Communicate Effectively with Your Client
Spending your time doing what you enjoy while being paid for it sounds like a dream, doesn’t it? As a virtual assistant, this goal is attainable if you’re able to cultivate effective communication with your clients.
Effective communication entails more than just following instructions related to your role as a VA. It’s also being able to speak up about work-related issues, express your needs, and advocate for yourself when necessary.
In my years of working with virtual assistants and clients who hire VAs, these are three of the most common communication issues.
- Asking for a raise
The most common question that I get from VAs: How do I ask for a raise from my client?
Be mindful of your timing — If you have the opportunity to ask for a raise because the client is doing well and making more money, take it. However, if the business is struggling, asking for a raise and then being told no can quickly become awkward.
Be ready to demonstrate with metrics — If you believe that your skill set, training, and experience have leveled up as a VA, be prepared to demonstrate your value to the business using numbers. Then initiate the conversation to discuss the possibility of leveling up your pay as well.
Be honest and straightforward — Be direct and tell your client what you need. The best-case scenario is that they will give it to you. Otherwise, they’ll let you know why it’s not possible and you can proceed from there.
2. Explaining the “it’s too much work” issue
As early as the interview process, be clear that you will need time to onboard and become familiar with the tasks they require.
Make sure that you have regular check-ins where you can show what you’ve been doing that’s working for their success, as well as what’s not working.
This way, you can tell them when they’ve given you too much work, and you’ll both be able to figure out whether they need to pay you more or cut back on your tasks.
3. What to do when the client gets toxic
There’s a difference between having occasional bad days when they’re short with you, and constantly being rude or worse, racist towards you. You do not want to work with that type of client so find someone who will treat you with decency.
It becomes more difficult if the client you like and enjoy working with is toxic in the sense that they are unable to pay you on time. After all, you need to make money, so if you’re not getting paid on a consistent basis, find someone else.
It’s also challenging to work for someone who is simply not good at business and thus fails no matter how hard you try to help them. If you find yourself complaining about the client on a regular basis, it’s time to take a step back and start looking for other opportunities.
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Dan Meyer is the founder of Sonic VA, which specializes in matching Filipino Virtual Assistants with American Small Business clients and has been a leader in the outsourcing industry since 2011.
Dan is also one of the top experts in Virtual Staffing and has personally trained over 10,000 Filipinos in areas such as virtual assistance, data analytics, business process outsourcing and social media marketing & management.
