The trick to finding your perfect virtual assistant

by Natalie Sisson

There comes a time in your business endeavors when you say enough is enough, I need to find a great Virtual Assistant to take some of this work off my hands and allow me to work on the business, not in it.

But making that leap can be daunting. Where do you look? How much should you pay them? What sorts of tasks should you give them first? Perhaps it’s just easier to keep on doing it yourself, right?

Wrong. The benefits of delegating administrative and time consuming tasks, that are not your highest priority, is well worth the time and investment to find the right VA. When you look at how much your hourly rate is it’s a small price to pay for the additional profit you’ll earn by hiring them. Most Virtual Assistants are already adept at every task you’ll want them to do so training can be kept to a minimum.

You can help yourself a lot in the interim though by starting to make brief notes each time you’re doing a task. Better yet buy screen recording software like Camtasia or Screenshare to record you doing the work so that you can just send the video to them for training when you the time comes.

Finding a great virtual assistant

A great way to start is to ask around your network to see if they have suggestions for quality candidates. Send a request to your network on LinkedIn, via email, Facebook and Twitter. When looking for a new VA, put accountability first, so you get a candidate that's very responsible for themselves and you. If they answer you on those networks then you know they are already efficient at using social media for leads and marketing and that’s a great sign.

Walk the talk

The best way to find an awesome virtual assistant is to look for someone who is walking YOUR talk. Look for a VA who understands marketing, social media, info-products, webinars, etc. Whatever you are doing in your business, look to see if they are doing it for themselves. If they’re really smart they will do some research on you before answering your job application and point to how their skillset aligns with your business services and products on offer.

Use the right platforms

So where do you post jobs once you’ve tried your immediate network. oDesk, eLance and HireMyMom are great places to start with quality candidates, filtering mechanisms in place and opportunities to view their portfolios and reading, writing and language test results. You can search by region, demographic and specific skill sets too.

Put them to the test

Make them pass three tests before even interviewing them. Sound a little harsh? Well your time is precious so you need to weed out any candidates who are not serious by having them answer three different emails with relevant tasks. For example, ask them for a quick paragraph about why they want the job or for samples of their writing. If they do these three tasks well, efficiently and quickly, you know they are worth interviewing.

Invest wisely

It’s true that finding a great VA can take time but your first hire is always the hardest and most important. After that you know what to look for and it gets much easier. So it’s worth kissing lots of frogs to find your prince when it comes to hiring the right VA for you. When you do find one you like, be sure to treat them well, because they’ll prove to be your most valuable asset.  Rates start anywhere from $8 per hour up to $50 depending on what you need and the level of support and expertise you need.

Get the right attitude

Look at their work, but more importantly, look at the details of how they communicate with you. Are they doing little things that make a big difference? Look for attitude, reliability and attention to detail in a VA as that will really set them apart from the rest. Look for someone with a service-minded attitude who is open and responsive to direction and correction from you and could communicate with your clients. Choose someone who takes note of and communicates details effectively but can also problem solve.

Set your hoops high

Don’t expect miracles when you first hire a VA. Make sure you give them enough rope to hang themselves. What does that mean? Well before you give your VA a high responsibility task make sure to give them a few hoops to jump through first. Test their skills with a writing sample, an unexpected phone call or database entry. Measure how long these tasks take to complete and their level of quality.

Remember this is a process, just like any other in your business journey. As your confidence grows in your new hire you will learn to delegate even more and one day you’ll look back wondering how you managed without them in the first place.

Natalie Sisson is a Kiwi Entrepreneur and Adventurer dedicated to finding creative ways to help you run your business from anywhere. She focuses on using online tools, social media and outsourcing to create more freedom in business and adventure in life. Her blog The Suitcase Entrepreneur features articles on all aspects of running a virtual business, a wealth of resources, biz and travel tools plus a large dose of inspiration, insight and intelligence.

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The views and opinions of the author expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Hotfrog.