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Posts Tagged ‘home business’
Why You Need A System For Prospects and New Clients
Friday, September 10th, 2010
When you start your virtual assistant (VA) business, it can be overwhelming when you realise how much work is involved. However, you can make things easier for yourself by putting systems in place to deal with every aspect of the business. You will then feel confident that you can handle any situation.
One of the most important systems you need to put in place is one that makes communicating with prospects and new clients straightforward.
An effective system should include:
Information pack – an outline of your working practices, services and rates, which you send to prospective clients interested in your services.
Prospective client questionnaire – a document in which you collate all the information you need to know about your prospect. It should be a guide to the support a prospective client need might need.
Client consultation – your fact-finding process, and a list of detailed questions to ask prospective clients.
Welcome pack – gives new clients all the information they need before they start working with you. Outline your standard operating procedures and pre-empt any questions you think they may have.
‘Pay As You Go’ contract – for work carried out on an ad-hoc basis, or as a one-off project.
Retainer contract – for clients for whom you provide regular, monthly VA support.
Terms and conditions – includes details regarding payment, confidentiality, omissions, etc. These are a vital part of your process as they tell clients how you operate.
New client questionnaire – once new clients come on board, it is useful to get some basic details from them. A questionnaire is a good way to ensure that you get all the information you require.
New customer checklist – use this to make sure so you do not miss anything.
Proposal – detailed proposal, which you can send, if requested, especially to larger companies.
Tags: administration services, client consultation process, free virtual assistant advice, free virtual pa advice, grow your business, home business, networking, outsourced services, outsourcing, remote administration, secretarial services, virtual, virtual assistant, virtual assistant advice, virtual assistant business, virtual assistant coaching, virtual assistant course, virtual assistant documents, virtual assistant mentoring, virtual assistant templates, virtual assistant training, virtual business, virtual business assistant, virtual pa, virtual pa course, virtual pa mentoring, virtual pa training, virtual professional, virtual secretary, work from home
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What Does It Take To Become A Successful Virtual Assistant?
Monday, September 6th, 2010
Find out why we started our own Virtual Assistant businesses, how we get clients and benefit from some top tips by listening to this free audio interview.
Download it now at: http://vasuccessgroup.co.uk/virtual-assistant-freebies/interviews/
Tags: administration services, client consultation process, free virtual assistant advice, free virtual pa advice, grow your business, home business, networking, outsourced services, outsourcing, remote administration, secretarial services, virtual, virtual assistant, virtual assistant advice, virtual assistant business, virtual assistant coaching, virtual assistant course, virtual assistant documents, virtual assistant mentoring, virtual assistant processes, virtual assistant training, virtual business, virtual business assistant, virtual pa, virtual pa course, virtual pa mentoring, virtual pa training, virtual professional, virtual secretary, work from home
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How To Follow Up Networking Events Effectively
Friday, September 3rd, 2010
The most successful networkers do not attend events to promote their businesses; they go to build relationships.
Make contact within 24 hours
If you got on well with people you meet, and felt a connection, call them to reintroduce yourself. If you feel uncomfortable about telephoning, send an email to say that you enjoyed meeting them.
Making contact again will make you stand out from the other people they met at the event. You will be the one who comes to mind if they need the services you can provide. They are also likely to recommend you to their contacts, too.
Arrange one-to-one meetings with people with whom you connect
This should be an informal chat, perhaps over coffee, when you learn about each other and start to build a business relationship.
The aim of this initial one-to-one meeting is not to sell your services or products; it is about building a relationship. So, keep it relaxed and just ask questions to learn more about the person and his or her business. This achieves the best results.
Introduce people to your network
When you attend an event, keep in mind those in your network who could be of help to the people you meet. You can then introduce them at a later event or by email. People will think that you have a wide range of valuable connections, and you will gain a reputation as a worthwhile contact.
If you follow this advice, you will be raising your profile in the local business community and promoting your business at the same time!
