Online Networking July 13, 2009
Posted by Laura in Marketing, Networking, Online.Tags: VAS, Business, Virtual Administrative Supports, Business Services, VASupports, Laura A. Lee, Resource, Advertising
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Getting involved in networking online may seem like a daunting task of immense time wasting. And it can be, if you aren’t careful about where and when you do network. Joining every networking site there is on the internet is not practical for any business, nor are they all appropriate for recruiting the ideal target audience for your service or product.
Consider a site like Facebook. It can be a great way to promote your business, but it can easily turn into something personal instead of business. If you create a profile for your business, keep it that way. Avoid adding ‘friends’ that are just that. Keep it for business contacts and business information. Keep personal data off your profile.
Now look at a site like LinkedIn, which is designed for professionals. It doesn’t ask for your age or marital status. It offers ways to connect with other groups of professionals to promote your business.
So, once you decide which sites to network on, how do you determine the necessary time to devote to produce a positive result for your business? That’s a tough call as it can vary significantly between businesses. One way that I reduce my time in networking is saving a copy of my profiles for when I join a new site. That way, it’s more of a cut and paste than rewrite, which can save a lot of time from duplicating the same information. I also set aside a timeframe each week for networking and stick to that alone. I don’t allow myself to spend time every day, as it can turn into a ever-growing time commitment.
Once I have been networking on a site for a while, I track my time and results to ensure the site is a positive marketing tool for my business. If I have been on a site for quite a while with little or no result, I reduce or eliminate my time on that tool and move on. Finding marketing that works for you may seem a bit like ‘trial and error.’ And that’s ok, that’s what marketing is: finding your target audience and drawing them in to your business.
When it comes to tracking the effectiveness of a marketing tool, I use a simple spreadsheet similar to this:
|
Time |
Value |
Result |
Result Value |
Total Value |
|
|
1/1/09 Join Site |
2 hrs |
($60) |
($60) |
||
|
1/7/09 Updates |
30 min |
($15) |
($15) |
||
|
1/14/09 Updates |
30 min |
($15) |
20 hr/mo 6 mo contract |
$3600 |
$3585 |
|
Results: |
$3510 |
||||
Note: For multiple networking sites, I detail the results of each individual site to ensure all my efforts are effective.
It is critical that you are aware that networking does take time. As mentioned previously, it can take someone 9+ times to hear about your business before he/she makes contact or a purchase. So, it can take several months.
Tracking where your customers are coming from is also critical in helping determine the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. Simply asking where they heard of you can make all the difference in understanding what works for your business and what doesn’t.
Use A Personal Buyer – Now available at a discount November 23, 2008
Posted by Laura in Business Services, Company, Online, Virtual Assistants.Tags: Business Services, Holidays, Laura A. Lee, Personal Buyer, Service, VA, VASupports, Virtual Assistant
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Virtual Administrative Supports is now proud to offer a special service for the upcoming holidays. We’ve recently hired a Virtual Assistant who specializes in buying.
We now have amazing resources to help you save money and time with purchasing all those holiday gifts on your list.
Is Your Business Staying Atop the Current Economic Situation November 23, 2008
Posted by Laura in Business Services, Company, Marketing, Online, Virtual Assistants.Tags: Business, Business Owner, Businesses, Economy, Laura A. Lee, Recession, Small Business, Small Business Owners, VASupport, Virtual Assistant
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With the economy in such turmoil that it is currently in, there is a great deal of stress on businesses of all sizes. Small business owners are feeling some of the biggest squeezes. Now is the time for small business owners to consider bringing in some help to get their business going.
The stress piling up on business owners is growing at an exponential rate with the current recession, leaving little time to focus on how to make it through. Instead, they are focusing on how to stay afloat at this moment. The success (or failure) of a business may depend on the simple fact of focusing on how to stay in front of your customers and bring in their continued repeat business while drawing in new customers. It could be as simple as getting a different perspective on how to go about this.
Virtual Assistants (VAs) are in more demand now than ever before. VAs offer exceptional skills and abilities and a great rate for businesses who need to focus on their budgets now more than ever. Have you considered what a VA can do to help your business?
