Although the events still require time to organise, 12 weeks (as proposed by ON24), it can be far less time consuming than organising a physical event. Removing the need to travel (and accommodation) your audiences expenses will be less. They will be ‘fresh’ for your virtual event and ready to utilise the knowledge acquired the instant the event has finished. Sales staff can immediately implement all the latest information about your products.

If you still have the need for a physical event the ability to integrate some virtual aspects into it can be a benefit, creating a hybrid event. The combination of both types opens the event to a world wide audience, one that is not constrained by distance or time.

Success is dependent on good planning and the following blogs give you some tips on how to plan, ideas for content and which is the right event for you and your audience, whether they are customers, employees or for training programmes. Going virtual provides an easily used medium for all of these needs. The collection of genuine customer/audience data (emails,names and locality)properly managed in a CRM, allows you to continue marketing to them and target future events/product launch.

In the next few blogs, I hope that you find a few items that help you decide about virtual events or offer you a few ideas that you hadn’t realised were possible.

Ideas for a virtual event

Trade Shows
To showcase and promote your product, individual products or services can be photographed or filmed, explaining how it works and comprehensive information added to the product
Sales Meetings and Support
Sales staff, wherever they are, can see your latest offering, learn all about it and be back out selling, armed with all the information they need. Use your virtual event to provide your staff with all relevant information throughout the sales cycle so that they have all the knowledge necessary to close deals.
Virtual Marketplace
Let your virtual event be your marketplace where your products and those of fellow exhibitors can be showcased and sold
Customer training
Provide your customers with virtual event training sessions, so they know how to get the best from your service and to keep them informed about any changes.
Community building
Build a virtual event to connect people in different locations with similar interests and build a community
Annual Conferences
Knowledge of you and your business exchanged and always available to review, this will expand your user base.
Partner Events
Share knowledge and best practices with partners and provide a forum for team communication.
Internal training
Easily accessible knowledge base, used to keep staff up-to-date as regards policies and procedures. To ensure everyone in your company receives clear and consistent messages bring them together with a virtual event and develop a good employee relationship.
Committee Meeting
If the timing of general committee meetings is difficult for some could they attend via a virtual connection? The meeting could be recorded making minute taking easy.

If we can help further, please contact us, we are here to help. Telephone 0203 468 8594 and speak to Tamara.

Without a business plan, how can you, or any one else involved with your business, judge where you are? You can have the best business coach in the world, be motivated and have a fantastic idea but a plan makes the difference between disappearing into the darkness or becoming a shining light in your niche. With business plan in hand, you and others involved with your business can time-line and measure your progress. You can tell when you are ahead in your game or dreadfully out of alignment and therefore need to alter your website to regain your audience and customers.

Business plan:
There are several different ways to create a marketing plan to promote your online presence. Your local Chamber of Commerce may offer free or discounted business planning and development resources to members and non-members or you can try the do-it-yourself way with Marketing Plan Pro by John Jantsch ,powered by Duct Tape Marketing.( It is a simple, practical marketing plan software that makes it easy to plan and carry out the marketing activities you need to grow your business.) Another approach is to find a coach or consultant that specialises in creating marketing plans.

Marketing:
With a business plan in place, now is the time to activate your marketing. If you find yourself without the resources to put the plan into action, use Duct Tape Marketing principles to get things moving until you can hire additional resources. A virtual assistant or online business manager may be an alternative. Paying per hour reduces the costs but gains you experienced help for putting your business plan into action. With a business plan in place, all those involved in moving your business forward are aware of your goals.

Steady as you go:
Now you have a plan in place, you have identified the resources to implement; now it’s time to set off. If you have limited resources, aim for a slow, steady approach and find a rhythm that works with your available resources.

Measure:
The results of your marketing plan and strategies need to be measured and assessed for effectiveness on a regular basis. Do you have an e-newsletter or e-mail signup on your site? How many are subscribed? Or unsubscribe? Aweber and other e-mail/e-newsletter programs generally have reports so you can tell how well different campaigns have worked. Google analytics tracks site visits, page visits and time spent on your site so you can analyse how well each page is working. In the beginning, don’t try and track everything but be aware that the information is there when you are ready. With your reports and knowledge gained from these, you can develop consistency in your marketing to build and grow your business.

That’s why many small business owners use one of the 3 types of business calls delegation: call answering, call handling or call managing.

