“Let Me Teach Your Virtual Assistant” - EXCUSE ME????
I’ve gotten to the point that I get soooooo many newsletters, tips, etc. that I’ve told myself I need to cut some out.
There is a publicity “expert” that I have been getting information and tips from for quite some time. Some of it has been useful, some of it I already knew but was probably useful for others.
OK - this publicity “expert” has made it easy for me to unsubscribe from one list - HERS!
She is now selling a training seminar geared towards Virtual Assistants (OK, we’re used to being sold to), and interns. But she’s not really selling it to us - she’s selling it to . . . I guess she thinks - our employers????
When did a VA get into the same boat as an intern? And why is she not really selling it to us, but to our clients (who she is obviously thinking of as our employers)? “Send me your Virtual Assistant . . . ”
EXCUSE ME!!!! . . . but my clients don’t “send me” to someone for training. They may ask me if I can do something and if I answer no, they may ask if it’s something I’m interested in doing. If my answer is yes, and they offer to pay for training, well, that’s one thing. But, really, I will be the one to determine what services to offer my clients. I have absolutely NO PROBLEM in paying for and getting the training *I* need for the services I decide to offer.
This is just so icky. And to add to the ick, the professional Virtual Assistance association I belong to, the VACOC (Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce) - had this woman as a guest expert and she spoke to and probably garnered some sales from the seminar. Did she come back and speak to our founder or any other members? Nope, just went on her merry way and really pissed a LOT of us off with this demeaning and not well thought out sales copy.
Of course, there are some VA organizations that are behind her.The old affiliate links and “we’ll promote your crap if you promote ours” sort of thing.
Ick - ick - ick (this is me with the eebie jeebies)
tfu-tfu-tfu (this is me spitting 3 times)
ahhhhhhh (this is me cleansing to rid myself of all these negative thoughts and demons)
Technorati Tags: publicity, Virtual Assistant, Virtual Assistance, VACOC, Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce
May 30th, 2007 at 10:18 pm
It’s rather sad that someone trying to sell a training seminar geared toward Virtual Assistants does not truly grasp what a VA is and does. Perhaps we should all get together and run a seminar titled “How to run a seminar that is actually beneficial to the Virtual Assistant Industry.”
May 30th, 2007 at 10:26 pm
I agree with you wholeheartedly. Perhaps the other VA organizations don’t know what she thinks about our profession. If they did, and are dedicated to the professions efforts, they’d drop her like a hot potato. Let’s create a training class for her “Send me your idiot and we’ll show them that VA’s ROCK!!!”
May 31st, 2007 at 4:34 pm
Great post, Joy. We, as professional VAs, have to be the ones to get the real word out about us and our industry.
Hopefully, this will make this expert stop and think before she puts out something so demeaning again!
June 1st, 2007 at 9:06 am
I totally agree with you! And Vickie you are right, we have to get the truth out there. We are not an employees!!!!!!!!!!
June 1st, 2007 at 9:21 am
I really don’t think she meant to be demeaning. I think she made a bad judgement in her marketing. (We’re all entitled to mistakes.)
I also think she is very talented and has great info to share with the world, including the virtual assistant world.
So I sent her an email telling her that I felt her newest venture was offensive, and why.
First, we are business owners, not employees.
Second, if I do not provide publicity as a service, I don’t want my client to send me to school to learn it. I will recommend another VA who does provide that service.
Third, if I was commissioned by a client to do publicity services and I am not doing a good job, then my relationship with that client will end fairly quickly, I would think.
June 1st, 2007 at 1:50 pm
I laughed when I saw “EXCUSE ME!!” in my Google alerts. You’ve captured my thoughts very well. And I unsubscribed to her newsletter immediately upon receiving the advertisement. I wonder what kind of expert she can be if she’s marketing to the VA profession (or rather, our clients) but doesn’t seem to have a clue as to who we are.
June 1st, 2007 at 3:04 pm
I am not sure I understand why you find this course “demeaning” - It is not about “training” your VA so much as (in my view) helping small business owners and entrepreneurs to learn how to delegate and work with a VA. Many people don’t have a clue how to do it, and they need help, but feel they have to have a person sitting in their office so they can watch everything they do, and - as one guy told me - “strangle the pest if need be.” It is not just the technology that people are confused about, but the way you give clear instructions, feedback and follow through, that can make or break the relationship. Especially if you are a “do-it-yourselfer” it can be difficult to communicate and collaborate. Give the lady a break - the more people learn how to delegate and are willing to hire a VA, the better for the VA industry. If you don’t have clients, you don’t have a job.
