Want to know the top five business-growth tasks you should be focusing on to keep your business moving forward
Top Five Business-Growers
By Gayle Buske, President and CEO, Team Double-Click® and VirtualAssistingUSA;
You may not have the financial resources to hire a full-time administrative assistant, receptionist, or marketing assistant to join your staff, but that doesn’t mean growing your business is out of the question. Read on to learn how to grow your business this year utilizing Team Double-Click® pay-only-for-what-you-use virtual assistants.
Hiring a full-time assistant to join your staff may not be in the plan this year, but growing your business should be on your must-do list for 2009.
Want to know the top five business-growth tasks you should be focusing on to keep your business moving forward? We asked our most successful clients what they were doing to grow their businesses right now. Here are their top picks:
1. Cold calling
How do new clients and customers find you? If yours is like many companies, cold calling is a must to reach more and more people and more business. You have target markets and geographic regions which are preferred. But do you have the time (or the desire) to sit down and cold call all of those prospects in order to make the sales?
While we can’t speak for independent virtual assistants or other staffing agency’s virtual assistants, Team Double-Click’s virtual assistants are sent through a very thorough cold calling course. The cold calling course teaches them how to successfully get past gate keepers, how to effectively present products and services to the prospect, and how to gain the best advantage when it comes to making a sale.
Why not pass that icky cold calling task and your list of prospects on to a virtual assistant and watch your business grow?
2. Lead follow up
Your company’s quick follow up (or lack of) to new, inbound leads gives potential clients a glimpse into what working with your company will look like. Additionally, if you don’t follow up fast enough, experts agree that the potential client will quickly move on to someone who either answers their call on the first try or calls back quickly. Missed lead follow up results in lost sales. Period.
Make sure there is always time for quick lead follow up. If you don’t have time to personally follow up with leads, have your virtual assistant follow up for you. It’s quite simple to create a list of common FAQs to pass along to your virtual assistant so she can answer any question that comes along. It’s equally easy to educate your virtual assistant on your company’s product and service offerings so he or she can seamlessly follow up with and reel in new clients for you.
3. Social networking
These days, social networking on sites like Twitter, LinkedIn, Plaxo, and others is all the rage. And with good reason. They’re helping businesses connect with new prospects and new clients.
However, it’s hard to find the time to sit down in front of the computer long enough and consistently enough to get maximum value from the hundreds of social networking sites out there. With social networking, consistency is key. Your virtual assistant can efficiently and consistently use these social networking sites to drive new business your way.
4. Internet marketing
It goes without saying that if your business is on the internet in any manner, getting your internet marketing done and done well is a must. And again, consistency is the key to making internet marketing a success.
Again, while we can’t speak for independent virtual assistants or other staffing agency’s virtual assistants, Team Double-Click’s virtual assistants are sent through a very thorough internet marketing course. The course teaches them internet marketing trends, terms and principles, web analytics, affiliate marketing, search marketing, blogging, social media, email marketing, and digitally enhanced productivity strategies.
These virtual assistants can unleash those internet marketing talents on marketing your business on the internet and bringing new clients your way.
5. Customer service/reception
First impressions are often made when a client calls your company. Do your phones roll to voice mail? Or worse still, do they go nowhere when you’re out of the office? In economy like this, you can’t afford to miss an incoming phone call from either a current client or a prospective client.
Make sure your phones are always answered, your current customers taken care of, and potential clients get their questions answered and are shown how to become a new client by having a virtual assistant answer the phones for you. You gain instant “bigger company status” by not answering the phones yourself. And what’s more, if you are out of the office, your customers and potential customers still receive the assistance they need. Since virtual assistants only “clock in” when they’re performing your tasks, you don’t pay for unproductive standby time.
Talented virtual assistants are available for either ongoing work through Team Double-Click® or direct placement through our new Direct Placement Virtual Assistant Program. With ongoing work through Team Double-Click® you receive all of the benefits of working through an agency, such as ongoing virtual assistant coaching, we do the hiring and firing, we do the billing and payables, etc. With our new Direct Placement Virtual Assistant Program, for just a $495 one-time fee, we’ll expertly match you with one of our screened and trained virtual assistants and then you’re free to work directly together. Most clients enjoy savings of more than 50% without the ongoing agency fees, etc.
About the author:
Gayle Buske is the co-founder, president and CEO of Team Double-Click® and VirtualAssistingUSA. As the head of a virtual staffing agency with over 57,000 virtual professionals in its pool, Ms. Buske is uniquely qualified to aid small business owners in their growth and development through virtual outsourcing. Virtual Assistants across the globe look to Ms. Buske and her organizations for guidance, mentoring and motivation
How to Survive in the Storm during the Economic Crisis
Surviving the Storm: Creatively Staying Afloat During the Economic Crisis
By Cecile Hairston, Team Double-Click® Staff Writer
Layoffs; cutbacks; 401(k) savings accounts drained as the stock market plummets. The unemployment rate is announced to be at a 16-year high…
It is no wonder that the questions you ask yourself just about every day are, “Am I going to make it?” “Am I going to even have a job next month?” “Will my business be in business next month?” Business owners struggle to keep afloat. Against this backdrop, the daily headlines scream “Bailouts Will Push US into Depression,” “USA 2008: the Great Depression,” “Is the US Headed toward the Second Great Depression?”
