Your Elevator Speech
You’re driving down the road. You’ve been talking to yourself all the way. You’ve been telling yourself you can do this. You keep running your “elevator speech” through your head. You keep saying “I can talk to these people. I can explain my business if they ask me what I do. I can walk up to people and introduce myself.”
Then, you get to your destination. You’re pumped and ready to go! You walk in the room and there’s 50 other people there. You either freeze and wait to see if someone comes up to you, look around to see if you know someone so you’re a little more comfortable, or you give up and leave. Why?
Don’t you chit-chat with people when you’re waiting in line at the grocery store? Do you “pipe in” a conversation at a store if you know you have the answer to what someone is asking? Why, then, can’t we talk to 50 other people about our business? Is it because it’s 50 people we don’t know or because we’re just not sure what we should say?
Put a smile on your face and feel confident. You are good at what you do and your business is worthwhile. Be excited about that! Don’t be afraid. If you show your afraid or have a problem explaining what your Virtual Assistant business is about, it will show. Clients aren’t going to come knocking on your door or calling you if you show you’re afraid and can’t explain your business to them. They want to give their business to people that are confident so feel confident.
When they ask you about your business, explain to them what you can do….PowerPoint presentations, spreadsheets, Websites, SEO, newsletters, article submissions, press release submissions, article and/or press release writing, logo’s, cold-calling, etc. Whatever it is, tell them. Hold your head up high when you tell them too. Don’t mumble.
Just remember that it’s up to you. If you think positive and show them you can assist their business, they will call. They will beat down your door to be your next client. They will, in turn, recommend you to others. If you fumble with your words or freeze at the door, how are they going to know you and your business? How are you going to gain those clients?
It’s your decision. It’s your destiny. It’s your choice as to which fork in the road you’re going to take.
THE BAND WAGON JUST GOT FULLER
It did!
As a small business owner, entrepreneur, et al, you’re like a lot us—looking for ways to market your business and, in the process, gain new prospects and customers.
The latest “fad,” a good one at that, is to “use video” to promote your business. After all, the “spiders” like Google love to feast on them and are inclined to place video highly in their analytics rankings.
So with that incentive alone, you decide to “jump on the bandwagon,” too.
But wait just a minute!
Because marketing with video has become the new “Rubik’s Cube,” or the new “Cabbage Patch” doll, or the new “t-shirt that says ‘I Google myself regularly,’” if you actually do intend to get on the bandwagon, there are a few things to consider.
What is your plan? (It seems everything leads back to a plan.)
Getting your video ready and “taking it to market” is one of the latest Internet trends. Many entrepreneurs, marketers, and even large business owners will focus on the “how-tos;” the how-to of what to say, the how-to of how-to upload the video, or the how-to of where to place your upload.
The important thing is to not just toss some video shots together; the end product will be disappointing to your visitors and to you. Just like your Web site, your video presentation is a reflection of you and how you do business. Thus, it’s better to take your time to produce quality work. Someone has already been first, so now it really doesn’t matter if you come later with better.
Like putting together any worthwhile efforts, you first come up with a list of things to do when producing a video. However, there are also several things to NOT do in your video marketing. And they are the focus of this piece. Such as:
Forget about “safety in numbers” this one time
If you want to attain the most success with your video efforts, you have to go it alone. Sometimes when a person is going to be in a photo or a video, they may be camera shy or feel “more is better;” suddenly, they want someone in the show with them. This is a really HUGE error! The point of your video is to acquaint your visitors and customers with YOU, perhaps your product or service, and with what you represent. Your brand! In fact, in the video you become your brand.
So when your pals are in your video, they are distracting and take the viewer’s eyes away from your product or service, your message, and you. And unintentionally, they may show you up!
In essence, then, your fireworks just fizzled!
It’s time for your commercial
Have you ever wondered why or how sponsors of TV shows pack so much information about their product into 30 seconds of more often than not annoyance? It’s because they realize they have so little time to grab the viewers’ attention before they’re off to the kitchen or otherwise taking a break. Or worse, changing the channel!
Internet frequenters are somewhat infamous for running away from Web sites
How often have you gone to a Web site then quickly scooted away because the page loaded slowly? Your distraction meter kicked in and impatience got the best of you? This seems to happen more and more as Internet surfers tend to lose their tolerance to wait, or they’ve found other diversions that steer them away from what they thought they wanted in the first place.
