We've Moved and Other Big Changes!

You've probably noticed I haven't been around much the last few weeks. We've been busy creating the Chief Virtual Officer website and blog. Our goal is to help new and aspiring virtual assistants now that they are business owners and no longer employees.

We've launched our new website and blog! All the great information you found here can now be found at the Chief Virtual Officer blog. In addition to my blog posts, we're adding blog posts by two additional business coaches, Joel D Canfield and Jerry Kennedy. Joel is my husband and business partner. Together we offer coaching for virtual assistants. Jerry is another business associate and has been a sales trainer for many years. So come on over and join in the conversation.

Constructive Criticism: Be Specific, Be Kind

The correct use of punctuation and grammar is especially important when distributing marketing materials to prospects and clients. Improper use of punctuation and glaring typos can quickly turn a prospect's interests elsewhere. So I try hard to proofread anything before I send it out and often have a second set of eyes double check.

However, there are still times when something slips through the cracks. Perhaps we meant to type 'an' and instead typed 'and'; it may be we used a superfluous apostrophe. We get so excited about our topic that we type up that blog entry and post it and then we realize we made a typo. It happens to all of us and these occasional slips are not the end of the world, though we may feel they are at the time. But if our material often has they same type of mistakes, we may need to consider what we can do to change that.

As embarrassing as it is to have an error pointed out, I appreciate it when one is kindly brought to my attention so I can correct it and work harder not to allow the same type of mistake in the future. When a mistake is brought to my attention, it helps me stay on my toes and proofread my work with a more critical eye. In my coaching practice, I help other virtual assistants pay attention to the details of their written materials and when it's necessary to bring a mistake to their attention, it's with the goal of helping them present themselves in the best possible light to their prospects and clients.

Recently I posted an article on a local online paper and shared the news with many other virtual assistants (VAs). One of the VAs sent me a message to let me know of typos and grammatical errors she found in a particular paragraph of the article. Her message did not point out any specific errors and she concluded by saying perhaps I needed an assistant to help me proofread.

Since none of us like to have errors pointed out, my first reaction was to get defensive. But if there were errors, I did want to know about them so I could correct them if possible and be more careful in my proofreading in the future. So I pulled up the article so I could find the errors. When I couldn't find any, I asked two other people to review the article and they couldn't find the errors either.

Now I felt defensive and offended. Not only could we not find errors, this person had framed the message in such a way that it felt she was attacking me; not that she was trying to kindly help me. To make it even worse, the subject line of her email to me had a typo. I took a moment to calm down and thought perhaps she saw something we missed and I really did want to know what the errors were so I could fix them. So I replied and let her know how much I appreciate it when mistakes are pointed out so I could correct them. I explained that my husband had proofread the article and couldn't find the errors. I asked if she could give me specifics so I could correct them; otherwise, I stood behind my work. I chose not to point out in my reply that her subject line had a typo.

Unfortunately her reply stated that if I didn't know what the errors were, she didn't have time to go back and find them and point them out to me; that if I didn't see them, I should stand behind my work. This reply really made me upset. If she had been willing to give me specifics when I asked and I felt her motives were because she actually cared about me and my work, I wouldn't have felt so offended and upset.

After typing up a scathing response, instead of sending it, I deleted it. There's no sense in throwing mud around; no good purpose would have been served. Instead, I chose to write this blog post. My purpose in writing this post is to emphasize the importance of being specific and kind when offering constructive criticism.

How can you offer kind and specific criticism? If the roles had been reversed, here's how my message would have read:

Dear Mary (name has been changed),

I saw your article posted on your local online paper about the virtual assistant industry. Congratulations! The article was interesting and it's good to see more people becoming aware of the need for virtual assistants.

As a fellow VA I know you always want your marketing materials to be the best. I did note a typo in paragraph two (you typed 'and' when you meant to type 'an') and a small grammatical error in the third sentence (give specific example). I know how challenging it can be to proofread and catch everything.

Congratulations again on the great article!

Your fellow VA,

Sue

What are your thoughts on this? Was I too quick to be offended? How would you have handled this situation?

