Strategy

Ep30: The Top 5 Intangibles Every Virtual Assistant Needs To Provide

April 11, 2023

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Episode Notes

In this episode, we discuss five, prominent intangibles that you should possess if you are a virtual assistant or be looking for when hiring a VA.

  • Proactive
  • Intuition
  • Responsiveness
  • Effectiveness
  • Resourcefulness

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Ep30: The Top 5 Intangibles Every Virtual Assistant Needs To Provide

Hey friend, welcome back to the Grace-Filled CEO podcast! Today I'm going to chat through five intangible things that every virtual assistant needs to provide.  If you are a virtual assistant, listening to this, this is going to help you identify the key elements that will make your value skyrocket with your clients. If you are a business owner, who has a virtual assistant on your team or you're thinking that you will be hiring one soon, this is going to show you what to look for, and what to encourage in your team, to render the best results for your business while making everyone better in the process. You ready? Let's go!

I am stoked to dig into this topic today. If you haven’t heard much about my story, I will give you the cliff notes version. Several years ago, a friend approached me about being a VA. I honestly questioned it as a legitimate money-earning opportunity at first. But the more research I did the more I realize this was exactly what I have been looking for. so I signed on with a virtual assistant agency. This was in forever will be a highlight in my career because the agency I joined, taught me how to serve people really well in this area of business. I already possess the skills capable of executing, but this agency taught me about the intangible things that are important to possess and remember when you’re serving clients. Fast forward to today. I’m a practicing OBM and a business coach for virtual assistance and online business managers. I have a unique vantage point because I still serve the business community and work in their business while also helping others build theirs. I have seen the effects of, all of the things that I teach internally and externally in business. So I get to talk to people who are on both sides of the fence in a way that bridges the gap and brings us together and helps us to work together harmoniously where everyone feels honored and successful. anytime we are building our business. We focus on the black-and-white tasks that are going to get us from point A to point B. 

But often times we neglect the things that we can’t see.

There are things that set virtual assistance apart. If you are a virtual assistant, you probably sometimes feel like a tiny minnow in a big sea. If you’re a business owner, sometimes you probably feel like you’re trying to find that perfect match minnow in the big sea.

If I had a penny, for every time, someone said, does this person exist? Then I would be rich. I’m here to tell you that the special person does exist. I am here to tell you that not only is it my mission to help you find each other, but to give you the tools that you need to find the right person and to show up as your best self in the process.

So let’s jump into these intangibles. 

PROACTIVE

A VA is hired to check tasks off a list, yes, this is true. But if you are only doing that, and you’re only reactive to what your CEO gives you, then you are missing an opportunity to grow in value in their business, but also in your business. And if you as the CEO are only delegating one-off tasks to a virtual assistant, without giving them an opportunity to see where else they can step in, that is a missed opportunity for you and your business. Being proactive means they know what you need before you have processed or verbalized that you need it. Doesn’t that sound amazing? Not every VA wants to be proactive or can be proactive. But, there is a community of virtual assistants who are that way. They are able to see where your needs are without you communicating them, and sometimes they just need the greenlight to take care of things on your behalf. The A’s are expected to be reactive, but they are impressive when they’re proactive.

INTUITION

You want intuition to be an intangible thing that a virtual assistant possesses the reason being the ability to learn something new on your own without someone holding your hand is a huge thing. For the business owners, that is a huge weight lifted off of their shoulders, and for the virtual assistant, it’s incredibly empowering. You need someone on your team who can know the voice and the values and take initiative. This comes from their intuition.

RESPONSIVENESS

This means they are available to their CEO and clear about when they are available. Do not read this as always available 24 seven. That is not what I’m saying. But there is trust and security that builds when the person who is assisting you and your business is responsive and consistent. So this is not to compromise any boundaries, but instead to communicate them. I’m going to call out the CEOs for a second because if you are shifting from solopreneur to CEO in your mindset and you’re starting to build your team, you are likely overwhelmed and just trying to get out of that mindset. You were trying to offload things off of your plate under someone else’s so that you can see clearly, and show up as the courageous leader of your business. Sometimes the first thing to go when we feel overwhelmed is our responsiveness so this goes both ways you need to be responsive to your support staff and virtual assistants need to be responsive to their CEOs but I also want to mention that, even as a virtual assistant, you are the CEO of your own business so you get to make a choice of when you’re available. The most important thing is that you communicate that choice so that the expectations around your responsiveness are accurate.

