What Makes a Good Virtual Assistant in Customer Support, Sales, and Operations

A good virtual assistant takes responsibility for assigned work without constant follow-up. They communicate with 100% clarity, manage time, and maintain high work standards.

As a D2C company grows, work expands in three directions at once:

• Customer support
• Sales
• Daily operations

Each function is highly important, but you cannot manage all of them in-house. Why? These departments have a lot of routine + repetitive tasks, which might burden your internal staff. 

The solution? You may hire virtual assistants. Studies show that e-commerce and online retail brands that outsource support and order management cut operating costs by 30 to 50% and handle 35% more orders without adding headcount.

But to achieve such benefits, you must hire the right virtual assistant. Who are they? This article talks about what makes a strong virtual assistant across customer support, sales, and operations. You will learn the skills that matter, the tools they should know, and how human and AI VAs differ. 

What Makes a Good Virtual Assistant in Customer Support

A good virtual assistant (VA) in customer support helps businesses:

• Answer customer questions
• Solve problems
• Maintain service quality without adding full-time staff.

For growing D2C companies and consumer brands (earning $5M+ revenue), such support improves response time + controls costs. Do you have numbers to support this? Yes, several studies have found that:

• VAs cut first-response times from 24 hours to near-instant

and

• E-commerce sees 30 to 50% cost reductions while handling 35% more volume.

But to enjoy such benefits, you must hire the “right” VA in customer support. Let’s see what makes a good virtual assistant in this business department:

Core Skills

Strong communication is the foundation of customer support. A good VA:

• Listens carefully
• Understands the issue
• Responds in a respectful manner across email, chat, phone, and social media. 

Additionally, they should practice “empathy” because customers usually reach out when they are frustrated. The VA must stay calm + polite while handling complaints, refunds, or delays.

Ideally, you should hire a VA who is trained to:

• Identify the root cause of the issue 

and

• Offer solutions instead of scripted replies

What to do on your part? Once a VA is hired, you can train them on “time management”. This allows the VA to handle multiple requests without missing messages. Also, impart product + policy knowledge so that they can provide accurate answers (which reduces repeat queries).

Technical Proficiency

Customer support VAs must be comfortable with digital tools. This includes:

• CRM systems such as Zendesk or HubSpot
• Helpdesk software
• Order-tracking systems
• Live chat platforms

These tools allow VAs to track conversations, customer history, and open issues. Some businesses also use AI-supported tools. Okay, but what do they do? These systems can:

• Route tickets
• Analyze customer tone
• Suggest responses based on stored information

Always remember that AI does not replace human judgment. Instead, it can only support the handling of common questions and allow service coverage outside business hours.

Professional Qualities

Strong professional conduct is what makes a good virtual assistant. A good VA:

• Follows company guidelines
• Protects customer data
• Represent the brand consistently

Also, adaptability is highly important because processes + products change over time. The VA should adjust to new tools, policies, and customer expectations.  Moreover, “proactive behavior” adds value. What is it? This includes:

• Spotting repeated issues
• Sharing customer feedback
• Suggesting improvements

For sales-focused D2C companies and consumer brands, this may also include identifying upsell or cross-sell opportunities during support conversations.

The Choice Between Human VA vs AI VA

Many small businesses use a mix of both. They use AI for routine questions and human VAs for decision-based or emotional interactions.

What Makes a Good Virtual Assistant in Sales

A sales VA assists a business in:

• Finding potential customers
• Following up with them
• Supporting the sales process until a deal is closed

When working for a growing consumer brand, a sales VA reduces the workload on the owner and keeps the “sales pipeline active” without hiring a full in-house team. But again, to gain the most, you must hire the right VA in sales. Let’s see what makes a good virtual assistant in this business department:

Core Sales Skills

Communication is the most important skill for a sales VA. They must:

• Speak clearly on calls
• Write professional messages
• Build trust with prospects

“Active listening” allows them to understand customer needs instead of pushing generic pitches. Also, a good sales VA knows how to handle objections. When a prospect hesitates about price, timing, or features, the VA responds with 100% relevant information and options. 

Lead generation is another major responsibility. The VA:

• Research potential customers
• Reaches out through email, calls, or social platforms
• Qualifies leads before passing them to the sales team 

A good VA also practices strong time management to ensure follow-ups happen on time, which prevents leads from going cold. Want to gain the most from a sales VA? You must impart your business’s product + service knowledge. 

The VA you hire must understand:

• What the business offers
• Who it is for
• How it solves customer problems

This allows confident conversations and supports closing activities such as booking demos or confirming orders.

Technical Skills

Sales VAs must know how to use CRM systems such as HubSpot or Salesforce. They must know how to use these tools to:

• Store lead information
• Track conversations
• See the stage of each deal

Moreover, they must be trained on leading sales and calling software, commonly used for outreach, appointment setting, and follow-ups.

