Blog: Distributed Teams For The Win

Donna Marie
March 17, 2022
Freelancing Practice Tips

15 Virtual Assistant Terms You Should Know

two women pointing at virtual assistant terms

Once you start working as a Virtual Assistant, you’ll come across some terminologies that are thrown at you every now and then. Whether you’re talking to your boss or asking for help from someone, knowing these virtual assistant terms will help you stay on the same page and understand the conversation.

Virtual Assistant

It’s a general term used to describe an individual who works remotely. Meaning this is someone who’s helping a client without being in the same room or office.

Task

It’s a work or job that needs to be completed. As a virtual assistant, your tasks can range from email handling, appointment setting, calls, follow-ups, and so on.

RFP

It’s an acronym for “Request for Proposal.” When you’re under negotiation with a client, some will request a proposal in which you will state your terms and conditions. A proposal can also be in terms of a new project that you feel will be beneficial to your client’s business.

Email Marketing

Some businesses and companies have a list of emails that they use to get in touch with their clients. These emails are often gathered through a subscription list, and these individuals are your client’s subscribers. When you’re tasked with email marketing, you’ll be responsible for communicating with them. For this task, you have to be familiar with email marketing services like Mailchimp, Constant Contact, SendinBlue, Drip, ConvertKit, and so on.

Outsourcing

This is a practice done by getting a different person outside of your client’s team or company to fulfill a task. Frequently, VA’s need to perform outsourcing when your client has a project that you can’t handle because you’ve got too much on your plate. It’s usually a temporary arrangement and often done for projects that need to be done ASAP.

Subcontractor

This is in relation to outsourcing. If you got a VA to do your work for you, that VA is a subcontractor. If you’re the one who got the job from another VA and you have no direct contact with the client, you’re the subcontractor. It’s a three-person arrangement with a middleman involved. That middleman is the one who oversees the tasks and delivers the output to the client.

Funnel

You can’t talk about email marketing without talking about funnels. A funnel is where you will guide clients/buyers through certain stages to reach a conversion or sales. One prime example is when you shop in Lazada and Shopee. You view a product, you add it to a cart, then you check out. It’s called a funnel because the process narrows at the end of the conversion. However, once you master funnels, you’ll be a great asset to your client.

Help Desk

Companies often deal with questions about their products and services. Since you’re working virtually, your client will create a help desk where all customer queries are collected. From here, you’ll be able to answer their concerns, and monitor the progress of the interaction until it reaches a solution. If you handle customer service, this is the one of the common virtual assistant terms you’ll come across.

Content creation

This has got to be one of the most taxing roles of a virtual assistant. This term describe the process of identifying and creating a topic that will generate interest. The topics can then be transformed as a social media post, web content, blog, video, podcast, eBook, or infographic.

Content Management

As a virtual assistant, you’ll be in charge of content management, whether you’ve created them or not. This is the process of organizing all the delivered content and using them in the best way possible for publishing.

Contract

This is the most crucial aspect of your virtual assistant business. When you accept a job offer in VAJobs.ph, it’s essential to have a contract or agreement with your client. By using a contract, you state the terms of the relationship between you and your client. This often states:

  • Your role in the project
  • Your designated tasks
  • The hours you’re required to give every week
  • Working schedule (e.g. PST, Manila time, etc)
  • Outputs or deliverables required
  • Payment (i.e. mode of payment, payment schedule)

Cloud storage

This makes file sharing convenient and easy between you and your client as well as the team. Instead of sending files that can get buried under chat or email exchanges, cloud storage makes it accessible for everyone in a snap. Common cloud storage solutions that are free include Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, and Media Fire.

Voice/Video Recording

Whenever you send an application, there are clients that will ask you to make a voice or video recording of yourself. Thanks to the advancement of smartphones, you can record hi-quality voice and video for your application. Usually, a voice or video recording will need:

  • An introduction of yourself
  • Your history and experience as a virtual assistant
  • Your goals as a virtual assistant

When you make the recording, make sure you’re in a quiet area. If you need to lock yourself in the comfort room do so! You have to make an effort to look presentable. Style your hair, women should wear makeup (simple foundation and lipstick will do), and have a plain, white background. A curtain, white cartolina, or white illustration board can make excellent backgrounds.

NDA

Some clients will ask you to sign an NDA or non-disclosure agreement. Also known as a confidentiality agreement, it’s a contract between you and your client that states that you won’t share any information or access to third parties. In other words, people who are not involved in your projects such as your friends, relatives, and colleagues.

Do you have other virtual assistant terms thrown at you while exploring the VA industry? Let us know in the comment section!

Photo by Mimi Thian on Unsplash


About the Author

Donna Marie Fajardo is the co-founder of VAJobs.ph – a leading marketplace for Filipino Virtual Assistants working remotely, based in the Philippines. She is an experienced professional and coaches up and coming VAs. Previously, she was a project manager for Redkix (acquired by Facebook) and was a web producer for Socient – a digital agency for non-profits and social enterprises.