There have been many articles about what a virtual assistant is but they all use terms such as administrative assistant, independent contractor, remote worker, etc. With all those “professional” terms it can get confusing as well as seem like a virtual assistant will cost an arm and a leg, and in this economy we all know that we need to steer away from costly purchases unless it is a necessity. Then I come along and tack on the word confidential and holy smokes it really sounds like it will cost a lot of money, but in reality it really doesn’t.A virtual assistant is a person who provides secretarial services, also known as an administrative assistant. The only difference between a “normal” secretary and a virtual assistant is that the virtual assistant does not have a physical presence at your office. They usually work from their own home office.

Virtual assistants may provide all the services that a secretary will perform and others may not. For example, you may have virtual assistants who will answer phones, contact clients, etc and others who may not offer these services for numerous reasons. It all depends on your needs and desires. Some virtual assistants will work on a project-by-project basis and some require retainers. Again, it depends on yours and the virtual assistant’s needs and abilities.

Confidential virtual assistants are basically the same as a virtual assistant except for one major difference-CVA’s take confidentiality one step further than a regular virtual assistant. Like a virtual assistant, CVAs guarantee they will not disclose any information regarding your business and the projects they are completing for you. In order to add confidential to the virtual assistant title, CVAs need more than just virus scan and firewalls, they need encryption software, password protected computers, password protected/encrypted backups of client data, means to destroy any print data (i.e. shredding, burning). CVAs also have a software program so that electronic files can be shredded (i.e. PGP shredder) A CVA doesn’t take security and confidentiality lightly.

One of the biggest misconceptions of a confidential virtual assistant vs a virtual assistant is the price. There is no difference in pricing between the two just a difference in what you get for your dollar.

So the next time you think about getting a virtual assistant look for more value for that dollar by hiring a confidential virtual assistant.

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Posted under Confidentiality, Virtual Assistance

You’ve seen this mentioned before (especially by me) how customer service is a dying trend especially in the big corporations.  From customer service jobs being sent overseas and not being able to understand what the rep is saying because they speak bad English, to customer service reps that are trained to give customers a line of BS just to get them off the phone so they can get to the next one, customer service is non-existent.

I just went through another situation where customer service was basically non-existent, but I refused to give up.

I have had satellite internet since May of 2007 because I have no other option unless I go back to dial-up.  I researched my options and decided to go with the lesser of the two.  I called to order it and decided I wanted the lowest package with the option to upgrade if needed.  According to the ISP’s website you should expect download speeds of up to 512KBPS and upload speeds of up to 128KBPS.  Now I understand that I will more than likely not ever get the maximum speeds however when they installed it my upload speed never went above 12KBPS, most of the time it was at less than 5KBPS.  I’m paying $50 per month, they boast about speeds faster than dial-up but yet I only get 12KBPS upload speed.  Not to mention the fact that I can not upload or send large files because my internet/email times out constantly.

The installer knew my speeds were bad but told me they would fix themselves.  I didn’t know any better at the time so I said okay.  Two days after the install my speeds were still horrendous and my internet kept disconnecting so I call the ISP(mind you there was a warranty).  Held forever to get through to tech support finally got through they tell me it’s the weather and I tell them it’s clear and they say it may not be where the satellite is that I am receiving signal from.  Again I didn’t know any better so I let it go.  A few days later, the same thing so I call them back, they tell me it’s the weather and I say no it’s not.  They tell me they will place a service call but that I have to pay $95 for somebody to come out.  What the?  I’ve had it for not even a week and they tell me I have to pay for a service call.  I argued but never got anywhere so I just dealt with it.  I couldn’t get rid of them because I was in a 1 yr contract with them.  Anyway, I have continuously called them pretty much monthly because my internet kept disconnecting. 

Finally, Thanksgiving evening my internet disconnects completely and will not reconnect.  I thought well maybe it was the weather because we have been getting snow and it may be covering the satellite.  Friday, my husband goes up on the roof (where it’s installed) and makes sure it’s clean (which it is) and actually shovels off the roof so that there is no chance of snow blocking the signal, still no internet.  I call the ISP, they give me the ole unplug the satellite, could be the weather yada, yada, yada.  However, the tech support has gotten better since the beginning.  At least now instead of just blaming the weather they walk you through some troubleshooting steps. I tell the rep I already did those things and she says we can place a service which will cost $95 or we can do some troubleshooting.  Well I’ve been through the troubleshooting before and it never did any good so I told her I want a service call but I’m not paying for it because I have had nothing but problems since day one.  Not to mention the fact that when we got our TV satellite installed, the person installing it (who also installs satellite internet from the company I use) told me that it wasn’t installed correctly. Anyway, she continued to tell me that I would have to pay for the service call so I asked to speak to her supervisor. Told the same thing by that person.  As soon as that person told me I would have to pay for it, I asked to speak to their supervisor.  Four people later, I still hadn’t got what I wanted but I wasn’t giving up, I would go all the way to the CEO if I had to and I told the last person that as well and she put me through to a customer advocate.  That customer advocate was awesome.  He listened to me, he understood where I was coming from he was very nice and I am not getting a service call as well as any damaged equipment repaired free of charge.

