Going Paperless
Going paperless. Sound a little scary? Nah, not really. At least it doesn’t have to be. As few as 10 years ago, we kept box upon box of archived paper files. At one point, we had at least 100 of those boxes stuffed to capacity with trees. Unfortunately, it was a necessity. Back then, though, the technology (at least affordable technology) to go paperless wasn’t there. It would have cost thousands of dollars in labor and services to retroactively make all those paper files into electronic files. Fast forward to today and going paperless is quite simple and inexpensive. But why go paperless?
Less physical storage space necessary – save on file cabinets, paper, and folders
Locating files becomes more efficient – it’s as easy as “edit” “find”
Paperless, or electronic storage, is more cost-effective than printing everything and storing it on paper copy – electronic storage space is cheap!
The “ink” on an electronic copy of that important whatever won’t eventually fade like a paper copy will
Files are more easily transferred from your archives to an associate who may need to see it
You don’t need to pay an assistant to constantly do your filing for you. With electronic storage, it’s a snap to quickly “save as” into the appropriate folder on your hard drive
Of course, there can be some disadvantages to going paperless too:
Because electronic media is susceptible to power surges, scratches, and the like, there is a risk of losing that data
You MUST remember to back up your disc drives and keep a copy of that data in a safe place – off premises preferably
You’ll likely have to do your own filing unless you want your assistant to access your computer
Even if you’ve been a long-time packrat of paper files, there’s no reason you can’t start going paperless now. Start by making a conscious decision NOT to continue printing and filing everything that comes across your desk. Just as you would keep your paper files organized by setting up folders for various topics, do the same for your electronic files by creating folders in Microsoft Explorer
Depending on your filing system, set up folders for things such as “Clients”, “Prospects”, “Form Files”, “General Information”, etc. Within those folders are more folders. For example, your “Clients” folder should contain a folder for each client. Your “Prospects” folder should contain a folder for each prospective client and so on. Then, when that prospect becomes a client, you can simply drag his or her folder over to your “Clients” folder
Save all files that seem important.
Before the virtual world, business people were conveniently divided into 2 categories: filers and pilers. Filers kept things that they thought they might need, but dumped the rest. They could fill up a wastebasket of paper in half a day. Pilers, on the other hand, saved everything. Their wastebasket was for decorative purposes only. They’d save the most trivial of things “just in case”.
The virtual world has ended this distinction. Now, you can (and should) be both.
For the Pilers:
Keep all of your files; or most of them. Just create more folders to store them in. If you require more hard drive space, just go out and get it. Hard drive space is ridiculously cheap compared to even a decade ago.
For the Filers:
As soon as you’ve received or created a new file, save it to the appropriate folder. Naming your files appropriately will facilitate retrieving those files easily later on. Your filing system should first and foremost be one that you can understand and easily remember – it should make sense to you. When you name your files use as many characters as you need in the file name so you can search on a portion of that name later. It should give a good, but brief, description of what the document pertains to. Most people have used Windows Explorer’s search feature. If not, practice with it until you can easily locate your files. It’s a pretty powerful tool and very user-friendly.
There are a few other tools that will help you with your goal of going paperless:
eFax (http://www.efax.com) is what we use here. For a nominal monthly charge, all of your incoming faxes will come to you by way of email. Yep, they’re dumped right into your inbox as an attached picture file.
Adobe Acrobat (the full version – not reader (http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/main.html) allows you to take almost any file, select the “print” option, and print to the Acrobat Distiller. This will turn the document into a .pdf file. A very easily transportable and easy-to-file file type, almost anyone can read a .pdf file. This makes sending your documents (and protecting them) a breeze. As a side note, when I receive an eFax document, because the file type isn’t so universal, I print from my eFax viewer to my Acrobat distiller, making the fax into a .pdf file. I then file the .pdf version, making it more transportable and viewable.
Scanners are another tool that is indispensable in the paperless world. Virtually any piece of paper or photo that you receive can be scanned and made into an electronic picture file. After you’ve created that picture file, you can email it to anyone you’d like as well as store it in your electronic files on your hard drive
LapLink Everywhere http://www.laplink.com/products/lle/overview.asp can facilitate having your virtual assistant do your electronic filing for you. It includes remote desktop search from any Web-enabled device (powered by Google Desktop Search) Laplink Everywhere lets you choose how you want to work and which device with internet access you want to use to access your PC. It?s easy and fast to set-up and simple to use
LapLink ShareDirect http://www.laplink.com/products/sharedirect/overview.asp is another great tool for going paperless. It allows instant sharing any folder on your PC with one or thousands of users, without ever having to change or manage your Internet, firewall, or router configurations. And it is 256-bit encrypted.
