Just as we like to hear that we’ve done a good job for our clients now and then, so too do they like to hear that you enjoy working with them and that you believe in their business and the value it brings to the world. Don’t over do it and say it every day, but every once in a while would be nice for them to hear.

Also, make sure you send out Christmas Cards, Birthday Cards and sometimes even gifts. Find your local Send Out Cards representative for a nice touch, and for gifts find out what they like (coffee, gardening, etc.) and buy appropriate gifts or gift cards. I have one client that loves to read, so I get her a Barnes and Noble gift card every year on her birthday. She said she’s never bored of it and thankful that I think of her.

Hand written cards are always a nice gift, or if they’re more eco-minded, use an e-greeting.

A little something is always better than a little nothing, I think.

1. Never get complacent while doing client tasks, especially if they are tasks that are mundane or redundant.  Always take the time to do the task correctly as if it was your first time doing the task and you were trying to impress your client.  As humans, we have a tendency when we get into a routine or tasks that require less thought to not pay as close attention as we might for something new or something involving more mental alertness. Not paying attention lends more room for mistakes.

2. Always respond to your client’s emails, faxes, voice mails, etc. even if it’s just to let them know  you received them.  All too often technology still has glitches, and all too often there are VAs that ditch their clients with no word given.  You want to be the one that stands out–the one they always know they can rely on and reach when they need to, even if you can’t do what they need immediately.  So make a habit of responding to client communications as soon as possible.  I mentioned this in last week’s ezine, and it’s worth mentioning again because of the value it brings to your business.

3. When your client gives you new instructions via the telephone, I like to confirm them back to the client verbally.  Often times, they do things so much that they skip a step because they do it so subconsciously.  Confirming it back to them verbally gives them that second to say, “Oh, I forgot…” or “Oh, there’s also…”  You’d be surprised how this helps them appreciate you more, because your work becomes more accurate with better communication.

4. Offer them a reason to do more business with you by discovering what other tasks you can do for them.  I had a client for six months who always seemed stress when I talked to her.  Finally, in one of our calls, I asked her, “Is there another area of your business that I can help you with?”  And I started to name off some of the things I was doing for other clients.  When I got to website content updates, she stopped me. She said, “You can do that?”  I told her yes, that I had worked with basic html since 1994 and learned CSS in 2000.  She had been sending all her updates to her web designer, and her web designer (like most) was overbooked and took forever to do updates for her.  So from that one question and naming off things I do for other clients, I was able to gain another 2-5 hours per week of work from her updating the content on her website.  So pay attention to how your clients react or sound, and inquire about what else you can do for them.  They appreciate it so much and will keep coming back to you.

5. Finally, make sure you stay in contact with them especially if they normally contact you every day or every other day, and you haven’t heard from them in that time frame.  You don’t have to be annoying about it, but having your name in their inbox reminds them you are still there and you want to be there!  I have had clients who get so wrapped up in their creative and emotional side of the business that they actually forgot to delegate me tasks.  So speaking up when you haven’t heard from them in a while is a very good way of bringing those tasks to the forefront of their thoughts (just long enough to delegate!).These three customer service issues seem so simple, but they can have a dramatic impact on the quality and the feedback of your relationships with your clients. I’ve met clients who even referred VAs with less skills than another simply because their customer service skills went above and beyond the normal call of duty. So keep in mind that your customer service skills, no matter how simple, can be one of your greatest marketing tools.

With more virtual assistants entering the market, it’s imperative that you do everything possible to retain your clients!

1. Make sure you have separate email addresses for business and personal matters. This is the most important thing you can do. Your business email address should be one that matches your domain name for your virtual assistant website so you can be taken seriously as a business.

2. If your client(s) has a domain, suggest to them they give you an email address with their domain name. Unbelievably, this will help you keep your clients and their tasks and information straight.

3. Set up email software like Outlook with rules to put email from certain people, domains, etc. automatically into certain folders. I have each of my clients’ mail going into a folder specifically for them. You would not believe how this will help you manage what you have to do for whom.