By all indications, the American economy has entered into a period of economic recession. Many blame the extreme covetousness of the predators in the banking industry. Others blame the folly of home buyers for falling prey. Still others just down-right blame our government. Regardless of where you fall on this spectrum, economic experts unanimously say the same thing: tough times are here, and it’s going to get worse before it gets better. Now individuals, families and businesses alike are faced with the task of re-evaluating the way things are done. Streamlining – making changes toward increased efficiency – is now a requirement for surviving this economic storm. Team Double-Click’s® modus operandus provides an effective way of doing just that.
Team Double-Click® is a virtual staffing agency, working with tens of thousands of virtual office assistants across the USA and Canada. Through its thorough screening process, Team Double-Click® provides professional virtual office assistants and professional real estate virtual assistants for businesses.
For the Business Owner
Marketing and business gurus encourage businesses to learn from the mistakes made by business owners during the first depression. Many warn that the greatest mistake is doing nothing. They explain that companies that went under, or lost their lead after the first depression, had foolishly imagined doing nothing would lead to stability and lowered risks. Team Double-Click’s innovative model provides an appropriate and effective response for businesses by helping them shave dollars off their budgets, contain costs, and streamline operations. Team Double-Click® clients have even seen as much as an 80% savings by using virtual assistants. One client explains, “Having Team Double-Click® virtual assistants handle the majority of my administrative tasks has cut over $100,000 from my payroll and provided better skills and talents, better accountability, organization, and stability.”
How is this possible? Clients are able to reduce overhead costs because they:
- Pay only for the administrative time they use – even when the virtual assistant(s) are on standby;
- No longer have to buy desks, computers, telephones, and other office equipment;
- Are able to entirely eliminate their
- health insurance, sick time, vacation time, plus other benefits;
- Greatly reduce other operating expenses such as electricity and other utilities; and
- Can continue or even increase their marketing, as recommended by the marketing pros, by using virtual assistants to perform these tasks as a much lower cost than an in-office employee.
For the Independent Contractors
Team Double-Click® provides savings to its contractors (virtual assistants) as well. A contractor eliminates many of the everyday expenses that an individual would incur while commuting to the traditional office every day.
For starters, an immediate benefit is saving hundreds of dollars per month in gasoline expenses alone. A contractor could realize savings ranging from a few hundred to several thousand dollars per year in vehicular upkeep expenses. There is also savings on maintenance, parking, insurance, as well as on reduced wear and tear.
Oh, did I mention savings on the expenses for all those power suits, dry cleaning costs, power lunches, or just plain old lunch? Plus, for those who can work around a spouse’s schedule, there are savings on childcare costs, or, at minimum, a reduction in the cost of childcare. Lastly, as a Team Double-Click® independent contractor, one has the benefit of additional *tax deductions. These may include:
- Deductions for expenses like paper and printer ink, etc.
- Operating and depreciation expenses on their homes;
- A percentage of the rent or mortgage;
- A percentage of the property taxes, insurance and utilities;
- A portion of the household maintenance, repairs or household expenses; and
- Expenses from using their vehicle (gas, insurance, depreciation).
Source: http://www.teamdoubleclick.com/
The Joy of Networking
I have a new favorite book that I?d like to share with you: ?The Go Giver? by Bob Burg and John David Mann (available on Amazon). I?ve mentioned my friend Bob in other articles I?ve done on sales and marketing. ?The Go Giver? is a great, short story that truly shows the joys and benefits of networking.
Have you tried networking ? really networking? You?ve got to try it! Trust me, if you get into it you?ll have the time of your life. At Team Double-Click? we?ve always practiced networking, but more recently we?ve kicked it up a notch. We?re actively seeking value-added partners who offer services and products that will be of benefit to our clients and virtual assistants.
While this may sound like a very bland task, it?s actually a constant high and very fun. You simply can?t imagine the rush when you selflessly connect two people or two organizations that can benefit one another until you try it. Once you do, I guarantee you?ll be hooked. And that?s a huge part of networking ? simply talking to other people, finding out what they do, and then connecting them with other people who can help them with whatever ails.
Once you?ve made the connection, stand back and watch what happens. You?ll see those two entities that you connected flourish. Oh, and there?s something in it for you too. Those folks will remember you when your products or services can be of benefit to them and their network of people. As if watching two people, whom you connected, grow and flourish and help one another doesn?t make you stand in awe of the process, having those connections come back to help you later will.
