Business Management – Page 6 – Virtual Assistant Success Strategies

Wil Hart on November 29, 2009

How to Ensure A Successful Relationship With Your Clients

Having a good relationship with your clients is critical if you want to have a successful Virtual Assistant business. It all begins with laying a strong foundation. You’ll need to have best practices firmly in place so that when a new client says “Yes I want to work with you” you’ll have everything in place that you need to get off to a great start.

Taking time to establish the groundwork will give you a strong foundation, which will help your business stand out. Not only will a new client continue to use your VA services, they will refer others to you as well. The following tips will help you to develop a strong relationship with your clients right from day one:

Put everything in writing. It’s important to have a written contract. That way you both are in agreement about the details of the partnership. Be sure to provide your client with a copy of your policies and procedures, detailing how you operate your business. This should include your hours of operation, fee structure, billing schedule and termination policy.
You’ll want to summarize the items you and your new client have discussed and include this summary along with the contract you send the client to sign. This will let your new client know that you have a good understanding of what the expectations are including deadlines and any special or specific tasks the project involves. It will help things to run smoothly from the beginning and avoid problems down the road.
Once the client has decided to work with you, forward them your contract documents as soon as possible. Include in these documents a client profile intake sheet so you can gather important details about your client’s business. Having this information at your fingertips will allow you to serve your clients better and more efficiently. Do not start working on any projects until you have a signed agreement and payment in hand. Doing so will show your new client that you really value his or her business and are ready to start working.
From the very beginning, it’s important to establish good communication with your clients. Tell them up front what your communication plan is. Be clear about your accessibility, how often the two of you will talk, your turnaround time for responding to emails and how each of you prefers to communicate. Strong communication is the backbone of any successful relationship, so you’ll want to be proactive about staying in regular communication with your clients. This also includes taking meticulous notes during your conversations with the client. Pay attention to what’s being said (and what’s not said) and ask the necessary questions to get clarification. You’ll want to have all of the necessary details in your notes so that you can refer to them once you start the requested task or project.
Further to this, make sure you understand exactly when work is to be completed. One thing you ALWAYS want to do is to meet deadlines and avoid excuses. Although unexpected delays will come up, make it a good practice to meet all deadlines. Meeting deadlines and excellent client service is critical in building a good relationship with your new client. If you find yourself in a situation where you see that you aren’t going to meet a deadline, advise your client of this right away. Be honest about the situation and present solutions that will solve the problem. DON’T wait until the deadline has passed and then tell the client you weren’t able to complete the job. Being forthright about the matter will increase the trust and respect your client has for you.
Give your clients more than they ask for by having a policy of under promising and over delivering. If they need something by a certain date and time always try to get the task completed before that time. If you can take some extra time to make certain a presentation is even better than they asked for or expected that’s even better. Do not over promise by setting unrealistic deadlines for yourself.
Make it a point to back up your work on a consistent basis. Your clients are depending on you to protect their work so make certain that it is protected. Back up to an outside source (such as Mozy, Syncplicity or iBackup) as well as to an external hard drive in your office. In addition, have the habit of proofreading ALL of your work and then reproofing it by reading it at a later time to avoid mistakes. You want to deliver high quality services at all time.

Enrolling a new client into your practice is the beginning of an exciting adventure! By following the steps noted above, you’ll build a strong foundation for a long-term, successful and profitable relationship.

Wil Hart on November 13, 2009

Organization + Systems = Clarity and Progress

You may recall me mentioning that my theme for 2010 is going to be “organization”. Two of the things I pride myself on in my business are knowing where everything in my office is and making steady progress in my business. But, I’ll be the first two admit, things are not always as organized as they could be.

I think this is the case with most entrepreneurs. We are so great with coming up with ideas. We LOVE to start new projects. But we aren’t always great at finishing those projects or keeping our business affairs in order. That fact often leads to a whole host of challenges.

It can result in a lot of wasted time (which directly affects one’s income). It can also create a lack of clarity (which prevents focused, consistent action). It will almost ALWAYS lead to frustration (which affects one’s mood and is NOT client attractive).

The good news is that organizing your business and implementing systems is not nearly as difficult as one might think. Following are a few strategies I’ve learned (in JUST two sessions) from my friend and organizer extraordinaire, Joshua Zerkel: Continue Reading>>

Wil Hart on November 6, 2009

3 Step Formula to Success As A Virtual Assistant

Are you ready to create different results in your business in the new year? Most of us are. Whatever level of success you may have achieved in 2009, it’s almost certain that you can expand that in 2010.

But what is going to be so different about the new year? I can’t foretell the future and I don’t know what exciting changes and opportunities are in store for you. But what I can tell you is that the one thing you can control is…..

Your mindset!