4. If clients send you email with a task that is to be done on a future date, always “task” it in Outlook. You can even use the color coding system built in Outlook to help you differentiate between clients or projects.

5. When you receive junk email in your inbox, mark it as junk or blacklist it, so you do not continue to receive it in your inbox. I know it’s tempting to keep deleting it from your inbox, but in the end, it will be less time consuming if it automatically disposes of these unwanted emails in your inbox.

6. Use a “throw away” email address from yahoo, Gmail, or some other free email provider to subscribe to any newsletters, to purchase products online, or to give out for surveys, etc. Having a separate account just for this will help you, because you can only log into this account when (and if) you have time for such novelties. [Yes, even my newsletter. But still do read it! ]

Also, one final word about being a virtual assistant working with email: If you email someone and do not hear back, always follow up with a telephone call. Sometimes spam filters or settings will grab even legitimate emails, so don’t assume someone’s ignoring your email. Assume it didn’t go through first.

Happy email organizing!

Keep moving toward success.

So it seems like a never-ending circle that you can’t get out of, but I have some advice and tips that worked for me.  And I hope they will help you get your “foot” in the door.

First, talk to people from companies you’ve worked for in the past.  They don’t have to be immediate supervisors, but people you built a rapport with that you know really liked your work and liked working with you.  Explain to them what you’re doing and ask if you can use them as a reference for your work ethic.

Then when a prospective client asks for references, you don’t have to go into the detail of “I’ve never had a VA client before,” unless they directly ask (never lie!).  But you can word your references as, “Here is a list of my references that can vouch for my work ethics and/or my skills and knowledge.”

You will be delighted to find this works very well to appease those who want to hear about you from others, and will often be the difference between getting your foot in the door and getting a toe broken in it as it closes.

Also, when in doubt and the situation feels like it’s drowning, explain to the person that you don’t have references yet.  You are a new business, but you are determined to stay in business long-term and have the ambition and initiative that it takes to work independently from home.  Give them some examples of independent assignments, tasks, or projects that you’ve had to take on in the corporate world where no one was there to oversee you each step.

Also give examples of things you’ve done that involved research or discovering out the information on your own, because this carries a lot of weight with people looking for virtual assistants.  They want you to find out the answers and not always bug them with questions you can find the answers for on your own.  So now go get ‘em!

Keep moving toward success!

But should you have someone ready as a backup to your clients in an emergency?  And what constitutes an emergency for that person to step in?  How do you tell your clients about your backup plan (new and existing)?  What about confidentiality?  What about my backup becoming competition?

There is so much to consider when you wonder what your business will do in the event that something happens to take you away from your business for an extended period.  And as a business owner, you get to make those choices.  But those choices can affect who does business with you.  So here are my tips for you.

1. Interview VAs to serve as your backup just as you would if you were hiring your own VA (in essence you are).  Call references, ask for experience, and ask for capabilities.

2. Get the backup VAs to sign non-compete and confidentiality agreements.  The non-compete protects you from having your backup take your clients away from you and the confidentiality protects both you and your clients and their sensitive information.

3. When you start a new backup, introduce your backup to your existing client, and introduce them to new clients as they come in so there are no surprises if this person has to pop in out of the background to help.

4. Set up an emergency plan that constitutes when your backup takes over for you (i.e. if you haven’t contacted them for two business days or more, perhaps they automatically kick into gear for you.).  Also decide if they’re just going to cover for your for emergencies, your days off, vacation days, holidays, or whatever.  Be respectful of their business hours, just as you want people to be respectful of yours.  The plan should clearly outline not only when they take over, but HOW they take over.  Do they have access to your emails?  Your clients?  Your login information for your clients?  How will they do your tasks if you are unable to tell them you’ve been in an emergency?  Webex and Airset are good places to share information with backup VAs.

5. Let your clients know and see your backup plan (maybe not all details but an overview), so they can be put at ease.  Let them know your backup has had a reference check and signed a confidentiality agreement with you.

Whether you have a backup person in place or not is up to you.  It’s just important that you have it clearly outlined for both your backup person as well as your clients so there is no confusion as to what happens when.

