In the previous article we’ve been talking about elements that all delegation instructions should possess in order to create the conditions that will result in more successful projects. Sharing the vision of the project was the first element. Providing clear instructions was the second element. In this post, we’ll look at a third element that your delegation instructions should possess.

Clear Instruction

Let’s compare two sets of instructions to show you what I mean:

Instruction A: “I’d like to put together a newsletter that people can subscribe to.”

In this instruction, we don’t know how frequent the newsletter will be or who will be subscribing or what the business owner wants covered or how the newsletter will be distributed… there are so many questions. The VA might ask some of the questions but will still be working “blind”.

Instruction B: “I’d like to put together a newsletter that people can subscribe to. I’d like the newsletter to be for prospects who come to my website but aren’t ready to buy yet. I’d like you to create a list of 52 potential topics that I will approve. I’m looking specifically for topics that will show a prospect that I am an expert in the industry and will be related to one of my products or services so I can talk about a topic then pitch a specific product.”

Wow, what a difference! The second set of instructions contained all kinds of success factors:

• How many newsletter topics they wanted
• Who the newsletter was for
• What they wanted covered in the newsletter
• What they hoped to achieve overall and what they hoped to achieve in each individual newsletter.

Measurable success factors aren’t always possible but, if they are, they are better. Measurable success factors are specific numerical directions - “follow 10 people on Twitter” or “post my article to 20 article sites” - which can be used to measure the success of the project. This is helpful because you can ask for a project to be done without a number and it might be done… but you might not be satisfied with the effort. What if your VA only follow 5 people on Twitter? Or post your article to 10 article sites? A specific number ensures that you get what you are looking for. (Admittedly, a specific measurable is not always possible but it should be used wherever possible).

Homework

Look at the list of projects you’ll be delegating shortly and write down a couple of success factors for each one.

Remember

You are the one who determines whether a project is successful. Sharing that information will make the success more likely.