So I know I am rambling but I really do have a point.  Let’s count and see where and how many times the ISP went wrong. I count 4 times where this particular ISP went wrong and I am going to address each one and tell you what they could’ve done different.

What went wrong

Initial install-The person installing it was new (we all have to start somewhere, right) hadn’t done very many but you can’t fault him for that. However, he knew those speeds were not right and he did call his supervisor a few times about it as well as tech support and tech support couldn’t help they didn’t know what the problem was and his supervisor is the one who told him it would fix itself, however, the person who installed my internet also was rushed for time because he had another install waiting on him and he was running late at my place.

What should’ve been done

The installer should have tried to re-install it, followed-up and if it still wasn’t working in a couple of days came back with his supervisor to at least see if they could fix it. He also should have continued working on it and called his next customer and told them they would be late.  Now before I get people complaining saying that is bad customer service, in my opinion if  you give your next customer the courtesy of the phone call to explain the situation, that is good customer service.

 What went wrong

Tech support giving lame excuses-When you call a company for technical support and you get the run around and they blame it on the weather or anything other than what could be the  reason for the issues because they don’t want to admit that things might not be right with the install or the equipment, that is bad customer service. They acted as if my problem was my fault and didn’t listen to what my issues were or what my internet was doing.  They didn’t even try to do troubleshooting.

What should’ve been done

Tech support should have tried to do some troubleshooting and if that didn’t work send me to somebody who is better equipped.  The tech support rep was poorly trained and was only doing what was told to them on the computer screen.  They did tell me to unplug the modem and re-plug it in and that would fix it (which it didn’t).  Instead of transferring me to a more tech savvy, better trained tech support rep, they then blamed it on the weather and my computer.  They should have offered to do a service call free of charge.  Which brings me to my next what went wrong…

What went wrong

Charging for service call when it was still under warranty-They did offer to do a service call but they told me I would have to pay for it.

What should’ve been done

They should’ve offered to send me a different installer to come out and check the setup and make sure that everything was set up properly and find out what the true reason was for the problem, free of charge.  It was under warranty and it was just installed not even a week ago. When you purchase something, don’t you expect it to work when you buy it?  If it doesn’t don’t you expect to get a refund or exchange it for one that works? I know I do.  That is good customer service.

What went wrong

Too many transfers-They sent me to four different people and each person said the same thing the last person said.  You can have a service call but you have to pay for it.

What should’ve been done

When I finally got to the customer advocate, he told me that everybody I talked to was not authorized to give me the free service call.  What they should’ve done was once they realized I wasn’t going away and that I had already talked to more than one person about my situation and not a single one was authorized to grant my request, they should have sent me immediately to somebody who was able to authorize it and if they disagreed with my reasoning, they could deal with me.  Instead, it took me one hour to get to somebody who possibly could have helped me.

While I agree that talking to an unsatisfied client can be a pain and you just want to get them off the phone, I also understand that you are not really providing good customer service unless that customer is fully satisfied with the outcome of the situation.  In all reality, you can’t make everybody happy but if you really try and you really listen to their needs and what they are trying to tell you, you may just have a better chance. 

If you handle your clients like the big corporations do, don’t expect to be in business for very long because you may get away with it for awhile but it will eventually come back to bite you.

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Posted under Customer Service, business

It has recently come to my attention that there may be some confusion between mentoring and networking.  It was stated that both mentoring and networking is about sharing so in reality isn’t networking the same as mentoring.  My response to this was no.

In fact, they are distinctively different.  When you network, you are getting to know people as well as allowing other people to get to know you. You are also networking to get your name out there and portray yourself as an expert in your chosen field.  Mentoring on the other hand is about taking somebody by the hand and actually guiding them, whether it be for business or personal.

Granted, when you are networking you are essentially helping because people are reading your posts, blogs or articles to learn something.  They read what you have written and then that’s the end of it.  They may become clients or they may provide referrals to your business but that is as far as it goes.  Mentoring is actually step by step guidance.  Mentoring is about one-on-one assistance not group assistance. Mentoring is about helping and not expecting monetary gain or anything but hard work and dedication from your mentee.