To every VA out there - Keep up the good work!

Give More to Get More

Would you like to get more clients? Then consider giving your prospects something more - for free.

Before a prospect becomes your client, they need to come to know and trust you. One way they can learn more about you is if you give them something of value absolutely free. Sure there will be those who accept your free gift and not use your services. But those that are truly interested will be impressed by the trust you extend in giving them something of value. Those are the ones that will become your clients and word of mouth referrers.

You may choose to give a free report to prospects that sign up for your newsletter. When you sign up for my newsletter, you'll receive a 3-page report detailing 9 specific reasons to hire a VA, 4 Income Generating Tasks to delegate to a VA, Can I Afford a VA? and How do I find the right VA for me?

If you really want to give something away for free, offer a free report on your website and do not require an email. I offer a list of 30 Projects a Virtual Assistant Can Do in One Hour.

What can you give away?

Typos in Your Marketing Materials?

It seems that due to technology, text messaging, trying to squeeze lots of information into 140 characters on Twitter, status updates on Facebook, etc., that we've become very sloppy spellers. I see typos more and more often in marketing materials.

I have a strong belief that we need to present ourselves as professionals - and that includes correct spelling and proper grammar. This is especially important in our marketing materials. Often, business persons hire a virtual assistant to help them write articles, post information on their website, and create other marketing materials. These business owners expect a level of professionalism that includes correct use of the English language - and no typos!

You may feel that posting a quick tip on Twitter or updating your status on Facebook doesn't require correct spelling. However, it is a reflection on you and your business. More and more this is how your prospects are going to find you and you need to make a good first impression.

So take the time to spell our 'you' instead of using 'u' and proofread your marketing materials before sending them out. Get a second set of eyes to review your materials also. It's very easy for our eyes to see the same mistake over and over and not catch it.

One aspect of our virtual assistant coaching is to review all your marketing materials. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you present your virtual assistant business in a professional manner.

Being Self-Employed Makes You an Entrepreneur Not an Employee

The virtual assistant industry is growing rapidly. Just about anyone can say they are a virtual assistant. You have a computer, internet access, and the desire to work from home. Voila! You're a virtual assistant.

But is that enough to succeed as a virtual assistant? Do you have what it takes to run a business?

Yes, a virtual assistant is a business owner. Successful business owners need to have good business sense. As a business owner, you, the virtual assistant, need to understand what it takes to run a business.

That's why we've published The Commonsense Virtual Assistant - Becoming an Entrepreneur, Not an Employee. Read more about the book and order your copy for only $19.95 (shipping included).

We share more than 50 years of experience working with small businesses. We love teaching others how they can have the deep satisfaction we get from our work and the life it allows us.

Learn more about us at BizBa6.com.

4 Ways to Attract Clients to Your Virtual Assistant Services

In any industry, one of the main challenges is attracting new clients. How can you attract new clients to your virtual assistant services? There are several steps you can take to increase your prospect's interest in contacting you. Here are 4 suggestions:

1. Be authentic. In everything you do, say, post on the internet, make sure it's authentic, honest, really you. As a service provider, you are your business. Prospects want to know who you really are. So be sure to inject your personality in everything you do - authentically. Prospects will be turned off immediately if they see you are not who you portray yourself to be.

2. Connect personally. Again, as a service provider, you are your business. That means your prospects want to know about you; they want you to tell them about yourself. For that reason, I strongly encourage you to post your picture on your website and profiles; let your prospects and clients know that you are a real human being. Write a bit about your background, your hobbies, your interests, why you became a virtual assistant.

3. Narrow your market. Here's an area that can be very challenging, especially if you're just starting your VA business. You may think that to get started you should offer your services to everyone. It's important to narrow your market and be very specific in who you target so your prospects know you are the person they should be working with. Once you've defined your target market, hang out where they hang out - online or at networking events. Find their pain points, offer a solution, and your target market will choose you!

4. Write articles. This is a great way to attract clients specific to your niche. It may seem like a huge task to undertake if you've never written an article before. Consider what solutions you offer clients and then create a top 5 solutions list and write a short article. If you need additional help in learning how to get started, just let me know. I have lots of great information to help you get started in article writing.

