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What to look for in a Virtual Assistant (according to Your Executive Secretary)

I was recently asked what would be the Top 3 qualities that I would look for in another Virtual Assistant. A tricky question as for me a lot depends on what I was looking for that person to do – fill a current gap, complete a task that I didn’t have the skills or the time to do or provide a completely different service. So in answer to the question “What to look for in a Virtual Assistant (according to Your Executive Secretary)” – well I couldn’t narrow it down to 3 – for me there are 7 Top qualities that I would initially look for:

Virtual Assistant - Amanda Johnson
Your Executive Secretary – Amanda Johnson
1. Skills. These are very important because they determine how useful the chosen assistant will be to the business you are in. The more skills someone possesses does not mean they will be more useful to you, unless you are looking for someone who is a good all rounder. It goes back to my initial question, what will they be doing for you and your business. You need to find a Virtual Assistant who has the skills that will be needed in performing the tasks that you would like to delegate.

2. Time Management. This is very critical when outsourcing a project/task to someone else. You need to be sure that you choose someone who can meet the timelines you require.

3. Communication. This is a very strong part of any relationship. Generally you should agree by what method and when you will communicate. I always like to set some boundaries, whether that’s a timeline of when we will talk, whether I need authority to talk to others within a business or the levels of delegation I am being given without having to trouble the Business Owner. I also like to see weekly updates schedules for Clients who I work with on a weekly basis – these don’t have to take long but it allows me to keep up to date with where their business is going and any priorities that I need for the forthcoming week. So whichever communication method is chosen, it needs to be convenient for both parties. You may also have to factor in your time zones when deciding on a solution that is comfortable for both.

4. Professionalism. Professionalism is one of the things that will help you make a good choice. Lack of professionalism can bring down any business, regardless of the size. I need to be treated professionally.

5. Confidentiality. When I work with others, I need to know that their levels of Confidentiality meet my needs. I don’t want my business talked about with others (apart from in a good way) – I need reassurance that my business secrets are not being shared. So if you are considering using a Virtual Assistant, ask probing questions to see what other Client secrets they share (hopefully none) and check that they have the Clients approval to name them!

6. Honesty, Integrity and Loyalty. When you outsource to someone else, you need to have a great relationship with them – therefore I am need them to be Honest with me; have the Integrity to understand me and my business and the wherewithal to know what they can and cannot share, but ultimately to be Loyal to me and my Business – because at the end of the day, when they work with/for me they are representing me and my brand.

7. Adding Value. By adding value, I am not necessarily talking in monetary terms – it might be a skill or it might be a friendly face / trusted confident. For me this is often the “over and above” level of service and not the things that get paid for. The value that someone brings to the Relationship.

Hopefully these 7 points will help you know what to look for in a Virtual Assistant in the future. It’s also important to ensure that you don’t rush the process – you need to “know, like and trust” the person you choose. Sometimes this means just taking your time to choose the right person and other times, it may mean trying someone before committing yourself fully to working with them.

You might also like to read my Blog on Core Values and Standards in Business – as this will highlight the attributes that I apply to my business and think are vital to working with a Virtual Assistant.

The list of tasks a Virtual Assistant can help with is wide ranging. The most common things I have been asked to do since launch are: A Virtual Assistants Top 20 Tasks and as can be seen from the list, the type of tasks is endless and there are literally hundreds of different things a Virtual Assistant can do, but what most will do is take the time to get to know you and your business to advise where they can assist you best. At Your Executive Secretary, we offer a free consultation to learn about your business and to see what stressors are there and what systems and processes you already have in place, before advising how we can help you – our advice is free.

I would love to hear below in the comments box your experiences of choosing which Virtual Assistant to work with and what you answers you would have given to “What to look for in a Virtual Assistant?”

For more information on how we can help you to help you achieve your goals then please call Amanda on 01202 872061 or email [email protected].

A Virtual Assistants Top 20 Tasks

Using a Virtual Assistant can save you many hours from your working week but knowing which tasks to delegate can be tricky, especially when you are just starting out or trying to grow your business.

A Virtual Assistant, often known as a VA is freelance and sometimes referred to as a “Freelance PA”. There are lots of features and benefits for outsourcing tasks, some of the key ones are:

• You only pay for the services you receive.
• You do not have to worry about paying PAYE, NI, holiday, sick, maternity pay or even worry about contributing to a pension.
• A Virtual Assistant will be loyal to your branding and will take the time to get to know your business.
• Your valuable time is freed up, allowing you to concentrate on your business or gaining some important down time.

