In this post you will learn what you should keep in mind when using virtual assistant services to generate leads for your business.

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Setting Goals and Delegating VA Tasks

1. Identifying daily/weekly goals

Start by cutting it down by daily goals and setting your target monthly revenue. Identify the number of new prospects you need to contact on a daily/weekly basis.

For example:

Daily cold prospects to contact: 980 prospects / 20 business days = 49 per day

So if your daily target is 49 leads, communicate this on the day the you orient your VA, and ask them if it is doable. From there, you can test the waters by assigning your VA the task of researching, but not contacting, roughly half your target number.

2. Delegating tasks

There are a number of ways virtual assistants can help you with lead generation, depending on your business model and marketing strategy. Generally, VAs are already trained and experienced in their own field. But as with any other employees, they also need to be acclimated to the new business approach every time. The key here is to start small and ramp up the complexity of the tasks as you get to feel your VA’s capability.

Hiring a Lead Generation Expert

3. Researching leads

If you’re not quite ready for the VA to contact leads directly, then save yourself from the time-consuming task of researching them.

First thing to do is to provide your lead generation virtual assistant a profile of your ideal prospect.

Then, they will use tools like search engines, social media, and LinkedIn to find these prospects. Ask your VA to find relevant leads by drawing from a specific list of companies and titles, using the “advanced search” function in LinkedIn, for example.

4. Contacting leads

Most lead generation jobs work from home individuals are equipped with good communication skills.

Give clear instructions on how to contact prospects by giving them scripts and templates or asking them to customize one. They can also jump into email marketing to introduce your company and your products/services.

Marketing Your Brand

Companies who blog have an overwhelming 97% more leads. ~ Social Media Today
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5. Develop marketing materials

A VA can be a tremendous help in developing marketing material for your campaigns.

They can create relevant blog posts; marketing materials such as posters, copy ads, eBooks, and content that you can then distribute to drive traffic and move the leads down the sales funnel.

6. Assign other tasks!

Yes—you can absolutely hand over some time consuming tasks to your virtual admin assistant. allows you to allocate more time to lead generation is valuable. They can easily cover everyday, repetitive tasks related to your business, such as social media management, answering calls/emails, or even bookkeeping.

With social media posting, they can share articles, tweets, status updates, etc so you gain more exposure in the online arena. The more engaging you become, the more likely you are to attract and retain prospects.

7. Allows you to do your CORE function

Telemarketing works, but at some point you will have to pick up the phone. Home-based lead generation jobs will allow you to work on your full potential by extracting all those activities that take up too much of your time.

Here’s how Henri Schauffler of CEO Focus works with his VAs:

“A trained telemarketing team calls a select list for participants in my free business-building seminars for small business owners. Those interested are then sent an email.

The list of “RSVPs” is sent to me daily. I mail them a USPS letter with ticket and flyer. Then I call each one personally and get them talking about their business.”

Steps on Working with Virtual Assistants Successfully

• Be clear about what you want the lead generation freelancer to do.
• Keep a running list of what you should delegate.
• Create a job description and responsibility list for your VA.
• Say what you want your VA to produce, how they should behave, tasks he/she needs to complete.
• Ask your VA to help you create a Systems manual.
• Hold weekly or monthly meetings with your VA.
• Never hesitate to ask your VA for help or advice. Virtual assistants are excellent at helping business owners so make sure to ask and listen to what they have to say.

When you finally find the best VA to work with, enroll him or her in your vision and your goals. Make sure your virtual help is enthusiastic about what you do and is ready to roll!

Virtual Assistant Talent is an excellent source if you’re looking forward to hiring a part-time or full-time real estate lead generation virtual assistant. See how our highly qualified and trained VAs can assist in your everyday tasks and objectives. CALL 1-866-596-9041.

We would love to hear if these ideas worked for you! If you have questions or any Social Media related success stories, please leave a comment below.

Reference:

www.inc.com
www.salesschema.com
hireyourvirtualassistant.com

mobile-employees

“Businesses that don’t have a plan, hate marketing.”
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1. Create a realistic marketing plan

A 12-month marketing plan should be first on your running small business checklist for growth so you avoid feeling lost and overwhelmed.

• What sales benchmarks do you need to hit and when?

• What does your sales funnel or product marketing flow look like?

• Do you have project plans to support each initiative?

• What distribution channels will make it successful?

• What, events and collaborations can increase brand awareness and sales?

• What holiday sales, limited-time offers, and seasonal items can you include in your promotions?

• Do you have other product launches in mind?

2. Increase your online visibility

• Create shareable and relevant content that sparks engagement with your customers.

• Be active on social media. Create conversations, but not overly sales oriented.

• Update your SEO strategies. This can be time-consuming and confusing that’s why you should invest in educating yourself first and use a marketing virtual assistant to carry out the necessary changes.

• Reduce high webpage bounce rates by providing exceptional user experience at all touch points.

• Make sure your website is optimized for mobile use.

• Repurpose your content and other evergreen images to create stimulating and share-worthy visuals.

• Test online ads and track your spending vs. conversion.

90% of consumers say their decisions are influenced by online reviews.
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3. Offer competitive salary / compensation

Economists and industry analysts see a tight labor market in 2019, and this means that business owners will continue to compete with other employers for the best workers in their respective industries.

One key to attracting and retaining a more diverse workforce is to offer a compensation package based on what local and regional competitors are offering.

4. Remote workers are happier employees

The rise of outsourcing or remote employees is still one of the top small business marketing trends today. There has been an increasing demand to work whenever and wherever people want.

