About a month ago I was contacted by a telephone answering service in NYC. One of the managers found me on LinkedIn and said they were looking for a virtual assistant whom they could refer their clients to. Their clients are signed up for their call answering service but apparently they often ask if they also offer admin/virtual assistant services (which they do not).

They sent me a proposal which I think looks good. Basically I can offer call answering services through them at a slightly higher monthly rate and I keep the extra amount. I sent my contact an email today to find out what kind of percentage they would want from me should they send me a client they sign. Waiting to hear back.

My question is, should there be just one main contract with them regarding clients? Like should the language indicate the two packages they offer and what my share of that would be and, vice versa, what the percentage I give them monthly for sending me a signed client? Or should a contract be created for every new client we send each other?

This is something I would definitely talk to my ex boss (attorney) about, but I was wondering if any of you have set up something similar in the past. Thanks.

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Paulette R.
Rhythm Virtual Solutions | Alpha & Beta Translations

I'm sorry I haven't. I would never accept a contract for call answering.

The reason is because I have worked two full time jobs where this is what I did. I worked for Comcast answering phones to help with internet assistance (No one could pay me enough to ever answer phones for a tech support again). I have worked the last four years answering phones as reservations for hotels.

For Comcast, I have never been treated so badly in my life. The job benefits were great, and until I had that job, I always thought getting along with your coworkers could make even the worst job at least tolerable. Oh how wrong I was. People can be extremely cruel. The rule was that we couldn't hang up on anyone no matter how they were behaving. We always sat in rows, and honestly you become friends with the people in your row. I had one lady screaming so loudly that the other people in my row could hear her from my headset. I had one guy standing behind me with his hand on my shoulder. They had to take me off the phone for an hour and a half or I would have walked right then and there. I suffered it for two more months until I started having horrible nightmares that I was being physically tortured every time I went into work and quit.

As to the reservations, well I worked and work for two different companies. The first company I did nothing else, and its mind numbing work. People are nicer in reservations, but your brain and body start to slowly atrophy because you don't use them anymore. You're tied to a desk answering the same inane questions and calls for hours, days, months, and even years.

The second company is the one I currently work for. The problem this time is that I NEED to be able to not answer those phones sometimes but the owner doesn't understand that. My manager needs my help, and I'm so busy answering phones and doing reservations that its made her life alot harder because I don't have the time to do anything she needs me to do. She hasn't bothered really teaching me anything for the job I was actually hired to do, because even when its slow where I'm hardly getting calls, I need to drop whatever I'm doing to answer reservations. Its a real problem and we are hoping the general manager talking to her last week convinced her to hire a reservationist.

I have a reason for relating these stories, I promise.

The reason is that it means you're going to be tied to the phone. You can't do anything else with your life because of those phones.

If you still feel that this is a good idea, I really suggest you make sure that there are specific hours desginated for answering those phones, and that they know that you will not answer phones outside of those hours unless through previous agreement with the company, AND that there is an explicit clause in your contract that you are not required to be available to answer them off hours.

You misunderstand. I won't be answering anyone's phones at all. I am teaming up with an answering service so THEY will be answering the calls. We are setting up a partnership type of agreement where they will be refering clients to me who ask if they also offer VA services and I will be referring clients to them who need a phone answering service. On my end I will be offering packages slightly higher than their normal rate through my business but I will not be provding the service myself.

My question is, do I have to create a new contract for every client I send them or should there just be one standard contract that X answering service will be paying me $X amount or X percentage for every client I refer. I think that's easier than setting up a new contract every time since it would be an ongoing relationship.

That's awful about the screaming unruly callers. I would never ever do customer support NEVER. I used to work in law firms as a secretary but at one I had to help cover the receptionist if she was out or on break or whatever. I hated the telemarketers the most. They don't take no for an answer.

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Paulette R.
Rhythm Virtual Solutions | Alpha & Beta Translations

Paulette,

So you are talking about a referral fee from your end regarding phone services that you are sending to the service? I would suggest you set up one contract for the answering service company to pay you for the referral. I would be very specific about what constitutes a referral fee...does the answering service's new client (referred from you) have to contract with the answering service for a specific amount of time before you get the referral fee...that kind of detail.

You could refer someone to the answering company and they may not contract with them so you would need to be specific in your contract with the answering service. I think one contract with the answering service will suffice since the referral fee would remain the same from referral to referral, unless otherwise indicated. This could be in the form of an invoice.

As for work you are referred to from the answering service, again the same applies. If they send you a new client each time and the fee remains the same, I see no need to draw up a contract each time they refer someone to you.

You may though, draw up some kind of one page acknowledgement with the date referred, name of client and some words that you are referring the client to the answering service. I'd include some type of written document or memo so you have a written record. I'd request the same from the answering service when they refer someone to you so you have some written record.

However, I would definitely create a new contract for each client for VA work that is referred to you from the answering service since you will be doing work for the referred client and that will change from client to client.

I do worry about one note in your above post that you write, "I sent my contact an email today to find out what kind of percentage they would want from me should they send me a client they sign. Waiting to hear back." I really do not feel that the answering service should be dictating that percentage. I feel that it is you who should set that percentage. When you say that the answering service will be telling you what percentage, then I interpret that to be more of an employee-employer relationship than a B2B relationship. And that is of concern to me because from the start, you should be the business owner dictating what your rates should be. Not defining who you are from the start could be a red flag down the road.

Janine

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Paulette,

A single contract governing both types of referrals should be fine. You should not have to create a new contract for every client referred.

Simply make up one Referral Agreement that outlines the guidelines and referral fee for both you referring to the Answering Service, and the Answering Service referring to your company. Just set-up different sections in the agreement that outline each type of referral.

Make sure to reference how and when each entity is to be paid and who invoices whom.

Google Referral Agreement to get ideas on constructing the contract.

Best of Luck,

Julie

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Julie | Virtual Resource Services, Inc (VRSI)
http://www.vrsioffice.com

They sent me the percentage rate they're looking for but I think it's slightly high so I haven't accepted yet and am going to talk to my attorney first since I'd like him to come up with the contract anyway. I want to negotiate a slightly lower rate.

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Paulette R.
Rhythm Virtual Solutions | Alpha & Beta Translations

Only accept a rate you are comfortable working with, speaking to your attorney is a wise decision! good luck.

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Telephone Answering virtual assistant
alldaypa.com