This means you’ve got to have a video or graphics and audio that will capture your visitors’ attention. NOW! But it’s not good enough to just grab them; you’ve got to have something to keep them there long enough that they realize what you have is something they can’t live without.
You need a P-O-W!
So that as your video begins the first words out of their mouth or the first visual they see must be something concise and compelling. You know, what’s it in it for them?
Do you know the “who” for your marketing
Since you have a target market, it’s best to market your video to that particular audience. Of course, others will navigate to your site and may even stay to view your video. Or maybe not! Those who stay will be interested in learning about your product or service. How you dress, your narrative, your language, how you present yourself in the video should all be geared to the audience you want to pull towards you, the niche you’ve identified for your service.
You can be a star
With a little bit of practice, this reminder and the “how not tos” outlined here will be enough incentive and encouragement for you to be the star of the show as you were really meant to be.
How Self-Esteem Impacts Our Confidence Levels
Our belief in self has a profound effect on our confidence and on the quality of both our lives and business. Today our focus is on business. If person A believes that he lacks the basic skills to solve problems, ex. marketing, networking, sales, etc. then he may lose heart and give up. In contrast, person B, who may have less ability yet strong self belief, stands a much better chance of being successful. This is because his belief in self gives him the confidence to try and try harder again.
Think back to high school or college. Have you ever wondered why only a few students in a class asked questions? Could it be because the remaining students understood all of the critical points made during the lecture? Or is it because they lack the confidence to ask a question? More often than not, it is the fear that stops students from asking questions. In other words, they lack self-confidence. The only way this confidence can improve is when they start believing in themselves.
This is why belief in self is so important, especially in business. It gives an individual the confidence they need to shoot for the stars. It overwhelms negative thoughts, and drives away the fear of failure. It is the best antidote against lashing out at yourself, which can turn several talented persons into under-achievers. It gives business owners the confidence that they have nothing to loose. On the contrary, they realize that they have everything to gain by asking a question, even if it happens to be a silly one.
Abraham Lincoln is a fine example of a man who believed in himself. He lost every election until he went to the Senate and stood for the post of the President. He did not allow his failures in professional and personal life to erode his self-belief. Had he done so, the history of the US would have been different.
Belief in self gives us the confidence to accept failure. It teaches us the importance of positive thinking. Those who have high self-esteem don’t talk about failures; instead, they try to find out why they did not succeed. They look for lessons that can be learnt from their experience. This is not a simple issue of semantics. It is the power of positive thinking, and it is available to only those who have self-esteem.
Once again it is self-esteem that gives us the confidence to enter a new group, and become a part of it. Those who lack self-esteem are very reluctant to approach a new group. They don’t want to expose themselves to the ridicule of being seen as shy, nervous or ignorant. They would instead prefer to stay in their corners.
In fact, lack of self-esteem stands out like a sore thumb at parties, meetings, conferences and social or official functions. Individuals with low self-esteem avoid introducing themselves to others. They prefer to stay in the shadows, away from the sights of others. However, their colleagues who enjoy high self-esteem dominate the discussions. They are sought after by others for information. They are also invited to other meetings and parties — all because their self-esteem gives them the confidence to open up before a group of strangers. It is the same student syndrome that is reflected in an individual’s working life too.
Lack of self-esteem is one of the greatest myths of introversion. Typically the business owner will blame their introverted personality on the fact that they just “can’t get out there.” This couldn’t be further from the truth. Introversion is just that, a personality trait. It is not the deciding factor in who we are and what we offer the world. If this describes you, then you most definitely need a self-confidence boost.
Nothing will change in your business life until you have self-respect, and the self-belief that you are as good as others. You must realize that you are not the only one who has strong and weak points; others too suffer from the same defects. The only difference is that the others project their strong points whereas you may project your weak points. All that you need to do is refocus your priorities. If you do this, you will find the elusive self-confidence.
Are you struggling with self-confidence or introversion issues in your VA business? Is your business where you always dreamt it would be? If your VA business is suffering in any way, we are here to help you make it into the “im-possible” dream. The Virtual Assistant Revolution is just that a REVOLUTION. We want to help you change the way you think about yourself and your business. Our goal is to show you that there is more to the current state of your VA business. If you want to introduce a new product, gain the skills to offer a new service or if you want that six-figure VA business, it’s yours for the taking and we want to give you the tools to make it happen.