These are just a few of the many ways you can attract clients to your VA services. What ways do you use to attract new clients?

Contact us for your free 30-minute VA coaching call and let's discuss specific ways you can attract clients to your services.

Focusing on a Niche Means More Profit

We're coaching a virtual assistant right now helping her to clearly define her target market. She feels that her business will make money doing administrative work for small business owners, male or female, ages 25-60. Great! So every business owner from 25-60 should be knocking down her doors, right? Wrong!

There are now many virtual assistants providing all kinds of services to business owners in many industries. Why should they choose this virtual assistant over another one? What makes her and her services unique?

However, by focusing on a niche market, you can narrow your target market and the probability of being found - thereby creating more profit to your business as a virtual assistant.

Creating a niche market means knowing exactly who to market your services to. Your prospects will more readily find you because you've identified that they are who you want to work with.

What niche have you created in your virtual assistant business and how has it increased your profit?

Free 30-Minute Phone Consultations for Commonsense Virtual Assistant Coaching

I'm very excited to offer free 30-minute coaching calls for our virtual assistant coaching program. I've had many virtual assistants come to me for advice who then implement my suggestions and are very grateful for the ideas I've given them. It's the reason I decided to create and launch this coaching program - to help new and struggling VAs learn the skills to become business owners.

However, some wonder if they really need a coaching program or if we're the right coach for them. That's why we offer a free 30-minute consultation, no obligation. Once you've scheduled a consultation, we send you a questionnaire and ask that you return it before the day of your call. That allows us time to review what your most urgent need is in your business. We are then able to spend the 30 minutes most efficiently.

During the 30-minute call we address your most urgent business challenge and provide you with a specific action or strategy you can implement immediately in your business. Then we take just a few minutes at the end of the call to review our coaching program so you can determine if it's right for you.

Here's what one virtual assistant wrote us right after her free 30-minute phone consultation:

"Thank you for talking with me today. It was the best 30 minutes I've had with a business coach!

"The questionnaire you sent me prior to the call, really made me think about how I'm marketing my business. I always heard that you should have a niche, but I really didn't understand the value until you explained the importance of setting yourself apart from others.

"I can't wait to make the changes you suggested and watch my client base grow!"
—Sara Gaffney, 101 Virtual Assistant

Contact us today to schedule your free 30-minute coaching call and take action now to grow your VA business!

Commonsense Virtual Assistant Coaching Program Launched

I'm very excited to announce a new VA Coaching Program.

If you'd like to start your new year with a bang, subscribe to our 5-month program.

Benefits:
Access by email 24/7
One 1-hour phone call each month with Joel and Sue
Review of website, particularly in the area of marketing and SEO, any marketing materials, including business cards, brochures, postcards, cold calling scripts, etc., blog, articles and rates
Assistance developing description of your ideal client, creating a 30-60 second pitch, a one page business plan, one page marketing plan and marketing calendar
Products as listed below, one each month
PDFs as listed below, one each month
Questionnaire to determine your specific coaching needs
We only work with ten clients at a time

Books and CDs included, valued at over $100:
(one mailed each month of paid coaching)

The Commonsense Virtual Assistant: Becoming an Entrepreneur, Not an Employee
Motivation 101: 5 Steps to Activate Your Potential in Any Economy, An Audio Mastery Course
49 Commonsense Business Observations
The Commonsense Entrepreneur
Surprise bonus business book

Bonus PDFs included:

Self Promotion: Getting Started - includes marketing tools and resources
Blogging for Your Business: includes 3 Keys to Successful Blogging and 5 Ways to Promote Your Blog, Finding the Time to Write and What to Write About, Ideas on How to Get More Traffic to Your Blog and a questionnaire to help you get started
Article Submissions and Press Release Sites
Duct Tape Marketing Guide: 7 Steps to Small Business Marketing Success
Marketing and Promoting Your Teleseminar: a list of online sites you can post your teleseminars

Bonus for signing up by July 31, 2009!
Membership in VIP Business Heretics
Monthly Subscription
(Included for the duration of the coaching program; ongoing subscription is $25/month)
Weekly teleclass with coaches Joel D Canfield and Jerry L Kennedy
Digital copies of all Business Heretics products: audios and ebooks
First look at all new Canfield Kennedy content posted at the website

All for $250/Month for the 5-Month Program

To learn more about this program, visit Commonsense Virtual Assistant Coaching.

