kO′ch VA adj. 1. a highly specialized and niched virtual
assistant who is in tune with their coaching clients and customizes solutions based upon their individual needs and goals 2. differs from a general virtual assistant as they only partner with members of the coaching industry [syn: 
Archive for Coaching
How the Fierce Handle Fear – Get Your Copy Now!
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I’m so excited – today is the day…book launch day for How the Fierce Handle Fear. One of my favorite clients ever is Janet Slack of Solopreneur.biz and she is one of the co-authors of this fabulous book!
In addition to Janet Slack, you will get the wisdom of:
Andrea J. Lee
Donald Trump
Sandie Glass
Sophfronia Scott
Howard Kay
and many others
You’ve probably heard from me already about How the Fierce Handle Fear: Secrets to Succeeding in Challenging Times, I’ve written blog posts and tweets about how it’s helped my life. The best part is if you purchase the book within the next 24 hours, you’ll get a powerful free bonus. (And did I tell you that the proceeds from the book go to charity?)
These are challenging times and I really believe that your ability to handle fear is one of the most important skills you can master. This book of the best ideas of 22 amazing experts will help with exactly that whether the issue is little scary moments or the big, mind-numbing fearful events.
http://www.HowtheFierceHandleFear.com
Now, here’s the offer good for today only:
If you buy your copy of How the Fierce Handle Fear from Amazon.com within the next 24 hours you’ll also get exclusive access to the complete audio collection of the groundbreaking “Fearless Fridays Telesummit”. This was the recent event featuring over 30 amazing speakers offering their best tips on handling fear.
Just go to http://www.HowtheFierceHandleFear.com for details on how to get the recordings and other bonuses.
The proceeds from the book sales will go to Frank McKinney’s Caring House Project Fund which provides needed help to the desperately poor and homeless throughout the world.
I would love for you to share this link with your family and friends. Getting a grip on fear will help us all to move out of these challenging times and on to the better ones ahead.
How to Build Trust With Your Clients
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Build Trust: Give Something Away for Free
Your relationship with your client is one of both necessity and pleasure. You need clients to stay in business. And hopefully, you enjoy connecting with your clients. To build a good rapport and maintain trust, it takes a plan and ongoing strategies for success. Here are a few ideas you can use to build and maintain a positive relationship with your clients.
Communicate with them often. Now maybe you already do this. Maybe your customers receive regular emails from you. However, what you say in these emails is important. If each and every email you send is a promotion or asking for a sale then they’re going to stop reading your emails pretty darn quickly. They’re going to lose trust in you.
On the other hand, if your email communications are chock full of valuable information, value, and benefit then you’re building trust. Customers will look forward to our information.
The same goes for social networking. You can communicate with your customers on a regular basis. Instead of posting promo link after promo link, post real, human interactions.
Prove you’re worth trusting. If you are a service provider then it’s imperative to post samples of your work on your website. And if you’re a service provider, retailer or even an information marketer or affiliate marketer you can provide case studies to demonstrate the value of your products or services. This provides credibility and it makes it easier to trust you as a provider and business owner.
Give away things for free. Free can be used as a marketing and relationship building tactic on many levels. For new prospects you build trust by providing valuable information and free downloadable information. For current customers, they love freebies too. You can give away reports, videos, and ebooks . You can even take it a step further and give current customers a coupon or freebie.
For example, current customers can be offered a free report as a loyalty thank you. You can even start a loyalty program that awards customers with points or dollars they can use toward future purchases.
Be Transparent. Transparency is a word that’s thrown around a lot lately. It essentially means that you don’t hide any of your polices or procedures. You’re 100% up front about who you are and what you’re about. This may mean making sure you have a double opt in for your email signup, a privacy statement that’s easy to find, contact information and even a FAQ page. Transparency helps customers and clients trust you.
Show gratitude. Depending on the size of your client base and the nature of your business, ending clients and customers a personal message is a great way to build rapport. Send cards and gifts during the holidays if it fits your budget. Or just send a note now and again with some helpful information.
There are many ways to build rapport and trust with your clients. Begin by taking a look at y our clients and what you can do for them. Then set about to create an ongoing plan to connect and build trust. A little planning and action can go a long way to creating a business that is successful today and ten years from now.