Hopefully you can see how going paperless can benefit almost any company or individual. The cost savings alone are enormous; reducing the amount of paper, ink, and folders you need to purchase.
Team Double-Click? provides virtual assistance for small and home-based businesses. Visit Team Double-Click?s Web site at http://www.teamdoubleclick.com or click on the banner:
Tips to VA – Using e-Mail to your Advantage
Working virtually, a reliable email account is essential. We recommend AGAINST using an AOL, Yahoo, or Hotmail account as they appear “cheap”. People like to see an email extension, which reflects the business you’re in – something with stability.
I constantly receive inquiries asking how on earth I handle all of the emails that I receive in a typical business day. Depending on what’s going on, I can receive anywhere between 100 and 300 emails a day and send about as many outbound messages. Even if your email load is smaller the tips I provide here will still help tame that email tiger.
Tip 1: Use Outlook or Outlook Express
I prefer Outlook or some similarly robust, non-web based email program, because they simply allow more flexibility than a web-based email program. Even if you have an AOL, Yahoo, or some other conglomerate’s email address, you can usually locate instructions somewhere on their site to set up the email in Outlook – just look for SMTP settings.
Tip 2: Set up lots of folders
Just as you would keep your paper files organized by setting up folders for various topics, do the same for your email files by creating files within your “local folder”. Mine go something like this: Client Update, Weekly Update, Next Weekly Update, Clients, Contractors, and so on. Within those folders are more folders. For example, my Clients folder contains a folder for each client. Yes, I use a lot of hard drive space saving emails, but it keeps me organized and I can (usually) find what I need quickly. Outlook’s “find” command is a lifesaver when you want to dig up that specific email from that client from a few months ago.
I have another “special” folder that I call “Requires follow up”. In this folder, I place sent messages (go into your sent messages folder and drag the sent message to another folder), which are important and need to be watched. I do this if I have any doubts about the party responding quickly. Never assume that just because you sent a message to someone rapidly, that they will reply with the same speed.
When my request has been answered; that message (or the other person’s reply) goes into the appropriate folder for storage. I review my “Requires follow up” folder several times throughout the day.
Tip 3: Save all emails that seem important.
Before the virtual world, business people were conveniently divided into 2 categories: filers and pilers. Filers kept things that they thought they might need, but dumped the rest. They could fill up a wastebasket of paper in half a day. Pilers, on the other hand, saved everything. Their wastebasket was for decorative purposes only. They’d save the most trivial of things “just in case”.
The virtual world has ended this distinction. Now, you can (and should) be a little of both.
For the Pilers:
Keep all of your email; or most of it. Just create more folders to store them in. If you require more hard drive space, just go out and get it. Hard drive space is ridiculously cheap compared to even a decade ago. I maximize my Outlook window to full screen. Adjust the Inbox window so that it takes up half of the vertical portion of the screen. This is my own anal little rule: If the messages in my Inbox extend below the screen so that I can’t see all of them (about 20 emails fit on the screen), I’m falling behind and need to spend some time answering them.
In Outlook, if you click the column headings above where the email message lines appear, it will sort your emails ascending or descending (keep clicking the heading and watch the little up or down arrow on the bar), whichever you choose. I always keep mine sorted by date/time received so the NEWEST emails are on top.
For the Filers:
If you have a continuing string (you reply, they reply, you reply again, etc.) keep only the most recent message. Go back in and delete the older ones so you don’t have duplicates.
Tip 4: Respond to All Emails Quickly.
… and as soon as possible (I try to respond within two hours at the most). Even if it’s just a tiny 10-second email that says “message received, I’ll get back to you within 3 hours”, send it! Let the sender know when you will answer them and then be sure to do it at that time/day. The Internet can seem like a giant abyss; a Bermuda Triangle through which emails go and are never seen again. And given that most business people receive 50+ emails a day, it’s important that your contacts know that you have received their email, and that you are “on top of it”.
