The Virtual Assistant from A to Z
A Virtual Assistant (or VA) is an independent contractor specializing in the provision of administrative and business support and solution services. Virtual Assistants support their clients in a continuous, collaborative and professional relationship. They work from remote locations, utilizing current technology such as email, online communication, telephone and fax, emerging technology in the field of communication, as well as traditional methods such as snail-mail and courier.
Virtual Assistants are ideal for businesses at all levels but are commonly used by entrepreneurs, solo-professionals and small businesses. There are literally hundreds of reasons to solicit the support of a Virtual Assistant. Here is an A to Z listing on what Virtual Assistants can do for you and your business.
A - Administrative support, answer calls, arrange travel plans, conferences and seminars.
B - Bookkeeping, brainstorming partner, blog creation and design.
C - Contact your clients, complete surveys on your behalf, consultancy services, customer care, copyediting.
D - Design impressive business cards and other marketing collateral, data entry, draft documents.
E - Email management, event management, edit documents, encourage you along the way.
F - Formatting documents, faxing, forwarding mail.
G – General administrative assistance, generate interest in your business, give you back time so you can focus your energies on your bottom line.
H - HR support, handle queries, help you gain time so you can spend on revenue generating projects.
I – Internet research and marketing, information organization, identify target customers or clients.
J – Join forums and online accounts on your behalf.
K - Keep records of your purchase, keep documents up to date.
L – List management, logo design, letterhead design.
M – Mailing list management, marketing support, maintenance of database, websites, blogs.
N – Note-taking, negotiate rates and deals with suppliers or clients on your behalf.
O – Office management, off location filing, order on your behalf.
P - Purchasing, payroll, preparation of documents, proofreading, press releases.
Q – Query charges, questionnaire completion and design, quote prospective customer or clients.
R - Research, reminder services, relocation assistance, recommend products or services.
S - Spreadsheet, screen calls, scanning documents, shopping, SEO services, schedule services.
T - Transcription, telephone operator services, telemarketing, type documents, tabulate figures or information.
U – Updating websites blogs, database, calendars or upgrade subscriptions.
V - Voicemail monitoring, virtual office management, validate and verify information
W – Word processing, web design, write articles
X – xtra time to you the things you love the best
Y – Yahoo! Isn’t it comforting to know that one person can do so much for your business? You don’t have to do it all!
Z - zzzz — Ah, finally, you can get some rest assured, knowing that so much can be done with the support of a competent VA.
8 Tips for Professional Email Communication
Email is a very convenient and important tool in business communication. It’s important that when communicating via email, you do things properly to avoid aspersions being cast on your professionalism.
1. Mind your manners. It is still important to say things like ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. Also, address your contacts on a first name basis only if they are comfortable with this. Pay attention to your tone. You don’t want to sound curt, arrogant or indifferent, but want to come across as respectful and approachable.
2. Get to the point. Avoid long-winded emails. Get to the point of your emails as quickly as possible, without omitting the key details and the essence of the email. Time is short, people are busy and they really just want to get to the point of what you want to convey.
3. Be professional. As a professional, you want every avenue of communication to reflect your level of professionalism. Do you respond to important email on time? It really is bad business to respond slowly to legitimate email. Always strive to answer on time, every time. And remember, no matter how irate your contact is, always remain cool, courteous and helpful.
4. Watch your punctuation, grammar and spelling. Nothing screams ‘unprofessional’ more than bad spelling, abbreviations, slangs, emoticons and inappropriate language, terms and expressions that do not have a place in professional communication. Do you double check for typos, grammatical errors and other common mistakes? Use a spell checker or a dictionary if necessary.
5. What does your email address say about you? Do you really think it is all right to use your janedoe@totallyhotchick.com email address to communicate with clients? The email address for your domain or even the one provided by your ISP looks and conveys a more professional image than a free address ever could, and is more likely to impress your clients. When choosing an email address for your business, always put some thought into selecting the appropriate name.
6. Did you send the email to the right person?. It does not look good on your part sending an email to the wrong recipient. That particular email could have contained confidential information that was intended for a ‘Daniel’ to read but was mistakenly sent to a ‘Dan’. Always be careful when selecting names and adding to the ‘To:’ field, as it may be populated, or you have several contacts with the same first name.
7. Where’s the attachment? Personally, I’ve been guilty of this a couple times. If you spot the missing attachment quickly and can send it soon after, you can ‘save face’. However, if you consistently make this mistake, you may come off looking unprofessional and careless. Try this: Before writing anything, attach the file(s) first before you forget!
8. DON’T SCREAM AT ME!!! Using all caps is the equivalent of shouting and should be avoided at all costs. Not only is it hard to read, it is considered rude and annoying and you may just been seen as unprofessional and inconsiderate by the reader.