Keep moving toward success.

If you’re new to the concept of free teleclasses, teleconferences, teleseminars, etc. why are they everywhere?

Can they benefit you as you’re starting a VA business (or any home-based business for that matter)?

Here are some things you should know about free anything on the internet.

1) The free things have a marketing purpose to make you want to buy a product or service. No, this is not sneaky, underhanded, illegal, or misleading. They want a way to reach as many people interested in their products or services as possible, and having something free to give away increases the number of people they get that match their services or products, which in turn (if done correctly) increases their % of converts or sales.

2) The free things typically do provide GREAT information on topics for you when you are just starting out with a VA or home-based business. So do not discount the information they will give you there. Just don’t be disappointed if you don’t walk away with a complete understanding of how to run your VA business from home and make a six-figure income in 2 weeks after doing so.

3) When you start on a free call the person hosting the call or presenting for the call (or sometimes both if different businesses) will tell you about themselves, including history about themselves so you understand why or if they are experienced enough to be giving you this information (i.e.: showing you how reliable or not the source is!). So expect the first 10-20 minutes of the call to be filled with this “getting to know your host/presenter” segment of the call.

4) Before the raw meat (the info you really want free) is delivered, they will also pitch their latest product or service or membership they want you to purchase. Don’t completely discount these, as often times they have good value for the $ if you have the $ to invest in your business as you start up. If you don’t have the $ to invest right away, simply be patient to get to the free tidbits of information you came to get.

So can you really get good information out of free calls that makes it worth your time? My answer? Yes. I wouldn’t recommend swapping your whole schedule around to be “live” at the free call. Instead, take advantage of the “free replays” of the call that often happen afterward. Some people do not offer this though, so make sure you find out if they offer a replay or mp3 of the call after it’s over and if so for how long as some sites only leave it up for 24-48 hours. (HINT: The Freecorder internet browser toolbar is a great way to record “play only” audios on the internet that don’t let you download the mp3 to listen to your own time.)

I do recommend, as you are starting out that you do listen to and sign up for as many freebies on the internet as possible. Just understand that in doing so you are typically going to listen to sales pitches as well as being put on mailing lists for these people. Don’t gripe about it! You are still getting something free, and you are seeing great sources of information for the future when you do have the $ to invest in your professional development and business expansion.

Keep moving toward success (even if just for free to start with).

First, you need to invest in some sort of time tracking software or device. It’s important that you record the time you work for each client accurately so that you can bill them correctly. Also, it’s important for them to know how much time certain tasks take you, so that they can budget your services for future projects and work.

Second, you need to schedule your work at least 24 hours in advance, and you need to make sure you have the wording in your contracts stating that turnaround time for tasks are 24-48 hours or more depending on the complexity of the task.

If you’ve already started accepting tasks from clients and doing them the same day, then finish what you have already promised to do for today. But even if you are not yet booked for today, start from this point on responding to your clients that you’ll be able to start/complete this project/task tomorrow. This way you can get in the cycle of making your schedule.

So Heather, why is a schedule made in advance so important? I’ve worked without one as an employee or with my VA business so far. Well, here’s why. You also need to budget your business. You need to know what’s coming up tomorrow, so when someone asks you, “When can you start on this project?” you have a definitive answer ready at one glance of your schedule.

You may only get that question asked once per day if you’re just starting out, but once you gain more clients and become more in demand, you are often going to be asked that question simultaneously by several people. Having an advance schedule readies your current clients for that day and invites you to make sure you’re not sitting around twiddling your fingers for future dates.

Finally, make sure you set your office hours (yes you set your own–not the client telling you what hours to work–they are not allowed to do that if you are independent contractor, only employee) so that you are working during hours when you are most productive. Me, I’m a morning person. So I try to schedule the bulk of my work for the mornings. Generally for me, any work that comes in after 11:30 AM is scheduled for the next morning (unless the next morning is already booked, then it goes out one more morning, etc.).

Keep these handy time management tips in mind, and you will find your business runs a lot smoother for you in terms of time.

Keep moving toward success.