Since June 2011 I’ve had the great honor of being the “Delegation Expert” in a series of guest blog posts for Lisa Robbin Young’s Direct Sales Classroom. Each month I share another step in the process of getting comfortable with delegation.
How to delegate?
Whenever I tell someone I’m a Virtual Assistant they generally want to know these three things:
- How does it work?
- How do you get the work?
- How do we work together…virtually??
Technology has made it easier than ever to provide this type of service. Here are my top picks for HOW to delegate virtually:
- Email – Nothing too high tech about email, it’s a fast, easy, uncomplicated way to communicate. I tell my clients “email is always open” and my policy is to respond to your email within 24 hours. You can email a task whenever you need to, even if it’s the middle of the night, knowing it won’t be an intrusion and, more important, won’t be forgotten.
- Dropbox – This online tool is fast becoming one of my favorites! Dropbox allows clients to share documents without having to email them, which is especially helpful when dealing with large files. Once installed on your computer you save files to it as you would any other folder on your computer, and like “magic” they appear in the matching folder on my computer as well. This allows for much easier editing and sharing of information.
- LogMeIn – Sometimes there are programs that exist only on your computer, but the fact that some of the work is not online does not have to stop you from delegating. LogMeIn allows me to remotely access your computer (with your permission) and work on your computer as if I was there in person.
- Mail – Traditional USPS mail. Yes, with flat rate envelopes you can affordably send your hardcopy documents to me to work on for you, and have mailed back to you when completed.
- Scanner/FAX – If you prefer to hold on to your original documents, you always scan and put them in an email attachment, into Dropbox or fax them to me.
There are many, many other tools available to work virtually, these are just a few favorites. As you can see, delegating to a Virtual Assistant can be either high-tech, low-tech or somewhere in between. Where there’s a will there’s a way, and a VA has many tools available to help make the process as smooth as possible. Don’t let the “virtual” part scare or intimidate you.
Put all the pieces together, WHAT, WHO and HOW and you have the first steps of plan to stop the overwhelming feeling you get when your tasks get away from you. Get back to what you do best and delegate the rest!
