How to partner with your client the right way

In doing some research last night I ran across this blog post from Karyn Greenstreet of Passion for Business, How to Choose a Virtual Assistant. It made some interesting points and had great tips for small business owners who are in the hunt for some help.

There was one section that stood out to me though and had me thinking about it still this morning…

Some VAs are taught that they should be a “partner” with you in your business. On the surface, this sounds great. However, I have heard too many horror stories about VAs who did things without asking permission, from modifying website text to changing established class titles.

This was one of those statements that make you stop and think. Karyn is right, we are taught to think like a business partner. I’m wondering though, have I/we properly defined what a partner is? For instance I would never dream of changing text, class titles etc. for a client without express permission but I would want to be proactive and make suggestions on changing copy or class titles if I noticed something was not quite right.

I like this definition of partner from Wikipedia:

A friend who shares a common interest or participates in achieving a common goal.

And this one from Dictionary.com:

A person who shares or is associated with another in some action or endeavor; sharer; associate.

In both definitions the word share comes up and I think that is a key point. As virtual assistants, virtual support professionals, online business manager… or whatever name you give yourself, have you properly defined for you and your client what the word partner means?

For me a partner is someone you can bounce ideas off of, who tells you it is time to slow down or maybe gives you that needed kick in the tail. A partner shares the load, helps you out when you are overwhelmed. I think it also means you have an interest in their success, that you have a desire to help them bring their business ideas to life. When you get to know their business and understand their goals, you can make helpful suggestions, offer ideas and strategies that may work in a current project.

Being a partner is not about taking control or making independent decisions, but it is about sharing and support.

Being  a partner is about being proactive in saying… “Here is what I can do for you” and not just asking the question, “How can I help?”.  (Thanks to Tina Forsyth on this one, she talked about this concept in a preview call for the Virtually Successful Telesummit. It has stuck with me ever since )

When you talk to your client about being a partner in their success, does your definition send them running for cover? Or does it go the other way and they rely on you so much that it becomes overwhelming?

Defining up front what is means to be a partner in the business is vitally important. As Karyn mentions in her blog post – set boundaries up front. This goes both ways, the extent of your authority and decision making power AND it also applies to the business owner and their expectations of you.

Not every client is looking for this level of partner/support, some are just looking for that key help when they need it and our job is not to force that role onto them.

This has made me go look at my own personal definition of  ”partner”, how I talk about it, what I mean by it and how I present the idea to my clients both current and new.

What about you, what do you think the word partner means for you and your clients?