Offering Your Services as a Gift

Sometimes in order to create interest in our services we offer a them as a gift. Perhaps you are a virtual assistant and offer a day's worth of services for free. A life coach might offer a free one-hour session; a productivity trainer may offer a free two-hour consultation; a web designer may offer a free report filled with strategic ideas to implement so your website gains a better search engine ranking.

However, we sometimes find that prospects don't take us up on these offers. Here we are offering something for free and no ones wants it. But is it really free or is there a string attached? Perhaps it's the way we package the free offer that's really turning prospects away instead of attracting them.

Recently a service provider offered one free day of services. However, there was a string attached. To accept the offer the prospect had to agree to provide a testimonial about the work. Now this business owner had the right intentions. This person wanted to educate prospects and felt that by giving away the service the prospect would have a much better idea of what this particular service was and would be more likely to purchase the service. The intention was great. The execution of the idea needed improvement.

What if the prospect doesn't feel as excited as you think they should after receiving your free service and doesn't want to write a testimonial? Then what is being offered isn't really free; it has a string attached. I'd ask instead for honest feedback so you can have information to improve your services. Then if the feedback is great, you can ask if you can use it as a testimonial.

I've found that people always feel there's a catch when we offer something for free and that if we are offering it for free, we must not value the service much ourselves. What I have found works better is to offer a special discount. My starter package is 2 hours for $75 with no long-term obligation. That way someone can try my services without further obligation and very little cost to begin and find out if we're a good match or not.

Also, your offer should be obvious. It should be clearly stated and in a prominent area of your website. Don't make people look for it.

Part of what my husband and I do is mentor and coach virtual assistants. We've had many years experience marketing several businesses; so what I've offered here comes from our experience. We've recently written a book aimed directly at virtual assistants.

Read a sample chapter of the book, The Commonsense Virtual Assistant—Becoming an Entrepreneur, Not an Employee, at our website.

Hire a Virtual Assistant to Update Your Website

So you have your website. Now you want to make sure it gets updated regularly. Especially since fresh content means that not only will your website be more search engine friendly, it also means your visitors are more likely to return to see what new thing you have posted.

You're excited and can't wait to update your website weekly with a new event, tip, article, or other information. With great intentions you decide you'll do this yourself. Perhaps you want to save money. Perhaps you've been told you should update your website yourself. You may be an author and you know you have lots of new material to add to the website each week.

However a couple of things happen. You soon find yourself too busy to keep up and the next thing you know it's been six months since you touched your website. The other thing that happens is you realize you love to write but get frustrated because updating your website isn't what you are passionate about. You soon lose interest in the website as you spend more time doing what you are passionate about - writing.

I think of it this way: though you are a writer, you are not a book binder. You hire someone to do the work of putting your book together. Perhaps you are a painter. You probably aren't a framer also. So why are you trying to be a web designer when that's not what you do best? Shouldn't you hire someone to do what you aren't excited about?

So what's the solution? How can you get your website updated regularly without spending a fortune? That's where a virtual assistant can help. You can still write all that great material to be posted on your website. But let your virtual assistant do the technical part and actually update your website. Doesn't that make sense?

Social Networking Can Work for Your Business

Social networking is the wave many solopreneurs are now riding. Using social networking as a piece of your marketing strategy helps your prospects get to know you and your business, how you work, what values and ethics you uphold. Your prospects come to trust you, turn to you for information, and eventually want your services and products. They will even refer you to other people they know who can use your services.