Professional Traits

Always remember that relationship-building turns interested prospects into repeat customers. Thus, a strong sales VA must be “proactive”. They should research buyers in advance and prepare talking points. Additionally, they must:

• Show strong adaptability because sales workflows, scripts, and tools gradually change

and

• Ethically handle customer data as it builds trust + protects the business.

Human VA vs AI VA in Sales

Again, many D2C companies use both together to balance cost, coverage, and quality. If you are searching for virtual assistants who can work in your time zone (even on weekends), you may consider Atidiv’s VAs in 2026. To learn more, book a free consultation call. 

What Makes a Good Virtual Assistant in Operations

An operations VA supports the internal working of a business. Their primary role is to manage “daily backend tasks”. For a D2C company, an operations VA:

• Reduces workload
• Lowers fixed costs
• Supports growth without adding full-time staff

Did you know? By hiring virtual assistants, you can achieve cost savings of up to 78% compared to in-house roles. But to gain the most, again, you need to hire the best VA in this segment. Let’s see what makes a good virtual assistant in business operations:

Core Skills

In a business setup, an operations VA manages:

• Calendars
• Deadlines
• Task lists
• Project timelines

They track work across tools such as Trello or Asana to prevent delays and missed tasks.

Also, attention to detail is highly important because operations work involves documentation and reporting.

Besides, problem-solving is another key skill. A good operations VA handles routine issues without constant supervision. Usually, this is related to:

• Coordinating with vendors
• Resolving scheduling conflicts
• Adjusting workflows when priorities change

Technical Skills

Operations VAs must be comfortable with basic business tools, such as:

• Google Workspace or Microsoft Office for documents and reports
• CRM systems for records
• Project management software for task tracking.

Some businesses also use automation tools to reduce manual work. An operations VA must quickly learn such tools and adapt. In hybrid or remote setups, businesses have experienced up to 35% more productivity when routine tasks are handled by virtual assistants. 

Professional Traits

A strong operations VA must:

• Monitor ongoing work
• Track key numbers
• Flag issues before they grow

This is highly important in remote teams as “direct supervision is limited”. Moreover, they should ethically handle both company and customer data.

Human VA vs AI VA in Operations

Again, a combination of human + AI is preferred. That’s because AI reduces manual checks, while human oversight remains necessary for decision-making and coordination.

Want To Hire a “Good Virtual Assistant” in Customer Support, Sales, and Operations? Pass the Headache to Atidiv in 2026!

So now you know what makes a good virtual assistant in Customer Support, Sales, and Operations. A VA is a remote professional who works for your business through cloud tools and the internet. In 2026, there are around 40 million virtual assistants worldwide, with strong talent pools in Latin America, Asia, and Eastern Europe.

But to gain real value, you must hire the “right VA”, who shows these qualities:

• Takes ownership without constant supervision
• Communicates with 100% clarity
• Adapts to changing priorities
• Solves problems, leaving minimal scope for escalation
• Respects deadlines and work commitments
• Pays attention to details

If you are searching for a partner agency in 2026, consider Atidiv. We offer virtual assistants across Paid Ads, FB Ads, Web, Custom Support, Media Operations, E-commerce, Data Entry, Customer Support, Core Operations, and Accounting. 

Our services start at $15 per hour (minimum 168 hours). Get a dedicated resource in just 7 days. Book a free consultation call to learn more.

What Makes a Good Virtual Assistant FAQs

1. How do I know which tasks I should delegate to a VA?

You can start with tasks that repeat daily or weekly, such as:

• Email handling
• Data entry
• Customer support
• Scheduling
• Preparing business reports

Usually, tasks that do not need direct decision-making or supervision are considered safe to delegate. 

2. Will I need to spend a lot of time training a virtual assistant?

Training time depends on task clarity. If you have documented processes along with clear instructions, onboarding is short. Many experienced VAs already understand common tools and workflows, which reduces learning time and prevents repeated hand-holding.

3. How do I manage and track a VA’s work without micromanaging?

As a VP or director of a D2C company, you must set goals, deadlines, and reporting formats. Additionally, perform “regular check-ins” and assess the VA’s work for quality. Usually, daily oversight is not required once expectations are established.

4. Is hiring a VA suitable for small businesses with limited budgets?

Realize that VAs are remote professionals and can be hired on per per-usage basis. This reduces fixed costs such as office space, equipment, and full-time salaries. Since you “pay only for productive hours”, it leads to significant savings in terms of overheads.

5. Is hiring a VA still relevant in 2026 with automation and AI?

Nowadays, several D2C companies and consumer brands are combining automation with human judgment. In such an approach:

• Automation handles repetitive and rule-based tasks such as data capture, ticket routing, and reporting. 

and

• A virtual assistant adds human judgment 

In 2026, this hybrid model will allow the brands to scale without losing quality. If you are looking to hire trained virtual assistants, you may contact Atidiv. Our VA services start at only $15 per hour. Let’s talk!