People have stated that mentoring takes too much time and that mentoring is for those who have the money just flowing in and they can afford to take time out of their busy days to mentor but in reality that is not true.  Many people mentor even when they don’t have the money flowing in.  Why is that?  Mentoring means providing somebody with the knowledge that you have gained from the school of hard knocks-knowledge that you can give to somebody to help them over the roadblocks that they may run into with their business.  While mentoring may take some time, you are building an awesome referral resource, potential future clients, and giving yourself the ability to know that you actually helped somebody in their life without getting anything in return.  That is something that is lacking in this day and age.

Mentoring can be a tough and time-consuming job but it is well worth it with what you receive in friendship and possibly even business.  However, the mentee has to be willing to take the time and learn and put some of the mentor’s ideas into play.  If the mentee is not willing to do that, then the mentor is really just wasting their time.

I have had several people contact me for help with starting a virtual assistant business and I am happy to provide assistance and guidance to them but they have to be willing to work at it as well.  Too many times, I get contacted and provide ideas and then they ask if they can come to me with questions and I always say yes, then they come back with a couple of more questions but realize that starting a VA business is much more work than they anticipated so they walk away.  Essentially, I am trying to help my competition but you know what, that’s fine.  Will I give away my trade secrets? Not usually but I will help them when they need it.  If I don’t help them and they get stuck, then they very well may become one of the bad virtual assistants that I have spoken about in previous articles and that can do some major damage to the industry.  So if I can help somebody become a good virtual assistant then I am all for it. 

Usually you don’t HAVE to screen the people you help. Usually they screen themselves. Once in a while you get someone who is a sucking drain, and you just stop giving detailed replies, instead you give web references or instructions to Google this term or that one. But usually, they decide - and simply wander away when it is too much, and they do that early enough on that you don’t waste your time replying to a lot of stuff just to lose them. VERY few get past the third or fourth email. Those that do are SO worth working with

Mentoring can be extremely rewarding as well.  Think of it this way, when you raise children you are essentially a mentor to them.  Once you have nurtured, raised, loved, and taken care of a child and they go out into the world and accomplish something, doesn’t that make you feel proud, wonderful and realize that every trial, tribulation and heartache that you endured was well worth it? That is exactly the kind of feeling you will get when you mentor somebody and you see their business reach the point of success and know that you had a part in that.

One thing that totally drives me crazy that I have seen people do is call themselves mentors when in reality they are just coaches because they are expecting something in return, usually monetary. Because of that, mentoring has lost all meaning.  Now when somebody offers to be a mentor, you have to think about what they mean.  Do they mean an actual mentor or a coach?

So just remember when you have somebody who just needs you to listen to them and take them by the hand and guide them, don’t walk away.  Help them but be sure they are willing to be helped and not have the work done for them. Mentoring is another type of that saying “Pay It Forward”.  We all need to get back into paying it forward and thinking of others’ needs and not just our own.

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Posted under Mentoring, business

A couple of weeks ago, my grandmother passed away and six months before that her husband, my grandfather passed away. I was not all that close to either of my grandparents and I handled my grandfather’s death pretty well and I think that is because I still had my grandmother.  Although my grandmother wasn’t my grandmother for a long time-she had Alzheimer’s-she was still there. Once I heard of her death it was actually a relief because anybody who has experienced a loved one with Alzheimer’s knows is a horrible disease to watch somebody suffer from.  When a person has Alzheimer’s their capacity to participate in life diminishes piece by piece.  I thought I was taking her death pretty well, after all we weren’t close and it was expected, but I soon realized that in all reality I wasn’t. 

When it came to my façade towards family, I was normal, acting fine, sad but moving on with my life. As far as running my business, I wasn’t doing well. I basically shut myself down.  Don’t get me wrong, I kept up with client work but as far as networking, marketing, blogging, etc I wasn’t doing any of that.  I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Any free time that I had when my family wasn’t around I spent basically loafing around.  Sleeping a lot, watching television, whatever, anything so that I didn’t have to work on my business.  Why did I do that?  I don’t know.  I guess it was my way of grieving.  After all, I had no grandparents left and you always think that your grandparents or parents will be around forever because they have been.

When I lost all motivation, I thought it was just plain old procrastination.  I didn’t understand it though because I loved writing, networking, talking to people, getting to know them and just plain old helping people out.  I had a very good friend of mine ask me if I was doing okay a few times and I even told her yes because I didn’t want her to be disappointed in me because she has been working hard helping me with my business and marketing efforts and I didn’t want to let her down.  Then earlier this week she asked me again how I was doing and subconsciously I guess I knew why I had been procrastinating so much and I just poured my heart out to her.  Sure, there was more than the death but I feel that I was grieving.  I didn’t really have anybody to talk to about it.  My husband didn’t know her very well.  He didn’t know what she was like before the disease so he couldn’t understand.  My mother had just lost both her parents in 6 months so I couldn’t talk to her because she was dealing with the loss of her parents and my father was helping her so I was on my own and I guess I just shut down.

