Virtual Assistant Forums...

Forums can be a great way to meet new people, talk shop about your business and collaborate on issues you may be having. Forums also allows you to have a network of individuals who are in a similar place as you – whether it’s your work or your personal life.

Finding forums, for me, has always been a challenge. It’s easy to Google them and find where they exist but it’s hard to find the right fit. Some forums are not frequently visited and therefore posting becomes a conversation with yourself and other forums are too off-topic.

Another thing that I find happens is that you register for the forum (can’t post otherwise) but you never hear anything back. This happened to me with the Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce (http://www.virtualassistantnetworking.com/). I registered to be a member of their forum after I received a flurry of traffic from some linkbacks within their forum but I was never accepted. Now I’m just curious as to why I received the free link love!

I have been lucky enough to stumble upon one forum – http://www.virtualassistantforums.com. It seems really good so far and the people are really friendly and helpful.

So, I ask my fellow VAs – where do you frequent? Which forums have you found to be particularly helpful? Are there any that you joined that weren’t helpful?

Mastering the Close...

If I schedule a call with a potential client regarding my services, there is a 99.5% chance that they will convert into a client. It’s a great conversion rate and as a virtual assistant who is moving more toward the virtual assistance firm model, this is exciting because it means I can bring in new business and outsource more work to my own assistants thus making everyone happy!

So, how do you master the close? It’s simple! Here are some great tips on converting a potential client into a true client.

(1) Find out where they found out about you. This is important because it gives you a starting point for conversation. If they were referred, you can spend a few moments talking about why you love working for the referrer or you can let them know that you’ll be sending the referrer a thank you card for connecting the two of you.

(2) Come into the conversation prepared. If they send you an e-mail and their website is in their signature, review it. Approach the potential client conversation somewhat like a job interview. If you know their business and can quote things from their website during your call, you’ll make a great first impression.

(3) Start by asking them what their needs are. This shows that you (a) care about what it is they are struggling with and (b) are attentive to your client’s needs. By asking them this question, you can then speak about your own experiences and services that relate directly to their needs.

(4) Speak to their needs with exactly how you can help them. This is your time to shine. If the client’s goal is to eventually sell their business, talk about how you helped a company go through a multi-million dollar company sale. If they need someone who excels in customer service, tell them how you responded to 2,500 e-mails per day. (These examples are things I’ve actually done and are things I’ve brought up in potential client conversations before.)

(5) Tell them a bit about yourself and your company. Let the client know how you are structured (individual VA, multiple VAs, etc.) and let them know about your processes. This could include the use of a project management software (I use Basecamp) or it could be the security you have in having full support in your business via other assistants. Also, let them know how you invoice and the different packages / rates you have available.

(6) Let them know how they can get started with you. Approach this like, ‘The next steps are going to be sending you out our Welcome Package and then getting you setup in Basecamp. Once that is done, I’ll send you over your login information so you can start uploading to-dos right away!’ By making it sound easy to work with you (it should be!) you’ll make them feel like their workload is lighter just by talking to you!

(7) Thank them for their time. I sometimes send a thank you card out as well which simply states, ‘Thank you for your time today. I really enjoyed speaking with you about your business needs and hope I can be of service in future.’ I also will throw in something that is more personal in nature if they’ve brought something up on the call. For example, if my potential client states that they have a dog, I might say, “Hope you and Rocky have a good day at the office!” or something of that nature.

Block Off Time in Your Calendar...

Another productivity tip for my fellow virtual assistants.

If you want to avoid the problem of having eight phone calls a day and no time to get actual work done, block off chunks of time in your calendar and call it NO CALLS TIME. I do this and I actually block off at least three hours per day of uninterrupted, no phone calls time.

Don’t fear the stigma of being unavailable.

The thing is, no one but you knows what your calendar actually looks like. You don’t need to say, “No, sorry, that time is No Calls Time so I can’t book you in then” but instead just simply say, “I’m sorry, I’m all booked up on that day, what about Thursday?”

Your clients will appreciate the amount of work you will get done in that time and time spent off the phone is much more productive.

Be flexible with your new schedule (to a degree).

If a client or potential client is in a different timezone, feel free to be flexible in your No Calls Time. Simply move that block of time to another section in that day and schedule the person into the time slot they need. Don’t be afraid of moving the blocks around – if you use a service like Outlook, it’s really easy to drag and drop your calendar appointments.

However, don’t book clients into your No Calls Time and then wonder why you don’t have any free time left. Only do that when there are major exceptions to be made. Otherwise, stick to your schedule and learn to love the free, uninterrupted time.