The use of laptops, smartphones and tablets has paved the way to increase our mobility, allowing us to work virtually from home or anywhere, giving us the much-needed relaxation. Even in some industries, having the option to work remotely on flexible schedules is now an employee requirement.

By 2020, nearly three-quarters of all employees are expected to be mobile employees.
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5. Technology-driven customer service support

Companies are starting to make greater investment in offering customer service through automation and chat apps. With this, your audience is given a more customized experience as they inquire for details that bring them closer to what they want and need.

Another solution is to give your customers a way for them to rent or subscribe to your products, rather than purchasing them once. Read our post about marketing strategy that leverage your business this year for more tips on customer service support.

6. Clear and consistent team communication

Creating an up-to-date and easily accessible employee handbook will benefit both management and staff. This can include a summary of important workplace guidelines and procedures and information about state and federal labor law.

A handbook is a must-have for smaller companies to avoid any employee confusion through emails and/or in-person reminders throughout the year.

This 2019, businesses will continue to lean increasingly on social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook to give customer support to the places where their customers gather.

7. Greater focus on health benefits and wellness at work

Growing your business also means taking care of your employees. Personalized health and wellness benefits, next to salary, are more important than ever. Business owners will need to focus more on how they can nurture wellbeing in the workplace, combat stress, low-morale and mental illness.

As mentioned in tip #4, flexible working is an increasingly popular arrangement in many small businesses to help retain and hire the best talent for their workforce.

Different generations might have different preferences when it comes to medical options, such as chiropractic care, vision, dental and hearing services, mindfulness classes, weight loss programs, etc.

As you begin to align your overall online marketing strategy with your business goals, consider whether there are any processes or functions you can assign to remote staff via outsourcing to save money and free up time for other important things.

Hire virtual assistant services from us! We can help you find the best talent for your workforce. If you feel you’ve been ignoring your online marketing strategy and aren’t sure where to begin, feel free to reach out.

CALL US at 1-866-596-9041 for more in-depth information on digital marketing strategies and best practices. Discover how our highly qualified and trained virtual assistants can help in your everyday tasks and objectives.

Virtual Assistant Talent is a top-notch virtual assistant staffing agency helping professionals from different industries such as the real estate, insurance, small business, coaching/consulting, and executive leadership.

Reference:

www.usatoday.com
www.forbes.com
www.iol.co.za
www.lemonhearted.com

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Sales Enablement: Helping Customers Discover Your Product

1. Using social media to sell your products

Although social media is all about awareness and engagement, businesses can also promote their products and help customers in the phase of product discovery.

55% of respondents who discovered a product through social media proceeded to purchase later on. ~ Mary Meeker, Internet Trends 2018
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In this report, Facebook tops the social media channels where people find out about new products. Use this opportunity to make it easier and faster for your audience to move down your sales funnel.

Easy-to-Digest Content, Ads, and Stories

2. Omnichannel marketing

Omni, which means ‘all or every’ is about managing customer experience in all channels whether offline or online. The idea is that the customer’s journey may start in one channel and move to another seamlessly towards the end point—your product or service.

With the help of a Social Media Virtual Assistant, you can reach and interact with your audience anytime through the use of email marketing, online advertising, social networking, and other platforms because nobody today shops exclusively through a single medium.

3. 24-hour stories impacts how people consume content

Stories are visual content in a vertical format that lasts for a day and first became popular on Snapchat and later on copied by Instagram and Facebook.

These stories are easy to create, fun, engaging, authentic, and don’t last long so there’s that sense of urgency to consume them before they’re gone.

This means more and more brands will use this in-the-moment style content vs. overly produced, pre-packed content.

Currently, 400 million people are consuming Stories on Instagram on a daily basis, while Facebook is trying to integrate Stories to our daily routines.
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4. Growing social media ad spend across marketers

One of every four Facebook Pages now use paid advertising as part of their social media marketing strategy.

But always consider not relying too much on one platform, either for organic or paid growth. One recommended way to do this is to just boost your top performing organic content.

Marketers increased social ad budgets up to 32% in 2018. Facebook accounts for 23% of total U.S. digital ad spending.
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5. Invest some time in creating great content

In our blog Why you need to hire a social media manager for your business, we discussed how a social media VA can help you increase conversions by sharing your content on social media.

6. Join more communities through LinkedIn Groups

LinkedIn is already making a huge push toward becoming a connection nurturing network among executives and younger demographics entering the workforce. It’s also constantly updating its groups in an aim to drive more community.

LinkedIn reports that likes, comments, and shares on the network increased more than 50%.
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Engagement and Influencer Marketing

7. Love and care about your social community

Connecting with your audience, responding quickly to customer inquiries/requests, and addressing issues are just few of the reasons for using social media marketing.

Businesses that monitor and participate in conversations with their followers and potential customers can expect more loyalty form their fans and develop deeper and longer relationships.

8. Working with influencers and micro-influencers

Working with the best influencers can be expensive so this is where micro-influencers (ordinary digital citizens) come in. Try tools like Mavrck, Neoreach, and Traackr to find key micro-influencers so you can test the waters of influencer marketing on a budget.

Example: a food brand may see better results by using a rising food blogger (micro-influencer) with 30k followers than a celebrity chef who may ask for 20x of the budget.

Facebook Groups are a hot spot for engagement and a place to focus social media efforts in 2019.
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Social Media TV, Videos, Podcasts, and Live Streaming

9. Highlighting video content marketing

More on social media tips for business – The launch of IGTV by Instagram was one of the biggest social media trends of 2018. And according to Statista, more than 50% of digital videos are now viewed on mobile in vertical video format.

