hiring-and-managing-a-team

Hiring & Managing a Team

Phase 4 ("work ON the business, not IN it"): delegate to skilled, autonomous team members. "Most teams fail not from lack of talent but lack of leadership."

Know the role you're actually hiring

Role	Decides	Rate (guide)
Virtual Assistant (Follower)	neither what nor how; follows processes	$3-8/hr
Freelancer (Doer)	the how, not the what (outcome given)	$10+/hr
Expert (Creator)	the what, when, why, how	$20+/hr

Don't hire a VA for: marketing strategy, running ads/funnels without a clear process, web dev without a process, or appointment setting (that's a trained setter role). DO hire a VA for repeatable tasks: admin, lead-gen, support, research, bookkeeping, personal assistant tasks. Philippines preferred (good English, work ethic, affordable).

Creating a VA role

1. Confirm it's actually a VA (not freelancer/expert).
2. Main purpose: lead-gen / customer support / general admin (can be a mix).
3. Full-time or part-time (budget + workload).
4. Track your repetitive tasks over 3-5 days → "buy back your time" first.
5. Add other responsibilities → write job description → post.

Hiring a Growth Specialist (appointment setter) — 8 steps

1. Finish the program phases yourself first.
2. Train them on: IG prospecting; conversations → relationships → booked meetings; weekly Q&A/roleplay/call review + shadow; daily workflow; tracking sheet; working independently.
3. Pay model (decided on onboarding call): per qualified appointment / per close (commission) / per outreach / per show-up / base pay (cheapest). Top performers can move to base + %.
4. Onboarding call: hours & days, goals & role, daily KPIs (e.g. 100 new DMs, 50 follow-ups), expectations, EOD + EOW reports, payment frequency (weekly recommended) + channel (PayPal/Wise/Stripe). Give access to market-analysis + tracking sheets.
5. Start: setter hits daily/weekly KPIs, fills EOD, follows up. You monitor campaign performance and unblock.
6. Daily calls early on to build the relationship and solve problems.
7. Work ethic: show them the vision, make them feel part of it, celebrate wins.
8. Monthly review on the 1st: what went well, improvement points, next-month plan.

Onboarding a VA

Make an offer → Orientation call → Set up with software.

• Offer conversation (zoom/slack): make offer, on-call vs scheduled, internet & power check, set expectations, Q&A → if accepted, set start date + book orientation.
• Orientation call (30-60 min): share about yourself, ask about them, build schedule, go over job description, software, communicate culture, Q&A → ensure they're set up on all software.

Management rhythm

Communication via Slack (day-to-day) + Zoom (calls).

• Daily check-ins; weekly huddle (20-30 min, near start of week); quarterly 1:1 (30-60 min).
• First 2 weeks: a call EVERY day, 10-15 min (role, SOPs, support).
• Next 30 days: 2-3 calls/week, then reduce to what's needed.
• Culture = values + beliefs + standards. Aim to be their favourite client; even great coaching fails in a toxic culture. Self-audit: do they feel valued, see their impact, believe the work matters, are you upfront vs passive-aggressive?

Handling issues & firing

Most issues are prevented by strong onboarding. When they arise (lateness, tasks wrong/undone): address immediately — Slack for small, a call for serious. Be clear, repeat the key parts, reset expectations, get confirmation in writing. No one should be surprised to be fired — have the lead-up conversations first.

Firing sequence: wait until they're offline → change passwords / revoke LastPass → remove chat & software access → double-check access removed → inform your team → then reach out and explain.

Related skills

Once the setter is hired and onboarded, they need a lead workflow to work from. For reactivating cold/stale CRM leads (tiering, scripts, email sequences, API pipeline moves), load:

• crm-reactivation-campaigns — audit stale CRM data, tier leads by stage, write DM scripts per tier, build email sequences, and tag/move via API.

Common mistakes

• Hiring a VA for strategy/ads/setting work that needs an expert or trained setter.
• No repetitive-task tracking first, so the role is vague and time isn't actually bought back.
• Skipping the daily-call onboarding window — the relationship and standards never set.
• Firing as a surprise with no documented lead-up conversations.
• Cutting access AFTER you message them instead of before.