Tags: administration services, client consultation process, free virtual assistant advice, grow your business, home business, networking, outsourced services, outsourcing, remote administration, secretarial services, virtual assistant, virtual assistant advice, virtual assistant business, virtual assistant course, virtual assistant documents, virtual assistant mentoring, virtual assistant processes, virtual assistant templates, virtual assistant training, virtual pa, virtual pa course, virtual pa mentoring, virtual pa training, virtual professional, work from home
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Additional Services Your Virtual Assistant Business Can Offer
Friday, August 27th, 2010
There are a number of different services that you can add to your business to take it to the next level and provide a ‘one stop shop’.
Some of these include:
Telephone answering
This can be a really popular, but you must consider whether you want to provide the service yourself, or if it something you would prefer to pass on to a fellow VA with whom you have forged a partnership arrangement. I do offer the service, although, I do not do it myself as I am often out and about, so I cannot guarantee the quality of service that my clients deserve. However, I do have a VA partner who is more than happy to do this type of work.
If you do offer this service, it needs to be from 9am to 5pm as a minimum, so think hard whether it is something you want to do yourself before you start advertising the service.
Website design
This is a specialist skill and something that is charged at a higher rate. Before offering this service, ask yourself if you possess the necessary skills, or whether you would need to outsource the work.
Another service you could offer is a maintenance retainer package, whereby your clients pay in advance for maintenance of their sites.
Legal Virtual Assistant
A legal virtual assistant is someone who works with solicitors on either an ad hoc or regular basis, providing all the services of a legal secretary.
What will you add to your VA business?
Tags: administration services, free virtual assistant advice, free virtual pa advice, grow your business, home business, outsourced services, outsourcing, remote administration, secretarial services, virtual, virtual assistant, virtual assistant advice, virtual assistant business, virtual assistant coaching, virtual assistant course, virtual assistant training, virtual business assistant, virtual pa, virtual pa course, virtual pa training, virtual professional, virtual secretary, work from home
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Free Article You Can Use: Growing Your Virtual Assistant Business
Monday, August 23rd, 2010
There are many ways that you can grow your VA business, from adding additional services to bringing other people on board to work with you.
Check out this great article about Growing Your Virtual Assistant Business.
Visit http://vasuccessgroup.co.uk/virtual-assistant-freebies/articles
Tags: administration services, free virtual assistant advice, free virtual pa advice, grow your business, home business, outsourced services, remote administration, remote secretary, secretarial services, virtual assistant, virtual assistant advice, virtual assistant business, virtual assistant coaching, virtual assistant course, virtual assistant networking, virtual assistant training, virtual business, virtual business assistant, virtual pa, virtual pa course, virtual pa training, virtual professional, virtual secretary, work from home
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Niche Marketing for Virtual Assistants
Friday, August 20th, 2010
When you start out in business you will get very excited and, probably, target small- to medium-size businesses as your perfect VA clients. This is what most new business owners do. So, many people will be targeting exactly the same prospective clients as you, including other virtual assistants.
The key to a successful and thriving VA business is to be specific and narrow your target market, because ultimately it is easier to market a smaller prospective client base. Believe it or not, marketing to fewer people is easy, because you can target your approach, which will be much more cost-effective.
If you target your message to everyone, how can you make it relevant?
If you are going to be working with people in different industries, they will have different issues, different problems, different jargon, different ways of doing things and different service needs. So, trying to create marketing material that is relevant to everyone is almost impossible.
By being selective about whom you help, and about the specialist services that you offer, you can target your marketing material accordingly.
To put this into context, let’s go over some numbers. There are hundreds of thousands of small businesses in the UK, and the number increases on a daily basis. So, ask yourself how many of these can you realistically have as clients. We are not superhuman, so I imagine you would agree that you could not work with all of them. But, if you narrow it down to a specific type of industry (maybe a few thousand companies), would you be able to work with one per cent of this market? Now the figure becomes far more manageable and achievable.