Among the top picks of marketers are: Live video or live streaming, interactive video, short videos, and vertical videos.

10. Share authentic stories and important moments

“Stories create a more transparent and meaningful relationship. That means less of static updates and more behind-the-scenes, raw, and intimate stories.” – Anna Crowe, Assistant Editor of Search Engine Journal

Business owners will need to tell more stories and moments that matter to the people, and not their brand. You can take your best-performing posts and evergreen web content and create one-minute videos or convert them to blog posts.

One-minute videos get 400 – 500% more reach on LinkedIn compared to Facebook.
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Messaging Apps, Automation, Chatbots

11. AI and automated messaging for customers

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automated messengers for customer service support means that the expectations about the response time are increasing. Huffington Post reported that 60% of the Millennial population are the quickest adaptors of chatbot-based customer experiences.

12. Understanding how people use messaging apps

People widely use private messaging, whether it’s simply about reaching their families or staying in touch with their favorite brands. WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Viber, and WeChat hold a large percentage of the messaging market.

13. Personalized, Private messaging, and chatbots

Facebook Messenger and chatbots are one of the most effective ways to reach and build audience engagement—it’s email blasting done via messenger.

“Businesses that market via Messenger earn 60 to 80 percent open rates within the first 60 minutes.” ~ Kristi Kellogg, Founder & CEO of Dazzling Digital

Many experts predict that by 2020, more than 80% of all customer service interactions will be powered by AI bots.
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The Importance of Trust and Transparency in Social Media Marketing

14. Making customers comfortable in sharing their data

Because of recent data breaches on some platforms, building trust with your audience is now more important than ever. Be transparent and prompt enough to update your customers on a recent change or admitting your mistakes and working on to resolve issues.

15. Earn and keep the trust of your followers

Finally, always aim to capture the trust and confidence of your customers every single day. With all the fake news and privacy disasters this past year, it’s imperative that you ensure people that their personal online privacy is in good hands.

Interested to start working on how to improve social media for your business? Reach out to us and we can discuss your social media marketing strategy and overall business objectives.

Our experienced social media virtual assistants (VA) can help you with sharing posts, lead generation, increasing your followers, customer support, and promoting your brand so you can continue to thrive online and make an impact this 2019.

Virtual Assistant Talent is a top-notch virtual assistant staffing agency helping professionals from different industries such as the real estate, insurance, small business, coaching/consulting, and executive leadership.

CALL US at 1-866-596-9041 and discover how our highly qualified and trained virtual assistants can help in your everyday tasks and objectives.

Reference:
www.searchenginejournal.com/
blog.bufferapp.com/
medium.com/
www.martechadvisor.com/

More importantly, do you know the latest Insurance Agency Marketing Trends to help you grow your insurance practice this year? We got these eleven tips for you…

1. First of all, lay the groundwork.

The best insurance marketing campaigns always start with a plan. It’s like a new year’s resolution that in order to move forward, your team should regroup and dedicate a time to map out marketing efforts for the whole year:

• A meeting agenda for what should be covered
• Get the right people – everyone who is a part of the execution or decision making aspects of your insurance business
• Prepare the data, ideas, and resources to review

Questions that your team needs to discuss:

• Where is your insurance agency’s marketing at a glance?
• What do you want to achieve – what’s the purpose of your marketing?
• What worked and did not work this past year?

2. Lead generation, lead nurturing, and list building.

You already know a lead is anyone who has shown interest in your insurance services. It could be requesting a quote or asking more about what you can offer. Thus, lead generation and nurturing is a systematic process of attracting and converting prospects into sales.

The purpose of this list building activity is to develop relationships with your leads at every step of the client journey. This will also help the prospects to be ready to buy insurance plans from you.

Clients who receive two or more proactive contacts from their agency per year are 10% more likely to stick with their current agency.
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3. Analyze your winning capacity.

No one wants his or her business to flunk no matter what. The types of people who will win and achieve their goals are those who are willing to research, listen, invest, and try new things. Working with an Insurance Agent Virtual Assistant allows you to do just like that.

You don’t have to be a digital marketing expert in this new generation because a VA can assist you with finding the right prospects and creating a custom experience for your clients. You just have to be willing to go full speed ahead and put in the work.

4. Proactively seek marketing touchpoints with your clients.

If you constantly search for insurance marketing ideas, you will need to come up with techniques to engage more with your audience. To demonstrate the value and advocacy you provide as an insurance agent, connect with your clients often times rather than just before policy renewal periods.

Insurance Agents who average two or more contacts per year with their customers are growing 55% more than their counterparts who are not making contact with their customers.
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5. Videos and SEO are important for online presence

Many marketers recognize Search Engine Optimization (SEO) as one of the most regularly updating components of digital marketing. And video is still dominating the social media sphere.

You need this all to grow and maintain strong organic traffic and page ranking results. But what if you find it hard to get down the nitty-gritty of SEO algorithms and processes? That’s where an SEO Virtual Assistant comes in.

An SEO VA can optimize your website pages to have quality content, equipped with the most significant and relevant keywords, backlinks, and improve your search ranking.

72% of people would rather use video to learn about a product or service, and 81% have been convinced to buy a product or service by watching a brand’s video. ~ Wyzowl survey
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6. Excellent customer experience must be a priority.

How can insurance agents adapt when many are expecting 24/7 access to service? There are two huge resources available to you: outsourcing to customer service centers and digital self-service options.

The majority of customer transactions are billing and inquiry related. Thus, through customer service support agents and online apps, clients can easily view policy documents online, report a claim, or pay their dues.