Tip 5: Use the Subject Line!!!!
ARGH! This is a GIANT pet peeve of a lot of people; particularly those who are a bit less Internet-literate than you. Some of your contacts will come from a world where memos really did have a meaningful “re” line, as did business letters. As an added bonus, you can use Outlook’s find feature to search for particular words in an email subject header. So 6 months from now if you want to dig up that email from that guy who asked you about the thing, you can probably find the email in a matter of seconds if your subject line had something relevant to say.
Tip 6: Don’t Change the Subject Line!
Fresh on the heels of Tip 6: once an email thread is started, please don’t change the subject line. When you’re replying back and forth and someone suddenly changes the subject line on you it’s maddening. I do this occasionally if the subject of the conversation changes and the original topic has been dropped, but very rarely. In that case it’s better to just start a new thread with a fresh, clean message.
Tip 7: Answer EVERYTHING That the Other Party Asks For
This seems obvious; but it is hard to do, when a contact inserts a number of questions into one paragraph. Sometimes, the questions will not even be different; they will just be the same question that has been worded differently.
For example, a contact might write something like this: Hi there, I’m really interested in your virtual services. I need someone who can write the content for my web page. Do you have someone who can do this? Can they do it within two weeks? How long will it take? Can I choose the person who does this? Would it be possible for them to have it done by the end of October? Thanks!
There are 5 questions there, each one, conveniently, with a question mark. Many people – particularly those who are not Internet-savvy – will sometimes not add a question mark to their questions; which means that you must make sure that you carefully read the entire email to make sure that you’re answering what needs to be answered.
Here’s how I ensure that I do this: I hit reply, and then move my cursor to right after the first question, change font color and answer there. Move the cursor again to right after the next question, and so on until I’ve answered all of their questions. It’s much quicker and you’re sure not to forget anything. Here’s an example:
Hi there, I’m really interested in your virtual services. Thanks! We’re interested in having you as a client! I need someone who can write the content for my web page. No problem! Do you have someone who can do this? Absolutely! Can they do it within two weeks? Certainly! How long will it take? Between 1 and 2 weeks. Would it be possible for them to have it done by the end of October? Yes, I think so. That’s 3 weeks from today, so it means we need to get started right away. I can send you our standard agreement and we can get moving today. What is your fax #? Thanks! Our pleasure!!
NOTE: To make these color-embedded notes in an email message, you must be in HTML format. To do this, in Outlook, click “Format” and then “Plain Text (HTML)”.
Tip 8: Copy and Paste
What a blessing that is. I personally use this a lot. If I need to send a message to several people, but I just don’t have time to type and retype the same answer, then I type that response once, copy it, then reply to each person individually. This saves countless hours!
Tip 9: Know Which Emails You’ve Read
You’ll have to dig around your settings a bit – in my OE the command is in Tools, Options, Read. Click off the button that says, “Automatically mark messages read after x amount of time”. I manually mark my messages read or not read. That way I can quickly look at my Inbox and know what still needs to be taken care of and what can wait.
This won’t work for everyone, but when I get up and am enjoying my morning coffee, I sit and catch up on emails. I do the same (without the coffee 
about 15 minutes before I turn in for the night. I answer anything urgent and just skim the rest leaving them for morning.
Tip 10: Clean Out Your In, Out, and All Other Email Boxes
Once you’ve “dealt” with a particular email, make a decision immediately to delete it, file it, or leave it for follow up in a few minutes, then do it right away. It keeps your Inbox freed of clutter. Do the same periodically with your other boxes. I “clean house” on my mail boxes about once a month. I permanently delete, from client and contractor folders, strings that I think are done and issues resolved, or just not needed. I empty my deleted items box once a week and I save only one week’s worth of sent messages.
Because I’m so diligent about filing away my sent and received messages, I pretty well know that if it’s sent and I didn’t save it to a folder, or if it’s deleted, I won’t need it anymore and can safely get rid of it. I keep the week’s worth of sent items just in case. If you do need to save something that might be important later, you can save that message into that contact’s folder in Windows Explorer like this: Highlight the message to be saved, click “File”, “Save As”, and this will open up a browser window where you can locate that contact’s folder (or create a new folder for that contact). It’s also a good idea to get a copy of the Outlook Express Backup Wizard and periodically backup your email.