Using Google Buzz for Business
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Goggle Buzz is one of the newer social networking sites today, and it’s rapidly becoming more popular all the time. One reason, of course, is the Google name that is attached to it. However, it’s not just popular because of this. There is plenty of substance to back it up.
How do you access it?
It’s entirely located within your Gmail account, and it’s free. All you need is a Gmail account.
Who would benefit from using it?
Anybody just looking to catch up with friends could use it. However, it’s especially effective for businesses.
It is inspired by Facebook, Twitter and other popular social sites, as it takes on aspects of each. For instance, it enables you to upload pictures and videos. And you can easily have a conversation with other users. All of this enables you to give your business personality.
So how can your business benefit from it? Here are five reasons you might want to start using it:
Post wherever you are
One of the strengths of Google Buzz is that it works great with mobile devices. This allows you to post wherever you want, quickly and easily.
It even has a feature that enables you to speak into the phone, and it will automatically convert your words into a post. In other words, you don’t even have to write. This only works with certain applications, but it can be very convenient.
And you can let others know where you are posting from, if you want. This could be useful if you want to give your posts more personality.
Convenient
It links with the more established social sites. Therefore, you can see other people’s activity on Facebook and Twitter without even having to leave Google Buzz. This means you can view other people’s tweets right from the Buzz platform.
Segment your posts
One of the unique features about Google Buzz is that you can choose who you are posting to. For instance, you can just post to a certain group of contacts, or the entire Buzz network. It all depends on who you want to see your post.
This is especially useful for businesses. For instance, if you have a list of proven customers, you can do a post only they can see. And you can then write a message for those who haven’t bought from you yet. Therefore, you can tailor your posts to your audience, much like segmenting an email list.
Blog compatible
You can link your Buzz account to your blog. Therefore, whenever you update your blog, it will update your Buzz account. If you have a lot of followers, this could translate into a lot of money provided you have good blog content.
Filter
If you are subscribing to others’ RSS feeds, the Buzz has a filter that eliminates posts that wouldn’t be of interest to you. You just tell it what to block. This saves you time, because you don’t have to sort through hundreds of posts you don’t care about.
The bottom line is, you would be smart to use the Google Buzz, because it gives your business personality. While it will require time and effort, the Buzz can be very profitable for you.
Are you ready to give Google Buzz a go? If so, Follow Me on Google Buzz
Attracting Younger Clients
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It’s no secret that getting younger customers is critical. It’s important, because you could potentially have a client for life if you handle the relationship correctly.
So how do you attract them? Here are few tips to make it happen:
Know where young consumers hang out
One of the obvious places they go to is social media sites. The biggest age group using the popular social networking sites is the eighteen to twenty-four bracket. YouTube, Twitter, and MySpace are all examples of social sites that offer a huge amount of profit opportunity.
Know who your customer is
Trying to target all young people is not going to work because it’s not specific enough. You will want to narrow it down to a certain age and gender to be more effective. This will enable you to speak exactly to your customer, instead of trying to design some generic advertising that appeals to everyone.
Get in a conversation
More and more, young people are doing business with companies they trust. Trust is one of the most important words today for business.
How do you build trust?
You have to show you care about their needs, and can help them. If you ram one advertising message after another down their throats, they will know you just want the money.
So you first have to identify their needs, and show that you have a solution for them. You want to engage your target market in a conversation and answer their questions.
This will establish you as an expert. So you first have to give them a lot of great free information. If your free information isn’t that good, they will assume that what you are selling isn’t that valuable either.
Ask them questions. This will show them you care about what they want. After you’ve done this, you can explain how your product would meet their needs.
Use video
As mentioned above, video social networking sites are really taking off. Video is one of the best ways to engage your customer. This is because people can comment on them, much like a blog.
From the comments, you will be able to see the needs that your customers have. Then you can design you product to better meet those needs.
Emphasize benefits
More than ever, young people don’t care about how long you’ve been in business. They are interested in what you can do for them. Your credentials aren’t as critical as the benefits you provide to them.
