Not keeping the client in the picture.

Some clients will get very anxious if they don’t hear from you within an expected time frame and will either go off and find someone else to help them or get very annoyed when they do connect with you.

Always a good idea to ask what the time frame is and make sure you report back regularly if a large or long project or regular ongoing work.  And particularly for new clients – they won’t know what to expect and for many, using a VA for the first time can be an unknown event for them – they may be expecting it to not work, so why not surprise them?

I know there are clients who don’t respond to your emails or phone calls and that is very frustrating.  But it is best that you make the attempt than have them complain because they don’t hear from you.

I have weekly phone meetings with one client and then report back via email throughout the week as I progress her work. Another client and I are in contact almost daily via email, again simply reporting back.

A client of one of my team was recently anxious because she got no responses to her emails or her phone messages and contacted me to find out what was going on.  24 hours, 2 days, 4 days, can seem like a long time when the client expects to get a reply email or return call on the same day and it doesn’t happen.

To save any misunderstandings, make sure you maintain regular communication with your client and diarise it if you need to until it becomes a habit.  You’ll be glad you did.

mistakes VAs make, communication, time frame, workload, client support