My friend tells this story:

After the death of my infant daughter, I stopped working completely for about a month. My business was in a slow period then anyway, so it didn’t drastically affect it. But I found myself unable to be interested in much of anything outside the daily requirement for living during that time.

After about a month, I again became interested in business. At this time, I wanted something to occupy my mind, and my hands – hands that should have had a child to care for. Business provided that occupation, and I believe it literally saved my sanity. All in all, it has taken several years to complete the entire grieving process, though I have been functional and productive through most of it.

People handle grief differently.  Some will shut down and some will just immerse themselves in their work.  Either way, your business can take a major hit during your grieving.  Some may think that if they immerse themselves in their business, it will help their business grow.  This may be the case but if they immerse themselves in their business, they may start neglecting their clients or their loved ones.  They will neglect the personal part of their business when dealing with clients.  This is simply because they have not dealt with their grief and when people do not deal with their grief they become numb to others’ feelings, wants, and needs.  This can have devastating effects on any small business.

Shutting down can also have dire consequences on their small business. Clients could suffer because they are not able to put in the extra effort that is required to get the job done and to provide good customer service.  Business could suffer because they just don’t have the motivation to get out their and continue to do what is needed to keep business thriving.

If you find yourself shutting down or immersing yourself in work, reach out and ask for help.  Even if it’s just a shoulder to cry on, or just talk about things.  It doesn’t necessarily have to be a family member heck, it doesn’t even have to be in the same town as you but it should be somebody who will take the time to listen, guide you, and support you. There are many groups online which offer support for grief (search Yahoo Groups for many options), and they may be able to be of use to you. A business coach or mentor who understands loss may also be of value. Clergy can assist in helping you to understand the role of death, and family may also help. Some friends or family may not understand – don’t spend a lot of time wondering why they don’t, just try another outlet.

If you feel so overwhelmed with grief that you believe you just can’t run a business, that’s okay. Just make sure that  you are really unable to continue your business before closing up shop – it is best NOT to make permanent decisions during the first few months after loss.  If you do decide to close your business make sure you explain it to your clients but most importantly focus on getting yourself better.

Remember, the process of grief, and those feelings of not being motivated, or of deep sadness, or even of not being able to identify what it is that you feel, or what triggered it, are normal. Just get through it, and don’t beat yourself up about it. It isn’t easy for anyone to handle, but it does get better with time.

Grief is handled in different ways by different people.  There is no right or wrong way but no matter how well you think you are handling it, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Feel free to contact the author through her website if you need assistance in finding resources.

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Posted under business

There may be times when you find yourself needing to separate a first and last name that are together into two separate columns.  Here is a quick and easy way to do this:

Note: Only do this if there is only a first and last name no middle initial, prefix, or Jr. Sr in the cells

Make sure there is a blank column beside the name

Highlight the cell or cells that you want to separate

Go to data on the toolbar>select text to columns

A box appears

Select fixed width>next

Click next on the next window

At the next window select finish

There you have it, instead of first and last name in one cell, they are now in two different cells.

Next week we will discuss separating names that have middle initials or middle names

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Posted under Business Tips, Excel Tips

Recently I have been trying to decide as to whether or not I want to continue being a virtual assistant.  Not because of lack of work but because of lack of ethics, customer service and personal attention that other VA’s are displaying.  I’m totally appalled and in shock.

I must say not all virtual assistants are only interested in the paycheck and not the client.  In fact, there are several who do have great work ethics and really listen to their clients and enjoy the work they do, not just for the paycheck but for the sound in their clients’ voices when they have dropped their stress level significantly. To them, I say thank you for overcoming the challenges that bad virtual assistants are causing us.

Just this week I have seen numerous people complaining about their virtual assistants.  One person hired a VA and fired her within 4 days.  Another person is not getting the personal attention and the customer service that they should be getting from their VA and he is so fed up with it that he is willing to give up on virtual assistants all together.

What the heck are virtual assistants who really in truly look out for our clients supposed to do when so many VAs are giving us a bad name? I have seen virtual assistants talking about requirements for VAs such as schooling but even that isn’t going to help. Schools can not teach virtual assistants how to implement good ethics into their business.  That is something that needs to be learned on their own.  They need to learn the finer point of skills such as defining and applying good ethics, and to put the client first instead of the paycheck.

