It’s no secret that today is the age of social media; however, I have come to find out that throughout my dealings with Facebook, fans, business and individuals alike that it is no longer enough to just think about having a Facebook fan page, and only having a profile, but rather that it is necessary to have one. No matter what type of business that one might have, be it a small business, services business and/or a business where you hand make items people need to have a facebook fan page, because if you don’t rest assured that the millions of other individuals out there will have one sooner or later. So what’s the point of spelling this out aside from the obvious which is to get more sales, more leads and more potential customers and clients you might be wondering?
General
How can a Virtual Assistant help my business?
During the past few years the term “Virtual Assistant” has become more widespread and people are somewhat aware of what a Virtual Assistant is. However, they don’t always understand how a Virtual Assistant or VA can help them in their own business.
First of all, it must be clear that a VA is not an employee. They are self employed business owners providing various types of services that usually relate to helping other business owners run their businesses smoothly.
Types of Services
Communication Tips for VA’s and Clients – Hearing is Not Always Listening!
Throughout my various experiences in the business world, and I am sure yours as well, there is always a question of:Are you listening to me, or are you just hearing me? There is no doubt a huge difference. Taking it a step further into the emailing era: the question can become, are you just reading my email, or are you fully absorbing and understanding it? One can actually equate hearing and listening to reading and absorbing to fully understanding.
How Can Hiring a Virtual Assistant Actually Earn You Money?
It’s really simple if you think about it. While a client is actually paying a Virtual Assistant for their time, and a job being worked on, the client will actually start making money in the process. Okay, how? Let’s say client “A” has a business, his or her focus would be to generate sales for whatever the business is. However, how can client “A” generate these sales when everything else needs to be in place first, and even more than that it is continuous work. To elaborate further, a VA will insure that a web site is up and running, search engine optimization has been done, a press release has been written, social media marketing is done on a daily basis, a blog is live and active and the list can go on. Who is going to operate all of these things while client “A” is trying to generate and make these sales?Having a business online today is not exactly the same as it was years ago. Years ago we created a web site and hoped that people would visit us. Of course there was still some prep work that was needed to be done, but today what is needed to get done far exceeds what was needed to do back then, which of course equals to time. Who has that kind of time? Just looking at the to-do list alone is tiresome all by itself!
Communicating – Are You Doing It?
Whether we are discussing our personal lives or our work environment, lack of communication seems to be the number one problem many of us have.
When speaking to other VA’s I have heard that a frustrating part of doing business with their clients is their lack of understanding as to how these VA’s can help them. Running into this problem myself I honestly believe it comes down to lack of communication. We must ask the questions that will bring the answers we need to better serve our clients. Have you been clear as to what your needs of your VA are?
Colours that Talk!
In nature, colour is used to communicate all the time. We can often tell males from females because of their colour vibrancy. I find it almost funny that in the bird kingdom the males are most often the most brightly coloured, with the most vibrant markings – isn’t it funny that in the human population, we have reversed that trend?
Online Collaboration Software: Are VAs Working Well in the Cloud or Are Their Heads Just In the Clouds?
Online collaboration software seems to be catching on amongst the virtual assistants I know, but especially those who have multiple projects on the go or work in a multi-VA/multi-contractor environment. Yet, despite the productivity benefits of using programs like Basecamp or ClientSpot, a lot of VAs are saying it remains a challenge to get their clients on board.
Another Easy-Peasy Task to Delegate to a VA…
The last time you went to a networking event, or held down a booth at a tradeshow, did you follow up with the people you met?
The last time you met someone interested in your business while you were standing in line at the coffee shop, did you get their card and actually get in touch with them again?
How many website leads do you get but never reply to? What about those contacts you forward information to after they request it. Do you let them go off and be forgotten, or do you get in touch with them again?
The RESOURCE for Entrepreneurs Looking to Partner with a Virtual Assistant
A new resource has been developed for anyone considering partnering and working with a Virtual Assistant.
Check out our NEW Blog at VAnetworking.com
VAnetworking, the world’s largest Virtual Assistant organization is celebrating its five year anniversary by launching a new blog this week for those wanting to learn more about working with a Virtual Assistant or “˜VA’. The VAnetworking Blog is full of the ins and outs of working with a VA including what you should look for, what isn’t that important and even how VAs operate and what different tasks are easiest to delegate. This is the RESOURCE for entrepreneurs looking to partner with a Virtual Assistant to help them succeed in their business ventures.
What’s The Worst Question You Can Ask a Virtual Assistant?
Easy…
“Can you send me a resume?”
Even though people ask this question to VAs all the time, as a general group, we don’t like it.
I think it’s because it means we’re being thought of as employees. Remember, administrative assistants don’t get paid very well and often have to take a lot of orders and abuse from bosses. When we leave that world to start our own businesses we want to leave that world far far away! Being asked for a resume is something that happens when you apply for a job, not when someone approaches you looking to hire a contractor.