Still not sure where to start, well, lately, I have been asked by Entrepreneurs and Successful Business Owners, about the type of tasks that Your Executive Secretary can help them with, so I thought it might be good to write a list of the Top 20 Items I have been asked to do in the last 6 months. It should be remembered though at Your Executive Secretary we recognize that every business is different and what one Business Owner finds stressful another will find relatively simple and straightforward so it is always best to contact us with your enquiry, for a free consultation and we will endeavor to guide you through the process.

Virtual Assistant
Running a Business is a juggling act

Your Executive Secretarys Top 20 Tasks (not in priority order)

1. Create and manage Social Media profiles.

2. Conduct post networking follow up connection requests.

3. Conduct Follow up research on a client, prospect, applicant or competitor.

4. Email organization and Review. Creating order from chaos of Clients multiple email accounts.

5. Create an online filing system and train client in good email practices.

6. Delete spam accumulated in e-mail accounts overnight, and sort, answer, or redirect remaining messages.

7. Analyse post course feedback and provide summary to Client for onward submission to their clients.

8. Draft Blog articles from Clients notes.

9. Format Clients Blog articles and submit online.

10. Investigate Travel Options.

11. Make calls to confirm appointments, engagements, or reservations.

12. Create and send an email campaign.

13. Update a Clients CRM system.

14. Assist with marketing a Clients business.

15. Organise, manage and orchestrate networking events on a Clients behalf.

16. Turning raw data into a Powerpoint presentation to pitch for a major contract.

17. Generate Reports.

18. Diary Management and Scheduling of appointments.

19. Advise Client on “Rebranding their business”.

20. Creating of Business correspondence templates (letter heads, invoices, receipt notes etc)

As can be seen from the list, the type of tasks is endless and there are literally hundreds of different things a Virtual Assistant can do, but what most will do is take the time to get to know you and your business to advise where they can assist you best. At Your Executive Secretary, we offer a free consultation to learn about your business and to see what stressors are there and what systems and processes you already have in place, before agreeing how we can help you.

I would love to hear below in the comments box your experiences of outsourcing tasks to a Virtual Assistant or even why you are hesitant about outsourcing.

For more information on how we can help you to help you achieve your goals then please call Amanda on 01202 872061 or email [email protected].

5 Essential Tips For Adwords Beginners – Guest post from Claire Jarrett

Your Executive Secretary are really excited to have a Guest Blog Post from Claire Jarrett, who offers AdWords Training & Consultancy.

If you are just getting started with Google Adwords, I expect you started to feel very overwhelmed, very fast. As a beginner, it’s hard not to, so don’t worry. If the thought of crunching numbers and digging through data makes you feel sick, it’s probably not for you. But if you feel you can handle it and are ready to learn the tricks of the trade, take a look at these 5 tips.

Start Small, Then Expand

When creating your first account, you may consider cramming it full of keywords and seeing which ones perform better. This is a bad idea. You will damage your quality score, which will increase the price you pay for clicks, and you will waste money quickly.

Instead, focus on a targeted selection of keywords that you feel are directly related to your product or service and will perform well, based on extensive research. Once you get a feel for what works, slowly build it out.

Ensure Your Site Works On Smartphones

With the constant surge of increasingly advanced technology, ensuring your site works very well on smartphones is important. More and more people are using their phones to find you, and these figures are only going to keep growing.

Instead of creating a site specifically for mobiles, create one that will work on all devices. This will ensure you have a site ready to face changes in technology, as they come.

Make Use Of The Search Term Report

The search term reports are accessible in the Adwords interface, and provide you with tons of data that your ads have collected. You can see all of the actual search terms that your ads were matched against.

Analysing these reports gives you insights into information such as negative keyword you should be adding to prevent irrelevant searches, or any opportunities to setup new keywords.

It’s All About Relevance

Relevancy is probably one of the most important aspects of creating a successful Adwords campaign. Your ad copy needs to be relevant to keywords that the ad group is targeting. The ad copy needs to be relevant to the landing page that users are sent to.

By ensuring that your keywords, copy and landing page is relevant, you are ensuring you acquire a high quality score by maintaining high click through rates.

Get Enough Data Before Making Major Changes

It can be tempting to make drastic changes to your Adwords account as soon as bits of data comes in. You have to resist the urge, and wait for enough data. That way, you can ensure you are making the best decision based on extensive data. This is especially important if you are in a niche that doesn’t get much search volume.

Can you think of any more tips that would be helpful for Adwords beginners? I’d love to hear them in the comments below.

This is a guest post by Claire Jarrett, who offers AdWords Training & Consultancy. Connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, and Google + here.

Business Babysitting – a worry free holiday for Small Business Owners / Sole Traders

As I sit in my office today with the sun shining, a gorgeous blue sky and one of my Builders having returned from 2 weeks holiday in a warmer climate, it got me thinking about taking a worry free holiday and the Business Babysitting service we provide.  When was the last time you took a worry free holiday?