Call answering is the simplest and the cheapest form of virtual reception. Usually it’s handled by teams of people so that there is always someone available to answer incoming calls. Call centres have advanced IT systems installed, that tell them in an instant which company the call is for, how they need to answer it and how to pick up a message. The conversation will go something like this:

Virtual Receptionist: [your company name], good morning! [their name] speaking. How may I help you?
Caller: Good morning. I’d like to speak to [your name] please.
VR: [your name] is not available right now / out of the office / away in a meeting. Would you like to leave a message?
Caller: Yes please. [introduce themselves, leave a message and a phone number]
VR: I will pass the message straight to [your name] once he/she gets back to the office. Thank you very much for your call!

What’s the benefit of this service? You don’t rely on the voicemail machine any more. Your phone is answered quicker. Callers are more inclined to leave a message, rather than listen to a voicemail recording. You will receive the message via email and/or a text message and can decide if it is so urgent that you have to stop what you are doing and return the call as soon as possible. This service is usually used by businesses that only need to divert their phones on rare occasions and/or have a small calls volume.

Next level is call handling. A professional call handler knows as much as possible about the business or the person they are answering the call for. In this case they can not only take a message but are able to assist the caller with simple tasks, that won’t require your attention. For example, call handlers can provide information about the business (address, opening hours, how to contact the business, how to request a refund, how to make a purchase, where to find certain information on the website). They can deal with enquiries such as booking an appointment in your diary, taking a new order/payment, chasing a delivery, sending promotional materials. Finally, they can take a more detailed messages, pre-qualify new leads, prioritise urgent matters and in some cases connect those calls directly to your private mobile.

The main benefit of call handling, above those of call answering, is that you usually have the same person(s) dealing with your calls. You can train them how the calls need to be answered, they learn more about your business, your systems and operations. Efficient call handlers save you time by dealing with simple matters that you don’t have to be involved with yourself. This service works best for someone who needs their business phones to be manned most of the time, who would like to offer a better customer service without wasting their own precious time to deal with mundane enquiries.

Finally, there is call management. It can work instead or alongside call answering/handling. The key difference is that you, as a business owner, will hardly ever answer any of the calls or messages yourself. Instead, your business manager will. A business manager is someone who works alongside you on all key projects, who know the business inside out, who has access to most systems, documents and information. Typically, a virtual assistant who is heavily involved in supporting your business, could act as your business manager. In this scenario, once the message is taken by one of the two call diversion services, it will be sent to your business manager. The business manager will then either deal with the message or pass it on to you. If you delegated down enough of your responsibilities you will find that most of the messages can be dealt with by your business manager, rather than you.

Some virtual call answering or call handling businesses promote themselves as virtual PAs or virtual assistants. This has been causing a lot of confusion amongst small business owners. But you can see clearly now that it’s not the same. Not all virtual assistants will be available to answer your phones throughout the business hours. And not all virtual receptionists will have enough knowledge and understanding about your business to be able to handle the messages.

So next time you are switching on the voicemail to get some work done or to attend a meeting, think about using a professional call diversion service.

You should definitely consider outsourcing vs do-it-yourself when:

There are many advantages to outsourcing. Most of those start with “you don’t”:

What “you do” get is quite important to any small business:

So how do you go about outsourcing your workload to other business professionals?

1. List all the tasks in your business that you are currently doing yourself or would like to get done, but never have the time or skills to complete
2. Work methodically through your list, asking yourself “If I don’t do this myself, regardless of how experienced/intelligent/well-trained my partner is, will my business grow?” Move the task into the YES column (it can be outsourced) or NO column (you will still have to do it yourself for now).
3. If you are honest with yourself you will be surprised how many items on your list will move into the YES column!
4. Next you need to group them into business areas: finance, administration, HR, production, research, sales, IT, etc.
5. Finally you will need to find suitable partners who can assist you with one or more areas from your list. You may find it easier to manage less suppliers each dealing with a large number of tasks, or find a business manager who will manage as many smaller suppliers as you need to complete each individual task.

What next? Repeat the process with your NO list every 3-6 months. The more you outsource, the more liberating it will feel. The more you will be able to let go next time you are going through the process.

To gain the most advantage from outsourcing you will need to manage the relationship with your suppliers by having regular reviews of the tasks you outsourced, results they have achieved, processes you asked them to follow, your goals and expectations.

