By Mary Beth Marino

Email Marketing is just ONE aspect of gaining a potential client. Personally, I am not totally opposed to the old-fashioned idea of doing mail-outs…want to know why?

The postcard, brochure, or flyer is laying in the mail pile of the Executive’s desk just waiting until he can get to it. If it is colorful, attractive and professional, chances are he will glance at it contrary to tossing it in the trash.

On the other hand, emails are so inundated now with social marketing info, networking groups, colleague’s mail, and scams that the vast specialization of social networking is taking over the internet. When one goes to their email, more-than-likely they are hoping to see a new client, or a proposal to obtain a new client, or a return request for work from previous clients. I personally think social media may burn out someday, but not to worry. Someone will come up with a newer better idea in its place.

Having worked for several of the large companies as an Executive Assistant to the V.P. and CEO’s, I actually loved going through what some may term the “junk mail” however, more than once, there WAS a service that my bosses were interested in.

They see the mail first thing when they arrive in the morning. It’s in their hand! Then, once again, he sees that piece of mail which needs to be moved, It’s in his hand! while he works on something else, then it is moved again when he cleans his desk, again, it’s in his hands!…Hey, in one day that Boss touched your piece of mail 3-4 times and chances are, he had to look at it.  I bet not one boss prints out an email you are using to market yourself with.

When you are marketing, there is such a thing as the ’33 Touch program that stands for 33 contacts or touches over the course of the year. This is done of course, by 12 monthly newsletters, eight pieces of mail, market reports, thank you cards or handwritten notes, three telephone calls, two personal contacts and one client/sphere of influence event, according to “The Millionaire Real Estate Agent,” Gary Keller. Whew!! Then there is always networking in person so you can meet the potential client first hand.

If you see a colorful post-card on your desk, you now know it was from ME; if you had to touch it 3-4 times, you might as well read it the first time around!  Thanks!  I’ll be waiting for your call!

Have you ever called a company and ended up in that voicemail he**?  You know, where you try every number available and you end up in the never-ending loop?  Or what about trying to order something off a website and you just can’t get it to work?

I remember when I was trying to order my daughter’s graduation invitations and class ring, and the website wasn’t working.  I’d get to Step 2 or 3, and get an error message.  I tried for several days, but it never worked.  So I tried to call their customer service number — and ended up in the vicious voicemail black hole.  I tried to contact customer service through the website to no avail.  Now, if I had the option of going to a competitor, I would.  Unfortunately, I don’t have that choice in this instance.  Fortunately, a rep was scheduled to be at the school the following week, and I sent the order in that way — along with a note of how I tried to order online and tried to call.

What do your prospects and customers do when they can’t reach you?  And how can you protect yourself?  I would suggest doing a check of your systems periodically — no matter how small or large your company is.

If you have a receptionist and employees, you want to make sure they are doing their job correctly, so call in and pretend to be a customer — or have a trusted friend do it.  Ask questions and make sure they have the proper answers and a friendly tone of voice.  If not, you know you need to do some training.  If you’re a solopreneur, call yourself and make sure your voicemail sounds friendly and is working properly.

And be sure to check your website and blog too.  Sometimes mysterious things happen in the world of the internet, and if it goes down, who knows how long it would be before you knew you had a problem!!  I would even suggest checking it weekly to make sure it’s working properly.  Checking with different internet browsers, such as Firefox and Internet Explorer, is also a good idea.

And of course, if you have a shopping cart, be sure to test it periodically and make sure it is functioning properly — again, using different internet browsers.  You should even go through the ordering process.  In the case where I was trying to place an order, it was a multi-step process, and it was stalling several steps into the purchase.

Your voicemail and your website/blog are normally the first stop for your customers and prospects.  Make sure you’re making a good first impression by portraying a professional image.

Don’t have the time to do the checking?  Your Virtual Assistant can always check on things for you.

She possesses more than ten years real-world experience in Corporate America as an administrative professional, five years in healthcare environments as a Medical Office Professional, and national certification as an Insurance and Coding Specialist.

You have made the preparations.  You are now slowly pulling away in this vehicle you call your business.  You are excited and ready for an adventure.  You have asked yourself the hard questions and have some insight as to the general direction of your business.  As soon as you look at the road, you realize that there is a problem — a big one.  You have no idea where you are going or how to get there.  You need a map.  What maps do businesses need?  A business plan, of course!

Why do you need a business plan?  Only businesses that need money from a bank or investors need business plans.  Right?  Wrong.  (If you need to borrow money to start your business, it is highly likely that you will need a business plan to qualify for financing.  If this is your situation, this will be your #1 reason.  If this is not your situation, then stay tuned.)

Every business should have a business plan.  Here are five good reasons:

1.      Simply putting your shingle out there and expecting the crowds to come knocking is a bit unrealistic. The marketplace is crowded and is getting more and more so every day.  Let’s face it:  we all want to travel the shortest distance that we can to our destinations.  Those who have a map (a plan) will get there much quicker than those who do not.