7. People do pay attention to the weight of testimonials.

The majority of these insurance trends revolve around trust and authenticity—two of the most reliable factors you should develop in order to succeed in the industry.

Online reviews and testimonials are so powerful that prospects will effortlessly trust others’ feedback than the information displayed by your agency.

8. Be a widespread insurance resource through valuable content.

Blog articles are key to effective content marketing if you wish to grow from simply an insurance agent to a proven expert on insurance-specific issues. But if you think you can’t just set aside time to write blogs, then hire a freelance content writer.

Have him or her research and write about what you know best, but keep in mind that the objective is how to create value for your audience and not selling your services just yet. Make your clients participate in the topics and give them what they need.

9. Selectively and strategically partner with carriers.

Insurance agents who are more strategic about their carrier partners and work with fewer than seven carriers have a growth rate 53% higher than agents with more than seven carriers.
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They also experience higher retention rates, higher average account premium and improved account rounding. Those agencies that go for select carriers that are committed to customer and agency needs experience greater satisfaction and results.

10. Collecting and studying social media data for future campaigns.

Conduct an A/B testing or create an Insurance Agency sample marketing plan to track, measure, and implement new findings for your social presence.

For both insurance agencies and brokers, social media can be the way to show a more caring and human side. A more personalized customer service by being accessible for clients on Facebook or LinkedIn, and answering promptly if someone sends you a question.

ComScore claims that close to 50% of all searches will be made through voice search by 2020.
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11. Deep understanding of your performance.

The Hanover is able to conduct a multi-year analysis for independent agent partners in several key areas such as perspective on how they are performing, the execution of their strategy (many agents are surprised that their operations are not performing as they would expect), and benchmarks against their peer agents that are best in class in their revenue category.

Working on your insurance selling strategies to meet your 2019 goals can be easier and more effective if you leverage the right tools and resources. As always, move forward with the action items and let others talk about how great you are—so you will establish trust with your clients and eventually grow your practice/agency.

Our Insurance Agents Virtual Assistants (VA) can help with appointment setting, prospecting, telemarketing, and customer service so you can focus more time on growth, while your clients are receiving the support they need and are taken care of including nights and weekends.

Virtual Assistant Talent is the leading VA for hire services provider since 2009, helping professionals from different industries such as the real estate, insurance, small business, coaching/consulting, and executive leadership.

CALL US at 1-866-596-9041 and discover how our highly qualified and trained virtual assistants can help in your everyday tasks and objectives.

Reference:
www.inbuzzgroup.com
blog.easecentral.com
www.propertycasualty360.com

How small business owners can prepare for winter season

1. Be alert and know what to watch out for

Winter can be harsh especially on areas affected by severe winter weather. If you have a physical store or storage house, make sure you set it up tough enough to last through possible winter storm and blizzard.

Driving and walking can be hazardous, and power lines can break, so always monitor local news and check weather forecasts. If you must close for a few days or weeks, let customers know via your website, email, and social media channels.

2. Map out a plan and stick to it

All of these winter business ideas are of no use without proper planning. Think through what might happen to your business in various scenarios such as power outages and highway closures preventing your employees from getting to work, and plan how to deal with each obstacle to business as usual.

Decide at what point in a storm watch or warning you will close the shop or tell employees not to come in to work. Plan how you will communicate with employees, customers, vendors, and suppliers in case of an emergency.

Have a list with contact information and prepare emergency kits, food, and blankets ready in case you get snowed in. Lastly, create a chain of command so that if you aren’t available to make these decisions, someone else can.

3. Scheduled time off for office staff

Employees will soon start asking for time off and that is understandable because they have families, events, and bucket lists to check off too, just like you. Allow your staff to do so but give a deadline for them to book holiday time off and ask for everyone’s availability ahead of time so you can plan well.

4. Find and fix your business’s weak spots

Inspect your building for any vulnerabilities that might lead to structural damage. Make sure snow and ice are regularly removed from entryways, sidewalks, and roofs.

Check the equipment and systems that keep your business running, such as computers and manufacturing machinery. Do you need a backup generator when power outage happens? Is your insurance coverage adequate for any damages that might occur from a storm?

5. Business recovery and continuity plan

Figure out how you will keep the business running should a sudden interruption happen such as the aftermath of a disaster. Do you have a backup vendor and supplier in place if you rely on a certain vendor and a storm shuts down their regular delivery? Does your business support the capability for employees to work from home if they can’t get to your store for a week?

6. Brace for increased customer traffic

For small local shops, winter panic buying is common and it can be the craziest time of the year. Be prepared by hiring part-time holiday employees to assist your customers and cover the rush hours.

7. Prepare financially

Tighter budgets this season due to year-end bonuses, company parties, lower sales, annual donations to charities, etc. Start setting a small amount of money aside for these perks, or create a special account for it, so you know you can’t touch it.

Digital Marketing and Winter Season Survival Tips for Small Business Owners

8. Run a holiday sale or promotion

If you see you might be facing a slower sales period as the winter approaches, go for a holiday promotion and convince people that it’s going to be worth spending their money on what you’re offering. It can be a holiday discount, a limited time coupon, or a buy-one-get-one item. Then, get the word out that your company is offering deals!

9. Hire seasonal employees

Talking about promoting your brand, a social media virtual assistant can help keep your business running. Hiring a seasonal or part-time staff is a smart move if you only want to pay for the work you need on the days/weeks that you need it. And the cost of hiring an in-office employee can be a burden especially on a tighter budget.