Organizing
Before you read any further, look around your office/desk. Now STOP! Is your desktop clean? Do you have files or papers in your “inbox”? Where’s your calendar? Have you looked to see what you need to accomplish today, tomorrow, or next week? Do you have calls you need to make or meetings you need to attend (either virtual or onsite)?
Before you can actually begin to work, you need to get organized. It may be difficult at first, but once you’re even partially organized, you feel better about your work.
First off, you may be busy but you need to figure out a day to just do nothing but clean. It may not take you a whole day, but you should still block off the entire day. If you get things cleaned up in less time, GREAT! You’ll at least know what you need to do after your area is clean.
Now, say tomorrow is the day you’ve chosen to clean and organize. Start with the desk. Take a look at everything on your desk and start putting it away where it goes. If there’s papers laying around, put them in a pile. Once you’ve completely cleaned off your desk, file those papers. Put them where they go. Now you should be feeling better already!
Next step…get a piece of paper out. If you use a Franklin Covey planner or something similar, get it out. If you use an online calendar, pull it up. Write down (or type) everything you need to do and then start prioritizing it and putting it in the appropriate date that you need to do it. If you have little reminders of birthdays, anniversaries, meetings, etc. lying around, write/type them in your calendar. Write/type any VA meetings you have or Websites you need to visit (the VA Revolution should probably be at the top of that list).
Another thing that you might start using to keep you better organized is Highrise. I’ve been using it more and more! I’ve been finding it very helpful for client notes and things.
Wow! You’re on your way to feeling better about your office, your work assignments and are ready to roll!
Are You Charging Enough?
As a new Virtual Assistant, we spend the most amount of our time trying to determine the best price for our services. We worry if it’s too high or too low, we worry if the price will attract clients and we worry if we can create a thriving business based on that price. Here are some of the mistakes we make, as Virtual Assistants, when setting our price.
Undervaluing Expertise
We often look at our price and think “no one will pay that”. I know this is especially true for many Virtual Assistants as we worry that we will be judged by others in our field and not for the expertise we provide. Especially since there is so much talk about outsourcing to those in countries where $5-$10 per hour is a huge amount of money. Remember, if you have numbers of years in the field of your business and or an expertise that is in demand, you can feel justified in setting your price higher - especially if you are offering a service that not all Virtual Assistants are able to offer.
We Can Do it Faster
Many of us base our price on how long it takes us to finish the job. After years of doing the task, we become very fast at completing this task. Instead of pricing based on how long we take to complete a task, we should be looking to industry standards (or at the least thinking about the time it takes the average person to complete the task). As a tip start quoting prices based on the actual project- When we tell someone that our fees are $40.00 per hour (for example) they are thinking in their head how long the job takes them to complete. They might be thinking … I don’t have $200 to complete this job because they are thinking that they take 5 hours to complete the task. They forget that because of our expertise we can probably complete the job in 2-3 hours so quoting $75 - $125 will yield you the same amount, but they won’t be as scared by the numbers. Don’t be afraid to offer some average times it takes you to complete different tasks together with your pricing sheet.
We are Running a Business
We have overhead costs, unbillable time and other hidden costs that need to be factored into our price. For example, hiring an in-house assistant may cost $10-$15, but you can guarantee that the overhead costs can easily double or triple that cost. The comparison to our price as a business owner and the price of hiring staff needs to take these things into account. What we charge per hour is not all going into our pockets.
The biggest thing to remember is that in order to ask a price and receive it, you must be confident … it is easier to convince a pending client to work with you and pay your price when you are confident in it. Otherwise a person is likely to think that they can “talk you down”.
Revolutionary Spotlight - Dawn Riley: VA In Paradise
Owner: Dawn Riley
1. How long have you been in business?
My virtual doors have been open for 7 months; however, I have been offering administrative support virtually for 3 years now.
2. Why did you start your business?
I wanted to have the flexibility to be home for my family and still generate an income.
3. What types of businesses do your service?
Currently I am supporting a few businesses within the Construction Industry and also a few Mid-level Executives.
4. What is your niche?
Small Businesses/Busy Executives
5. What is the most important lesson you’ve learned since opening your virtual doors?
You have to set good boundaries with your clients.
6. What resources can you not live without?
My laptop, cell phone, Microsoft Office and my air card. With these I can work virtually anywhere!
7. What’s the best part about being a VA?
To me the best part of being a VA is the flexibility that I have to be here for my family when they need me.
8. What’s the greatest thing you’ve done for your business?
Without a doubt hiring a designer for my website.
9. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I see myself with just the right amount of clients so that I have financial freedom in 5 years.
10. What the biggest obstacle you face in your business?
My biggest obstacle in the beginning was marketing. I was not satisfied with the website I had initially created. How did you overcome it? I hired a designer to create a website for me and now I feel more confident directing potential clients to my site.
11. In your opinion, what’s the best feature of the Revolution?
I love the fact that the Virtual Assistant Revolution is a small community full of experienced and successful VA’s who are willing to share and coach you along to meet your goals.
Know No Fear…
“If you doubt you can accomplish something, then you can’t accomplish it. You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough enough to follow through.” Rosalynn Carter
If you are in the process of just starting your Virtual Assistant business, have been in your business for a while, are changing your business in some way or another, are making the choice to go back and work for someone else, or are going to go back to school, have the confidence to do it.
We’re all afraid to take that first ride on a bicycle with no training wheels, but we do it. As a child, we know fear but have that “we know no fear” attitude. Our parents assisted us by building up our confidence levels high enough to get on that bike and follow through. We showed our parents, our family, our friends, and ourselves that we could get on that bike and ride like the wind.
That’s the same thing for our business. The only thing is we aren’t children. We have a different kind of mindset. As adults, we become afraid to try new and different things. Most of us have that “I’ll try but I don’t see it really working out” kind of attitude. We’re not as carefree as we were when we were children. But, if you want to succeed, have the mentality of a child.
Have that “We Know No Fear” attitude and you will soon see that you can accomplish the things you set out to. You just have to have that confidence and follow through.
I can sleep tonight!
I did something completely outside the box…for me. But it took a few major “boos boos” before I managed to “get with the program!”
More is always better right? Un unh!
That’s a NO!
Over the weekend I ran into “issues” with my anti-virus software, anti-spyware, internet security-ware and some other stuff relative to opening and closing my browsers and programs. Somehow, I had all my anti-bad guy software so that none of it could talk to itself or to each other, and do the job right. Because, among other things, several months ago I tried to uninstall one software application.
But, it didn’t go away. After all!
Consequently, I experienced a whole litany of computer ills; including the almost demise of Firefox. It would not open. I also spent an inordinate amount of time trying to correct the problem by turning my computer on and off. Then my Outlook wouldn’t open, nor would Word. Or if it did, it wouldn’t load properly. When an internet page would open, it wouldn’t load entirely.
And the “error” messages I received looked like a cross between Japanese, Chinese and chicken scratcheese.
Oy!
So the big questions became how do I get this fixed? Do I take my computer to a computer fix-it person? Or do I call someone to come in to take care of it? In either scenario, how do I choose someone? And do I really want to clean house to get my computer fixed?
In one of the rare moments when I was able to get Firefox to open–by the way, IE didn’t work so hot either–I decided to do a search of computer repair/tech shops in my local area. In the process, I eventually came up with a really great idea that worked for me!
I decided to choose a company that provided “remote assistance,” having found two specific places that I felt could fit my needs and my pocketbook. I called one of the places Monday morning, although I could have completed the transaction without a call, via the web. The technician connected with me remotely and two hours later (give or take a few minutes) with my “tutelage” (I watched him work the whole time—it’s one of my fun things to do on a Monday morning), my programs and browsers were working. The offending “bad guy” software was gone and a few other adjustments were made to things I had done over the couple years since my computer had been in my ownership. Things I didn’t even know about!
And now I’m good to go
Moral of the story is two-fold. I really don’t have to have every piece of anti-spyware, anti-virus software made, and when I don’t want to clean house, look for online solutions.
Virtual Assistants: Are You On Facebook?
Businesses and individuals, from all walks of life, enjoy meeting and communicating with other business and personal internet users. Despite the fact that people of all ages use the internet to socialize, there are certain groups of individuals that do more than others. Those groups of individuals include students, both high school students and college, as well as business people who know how to harness the power of web 2.0. One of the most popular and powerful social networking sites available today is Facebook.
Facebook may not be as well known to some as MySpace, but it is gaining in popularity each and every day. That popularity is mostly among high school students, college students and businesses who understand the concepts of social networking. With Facebook, you are required to register for a specific network. That network can include the high school or college which you attended or are currently attending or locale. Once you have joined Facebook, you should easily be able to make contact with others who are in the same network. Keep in mind that you can only join one “main” network at a time, however there are a ton of sub-groups that cater to varied interests.
