Use JumpUp to Boost Your Business

I was really excited earlier this month when JumpUp asked if they could spotlight my business on their website. My feature just went live today and can be viewed at http://www.jumpup.com/spotlights/rosanna.

More importantly, though, is that JumpUp is a free small business resource that can provide you with invaluable information, resources and advice on some of the toughest aspects of running a business. It also allows you to network with other small business owners who have been through a lot of the same things that may be going on in your business today.

Whatever stage your business is in, whether you have questions about funding, marketing, choosing a name, creating a business plan, or any one of the myriad of issues that they cover, you can find a ton of information and ideas on just the topic you’re looking for.

Get Out to That Next Business Mixer

I love networking mixers. Almost enough to order a bumpersticker that says so. If it has been a while since you have been to your last business networking mixer, now is the time to plan for the next one that you’ll attend. If you have never been to one, you’re really missing out on some phenomenal opportunities for your VA business.

Networking is important. Virtual Assistants are often good at networking online, but face-to-face networking should be equally important to you. Business networking mixers are great because you get to meet other professionals in a relaxed and casual environment. You will be amazed at the phenomenal contacts you will make at a mixer.

A lot of overstressed business owners and professionals have never heard of a Virtual Assistant, much less considered the benefits of teaming with one. It’s a great opportunity to introduce an option to them that can have an exponential impact on their success and dave their sanity at the same time. And by building a professional relationship with the businesses and people in your area, they develop a favorable impression of the VA industry.

If you are looking to get all you can out of the next business networking mixer that you attend, you may want to try the following:

Offer your hand. Not sure how to start up a conversation with the person next to you? It’s simple. Initiate a handshake, smile, look them in the eye, say hello and introduce yourself. It really is that easy. Be happy. Be enthusiastic. Be yourself (unless you happen to be neither happy nor enthusiastic, in which case you should be anyone but yourself.)

Bring plenty of business cards. Pass them out to everyone you meet. Don’t be shy. Going without business cards is like going without pants — and every bit as bad. When you hand someone your card, ask for theirs if they don’t immediately present it.

Dress conservatively. Many mixers are casual, but you still want to appear professional. This is not the time to show up in cut offs and flip flops. My advice is to dress in “business” or “business casual” attire. People will make judgements about you before you ever meet them, so make sure that you appear to be someone that they can benefit by knowing.

Engage the other person in conversation about their business. It’s easy to keep the conversation going when you ask someone to talk about themselves or their business. What do they do? What do they love most about it? What are their challenges? How is business currently? What is the next step that they plan to take? Pay special attention to everything they say because you will learn specifically how they could best benefit from your services.

Share what you do. Chances are, when you say that you are a Virtual Assistant, a lot of people will ask, “What is that?” What a great opportunity to share how you partner with other business owners and busy professionals to help them leverage their time and increase their productivity! Open their eyes to the possibility of what a VA can do for them. If they seem interested in working with you, schedule a time for an initial consultation.

Follow up with the new contacts that you made afterwards. Now that you have a stack of business cards from all of the people that you met, don’t just let them sit in a drawer collecting dust. Give them a phone call, send them an email, or mail them a card and let them know that you enjoyed the opportunity to talk to them at the mixer. They will be impressed with your initiative and will be reminded of the services that you provide.

So look in your local paper, call your chamber of commerce, read your local business publications and find out when the next business mixer is being held and make plans to attend. You will be glad that you did.

Spring Cleaning for Your VA Business

Spring is just around the corner (I am pretty sure it’s in sight, anyway), and many of us engage in our “spring cleaning” rituals around the house. It’s such a good feeling to have everything in order and to check those elusive tasks off your list that you hadn’t found time to do in the weeks (okay, let’s be realistic- months) past.

While you are enjoying the fresh start at home, why not carry that same mindset into your VA business? Plan to set aside a block of time in the next 30 days to improve your organization as well as tackle some of those tasks that you haven’t been able to get to recently.

Backup your computer files (but PLEASE don’t let that be a once-a-year event!)

Update your website.

Launch a new client referral program.

Evaluate your marketing plan. Find a creative way to advertise your services that you haven’t tried before.

Reorganize your filing system.

Send out thank you notes to all of the clients you have worked with in the past year.

Create a PowerPoint presentation for your VA business.

Identify one area of your business that you would like to improve on in the months ahead, map out your strategy for success and implement your plan.

