Secretarial Services that you should outsource now

Secretarial Services that you should outsource now

21 Jun, 2017

If you’re a business owner, influencer or industry leader, we understand that you are already extremely busy and it is probably time that you look into outsourcing your secretarial services. While you might not notice it at the current moment, the truth is that outsourcing your secretarial services will do wonders for your overall productivity and profitability. It means that you can work on what you want to work on.  If you find the right person, it is someone that you can run ideas through and also someone that can take care of your business while you are on holiday.  It also takes the pressure off sorting the basic day to day things that can easily be outsourced.  Here are some of the popular day to day services that many businesses outsource:

  • Transcription
  • Typing and document formatting
  • Diary bookings
  • Appointment setting
  • Template creation
  • Invoicing
  • Customer followup
  • Travel arrangements
  • Email replies and followups

Some of the above seem quite old school for 2017 but are still popular, below are some ways that these services have been rejigged into an online format, these include:

  • Uploading Blog Posts to your website
  • Social Media scheduling
  • Transcription of podcasts and interviews into blog posts
  • Email newsletters
  • Online file organisation
  • Database updates
  • Online training maintenance, followup and technical help

How it’s done

Thanks to modern technology and ability, you can now outsource all of your secretarial work. In past decades, most of this work would have to be done in-house, but because of the new technological advances, it’s undoubtedly something that could be handled by an outsourced contractor. Secretarial services might seem like something that aren’t easy to outsource but the easiest way to think about it especially if you do travel alot is to consider the secretary being back in the office and you need to phone them or email them with the work to be completed.  Other ways to assign tasks is to use project management software such as Asana, Trello or Slack. But what about File sharing, I hear you ask.  Well, there are many file sharing options available including uploading to a project management software (as indicated), Dropbox, Sugarsync and of course google drive.

The best thing about outsourcing your secretarial services is that if you find the right person to handle the job, they normally offer a 24 hour turn around, which means that you can have the work back on your desk the next day. Too often, a lot of people that run businesses have way too much work than they can handle so by getting the initial steps completed, it frees up your time to focus on running your business.

 

Susan Wilkin
Online Business Manager

Are you ready to hire a Virtual Assistant or online business Manager?  Take our quiz today!

Why Hiring a Virtual Assistant is Good for Business

Why Hiring a Virtual Assistant is Good for Business

13 Jun, 2017

Many businesses hire employees to perform various functions within a company.  Secretaries and administration assistants manage front office tasks which may include answering phones and offering customer support. Personal Assistants offer diary, meeting and office support to executives.  The marketing department oversees advertising, social media and public relations. Bookkeepers or accountants take care of the finances, and so on.

Many small, solopreneurs and home-based businesses don’t have the luxury of being able to hire a staff of employees. There are many reasons for this, it could be cashflow, office space or requirements.  However, that doesn’t mean you have to manage your business alone. By outsourcing to a virtual assistant or Online Business Manager, you can have specialised help when you need it and for a fraction of the cost of hiring full-time employees.

What does working with a Virtual Assistant mean?

Focus on your speciality instead: While understanding the basic concepts of what needs to occur in your business is great, there is no need to learn everything and this could include graphic design, marketing, website creation, etc. Hiring assistants who specialise in these areas will save you loads of time and frustration and this way you can focus on your speciality instead.

Balanced Home and Business Life: Business is important, but so is spending time with family and friends.  Maintaining a healthy balance reduces stress, increases productivity and ensures everyone is happy.

Increased Productivity & Profits: Knowing your assistant is taking care of the time consuming tasks allows you to stay focused on more profit-producing business activities.

In a nut shell, outsourcing to a virtual assistant really does make good business sense.

Do you really need a Virtual Assistant?

Whether you are just starting your business or have been at it for several years, you will reach a point when you cannot, or do not want to do everything yourself. This is the time to outsource to a virtual assistant. Outsourcing does not mean you are giving up control. It simply means that you value your time and want to use it in the most productive way.