I also don’t do joke forwards and delete most of the ones I receive – unless they’re a “10″.
This won’t work for everyone, but when I get up and am enjoying my morning coffee, I sit and catch up on emails. I do the same (without the coffee about 15 minutes before I turn in for the night. I answer anything urgent and just skim the rest leaving them for morning.
Your Email Signature
We recommend a signature something like this:
Gayle Buske
Phone: 888.827.9129
Fax: 262.364.3022
Email
http://www.TeamDoubleClick.com
“Providing the people …virtually!”
Team Double-Click? provides virtual assistance for small and home-based businesses. We are a virtual staffing agency, working with over 1,500 of the best virtual office professionals the world has to offer.
~ Virtual assistants
~ Transcription
~ Editing and Creative writing
~ Project management
~ Marketing
~ Graphic design and Illustration
~ Web Design and Search Engine Optimization
~ Literary agency
This lets everyone know what you do every time you send a message and can help bring in business. We recommend using a TeamDoubleClick.com email address and the same signature line every time you send an email.
Communicating with your virtual assistant: New technologies make it easier than ever
One of the most-oft asked questions we hear is,
“How do I communicate with my virtual assistant?”
A very valid question but also a very easy one to answer. First, you must remember that your professional virtual assistant is a human being, just like you, and just like someone who may sit in the office right next to you. She has feelings, morals, standards, kids, pets, and a life – just like you.
While I can’t speak for other virtual staffing agencies, at Team Double-Click?, we go to great pains to be sure our clients can communicate directly and openly with their virtual assistants. This ability is vitally important to any business relationship and especially that of a businessperson and his or her assistant. Without that communication, there is no exchange of ideas and tasks.
We do monitor communication between our virtual staff and our clients, but this is simply the mechanics of our business model in motion. We monitor these communications to first be sure the communications are there and second so that we can step in if we spot a problem or see something that can be done more efficiently. However, we encourage our clients to get to know their virtual assistants on a personal level as well. As with any relationship, the better you know one another, the better you’ll be able to anticipate one another’s moves, needs, and pet peeves. Now that the “why” is out of the way, we can talk about the “how”.
Of course, there are several options for communicating tasks, assignments, and other matters to your virtual assistant:
E-Mail is a very effective mode of communication when working virtually. It allows you to quickly attach a file and send it to your virtual assistant so that she may make changes, print a letter and mail it, or keep it as a reference. Be sure to talk to our Client Services Rep Denise Schrock or your virtual administrative assistant if you need help attaching and sending files.
Using the telephone to communicate with your virtual assistant, while obvious is quite underutilized and so simple to do. Tired of looking up your virtual assistant’s phone number each time? Simply program her phone number into your office phones and cell phone’s speed dial. One-touch dialing your virtual administrative assistant is a snap and no harder than buzzing a bricks-and-mortar assistant in the next room
Instant messenger is another example of a wonderful technology, which is underutilized when it comes to communicating with virtual assistants. There are several excellent instant messaging programs and they’re so easy to use.
IM programs to check out:
Yahoo: http://messenger.yahoo.com
MSN: http://im.live.com/messenger/im/home/?source=MSNTDLINK
AOL: http://www.aim.com
ICQ: http://www.icq.com
With an instant messaging program you can, with just a couple clicks of the mouse, type messages back and forth with colleagues and your virtual assistant – all in real time. You type, she types, and before you know it, the questions you and she had are all answered and you can move on.
Caution – time wasting opportunity: It’s easy to get hooked into “chatting” with someone on IM, which can soak up a lot of time. IM should be used for quick questions and quick answers, and then back to your tasks. IM was not meant to take the place of the telephone for giving lengthy instructions or holding very involved e-versations.
Snail mail, while very retro, it is sometimes necessary. With so many technologies at our fingertips these days, there’s very little use for snail mail except for the most formal of business communications, marketing mailings, or sending supplies to your virtual assistant.
Faxing your virtual assistant is also a popular means of communicating tasks and lists to your professional virtual assistant. However, if the items you’re intending to send via fax are in electronic (editable) format already – it’s best to send it as a file attachment. That way your virtual assistant doesn’t need to retype everything and spend unnecessary client dollars. Check out eFax at www.efax.com for the latest in electronic faxing – there’s almost no need for a landline fax anymore.
