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Archives for June 2012

Saying No to a Client

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I received a newsletter during the week from a coach who was talking about the very topic of this blog post.  It raised an important aspect and that is not all clients are a good fit for us as Virtual Assistants.  I know if cash flow is slow, our businesses are new or going through a slump, that we want to say yes to every client that makes contact, but that’s not always a good thing to do.  Particularly if the client has had a bad experience with a previous VA – they can often react to us in the same vein, painting us with the same brush.

If you sense that something is not right then it’s probably best to say out right that you don’t wish to work with them, or that you don’t really need to do this.  If the client objects or suggests this is just a tactic on your behalf, be firm and say you don’t believe you’re a good fit but perhaps you could help them find the right VA.  And make sure you do that.  If you belong to one or more VA networks that shouldn’t be a difficult thing to do.

It’s important to maintain your dignity and self-worth and it’s powerfully re-affirming when you know you don’t have to accept every client that comes along.  Picking the right type of client for your VA business is an important part of your business operation.  It can actually increase your business and sales and eliminate the grief factor you could experience through dealing with clients that aren’t right for you.

Saying no to the wrong client will actually make room for the right client.  After all you can’t work with everyone and if your capacity is full and some of those clients aren’t the ‘right clients’ then you won’t have capacity for those that are.

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Kathie M Thomas

Building relationships at LinkedIn

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I was participating in a discussion at the Women in Photography group at LinkedIn recently as many of us are connecting to each other.  We had a discussion about the importance of letting people know where they came from, rather than just send the standard invitation that LinkedIn provides. Here is my commentary on that subject:

Checking the box does show up on the invite when received via email but isn’t that obvious – the message that is sent says: I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn, which is rather impersonal and if people don’t notice the bit above that says about the group, then they wouldn’t know why you’re sending an invitation.

I often write and speak about the importance of building relationships when networking so I encourage people to change that standard message that LinkedIn sends to something else that explains the reason for connecting. Even if it’s something like: ‘hi, I’m a member of the women in photography group and would love to connect with you’ or you could even say how much you’ve enjoyed someone’s commentary.  It does make it more personal and encourages people to accept invitations.

You might be interested to know I often get invites from people I don’t know personally. I accept immediately if they explain their interest.  If they don’t I will reply and ask them where they found me or what their interest is. If they reply I then accept. If they don’t reply I assume they don’t read their emails and why would I want to connect with someone who doesn’t want to continue working at building a relationship? They’ve ignored me which doesn’t give me confidence in what their interest maybe. Some people just want to grow numbers but not get to know others.

This is a topic I teach about often so it’s something I’m passionate about and hope it helps many of you too 🙂

So, as a Virtual Assistant, it is also important for you to explain why you wish to connect with people too, and encourage them to explain their interest to you.  Open the doors to communication and you have no idea what it might lead to. Those VAs who are most successful at social media and building business do so by connecting with others and building relationships and getting to know their needs. You can’t do that if you don’t converse.  Why not try it today?

 

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Kathie M Thomas

7 Questions to consider before hiring a Virtual Assistant

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The Virtual Assistant industry has grown so much in the past 10 years that it’s easy to understand that clients might get confused about where to find a Virtual Assistant and how to know if they’ve got a good one.

There are some things you can do to put your mind at ease.

Firstly, did you find them online or have they been referred to you?  This will make a difference as to how you might feel about the working relationship. Receiving a recommendation or referral from someone you trust will help you over the first hurdle and give you more confidence in the person you will be working with.

What do you need to know about the VA?

How long have they been providing the type of support they are offering you? Generally many VAs come into the industry having a background of previous office or admin support of some sort, with at least 5 years’ experience.  So, even if they are a brand new VA, the fact is that they will have experience in what they’re doing to support you.

What kind of services are they offering? Don’t make the mistake of thinking that VAs can do anything and everything. They can’t. Many specialise in niche offerings such as transcription, data entry, social media support, research, word-processing, editing and proofreading, etc.  It is rare to get someone who can do everything you want and the reality is you may need to engage 2 or 3 VAs to carry out all the work you have available.  You can either engage them direct or get one main VA and have them manage your projects and help you engage the others as needed.

What time do they have available?  Some clients need someone 5, 10 or more hours a week, some only need them 5, 10 or more hours a month.  And others on an ad-hoc basis.  Be upfront with what your needs could be and if you don’t know, let them know but explain what’s required as much as possible.