Signs that you need a virtual assistant:

You feel overwhelmed: Are you working long hours in order to get things done? Maybe you feel exhausted by the long list of tasks you need to complete. Feeling overwhelmed at times is natural, but if it happens often, it’s time to take action and hire a virtual assistant.

You dislike the work: Everyone is good at something, but nobody is good at everything. If you have tasks that you simply dread doing, perhaps you always put them off until the last minute; consider hiring an assistant to do them for you.

It takes you forever to…. If you burn up many hours trying to draft your weekly newsletter because you struggle with the design, stop! It is not worth it when you can outsource the task and have it completed quickly.

You don’t know how to do something. One great thing about virtual assistants is that many have knowledge in a lot of areas. If you’ve been doing without something because you can’t do it yourself,outsourcing it to a specialist is the best answer.  This means that it will be completed quickly and efficiently.

Tasks are getting pushed aside. If emails and phone calls are going unanswered, then your customer service may be suffering. Poor customer service can lead to lost sales. Regardless of the task, if you do not have time to do it, hire someone to take care of it for you.

The family is unhappy. Take your queues from family and friends. When family members start migrating to your office, rather than you to the family room, chances are, you’re working too much.

You are tired of doing it alone. It’s tough operating a one person business. You have to be the creative thinker, implementer, follow-up person and more. While doing everything is great for the ego, it’s not always great for business. When you tire of doing it alone, call a VA. Remember, even superheroes call in reinforcements when they need it.

You need to take a holiday.  As a business owner, when was the last time you took a holiday?  Wouldn’t it be wonderful knowing that everything was taken care of while you take that much needed break from your business.  Once a virtual assistant gets to know your business they can cover off most items while you are away.

When you work with a virtual assistant, you can still do the tasks that you enjoy most, but you also have a support system in place for things that cause you stress or take up too much of your time. Hiring a virtual assistant allows you to reach your goals more quickly, obtain skills that you may not have, take your business to the next level, and even enjoy some free time.

Contact us today to find out more about our services.

Susan Wilkin
Online Business Manager

View our range of packages here

How to Find the Right Virtual Assistant

How to Find the Right Virtual Assistant

9 Jun, 2017

Having the right Virtual assistant is the first step to a good partnership. I say partnership because as you work together to grow your business, it will start to feel like you have a partner, someone who wants to see your business succeed as much as you do.  As a Virtual Assistant or Online Business Manager, I prefer to create that business partnership with my clients.

With so many virtual assistants to choose from, finding the right one is not always easy. Many times, business owners wait until they are desperate before they start looking for help. They end up hiring the first virtual assistant they find, normally based on the cheapest price but can also be on location and skills. While selecting an assistant this way can work, it can also lead to the business owner hopping from one assistant to the next and getting frustrated with the process and finding that a virtual assistant is not the right fit for them.

There’s a better method to finding the right Virtual assistant and it requires a bit of research and thought. Here are some things to consider before searching for a virtual assistant.

What skills are required of the Virtual Assistant

Before you begin your search, have an idea of what kind of assistant you need. Make a list of the tasks you want to outsource to the virtual assistant. What skills or knowledge should the VA have to complete those tasks? Do the tasks require special software or equipment?

In most cases, you will want the Virtual Assistant to have everything he or she needs to complete the work and if they are a viable business, they should have the basics set up already unless you have a specific software that you use.  In this case, it might be more beneficial to train your current virtual assistant on how to do these tasks.

Depending on the tasks, it can also be helpful if the Virtual Assistant has experience in the industry that you work in or already offers the services that you require to other businesses.

Characteristics

What characteristics would you like to see in your assistant? Which are most important to you? Here are a few to get you started:

  • Forward Thinker. They see the whole picture & offer ideas to help you reach your goals.
  • Self-Motivated. They are go-getters. They don’t wait until the last minute to start a project.
  • Takes Initiative. If they see something needs to be done, they do it.
  • Resourceful. If they don’t know an answer, they know how to find it
  • Organised. Disorganisation leads to frustration and potential mistakes
  • Good Communicator. Good communication reduces confusion and errors
  • Professional. They conduct themselves in a professional, self-confident way
  • Dependable. They complete work as requested without having to be monitored
  • Trustworthy. If they cannot be trusted, the contract should be cancelled

You may not find someone who possesses every characteristic on your list or you may just want to make sure the important ones are covered and then you can work with the rest.