Rearrange your workspace for better efficiency.

Whatever it is that you have had on your list or in the back of your mind, now is the time to invest in your Virtual Assistant business and plan to do a little “spring cleaning”. Chances are you will stumble upon some great ideas in the process!

Creating a Client Referral Program That Really Builds Business

It is quite possible that there is no better, more effective method of advertising than referrals from your clients. They have experienced firsthand the value of teaming with a Virtual Assistant, and their respected word and opinion almost instantly propels you into a “trusted agent” status with the associate whom they are sharing the benefits of a VA with.

Think about it. Others see your clients’ success and satisfaction, and they naturally start to want that for themselves. Once they hear about your services, they are many times more likely to sign on with you than the average prospect who just happened upon one of your advertisements. They have already been sold on your service. They just need a place to sign.

Referrals are tremendously powerful and offer your business a chance to grow like no other, but there is one significant caveat. If you don’t ask for them (and do so properly), you are never going to be able harness their full potential. Creating a referral program is a great way to do that. By incentivizing your clients to provide their glowing testimonials of your services to others, they will actually seek opportunities to spread the word about you!

Here are three tips for developing a business building referral program:

The incentive should have real value to your clients. Now, this doesn’t mean that you have to break the bank, but you should offer something that is substantial enough to sincerely reflect your appreciation for new business directly resulting from their referral. My experience is that a discount or credit to their account works best.

Make sure your program results in new business from both the referred party and the existing client. It is quite obvious to focus on the first part, but if you leave out the latter, you are missing out on half of the benefits of the referral process. A good way to do this is to offer a discount that will be credited towards the referring party’s next invoice. This encourages your referring client to continue to find new ways that their business can benefit from your expert service.

Announce your referral program in a variety of ways. Telling your clients about your it is not a one-time event. Send them postcards periodically to remind them of it (Personally, I favor VerticalResponse to do this). Post it on your website. Mention it in your email newsletters. Include a brief reminder about it on your email signature with a link to your website where they can get full details.

Starting a referral program was by far the most effective business building strategy for my business. I was amazed at the response and the enthusiasm of my clients to refer their friends, family and associates to me. The benefits have greatly outweighed the costs, and I couldn’t have gotten the same results from spending the same amount on other forms of advertising. Of course, other methods of advertising have their place, but a referral program is at the top of the list for me.

The Best Marketing Tips of Top Virtual Assistants

New Virtual Assistants often ask how they can effectively market their businesses. Afterall, what would a VA be without clients? I am always happy to share the way I do things, but I know that marketing a business has endless possibilites in the methods that are used. So I decided to ask some other VAs what their best marketing tips are.

If you are looking to get the word out about your business, here are some great ideas for you:

My favorite marketing strategy is what I call ‘internal marketing.’ Letting your current clientele know that you’re graciously accepting their generous referrals is a great way to bring in new, ideal clients. And, referral clients have already been ‘educated’ as to what it is you do as a VA so all you have to do is WOW them!
- Tess at the Virtual Assistant Forums

When you decide you are serious about becoming a VA, tell everyone you know. It seems like such a little thing to do, but it can make a huge difference. Think about how many people you know and how many people they know and so on and so on and so on (like the Pert commercial). It is a huge market, so be sure you don’t miss out on a free opportunity to land that valuable first client.
- Kate at Kerans Virtual Assistance

When sending out a postcard mailing, I print my business card on the back of the postcard as my return address with a dashed outline and a note underneath it “please cut out and keep my business card for future use.”
- Lily at The Virtual Office Goddess, LLC

Let’s not forget networking forums! Industry related forums are a great way to let your target market know you’re there. Go to where your target market hangs out. Trade shows, conferences and other industry events are also a good way to mix with your target market. Just be careful not to be a *schmaltzy* salesperson. Make friends first. Strike up a conversation and ask *tell me about your business*. People love to talk about themselves.
- Shari at Modern Marketing Support

Having an online presence, getting your name out there is big. I think having a website, blog and belonging to social networking sites helps tremendously.
- Dawn at A Virtual Assistant in Paradise

Networking in person and online is very important. I have met a lot of good contacts who love to recommend and refer! This can be done by joining VA forums, industry forums that your target market belongs to along with your local organizations such as your Chamber of Commerce!
- Doreen at Virtual Business Partners

I always like to remember that my next client could be standing in front of me. Maintaining a professional demeanor and appearance is one key to gaining new business and preserving a good reputation. Also, carry business cards with you and give them to everyone you meet.
- Jenifer at Administrative Support Group

There you have it- great marketing advice from experienced Virtual Assistants. Please feel free to add your own favorite marketing strategies in the comments.