I regularly meet Small Business Owners (and their families) who tell me they cannot remember the last time they took a holiday as they are too worried about losing Clients or potential business while they are away – and what is the point of taking a holiday as the emails mount up only for you to feel within a couple of days of being back that you have never been away.  Or if they did take a holiday, they spend hours each day at considerable expense trying to answer emails on a dodgy internet connection or via their mobile phone just to keep on top of things.

The ideal situation if for your business to be looked after by someone, whilst you are away.  This is where a Virtual Assistant (or a Freelance PA) can assist you.  You outsource your business support services (answering your telephone, management of your diary and emails, invoicing etc) for the duration of your holiday.  On your return Your Executive Secretary provide you with a consolidated list of all of the actions we have taken, a list of your calls and any outstanding items.

It is recommended that you leave us some emergency contact instructions just incase something comes up that we really cannot do on your behalf (but it is highly unlikely).

A number of Virtual Assistants or Freelance PA’s offer this service; within my Business Babysitting package, I include a free consultation before the holiday so I that I know lots about your business, how you like things dealt with, any standard responses you give; you effectively brief me to the length at which you want your holiday cover provided, how you like things done within your business.  Some Small Businesses don’t want their Clients to know that they are on holiday and we agree what wording I will use for calls etc.

worry free, business babysitting service
Do you want a worry free holiday? Use our Business Babysitting Service

During your holiday, Your Executive Secretary perform all of the agreed tasks whilst ensuring your clients are dealt with in accordance with your wishes.  Then after your holiday, we get together again for free debrief on the services we have delivered while you have been away and go through the consolidated report of what actions we have taken etc.

For new clients, we make arrangements for access to email accounts, and if Your Executive Secretary are going to be taking your calls, we arrange (and test) the diversion of the phones.  If an on site service is required, then we ensure that I have keys, alarm codes etc.

So are you thinking of taking a holiday or are you being nagged to take one by your partner/spouse, but have not booked it because you are worried about the number of emails or phone calls that you might miss while you are away – then our Business Babysitting service could be for you.  Why not give me a call today on 0800 612 5596 to see if we can help you manage your business so that you can take that worry free holiday

Branding or Rebranding – The Marketing Mix

Your Executive Secretary previously wrote a blog post about Branding or Rebranding – Choosing a Name, where we looked at the questions to ask yourself when Branding or Rebranding and Choosing a name for your business; now I want to look at the Marketing Mix of your Business and the questions you should be asking yourself. There are no right or wrong answers to the questions here, these are just questions you might like to think about when working out your Marketing Mix.

Marketing Mix
What ingredients make up your Marketing Mix?

Who are you selling to?

Understanding your customers affects everything else that you do within your business. Knowing your customers will dictate / determine your price and then ultimately your profit. It will driver your sales and how you develop your products and even how you market your products, business or self.

What is your Target Market?

Are you trying to have a small bespoke market who are willing to pay a little extra for your specialized product or service or are you trying to attract a mass market and therefore happy to offer a cheaper product or service.

Do you have a niche?

Do you want to work with a particular type of client or do you offer a service that no-one else offers and therefore you are the specialist? By having a niche you can target your marketing activities around that niche. So if it’s a particular industry you can concentrate on being in those areas or advertising in industry specific type of magazines/literature where that industry hangs out. Or if you offer a specialist service / product and you can be the “expert” in that field, people will respect you for that and be prepared to pay more.

What size of business do you want to attract?

Think about are you selling to individuals, other professional, Sole Traders or small/medium/large businesses. This really depends on what it is you are selling but if you are a small business wanting to work with other small businesses/Sole Traders you need to target your marketing to that particular audience.

What do you actually provide your customers?

This is not as easy a question to answer as it sounds. Are you providing security, work/life balance? Does your product or service allow them to concentrate their efforts on something else, free up their time. Think of the benefits you bring and use these in your marketing efforts.

The above all sounds relatively simple but I don’t believe it is – I know when I answered these questions for my own business, I then re-visited them in 2 other guises – although the questions were similar they were asked in a slightly different way, so got me thinking about the business in a different way. These other questions can be described by the 7 P’s and the 4 Quadrants – which I will save for another day/Blog.

Your Executive Secretary loves working with Businesses on their Branding and Rebranding, it is great to see something start as an idea or concept and then develop into a business. So if you are looking for someone independent to help you with your Branding or Rebranding of your Business, then please give me Amanda a call on Freephone: 0800 612 5596 to arrange a no obligation chat.

I would also love to know either in the Comments section below or on Facebook/Twitter, how you came about the name of your business, any hints, tips, that you might like to share with others on Marketing your Business – what has worked for you and what hasn’t?

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