Virtual Administrative Services | Virtual Assistant | Administrative Solutions for Busy People

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Is Your Team Ready for a Project Management System?

If your organizations team members routinely work on projects that involve multiple users, components, stakeholders and resources, chances are you would benefit a great deal by implementing a Project Management system.  Project Management software can be used in a number of ways but primarily they support planning, tracking, scheduling, communications and documentation of projects from start to completion. 

Businesses, consulting firms, non-profits and other organizations operate much more efficiently with the right Project Management system in place. They all need a way to manage all the moving parts of a project.  In the past, many decision makers hesitated to use these systems believing them to be too big and expensive.  In many cases they were right.  Early PM systems were big and robust and were designed for big operations.  But today there are many options with systems that are ideal for and actually built for smaller groups and projects.  They are easy to use and inexpensive which are often key factors in deciding to use PM systems. There are even free systems that do a great job helping to manage projects from end to end.

Think of your Project Management system as a hub for:

  • Organization
    • Store all project related information in one place where it can be accessed and viewed by all team members
    • Have visual timelines so you know what’s been completed, by whom, and what tasks are outstanding
  • Communication
    • Maintain clear lines of communication with managers, team members, clients, etc.
    • Provide a means for clients and team members to discuss progress, report issues and make requests
  • Planning
    • Delegate tasks to the appropriate employees
    • Determine what time, resources and personnel are needed for specific tasks
    • Make sure deadlines are being met and potential delays avoided

Monitoring and tracking your Project Management system is probably not the most effective use of your time. Your Virtual Assistant can do this for you making sure things are running smoothly. Your VA can make sure team members have the resources they need, input new project information, keep you updated on project status, monitor individual team members progress and step in and provide support wherever it’s needed.  Your Virtual Assistant becomes the Project Manager allowing you to focus on other aspects of your business. Project Management systems are one of the great tools that VAs use to support their clients.

Becky Gregory is an Executive Virtual Assistant and the owner of Virtual Administrative Services (VAS) a full service VA firm. Contact Becky today at becky@virtualadminservices.com  for a free 20 minute Discovery Session

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Good Customer Service is Always Good

‘Customer service is the act of taking care of the customer’s needs by providing and delivering professional, helpful, high quality service and assistance before, during, and after the customer’s requirements are met’.  Ok, great definition, but what does it mean?

Whether your business is large or small, a one person operation, established or a start-up, quality customer service practices are crucial. It is, after all, the face and voice of your organization and often the first interaction people will have when they contact you. So, like most things in life, that first impression means a lot.

Although you may not be available to personally speak with everyone who calls or emails during the day – simply having a message that says leave a message is just not good enough in this competitive world. Your caller wants to feel recognized and ‘responded to’ and would prefer to speak with ‘someone’.  I know I do.  Generic answering services are probably not the best way either. They’re just too impersonal.

We all know what good customer service is and we certainly know when we’re not getting it.  Everyone feels a lot more confident when they’ve talked with someone as opposed to leaving a message in cyberspace. This is particularly true for first time callers! Automation is great and has its place but nothing can replace human contact.  Having someone to actually receive your calls and respond to emails and other communications personally and in a timely manner is the foundation of good customer service. The tone of the individual who answers your calls should reflect everything you want the public to know about your business.

Professional Virtual Assistants are experts in customer service and can help you manage and grow your business.Customer Service v3

Your VA will provide that personal, professional touch that means so much to your business audience.  We are vested in helping you succeed. It’s more than an answered call or email; it’s a conversation with someone who’s interested in doing business with you.  We understand that. Even if your business is small, having that personal touch is very important.  A well trained and courteous front line support person can make the difference between the caller getting what he or she called for or getting just enough to leave them annoyed and dissatisfied.

A good VA will help you by displaying:

  • Courtesy:  “Good morning,’  ‘good afternoon,’ ‘thank you,’ and have a great day’ are never passé.  Good manners are a must whether the caller is a customer or a potential customer.  Good C.S. could trigger solid referrals.
  • Personalization:  Using a caller’s name is very effective in producing comfort and trust. People like the idea that the person they are talking to has taken the time to note their name.  It takes the interaction to a more personal level.
  • Responsiveness:   Responsiveness, timeliness and personal attention can often determine if a caller becomes a client or customer.  Following through with call backs and promised actions help build confidence in your business.

Good customer service is always a good thing!