The network in which you join can be considered an advantage of Facebook, as well as a disadvantage. Facebook does not work like most other social networking websites. Instead of being able to communicate with all site members, you are limited to contact with those that are in your particular network, the high school, college or locale that you selected. There are search features available with Facebook which will allow you to search for friends, both personal and business.
Although a large amount of focus is placed on high school and college students, Facebook has added another popular feature to their website. That feature is workplace networks. By joining a specific workplace network, you will be granted access to other community members who work for the same company as you. This feature is nice, especially since many companies have become large corporations or expanded across the country. You may be able to make contact and become friends with a long-distance coworker that you never knew you had. This feature is also great for small businesses to gather and network and share new ideas.
Side note: If you are interested in joining the Facebook community,you should do with all other social networking websites, research. By taking the time to research and examine everything that Facebook has to offer, you should be able to decide whether or not this popular networking community is what you were looking for.
Facebook has so many benefits and features that are unable to be described in one short blog post. If you are intestested in honing in on the power of Facebook, I suggest getting a copy of: I’m on Facebook…Now What?: How to GET Business and Professional Value from Facebook by: Jason Alba and Jesse Stay
Image is Everything!
Janice Byer, Docu-Type, is full of valuable information. I thought this was a good article to post here. Hope you enjoy!
Marketing is an integral part to any business, especially for a Virtual Assistance who has to rely on a professional and creative image. How you get the word out about your VA service can have a tremendous impact on the success of your business. Just throwing together a business card or brochure to hand out, or a quick website is not enough. You need to create a marketing strategy, one that will portray you as capable of creating an image for your clients.
Your marketing strategy is all about creativeness and communication. How you communicate your message will have an effect on how you are perceived in the minds of your customers. If your own marketing material is not enough to get the attention of your potential clients, or if they have a negative perception, then how can you expect them to have confidence in you being able to help them with their needs?
Having a clear idea of what drives your customer to buy can help you to communicate to them why they need your services and how you can create and maintain their image.
So how do you go about making sure that you are saying the right thing and portraying the right image, and that your potential client will keep you in mind?
1. Determine the objective of your marketing material. What do you want to accomplish with this piece of advertising? Do you want your client to call you for further information, do you want them to cash in a coupon or to bookmark your website for future reference? Give them a directive.
2. Decide who will be your target market. Are you trying to sell to a large corporation or to the mother of small children? ‘Who’ is going to buy from you is ‘who’ you need to focus your message on.
3. Compose a positioning statement. In a single sentence convey exactly how you want your customer to perceive you, something that will stick in their mind. (ie. “We specialize in word processing…..”)
4. Now, add a primary benefit to that sentence. (ie. “…so you can get experienced help when you are short staffed or overloaded…”)
5. And then, throw in a supporting benefit. (ie. “…saving you time and money on your staffing needs.”)
6. Now, work with this sentence to get your main message across. If you only had space for one message, what would it be?
7. Add any other supporting messages that will convey the benefits of having your product or service. (ie. “No need to provide equipment. We do everything in our office.”)
8. Give your customer an opportunity to provide a desired response. How do you want them to react to your communication? (ie. “Wow, this is a great service that will save me money” or “I could really use this service to get a handle on things.”)
9. Make sure to project the right tone in your communication. Use a number of adjectives to describe your product or service, expressing how you want to be regarded. (ie. professional, innovative, exciting, friendly, newsworthy, creative, etc.)
10. Last, but not least, consider how you are going to execute your message. Does it fit best on a 3-fold brochure and what kind of paper do you want to use? Do you need a tear-off coupon on it? Does your message fit best on one page of a website or several pages? How are you going to turn your marketing strategy into hard copy or virtual copy?
*****
All in all, you are designing and executing your marketing strategy to attract potential clients and to show them your creativeness and capabilities. Always have them in mind when putting ideas down on paper or on the web. What you think is appealing may not be appealing to your customer. Ensure that your message will catch their eye and impress upon them that your service can make their lives so much easier in more ways than one…. and better than your competitor!
Janice Byer, owner of Docu-Type Administrative & Web Design Services, provides professional, creative and affordable virtual office assistance and small business website design. She is a Certified Canadian Virtual Assistant (CCVA) and Master Virtual Assistant (MVA). She is also the author of Surfin’ The Net - Docu-Type’s Virtual Collection of Links, which is filled with the secrets of her success. Visit her website for more information and to get your copy.
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