Status calls are standing appointments on a specific day and time with your Virtual Assistant clients on either a weekly, biweekly or even monthly basis. They are a great way to cut down on unnecessary phone calls, emails, and other types of messages and free up some of your precious time.
Status Calls Length + Frequency
They can be anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes depending on the client. You may need to figure this out as you go along. For example, you could start all your status calls at 20 minutes every other week and then adjust accordingly.
I had clients I met with weekly for 30 minutes and others I met with once a month for only 15. The key is to adjust based on each client’s needs.
What Do You Talk About?
I would create a standing agenda to keep it simple. You can even share it with your clients during the kick-off call which is when you should schedule these calls initially. Here’s my status call agenda:
- Update on current work.
- Address any outstanding items and/or issues.
- Questions and answers.
Reasons For Status Calls
It’s to cut down on unnecessary calls with your Virtual Assistant clients. You know the ones that come in all day almost every day. Explain to your clients that one of the reasons you have these standing status calls is to help you to stay focused on the work you’re doing for them. It’s how you run your business.
I don’t know about you but when I answered an unscheduled call (I don’t do this anymore), it was really hard to get refocused on what I was doing before the call. I would end up eating 30 minutes of my time trying to get back on track. So the short of it is to get back some of your precious time.
They also set you apart from other Virtual Assistants and demonstrate your professionalism. Status calls are part of delivering a first-class experience to your clients.
How To Schedule Them
The best way is to batch them. What I mean is to pick one day a week and dedicate it as a “call day”. For example, Wednesdays could be the day of the week you do all your calls. You could start with one day a week and then add another if needed. That is what I did. Remember, you’re being paid for these calls since you’re discussing each client’s business.
Lastly, if a client starts to blow off their status calls with you or continually shows up late, be sure to address it head-on. I know it’s not fun, but you need to be clear on your boundaries. Remember, we teach our clients how to work with us.
Status calls are such a great way to foster client relationships as well as keeping you up to date on what’s going on in their life and business. I wouldn’t take on a client that was not willing to commit to at least one 15-minute per month with me. To me, it’s that important.
Don’t miss learning more about the processes and simple hacks that will help you to build a professional 1st class business relationship with your clients in my post, VA Client Management 101: How To Show You’re Worth Every Penny!
How often do you have status calls with your clients? I’d love to know. Please take a moment to leave me a comment and share your thoughts.
Thanks for reading and listening – Susan
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