Want to Easily Add Forms to Your Website? Jot This Down

You don’t have to be some HTML guru to create great forms for your Virtual Assistant website. (Although I strongly recommend that you take the FREE HTML e-course for basic understanding that I mentioned in a previous post.) Enter JotForm, the answer to your free form needs.

JotForm is a web-based application that makes creating forms and inserting them into your site a real piece of cake. They offer a variety of impressive features and allow an unlimited number of forms that you can create under their free version. Of course, a Premium package is available if you need it for less than $10 per month.

Unlike a lot of their competitors, you won’t find any third party advertising on the forms that you create with JotForm. So go ahead and create some forms to bolster your marketing list, connect to prospective clients, and get helpful feedback from your website visitors. The possibilities are endless, and so are the rewards for implementing well-designed forms into your website!

Get Your FREE Business Marketing Identity Kit From HP

Let me ask a quick question.

How do you feel about your marketing material?

Is it well put-together? Do you have a good variety of materials that you can give to prospective clients such as brochures, busines cards, flyers, etc.? Equally importantly, do they look like they go together? Do they portray the professionalism that you have as a VA?

Admittedly, that was more than just one question, but I hit you with this barrage for good reason. If you can’t answer with an enthusiastic “YES!” to all of the above, have I got some good news for you!

Having great marketing material doesn’t have to cost a lot. In fact, HP offers a FREE downloadable Business Marketing Identity Kit. They have several great designs to choose from, and with just a few clicks of the mouse, you can download one that suits your business best.

If your marketing materials aren’t the best they can be, I encourage you to get on this one post-haste. As a VA, chances are good that you may never meet your prospects face-to-face, so everything that you send them to promote your business has to exude competence and professionalism.

Even if you do happen to meet them in person, they still have to feel confident in handing over work to be done offsite. It is important to put your best foot forward in all aspects and show that you are a business-minded individual who can help them take their business to the next level.

A good marketing packet can help you attract new clients, solidify your relationship with existing clients, and can help you get new business and referrals from prior clients.

To download your free HP Business Marketing Identity kit, please click here.

Get Vertical Results with VerticalResponse

Here’s a little bit of marketing heaven for Virtual Assistants and other small business owners! VerticalResponse is a web-based application that delivers high-quality email and direct mail marketing options.

Best of all, VerticalResponse is more affordable than you ever dreamed. You pay no monthly fees, setup costs, or hidden charges. You pay only for what you send out. For email campaigns, it could be 1.5 cents per recipient or less. For direct mail 4×6 postcards, it’s under a dollar per recipient. The more you send, the better your price, but even for a small campaign, you surely can’t beat the price- and you don’t have to sacrifice quality.

If you are looking to create an email newsletter, you have 4 great options that will easily match up to any experience level with the super-easy to use (and no experience required) Email Wizard, a slightly more involved but more flexible grahpical HTML Email Canvas, the more advanced Freeform HTML or Text Only options. No matter which option you choose, you can create a great email marketing campaign.

Have you ever thought of mailing out a custom designed postcard campaign but shuddered at the thought of the expense? Well, fear no more! Now you can design your own professional looking postcards and have them mailed out for a surprisingly economical price. With a great selection of graphics, fonts and solid color options, you can create a postcard just as unique as your business is.

A great benefit is that you can manage both your email and direct mail postcard campaigns using the same lists. Once you import your contact list with email and mailing information, you will be ready to go!

On top of the fantastic marketing materials that they provide, VerticalResponse also has a host of other FREE resources designed to help you make the very most of your campaigns and market like the pros! Here are just a few of the handy tools they provide to help you improve your marketing success:

The VR Blog

The VR Podcast

Video Demos

Webinar Archives

Marketing Articles and Reports

Marketing Terms Glossary

VerticalResponse is so sure that you will love marketing with their products that they’ll even let you try them for FREE! So sign on today and send 25 free emails. While you are there, take them up on their offer to send out a free postcard to sample their quality. I think you’ll love their service and the value they provide!