How to Succeed as a Virtual Assistant
Hiring virtual assistants is on the rise, and with all the feats of technology, we can honestly say that we’re not a bit surprised. Just how any brick and mortar business would usually have an assistant-type role working the front desk and helping company employees, so too remote businesses can make use of virtual assistants who are capable of completing similar tasks even from miles away.
Whether you’re looking into becoming a virtual assistant yourself or whether you are already working as a virtual assistant, there are certainly a few tips to take into account when trying to succeed in the profession. Learn what the job actually is and how to do your best work in the role.
What Is a Virtual Assistant?
While to some it may seem like a simple question, there are many remote workers who haven’t quite yet wrapped their brains around what exactly a virtual assistant is and what exactly a virtual assistant does.
Virtual assistants can be difficult to define because their range of work can be so large and varying depending on the person and the company hiring the virtual assistant. However, on the most basic level, a virtual assistant is somebody who is hired to work remotely for another person (or company) to complete specific, assigned tasks. Generally, virtual assistants aren’t in a role where they’re making decisions for a company, but rather, are completing work that is handed down from the remote employer.
As far as what that work is, as we stated earlier, it can be quite different depending on the person. Virtual assistants can be producing writing for a person or company, they can be doing social media management, they can be scheduling appointments, they can be handling customer service emails and calls, or any number of things.
This is one of the beautiful things about being a virtual assistant: no one day is ever the same. Furthermore, because you’re only completing assigned tasks and not making company-wide decisions, being a virtual assistant can be a great position for those who want to work without an overload of stress.
Here’s How You Succeed as a Virtual Assistant
Now that you know what a virtual assistant is, here are three ways that you can improve your business as one. Many virtual assistants work for multiple clients at a time, meaning that versatility and organization is key to succeeding in the job.
####1. Form Long-Term Relationships with Your Clients
Virtual assistants can be useful in short-term situations; however, employers are going to get the most out of virtual assistants from long-term relationships. Similarly, virtual assistants will find themselves being more comfortable and more productive when they’re working with clients for long-term periods.
All this being said, as a virtual assistant, it’s best to go after work that offers long-term reliability. Along with helping to ensure a steady paycheck (or salary, if you’re able to snag full-time work!), long-term relationships with clients will be the best way to broaden your role and take on more responsibilities as a virtual assistant, ultimately helping you in procuring a widening client base.
2. Broaden Your Skills
We covered this earlier in the article: virtual assistants can do just about anything while on the job if they have the skills. Because of this, investing in courses and practice for learning new skills can be extremely fruitful for virtual assistants.
Along with all the aforementioned tasks, virtual assistants can be assets when it comes to SEO techniques, logo design, app programming, bookkeeping, accounting, video editing, podcasting, ghostwriting, and just about every other skill on the planet.
Simply put, the more you know, the more clients you’ll get.
3. Prioritize Urgent Tasks
Finally, because virtual assistants are often working with multiple clients at a time, and because clients will often be handing out multiple tasks at a time, knowing how to prioritize urgent tasks is hugely important. While clients are responsible for telling you what to do, it’s ultimately up to virtual assistants to decide how and when to do it.
Whether it’s making a written list that you’re constantly rearranging or any other system of organization, getting comfortable about setting priorities both amongst your clients and for a single client should be a skill that you develop and learn to excel at.
This article was originally published on Remote.com
