Page 89 - Social Media Marketing

Hiring Your First Assistant 69

Knowing Whom to Hire

Here's a thought: You may be spending more time with your assis-
tants than you will with your spouse. That suggests that you need
to hire someone you can work with. It should be someone who
understands your goals and shares them-someone who is looking
for a career, not just a job. You want someone who is

• Detail-oriented
• Goal-oriented
• Self-motivated
• Punctual
• Organized
• Calm, cool, and collected
• Good at solving problems

Maybe you noticed that the personality of a good assistant is the
direct opposite of that of a good salesperson. We salespeople are
much more excitable, driven, and over the top than a good assistant
should ever be. We have to be. We need to ride the daily rollercoaster.
Our assistants need a much more even-tempered approach to keep
us on track.

Salespeople tend to hire the wrong types: someone they can con-
trol and feel superior to, someone like themselves, or somebody they
feel sorry for. Don't make the same mistake. Hire someone who is
willing and capable of taking on a supporting role and performing
the tasks that tend to take your focus off selling.

Visual or Virtual?

Keep in mind that assistants can be visual or virtual. A visual as-
sistant is one who is physically present-an in-house staff member.
A virtual assistant is a freelancer-a self-employed business owner
who conducts business primarily over the Internet. You can use both
types of assistants to increase your office productivity, but virtual