The Simple Solution

Virtual Assistance Featured on the Today Show

Wanted to share that the Today Show had a segment about Virtual Assistance this week.  The show and Karen (the VA they interviewed for the piece) did a great job of representing the industry.  One more step towards educating the market place, with accurate information.  Way to go!

Great Book on Using Radio PR

Bill Stoller of Publicity Insider one of my favorite PR guys shared this great resource in his ezine today; and I thought I would share, especially since it's free until May 24th:

Radio Publicity maven Alex Carroll knows a thing or two about getting radio coverage -- he’s sold over a quarter of a million books by guest booking himself on nearly 1,400 radio shows. 

He’s compiled his 15 years of radio publicity experience into a new 177-page PDF manual, and best of all, he’s offering it to all Publicity Insiders at no-cost!

You must order before May 24th to get this free offer, after that it will go on sale at the site for $49.

Click here to order.

Ordering Tip: when you get to the order form, Don't enter your credit card info - this is a no-cost offer.

How Important is Your Receptionist

I have been preaching this to attorneys for years and Seth Godwin has done a terrific blog post on the subject.  So many times I have seen business owners who don't want to invest in this integral piece of their business.  A receptionist is often times the first person prospective clients come in contact with in your company; they are one of the KEY people on your team.  If you are going have a receptionist, be sure you take this into consideration.  Train them on how to give everyone who comes in contact with them, the "Red Carpet Treatment".  Your business will benefit and your customers will thank you.  We have all called businesses where the person on the other end has not performed their job satisfactorily, and if you are like me, you probably didn't waste anymore of your time trying to do business with the company.  Don't fall into that trap with your business.  Have someone who is qualified do the job, or let voice mail pick up the phone!

Free Teleseminar

Most of you know that I am a huge supporter of the Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce, and volunteer my time there because of all of the great work going on by the founder Danielle Keister and the other members to help elevate the profession of Virtual Assistance and promote our industry.  Each month we host a Free TeleSeminar geared towards helping Virtual Assistants and Professional Service Providers develop and grow a successful practice.  Here are the details for this months call, I hope you can join us, and feel free to pass along this information!

How to Insulate Yourself from Your Competition, Protect the Price of Your Services and Avoid Becoming a Commodity

Presented by Jim Logan, Marketing Consultant

DATE: Thursday, May 17, 2007
TIME: 5pm PST / 6pm MST / 7pm CST / 8pm EST
LENGTH: 60 minutes (please call in 10 min. early)
COST: FREE!

For Virtual Assistants and other professional service providers, there's little more frustration than offering a high-value service that's measured as a commodity--a service offered by many and compared by price.

Newcomers and offshore companies add to the frustration with discounted offers and low-cost operations. The temptation to lower your prices is great. Some days it feels like discounting your service is the only thing you can do to protect your business.
In reality, you have lots of options to discounting your service. You don't have to be a low cost provider to attract new clients or protect your customer-base. That's a fool's game you can't win.

Join Jim to discover how you can protect your position in your market, insulate yourself from common competitive pressures, avoid the pressure to compete on price and discounted services, and how to attract your ideal client. On this call, you'll learn how to avoid being viewed as a commodity and stand out from the crowd, resulting in higher margins, better clients and greater satisfaction in your work.
Several things we'll discuss:

• The three things your prospective clients consciously or subconsciously think about when deciding whether or not to purchase your services;
• The most important thing to highlight when describing your service;
• Why the least valuable thing you have to offer your customer is your time;
• How to increase your hourly rate without billing by the hour;
• How to differentiate your service from your competition and attract your ideal client;

And much more!

Click here to register today!

Savvy Tax Saving Strategies

The IRS has launched a new publication for Small Business Owners that is a great resource.  Publication 4591 not only links to some great tax saving benefits for small business owners and the self employed; but also provides handy links to other federal and state agencies. 

I recommend bookmarking the site for easy reference.  Spend a little time reading up on how the laws may apply to you and your business.  You just might see where you can save yourself some money!