Deb McMillan (The Short Sale Queen) Interviews Owner of The Virtual Professionals, Tiffanie Tillman »

June 5, 2009

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Interview By Deb McMillan - The Short Sale Queen

http://www.shortsalequeen.com

1. Tell me a little bit about your back ground and what made you decide you needed help getting all your work done…and not work all day and night yourself.

I am the CEO of one of the fastest growing virtual assistant business online, The Virtual Professionals. With 13 years experience working in the communications industry, print and online publishing industry, I decided to put my entrepreneurial skills to the test again and use the power of the internet to provide a valuable resource to the business world today - the virtual assistant. I found raging success. My virtual assistant staffing service has been just what companies are looking for to get their business running smoothly.

Virtual professionals are those who work for someone needing professional assistance, but do not need to hire a full time employee.  This concept is ideal for professionals who conduct business online, as well as busy professionals seeking to outsource work from a traditional brick-and-mortar setting. Virtual assistants work from their home office and employ technology that make it convenient for both the assistant and the executive.

2. What are some of the things a VA can do for you?  Can they do more than answer the telephone? How can you save the real estate investor or the business person who works out of their home time?

The projects and tasks a VA can take on are as unique and diverse as the businesses they service. A good way to start is by delegating your non-billable activities. Then as you become more acclimated with your VA the tasks and responsibilities can grow.

Some services provided by virtual assistants are: administrative and professional services, research, word processing, presentations, data processing, database management, desktop publishing, transaction services, mail services, email services, telephone/fax services, Internet marketing, bookkeeping, writing/editing services, personnel services, personal services, property coordination, distressed property transaction coordination, short sale property services and so much more…

For a comprehensive list of some of the services a VA can perform for you visit: http://www.thevirtualprofessionals.com/services/101-ways-to-use-a-virtual-assistant.html

3. How much training does a VA need?

Virtual Assistants should never need training. He or she should have the necessary skills required before accepting the project.

It is appropriate, however, to provide an overview of your business, project and the specific results you’re hoping to obtain from the VA. Help your VA become successful on your project by giving them your definition of what success means to you.

4. How often do you check in on them?

A good VA will be able to manage their own time and assigned projects. Depending on the complexity of the project, checking in once per week is sufficient. Set expectations early in the beginning. Project details, expectations and delivery dates should be agreed upon in the initial project planning phase.

It’s also important to remember that VA’s earn income by working billable hours. So it’s considerate, and to your advantage, to keep telephone chatter to a minimum. Scheduling a weekly or bi-weekly status call can be helpful to properly access the progress of tasks and direct changes easily. It’s not recommended to check in daily, unless you have an extremely complex project that requires it.

The ultimate goal of hiring a VA is to save your company time and money. So, if you’re finding yourself spending too much time managing your VA you should consider finding a new one.

5. What is a fair pay for a VA?

Just as in traditional hiring practices, virtual assistants are paid according to their skill-set and experience.  Rates can range from $25 to $55 per hour. The way in which VA’s charge can vary as follows:

• Hourly rates are suitable for those who require routine project assistance however, are unsure how much workload they have to delegate at any given time.
• Retainer rates secure a discounted predetermined number of hours within a certain time period. This is a recommended route if you want to work with a VA on a regular basis ~ similar to hiring a traditional employee.
• Per project rates are excellent if you have recurring, or one-time, small projects. For example, a recurring project could be a monthly newsletter or mail out. A one-time project could be a website or blog design.

When paying hourly it is common to see lower hourly rates for general services and higher hourly rates for technical and/or creative services. Per project rates can provide the ability of seeing the bottom line, up front.

6. How many jobs or people can a VA work for? Are they specialized in any particular field, [for example] knowing real estate? Maybe they were a past Realtor – or similar?

Depending on the way a VA has structured his/her company, they can work on as many or as few projects as they see fit. Most independent operating VAs will have a limited number of hours available each week, typically 40 hours. However, VA teams and VA firms/staffing companies can manage an unlimited number of projects.

This is a good point to discuss the difference between a VA staffing company and teams (like The Virtual Professionals) vs. an independent VA.

A VA staffing company can manage various specialized projects in a variety of fields. Often times you’ll have a project manager overseeing the assigned tasks to ensure you never have to manage projects or delivery dates. This can also be helpful in avoiding delays due to sick time, vacation time, emergencies, etc.

VA staffing companies and teams also maintain databases of hundreds of VAs with various skill-sets making it easy to retain the perfect virtual assistant for any company’s needs.

7. A job that my students might need is mailing to people who own real estate – mostly in foreclosure.  Is this a job they can do?  Would they supply the paper, envelopes, mailing list, etc?

Absolutely! A VA can assist in locating the foreclosure prospects (develop the mailing list), as well as creating and processing the mail-outs. In most cases, the VA will arrange to supply the paper, envelopes and postage.

8. I would assume, too, if the VA was answering the phones that the student would supply a script?

If scripts are available to the VA, that’s great. If not, the VA will be skilled enough to create a script for you. Virtual Assistants who are experienced will know what is customary in various industries and consult with the client on the best script for the company’s goals.

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Finding out if a VA is right for you or your business is easy! Contact a representative at The Virtual Professionals to discuss your needs. We can be reached at http://www.thevirtualprofessionals.com/contact/contact.html or info@thevirtualprofessionals.com or 1.800.804.0476.

We look forward to saving your business time & money!

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