How to Maintain a Personal Touch Via a Virtual Assistant

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Q&A was part of Next Level Practice, the most supportive community for therapists starting a private practice. In this video, Joe answers the question based on how to maintain a personal touch via a virtual assistant.

Question

How do you maintain a personal touch via a virtual assistant?

Answer

So I have a question for you… Which one would be weirder? Imagine you lost your primary care physician – they moved or something – you had to have a new one and you called this new primary care physician. She answered the phone, she talked to you, it felt personal, and then she took all your insurance billing information. She did all the reminder phone calls, she was the one emailing you, and when you went to the office it was only her. Versus, you call someone, they say ‘Dr. Smith isn’t available right now, if you want to speak with her I’m happy to put you into her schedule to have a quick 10 minute call before you come in’. And then, you come in and there’s a friendly receptionist, or someone that has helped you with the paperwork ahead of time, and then you meet that person. Which one feels more professional? I can guess that it’s going to probably be the second one.

So, when you have a barrier between yourself and your clients, that person does a couple of things. For one, you can move faster because when you’re in a session that person can be getting you scheduled. They could be scheduling a time if you need to talk to that person. If someone seems hesitant, your assistant could say:

‘Hey, you know what, {insert therapist’s name} would love to chat with you, but it looks like she isn’t opening. Her session ends at 2:30pm and we could schedule you in at 2:35pm, right after that, so she has a couple of minutes to do her notes and then give you a call for about 10 minutes. Does that work for your schedule?’

Then, there’s a time limit there and they know that it’s going to be brief. They know that they’re already set up to come in. It actually adds to your professionalism. Whereas if you do all of that, it slows things down. It also makes you appear less professional and, honestly, it’s a terrible use of your time. I mean if you get stuck on a call for half an hour that’s free, before someone comes in, that’s a half hour you could have been seeing your client. And that’s less likely to happen when you have a virtual assistant.

Joseph R. Sanok, MA, LLP, LPC, NCC

Joe Sanok is an ambitious results expert. He is a private practice business consultant and counselor that helps small businesses and counselors in private practice to increase revenue and have more fun! He helps owners with website design, vision, growth, and using their time to create income through being a private practice consultant. Joe was frustrated with his lack of business and marketing skills when he left graduate school. He loved helping people through counseling, but felt that often people couldn’t find him. Over the past few years he has grown his skills, income, and ability to lead others, while still maintaining an active private practice in Traverse City, MI. To link to Joe’s Google+ .

How to Maintain a Personal Touch Via a Virtual Assistant

Question

Answer

Joseph R. Sanok, MA, LLP, LPC, NCC

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