It’s highly expected that we’ll have extra things on our plates, and your employees may be spending more time thinking and planning their own family gatherings—resulting in lowered productivity.

Virtual assistants or remote staff can be a great help if you need an extra hand to handle calls, chats, and emails from your customers.

10. Think creatively and repurpose your product

Now’s the time to think outside the box and focus on what else you can devise from your new and existing products and services. Find out what interests your audience the most and use your core strength to be included in the buzz.

Maybe that means designing a new product line, or spicing something up on your menu. For example, Fuzzy Babba creates Cold-Weather Socks and Slippers perfect for a cold winter’s day.

11. Holiday pop-up shop or website

Since people do more shopping during the holiday months than they do throughout the rest of the year, it’s the perfect time to redesign your website by having a holiday landing page for your visitors. Or, you can open up a temporary pop-up retail store for their favorite goods.

12. Other means to increase sales this winter

Generate more income by having some side business that is ideal for the cold weather and festive season. Coffee carts and hot beverage stands are always popular. You can put one up inside or outside your store.

When people shop for gifts, what do they need next that you can offer? Gift wrapping service! Offer to gift wrap their purchases with a greeting card—you can provide it for a small fee or for free for a minimum amount of purchase from your store.

13. Reach out to old and new customers

Send out greeting emails and winter-themed newsletters to your existing mailing lists and get first-time holiday shoppers to come back to your store. Reach out with a thank-you email showing your appreciation for their business and then entice them back with more items on sale.

14. Be flexible and adaptable

The truth is that just like seasons, markets change, people’s tastes evolve, and trends come and go. As a business owner, you need to be more flexible and ready to adapt, too, so you’re better positioned for success.

If you see more and more people are using mobile to buy, then make your website mobile-friendly. If your customers are hanging out on Facebook and Instagram, then get yourself a social media assistant.

15. Get your most profitable products on the spotlight

Selling higher-profit items can help make up for the fewer sales during this time of year. Give extra effort into these products, promote them or even advertise them on sites that will give you a high profit margin. Train your sales team to suggest them often on your business networks.

Did we miss anything? Which of these tips have you tried already? Now is a great time to build team spirit and get your staff in gear for any challenge that will come your way. We hope that this will be a great winter season for your business!

If you’re thinking about hiring part-time holiday virtual assistant to help with online marketing and customer service support, CALL US at 1-866-596-9041 and discover how our highly qualified and trained virtual assistants can help in your everyday tasks and objectives.

Virtual Assistant Talent is a top-notch virtual assistant staffing agency helping professionals from different industries such as the real estate, insurance, small business, coaching/consulting, and executive leadership.

Reference:
smallbiztrends.com
fundera.com
businessadvice.co.uk

So, why should you minimize the time you spend working and enjoy the holidays? Because you can. By taking advantage of the virtual solutions available to you, you can run and manage a small business successfully while you’re on vacation…

1. Prepare your business operations in advance

The first of these travel entrepreneur ideas is to set up your systems and check off the things that need to get done so nothing gets dropped in your absence. You don’t want to be dealing with issues and last minute requests when you want to be packing and getting ready to leave.

If you’re in professional consulting services working with individual clients, alert them in advance to your vacation schedule and that you will be unavailable to do your regular sessions. Similarly, if you’re selling products online, update your website / shopping apps to inform your customers that you’re currently traveling and will have other customer support to deal with their needs.

2. Have an internet backup plan and external storage ready

When you have to check on your business from a different location or need to manage a whole team across time zones, it helps when you have an internet connection ready. It’s great if you have a stable network in your hotel, or can get WiFi hotspots nearby for free or rent. But if not, you can buy a local SIM card so you can access data.

It’s also recommended to bring an external storage device like an external drive or even a smaller one such as a USB stick to store all your important business files—in the case of a hard drive crash that you need to use a laptop other than yours.

3. Manage a small business online using virtual help

A real online entrepreneur must be able to manage all aspects of his or her business from their computer and/or smart phone. Help abounds thanks to various online tools and software than can be accessed anytime, anywhere.

Hiring a virtual assistant will do the trick. With the help of a VA, you can ensure that your marketing, lead generation, making sales, and appointment setting activities are up and running.

Great communication tools like GoToMeeting, Skype, and Trello make it possible to stay connected and organized. Furthermore, you can easily find the way to boost your brand exposure through social media marketing, video, email, and mobile marketing.

4. Develop routines to keep focused and balanced

Not everyone can be productive between 9 to 5. Certainly not if you’re indulging in your travel time, right? What you need to do is decide on a certain huddle time where you and your team or clients can discuss matters, updates, and issues pertaining to your business.

It’s also necessary to adjust schedules to their time zones. Have a single file on your computer or phone of all your important contacts and their phone numbers. It can be helpful to have a paper copy available as well in case your battery dies.

5. Leverage the tools and systems at your disposal

There are so many time-saving and easy-to-use scheduling tools today that you almost don’t need to do anything in real time anymore. Use these tools and online help ahead of time so that things still get done while you travel.

No need to spend hours hunched over your laptop while you’re on the beach or take endless business calls because a virtual assistant can take care of the real-time work. It’s now a matter of managing your time and finding a good internet connection to touch base with them. For a more comprehensive list of VA services, read our blog about 137 tasks you can outsource to a virtual assistant.

6. Use the cloud for file sharing and updating tasks

The cloud system has created a technology revolution for the small business and entrepreneurs, especially for those who are working remotely and always on a move.