EFECTIVENESS

Virtual assistants are expected to be efficient. They are expected to check the boxes and keep things moving but the difference between expectation and impressive is a tiny shift here. Or maybe I should say a small but mighty shift, instead of just being efficient You also need to prioritize being effective. This means creating a positive impact with the tasks that are completed. It’s not just doing it. It’s doing it well and making it a better place because of it. It’s leaving the business better than you found it.

RESOURCEFUL

This means they do their best to empower themselves before they reach out to you with a question. Have you ever heard of the three before-me rule? It is a great practice when training your team members. It empowers your team to check for the answer in three different places before they reach out to a superior to help them find the answer. Not only does this save time, but it also empowers the assistant, to help themselves. It empowers them to problem-solve.

We are in a season right now with my son who is almost 8, where we are trying to teach him how to solve problems, instead of just getting frustrated and walking away from that frustration. Instead, we try to train his brain to think about what is the next helpful step. Sometimes it’s just listening. Sometimes it’s to look for something. And sometimes it’s as simple as pausing checking your energy and making sure that you are being responsive instead of reactive. and what all of those have in common is leading yourself well. 

By no means, is this an all-inclusive list? I think that there are more intangibles that make virtual assistance incredibly valuable. In my membership, Serve Your Heart Out, we work on these things. 

I mentioned earlier that I have a unique position having worked with both sides of the spectrum. And I also have the perspective of having a virtual assistant who possesses these things, and as a CEO I can tell you that it makes me feel like I can’t live without this person now the truth is that I can right? But when someone possesses these intangible characteristics, they feel like your better half and I know that if you were in a season of your business, where you need someone like this on your team, you have probably said I just need someone to be me but better.

And if you’re a virtual assistant, who wants to do the very best job, you can, and have a client experience that skyrockets your visibility and income, earning potential, then, possessing these intangibles is the fast track to making that happen. 

The best way to get new clients is to serve your heart out with the ones you currently have because they will sing your praises, and shout on the rooftops.

I have a client who I’ve worked with for a couple of years, and I transitioned from her virtual assistant to her OBM. When we were hiring to replace me in the virtual assistant role, she said, “I need to find another you.” What I had done in that experience of working with her was, everything I just listed about virtual assistance. Listen up, the best way to get new clients is to serve your heart out with the ones you currently have because they will sing your praises, and shout on the rooftops. And if they are your ideal client, I can almost guarantee that they are going to know another person who is a CEO and sometimes it just takes that secondhand connection to change your business and your life.

I don’t want to discount the importance of having a virtual assistant who knows what they’re doing. It’s incredibly important to hire for the tasks you need to be completed but, anyone who is entering the VA world is likely going to be a life learner. Someone who is a lifetime student. Therefore, they can learn new skills, but what you can’t always teach someone is how to do the things that you don’t put on a rĂ©sumĂ©. How to serve people in a way that just isn’t about data and numbers but it’s also about care and impact. 

And if you are a CEO, who is struggling to connect with your virtual assistant, or struggling to find the best fit a strategy call might be your next best step to get a plan of action to find the right fit for your business.

If you’re a virtual assistant, who is ready to be the best in the business, multiply your earning potential, and work your way into being the best in the industry, I recommend you check out my membership community for virtual assistants and online business managers who are looking to do more than just make a buck. This group of women is empowered to make an impact through incredible service, while also creating a life where all of your responsibilities can coexist in harmony.

I can already tell that the fact that you’re here listening to this means you want to be the best not in a greedy sense, but in the sense that you know you have something to offer and give in this online business industry, and quite frankly, I believe you, I believe you have what it takes 

I know that all of you listening to this were going to take this episode and use it to further your knowledge about your next best yes. 

Cheering you on from here, talk to you soon. 

Alright friends, that is it for this episode! Thanks for joining me today! I appreciate you!

Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts or at www.jilliandolberry.com/podcast. You can also continue the conversation with me on Instagram at @jilliandolberry.




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