Is Your VA In It For The Long Haul? September 11, 2008
Posted by Laura in Business Services, Company, Virtual Assistants.Tags: How To Hire A Virtual Assistant, Laura A. Lee, VA, VAS, VASupports, Virtual Administrative Supports, Virtual Assistant
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When looking for a Virtual Assistant, look for one who is actually in business. Those who work on the side show a lack of business commitment that can present conflicts and trouble for you in the form of longer turn-around times, poor communication, conflicting commitments, interruptions, and even periods of unavailability. Consider these questions:
1. How long has the Virtual Assistant been in business?
2. Is it a full-time business or part-time with limited availability?
3. Is this a chosen profession or just something the VA is doing for a short-period of time?
4. Does the VA and the business have detailed policies and business standards that will encourage a positive working relationship and communication?
Virtual Assistants who consider their business to be a chosen profession will typically have systems and offerings in place to provide the best service possible to serve the client’s needs and expectations. Look for confidence, a solid business, independence, trustworthy, and dependability.
Virtual Administrative Supports runs as a full-time business and expects to be in business for the long haul. We do not consider this as a job that we are doing until something better comes along. We are here, and will be for a long time…
FREE VA Tool For Companies September 10, 2008
Posted by Laura in Business Services, Company, Virtual Assistants.Tags: Company, How To Hire A Virtual Assistant, Laura A. Lee, Resource, VAS, VASupports, Virtual Administrative Supports
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We have a free tool on our website (www.VASupports.com) for companies- “How to Hire A Virtual Assistant.” This is a great resource for anyone interested in hiring a VA but doesn’t know where to start. Check it out!
Virtual Administrative Supports – A New Business In Glenwood City, WI August 25, 2008
Posted by Laura in Business Services, Company, Virtual Assistants.Tags: Laura A. Lee, New Business, VAS, VASupports, Virtual Administrative Supports
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Virtual Administrative Supports – A New Business In Glenwood City
Glenwood City, WI – August 25, 2008 – We are excited to announce the creation of a cost-effective, and positive resource for businesses looking for office support; Virtual Administrative Supports offers exceptional customer service and extremely experienced virtual assistants. Our support focuses on offering positive and financially rewarding assistance for any company or individual we work with.
A Virtual Assistant (VA) is a highly trained independent entrepreneur who provides a myriad of business support services virtually via phone, fax and internet based technology to support and meet the growing needs of businesses worldwide. Partnering with a VA reduces stress, protects cash flow, eliminates administrative hassles, and enables business people to find the success they originally set out to achieve. A VA is your right hand person helping you to succeed in your business. (Source: Virtual Assistant Networking Association)
Our philosophy: your success is our success. We know businesses, especially small and home-based, often have piles of paperwork, phone calls, and a multitude of other activities going on just to keep the business going. Virtual Administrative Supports also knows that all that tedious work is pulling you away from what you do best – boosting your business.
“Working with VAS was so easy. It was my first time using a VA and I was a little nervous handing over the reigns to someone so far away, but they kept in contact and provided updates regularly. The presentation was phenomenal and I will be using them again in the future,” said Rachel Jenkins, CA
Virtual Administrative Supports provides you with assistance virtually. We work with the most current technology to provide offsite support to your business. We can handle all the scheduling, document creations, mailings, project creations, event planning, research, marketing, databases, and anything else you can think of.
Contact us today for a free quote and 30-minute consultation to discuss your needs, and how we can be At Your Service!
Contact:
Laura A. Lee, Owner
Virtual Administrative Supports
www.VASupports.com
Home-Based 100 Contest – Please Vote for VASupports! August 21, 2008
Posted by Laura in Company.Tags: Advertising, Laura A. Lee, Marketing, Start-Up Nation, VAS, VASupports, Virtual Administrative Supports
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Laura A. Lee has entered Virtual Administrative Supports in a contest through Start-Up Nation. The contest will present multiple streams of free large-market advertising. Winners of the Home-Based 100 find themselves at the center of a media storm that includes recognition on national and local TV, radio, in newspapers and magazines, and on some of the largest, most influential websites on the web, MSN and StartupNation among them. This would create the major boost necessary for us to take the business to the next level. Now, I need to get the votes. THAT’S WHERE YOU COME IN!
