I recently asked the Virtual Assistants on my site what they considered their #1 best practice when working with clients. The most common theme is communication, and I love how each Virtual Assistant expresses it in their own style!
1. “The #1 best practice (in my opinion) is to become acquainted with the client’s work style, attitude and expectations – that allows you to see if you are both a good fit.” Jeanette Hughes Barnes
2. “Set up a regular scheduled meeting at least once a week with clients. Even if it is only a 15 minute call – this gives me a chance to ask questions and give them an update on projects.” Candy Sugarman
3. “My #1 best practice is ongoing, open communication scheduled on a regular basis.” Michele Reynolds
4. “The #1 best practice for working with my clients is organization. Staying organized! I have to be organized or I begin to feel overwhelmed. When a client emails me a project, I place the project in a TO DO folder in my Outlook. I then assign it a task, and create a time schedule for the day. When I’m running close to the time to end what I’m doing, I get a pop-up to let me know that I am running close to ending that project and it’s time to begin the next one. Once I complete a project, I move it to a completed folder. This is the only way that I can run my business successfully.” Christine Davis
5. “I would be lost without my Outlook Calendar. Not only does it help me remember meetings dates/times, but I also use it to keep track of project due dates and milestones.” Dawn Kramer
6. “Listening! (Whether it’s their needs, wants, complaints, rants….just listening!).” Amanda Lawson
7. “The best practices I use for working with my clients are clear communication and follow up. Clients are generally comfortable as long as they feel they are in the loop with a project. I also try to assess early on if they want me to have creative control of a project or want to take the lead and have me follow their instruction. If I feel the client may be moving in the wrong direction, I will sometimes offer a draft of an alternative design or approach at no charge in order to help them consider options that may be more favorable.” Jennifer Molton
8. “I think for me that the best practice with my clients is consistent communication and follow up. Especially if I am scheduling their week, or they are depending on me to follow up with their clients.” Kristina Andaya
9. “Using online project management tools such as Basecamp or Google Docs is an easy and efficient way to share project information, tasks and milestones: from any place, any time!” Danielle Seville
Thanks for sharing such a great information with us.
Hi Mary, thanks for putting up the list. The best practice tips I think is listening, with the virtual assistant side to the employer side. That way you can freely communicate with your good VA about the status of task being given. With that idea; communication is open, task can be organized, meetings can easily be set-up and anything can be added up.