Becky Gregory is an Executive Virtual Assistant and the owner of Virtual Administrative Services (VAS). You can reach Becky at becky@virtualadminservices.com

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Biz to Biz Bartering

b2b bartering

 

 

Recently, I found myself in a situation with a potential client where we went from talking dollars and cents to discussing exchanging our services in a way that would ultimately be a win-win for both of us. He runs a business networking group and has a substantial membership list of business owners and professionals in the Washington, DC Metro area.  He also had a substantial list of administrative work which he needed help with.  Unfortunately, he didn’t have the budget for a V.A.  On the other hand, I wanted access to his membership list.  I believed it had the potential to be a great source for new business. We began to talk about how we could help each other.

This was not the first time I had bartered  my V.A. services.  In this case we determined that I would provide some of the admin support he needed and in exchange he would grant me access to his prominent list of members, invite me to do a business presentation at their next meeting and give me a free membership!

Bartering Virtual Assistant services is like bartering for anything else.  According to SBDCNet (Small Business Development Center Network):

  1. Small Businesses exchange almost every imaginable product or service like medical services,media services, landscaping, clothing, food, real estate, legal services, toys, cruises, cars, hotels, etc.
  1. The advantages of bartering are:
    • You receive goods or services you need without paying cash.
    • You get new customers from the company you bartered with as they will continue to buy from you for cash, if they are pleased with your offering and service. This satisfaction generates the most effective form of advertising: word of mouth – which will get you new customers.b2b bartering 2

Consider bartering the next time you need something but don’t have the necessary cash on hand. See if the person who has the product or service you need is willing to make an exchange for yours. Here are a few tips to help you set up your barter arrangement.

  1. Decide what you need and what you are willing to accept in return. Be very clear and detailed.
  2. Identify a realistic trading partner. Take a fresh look at existing business clients and vendors and determine if there’s something worth exchanging.
  3. Make sure you get everything in writing up front – and be specific. Develop a contract just as you would for a paying client and include time limitations.
  4. Keep records for your accountant. Remember, bartering is considered income! While you may be able to write off expenses you incur during the barter, you must claim the fair market value of the services you provided as income.

Becky Gregory is an Executive Virtual Assistant and the owner of Virtual Administrative Services (VAS) www.virtualadminservices.com

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Business Survival in Tough Economic Times

I really don’t want to use that worn out cliché ‘in these tough economic times’ but… in these tough economic times it’s not enough to say to a client or potential client “these are my prices – period!”  I believe we should be willing to offer some flexibility.

Think about it- and I’m going to be perfectly honest here – I’m a Virtual Assistant and a lot of my clients are small business owners, independent professionals, entrepreneurs and consultants.  Solo flyers if you will. Folks who may not have a big operating budget in the first place and now, like everyone else, they’re dealing with this economic crunch. They have to cut back wherever they can. They still need my services and I still need their business so I have had to be creative and imaginative when my clients have been forced to tighten their fiscal belts. What that client was able to afford a year or so ago he/she may not be able to afford today.  So instead of possibly losing that client altogether by rigidly sticking to a price or fee they simply cannot manage right now, I’ve had to come up with some inventive ways to help keep us both happy and in business until things start to turn around.

Here are a few ways I’ve demonstrated flexibility with my clients:

  • Temporarily reduce rates
  • Run monthly specialsmoney_making_ideas_virtual_assistant (640x536) (2)
  • Offer new, more affordable packages
  • Implement meaningful referral bonuses

If I have a client who has been with me for a while and I want them to be around when things get better, I have to be flexible. I know it will come back to me – it always does. I’m not really concerned about that.  When the client’s business picks up so will mine and we’ll return to our normal fee schedules.  It will all balance out.

Sometimes, in life and in business you have to meet people where they are.

I’ve spoken with and read articles by others in my field who are adamant about maintaining their standard fee’s no matter what! It’s as though that fee scale is part of their identity and integrity as professionals. And that’s ok, if that’s how they choose to operate. Everyone should be and should want to be paid for what he or she is worth and I’m no different.  What I’m saying is ‘in these tough economic times’ (there’s that phrase again) perhaps we should be willing to offer our clients some options that might make it easier for them to maintain our services and continue a professional relationship that both sides can benefit from.

Becky Gregory is an Executive Virtual Assistant and the owner of Virtual Administrative Services (VAS)