So don’t talk about yourself, talk about what you can do for your customer. It might be useful to mention you are an expert, but the main focus should be on the benefits.
Remember, you are in the business of helping people. That’s the only way to make money. So engaging your customers, finding out their needs, and meeting those needs is how to attract younger customers.
Get and Keep Clients
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How do you keep your current clients? This is a huge problem with most businesses. They go to all the trouble of finding a new client, only to lose them.
Don’t let this happen. When you carefully cultivate a relationship with your clients, you can potentially have a customer for life. And most importantly, they will refer their friends to you, which will get you free business.
Referral advertising is one of the most effective there is, because people are always more likely to believe what their friends say about a business than the company themselves. Here are four tips to help you keep your customers happy.
Great customer service
This is easily one of the most important aspects of retaining clients. If they call you, don’t wait days to get back to them. Contact them immediately. And make sure the people you hire to handle the phone calls are extremely knowledgeable about your business.
Get feedback
For instance, if you sell a product on how to get and attract affiliates, you might want to ask clients what their biggest affiliate management challenges are. Also, ask them for feedback on what you can do to improve your product and/or service. These gestures just show them you care about their opinion.
Apologize profusely for errors
If you are ever in the wrong, don’t simply apologize and forget about it. And definitely do not blame it on the client! Instead, at the minimum give let them know you were wrong and go above and beyond to make it right.
Over-deliver
Many businesses build unrealistic expectations with lofty claims, and then the client is disappointed in the final product. Instead, make sure you always deliver more than they expect. You do this by under-promising and then delivering more than they anticipate. It’s no more complex than that.
For instance, if you are setting up an affiliate program, be realistic about when you can get the finished product to them. Then attempt to get it quicker than you said. Saying you will get it to them by a certain date and then failing to do this always leaves a bad taste.
Another great method to over-deliver is to provide unannounced bonuses with your product. This is done all the time in the information product world, but it can easily be incorporated to physical goods as well.
For instance, if you set up an affiliate program, you might include an extensive written overview of the program for free. Just think of related times your customers will want down the road, and include them as a surprise bonus.
If you implement just a few of these strategies, you will be amazed at how many of your current clients keep buying from you. And don’t forget that they will also refer you new business as well. Take time to carefully manage your customer relationships, and you could be profitable beyond your wildest dreams.
When Outsourcing Don’t Forget to Plan Ahead
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When you started your business you had a plan, a business plan. It no doubt mentioned something about future expansion. Now is the time to put those plans in place.
The best time to think about expanding your business is before it actually happens. Then, you can put your plan into action much more quickly and seamlessly. Part of expanding is outsourcing.
Are you ready for a multi-VA team?
It was a team of one, but now you are happily getting too big for a one-person show. To keep moving upward, you’ll need others to make it happen.
Choosing your team
The team will be comprised mostly of other virtual assistants. These aren’t just any virtual assistants – they think like you do and have a similar work ethic. Just like your clients did with you, you’ll want to do some research and interviewing to find just the right people.
You may have already thought about what jobs you will outsource. Keeping it simple is a good way to start until you get a feel for how the team will work together. Interviewing is only the first step. Keep in mind that you may want to outsource more delicate matters later. Look for a variety of skills in the people that you choose for your team. The more skills that they have, the more useful they will turn out to be to you.
Starting off on the right foot
Get all of your ducks in a row from the beginning. This includes contracts, agreements and instructions. Each virtual assistant will need a contract that spells out, but is not limited to: pay per hour, pay schedule, process portfolio, etc. Agreements between you and your subcontracting VAs stipulating confidentiality and non-compete clauses are essential.
Written instructions about how to do what you ask avoids as many mistakes as possible later. Even though your subcontractors know how to say, write a report, they don’t know how you write reports for your clients. Pleasing your clients is the important part here.
Crossing all the Ts
One “T” in particular is taxes. You are not just responsible for yourself but others who work for you. Hiring subcontractors is considered freelancing. This is another area that needs to be specified in any contracts with your team. As a subcontractor, they will be responsible for their own taxes and insurance. What you will provide (for US workers) is a 1099-MISC form for them that specify what you pay them so that they can use it to file their taxes.