Susan Wilkin
Online Business Manager

View our range of packages here

Creating a Clear Call to Action on your Webinar

Creating a Clear Call to Action on your Webinar

5 Jul, 2016

Hosting a webinar is a fantastic way to build your list but it is important to create a clear call to action on your webinar.  This will enable you to build a conversion.  Having a conversion then generates profits depending on the call to action. People are lazy so if you don’t tell them what to do, most of them will not do anything.

A clear call to action should encourage a sense of urgency due to the clearness and the information shared throughout the presentation provided. It will provide the next steps to take. It explains what, when, why, where, and how to proceed to obtain the benefits.

  • Be clear & concise – Use direct words like “Click Here to Get the ABC Toolkit” or other actionable words to tell them directly what they need to do to capture the benefits of the offer. Don’t make them guess.
  • Offer a guarantee – Reiterate the benefits of your offer, and the guarantee you are making them to reduce their fear of signing up or purchasing ie: 30 day money back guarantee and we part as friends.
  • Play on their emotions – You want them to feel as if the offer is so good that if they don’t do it now they’ll lose out on the opportunity. Use words that make them feel as if they will miss out if they don’t act, or they will belong if they do act.
  • Add incentives to action – Bulk up the offer by adding incentives to it. “Purchase now, and get a set of steak knives too.” Or “Buy within the next 30 minutes and get 30% off, plus an extra report, plus another incentive.”

Encourage those who answer your call to action to post on social media about their purchase or action. People like sharing what they love and they like to feel part of a bigger picture.

Now it is time for you to create your call to action on your webinar presentation slides.  Use the methods above to create your special offer which will lead back to your website, a purchase and ultimately your list.

Document Formatting Best Practice

Document Formatting Best Practice

21 Jun, 2016

There is not a one size fits all when it comes to document formatting. Each document comes with different challenges for formatting as well as different specifications. Different types will require specific or relevant styles of document formatting. A news article will demand a different format compared to webpage content. Likewise, marketing articles or SEO content would be different. Official documents, reports or textual presentations, can have countless types of document formatting needs. Tables and textboxes, images and their descriptions, bullet points, numbers and everything from the index to the reference or bibliography, the formatting requirements will vary.

Here are some of the best practices that you can develop for document formatting.

One of the essential requisites of document formatting is to ensure that you set up the styles including headings and use the consistent formats from the beginning. This will streamline your document. The headings and sub headings will also enable an easy set up in the table of contents. In larger documents, the content should be indexed with a Table of Contents.

Pick a font and be consistent with it. You can use bold, underline or Italics. You can colour certain texts or highlight them but ensure a consistent font and sizings throughout the document. Constantly changing fonts will not only make the document look inconsistent but it would also disturb the flow.

Stick to the style you have picked. That begins with the layout. Don’t change the layout on every page and certainly not on the same page. This will keep the presentation of the texts, tables and images consistent. If you have to change the layout or the format due to some unavoidable need, such as opting for a centre text or different alignment than the typical one, then do so in the most subtle manner so the changes don’t appear to be out of place or not consistent with your branding.

If you are using bullet points and numbering, set up the numbering and bullet points from the start. Use the styles at the top or ensure consistency with the bullet points and numbers. By setting these up at the start will make for a much more streamlined document and will make it much easier to add in further down in a larger document.

Use Headers and Footers to ensure consistency throughout the document and will make each page the same. Include a logo, copyright, page numbers, website and other relevant information that is needed. If you are using a title page you can change the Header and Footer so that it does not show on the first page.

For more hints and tricks on formatting word documents, take a look at the Microsoft Word Tutorials here.