Cloud-based programs such as OneDrive, iCloud, and Dropbox allows you to share files with virtual employees, or for outsourcing a certain task. Regardless if you are on a flight/train, or in your hotel room on a different island, with cloud services, you can easily get updated and arrange a meeting with your staff.

7. Invest in good technology and upgrade your device/software

Running a business while traveling can be challenging especially when you visit a new country that uses super high technology. You might run into problems like software incompatibility or inability to connect to the Internet. Good and upgraded device or software is paramount if you plan on working while on the road.

Rachael Kay Albers, a web designer and digital strategist who has run her business from anywhere she happens to be says that, “Finding tech support when you’re in a new place can cost you weeks or month’s worth of work if the tools you use aren’t up to date.”

8. Outsource tasks for a worry-free vacation

Entrepreneurs and small business owners can now take the help of virtual assistants to handle customer support and book client appointments or meetings. It doesn’t just take away all the worries and frustrations but also makes sure things are taken care of in a timely and effective manner.

While it’s true that you can find virtual assistants anywhere nowadays, it’s important to get the qualified ones. See these tips to successfully hiring and working with a virtual assistant.

Don’t try to be at two different places at a single time. The VAs can help you run your business by handling all the activities hassle-free.

9. Make sure your team is ready

The more you travel the more you may be relying on your staff members when you are not as as available as you normally are. Be sure to have all account access and passwords checked and updated because you don’t want your virtual assistant calling you when you are already 30,000 feet in the air.

Map out everything, delegate all the necessary daily or weekly tasks, and make sure your team knows exactly what they need to do while you’re on vacation. Set the expectations before you leave and just create a plan.

10. Streamline communications and collaboration

For many years now, online collaboration tools have changed the way businesses are conducted and transactions are made. Our favorite tools are Skype, Trello, and Google Drive which are all great when you are working on projects and collaborating with other virtual assistants.

Such programs help you to conduct global meetings, streamline communications, share documents, and chat with others.

Running a successful business management while traveling requires a lot of preparation and readiness to embrace new methods and technology. What’s your major takeaway on these tips? Let us know in the comment box below.

Get a chance to harness the power of global virtual talent pool so you can relax and enjoy the time away from your business. We hope you have a fantastic vacation!

Virtual Assistant Talent is a top-notch virtual assistant staffing agency helping professionals from different industries such as the real estate, insurance, small business, coaching/consulting, and executive leadership.

If you need assistance with managing your business and increasing your leads this holiday season, CALL US at 1-866-596-9041 and discover how our highly qualified and trained virtual assistants can help in your everyday tasks and objectives.

Reference:
www.inc.com
www.businessknowhow.com
negosentro.com

The first step to increasing customer retention is determining why your customers or clients are leaving in the first place.

Now, here’s three of the most important metrics that will help you with building a retention strategy:

A. Repeat customer rate – measures the percentage of customers willing to make another purchase from you. To calculate, get data from a specific time frame (entire year or month).

Divide: 1. Number of customers with more than one purchase by the 2. Number of unique customers (# of Customers That Purchased More Than Once / # Unique Customers)

Source: Shopify

B. Purchase frequency – shows you how often customers are coming back to buy from your store. Using again a time frame, divide your 1. Total number of orders by the 2. Number of unique customers. (# of Orders Placed / # Unique Customers)

C. Average Order Value (AOV) – refers to the amount of money a customer spends in your store on each transaction. Divide your 1. Yearly revenue by the 2. Number of orders your store processed (Total Revenue Earned / # Orders Placed).

Source: Shopify

Purchase Frequency x Average Order Value = Customer Value (how much each customer is actually worth)

According to KPMG, customer retention was cited as the biggest revenue driver:

Source: Superoffice

Retention vs. acquisition costs: It's 6-7 times more expensive to gain a new customer!
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Customer Retention Tactics: 13 Ways to Build Customer Loyalty

1. Deliver a peak customer experience

A great customer experience is driven by a customer-focused culture. Providing a pleasant buying experience can be as simple as offering an easy way to pay. be responsive and attentive to your customers’ needs and inquiries. Simple actions makes repeats and referrals much more likely.

2. Determine the cause of quality issues to improve customer service

A bad experience with a customer service representative is the top reason customers will go to your competitors. Make sure to give the right level of service and information by designing support systems for effective communication.

Having a live chat or phone support for example can turn a query into a sale or a complaint into a resolution. Using a Customer Service Virtual Assistant for customer retention calls can help you with this continuous improvement.

3. Empower the most under-utilized assets—your employees!

Customer retention begins on the inside of the organization because it is felt by the customers on the outside. Truly engaged workers are your brand advocates who create customer loyalty. Businesses that treat their staff with respect, support, and appreciation will have a workforce that will take good care of the patrons.

4. Organize client lists and relationships

One of the ways to retain customers is by organizing your customer relations list. This is to ensure you’re constantly following up with them and encouraging them to purchase again through the use of newsletters, mailing, and networking.

5. Start an email marketing campaign

Speaking of client relationships, email marketing is the core part of your retention toolkit. Emails give you the opportunity to engage with your customers before and after sales. You can start by sending them a thank you email a week after their first purchase. Then, you can move on to recommending related products or asking for customer reviews.

6. Offer a discount or free item

Giving promos, special offers, and discounts can be an effective way to lead back customers that haven’t bought from you in a while. Surprise and delight them with a freebie, provide a better service, come in at a lower cost, and simply do more than they were expecting.

