vandu
09-09-2008, 10:52 PM
When it comes to VA's..my mind has so many questions. Tim has cleared up some of them and I am sure that once I try a VA or two..i will be even less confused. But if anyone here can answer some of my remaining questions (listed below), I'd appreciate it a ton. Thanks.
1. how can i be sure of the quality of the work the VA is doing? for simple tasks..it's easy, they either do it or they don't. but other tasks are hard to be sure of. for ex. If i ask a VA to screen leads for me..how can i be sure that he/she screens ALL of the leads..and not ignore a chunk of them altogether and then tell me the 'ignored chunk' didnt pass the screening?
2. also, to screen leads, i may have to give them an e-mail address password to check..and perhaps set up a voicemail system for them to check. regarding the e-mail..again there is this trust issue..how can i be sure they don't just delete leads?
Another example: if i want my VA to do some regular on-line advertising for me on various sources, and then send me the respondents..how can i know that first, they placed the ad in all the sources I wanted them to..and that they captured all the respondents?
3. and as for the screening, I will need the VA to call the lead.. in which case perhaps it would be better to have a domestic VA than international? or is long-distance calling not an issue for an Indian VA screening leads in the u.s.?
4. I'm thinking of limitations of VAs in India--besides doing something where they have to be 'in-person". Another one -mailing. If I need help with snail-mail mailings..say sending letters/postcards to a target market..i guess a domestic VA is makes much more sense right?
5. If I have an Indian VA and I dont' like the job and don't feel like paying for poor work (and i'm in the u.s.), who handles this? Can they take me to 'indian' court?
6. payment of bills--that's some private info to give to a VA. what is the extent of private info people give to VAs? i would think bank account is not a good idea. credit card ok. what do you guys think? what about e-mail and password? again..big trust factor.
7. Also, do VA's always charge by the hour? and then add to that any expenses incurred from doing the work (making reservation payments, purchasing things, etc). is this right? one of my first questions about VAs was: how do you keep track of hours. Ie..how do you know they are not overcharging by inflating the hours. I think Tim answered this one..just ask them to spend a set amount of time on a job and then STOP work and give you a report. correct? also..break things down into small tasks..and give them one at a time.
These questions may sound skeptical but really i'm just curious since this is so new to me. i'm excited about trying it out.
1. how can i be sure of the quality of the work the VA is doing? for simple tasks..it's easy, they either do it or they don't. but other tasks are hard to be sure of. for ex. If i ask a VA to screen leads for me..how can i be sure that he/she screens ALL of the leads..and not ignore a chunk of them altogether and then tell me the 'ignored chunk' didnt pass the screening?
2. also, to screen leads, i may have to give them an e-mail address password to check..and perhaps set up a voicemail system for them to check. regarding the e-mail..again there is this trust issue..how can i be sure they don't just delete leads?
Another example: if i want my VA to do some regular on-line advertising for me on various sources, and then send me the respondents..how can i know that first, they placed the ad in all the sources I wanted them to..and that they captured all the respondents?
3. and as for the screening, I will need the VA to call the lead.. in which case perhaps it would be better to have a domestic VA than international? or is long-distance calling not an issue for an Indian VA screening leads in the u.s.?
4. I'm thinking of limitations of VAs in India--besides doing something where they have to be 'in-person". Another one -mailing. If I need help with snail-mail mailings..say sending letters/postcards to a target market..i guess a domestic VA is makes much more sense right?
5. If I have an Indian VA and I dont' like the job and don't feel like paying for poor work (and i'm in the u.s.), who handles this? Can they take me to 'indian' court?
6. payment of bills--that's some private info to give to a VA. what is the extent of private info people give to VAs? i would think bank account is not a good idea. credit card ok. what do you guys think? what about e-mail and password? again..big trust factor.
7. Also, do VA's always charge by the hour? and then add to that any expenses incurred from doing the work (making reservation payments, purchasing things, etc). is this right? one of my first questions about VAs was: how do you keep track of hours. Ie..how do you know they are not overcharging by inflating the hours. I think Tim answered this one..just ask them to spend a set amount of time on a job and then STOP work and give you a report. correct? also..break things down into small tasks..and give them one at a time.
These questions may sound skeptical but really i'm just curious since this is so new to me. i'm excited about trying it out.