Every time I hear the song “Firework” by Katy Perry I’m struck by the lyrics, “Do you ever feel already buried deep? 6 ft. under screams, but no one seems to hear a thing.” Have you ever experienced that feeling on one of those days? You know what you want for your Virtual Assistant business, but sometimes you just can’t see how to get there. Things such as handling your OWN administrative tasks, billing, record keeping, etc. keep bogging you down and distract you from focusing on what you need to do to grow your business. You feel yourself being pulled in every direction and you know something has to give. There is, however, still a chance for you. Look for the signs below and follow the simple strategies to improve your way of conducting business.
Tell-Tale Signs Things Need to Change |
Strategy for Digging Out |
| You have files in different areas on your computer and contacts (Outlook, Gmail etc.)…all over the place | You need to reign it all in with effective contact management. An Excel Spreadsheet is a great starting point since it allows for sorting and categorizing. |
| You don’t have a properly sorted database, so your marketing messages are either not reaching or not resonating with the right audience. | Your message has to hit the mark depending on your prospects’ needs, so categorizing prospects will help with this effort. The same Excel Spreadsheet mentioned above will make it simple to upload your pre-sorted contacts into your CRM (Customer Relations Management) program. |
| Every time the phone rings, you answer it. This is a major distraction and at times embarrassing, as a client may catch you off guard with the reason for their call, and you are unprepared for the discussion they want to have with you. | Offer pre-determined open office hours. Let your calls go to voicemail, listen to the message, and consider your response before returning the call. Another effective method is to offer a link to your schedule using a service such as TimeTrade, but don’t offer same-day appointments. Be sure to block off at least one day a week which is free from calls and appointments—and stick to it. |
| You spend countless time speaking with someone who is not your ideal client or whose needs are not in alignment with the services you provide. | Start by pre-qualifying prospects prior to consulting with them. A great solution is to have a questionnaire or needs assessment form accessible on your website. If your services are a match for their needs, schedule a consult. If you are not a good fit to work together, offer a referral to a colleague or joint venture partner. |
| You respond to emails “off the cuff”, reinventing the wheel each time. | Develop a general template and customize as needed. Store all your scripts and templates in a Business Operations Manual. A properly categorized Manual will help you get your hand instantly on the right template, and with some minor ‘tweaks,’ it can take under three minutes to create a perfect email response. |
| You are losing income due to lack of follow-through. | Establish a rule that when a prospect expresses interest in working with you that you will reach out no less (and generally no more) than three times. Often people contact you for your services in a moment of desperation. By the time you respond, they may not feel as urgent a need to speak with you. Provide them with three opportunities to schedule a call with you, letting them know on the third attempt you will no longer follow-up. It has been my experience (for myself and my clients) that once you tell them you will no longer pursue them, that is the time they will take action. |
| You are not keeping up with Social Media content or worse yet, you don’t know effective strategies to connect with your target market. | Social Media marketing can be overwhelming and very time-consuming. The solution is simple: Learn Social Media by doing it for yourself and your VA business and in the process, you’ll discover ideas for what, when, and where to post relevant content so that your ideal client will be chasing YOU! |
| You spend far too many minutes researching and evaluating websites for better ways to run your business. | Request recommendations on software, services, and Internet-Based programs. A good VA Coach is on top of the latest technology and even without being asked will offer resources to streamline your business processes and systems. |
Don’t settle for status quo. Take your Virtual Assistant business to the next level by implementing these smart business strategies. You will be back on your feet in no time!
If you feel that you are ready to step up to the next level in your Virtual Assistant business, stop trying to figure it all out on your own.
I invite you to take advantage of a FREE special “VA Business Breakthrough” coaching session where we’ll work together to…
=> Create a crystal clear vision for your “ultimate VA business success” and the “perfect lifestyle” you’d like your business to provide.
=> Uncover hidden challenges that may be sabotaging the growth of your VA business and keeping you working too many hours for too little pay.
Just click the link below, let me know a couple of things about your VA business, and then we’ll have a strategy session.
Click to Apply for a FREE VA Business Breakthrough Session
Great suggestions, thanks!
I’m a convert to Google Apps for business. By moving a lot of my contacts into gmail yet keeping my business email, I don’t have to worry if my actual site goes down since Google maintains my contact list. I also keep my basic documents in Google Drive and I can also organize email blast lists through the spreadsheet program. Though I also create lists in Mailchimp to drive emails through.
Mike, I agree. Google Apps offers lots of great tools for entreprenuers, and is easily accessible from anywhere. I share and collaborate with my clients using Google Docs also. MailChimp and similar programs are great for those who ‘opt-in’, but a spreadsheet program can be just as valuable for keeping in touch with those who don’t.
My clients sometimes ask what I recommend as a good CRM program, and although I do suggest ACT, Highrise, etc., I most strongly suggest – if they have the MS Office Suite – a wonderful FREE resource of a single Excel spreadsheet. They can set up different ‘sheets’ within a workbook (each sheet can be color coded) and sort columns as necessary to identify key criteria in specific searches.
Thanks for the ideas! I have been working on using Excel more to keep track of some of my data. I know I could do better with follow-through, and I like your idea of setting a personal rule about following up with particular individuals and projects. I am also going to think about your idea for a pre-qualifying questionnaire or needs assessment because I could use something like that if I choose to expand into offering more one on one consulting (which I may well do!).
Excellent Mandy! I am so glad to know you are able to take away some clear ‘action’ items form my post which I’m sure will help you to grow your pipeline of prospects, identify their needs, and be able to address their ‘pain points’.
I wish you all the best as you grow and expand your business! I would love to hear about new milestones you are able to achieve. =)
It’s like you read my mind!! Every one of the things listed in the first column pertain directly to me and my life! Now that I have the necessary strategy to dig out of it, I’m starting this weekend. Thanks Jaimie!
You provided some interesting strategies for getting out of the proverbial hole many of us find ourselves in as we are setting up a new business. I was most intrigued by your point in the section “You are losing income due to lack of follow-through.” I’ve never considered having a cut off point regarding the number of interactions I am willing to have with a potential client. Though, as I think about it, it makes a lot of sense. Honestly, I feel this could even be applied to the number of emails I am willing to send back and forth considering my “business” is a freelance writing business, because the work I do itself is time consuming and writing intensive. Spending all day in the e-mail cloud just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me, and is frankly more tiring than writing actual content geared towards any number of niches. Still, enough about me and my business complaints, back to the content of this article: it is solid and useful. I’ll be taking it to heart as I go forward with my own business.
The short form of this title: Buried and THIN!
Oh, geez, I wish I were thin..
But I know I need help. Jaimie, let’s talk