Hi I am Tammy your VA – How Can I Help You?
As a Virtual Assistant I think the most important thing to remember is that we are there to assist the client in alleviating their workload and helping them run their business more efficiently. I think the best way to do this is, number one, have the necessary skills to execute the task or tasks at hand and that is something you can either have obtained prior to starting with your client or of course on the job learning, which for me personally has been the way things have been.
I also like to ensure I research things for my clients and if I do not know something I try and look it up and figure it out myself before actually asking the client what something is or what something means and this shows the next quality which will help you help your client, initiative. Initiative is so important in everything we do and especially in a work environment such as this. I know that something else which has worked for my clients and myself is to set up a task list, this way we can work on it together and prioritise tasks on a daily, weekly and monthly basis and then tick it off as and when completed. It definitely helps us to ensure that all the necessary things are completed in a timeous fashion.
One other thing which has proven to be quite effective and well received is a daily summary sent at the end of each day of tasks completed, obstacles experienced, appointments booked etc.; this again ties in with the task list so we can both see what has been done and where to go from there for the next day.
All in all I think the small things such as a task list or streamlining email folders etc. are the things that really work in assisting both myself and my clients so that I can give the best service to them and they can have peace of mind that their business and their clients are in good hands on a daily basis.
Final thoughts … enjoy what you do and remember that no question is a stupid question, it’s so important that you are comfortable enough with your client to be able to ask questions in order to improve your skills and in turn be the best Virtual Assistant for them that you can be.