One of the reasons that I think so many people are becoming virtual assistants is because it has been advertised that all you need to be a good virtual assistant is a computer, internet connection, printer, and telephone.  Amazingly enough I just saw a blog post today that said “Earn Big Bucks (right now) by becoming a virtual assistant.” While computer, internet, printer and telephone is all you need to become a virtual assistant it is not all you need to become a GOOD virtual assistant.

I can also guarantee that just by saying you are a virtual assistant and opening your “doors” will not earn you big bucks. Becoming a good virtual assistant means not just saying you do, but actually implementing the following, listening to clients, finding out their needs, going that extra mile instead of taking shortcuts. If they desperately need your help but can’t afford the $40 per hour that you charge, then why not work out a plan so you can give them the help they need without breaking their bank.  Maybe when they say I need help with this, and this, and this but I can only afford to pay you this, don’t kick them to the curb, instead sit down and figure out what should be their priority and handle that project.

One of the complaints that I have been hearing is I only need a part time person but nobody is willing to work part time.  Doing part time work may not sound appealing but that is the reality of being a VA. You work for many clients, a little here and a little there. Full time work is the exception, not the rule, and it comes as a result of doing piece-work. Once you do part time work for somebody and then with the passing of time your client begins to rely on you and trust you, it may turn into full-time work. Not to mention the fact that if they are satisfied they will tell their friends, which means more business for you.

What’s sad is that a lot of the bad VAs are complaining about the competition from virtual assistants over in the Philippines, China, India charging $5 per hour when they shouldn’t because if clients get the kind of customer service that I have been hearing about over here in the states, who can blame them for going overseas.  At least if they are only paying $5 per hour, they expect bad customer service.

When a VA gives good service, overseas competition ceases to be a threat. Good service consists of competent performance of required tasks, combined with a willingness to go the extra mile, and to look out for the best interests of the client. The VA industry needs more VAs willing to do that, and fewer who think it is just about the money. When it ISN’T just about the money, earnings go up!

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Posted under Virtual Assistance, business

We all know that follow-up could mean the difference between getting the sale and not getting the sale but what about after you get the sale? Once you get the sale and you complete the project or mail the product, do you follow-up with them to see what their experience was like in dealing with your company and whether or not they were satisfied?

It has been my experience that many people prefer to be in the dark instead of know what kind of an impression you or your business left on a client. This can be harmful in many ways especially if it was a bad experience.

No repeat patronage-While this may be a minor issue, it can become extremely costly.  The truth is, you can never please everybody no matter what you do so you might as well expect that but those who you could’ve pleased simply by asking them what their experience was like and then fixing it could save you a lot of grief.  It costs 10 times more time and money to find new clients then it does to keep old clients.

Trash Talk- As I have said many times, the internet is a powerful thing.  A dissatisfied customer that you did not know was dissatisfied, could be slamming you left and right all over the internet and saying that you would do nothing to make them happy when in reality, you didn’t even know they were unhappy with your service.

No-referrals- We all know that word of mouth is the most powerful form of marketing and getting clients but when that word of mouth is negative it could have an even more astronomical impact on your business. People trust what their friends and colleagues have to say and if that unsatisfied client tells one person not to do business with you and they tell 10 people not to do business with you and so on and so forth, you could see your reputation spiraling downward out of control very quickly.

We have all heard how customer service has become a thing of the past and you just don’t see it anymore. We also know that people are more apt to discuss bad experiences with their friends and colleagues more than they are good experiences.  It’s just human nature, we get frustrated, we don’t want to see our friends get burned, we want to vent, or whatever the reason, bad experiences are more widely shared than good experiences.

Now imagine what could happen if you took the extra couple of minutes and sent your clients a quick questionnaire asking them about their experience.  While some of it may be hard for you to accept, it could mean the difference between repeat clients, referrals, and good input on the internet. Also, if you follow-up you may find out about simple and fixable things such as emails not getting to clients.

You will get some people who do not reply to your questionnaire and that’s fine, because at least then when you hear about somebody unhappy and trash talking you or your business, you can mention the fact that you sent them a questionnaire in regards to their experience and how it could be improved and they refused to fill it out and send it back.

When it comes to your business, ignorance is NOT bliss.

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Posted under Customer Service, business

How many times have you been trying to create a document or a table in Microsoft word and it automatically does a page break at the worst time?  Chances are you already know this but just in case here is a quick way to fix that:

Put your cursor where you want the page break to be then click>insert>break

A little box will pop up asking what kind of break you want select>page and click okay.

There you have it, a page break where you want it instead of where Microsoft wants to put it.

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