An internet virtual assistant can put your online wealth generation machine into overdrive, but you have to know where to find a great assistant and how to evaluate potential assistants.

Where you look for an internet virtual assistant depends somewhat on the tasks you need to outsource. If you need a logo or graphics work, 99designs.com has a good reputation. With 99designs, you describe your project and specify your budget. Designers submit their designs and you choose a winner from all of the submissions.

For website work or computer programming RentACoder.com is popular. I use Elance.com because you can find just about any kind of VA you need – website design, administrative tasks, finance, legal, research, engineering, etc. There are over 80,000 experts on Elance!

After you write up a description of your project and submit it, potential assistants see your new project and submit bids for your job. I also proactively search for potential candidates and ask the ones I think are best for my tasks to submit a bid on my project.

After you have bids on your project, the next phase of the process starts, internet virtual assistant evaluation. Here are the 7 things to look at to rate assistants:

1. Reviews from previous clients. The ratings must be stellar. If there is a history of miscommunication, unprofessionalism, or schedule issues I pass.

2. Their profile. Is it complete? Do they show samples of their work if applicable?

3. The number of projects they have done. Even though you can get new virtual assistants for a cheaper hourly rate, I would avoid them. You just don’t want to take the chance of an unknown.

4. Number of repeat customers. Many services such as Elance give you stats on how many of their projects are with repeat clients. The higher the percentage of repeat business the better.

5. How do they communicate and report status? Are they available during my business hours or do you need to communicate with them in the middle of the night?

6. Do they take initiative? Do they seek you out in a professional manner to get selected for my project?

7. How long does it take them to do tasks. Depending on the task this may be difficult to determine up front. But for well defined tasks like submitting articles to article directories they should be able to tell you how long it takes to submit to one directory. They may have a cheaper hourly rate than another internet virtual assistant but if it takes them twice as long to do tasks they will be more expensive in the end.

Selecting an online virtual assistant is a very important decision that can cost you time and money if you do not get one that is a good fit for you and your project. Take the necessary time to investigate candidates and it will save you lots of time down the road.

By following these 7 criteria I have always found exceptional virtual assistants. You’ll be amazed at how much easier your life becomes and how much more work gets done in your business with a great virtual assistant on your team.
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