Are Your Clients Right for You?

One of the "rookie" mistakes many new virtual assistants make is to take any client that comes along and offers to hire them.    After all, the economy is bad, we need to take the work we can get, right?   Wrong.  The thing is, your time as a virtual assistant is limited.  You only have so much room in your practice.  To have a thriving virtual assistance business, you don't have room for client who are not right for you.  The stress and energy it takes to maintain a bad relationship is poisonous to your thriving practice.  When you start working with someone, you are starting a relationship.  Why waste your time with bad relationships?   Here are a few quick tips for finding clients who are ideal for you.

1. Make sure that you take some time to interview clients before you work with them.  Some virtual assistants have interview processes that include  a couple of interviews.  My process is only one interview — but we are on the phone for at least an hour.

2. Ask questions to get a sense of the client as a person.  Do you feel a good vibe with them?  Your gut reaction is very important here.

3. Ask questions about what the client needs you to do.  Are most of the skills within your ability?  If not, you may not be the right VA for them.

4. Talking about money.  If the client balks at your rate - that might be a red flag.  Never negotiate your rate.

5. Ask questions about expectations.  Does your client want someone who is available during office hours?  What type of turnaround are they expecting.  Of course, this is up to negotiation -but being very clear up front helps.

6. Choose a type of client that you like to work with.  Narrowing down on a niche makes it much easier to create your marketing materials and attract YOUR ideal clients.

Even if you follow these tips, you may find yourself with a less than "ideal" client.  Step one is always to talk about your concerns with your client.  However, if things do not resolve, don't feel bad about "firing" your client.  I promise a new more ideal client will be in your practice soon.