How much contact do you want with your VA? Remember that VAs are not employees and do not need micro-managing. They are self-employed independent business owner/operators who are used to using their initiative and organisational skills to get the work done.  They won’t need you to be checking up on them every single day but you will need to let them know of your time needs and what you expect of them in reporting back and completion of the work.

How do you wish to communicate? Some people (clients) prefer phone, some Skype, some email, some face-to-face. It’s important to be clear about how you like to communicate and discuss this with your VA.  I have a couple of clients who have regular (once-a-week) phone meetings with me and the rest of the time instructions are emailed. I say ‘phone meetings’ because that’s what they are. Meetings that last 30 mins to an hour or more and the time is charged for.  Occasional calls generally aren’t, but then it depends on how often that might take place and how much time is involved.

Are you happy for your VA to sub-contract or outsource your needs if they’re unable to fulfill a request?  Once you are happy with your VA you will probably go to him or her for things that you know they don’t do, but in the hope they can do it for you or find someone who can.  I’ve frequently sourced other service providers on behalf of my clients because they’ve been with me for quite sometime and they trust that I understand and know their needs.

How long will you want to have a VA?  That can be a question that’s not answerable. However, it’s worth thinking about. Some clients have projects that have a lifespan of only a few months or a year or two. Other clients have long-term plans for their business and want someone who’s going to be around for the long-term.  My own longest-term clients have been with me for 12 years or more and many others between 2 and 7 years.

There may be other things you want to know, i.e. how do they protect your material, do they shred, delete, destroy? Do they have a backup system in place? Will they require you to sign a contract or will they simply invoice you on completion of work or on a regular basis, say monthly?

Finally, you’ll need to consider how you feel about the contact you’ve had with your potential VA, whether by voice or email.  Do you feel that you connect with them?  Did you communicate with each other easily or were there constant miscommunications? You need to feel comfortable with the VA you are going to work with – did they instil confidence for you?  Checking their website or LinkedIn profile or whatever they have online will help a great deal.

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Kathie M Thomas

Confused with marketing your VA business?

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If you’re not clear on what it is you do, or perhaps not clear on how to explain it, it will show, both in your vocalisation and your written word.  Recently a new VA went to a networking event and she was unsure how to explain what she does. The people she was meeting with made some assumptions based on what they think an Assistant is and it confused her. They’d not heard of a Virtual Assistant before so she came to ask questions about what she should do and got a number of responses which included having a list of items on the back of her business card, and developing an elevator speech.

I felt she hadn’t mentioned what type of networking meeting she went to and explained something of my own knowledge of a particular group I meet with.

If the networking group you went to is like BNI and they focus on one representative per industry in their chapter, then you will have to choose which aspect of your business you want to focus on and talk about that. For example, I also do websites, web-hosting, provide bookkeeping support and a myriad of other things but because we have a web designer and a bookkeeper in our chapter I cannot promote those things. I tell them I provide admin and business services as a Virtual Assistant and then focus on data entry, database management, word processing and social media support. Then when I get a chance to meet with them individually I tell them about the rest of my services in the course of our conversation. It is important not to try and tell them everything at the start – focus on one or two major core offerings and let them get to know you gradually over time.

I should add that I rotate a number of ‘elevator’ speeches that cover one of the items I mentioned above and, as the group I meet with, meets regularly, over the course of a few weeks they get to hear them all and then I start all over again.

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Kathie M Thomas

Why did you start your Virtual Assistant business?

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I was asked that question at a forum. Well, not me personally, but all the members of the forum. Got me thinking why I got started. I could sum it all up with just one word… frustration!

There were lots of other reasons but frustration probably sums it up well.

I was frustrated with growing up in a poor family and my parents not being able to afford things I wanted to do as a child.  I wanted to make sure I could give to my children things that were necessary or because I wanted to.

I was frustrated in the corporate world and the role I really coveted was being held by someone who had been there 20 years and looked like staying for another 20.

I was frustrated with trying to organise care for my kids when they were sick or on school holidays.

I was just frustrated fullstop so I decided to do something about it and start my own business.  It was something I’d tried to do earlier in life but didn’t really know what type of business and I did many party plan type businesses. But this time I equipped myself with a computer and printer and 20 years of admin experience and gave it a go… before the Internet started.

I’m still here and I must say it’s the longest I’ve stayed in a ‘job’.  Guess I must have found the right boss!  What about you?

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Kathie M Thomas

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