7. Find new and unique ways to create partnerships with customers

Make customers a part of your internal strategies such as getting their ideas, suggestions, and feedback on ways to improve their experience. Create forums or group chats for customer participation like customer advisory teams. An upbeat Social Media manager can help you design campaigns and invite target customers to participate in these online activities

8. Work hard and be quick to resolve issues

Not every product or paid service satisfies customers every single day. Accept that when the customer’s expectations haven’t been met, you must work hard to resolve the issues to their satisfaction. They will remember this and they will feel like their transactions are safe with you next time. Thus, turning difficult situations into opportunities to earn your customer’s trust.

Customers see fast, friendly, and consistent service as the gold standard.
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9. Staying in contact post sale transactions

Best practices for keeping your ideal clients include collecting customer data and staying on their radar after sales. You can send your customers coupons or company newsletters so they remember they purchased from you and get them to come back.

10. Create a customer loyalty / VIP program

A lot of online retail shops now are using ‘rewards points’ as a way to motivate customers to purchase more often. When they see how easy it is to earn valuable points, they’ll be excited log in to your store to do it again.

Additionally, you can create a list of your most profitable customers so you can reward them separately. Let them know about the perks and incentives so they feel more special.

11. Smooth transaction through optional customer accounts

Provide the option to create a user account / log in after the first order has been placed. This will ease the customers buying process since they can review items on the cart, previous orders, and use pre-filled shipping information upon checking out.

12. Treat your customers/clients as individuals

Learning how to keep customers coming back can teach you one thing: Reaching out and treating your clients/customers on a personal level makes all the difference. Each one of them have different needs and wants and it is your duty to make an effort to get to know them more.

13. Hire the right customer service support

The “right” contact representatives are those with the perfect combination of knowledge, skills, personality and experience. As part of the applicant screening process, you can include a validated personality test to find the right match for your business. With this, customer satisfaction and transaction accuracy can be both improved.

Customer retention is a by-product of excellent customer service and experience. Be a reliable resource for your customers and offer a unique edge to give them a reason to want to come back.

Virtual Assistant Talent is a top-notch virtual assistant staffing agency helping professionals from different industries such as the real estate, insurance, small business, coaching/consulting, and executive leadership.

If you want to ‘grow with’ your customers and need help with hiring customer service support, CALL US at 1-866-596-9041 and discover how our highly qualified and trained virtual assistants can help in your everyday tasks and objectives.

Reference:
www.superoffice.com
www.yotpo.com
www.ngdata.com
www.shopify.com

1. Offer monstrous deals and discounts

Take advantage of these October-November events by offering sales or special promotions. An enticing, timely holiday deal is a great way to resonate with your customers and make them feel special.

Source: jaypeeonline.net

You could offer limited-edition Halloween items or even create spooky treat packages that are suitable for the whole family.

2. Have your staff dress up haunting, anime, cartoon, or exotic costumes

Bring it to the next level with your own team by having them choose their favorite Halloween outfit. Plus, you’re adding up to a catchy photo op for social media marketing. It’ll be good for customers to come in and see your business having a little fun.

Source: glassdoor.co.uk

Try to work around a theme but since these are all last minute tips, allow your staff to be spontaneous!

3. Welcome trick-or-treaters at your store and give away branded treats

Your business should take part on the most popular Halloween tradition—trick-or-treat! Lace the candies wrappers, small tokens, paper bags, and other goodies with your branding logo and offer them to kids in costume.

Source: hgtv.com

Make your store the go-to destination by banding together with other businesses to host family-friendly neighborhood trick-or-treating.

4. Decorate your store with eerie spots

Festive decorations can go a long way If you have a physical store, restaurant or other business that people can physically visit. Add some trendy Halloween or fall themed touches in a fun new way. Style your window with outfits and cut-outs.

Source: smallbiztrends.com

Popular picks: Fake cobwebs and spiders, ghost masks, scary skeletons, carved pumpkins (impressive pumpkin art is social media candy for passers-by!). Main colors: orange, black, brown, and white

5. Throw a costume party

Gather the creepy creatures of all time—whether it’s the Grim Reaper, Frankenstein, Vlad, mummy, werewolf, witch, or zombie—a costume party offers a great incentive for customers to visit your business.

Source: schooners.com

Invite customers and let them enjoy the spookiest month of the year by getting the word out on social media, flyers at your storefront, and even e-mailed invitations.

6. Host a Halloween contest or giveaway

Run a costume, food or pumpkin carving competition for the locals. Everyone loves a chance to win something and it’s a great time to be creative by making their own costumes, decorating pumpkins, and even making scary looking food.

Source: jrg.ca

7. Make your online presence extra spooky

Now’s your chance to stand out among the competition while having all the fun! Host a Facebook LIVE or Tweet series to broadcast your Halloween party and ask people to tag your company when posting online.

Create a spooky direct mail campaign, video, and engage with others by retweeting their posts and introducing your business. Use a dedicated hashtag for customers to share their creations or show off how they use your products/services on social media networks.

Source: bloghug.com

Halloween-inspired content is an effective way to communicate your brand’s message online and grab people’s attention. Adding Halloween elements such as in your store, website, or social media pages can show customers that you’re into the holiday celebration and attract them to visit you throughout the season.

throw-costume-party-halloween-idea

Virtual Assistant Talent is a top-notch virtual assistant staffing agency helping professionals from different industries such as the real estate, insurance, small business, coaching/consulting, and executive leadership.

If you need help with future event online marketing strategies, CALL US at 1-866-596-9041 and discover how our highly qualified and trained virtual assistants can help in your everyday tasks and objectives.

Reference:

squareup.com
www.fundera.com
smallbiztrends.com
muffinmarketing.com

Today, we give you the tips for entrepreneurs working with a virtual assistant (VA) and hiring strategies that will help you get the right VA for your business.