Our final piece of advice: No matter how good your supplier is, don’t expect them to get everything right 100% from the beginning. They don’t know your business like you do. They will have questions and will need your guidance around your expectations, processes and systems. And they certainly are not mind-readers! So clear and concise communication is the key to a successful outsourcing relationship.

It’s been 3 years and just how much I had to learn! Running a small virtual assistant business is nothing like being employed in the City. When you are employed you:

1. Typically work for 1-5 people, same people, day after day (unless someone changes job or is made redundant).
2. Deal with the same workload:email, diary, paperwork, meetings, projects, travel, a few conferences thrown in here and there, a few purchasing orders to do… OK it does vary a little based on the department you work in, but the core of PA tasks will be the same wherever you are.
3. Start and finish at a set time, have (at least in theory) a lunch break, water cooler moments.
4. Endure the daily commute in any weather, hot or cold.
5. Rely on other corporate departments to sort things out for you: your computer, insurance, pension, payroll, accounts, HR, legal issues, contracts with new clients, etc.
6. Have a holiday when you can forget about your job (as long as there is someone covering for you), have weekends and evenings to yourself.
7. May occasionally work over-time or start earlier than usual.
8. Have to get permission for any time off, be it 1h or 1 week, work it later, take it unpaid and stay within your holiday allowance.
9. Get a regular salary every month, including sick pay and holiday pay.
10. Get paid for every single minute you are at work: whether you are checking your Facebook profile, researching the next holiday or actually doing work!

When you are self-employed it doesn’t work like that. Why am I still here, you may ask?

• I love being in charge of my own life, deciding who I’m working with, what I’m doing and when.
• I don’t like commuting to work every day, but I do like getting into London a few times a month for business meetings and events.
• I am constantly learning new skills, new applications, new tools.
• I get to meet a lot of business owners, just like me, who are very determined to succeed and therefore are very inspiring.
• I love what I do and I love seeing my clients happy with the results!

It took a while to learn to balance work and family, business time and clients’ time. But I think we are getting there now. It took some determination, perseverance and a couple of important business decisions to get where we are now:

• Joining a VA Network in Australia which has proven the single best source of online referrals for us (thanks, Kathie!).
• Getting a 1-2-1 VA coaching with VA Coaching and Training Company which helped me to organise my thoughts about marketing, niching, client attraction and why I am here. Since the course has been completed things have spiralled out and it has become self-perpetuating with new referrals and enquiries (thanks, Carmen!).
• Joining the Athena Network, a very successful networking organisation in the UK for women in business. We’ve already got a lot of business through it, and it’s not even a year since we  became a member (thanks, Marilena!).
• Learning about Twitter and other online marketing tools, which not only brought us new clients but also helped launch new services (thanks, Mark Shaw and Mashable!).

So if you are someone thinking of becoming a virtual assistant in 2011, then think about the above 10 features of being employed – will you be happy without all of those? What’s driving you to become self-employed? What “big dream” will you be able to hang on to, when times get tough and cashflow takes a dip? Finally, check out VACT or other similar training on offer for VAs and don’t assume that because you are a great PA/Administrator/EA/Secretary you will automatically be equally good at being a virtual assistant!

Good luck, and maybe I’ll see you at one of the VA conferences in the UK!

After the first 3 years in business (and what a great time we had along the way!), we are so proud to announce that TJConsulting Virtual Assistance have made it through to the final round in the Virtual Business of the Year Awards 2010.

It is a great achievement for us to be nominated and we would be grateful if you could support us. Voting is very simple and literally takes 2 seconds of your valuable time by following this link and clicking the VOTE button:

http://www.vbawards.com/2010/11/tjconsulting-virtual-assistance/

There are no forms to fill in, no registration and no personal details to disclose. It really is simple!

Who should be the Virtual Business of 2010? PPH are looking for “rewarding, young, fledgling companies that make progressive use of the web and technology in the way they operate, innovate and compete, looking for companies that can demonstrate how they have used the web in innovate ways to remain lean, efficient and competitive.” And we absolutely stand by every single word in that statement.

Why are we doing this? As well as getting recognised as the ‘Virtual Business of the Year’ the lucky winner will receive £20,000 sponsorship to grow their business from a wide range of top sponsors: People per Hour, Intuit, Adjug and others. You will agree that this is a fantastic opportunity to grab with both hands for 2011. We are proud of what we managed to achieve so far and we are sure that with your support we will be able to win this competition, the first award of many to come. It’s time to spread the word far and wide about the services we offer, the value you have received and the positive impact it has made on your business.

