You can accomplish anything in your speaking career...virtually

by Janna Reid

Ask yourself this question:   “Why did I become a professional speaker?”  For some of you, the answer will be that you wanted financial freedom; some will say you wanted to travel more; some might even say that you’re so tired right now, you can’t quite remember.  Keep reading, help is virtually on the way. 

How many of you answered:  “I wanted to become a professional speaker because I love paperwork, fielding 100’s of e-mails and phone calls a day, and client billing is my passion! ” Probably not too many.   My guess is that all of you will say that you became a professional speaker because you have a message you believe is important which you are passionate about delivering to others.  That passion for your message, combined with your talents for public speaking and connecting with others, is what drives you to succeed in a competitive, sometimes exhausting, but potentially very lucrative industry. 

Now, another question:  “How are you feeling about the business of your speaking career?”  Many of you might answer that you’re a bit bogged down by the time-wasters and energy-zappers of the daily grind of building your professional speaking career.  You’ve become so overwhelmed and under enthused about the mundane, but very necessary “housekeeping” aspects of managing your business, that you might even have lost a bit of your drive and passion for getting your message out there. 

One last question: “Could you use some help?”  This might be a difficult one for many of you.  You’re speakers because you want to help others.  Help them achieve their dreams and goals, live better financially and be health-wise, transcend their everyday grind and to live on a higher plane…whatever your message, you are motivated  to be in this business because you are essentially a helper.  This honorable quality which can be so uplifting for the people whom you touch in your speaking career, might also be your own undoing.  An interesting irony is this: “Helpers” are often the last people to ask for help for themselves.  Before they know it they are drowning in details, to-dos and have-tos and all the wind has gone from their sails. 

It doesn’t have to be this way.  Help is already here, virtually at your fingertips. 

A service industry of professionals exists and is ready to help you.  Virtual Assistants (VAs) are administrative experts and professional partners in the running of your business, managing of your office and growth of your career.  They can be a vital resource to help you regain the peace of mind you used to have as you thought about the manageability of your speaking career.  Once you find the right person, or team of people, to assist you, you might find that you have forged one of the pivotal relationships in your career.  And in so doing, you can reconnect to the passion that drives you to put yourself out there as a professional speaker. 

Here are several tips for finding, hiring and working with a Virtual Assistant. 

Define Your Needs and Preferences Ahead of Time

Spend some time defining those tasks and to-dos that you must  accomplish to keep your career going.  Begin by making a “laundry list” of everything you must do in the management of your leads, website, client database, accounting, prospects, presentation development, research, etc.  Once you have this list, use a simple system to rank them in order of preference.  Also, use a simple system to rank them in order of revenue-generation.  You’ll want to begin to think about the “time-traps” that you have in your business, and then cross-reference that with the tasks that translate into good revenue sources.  Eventually, you can start thinking about outsourcing the things you just do not like to do, your “energy-zappers” along with the tasks with high-revenue potential, but which are time-consuming. 

Determine What You Would Be Comfortable Outsourcing

Using your ranked list, decide which items you would like to ask your VA to handle for you.  This is a critical step, because you must be willing to accept a certain amount of risk and loss of control.  You will be turning over these things to someone you most likely have never met, and may never meet.  Your assistant is virtual after all. You have to trust the process, and that can be daunting at first.  Give particular consideration to those activities you spend a lot of time on, or even a lot of little time-bits on, which can end up making you the most money.  Activities such as returning prospects’ phone calls, fielding e-mails and other office correspondence, making sure contracts are signed and deposits are in place on time, booking travel at negotiated discounts, contacting media outlets about you, article publication research and submission, web-maintenance, brand identity creation such as logo design and stationery collateral creation – all this can be outsourced.  You don’t have to start with everything, choose a few things, and give your candidates a trial run.  Let them know that you would like to start slow and see how the relationship and work product develop, and then you will consider adding more time and responsibility.  Any professionally-minded VA will understand your process and be happy to start with you at whatever level of comfort you have. 