2.      A good business plan will get you to think about your goals, vision, and mission for your business. The clearer you are on these, the easier it will be to come up with that 30-second elevator pitch that is so vital to effective networking.

3.      A good business plan will help you to think about and identify who your ideal clients are. It helps to know who your audience is, especially if you are putting time, effort and money into marketing your services.

4.      A good business plan will include strategies for helping you to achieve these goals, including metrics and milestones to help you gauge your progress. For example, if one of your goals is to have X number of clients in six months, how are you going to get there?   Because we do not want to get discouraged in the process, what easy-to-achieve steps are you going to take to reach your goals?  And, just think, you can actually celebrate reaching your milestones, because you know what they are!

5.      And finally, you don’t want to wake up some day and realize that you built the wrong kind of business. (To me, that morning would warrant an extra cup of coffee and a donut, for sure!)  We want to be certain as we go along that we are making business decisions that are in line with our goals.  If you don’t know what your goals are, how can you be sure that you are making the right decisions?

A business plan is something that every business owner should do before anything else.  I can just hear you sighing now.  Cheer up.  Business plans are not as bad as you think.  They don’t have to take that much time, and they don’t have to be hard.  By searching online for simple business plans, you’ll find resources to help you.

Plus, look on the bright side.  By putting in the time to think about and answer some of the questions you explored earlier (see blog post, “Thinking About Becoming a Virtual Assistant?  Start Here!” on July 17, 2010), much of the hard work may already be done.

Go ahead.  Take the time to fill it in.  After you write your plan, refer to it and revise it often.  It is a worthy exercise.  The work you put into working up a plan will pay off – and you will be so glad that you did.

Contributed by Mary Beth Marino

Identity Theft?

New Reality Show?

There was a HUGE debate going on and posted on the “Linked In” website regarding the Virtual World. The issue was regarding whether you should drop the name Virtual Assistant from your title, logo, or whatever, and use other options to promote yourself, or your small business in the virtual world…or EVEN in the real world!

The debate went on for several months, and came to no definitive conclusion, more – that it was a voting platform to see who agreed to dropping the name vs. who disagreed. Now this is not the platform to vote either way…even though my profound belief is that anyone that is setting up business in their own home, are virtual any way you look at it. They also assist business people with whichever specialty niche they possess. So, on a personal note, although I thought the initial discussion was very good, I think it soon became a contest, and reply’s became redundant and serving no real value after a while. If you want to call yourself a VA do so, if not, don’t. That simple – no one has to “prove” a title to be successful in the virtual world.

Here is what the International Virtual Assistant Association has to offer…as stated right on their website. They offer first, their definition of a VA.

“What is a Virtual Assistant?”

Virtual assistants are independent contractors who (from a remote location, usually their home or office) support multiple clients in a variety of industries by providing administrative, creative, and technical services.

“What is the International Virtual Assistant Association?”

The International Virtual Assistants Association (IVAA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the professional education and development of members of the Virtual Assistance profession, and to educating the public on the role and function of the Virtual Assistant. The IVAA provides continuing education, networking opportunities, member benefits and optional certification to its members, as well as provide a member directory and Request for Proposal (RFP) system for parties interested in utilizing the services of a member virtual assistant.  http://www.ivaa.org.

Now, who is, The Georgia VA Connection? (GVAC)

Simple too…we are a State member site that is a direct connection from IVAA. So far, there are 10 states that expanded locally to promote virtual business (ideal for businesses who don’t want to go out of town to hire a VA) and the GVAC is the newest member site dedicated to:

• Promoting IVAA
• Virtual Assistants
• Connecting local businesses with Virtual Assistants in Georgia

The bottom line? Change your business name if you must, that’s fine, but don’t go down that lone mental health road of losing your identity of who you really are, and always will be…a VIRTUAL ASSISTANT no matter what your “title” is. Thanks to Virtual Assistant Networking Association (VANA) and The International Virtual Assistant Association (IVAA) for making the industry what we are today… not hundreds, but Thousands of happy VA’s providing Virtual Assistance all over the world!

9-29-10 Meet & Greet Attendees - The Georgia VA Connection

The Georgia VA Connection hosted its very first Meet & Greet yesterday, Wednesday, September 29th at la Madeleine’s. It was well attended by members and member-hopefuls — and The GVAC Board is thankful to all who came out to show their support for this exciting new endeavor.

After some networking time, everyone had an opportunity to introduce themselves and their business to the group, and then we held the official meeting. We learned a lot about each other and shared some laughs, too!

We all look forward to the next meeting in January (after the holiday madness) and to continuing to see this group grow and prosper.

Thank you.

You don’t have to be a member of GVAC to attend — feel free to come on out, meet us and then decide if you want to join. No pressure!

It’s this Wednesday, September 29th! If you’d like details, contact us and we’ll provide them to you (as we need to know in advance how many will attend).

Looking forward to meeting everyone, making friends, and establishing new networking opportunities!