The Blog of Lisa Morosky

We all need help with our businesses. At some point, you’ll probably search out help from a virtual assistant (or other web worker) to help with the tasks you just can’t find time to do yourself. The way you approach a virtual assistant matters and it can set the tone for your entire relationship.

If you’ve never worked with a virtual assistant before, you probably don’t even know how to go about approaching them. You may have seen their work and like it. Perhaps you’ve spoken with others who have worked with them. And now it’s time to initiate a conversation on how they can help you out.

I get emails all the time that say just this: “I need help with my blog. Can you help me?”. Well, if you need help setting it up and maintaining it, sure. If you need graphic design help (or some other service I don’t offer because it’s not a specialty of mine), then no. I usually respond to these people by playing a game of email tag until all the details finally come out.

It could be easier. You could have a virtual assistant working on your stuff that day, and not three weeks later.

Here’s how you should approach a virtual assistant.

Give the basics.
Give your name, your email address, your phone number, your website, and a general overview of your project or work you need completed. This is the bare minimum that should be in your initial email. Anything less than this, and I know you’re probably not going to be good at delegating tasks in the future.

Give the details.
Answer the standard questions in relation to your project.

• Who: Who are you? Who would I be working with?
• What: What is the project? What do you need done on a regular basis? What do you expect to get out of our working relationship? What type of person do you work well with?
• Where: Where do you live (time zones matter)? Where can you be reached at? Where can I find more information about you? Where did you find out about me?
• When: When do you need this project or task completed by? When would you like to begin working together?
• Why: Why do you need this project/task completed (helps put it into priority perspective for me)?
• How: How would you like to work together? How have you done things in the past?

Include diagrams and examples, if possible.
I had a potential client email me a little while ago about a project he needs completed. In his email, he included a PowerPoint presentation of the type of design he wanted, his objectives, examples of designs he likes, etc. All of the information I needed, he handed to me in a visual format. It was extremely helpful.

At the end of your email, ask for something.
If you just send me an email about you and what you’d like done, I don’t know what you want to happen next. Give me some guidance on what you’d like to happen next: do you want me to quote you rates? Would you like my advice? Give me some clear direction to go in.

Working with a virtual assistant is a two-way street. While it is just as much the virtual assistant’s responsibility to communicate effectively with you, clients need to remember that virtual assistants aren’t babysitters. We’re business owners. And we like to use our time wisely, just like everyone else.

This might seem like a lot of work to do for one initial email. But if you do it, you’ll make it a lot easier on the person you contact, you’ll cut down the back and forth communication, you’ll set a positive tone for your working relationship, and most importantly…work on your project will start sooner.

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1. Setting Client Boundaries to Boost Productivity
2. The Rick Steves Approach to Blogging