Tags: administration services, free virtual assistant advice, grow your business, home business, outsourced services, outsourcing, remote administration, remote business, remote secretary, secretarial services, virtual, virtual assistant, virtual assistant advice, virtual assistant business, virtual assistant coaching, virtual assistant course, virtual assistant mentoring, virtual assistant training, virtual business, virtual business assistant, virtual pa, virtual pa course, virtual pa training, virtual professional, virtual secretary, work from home
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What To Ask During Your Client Consultation Process
Friday, August 13th, 2010
You may want to consider some of the following questions when writing your own client consultations.
Contact information
You need to ask for telephone numbers and an email address before your scheduled consultation so that you can contact them if they don’t call.
Business type
What industry do they work in? What products/services do they provide? With what types of clients do they work?
What are their goals/vision?
What are their goals for the next five years? This is a good question as you can tell them how you could help them to achieve their goals.
What are they struggling to complete in their businesses?
Some prospective clients may have an idea of areas in which they need some help. After I have ended the consultation, I ask all prospective clients to keep a list of all the tasks they have insufficient time to complete, or that they do not like doing, over the course of a week. I then schedule a follow-up call for a week later to go through the list to see where I can help them.
Describe a typical day for you
This will reveal some details about their personality and work style, which should tell you whether you want to work with them.
Have you worked with a PA or virtual assistant before?
This is an important question as, if the answer is yes, you can ask supplementary questions to see whether the relationship worked or not.
What information should you reveal about yourself?
What information should your prospective clients be told about you? Do you want to tell them you work full-time, fit your work around children, or work only during term-time? Establish now what information you want to share, so that you do not forget during the call.
Tags: administration services, client consultation process, free virtual assistant advice, free virtual pa advice, grow your business, home business, outsourced services, outsourcing, remote administration, secretarial services, virtual, virtual assistant, virtual assistant advice, virtual assistant business, virtual assistant coaching, virtual assistant course, virtual assistant mentoring, virtual assistant networking, virtual assistant processes, virtual assistant training, virtual business, virtual business assistant, virtual pa, virtual pa course, virtual pa mentoring, virtual pa training, virtual professional, virtual secretary, work from home
Posted in Virtual Assistant Articles, Virtual Assistant Tips | No Comments »
Free Article You Can Use: Tips For Setting Up Your Home-Based Office
Monday, August 9th, 2010
A question we are frequently asked by aspiring virtual assistants is, "What should I consider when setting up my office at home?"
Check out this great article about Tips For Setting Up Your Home-Based Office.
Visit http://vasuccessgroup.co.uk/virtual-assistant-freebies/articles
Tags: administration services, client consultation process, free virtual assistant advice, free virtual pa advice, grow your business, home business, outsourced services, remote administration, remote secretary, secretarial services, virtual assistant, virtual assistant advice, virtual assistant business, virtual assistant coaching, virtual assistant course, virtual assistant documents, virtual assistant mentoring, virtual assistant training, virtual business, virtual business assistant, virtual pa, virtual pa course, virtual pa mentoring, virtual pa training, virtual professional, virtual secretary, work from home
Posted in Virtual Assistant Articles, Virtual Assistant Tips | No Comments »
Why Use A Client Consultation Process?
Friday, August 6th, 2010
The bonus of being a Virtual Assistant is that you are your own boss, and it is you who determines how you want to run your business.
This means that you can choose the type of clients with whom you want to work.
You need to determine your niche market and create a profile for your ideal client (see marketing chapter for more information) in order to filter out those with whom you do not want to work.
The bonus of using a client consultation is that you can determine in advance whether you would be a good fit before you start working together. It also shows that you are a serious and professional business owner.
Do not go through the information as soon as someone calls with an initial enquiry. Have set times each week when you conduct client consultation sessions and schedule them in your diary. This makes the potential client realise, subconsciously, that you are not an employee, but are, in fact, a fellow business owner.
If you prepare your process and questions in advance, you will come across as a true professional.
Tags: administration services, client consultation process, free virtual assistant advice, grow your business, home business, outsourced services, outsourcing, remote administration, secretarial services, virtual assistant, virtual assistant advice, virtual assistant business, virtual assistant coaching, virtual assistant documents, virtual assistant mentoring, virtual assistant processes, virtual assistant training, virtual pa, virtual pa course, virtual pa mentoring, virtual pa training, virtual professional, work from home
Posted in Virtual Assistant Articles | No Comments »
Have You Got What It Takes To Become A Virtual Assistant – Part 2
Friday, July 30th, 2010
Last week we talked about some of the skills and attributes you need to be a successful Virtual Assistant… Here are five more:
Are you prepared to work harder and longer hours?
Being your own boss is very rewarding but also a lot of hard work. You now wear all the hats and have to learn a lot of new skills. You need to be prepared to put in the work and hours to make your business a success.
Can you afford to start up?
One of the first questions many new VAs ask is: “How long does it takes to get clients?” Some people have clients lined up before ‘opening their doors’, others find it takes them up to six months. You need to make sure that you have sufficient capital to cover your expenses until your business is in a position to pay you a salary. I recommend that you have enough capital to cover your costs for approximately six months.
Can you be self disciplined with your time?
Your time is now money. However, you will find that not everyone values your time as you do. The main offenders will be your family and friends, who believe that you only work part-time and spend your time sitting at home watching daytime TV!
You need to be self-disciplined and create boundaries for your friends and family; they need to appreciate that your work time is just that.
Do you have support from your family and friends?
The support of family and friends will motivate you to make your business a success. You may need to make some sacrifices with your time in the early days. This will be easier if they understand why your business is important to you and how they can help.
Have you conducted all the research?
Starting up in business is a very serious decision to make, and is one that should not be taken lightly. The first steps you need to take are research, research and more research. This way you are fully prepared for the journey you will be taking towards a full, thriving and successful VA business.
By becoming a VA, you are entering an exciting industry, full of supportive people. Join the organisations and become involved – this way you will get to know your fellow VAs.
Tags: administration services, free virtual assistant advice, grow your business, home business, outsourced services, outsourcing, remote administration, virtual assistant, virtual assistant advice, virtual assistant business, virtual assistant coaching, virtual assistant documents, virtual assistant mentoring, virtual assistant processes, virtual assistant templates, virtual assistant training, virtual pa, virtual pa course, virtual pa mentoring, virtual pa training, virtual professional, work from home
Posted in Virtual Assistant Articles, Virtual Assistant Tips | No Comments »
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NETWORKING COURSE: Use the power of networking to build your Virtual Assistant business. Practical course that takes you through the basics of networking |
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NEW CLIENT TEMPLATES PACK: Create system and templates to effectively bring on board new clients for your business!
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The templates I have purchased from your website are fantastic – I had no idea where to start with producing these kind of documents and your forms are brilliant. I have customised and tweaked and have already put into please the Pre-consultation Questionnaire....and I look forward to using the Client Consultation form tomorrow when I meet the potential new client. The welcome pack and information pack is also extremely useful and I spent the weekend branding them all as my own.
Thank you so much for these – the process was easy to download....fast....reasonably priced...and exactly what I was after! It would have taken hours of my time had I even attempted to put these docs together myself from scratch...so thank you again! You have made my life easier and my business look more professional! I love them!
I’m sure I will be back for more!
Lisa
www.inapickle-va.com
After starting my VA business last year in the recession I was feeling that I had lost my way. I signed up to have a one to one with Justine and I was very impressed how clear everything became. It is so important to talk through your worries and fears with someone who has been there and done it.
I have revamped my website and have clearer goals than before.
I really appreciated the feedback and support that Justine provided.
Linda Nicol
www.pacentral.co.uk
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