The Top 8 Tools for Your Virtual Office – Part 1
The Top 8 Tools for Your Virtual Office – Part 1
By Gayle Buske, President and CEO, Team Double-Click® and VirtualAssistingUsA;
At Team Double-Cick® our clients often ask just how to go about setting up a virtual office in other words how does a small but growing business owner avoid renting bricks and mortar office space. Even the tiniest of offices can run several hundred dollars a month. Add to that the cost of the commute, the furniture and computers to furnish that office, and a full time assistant (whom you still have to pay even when you don’t have work to keep them busy).
Setting up a virtual office can seem a bit overwhelming at first, but once you embrace the idea and get a feel for the logistics, it’s really quite easy. We’ve put together a list of the top 8 tools we recommend you use when setting up your virtual office.
Getting the Phones Answered (By Someone Who Is Not You!)
TeleCenter:
A virtual phone system is a must for every virtual office. This system allows your callers’ calls to be answered by your virtual assistant regardless of where she is in the country. Through the phone system, she can answer in your company name (it alerts her that the call is coming from your business), handle those calls that she’s able to handle, and transfer calls to you or other staff members as necessary.
Team Double-Click employs this very phone system with great success, as have many of our clients. Even though we are located in places such as Colorado, California, North Carolina, Texas, Illinois, Michigan, Oregon, and Florida, the TeleCenter system makes it all seem like we’re sitting in the same central office.
And just as important,your assistant can set the system up so that it only rings to your (or her) office during the hours you choose. So if your office hours are 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, you don’t have to hear the phone ringing during off hours, those calls will go to voice mail where your assistant can retrieve them in the morning. The system can also hunt for you if you’re on the road a lot. Again, your assistant simply programs in all of the phone numbers you want to be located at. The system will first try, for example, your home office number; if it doesn’t find you there, it will try your cell phone, and so on until it runs out of numbers. If it does run out of numbers to try, it will transfer the caller into voice mail so you never miss a call.
Faxing: Most Importantly Having Your Assistant Fax For You
A virtual fax is essential so you don’t have to be the only one who can send and receive faxes. There are two companies we recommend using simultaneously for faxing to and from your virtual office.
eFax: http://home.efax.com/
With eFax, any inbound fax documents come directly into your e-mail inbox. You can open and forward the faxes to others, or store them electronically on your computer’s hard drive, thus, reducing or eliminating the need to keep hard files. With eFax you can SEND X number of faxed pages per month for a flat fee starting at $ 12.95/month.
Packetel: Unlimited Incoming Faxes for just $3.95 per month!
https://www.packetel.com
The service offers a dedicated personal fax number with UNLIMITED incoming faxes at a very low cost ($3.95/month). The faxes all come in via email as a picture (.tif) file. This can be set up so you and your virtual assistant receive a copy of each incoming fax. Since it comes in as a picture file, your VA can easily upload those documents into your virtual filing system.
You should set up your letterhead and signatures, etc. so that your published fax number is the Packetel number because of the unlimited inbound capability. Packetel, though, doesn’t allow for outgoing faxes. That’s why we recommend eFax. Because both fax systems are virtual, your VA can fax anything you need. And you can fax files to her for processing very easily since they come in electronically. Just hang on to your hard-line fax machine or use your scanner to scan hard copy documents and you can fax to your Packetel fax number and your VA will receive that information as a picture file in an email. She can process this paperwork or send it on to someone else just as if you simply passed the paperwork across your desk to her.
Transferring Large Files
Have a file that you need your virtual assistant to work on, but it’s too big to send through email? There are two services we recommend for very easy file upload and subsequent download by your virtual assistant or a business associate. Both offer free accounts and both work very well.
They are:
Save File
www.savefile.com/
Send This File
http://www.sendthisfile.com
Filing
Your virtual office wouldn’t be complete without a filing cabinet! Now your virtual assistant can handle your filing with one simple piece of software. If you keep everything as an electronic file or picture file you can easily be 100% paperless, no more papers piling up on your desk, no more buying case upon case of copy paper!
Now, for your virtual assistant to actually do the filing, you will need an online or virtual filing system. The one Team Double-Click® recommends is through Xdrive http://www.xdriv.com . For just $10 per month you can store up to 5GB of files! You and your virtual assistant can both access your files similar to accessing a common file cabinet in the office or a shared hard drive.
You can simply forward your electronic files to her as needed, and she can file them away into the appropriate folders on Xdrive. Viola your filing is virtually done.
This also accomplishes off-site storage and provides for easy retrieval in the event of a fire, computer crash, or natural disaster.
Getting Started
These are our most commonly-encountered/perceived-hurdles to working virtually. Now that you’re armed with the first four tools, you can begin setting up your virtual office. Take your time and learn about the software once you get it in place. Your virtual assistant can help you with that! It may take a little time but if you weigh that against renting an office space you’ve just saved hundreds of dollars a month!
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.
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!
| 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: |
 |
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: |
|
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: |
 |
