Is The “Virtual Assistant” Title Really That Important Anyways?
In a “reflective moment”, I was recently processing much of the dialogue spurred on by Erin Blaske’s thought provoking post last week:
The Future of the Virtual Assistance Industry - An Open Conversation
I think these kind of discussions are great for helping you to further evaluate how you want to be known in your business. Here are a few final thoughts for what it is worth….
I know there is much discussion pertaining to the “true” definition of a Virtual Assistant. But, is the Virtual Assistant title or ANY title for that matter really important to the overall success of your business - I would say NO!
I remember attending my Grad Reunion a number of years ago and fielding the common question, “What do you do?” The natural inclination for most of us might be to give your title: “I am the CEO of VAClassroom.com (Well my wife is actually:)) or I am an Internet Marketing Specialist. I think as humans, we feel the need to label ourselves as if it gives us a higher level of recognition or something. What I have come to realize on a personal level is that is does not matter what title I have in my career, but MORE importantly, what I accomplish, the integrity by which I run my business and ultimately how I positively impact others!
So, if you were to ask me what I do right now, I would not say I am the CEO of VAClassroom…. I would say that I help Virtual Assistants develop new skills to grow successful VA businesses. You see, I would rather not be known for the title or position I have held but rather for what I have done or accomplished that has helped or impacted others!
So my point here is that you may want to be known by your clients, not as a “Virtual Assistant”, but rather as:
“That person that helped them skillfully set-up and manage all their webinar and teleclasses”
“That person that coordinated all their business travel plans”
“That person that effectively managed all their outsourced projects.”
“That Person that helped them expand their business presence in the Social Networks”
The list goes on….
It is the skills that you bring to the table that will be mentioned and referred on by your clients to others. “Hey, I know a great person that can set-up and manage all your email auto-responder campaigns”. The important thing here is the excellence you bring to the services you provide and the integrity by which you do it! That is the hallmark of a successful “Virtual Assistant” or whatever you want to call yourself - it really doesn’t matter!
I also really like this “Personal Branding” expert`s commentary on the topic of a job title here:
Your Personal Brand Statement is NOT a Job Title.
Just a few random thoughts percolating in my brain today:)
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2 Responses to “Is The “Virtual Assistant” Title Really That Important Anyways?”
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Great post Craig. I think Virtual Assistants feel like they are at grad reunions everyday when they field that awkward question, “what the heck is a VA?” - “assistants at a distance” I say… but they still look like a deer in the headlights. It’s all in the description of the tasks you can do for them that really gets their eyes to widen and clarity to set in. The concept of a VA, the ideals and the help we bring to people certainly overshadows the name.
Theresa
Theresa Scholes’s last blog post..Video Marketing in the Web 2.0 World
I also find too that - outside of my virtual community - people don’t know what a VA is anyways. My parents still don’t have a clue how I make a living, LOL!
So when i’m asked the ‘what do you do?’ question I tend to say either Internet Marketing Consultant or that I help people build their businesses online. That seems to make sense to most people, online or off.
I agree that it is so much more effective to tell people ‘how you help’ as opposed to giving them your title.
Tina Forsyth’s last blog post..If it’s not broken, don’t fix it!