A good virtual assistant knows how and when to guide a client
As a virtual assistant, I have the pleasure of working with many great clients, all of whom have their own personal working style. Some clients are more hands-off, while others like to be stepped along the way. Neither of which is a bad thing! However, it’s important to recognize that in either situation, the client is still looking to you, the virtual assistant they hired to work with, to guide them.
Having worked in a corporate setting for many years, I became adept at becoming proactive; however there were many times as an employee I had to be reactionary. You may be thinking, well, being proactive is definitely better so why tell me about being reactionary?
The benefits of being a reactionary virtual assistant
Being reactionary wasn’t and isn’t a bad thing. Being reactionary allowed me to be the go-to person. This was due to the fact that I could think on my feet when presented with an issue or problem, something I am still very good at to this day.
But, it’s important to be cognizant of just how reactionary you are. Clients come to you because you can address their pain points. You can help them solve issues or problems that they have so they can go on to building their businesses or whatever task or project that brought you in on. They are looking TO you to guide that process. They need you to be proactive!
Be proactive and maintain the right dynamic with your clients
When the client starts to drive the process, setting tasks or directing you on how to do your work, some red flags should be going up. However, let me preface this by saying that client input is extremely important and feedback lets you know how you are doing, but don’t leave the client asking themselves why did they hire you if you aren’t the one leading the process or giving them ideas. While this is not to say you have to know every aspect of the client’s business to be successful in this process, but you should have the ideas, methods, resources, colleagues, processes and experience to facilitate doing what it is you do best so your clients can focus on what they do best!
To your success!