So how do you make connections between other people? Listen. Listen. Listen. Listen to what your connections have to offer. Ask what makes the ideal client or the ideal solution for them. Store that information in your database and in your brain. When you talk to another contact, repeat the process. Then you play the memory game and use your outside viewpoint to see who fits with whom.
Once you?ve identified a connection between your contacts, make the introduction! Call Joe and say, ?hey Joe, I know someone who can help you out?here?s her information.? Then you call Suzie and say, ?Suzie, Joe would be a great client for you?he needs X, Y, and Z?exactly what you have to offer.? You can simply give contact information to each party or you can go one step further and set up a conference call so you can introduce them personally.
I recommend a conference call whenever possible. This gives you the opportunity to make proper introductions and give a better background on each party, which will maximize the success potential of both parties.
In a short article like this, there simply isn?t enough space to give you all the finer points of networking. What I can do though is suggest another book: ?Endless Referrals? also by Bob Burg. ?Endless Referrals? will give you dozens of great tips, like the couple above, and many how-to?s for successful networking.
So get out there and start networking and find your own networking high!
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How You Save Money by Hiring a Virtual Assistant
Breaking Down the Costs
Being in the virtual staffing business, we at Team Double-Click? are often asked, ?why should I hire a virtual assistant and how would it benefit me?? The answer is simple: you will save money (nearly 50 percent) and time.
I don?t think it?s any secret that when an employee is in the office 40 hours a week, that they are not actually working all of those hours. They have numerous distractions a day from children and spouses calling to chatting with their coworkers. A study by Basex, a New York research firm, found that office distractions total 2.1 hours a day for the average employee – more than 10 hours and 25 percent of a regular workweek. That doesn?t even take into account the amount of time an employee spends on personal tasks at work. That is time that the employer is paying them for. With virtual staffing, you only pay for the exact amount of time your virtual employee works.
In addition, you don?t pay for office expenses such as utilities, desk, chair, computer, and the office space itself.
Then there are benefits expenses including, vacation time, sick time, and insurance coverage. With virtual staffing, the virtual employee (who is an independent contractor) is responsible for those costs. With a virtual employee, you pay for their hourly rate and reimburse for any costs incurred for the job (mailing costs, etc.)
As you can see from the charts below, hiring a virtual employee is extremely economical for your company.
Wage $15/hour x 40 hr/week = $31,200/year
Social Security (.062 x 31,200) = $1,934/year
Medicare (.0145 x 31,200) = $452/year
Workers comp (.15 x 31,200) = $4,680/year
Sick time 1 week/year = $600/year
Vacation time 2 weeks/year = $1,200/year
Health Insurance Average = $7,800/year
FUTA (.008 x 7,000) = $56/year
Cost of hiring According to Business Week = $3,270/year
Office distractions* = $8,190 per year
Office utilities $300 per month = $3,600/year
Computer Computer for the assistant = $1,000
Desk and chair Modest desk and chair = $700
Add?l phone line Phone line install & monthly charges = $1,300
Office space Moderate office $900/month = $10,800/year
Total = $73,782 per year
Or
= $35.47 per hour
*A study by Basex, a New York research firm.
Wage $24.86/hour x 30 hr/week
= $38,782/year
Social Security N/A Independent Contractor = $0
Medicare N/A Independent Contractor = $0
Workers comp N/A Independent Contractor = $0
Sick time N/A Only Pay for Time Worked = $0
Vacation time N/A Only Pay for Time Worked = $0
Health Insurance N/A Independent Contractor = $0
FUTA N/A Independent Contractor = $0
Cost of hiring Team Double-Click? requires no start up payment = $0
Office distractions* Working from home there are no office distractions = $0
Office utilities N/A Independent Contractor – they pay their own utilities = $0
Computer N/A Independent Contractor – they buy their own computer = $0
Desk and chair N/A Independent Contractor – they buy their own desk and chair = $0
Add?l phone line N/A Independent Contractor – they pay for their own phone = $0
Office space N/A working from home = $0
Total = $38,782/year
Or
$18.65/hour
*Workweek is listed as 30 hours because Team Double-Click? only charges for time worked; the Virtual Assistant would still be on call 40 hours.
When all is said and done, you spend nearly double the amount for an in-house employee than for a virtual one.
Time is money. Hire a virtual employee and save on both.
| Team Double-Click?We don’t just tell you where you can find a virtual assistant. We assess your needs and match you with one of our highly-skilled and Team Double-Click? trained virtual assistants. Then we monitor and nurture that relationship so you get the most out of hiring virtually. Think of us as your virtual Human Resources department!. To find out More about our virtual assistants and service click on following banner: |
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