One of the greatest joys I have in running a virtual team is when I get to meet my team members in person. This was the occasion last Monday night in Atlanta, Georgia when I got to meet Amy Whitman who has been on my team for almost 6 months.
The night was full of reminiscing; some work, some personal. Yet, at one point throughout the dinner, Amy said, “You should really write a blog about matching personality types. You are so good at it.” So... here it is, my attempt at sharing my trade secrets of how I find a great match for a client with the lead VA on their account. The reason I am good at this stems from the years that I spent as a coach. Therefore, be ready for a very long golf metaphor throughout this blog.
1 - I spend a lot of time observing:
As a golf coach, you have to know what you are working with before you can really change or improve on anything. The saying goes, “if it ain't broke, don’t fix it.” With that in mind, I spent the first few weeks observing my players: in practice, qualifying rounds and in tournaments before I really implemented any change.
In business, I do the same thing:
I start with a Discovery Call which I make a point of spending at least 50% if not more on understanding the person and their business.
The next step is sending a Daily Assistants Administration Analysis. This is where I get to have a potential client list all of their current administrative tasks as well as their goals in looking to hire a VA.
Then, there is an hour-long consultation. This is where the potential client takes center stage. During this call, I really seek to understand the client, their workflow, their objectives, and what we can really do for them.
2 - I seek to understand the Goal:
Anyone who has been following my blogs knows I love goals, goal setting, and manifesting them.
This also started in my golf coaching days. At the beginning of the year, we always set our team goals. We set the BIG goal for the year, broke it down to the three primary goals to get there, and worked our way down to the three things we had to do as daily or weekly practice objectives to achieve them.
With our clients, I do the same thing. When we have our Consult Call, I always ask:
What would you like to implement if you had money, time, and resources to do so?
What is your goal this year in hiring a VA?
3 - I find the match in personality:
The golf metaphor is not quite the same here; still, it has some similarity. The match needs to be someone who is going to challenge each to excel and uplift each other. In golf, that means that I would constantly pair my players in qualifying rounds with someone who could be a competitor and a cheerleader at the same time.
When matching our clients with our team members, I am doing the same. If I have a very high task client who is amazing at getting tasks done, I will match them with a team member who is a little more laid back to give ease and flow to their work. If I have a client who is a little more laid back, I will assign a team member who is a little more task-oriented.
4 - I rely on Synergy:
The last item is really more intuitive than processable. At the bottom of my goals each year, I write, “I Am Attracting Clients and Team Members I Love.”
With this intention, I really pay attention to only hiring team members who have a synergy with me and the rest of the team. In building contracts with our clients, I seek to only work with clients that I have a great rapport.
It has been the key to my success in attracting great team members and clients. When all of my energy aligns with both team members and clients, then the match between team members and clients also aligns.
It really is like magic!
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Written by MerriLyn Gibbs
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