Related article: When to Hire a Virtual Assistant

What Areas of My Business Can Be Outsourced?

One of initial questions we usually get is how to use a virtual assistant. So, we begin by educating the clients of the major tasks you can outsource to a virtual assistant.

These tasks that can be categorized to address the two main parts of your business: Activities that run your business (customer service, web management, appointment setting) and activities that grow your business (online marketing, advertising, lead generation) and more.

Top Strategies to Hire A Virtual Assistant

1. Know exactly what to look for

Identify specific skill sets and talents that you would need from the start. In order to find the person most suited for the job, you must create a clear picture of the outcome that you desire and the function of the VA.

Hiring an online assistant is just like hiring office staff for your business, that’s why it’s important to be very clear on the tasks and assignments that you’re looking to outsource.

2. Set up your working systems and procedures

Now that you know why you need a virtual assistant, be sure to have your systems up and ready so the VA can have a reference on how things are done in your business. This includes documentations of your processes, online workflow, and ways to implement them.

When the virtual staff gets onboard, you can easily entrust the tasks to them, and they will also have a cheat sheet should the need arise.

3. Define job specifications and definition

Your job listing should have the following: What the work requires, the skills and qualifications you need, the duties you expect the VA to perform, number of hours and days per week you require (for short-term or long-term assistance), and the online platforms and tools you use in your business.

One of the top benefits of having a virtual assistant is that they have a wide range of skills and are willing to work extra hours on weekends. You can negotiate these terms during the interview.

4. What questions to ask on the interview

The following questions will help you how to work with a virtual assistant efficiently. These are background questions or basic selection criteria, skill questions, and teamwork questions.

• “Do you already have another job?
• “What is your favorite way to communicate?”
• “Will you work from home or anywhere else?”
• “What do you consider your best skills and strengths?
• “Which ones are your weaknesses?”
• “On a scale from 1-10, can you rate your XYZ skills?”
• “Can send me examples of your work?”
• “How do you manage working with difficult team members?”

5. Shortlisting candidates

First, make a list of things or qualities you can’t hire a virtual assistant without and use this as a guideline. You’ll be able to narrow down the number of applicants that you would consider for final interview. During the video call, check their communication skills, their personality, the way they present themselves, and how they respond to potential issues.

Related article: How to Hire a Virtual Assistant

How-to Tips for Using a Virtual Assistant

6. Define expectations

To set clear expectations, you need to conduct a trial with them or a demo work by completing an example task that they would do. This also means that you can put up a detailed list of the steps they need to take to complete your task.

7. Start with relatively easy, minor tasks

Don’t give a critical assignment right away. Delegate smaller tasks first so you can take a look at the VAs work process and determine the best ways to communicate with each other. Always ask the assistants if they understand the task and if they have other questions.

8. Using English with non-native speakers

Philippine virtual assistants are known for speaking/writing English better than other countries in terms of outsourcing. But you shouldn’t use complex terminology and keep your language as simple as possible.

9. Decide how often you’ll touch base with your VA

Effective communication as one of virtual assistant tips to success can be achieved by setting time that would work for both the client and the VA. As part of their work, the assistants are required to send an end-of-the-day (EOD) report but you may want to schedule a daily or weekly phone call with them to suit your needs.

10. Utilize the right tools

Don’t expect that the virtual assistant could do all of the work manually. You can help them increase their productivity by using the right tools either online or offline.

11. Train your virtual assistant

Bring your VA up to speed on the systems you use in your business. This is where you show them your systems and their personal access to the online tools they’ll be using. And because you may have processes unique to your business, you should spend some time training your virtual staff so they can learn them all.

12. Keep files in the cloud

Using a cloud storage like Google Drive or Dropbox is a practical way to manage files between you and the virtual assistant. Create a shared folder so you can easily transfer and track the flow of both work and files.

13. Consider logistical issues

Other virtual assistant tips for entrepreneurs include being ready for any logistical challenges when working with an assistant from the Philippines. This can be a scheduled or sudden power outage, and slow internet connection.

That’s why it’s critical to find a dedicated company for hiring a virtual assistant. Not only this VA provider pre-screens candidates if they have fast reliable Internet connection, but they also track and manage each of the VAs to ensure that they are on-time and on-task.

14. Ask for ideas and suggestions

In the beginning, the VA may not volunteer feedback unless asked. Feel free to ask for feedback and recommendations during your periodic touch bases. Also ask if the he or she has any suggestions regarding how to handle the task better or faster. Most of the time, they may have developed shortcuts while working with previous client, or he or she may have fresh ideas and experience that you don’t know about.

15. Build a relationship

Finally, you can also establish a strong bond with your VA by spending time asking about their hobbies and such. Common questions to ask are, “What do you do for fun?”, or “How do you spend your weekends?”, “Do you have any siblings or children?”…

Hiring and working with the right virtual assistant has never been this easy with the help of ongoing HR support and monitoring team. Though you have to be smart with your choices, it’s always advantageous to outsource from a BBB accredited company and backed with VA replacement guarantee.

Since 2009, Virtual Assistant Talent provides the best virtual assistant staffing services to help professionals from different industries such as the real estate, insurance, small business, coaching/consulting, and executive leadership.

Do you have any questions about virtual assistant duties you’re considering to outsource? CALL US at 1-866-596-9041 and discover how our highly qualified and trained virtual assistants can help in your everyday tasks and objectives.

References:
freeeup.com
upwork.com
thevirtualhub.com
timedoctor.com