I am a virtual PA/EA and I have found that the hardest thing is building a relationship of trust virtually. These type of relationships are so much easier to build face-to-face. I´ve written some posts about this already.
I´m thinking of writing a white paper on this particular subject and I would really value any input you might have on building trust relationships with clients.
For example I like to use Skype and ´phone calls to explain what is needed from me, but also what is needed from the client. I explain that building a thorough trust relationship might take up to a year. References help as clients are more willing to trust me when they know others have with good results.

Any input is welcome. I´ll be reading up on this also in more scientific publications and I hope something will come out of it.
Many thanks for reading this.
Hilde

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Hilde
www.vbbassociates.com

Hi Hilde,
Great question! I think that transparency and articulate communication are just a few of the things that are crucial to developing trust with a new client. To me that means being very professional, organized, approachable, responsive... Never leaving a client to wonder if their request has been received, if their project is underway, if the deadline is going to be met, etc.

I try to treat clients the way I appreciate being treated by service providers I work with. When communication is vague, or worse, if there's no communication at all, the relationship will invariably falter. Of course this has to be balanced - you can't be at the client's beck and call. Office hours and business policies and procedures need to be established and honored - and I do feel that clarifying those early on with a client can help alleviate any potential anxiety they may have about working virtually. For example, if you only respond to emails twice a day and never after hours or on weekends, let them know all of this up front so the client isn't left to wonder if their email wasn't received or has been ignored.

As I think of other issues to add I'll post back!

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Love the amount of thought you've put into this, clearly a very valuable part of a VA business. I'd be interested to see what others may have to say on the topic.

Funny how this came up again. I posted this not so very long ago, but have found that it no longer presents a problem.
Tess´ advice was very good and practice makes perfect. Nice to see this again.

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Hilde
www.vbbassociates.com