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/
Key #2 – Delegate!
For many clients, getting started with a virtual assistant can be difficult. Many of my clients are solopreneurs and small business owners who are used to doing everything themselves. They tend to want to maintain doing things for typically one of two reasons: either they have fears that someone else isn?t capable of doing what they do as well as they can, or they fear that the time it would take to teach someone else how to do it would take more time then them doing it themselves. Let me ask you this. Now that you have a virtual assistant, doesn?t this defeat the purpose? How can anyone expect to grow a business if they hang on to those time draining administrative tasks?
Let?s address the first hurdle of delegation. Can someone else do what I do as well as I can do it? The answer is yes. And the reason I say yes is because what we are talking about is not contract negotiations or other business building activities, but rather administrative support. Hiring a virtual assistant is all about giving you more time so you can focus on your area(s) of expertise; building your business. A virtual assistant isn?t there to take over the operation of your company. She is there to offer you an extra set of eyes, ears and hands so that you can gain more valuable time for either business or family matters.
The first step in moving forward and getting started with delegating is to start making a list of everything you do in your business. Have a notebook or mini-recorder and take notes of everything you do for a full week.
At the end of the week separate the tasks into two categories;
#1 ? those tasks that must absolutely be done by you and
#2 ? those tasks that someone else can do for you.
This seems simple and it actually is. Once you have your list sorted, take a look at the list of tasks that someone else can do for you and prioritize that list either by your sense of urgency or that which will free up the most of your time quickly. What is it that is going to help you the most? What will give you the most immediate benefit? Once you determine your starting point, call your virtual assistant and get started. Talk to your virtual assistant about your list. Discuss the individual tasks and also the big picture of how you see things down the road. Give her something to work on first. Please be careful not to give her the entire list of tasks to do all at once, as that may totally overwhelm her. Start off slow by giving her one or two tasks to work on. Once she completes those tasks, add something else. Before you know it, you?ll wonder what you ever did without her!
So, what if you are struggling with the thought of training an assistant? While initially it can take a great more time to train someone else, think of the big picture. Yes, it most likely will take more time than doing it yourself. Spend the time up front and train your virtual assistant to do it just like you do, then let her do it next time by herself! Once you experience the freedom of having someone else doing that task, it will be much easier next time. You won?t need to worry about how much training time is necessary. You?ll have real confirmation that this is of great value to you.
Speaking of training, I can?t stress enough the importance of documentation. As you start to train with your assistant, make sure that she documents the step-by-step instructions for each and every procedure. Have her email you each set of instructions. This gives you the chance to check for accuracy, ensuring all of the steps are included and in the proper order. Have your assistant compile each procedure into a single document, using a table of contents or index, essentially building you a training manual. This is such a great tool, that I can?t emphasize enough the value you will get down the road. In the future when your virtual assistant needs to take time off or is ill, someone else can fill in for her and everything is that much easier for both of you.
If you have any further questions about how to delegate to your virtual assistant, please give me a call. I?m happy to go over the steps or discuss any other aspect of working with a virtual assistant with you.
| Team Double-click?The original and still the best:? Team Double-Click?s thorough virtual assistant screening process, outstanding customer service, and innovative approach to virtual staffing has earned the company mentions and features in such esteemed media as Entrepreneur Magazine, Staff Digest, CNN Money, NBC News, and even Woman?s Day magazine.? Team Double-Click? is truly setting the standard for the virtual assistant industry.. To find out More about our virtual assistants and service click on following banner: |
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Key #1: Communication
If there is one thing I can never stress enough to both my clients and my virtual assistants, is that the key to the success of their working relationship is communication. Communication is so vital to the success of the relationship that I rank it number one on my list. Every once in a while I will hear from a client that they are frustrated or that things just aren?t working out as they had hoped. When I start to talk to them and really dive into their situation it always boils down to one thing: communication ? or more accurately, the lack of communication.
This morning I received an email from a client who was frustrated and wanted to cancel his account. Why? He says that he lost his faith in having new virtual assistant . He no longer sees the value. ?And why is that,? I asked? In this particular case, the VA did nothing wrong. The client was frustrated that his previous VA had been unable to continue working with him due to her personal and family issues and Mr. Client simply didn’t want to make the change. He dug in his heels and never gave his new virtual assistant a chance.
Unfortunately, even though we have dozens of retention measures in place with our VAs sometimes they still do leave us. In fact, we recently polled our former VAs to see what they were doing. Most of those that have left us didn?t leave because they went to another staffing agency. About 75% simply decided they didn?t want to be or were unable to be a VA any longer. Things change in people?s lives that are beyond our control or even their control such as weddings, children, aging parents, and illness and so on. Just as these things happen in the bricks-and-mortar world, they happen in the virtual world as well. When that happens we all have to move on. We locate another VA for you and you can go about incorporating her into your business. It?s really nothing personal ? VAs don?t leave, generally, because they don?t like you or Team Double-Click? so don?t take it personally.
Did you know that we do more than simply match you up with a virtual assistant? We are here to guide you through the process of getting started with a virtual assistant. We are also here after you get started and just want to ask a question or brainstorm a new project. We won?t leave you in the dark and abandoned. We help with the transition, coaching, training or whatever else might come up. Around here, customer service isn?t just lip service; when we say we want happy clients, we mean it! This is something I go over in extreme detail when I talk with new clients. So what happened for this particular client? Who knows. Some habits are hard to break and sometimes in the excitement of starting something new, we forget some of the other great information we learned once upon a time. Just know that we are here for you today and tomorrow and even next year.
If you are feeling frustrated or unsure how to use your virtual assistant, please tell us. You hired us to make your life easier so that you can have more time to focus on other areas of your business or your life. We are serious about providing our clients and our virtual assistants with all of the support we can possibly offer. Hold us to our word and call me today! I look forward to talking to you.
| 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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