Why haven't you decided to ride the wave of social networking? Some small business owners I've talked to give these reasons for not jumping into social networking:

1. It's too complicated.
2. It takes too much time.
3. There's no way to track the return on investment
4. You can't get new clients from social networking

Social networking does not need to be complicated or take hours and hours each day. So how can you use social networking responsibly and effectively? Remember - no one wants to be inundated with offers of your costly services all day long. When I start getting a dozen messages everyday from the same people over and over again offering their expensive services, I quickly tire of that and don't want to hear from them anymore.

However, I do appreciate receiving valuable and interesting information, tips, quotes, etc. So start small. I suggest taking these steps in this order:

1. Post tips your prospects can use
2. Offer a free report or gift to those who sign up for your newsletter
3. Put together a free or low-cost teleseminar to build your list and promote it

Remember, social networking needs to be about building relationships - not primarily about self-promotion. So balance is needed when using social networking as a marketing strategy.

A virtual assistant can help you get started in social networking and assist in maintaining your profile. Save time by having your virtual assistant update your social sites on a regular basis. There are tools, such as TweetLater.com, that can be used to schedule Tweets in advance so you're not spending every minute of the day on Twitter.

If you're not using social networking to market your business, you're missing out on a big piece of the puzzle. Remember that it may take seeing your information 8-20 times before a prospect picks up the phone to call you or contacts you through your website. So let's get busy and start networking!


For over 25 years Sue Canfield, Virtual Office Administrator and Owner of Awesome Assistant, has helped small business owners with administrative tasks. Since 2005 she has worked with over 30 clients to help them grow their businesses, specifically by using online marketing strategies such as email newsletters, blogs, articles, and social networking. Her mission is to partner with her clients to work together to create and implement strategies to promote their businesses. For more information about how she can help your business, visit http://www.AwesomeAssistant.info.

Interviewed for Virtual Assistant Forums

I have been a member of VirtualAssistantForums.com since July 2008. Virtual Assistant Forums (VAF) just celebrated their 2-year anniversary. Congratulations!

The VAF has been a wonderful resource for virtual assistants. Everyone is helpful and friendly and I've even had the opportunity to meet one of the members in person. If you are a virtual assistant looking for resources and an opportunity to network with other VAs, VirtualAssistantForums.com is the place to go.

I was privileged to be interviewed at VAF for the month of May. Please read the entire interview and let me hear from you.

Should You Become a Virtual Assistant?

I was recently interviewed by Sharon Reed Abboud who just released her new book, All Moms Work.

Here's the entire interview on her blog.

Learn more about using a virtual service provider.

FindVirtual.com is a relatively new social networking site for virtual workers. If you are a virtual worker or are looking for one, this is the place to go.

View my page on FindVirtual.com

Inc. Magazines Strategies for Tough Times

We just received our October 2008 issue of Inc. magazine and the special report on page 37 is "Strategies for Tough Times". The articles points out five ways to save money. We found it interesting that a virtual assistant can help a small business implement 60% of the five strategies listed. Here are the strategies in which the services of a virtual assistant can be used.

1. The first strategy is to send your employees home. This discusses telecommuting in order to save on office space and rent. Using a virtual assistant means you don't have to pay for office space or even for taxes and benefits, since a virtual assistant is not an employee.

2. The next strategy is to share your staff. Perhaps you only need someone part-time and so that person could be shared with another company that only needs their services part-time. Again, a virtual assistant does this very thing. Several business owners can utilize their services and pay only for the time they need an assistant.

3. Do-It-Yourself Marketing. The article mentioned one company using a blog for marketing. Many virtual assistants help small businesses setup and maintain a blog.

If you are a small business owner looking for strategies to help you during these tough times and want to implement one or more of these strategies, contact me and let's see how we can work together.

How do you feel about hiring a virtual assistant?

Many solo professionals and small business owners feel they could use some help but can't afford to hire anyone. Is that how you feel?

Hiring a virtual assistant could be the answer. Get all your questions answered about how a virtual assistant can help you in your business, how to find the right one, and why using a virtual assistant can increase your productivity.

Attend the Organized Habits Teleseminar on Wednesday, September 17th at 4:00 pm (PST).

Sign up now at http://www.organizedhabits.com/store/seminars.htm for only $19!