June 1st, 2007 at 3:38 pm
Linda,
I hear what you are saying, but I would have to say that VAs need to be “training” the business world how to work with us, not a publicity, marketing, advertising or other kind of expert.
I don’t think her intention was training business people how to work with a VA, I didn’t get that at all. What she wants business people to do is “send me your VA for training”. This is the part I take offense to.
I would hope that any of my clients would be quick to say that I’m honest about what I know and don’t know how to do (have some some nightmares
while learning something new, but readily admit it) and am more than willing to learn something on their behalf - IF IT’S A SERVICE I’M INTERESTED IN PROVIDING.
But, quite honestly, if one of my clients approached me with this language “I’m going to send you for training” we’d have a serious problem.
I guess it all boils down to whether you decide to allow your clients to think of you as an employee, telecommuter, or secretarial service. I know many VAs do, but I think they are doing themselves and the profession a disservice.
Food for thought - would I call my CPA or Electrician and say “hey, I saw the community college is running a course on XYZ - I’m going to send you to it.” No, of course not, they are a professional service provider and I would not be working with them if I didn’t feel as though they were keeping up with the latest on what they needed to know to take care of me. The day may come when I ask them to tackle a job that they don’t do. Does that mean I should tell them I’m sending them for training because they don’t know what they are doing? It’s all a choice, and as business owners, WE should be the ones making the choice.
I put myself into that category. Professional service provider and I choose what services to offer.
Thanks for stopping by with your opinion! I really like good discussion and am not afraid to say we need to agree to disagree!
Namaste ~ ~ ~
Joy
June 1st, 2007 at 3:57 pm
Crystal,
While I certainly don’t think this was done with any bad intent, it really was a big mistake. I had always found her information useful and recommended her to my clients who did not know of her.
I don’t feel as though I can do that anymore.
One of the first rules of thumb when it comes to PR/Advertising/Marketing - is to know your audience and speak to them.
The time clearly was not taken to do this. Or it was not done with VAs that are running true, successful practices. That does something to my feeling of respect and I can not and will not recommend something to someone that I can not 100% stand behind and approve of.
I know there are different schools of thought on this and she is receiving some backing from some VA organizations and my opinion is only one in a vast sea.
I try to look for a silver lining in everything. I’m hoping that through this apparent blunder, perhaps there will be some business owners out there that have never heard of a Virtual Assistant before and go to search out who we are and what we do - and get to the right places to find out *how* we do it. They may start out with the wrong impression but there are plenty of us out there that strive to educate.
Thanks for stopping by!
Namaste ~ ~ ~
Joy
June 1st, 2007 at 3:59 pm
Hello there Chris, Jasmine, Vickie, Alicia, and Karen - some of my VACOC buddies!
Thanks for stopping by and leaving your voice on the matter - always great to hear from you!
Namaste ~ ~ ~
Joy
June 1st, 2007 at 4:35 pm
Really interesting comments!
I was just reading Linda Lupowitz’s comment and wanted to point out that that in my opinion, the only people who should be training clients on how to delegate is their VA themselves. I have fabulous clients these days, but they’d have another thing coming if they thought they were going to just start delegating things their way or according to someone else’s plan. The only processes that apply in MY business for how my clients and I will work together are my own–no one elses. VAs need to stop being children in their own businesses, and letting everyone else make the rules for them, and start taking charge of their own businesses and processes. It’s the professional’s role to let clients know how things work. And then together from that foundation, your relationship and processes will evolve from there.
June 4th, 2007 at 9:13 am
Thanks for the replies - I guess I just don’t get what the issue is with this course. If you look at all the resources and advanced level training that is being offered (at a price of course, but the client is supposed to pay it, not the VA) then you can see that it covers a tremendous amount of information and detailed processes for p.r. and internet marketing. I don’t see why this is demeaning, especially if someone else wants to pay for your education. There are different levels of virtual assistance - I assume most of you consider yourselves all-around professionals, and that’s great - but there are also lots of people who want to telecommute and do a specific job, who could benefit from this course. The field is expanding rapidly and there is alway more to learn. Good luck to all of you!
June 4th, 2007 at 11:43 am
Linda,
Well that’s just it.
Telecommuters are telecommuters - not Virtual Assistants. It really muddies the waters and makes it harder for the business community to know “what” they are looking for.
Some really want and need a telecommuter. Nothing wrong with that at all.
BUT, that model is an employee model. The VA model is not. There is a HUGE difference in the relationship between VA and client (not VA and employer).
It’s like cucumbers and zucchini. They may look somewhat similar, but don’t act the same in a salad or stir fry.
I don’t think anyone is saying the course has nothing to offer. We’re objecting to the packaging.