Your mindset is simply the perspective from which you view the world. More specifically, in this case, the way you view your business. How are you feeling about your business these days? Are you struggling to fill your practice with clients? Wondering how you’re going to pay your bills? Overwhelmed by the time and energy it takes to run your business?

If so, you are not alone! Many in the industry are feeling the same way. BUT, there are many who are making progress, working with a practice full of clients and generating a consistent income. “What is different about these VAs”, you ask?

Their mindset!

So, let’s talk about how you can get on-board the VA” success train”. Here are the three keys to changing your mindset and achieving success in your business:

Gain Clarity

Feelings of overwhelm and frustration often stem from a lack of clarity. When you are clear and focused in your business, it’s easy to get off track and difficult to achieve your goals. So, one of the first things you need to do is to get clear on what it is you are trying to accomplish. Here are some questions to consider:

What am I really trying to accomplish in my business? (Be specific, i.e. the number of clients you want to work with, the amount of revenue you want to generate, etc.)
What are the results and benefits I provide to my target market? (Hint: I help ________________ do/eliminate/find_________________.)
Who is my ideal client? (Be VERY specific here – Make up a persona that needs and wants to buy your services from you.)
Where can I start connecting with groups of my ideal clients (Think trade associations, networking groups, chamber of commerce events, friends, family and past/present colleagues.)
What strategies can I use to connect with my client? (In person networking, online marketing, mailing a letter of introduction, etc.)

The goal here is to step back from what you’re currently doing in your business and get crystal clear on the results you want to create. Don’t worry about what hasn’t worked in the past. Embrace a positive, abundant attitude. Instead of saying “I can’t do that,” ask “How can I do that?” Shift the way you look at yourself and your business away from self-doubt, insecurity and procrastination to a mindset of confidence and tenacity.

Take Action

Now that you are clear on what you want to accomplish, it’s time to take action. If you want different results in your business, you’ve got to take action, starting NOW!

You aren’t going to overhaul your business overnight and you shouldn’t try. But what you SHOULD do is to break larger projects/tasks down into manageable pieces and schedule the time to make it happen. That’s right! Schedule it! Don’t leave it to chance.

Plan ahead now to:

Create your business and marketing plan for 2010 (Need help with this? Be on the look out for a special announcement next Tuesday!)
Research your target market and find out what their current needs and struggles are. (NOTE: People’s lives change everyday. You have to stay abreast of what problems your ideal clients are looking to solve.)
Research networking opportunities either live or online where you can start connecting with your ideal clients
Practice talking about what you do so that it’s comfortable, authentic and attractive.

Embrace The Results

Now that you’ve gained clarity around what you want to accomplish, have started implementing and taking action, it’s time to enjoy the results! Start a journal where you keep track of the “wins” in your business (no matter how “small” they may seem”) and choose one person in your life to share them with.

Enjoy the process of upgrading your mindset. When you find a moment of overwhelm or discouragement coming up, open up your journal and review your progress and pat yourself on the back for what you HAVE done. Use this exercise to quiet the negative voices in your head that may be trying to hold you back.

Start stepping out of your comfort zone! It’s ok to take small steps, but you want to be progressive in your business. If an opportunity doesn’t work out as you planned or a particular networking event doesn’t offer any leads, don’t view the situation as a failure. Rather, look at what you can learn from it and how you can do better next time. That’s the beauty of being self-employed, you can make changes anytime you want to improve the quality of your business!

Here is the simple formula:

Gain Clarity + Take Action + Get Results = Entrepreneurial Success

Implementing these simple strategies will help you to overcome a limiting mindset and start attracting the business success you deserve!

Your Action Plan For This Week

Answer the questions listed above to get clear on your business goals
Map out your action plan and schedule time on your calendar to implement
Post your thoughts/feedback/comments below and let us know how you’re doing. We want to cheer you on!

Wil Hart on October 1, 2009

Getting Back to Basics: 5 Steps to Strengthen Your Business Foundation and Become More Profitable

One of the most important lessons I learned in my business early on, was how important it is to have and maintain a strong foundation in your business. In order to support our growth and efforts to achieve our goals, our business needs a solid infrastructure on which we can build. If this infrastructure is not in place, you could find yourself in a position where you are growing too fast too soon and not serving your clients nearly as well as you should be. This in turn will create unnecessary stress and frustration, which equals a not so happy Virtual Assistant who is working harder and making less money than she should.

So, it’s important to take stock of your business periodically and see how your foundation is holding up and what improvements you need to make. And if you’re just starting out, you’ll do yourself a HUGE favor by setting up a strong business foundation from day one. This is the perfect time of year to consider these points, as we are heading into fall and the final quarter of 2009. If you set aside time now to analyze your business operations and start making adjustments, you’ll be primed and ready to jump into 2010, while most everyone else is still trying to wrap their heads around their New Year’s resolutions!