We are up against a very worthwhile competition. So every single vote counts and we would really love you to support us today. The voting closes on 30th November so please don’t delay! We will keep you posted on the progress.

A way around this is to ‘outsource’ where possible your office and business requirements. So let’s look at the different areas of Outsourcing.

Secretarial and Administration Services

• Secretarial and Administration services can be found in a variety of companies, from a firm that simply takes your phone messages, to a company that will deal with all your daily requirements, from diary management to online marketing. Draw up a list of your requirements and expectations before you start your research to make it easier to find the right provider.
• You may find that you will need to hire more than 1 virtual assistant to cover all your needs: someone can be answering your phones while another VA could specialise in copy writing.
• Prices for virtual assistant services vary greatly based on location and skills. The cheapest doesn’t mean the worst quality though – take into account the location and cost of running a business there/living, experience, the complexity of the task, any special equipment or software a virtual assistant needs to have in place in order to complete jobs like yours.
• Not all virtual assistants answer phones, same as not all virtual assistants can create an email marketing campaign. If you have to have an all-in-one provider it may take you longer to find someone who can do it all for you.
• Outsourcing abroad is generally cheaper, but you will need to spend much more time finding the right virtual assistant. Someone who not only can do the job, but can understand your instructions, can communicate well in English and can deliver work within the deadlines of your timezone.
• You may not have work required every day, and some months are busier than others, so by using an outsourced company, you will only be paying for the hours worked.

Accounts, book-keeping and payroll requirements.

• Employing a book-keeper in the office may suit you, but for many businesses the amount of work may vary from month to month or not be sufficient for someone working full or part-time.
• There are many accounting services out there to choose from. The trick is to find one that will tailor the work around you and only charge a sensible fee.
• For Year End accounts, tax returns etc., agree a set fee prior to the commencement of work, rather than working on an hourly rate, that way if there are any ‘complications’ you will not be incurring any additional costs. Fees charged may vary widely from £600 to £1500 for the same work, so it’s always good to shop around and ask for recommendations.

Human Resources

• If you employ staff  - you need to be aware of the HR regulations, covering staff contracts, grievances, dismissal procedures, wages, whether PAYE or Self employed etc.
• This can be a real minefield, especially with new legislation coming out all the time. But using a HR manager may not be feasible or necessary. Once you have a system set up, then you may only need to use the company again on occasion.

Consultants

• Management consultants promise to make your business more efficient. A good Management Consultant will look at your business and what you already have in place and advise on areas they feel can be changed or added to, in order to benefit the business and the cash flow. Their initial basic advice can often be free of charge until you request a more in-depth review.
• A Business Consultant may offer the services as above, but generally they would be there to advise on the general running of a business, the rules and regulations, government legislation and to make sure that your company is running as legally as required for staffing, insurance, health & safety etc.
• Finally, you will find consultants specialising in one specific area of running the business: Tax, Marketing, PR, Sales, Training, IT, Telecoms, Web, SEO and many more. When choosing someone to do work for you it’s usually the best place to start by asking others for recommendations of consultants they’ve used in the past. Compare the rates, what’s included, and don’t forget the all important personality and values.

All in all, outsourcing and delegation can be of great benefit to the smaller business. If you can find one company to undertake all the tasks of accounting, administration and consultancy, then that can prove more efficient and cost less. It’s a case of finding the services and the providers that suit you and your business. And apart from using recommendations you can search online directories for relevant professions or advertise your requirements on sites like elance, peopleperhour, LinkedIn and Twitter.

So how can we keep our businesses profitable in tough economic times?

Sell more to your existing customers – you have already created rapport, trust and proved your credibility to them. Use bundles when selling: as your customers decide to buy one product you can offer them another. You can also add low cost bonuses to your offer that have high perceived value – ebooks, member-only sites, consulting, e-reports, etc. And never forget about viral marketing on the Internet!

Create joint venture deals with other businesses and cross promote your products or services. You will reach a wider audience at less cost. Trade advertising with other businesses, find complementary products or services through networking. Start an affiliate program for your business. Less money on advertising, yet more guaranteed sales!