VOIM (voice over instant messenger) is my new favorite communications toy. What VOIM allows you to do is simply pull up your instant messaging program, click your virtual assistant’s name, click the call button, and voila, it rings through the computer to her. Once the connection is established (which only takes a second or two) you can talk with your virtual assistant through the computer – no phone line involved). You can then quickly delegate tasks, give instructions, or ask questions without stopping to look up her phone number, and without typing out a lengthy email. At Team Double-Click?, we’ve begun implementing the Yahoo! VOIM program and with wonderful results. If you’d like to give it a try, go to http://messenger.yahoo.com and download the software – it’s ridiculously easy to use and best of all, it’s free!
Just keep in mind that VOIM will only work with other people who download the newest version of the Yahoo! software and have a microphone and speakers on their computer.
There are many great ways to communicate needs, likes, dislikes, tasks, and training to your virtual assistant. It’s all a matter of personal preference and what you’re most comfortable using. Professional virtual assistants are flexible and will be happy to use whatever mode of communication you prefer. As technology advances even further, well, who knows how we’ll be communicating next year or even next month!
Team Double-Click’s Pricing Reduced!
We had such a great response to our Virtual Assistant Sale these last couple of months that we’ve decided to reduce our pricing for good. Rather than going back to a base rate of $25/hour for general admin, the new rate is $22.50/hour. This includes the services of a TCE or TCRE virtual admin as well. Please contact your rep for details or visit us on the web at www.teamdoubleclick.com.
The Successful Virtual Administrative Assistant
We continually, despite how well we screen and interview, find people in administrative and other positions that need to be replaced for poor job performance. Now, I know from being self-employed and owning businesses for the past 15 years that not everyone is going to be a good employee/contractor. In fact, statistically, only about 30% of all applicants for any given position stand a chance at being good at what they do. Staggering odds. Yet, I continue to hold hope that 100% are good. That’s my nature – I trust everyone at face value until they show me otherwise. So it never ceases to surprise me when we find poor performers amongst us. Maybe it’s naivety, maybe it’s my eternal optimism.
So this week, I’m dedicating this article to what makes not only a successful administrative assistant, but a successful VIRTUAL administrative assistant. In other words, what are the successful ones doing that the unsuccessful ones aren’t?
The successful virtual administrative assistants…
Are communicating regularly with the clients we place them with
Are keeping regular business hours. Yes, working virtually does allow for flexibility of hours. BUT, it doesn’t mean you can shirk your duties without repercussions.
Following through with their promises.
Sending in their daily reporting.
Letting us and their clients know immediately when there’s a problem.
Giving us and their clients a heads up when they have a planned day off – as soon as they know about it.
Are not treating their position as a hobby to be taken lightly.
Are treating their position as a JOB and taking it seriously.
Are taking a proactive approach to potential problems.
Are taking ownership and responsibility for their work.
Are not blaming others for their shortcomings.
Are not blaming others for work that didn’t get done.
Are continuing to learn more about the software?s they’re required to use on a regular basis – Word, Excel, etc.
Respond quickly to client requests.
Promptly return phone calls from clients.
Make themselves available when the client needs them.
Realize that to EARN flexibility from the client, they themselves cannot be rigid.
Don’t make demands of the client, rather offer suggestions for improvement.
Are offering to help the client grow his business realizing that this will make their position that much more secure and will allow their position to grow in the process.
Are keeping their clients apprised of their marketing efforts, offering suggestions or solutions when necessary.
Are up selling the client – letting the client know what other duties they might do to lighten the client’s load.
Are being respectful of the client, realizing s/he holds the purse strings.
Are exercising patience with a demanding client.
Are reporting their time accurately.
All of these things and many other factors, which I’ll address in another article, weigh into being successful as an admin/virtual/freelancer/contractor. But first and foremost, you must realize that despite its outward appearance – this is a JOB. The client will expect you to treat it as such and not as something to be done when you decide you have time.
Our clients, for example, don’t make any outlandish requests – just normal, everyday duties that they’ve hired us and you to do and they expect them to be done. That’s really not too much for any client to ask, is it?
Team Double-Click? provides virtual assistance for small and home-based businesses. Visit Team Double-Click?s Web site at http://www.teamdoubleclick.com or click on the banner:
