| |
|
|
Posts Tagged ‘virtual assistant coaching’
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
Posted in Virtual Assistant Tips | No Comments »
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
Posted in Virtual Assistant Articles | No Comments »
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
Posted in Virtual Assistant Articles | No Comments »
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
Posted in Virtual Assistant Articles | No Comments »
Virtual Assistants and the Importance of Client Consultation – part 1
Wednesday, August 18th, 2010
With a large number of virtual assistants to choose from these days, how can a potential client choose with which one they would like to work? How can you project a professional image and create synergy with someone you have never met? What can you do or say to make them think ‘I’ve got to work with this person’?
When I first started out as a virtual assistant, more years ago than I care to remember, there were very few VAs around, which meant I had little competition. Nowadays, many of the clients I take on have worked with at least one other VA in the past. When I ask what differences they notice between our way of working and that of other VAs, with whom they have worked previously, they often say that what they like more than anything is that we work as a partnership with our clients. They say that we are proactive in their businesses and look for opportunities for them and suggest ideas, whereas, other VAs just wait for work to be delegated to them.
So, how do we achieve this distinction? Part of it has to do with the mindset. When you make the leap from being an employee to a sole trader, or business owner, you will quickly realise that if you sit around and wait for work to be delegated, you will not get very much of it. At that point you learn to make yourself an active member of your clients ‘team’ very quickly, or you will soon start to founder.
For help with your Client Consultation, check out the podcast at: http://vasuccessgroup.co.uk/virtual-assistant-teleseminars-webinars/
Part 2 of this article follows on 25th August
Tags: remote business, remote secretary, remote worker, virtual, virtual assistant, virtual assistant business, virtual assistant coaching, virtual assistant course, virtual assistant training, virtual business, virtual business assistant, virtual pa, virtual pa course, virtual pa training, virtual professional
Posted in Virtual Assistant Articles, Virtual Assistant Tips | No Comments »
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 »
Create Raving Fans For Your Virtual Assistant Business
Monday, July 26th, 2010
Raving fans are satisfied customers who are happy to tell the world about the benefits of using your VA business. They are a fantastic marketing tool. And, they are free!
A couple of quick ways you can create raving fans are:
Provide added value
Look at ways you can add value for your clients with your services – a referral programme, extra services, etc.
Treat all clients like VIPs
Your clients will appreciate being treated like VIPs and be delighted to talk about it. So, think about how you can make your clients feel special.
For more ideas on how you can create raving fans who will happily promote your Virtual Assistant business to others, check out our free 10 Step Downloads at http://vasuccessgroup.co.uk/virtual-assistant-freebies/10-step-downloads/
Tags: administration services, 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 templates, virtual assistant training, virtual pa, virtual pa course, virtual pa mentoring, virtual pa training, virtual professional, work from home
Posted in Virtual Assistant Tips | No Comments »
|
|
| |
-
-
| |
|
|
|
| |
NETWORKING COURSE: Use the power of networking to build your Virtual Assistant business. Practical course that takes you through the basics of networking |
|
|
|
|
| |
read more |
|
|
|
-
| |
|
|
|
| |
NEW CLIENT TEMPLATES PACK: Create system and templates to effectively bring on board new clients for your business!
|
|
|
|
|
| |
read more |
|
|
|
-
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
|
|
|