Outsource part of your workload. Outsourcing to a freelancer can be a great alternative compared with hiring someone full or part time. This will save on employee costs, taxes, equipment and office space, expansion, recruitment. Furthermore you will get the flexibility of only using as much or as little of the service as you need – catering for idle periods over holidays and busy times when you have a lot of orders. Why do you need someone helping in your business? Well we can’t all be equally good at everything or equally love all parts of the business. Tasks like book-keeping, call handling, setting up sales pages, marketing, telesales – can all be handled by experienced and able professionals.

Follow up with all prospects. You will need a good Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to enter any leads as you find them and keep track of any communications between you by phone, email, fax or in person. Set yourself reminders to chase leads regularly and see if their needs change thus creating you an opportunity to offer your products or services.

Traditionally, company phone systems have been a costly, but necessary means of keeping in touch with employees and customers. PBX phone systems were originally credited with helping to lower overhead costs as they eliminated the need for separate phone lines. Yet, costs for maintaining these systems have remained high. Much like the Internet telephony systems available to consumers in their homes, business VoIP services are springing up to serve small and medium sized businesses everywhere. Business VoIP calls are routed through Internet wiring for a much cheaper alternative than the traditional phone system. Gone is the need for a receptionist to screen and redirect calls, the VoIP PBX system can be set up to do that for you. You can implement a VoIP system as little as one line and as large as a call centre. Some can work with your existing equipment and phone/broadband. And many will offer extra benefits like call diversion rules, custom greetings, group pickup for many agents, e-fax and e-conference centre, call waiting, voice mail forwarding to email account, etc. Our Pro-iPBX VoIP system has been a lifesaver here in TJConsulting on many occasions! And you can always use your favourite call answering service with your VoIP system too.

Over the past year we have been searching high and low for a super-efficient business system we can use in TJConsulting and offer to our clients. And finally, after trying and testing, reading 100s of reviews – it’s here.

It consists of 3 parts, but don’t despair – they all work as One, efficient, online, affordable solution. And they are…. Xero, Capsule and MailChimp.

Xero is the accounting system of the 21st century. If you are not an accountant and dread “reconciliation” or “P&L” – this is the system for you. It’s very simple to use, you can access it from anywhere with an Internet connection and it’s secure.

Capsule is an online Contact Relationship Management (CRM) tool that will integrate with Xero – so you only have to enter your data once. You can track leads and conversion, manage information, analyse sales and productivity, and (yet again) it’s very simple to use!

MailChimp is used to send your newsletters, mailshots and autoresponders. Without being repetitive – it’s simple, clean, straightforward. It can send regular newsletters and schedule a series of messages. MailChimp can integrate with a large number of social media networks, Eventbrite (for event bookings) and is a top-rated social media tool (according to mashable.com).

So what does it mean for you?

Exclusive Xero benefits

Xero provides a view of financial information in real-time. There’s no need to buy expensive software and install upgrades. Xero is available on your PC or Mac in the office, at home or on popular mobile devices – anywhere, anytime. The beauty of Xero is you can invite a number of trusted people such as us, your accountants, to collaborate online. No more cumbersome transfer of data that can be corrupted or is out-of-date!

As a Xero Certified Partner we can introduce you to Xero and have you up and running in no time. The following services are exclusive to Xero Partners:

Interested? Contact us now to arrange a demonstration.

Biz Cards Buster, now with Capsule CRM!

You think you’ve seen it last month? Our popular Business Cards Buster offer is back, AND it’s even better this time round! As an exclusive partner of Capsule CRM we are now offering the setup to you as part of this AMAZING DEAL!

Why not consider passing over the responsibility to your virtual assistant TJConsulting. Here’s what we offer:

You will get ALL of the above for just £85+VAT. BOOK NOW to secure this amazing limited offer!

There is a solution to this problem. You can convert your knowledge and experience into sellable products and start selling them via your website. These could be e-books, CDs, DVDs, white papers, online training courses, teleseminar recordings, podcasts, premium membership area access, access to online library or articles, etc. Whatever you choose to do there are a few things you need to consider first. Apart from the obvious – developing and designing your information products – you need to think about delivering purchases to your customers.

How can a Virtual Assistant help you with earning a passive income?

If you would like to find out more – contact us today on 0208 144 4594 or email via the website. We offer you a free, no obligation consultation on how to convert your expert knowledge into passive income.