A few thoughts:

1. I’d say retainer packages are a good fit for ongoing support such as email management, a monthly newsletter, etc., where you as a business owner have a pretty solid idea of how much time you’ll need each month. You can save money, and also get reserved time from your VA or freelancer.

Not a good fit for one time projects, or short-term relationships where you’re not yet sure about the specific provider you’re working with.

2. The best working relationships are based on a build up of trust, which takes some time. It’s been best for us to start with small projects, work out any kinks in the communications or expectations, then expand from there, or move on to the next provider.

3. You really need to be clear on your goals, budget, and expectations before outsourcing a project or role. Again, it can take some time for a provider to learn your business and your style, and it’s unlikely to happen magically without some back and forth communication and tweaking. Jumping from one provider to another based on an initial misunderstanding can be a huge waste of time and effort, defeating the purpose of outsourcing in the first place.

Retainers are great for clients that are in good control of their businesses. The majority of my clients are on retainer because it is more cost-effective for them since retainer rates are typically lower than hourly rates, they can budget their money more effectively, and we can budget our time more effectively to provide better service. If you are only looking for services provided on a project by project basis or sporadically, then no … don’t enter into a retainer agreement with your VA. However … if you have specific tasks or services that are to be performed on a continuing basis, work with your VA to find out how much time you will need each month and enter into an agreement that will make the best use of your money and your VAs time. Don’t enter into an agreement for a specific number of hours with a Virtual Assistant (or any other vendor) if you haven’t done your homework and don’t know what you really need. We keep our retainer clients apprised of how much time we have used month-to-date on a weekly basis so the client knows whether or not they need to use more hours or possibly postpone having us do something until the next month because they don’t want to go over their retainer. And … if we see that the client isn’t using all of their retained hours each month, we will re-evaluate and amend the agreement to better meet the client’s needs.

Don’t poo-poo the idea of a retainer agreement just because it didn’t work for you … but instead, re-evaluate your relationship with the VA to determine why it didn’t work for you. If YOU make the decision to agree to a specific number of hours per month, then in addition to it being the responsibility of the VA to keep you apprised of how much time you are using, it is your responsibility to make sure you have enough business to support those hours. A successful client/VA relationship is a two-way street, and can be a fabulous partnership when both parties take responsibility for their own roles.

The types of clients that we typically attract actually prefer to pay on a retainer basis. We very rarely use less than what is allotted in their retainer hours. When that happens, we are happy to roll those hours over into the next month.

The key here is to be very clear up front exactly what you are agreeing to. Make sure a contract is in place that states what you are paying for, how many hours that includes, and how those hours will be tracked.

The right VA for your business will be one who stays on top of those hours and is in communication with you along the way.

(says the guy whose company would like to be yours)

But actually, I DO say that, all the time. VAs are about freeing you to do the stuff you want/need to do. Any other point is MISSING the point.

Now with that said, yes, you need to look out for gotchas such as in the other points, but really you can figure those out as you go. Be more concerned with when if at all it’s OK to go with low-cost, offshore help; this is fraught with difficulties. And yes, that statement is self-serving, but it’s also true.

Jeff Yablon
President & CEO
Answer Guy and Virtual VIP Computer Support, Business Change Coaching and Virtual Assistant Services