The cost of subcontracting will figure into your hourly or per project rate for your clients.
Planning ahead for business growth will make you healthy, wealthy and wise.
Outsourcing Your Own Things to Free Up Your Time
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Who says that outsourcing is strictly for “work”? As you grow your business, you still have other responsibilities that need to be taken care of. Check to see if these duties can be passed on to someone else.
When work and home collide, it can become insane. You will be folding laundry in your home office between emails and researching articles. Or, you’ll be going over reports in your head while you cook dinner. This is not what you had in mind when you decided to go into business for yourself.
Get Some Help…Again
You’ve already turned a big corner by outsourcing your virtual assisting work to other VAs with the right stuff. Now, turn your attention to your home. Those activities can also be outsourced to others with the right skills to do the job.
1. Childcare – Part of owning a home business is that you can spend more time with the kids. You may have even worked out your business day around keeping the children at home. As the business becomes more demanding, you’ll want to rethink that scenario. Hiring someone to look after your kids, even on a part-time basis can make a huge difference. You have options: a nanny in the home, a part-time babysitter from the neighborhood or a childcare center.
2. Housecleaning – Hardly anyone wants to clean even if they have the time. You might be sitting at your computer working but don’t let that fool your family. You can become mentally tired just like you can become physically tired. After a day of managing clients, you won’t want to pick up one more thing whether its clothing or a dirty dish. Budget in to hire a maid service. You don’t have to be the Rockefeller’s to afford it. If you do a thorough cleaning of your home, a service can come in just to touch things up once a week or twice a month. It will make a big difference.
3. Bookkeeping – You’ll need to balance the books if you own a business. All those numbers may start running together after a while. Waiting until tax time to handle them is an accident waiting to happen. Hire a freelance professional or another VA who specializes in bookkeeping to help you keep the business finances straight all along instead of at the last minute.
4. Your Business Needs – While you are building your business, administrative tasks seem to fall by the wayside. You’ll feel more at ease when you can find someone to do these things for you. Tasks like the following are perfect for someone else to handle for you.
• Updating your website
• Writing content
• Answering emails
• Sending out newsletters
What’s that? It’s the sigh of relief you’ll breathe when you outsource your needs so you can spend more time growing your business and doing the things in life you enjoy (yes, I mean more than working).
Do You Earn What You Are Worth?
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In today’s economy, everyone is looking to make more money. I have talked to some business owners who feel that they need to cut prices to get business. But the question remains, are you making what you should be making?
To find out what you’re worth, you can start by shopping around to other people who do the same things. There are lots of sites that people can use to hire businesses, and often they let you see competitor’s prices. You may also speak to potential clients and ask for what they normally pay, though many will be tempted to give you a lower rate to get a better price.
Remember, just because someone does the same job as you, doesn’t mean you should charge the same as them. A writer who is a native English speaker is generally much more valuable than one who isn’t. Someone with twenty years experience often makes more than someone with two (but not always), and someone with proven results can make more than someone who is just starting out.
Just because you know what you’re worth doesn’t mean you can necessarily make that. When it comes to making what you’re worth, good marketing is key. There will always be people who can charge lower rates than you so it’s important that you don’t compete on price alone.
Let potential clients know what makes you different and why you’re worth more. The key is letting people know how good you are and convincing them that paying more for your services is going to help them make more money in the end.
Here are a few things to help you make your case:
Samples. Samples of your work will help potential clients know that you’re good at what you do.
Client testimonials. This is one of the best ways to let potential clients know that your services are worth what you’re charging. If other previous clients have good things to say about you and your services, it will really vouch for you.
Charging what you’re worth can be scary, particularly during difficult times. However, with a little thought and planning there’s no reason why you can’t stand out from the competition – even with higher rates.
Time Management 101
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Time management can be interpreted in several ways. But it is commonly understood as proper allocation of time in terms of maximizing it by accomplishing more tasks. It could be applied to a lot of situations, whether in business, school, home and basically everywhere that requires something to get done within a certain period of time.
