valued and appreciated. Learn more about Davey Bacaron here and how she can help you here. Follow Davey Bacaron on Facebook here. Alternatively, you can read the  Virtual Assistant Davey Bacaron reviews here.

Davey Bacaron: How to Get Clients

 

Effective Ways to Get More Clients (And Keep Them Coming)

Here is the new blog from Davey Bacaron. What’s the best way you can generate new client projects each month? I’m keeping the descriptions on these minimal to highlight the wide range. Here goes:

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Get inside your dream client's head

Think of what your clients are struggling with? What’s the result, outcome, or transformation they desire? You can also use Quora to understand the types of questions your customers ask and how your competition is answering those queries. How can you answer them better?

Make sure what you do and who you serve is clear within 5 seconds

If you want to become a go-to expert, you have to make ‘what you do’ clear, easy to understand, and memorable. Create an “I’m the one that” statement. How are you different from your competition? Answer it with, “I’m the one that ________.'

Share a certain amount of your ideas for free

Create and share content that helps your audience solve problems that relate to your service offerings.

You can also answer questions on Quora relating to your service offerings. Share stories, tips, lessons learned, success stories, and strategies on Instagram.  Perhaps, creating your own Facebook group to build a community of people in your target audience and be helpful.

Create an irresistible offer. 

If you want to be a go-to expert and attract high-quality clients, you must explain the value of your offerings. When you’re considering adding a new service package to your roster, create a standalone sales page and include a freebie opt-in in exchange for people to “join the waitlist.” Then, when you’re ready to roll it out, send a message to this segment of your email list to announce you’re accepting clients. Think of what your clients really need?

People only work with people they trust.  

When you’re trying to attract clients online, it’s more challenging than face-to-face. Some ways to earn trust with internet strangers by sharing client testimonials when promoting your services on social media. You can also go to conferences and events where your clients are likely to be and give a presentation. Whenever you have the opportunity, be generous and helpful to others.

Social media baby!  

Choose the one (Instagram, Facebook/Facebook groups, Pinterest, YouTube) where your dream clients are most likely to be and dig in and master it before you move on to the next. Be authentic, infuse the "YOU" into your posts as much as possible. People want to work with people they like and relate to.

Work with clients you love

Clients want you to lead them because you’re the expert and your goal here is to create a VIP experience so they refer you to everyone they know and share their experience with others. You can do this by creating a process you can guide your clients through. Don’t nickel-and-dime your clients with unexpected charges like payment processing fees too. Work it on by building all of your costs into your fees and make it transparent to them as much as possible. If there are additional or variable charges you can’t build into your packages or estimates, make sure they know what they are from jump street.

I hope you found something you can take action on starting today! I wish you the best of luck in your client attraction efforts. If you have questions or if there’s something I missed, hit me up in the comments below!

Davey Bacaron has been an Administrative Marketing assistant for over 6 years. Davey Bacaron also understands all the classic ways of doing business and can do them using modern tools. And hey, your tasks don’t stand a chance against my super virtual assistant powers! Visit the Davey Bacaron website. Find out more about Davey Bacaron here. Read the Davey Bacaron Virtual Assistant (VA) hiring checklist here.