Search for Your VA Candidates

There are several sites which have free searchable listings of VAs to help you find just the right person.  An internet search for “virtual assistants” can return hundreds of thousands of hits.  The IVAA, International Virtual Assistants Association (ivaa.org), StaffCentrix.com and AssistU.com are all good sites to try.  In most cases, after posting your request, you’ll have several promising proposals from professional VAs wanting to help.  You can request e-mail only, or ask for phone calls.  Be sure to always speak with your VA over the phone before you make your final selection.  You still need that personal contact to determine if the two of you will “click” – pun intended.  Ask for references, a portfolio of work, check out your candidates’ websites at differing times of the day or week to determine whether they stay on top of their own business identity, enquire about professional insurance and client safeguard practices.  Be wary of VAs who tell you they can “do it all”, as the true generalist expert is elusive.  Ideally, you will find a VA who specializes in working with members of your particular industry and has experience supporting the specific needs of speakers.  Charli Jane Speaker Services can assist you with this process. 

Expect to Get What You Pay For

Ever notice how old adages get old because there is lasting and inherent truth in them?  Well, in the world of cyber-assistance, the old saying holds, “You Get What You Pay For”.  Yes, you can find assistants who will work for you and charge you virtually nothing.  But you run the risk of getting just that in return, virtually nothing.  Most professional VAs in the U.S. & Canada charge between $30 & $60 per hour, depending on the nature of the services you contract for.  Some will offer a flat fee per project, while others may offer a discount for a retainer agreement, in which you pay in advance to reserve a block of time.  Reputable VAs only charge for “time on task”, meaning if they are not working for you, they are not charging you.  You may consider outsourcing overseas to a developing country for basic tasks, but be sure you have iron-clad agreements in place.  Also be sure to have the means to protect yourself should be charged for work that is not performed or is sub-standard.  Use a credit card with a low limit to protect yourself should you need to dispute charges.  Also, if the command of your native language is a must, then look for VAs who possess that as their first language, or can demonstrate mastery if it is not. This is especially important for client and customer care, as it can be very frustrating to harried callers to have to overcome a language gap. 

Always Get Your Agreements in Writing

Not only should you get a written contract with your VA for rates, time-accounting practices, and confidentiality, but you should define also in writing any specific needs and requirements you have.  Things to consider: What are the times and days you will need your VA to be available; do you need live phone coverage; how many times a day do you want your e-mail checked; what are the billing terms; what time-window do you have and what steps do you have to take to cancel the arrangement; will you require a pre-approved back-up for your VAs vacations or emergencies; what privacy practices and security procedures does your VA have in place to protect the confidential information you might share. 

Develop A Fast-Track Training Approach For Your VA

Once you have chosen your VA, you’ll need to spend some time training him.  While a professional and experienced VA should be able to hit the ground running, it might take a few months for her to keep pace right alongside you.  This should be expected.  Training is key to anyone’s success – I don’t need to tell a professional speaker that, right?  So don’t expect your VA to be able to thrive in a sink or swim environment, otherwise you’ll both go under.  You are investing money in yourself and your career, and you need to match that monetary investment with one of time as well. 

Evaluate, Communicate, Facilitate

You’ll need to constantly evaluate the work of your VA, whether formally through reviews, or informally through your e-mail contact.  Give your VA kudos and let her know what great support you are getting.  Don’t be shy about asking for things to change if they are not going as expected.  Bond with your VA.  This may sound funny, but it will be a vital step to getting the best and most out of your VA.  Working virtually can be isolating, for the both of you, and any extra effort made to forge a strong working relationship will be appreciated and pay great dividends.  Help your VA help you.  Don’t expect someone to clairvoyantly know what you need and how you need it to be done.  You can expect a professional VA to have a short learning curve, however, and with your facilitation, your VA will grow to be an integral member of your speaking career management team. 

Develop Opportunities for Growth

Remember, a Virtual Assistant, is an entrepreneurial professional and in most cases, a self-employed business owner.  Keep things challenging and interesting to avoid burn-out.  Offer opportunities to manage your team, work on special projects and presentations, and even consider meeting your VA for a special event if it works for both of you time- and budget-wise.  Most VAs are looking for long-term relationships with their clients, as this helps in the mastery process of a client’s outsourced work.  Build in opportunities for your VA to achieve more with you. 

Expect good things to come from your working with a professional Virtual Assistant.  The right person can support  tremendous growth in your career.  A well-matched professional administrative partner will definitely help put the wind back in your sails.  Bon Voyage!