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Archive for April, 2009

Virtual Assistants and International Business

April 9th, 2009

Are you ready to venture into international markets with your online business, but aren’t quite sure what’s required? That’s the perfect time to bring a Virtual Assistant onto your team. Many Virtual Assistants are skilled at helping find new markets and customize your marketing approach. Let’s look at some of the ways an offsite personal assistant can support your international success.

Learning What Works
The key to success when you reach out to international clients is to learn what will and won’t work in those markets. This is the time to have your Virtual Assistant do research on the regions or countries where you hope to gain customers.

Have your VA help you plan changes to your marketing based on that research. She can help you identify the products that would appeal to each area by looking at other vendors’ sites. The information she gains about what sells best in markets beyond your own country should be the basis of your expansion.

With her help, consider you best approach. Are there phrases or words that have different meanings there? Would it be worthwhile to have your website translated into other languages?

Your Virtual Assistant can help you find the right professionals to upgrade your websites for international traffic. She can also assist you in setting up shipping processes that meet the requirements of other countries.

Making It Happen
Many business owners believe they should hire permanent staff when they expand to new regions or countries. The truth is that you can contract with a Virtual Assistant through a company like 24/7 Virtual Assistant and save your money for business expansion.

The 24/7 Virtual Assistant customer interface makes it possible for any company, anywhere, to access great virtual support. They offer promotions frequently to keep the cost of a Virtual Assistant really affordable. Their flexible monthly packages allow you to budget exactly how much you’ll spend for that support.

Because their offsite personal assistants work with you via email, telephone or the Internet, they aren’t locked into one geographic location. They may even reside, or have experience working with, a country you’d like to sell to. Allow them to help you set up marketing, sales and delivery systems that work for your new markets.

Obviously, there’s no reason for an Internet business to rent expensive office space, even when it goes global. Many successful firms now drop ship to customers all over the world from their vendors or warehouses.

For example, if you market sales training CDs, have your Virtual Assistant research on-demand audio production houses that will ship internationally. Looking past traditional methods of doing business can make a real difference in your profits. Working with Virtual Assistants is what forward thinking international firms are doing.

You’ve made a smart decision choosing to expand beyond your primary markets. Take advantage of your Virtual Assistant’s superior research and administrative skills to create a strong base for your venture into international sales.


Got too much to do? Let 247VirtualAssistant.com help!

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How a Virtual Assistant Enhances Your Image

April 9th, 2009

Are you tired of sitting alone in your office, trying to project a professional image to your clients? Many entrepreneurs start by working alone, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t delivering high-quality services. To grow their businesses, though, they may require help creating a polished interface with potential customers. That’s where the services of a Virtual Assistant are vital.

A Staff to Call Your Own
Let’s talk for a minute about how Virtual Assistants deliver services to their clients. These highly-skilled professionals are expert at working by email, phone, or Internet application to collaborate with their customers.

They provide administrative services from their own offices, helping entrepreneurs build a business without requiring office space to do so. Because they’re contractors who may work for several clients at once, you’re not expected to supply workers compensation insurance, pay the employer portion of payroll taxes or provide benefits.

What you can expect is professional administrative support from someone who is interested in helping you grow your business. And here’s one of the best ways they can do that.

Polishing Your Professional Image
Imagine yourself, a solo entrepreneur, in each of the following situations:

Reality #1: With a growing client base, you find yourself working more hours every week to keep up. You can’t stay ahead of client email messages and you’re worried you’ll miss something important. Your competitor is offering live chat support from their website, but that would be one more thing you don’t have time to watch. The image you’re projecting to your customers is amateur and disorganized. The new business that’s coming in the front door is slipping out the back door, because you simply aren’t able to meet your clients’ needs.

Reality #2: Every morning, you check in with your Virtual Assistant to see if any messages requiring your response came in overnight. For most other messages, the two of you have created email templates she can customize to respond to your clients. She provides live chat support to website visitors and has set up reminders on your online calendar to help you stay on track. When clients contact your business, they’re met with a polished, professional image that your Virtual Assistant helped you create.

Isn’t it simply good business to live in Reality #2? An online personal assistant can help your fledgling company move up to a whole new level of professionalism. And the good news is that a Virtual Assistant hired through 24/7 Virtual Assistant is affordable enough for almost any entrepreneur. It’s a no-hassle way to enhance your online reputation.

If you know other solo entrepreneurs also struggling to keep their companies afloat, why not share the Virtual Assistant secret with them? You can earn referral bonuses through 24/7 Virtual Assistant and defer the cost of your own personal assistant.

Working for yourself may be why you left the corporate world, but there’s no reason to work alone. Enhance your professional image by adding a Virtual Assistant to your team. Then it’s up to you what your business becomes.


Got too much to do? Let 247VirtualAssistant.com help!

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Virtual Assistants Can Do That??

April 8th, 2009

As an online business owner, you may have already ventured into the virtual world of staffing. There are, however, some business-building tasks a Virtual Assistant can do you might not have considered. Here are three important things online and small business owners have discovered can be done by offsite personal assistants.

  • Pay Your Bills If you’re like the rest of us, at some time you’ve probably said, “I wish someone would just pay my bills. I don’t have time to stop and do it!” Those of you lucky enough to work with a virtual staffing firm like 24/7 Virtual Assistant have the answer literally at your fingertips.
     

    With today’s secure online technology, it’s possible to enter your account information into a private portal, to be stored until it’s needed. Because it is secure, your Virtual Assistant can’t access your information, but she can set up bill paying schedules and automate the entire process.

    Imagine loading your account information once and then letting your talented personal assistant take over. No more missed payments or late fees. You’ll actually save money on finance charges, and have someone reviewing your bills carefully.

    Why not join those of us already enjoying this new freedom? Spend your time growing your business, not paying bills.

  • Manage Your Virtual Staff As your business grows, continue to staff it with virtual specialists. Allow your Virtual Assistant to help you filter applications, set up interviews and forward contractor paperwork. You can still interview and hire the people you want, but a personal assistant can manage the process.
     
    Many online businesses work virtually with such specialists as accountants, web designers and copywriters. A Virtual Assistant can act as a team coordinator, doing important tasks like scheduling staff web meetings and helping create an online timekeeping process.
     
    There’s no reason for online businesses to be bogged down in the overhead of office space and equipment. With a great Virtual Assistant coordinating your team, you’ll have the freedom to keep growing your company while saving money.
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  • Find Joint Venture Partners and Affiliates Because many Virtual Assistants have excellent research skills, they can help find joint venture partners to expand your business. Allow your VA to create reports on possible joint venture partners. Once you find good possibilities, she can act as a contact point and coordinate communication with your partners.

     
    You may also want to offer an affiliate program, and an offsite personal assistant can help locate likely prospects to approach. With the right Virtual Assistant, you can also turn over coordination of the affiliate interface to her.

A well-trained Virtual Assistant is the answer to many of the issues faced by growing businesses. She can become an invaluable team member and be as committed to your company’s growth as you are. Start looking for just the right person to meet your needs, and find out just how much you can hand off that’s slowing you down. You’re going to be pleasantly surprised!


Got too much to do? Let 247VirtualAssistant.com help!

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