How Do You Source VAs?

Hey, guys! Nicole Espinosa here, the Short Sale Queen. Today, you’re going to learn how to source virtual assistants, how to train them, and what to do with them once you find them. Let’s get to it.

Sourcing Virtual Assistants

Alright, you kept asking, “Okay, Nicole, this is great. I know about freelance virtual assistant, but where do I source them? What do I do with them? How do I train them, and what do you look for?” Today, that’s what we’re going to go over.

Where to Find Virtual Assistants

Virtual assistants sound great in concept, but like hiring anyone else, whether virtual or in person, you need to know where to start. For us, we have our own company that we use. I’ve had Daniela and her team for the last 10-12 years, longer than my in-house employees. I found her through another third-party servicing company. Different companies will find VAs and train them, depending on what you’re looking for.

Specific Needs for Different Roles

If you’re in real estate and looking for cold calling, those are different VAs than those needed for transaction management or administrative services. It’s important to find someone with the specific experience required. For instance, finding a VA experienced in cold calling can be daunting. They need to know how to handle objections and have the stamina for phone work.

Successful Training Tips

For us, El Salvador has been a great source for candidates, we didn’t have a lot of success with the Philippines. The pay range is completely different. We pay a bit more, but our VAs last longer because the problem is how much time are you going to spend trying to find somebody, training them just for them to burn out in three weeks? I mean, it is exhausting.
So for us, we have a system in place where we know what we’re looking for, we have all of the roles in place, and now it’s just a plug-and-play.

Key Points to Consider

1. Past Experience: Ensure the VA’s experience matches the role.
2. Communication Skills: Evaluate their ability to carry on conversations during the interview.
3. Specific Role Understanding: Understand the role yourself to guide and train effectively.
4. Clear Expectations: Use tools like Loom to record and explain tasks clearly.
5. Build a System: We have a comprehensive system with two-week training, recorded calls, and clear documentation. This helps ensure our VAs meet expectations and perform well.

The first two weeks when you hire someone are extremely crucial, allowing them to tell you that they don’t understand something and seeing if they are a good fit because they could have done really well in the interview.

Engage with Us

If you need a VA, we can connect and get you onboarded and kind of walk you through that process, feel free to call or email us for more information.

I’ll see you guys next time.