Following are my top five tips for assessing your business and strengthening your foundation:

1) Review and revise your business plan – Many times business owners create a business plan when they are first starting out, get excited about it, but then file it away and never look at it again. Sometimes new entrepreneurs don’t even take the time to develop a simple business plan. This is a BIG mistake! Going through the steps to create a business plan is a terrific way to get all of your ideas out on paper and to create a roadmap to follow to grow your business. Its easy to think one can keep all of their ideas, goals and strategies locked safely in their memory. But there are two things wrong with that. 1) You absolutely can’t remember all of the details and 2) you’ll have a more difficult time working towards them because you haven’t committed your thoughts to paper. So schedule time on your calendar NOW to review and revise your business plan. (Or if you’re just starting out, to create one – which we will help you with in our “Get A Strong Start” class). Think about all that you’ve accomplished thus far in 2009 and map out your goals for 2010 and then how you’ll achieve them.

2) Take stock of your financial situation – For some this can be the least “exciting” part of running a business. That is having to deal with all of the “number stuff”. But, most of us start our companies to make a profit and support our families – not to unintentionally be running a non-profit organization where we work for free. You won’t know which category you fall into if you aren’t clear on the financial state of your business. If you are not already doing so, ask your accountant or bookkeeper to start running monthly reports of your expenses and income so you can see how profitable you REALLY are. You may be surprised to find out which of your services is actually most profitable and then start focusing more attention on those. Also, you’ll see clearly how your expenses are affecting your bottom line and what adjustments need to be made.

3) Review your business standards to see if they are still working for you – One of the things my coach helped me to do when I was first starting out was to create a set of standards for my business. This included the hours I would work, my fee structure, how I would handle different clients situations, illness/vacation, etc. – basically ALL of the details of how I would run my business. I highly recommend that you take the time to outline your standards as well. It’s your business, so the way you work and operate your business should be reflective of and work for you. After doing this you’ll be clear about your boundaries and can then easily (and tactfully) share them with your clients to ensure that you are supported and protected to do your best work.

4) Fine tune your marketing systems – Some Virtual Assistants have a bad habit of only marketing their business when they need a new client. That is a big no-no! As a business owner, you should only be spending your time on two things – 1) serving your clients and 2) marketing your business. If you don’t have a marketing system in place – meaning a strategic plan for how to consistently present your services/solutions to your ideal clients and enroll them in your practice, then now is the time to implement one. You should be regularly attending networking events where your ideal clients hang out, following up on leads, engaging in social media and pursuing other effective marketing strategies. Map out a plan of how you will market your business for the remainder of 2009 and then commit blocks of time on your calendar to work on your marketing efforts. Marketing your business will be a lot easier (and much more effective) if you consistently and comfortable share what you have to offer instead of operating from panic mode because you need a new client.

5) Start implementing systems in your business – You likely do some of the same tasks over and over again in serving your clients. At the very least, each week/month you’re doing bookkeeping, marketing, reporting to your clients on project progress, etc. As such you should be developing systems for every aspect of your business. A system is simple a list of guidelines or instructions about how to handle a particular task or project. It’s way for you to implement quality control into your Virtual Assistant practice so that you consistently deliver high quality results for yourself and your clients. It’s a way to save time, because you won’t have to think about or try and remember how to handle a particular project. And it’s a way to make more money. “How so?”, you may ask. Because you can easily delegate certain tasks to someone else, freeing up your time and mental energy to pursue your high-payoff activities. The more you systematize your business the more organized and profitable you will be. So, start today in outlining the steps you take to operate your business and serve your clients. Compile the instructions into one central document or binder and create your own operations manual. As you continue to grow you’ll have all of the information you need to run your business right at your fingertips.

Likely, you set out to be a Virtual Assistant because you wanted to pursue a career that would give you more control over your schedule and earning potential. So make it easier on yourself to achieve your goals, by taking steps to tighten up your foundation and get clear on your goals. Running a successful business obviously takes effort and dedication. And having a strong infrastructure and a solid plan to follow will ensure that you are spending your time and energy on the activities that will get you the results you want!

Your action plan for this week:

1) Pull out your business plan and schedule time to review and revise it by October 31^st. (If you’re just starting out, set aside time to create your plan by the same date).

2) Pull year-to-date reports on your financial situation and review them with your bookkeeper or accountant to see what adjustments may need to be made.

3) Outline the details of how you will run your business so that it is working for YOU, not the other way around.

4) Review the strategies that have been most effective in marketing your business and then create a plan around how you will consistently implement these tactics to attract new business.

5) Start creating systems for EVERYTHING you do in your business and compile the information in one central location.

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