To become a top virtual assistant, you should acquire the must-have skills regardless of your specialization. These are the minimum skills every client expects you to have before hiring you.
In most cases, clients look for these skills when interviewing you to be their virtual assistant. And you may never know that you are being tested for these skills. For example, consider a scenario where a client books a zoom video call interview. From the start, you are already under a test.
Clients expect you to know how to use communication automation tools such as zoom. And then, they will assess your communication skills as you proceed with the interview.
Some of these skills may seem pretty obvious to you, but not having them may lead you to miss out on promising clients. Find out about these skills below and plan how you’ll acquire them immediately.
Exceptional Communication Skills
Your clients will have different personalities, needs, and approaches to how their projects should be completed. It’s upon you to develop relationships that will make them want to work with you. Having excellent communication skills as a virtual assistant will help you develop these relationships.
For example, do you have the ability to diffuse challenging situations calmly? Your communication skills will also be put to the test with how you market your services to prospective clients.
Email Management Skills
Emails are the largest form of communication in the online world. That is according to a survey on email usage, which revealed that 92% of the digital population in the United States reported using email as a form of communication.
In this regard, email management is not a skill limited to the virtual administrative assistant. Every tech-savvy individual should possess the basic skills to write, respond and forward emails. But your skills should extend beyond this level.
At the very least, you should be able to sort and prioritize emails. Moreover, you should know how to develop professional, personalized email subject lines, especially when communicating with your clients.
But if you are looking to be a competitive VA, there are more email management skills you can learn. Such skills include the inbox zero concepts, creating email signatures, creating a clear system, and how to delete bulk emails.
Moreover, you should also be open to learning automated email marketing. It will help you to remain competitive in the VA industry, including saving on your marketing costs.
Tech-Savvy Skills
Being tech-savvy may have a different meaning for you as a virtual assistant. Basic computer skills and knowledge of computer applications, tools, and technology don’t make you a tech-savvy VA.
Instead, being knowledgeable and acquainted with the business automation tools will make you a tech-savvy VA. You must be proficient in using project management tools like Asana and CRM software such as Dubsado.
Learn how to use the various business automation tools and think of ways they can add value to your VA business and make you more competitive.
Lead Generation Skills
Finding paying clients is not an easy task for anyone working in an online environment. The VA industry is very competitive.
It will help if you have the skills to generate and nurture new leads into paying customers. It is one of the effective customer acquisition techniques. Because you will have developed strong relationships with your lead by the time you get them through to the other end of the sales funnel.
Not to mention that lead generation and sales funnel management are some of the most sought-after skills by VA clients. Learning these skills will benefit you in more ways than one.
Remember, lead generation skill has a close relationship with email marketing. You cannot have one without the other. Because email marketing is one of the ways to push your leads through the sales funnel.
Research Skills
Research is one of the most underrated skills you need as a virtual assistant. The internet is like a vast ocean of information.
Trying to look for relevant information is honestly like trying to find a needle in a haystack. And the bigger challenge is that you will always come across useful information, maybe not the most relevant one.
That’s when your research skills come to the test. For example, you need comparative research skills to compare the best options based on your client’s specific needs.
Your research skills will also come to question when determining your ideal clients. Remember, you must create a buyer persona to identify your ideal clients. You cannot create this persona without thoroughly researching your target market.
On the other hand, research plays a crucial role in developing creative SEO content for your research. Keyword research is one of the vital steps in creating SEO content that ranks competitively.
Time Management Skills
Another underrated skill in the VA industry. You will not be able to maintain numerous clients as a virtual assistant unless you have time management skills.
Proper time management enables you to complete your client’s projects on time. It also allows you to spare enough time to meet with clients and market your services to them.
Specifically, you could focus on learning how to schedule your time and that of the clients. Familiarize yourself with time management tools such as Google Calendar.
You should also be very familiar with the concept of developing time schedules. Ensure that you are familiar with calendar management concepts, such as color coding, buffer time, blocks, and group meetings.
Where to Learn These Skills
You can learn these skills on several platforms including the Royal VA Community. The community opens up learning and networking opportunities for you. From the moment you sign up, you’ll meet experienced VAs ready to mentor you through your journey.