How to Hire a Virtual Assistant

Your 10-Step Guide to Finding the Perfect Fit

As a savvy business owner, you know you can’t do everything yourself. Whether you are capable or not, you understand that your time is most intelligently focused on activities that grow your business and generate revenue. And these days, outsourcing your administrative work to a Virtual Assistant makes it very easy to get just the amount of support you need without having to hire in-house staff.

Virtual Assistants are professional administrative experts who partner with clients in ongoing, collaborative business relationships. But how do you find a highly skilled, truly qualified Virtual Assistant? Below are some practical points to consider and questions to ask as you go about the selection process.

1. Website

Since Virtual Assistants operate virtually, it’s important they have an online "office" for you to visit. A website can yield critical clues as to the Virtual Assistant's competence and professionalism.

If the Virtual Assistant's site is littered with misspelling, sloppy writing and improper grammar and punctuation, don’t expect that she or he is going to provide you with any greater skill or attention to detail should you decide to work together. If it looks like she put little thought, time or money into presenting a polished business image, chances are that she isn't serious about her business, and may be equally uncommitted to the work she does for you. As you look through the website, ask yourself:

• Does it present a polished, credible business image?
• Is there an abundance of informative content?
• Is the concept clearly explained?
• Is it organized well and easy to navigate?
• Is it well-written and coherent?
• Is there a solid command of grammar, spelling and punctuation?

2. Consultation

You naturally want to find a Virtual Assistant you can work with well, and whose personality and style is compatible with yours. You also want to gain some insight into whether this is a person offering the skills, service and expertise you need. Once you find a site that instills confidence, have a conversation with that Virtual Assistant. Many Virtual Assistants offer a complimentary consultation, and all it takes is a simple email or phone call to schedule one. In making initial contact, some things to note include:

• Does she respond to your inquiries in a timely manner?
• Does she answer the phone professionally?
• Is she on time and prepared for the call?
• Does she follow-through exactly as promised?

3. Finesse

How well the Virtual Assistant guides you through her consultation process can tell you a lot about what it will be like to work with her. Not only do you want a Virtual Assistant who is masterfully skilled and can provide superior service, but you also want someone who demonstrates excellent business sense, especially since she will be instrumental in helping you in your business. During the consultation, information you should expect the Virtual Assistant to cover with you include:

• A clear overview of how she works with clients;
• What her processes are;
• What services she provides (and doesn't provide); and
• What her values and expectations are for working together.

4. Personal & Professional Traits

Listen for the cues that tell you this is someone you can rely on and form an excellent business relationship with. How smartly the Virtual Assistant handles her business is going to directly correlate with how well she handles your work and business relationship. Some things you should pay attention to include:

• Does she appropriately take the lead in guiding you through the consultation?
• Is she confident and articulate with excellent communication skills?
• Does she inspire feelings of trust?
• Do you feel a good connection and chemistry?
• Does she listen carefully when you speak?
• Does she exhibit interest and curiosity about your business?
• Does she ask smart, purposeful questions?

5. Experience

Understand that the single-most important qualification of a Virtual Assistant is extensive administrative experience. From this level of experience, she is expected to possess the superior skills, training and business knowledge that are the hallmark of a truly qualified Virtual Assistant. However, this is an unregulated industry, and while veteran Virtual Assistants work tirelessly to promote high standards, the Internet has nonetheless attracted a certain segment of individuals who have little to no qualifications, or only entry-level skill sets that do not equip them to meet your very real and important business needs. Asking the prospective Virtual Assistant some of these questions will help you discern the difference:

• What was your professional background prior to opening your Virtual Assistant practice?
• How many years of administrative expertise do you have?
• How would you rate your skill level (you might ask this in reference to certain skills or software competencies relative to the services you need)?
• How would you characterize your level of understanding with regard to business principles and operations?

Look for a Virtual Assistant who has worked in upper-level positions such as administrative assistant, executive assistant, office manager, legal secretary, legal assistant, paralegal, supervisor, manager, etc. Virtual Assistants whose only experience was in receptionist or clerical roles are not typically going to have high-level skills and competencies.

Keep in mind that Virtual Assistants are independent professionals—not employees. Just as you would not ask an accountant, attorney or any other service professional for their resume as if they were applying for a job, it is inappropriate to ask a Virtual Assistant for hers, and the request would be considered ill-mannered. However, she should be prepared to discuss her skill levels, qualifications and areas of expertise in a consultation with you.