Time Management In Focus
With a lot of things to do in a span of 24 hours, most people have a difficult time setting their priorities and recognizing the things that must be done first. There are a lot of distractions in life that can take our attention away from far more important things. Eventually, most of us fail to maximize our use of time that we end up accomplishing nothing for the day. Hence, the big question is: how do you manage your time?
Time management works very much like economics. It is an allocation of scarce resources, which in this case is time, in order to reap maximum efficiency at the end of the day. However, we don’t need to become good economists in order to efficiently manage our time. All we need is common sense and good sense of judgment in order to maximize everything we do.
Some Things To Consider When Managing Time
In order to properly manage your time, there are a few things that you have to consider. You have to condition yourself to do the most important or most urgent tasks first. This is what sets responsible people apart from those who aren’t. Knowing what things to prioritize first will help you to overcome all those distractions along the way.
However, recognizing your priorities is just mainly your first step. As the cliché goes, it is easier said than done. It is best recommended to write down the things you have to do for the day. When you already have the checklist or to-do list for the day, you have to create a mindset wherein you must fulfill them.
Knowing what your priorities are is just the first step. Relaxation is also an important factor in our everyday activities. The best thing to do is to initiate periodic rest times ideally 10 minutes every 2 hours in order to relax your mind and muscles from the stress. Relaxing once in a while also improves your concentration in what we are doing and increases our productivity.
Advantages Of Time Management
There are a lot of advantages to properly managing our time but we will just discuss a few and most important ones.
It eliminates cramming – When you have properly set your priorities, you are able to finish your task early. This cuts time and you’d be more likely to accomplish things in advance. When you do your work earlier than usual it allows you to achieve better results because you could allocate more time to focus on your task.
Eliminates stress – Proper Time management helps you eliminate the stress because you properly allocate your time for work and rest.
Proper allocation of your time is a hard task, but once you get used to it, you are sure to become more productive.
How to Persuade and Influence Others
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The ability to influence and persuade others is a highly coveted skill. When you can accomplish it, you’re able to build your business quickly, you’re able to work better with others and you’re able to attain your goals with less struggle. The good news is that influencing and persuading others is actually less complicated than you may think. Let’s take a look at how to do it.
#1 – Empathize
The only way, and this is important, to be able to persuade others is to first understand where they’re coming from. For example, let’s say you sell cars and someone comes to your lot looking for a car. They’re looking at the minivans and you assume it’s because they have children and start to talk about all the benefits of minivans for families.
If they’re looking at minivans because they like car camping, well then you’ve completely missed the mark and all your persuasive talk is going to fall flat. So the very first thing to do is to understand your audience but more importantly, to be able to put yourself in their shoes. What do they want, need and hope for? What are their struggles and how can you solve them?
#2 – Learn to listen
Listening is more than half of the persuasion equation. Everyone wants to be heard and understood, and that begins by simply asking a few questions and actually listening to the answers. In fact, give it a try. The next time you are introduced to someone new, ask them a question or two and then sit back and listen. People love to talk so you’ll learn a ton about them. And they’ll be so darned pleased that you cared enough to engage them in conversation and actually listen to them that they’ll be happy to listen to you when you have something to say or something to ask for.
#3 – Know what you’re talking about
People have a tremendous respect for experts, people skilled and knowledgeable in their industry or niche topic. When you know what you’re talking about and can communicate that effectively, people will be open to listening to how you can solve their problems.
#4 – Reciprocity
Reciprocity is a buying trigger. It says that when we get something from someone, we’re more inclined to give them something. For example, when you get a free ebook from someone, you’re more inclined to give them your email address. Reciprocity also helps you persuade and influence others.
#5 – Timing
Finally, sometimes you have to wait for the right moment. They say timing is everything and it’s why internet entrepreneurs spend so much time building a list and contacting customers regularly – eventually hoping that the timing will be right. This again goes back to knowing your audience and understanding or empathizing with them. When you know your audience, you can better predict the right time to sell to them.
Persuasion and influence, like many other skills, are improved by practice. Practice empathizing, listening and the other tips we’ve offered and notice what works for you and what areas you could use some work on. It’s worth the effort! Imagine what being better able to persuade and influence others could do to your business and your family life!
