A few months ago, I had a strategy session with a woman who signed up from a Facebook Group that we’re both in (Let’s call her Judy).
Judy is juggling A LOT right now – writing a book, launching a new course, trying to keep up with social posts and blogging…
But her immediate problem wasn’t the overwhelm of her to-do list, it was that her VA wasn’t doing what was agreed to.
For some reason, Judy’s VA finished all of her work for the end of the month, but neglected to post a single thing last week!
The VA was terrible at getting back to Judy in a timely manner and often left her hanging when deadlines were past due.
And when called out about this, do you know what this VA told Judy?
“You’re not my only client.”
If you think that’s an acceptable answer, I would like you to step away from the service based industry immediately.
So, after I told her she needs to find a new VA immediately, we discussed what she should do when the new VA starts.
Here’s what we came up with:
#1 Make sure your VA understands your business goals
Do you remember when you were a kid and your parents would tell you to clean your room and you were just like WHYYYYYY?
It’s kind of like that with a VA… but before you get mad at me VAs! I think you should be sainted for all the sh*t you deal with!
The similarity is only in the lack of knowing the goal. Your VA will do a MUCH better job and accomplish what you’re really asking for when she knows what the goal is.
Just like your five year old might clean his room better if he knows that the goal is to have space for his friend to sleep over.
#2 Develop a streamlined process
I could literally talk about workflows, processes, and plans for days. Not because I love them so much, but because there are so many reason you need these things!
Some basics to get you started:
- Create a workflow process for your marketing projects
- Decide what tools will be used and how you’ll be using them (Asana, Trello, Slack, etc)
- Make sure you know how you will communicate and how long responses will take (ex: All communications pertaining to a particular project will be in the discussion section in Asana. Responses will be made within 24 hours)
#3 Create a marketing strategy that is clear and concise so your VA has no question about what should be posted or why
Just like you want your VA to understand your business goals, you’ll also want to be sure they totally get WHY you want to send emails three days in a row to promote your free offer.
Your marketing strategy should be more than just a list of places to promote your offer. You also need to prioritize each piece.
If you have 1500 people on your email list, but only 200 people in your Facebook group, you would probably prioritize emailing your offer over posting it in the group.
When your VA understands your strategy – and ultimately your priorities – they will make better decisions if they do get down to the wire with deliverables.
You don’t need to be working with a VA for me to help you. In fact, look at those 3 steps again and replace “your VA” with “I”. (and you know, make it grammatically correct). These same things could apply to your unique situation.
Working with a team?
Check out the dos and don’ts of team management
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