6. Training & Certification

The professional Virtual Assistant community expects those entering our ranks to have at least a minimum of five years upper-level administrative experience. Our training ground is the real (non-virtual) business world. If you are a business owner needing competent support from someone who can hit the ground running and take the reins as your administrative expert, you should expect no less.

Don't put too much stock in certification. The industry does have a few legitimate professional associations and training programs, but these are intended for business—not skills—training. Where certifications are offered, they can be somewhat subjective and misleading, and many of the veteran Virtual Assistants who established the profession and created the standards have been in business longer than these programs have existed.

Additionally, there has been a proliferation in recent years of disreputable and unqualified opportunists willing to “certify” anyone willing to pay. In this industry right now, letters behind a Virtual Assistant’s name mean very little, and no certification is going to guarantee competence. Instead, pay attention to the cues listed in this article—truly qualified Virtual Assistants are going to visibly demonstrate their qualifications, competence and professionalism in everything they do.

7. The Business

Look for a Virtual Assistant who is actually IN business. If a Virtual Assistant only freelances or dabbles in this work on the side, that lack of business commitment can definitely cause you many unnecessary headaches, wasted time and an all-around unsatisfactory experience. This is often manifested as longer turn-around times, lack of continuity, poor communication, conflicting commitments, interrupted progress, and long or inconvenient periods of unavailability. Some important facts to obtain include:

• How long has she been in business?
• Is she in full-time or part-time practice?
• Does she view her business as a chosen profession she is committed to for the long-term?
• Does she have well-thought out policies and business standards that will support you in working and communicating together effectively?

Virtual Assistants who are in this business as their chosen profession typically have well-honed systems and offerings, and are in a position to best serve client needs and expectations. Look for someone who:

• is confident;
• has her business solidly in place;
• doesn't require training or hand-holding;
• is someone you can place your trust in, and can be depended on for expert support and guidance in laying strong administrative foundations.

8. Testimonials

A successful, experienced Virtual Assistant will have client testimonials on her website. She may also be able to provide you with contact information of satisfied clients who are willing to speak with you about their perceptions and experiences in working with her.

9. The Owner

Many Virtual Assistants provide an "About the Owner" page in their website as a way to share important aspects of themselves with prospective clients. It's intended to provide you with a view into their personal ethics, belief systems, personality and goals. This information can be helpful in determining whether you share similar values, and want to talk with the Virtual Assistant further. Since you will be choosing each other, make an equal effort to get to know the Virtual Assistant by reading that page.

10. Pricing

Virtual Assistant average market rates range between $35 - $70 per hour.

Virtual Assistance is not the type of service you want to price shop. Certainly, we all are interested in getting the best value we can. But we’ve all heard the saying “you get what you pay for,” and this is very true in the Virtual Assistant profession as well.

Take yourself for example. You know you aren’t the cheapest, and you wouldn’t want to be. You know that delivering expertise and quality comes at a price, but the value of that caliber of service extends far beyond mere dollars, and, in turn, saves your clients money.

You know this. And the same is true with Virtual Assistants.

You will find Virtual Assistants who charge very little—so little, in fact, that they can’t possibly be running a profitable, sustainable practice, one that’s going to be around long enough for you to depend on. Inappropriately low rates also signal a lack of business sense, which most often translates to poor quality, and lack of skill and experience. The consequence of hiring a Virtual Assistant who falls in this category is that your investment in her is unstable and ever at risk.

Virtual Assistants who don't price their services profitably quickly begin to fail their clients. In their last gasps, they may end up taking on a day-job or more clients than they can handle just to break even, becoming overwhelmed in the process. To cope, they might turn to subcontracting much of your work out to others which typically results in longer turn-around times, less availability, and inconsistent service, delivery and quality of work.

You want ability. You want someone you can work with well. You want great customer service. You want your work cared for by the person you intentionally chose to handle it. And you want someone who's going to stick around.

So look for quality and value—it's an investment that will literally put money back in your pocket.

What to Do Next

With this guide, you are now equipped with far greater tools, knowledge and information to expertly select the right Virtual Assistant to help you in your business. Now you just need to know where to find them, right?

Simply go to our Virtual Assistant Directory. This is a convenient, central location of Virtual Assistants, all of whom have been prescreened to meet our organization’s high standards of excellence and qualification. You won’t have to wade through thousands of sites trying to determine who is qualified, and can search by name, geographic location and service category.

Best of all--our Virtual Assistant Directory is completely FREE!

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