It is quick and simple – you can vote 1 time each day, just by clicking here: http://www.startupnation.com/homebased100/contestant/278/index.php (or copy and paste hyperlink into browser). Click the “Vote for Me” button in the green square. That’s it. Through September 30th, every vote makes the difference! So, please vote daily!
10 Tips for Direct Networking July 18, 2008
Posted by Laura in Direct Networking, Networking.Tags: 10 Tips, Direct Networking, Elevator Speech, Laura A. Lee, Networking, VAS, VASupports, Virtual Administrative Supports
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Networking allows prospects to know and learn about you and the company. It provides a face for clients who prefer that method. Here are 10 tips for networking:
1. Dress professionally and always take a brief moment to check once you arrive.
2. Make sure you are comfortable, don’t wear those new shoes that will hurt your feet or a shirt that bunches and requires frequent adjustments.
3. TURN YOUR CELL PHONE OFF! Or at least set it on vibrate. Answering a phone presents the appearance that something else is more important.
4. Spend time with those you don’t know! Don’t catch up with old friends or contacts, use this time to meet new and expand your contact list.
5. Share information about your company with those you meet. Have an elevator speech prepared (10-20 seconds) to give a brief overview when the opportunity presents itself. Then let it go. Let them ask for more information, pressuring will only turn them off to your company.
6. Always be well stocked with business cards to hand out anytime you meet someone. Even consider having your personal phone number on the back of some for personal meetings. This gets your business information out there and back to the home or office with them. Also consider a small gift like a pen, but make sure it’s a nice one, not just a stick pen.
7. Be a good listener. People can tell when you are not interested. Always present interested body language and remember to make eye contact.
8. Collect as many business cards as possible. Take notes about each person on the back of their business card and include why you need to make contact.
9. Send a thank you note. It was nice to meet you. After meeting someone, send them a note, just make sure it’s personal and ALWAYS SIGN YOUR OWN NAME! Never type your name on it. Very impersonal!
10. Follow up! Referring to the notes on the back of their business cards, send the information about your company that would best pertain to them.
Why Are VAs So Expensive? July 16, 2008
Posted by Laura in Business Services, Company, Costs and Fees, Virtual Assistants.Tags: Laura A. Lee, VAS, VAs Compared to Employees, VASupports, Virtual Administrative Supports, Virtual Assistant, Virtual Assistant Costs
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When you take a few moments and consider what the actual cost of having an employee, you will see that having a VA is the way to go (see chart below).
You only pay for the time on your projects, not chatting with co-workers, bathroom breaks, or personal emails.
You don’t have to worry about taxes, insurance, benefits, etc as the VA takes care of all those costs themselves since they are a contractor.
According to VANetworking.com, a regular employee’s 8-hour day can be reduced to 3-4 hours with a VA.
How much work could you get done if you hired a VA for a full 40 hours a week instead of a regular employee? That’s easy – DOUBLE WHAT YOU’RE GETTING NOW!
VAs are often also more experienced in a variety of areas and have more flexibilities in the job duties you’d like accomplished.
Cost Comparison Employee Assistants
Hourly Rate $20.00 $30.00
Fringe Benefits @ 35% $7.00 $0.00
Overhead Rate @ 50% $10.00 $0.00
Total Effective Rate of Pay $37.00 $30.00
*Hours Per Year 2,080 hrs 480 hrs
TOTAL Annual Labor Cost $76,960.00 $14,400.00
That’s a savings of $64,960! What can you do with a reduced cost of $62,560?
*Now, you may be asking why there is only 480 hours for the VA listed. Virtual Assistants are generally more experienced and more efficient than employees are; plus, you do not pay for breaks, co-worker chatting, or even bathroom breaks. You can devote far less time to the project to get the same results, only approximately 480 hours a year versus 2,080 for the employee.
