Virtual Assistance Business Briefs » Business Tips

Recent Interview for WE Magazine (Women in eCommerce)

Jeannine Clontz — Tue, 10 May 2011 17:34:27 +0000

I was recently interviewed for WE Magazine (Women in eCommerce) – take a peek!

Woman in Business Helps Solopreneurs

Meet Jeannine Clontz, President ~ Accurate Business Services

Tell us about your business. We provide marketing and social media support, training and consulting on an as needed basis as a Multi-VA
practice. Although we service clients in many industries our main expertise is in the support of solopreneurs, like REALTORS, coaches, speakers, and consultants.

Please tell us what being a business owner means to you and why you became an entrepreneur in the first place? I became an entrepreneur by accident. I had received a small inheritance when my Aunt passed away and was looking for a business opportunity for my husband since I was the main bread winner and had access to benefits, including healthcare. I ended up finding the virtual assistance industry and started the business myself for ‘fun money’ so my husband and I could travel. Five years later he was laid off and I needed to expand and grow my business to be the main bread winner again. I never imagined that I could be a business…

More here…http://bit.ly/l5nSv3

Recent Interview for WE Magazine (Women in eCommerce) is a post from: Virtual Assistance Business Briefs

Tags: accurate business services, business opportunity, business owner, Business Tips, jeannine clontz, WE Magazine, women in ecommerce

Goals: Measuring Your Progress in 3 Easy Steps!

Jeannine Clontz — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 12:46:57 +0000

Let’s say you hop on a plane with your significant other for a long-anticipated vacation in Bermuda. Your pilot gives you the standard greeting at take-off, and you enjoy the rest of the flight munching peanuts, and watching a movie. Fifteen minutes before your scheduled landing, your pilot comes back on the intercom and says, “Sorry, folks. I forgot to check the navigation, so instead of landing in Bermuda, we’ll be landing in Iceland.”

Chances are, you’d be less than thrilled. Now you’re going to have to spend your precious vacation time booking a flight out of Iceland!

Funny how ridiculous that sounds when applied to this scenario. But many of us do the same thing with our business and personal goals all the time. We aim in the right direction, jump in, and then don’t look up again until we either get there (by some stroke of luck) or we are so far off course that we have to call the Coast Guard to save us.

One of the most motivating – and overlooked – elements of goal-setting is measuring your progress. Measuring your success on a regular basis may sound like extra work, but, as our flight scenario illustrates, it has very real concrete advantages:

Here’s my three-step approach to measuring progress:

Define Your Units of Measure.

If you’ve set your goal to be specific and measurable, the first step is to define your unit of measurement. If you want to lose weight, are you going to measure pounds lost, inches lost, or the size you can fit into?

If you want to grow your business, are you going to measure the number of customers, the number of products released, or the dollars coming in the door? If you’re having trouble deciding on units, return to your higher-level objective to see what your end desire is, and then select accordingly.

Set Your Schedule.

Once you’ve decided on your units, determine how often you’re going to measure your progress. Sometimes, more frequent measurement is better. But sometimes, checking in too frequently can actually discourage you. Figure out a realistic amount of time, based on your goal and your units of measurement, to see some change. Then schedule those check-ins on your calendar.

Evaluate.

On your appointed check-in times, do a brief evaluation of your progress. Get on your scale, check your sales, or look at your customer list. Then ask yourself if you’re making the progress you need to get the results you want.

If so, wonderful! If not, why not? If you haven’t lost an ounce, have you been changing your behavior to be more active and eat better? If you haven’t gained any customers, have you been advertising, marketing, or looking for joint venture partners?

Evaluating what you’ve done, or perhaps what you HAVEN’T done, will give you a good idea of what’s working and what’s not. Evaluating your progress will get and keep you motivated because you’ll actually be paying attention to the fruits of your labor.

If you’ve been taking the right steps, but aren’t seeing the results you desire. It may be a matter of having chosen the wrong goals.

Jeannine Clontz, IVAA CVA, MVA, EthicsChecked™, provides marketing and social media support, training and consulting to busy entrepreneurs. For information about finding a VA, download her FREE 10-Step Guide to Finding the Right VA, or to learn why Social Media should be an important part of your marketing plan with her FREE Report, Social Media Marketing Benefits, visit: http://www.accbizsvcs.com, or contact her at info@accbizsvsc.com

Goals: Measuring Your Progress in 3 Easy Steps! is a post from: Virtual Assistance Business Briefs

Tags: Business Tips, goal setting, goal setting tips, how to measure goals, measuring goals, tips for setting goals

Why Set Goals? Do Goals Matter?

Jeannine Clontz — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 16:40:57 +0000

Do goals matter? OF COURSE goals matter! That’s the easy answer, but let’s look at specific reasons why goals matter.

How will you develop a marketing plan to promote your latest product or service if you don’t know how many you need to sell to be profitable? How will you know whether you need new software for your network if you’re not sure what you’re trying to accomplish? How can you evaluate two possible courses of action if you don’t know what the end goal is?

As it’s been said in math classes since the beginning of time (almost), the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. But before you can create that line, you need the two points – a beginning (where you are now) and an end (your goal). Put simply, goals give you an endpoint. And once you have an endpoint, you can figure out how to get there – and evaluate the different plans and options before you.

Specifically, the benefits of goals include:

·Greater focus: Knowing your goals allows you to concentrate on your highest priorities. When you’re aware of your goals, you can move forward and stop worrying about the little things.

·Efficient allocation of resources: When you know what you’re aiming for, you are less likely to waste time, money, or effort.

·Ability to measure progress: Goals make it easy to know if you’re on the right path or not. You can easily measure your progress and determine where you are in the process. That’s invaluable for making changes and adjustments along the way.

·Lower stress: Stress and anxiety often result from not knowing what you’re supposed to be doing or where you should be concentrating your efforts. Goals lead to clarity of purpose, which leads to lower stress.

·Feelings of accomplishment: If you don’t know where you’re headed, you never know when you’ve arrived, and you can never celebrate your success! Setting goals first allows you to know when you’ve done what you intended to do.

Now that you know why goals are important, next week we’ll discuss some of the biggest goal-setting mistakes people make.

Why Set Goals? Do Goals Matter? is a post from: Virtual Assistance Business Briefs

Tags: Business Tips, Goals, setting goals, why set goals

Customer Service Revival

Jeannine Clontz — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:05:09 +0000

I’ve decided to start my own ministry, and my first order of business will be a customer service revival. Will you join me?

Funny as that may seem, the exodus of customer service has been evolving for several years. The latest downturn in the economy has simply caused a bigger impact on customer service, I believe, due to lay- offs and cut backs in middle management and through the downsizing of staff in general, leaving remaining staffers overwhelmed and overloaded doing the job of many.

As independent contractors, and small business owners, we have a higher level of control over the results our clients experience through our work together, and the perception of our level of client care.

I’m still relatively picky about who I work with, meaning I totally understand my target market, and why matching our business personalities and acumen are so important. I find referring prospects to other providers that better fit their need, simply brings my level of service up a notch.

By not working with people who don’t share similar business strategies and standards, I minimize the number of service challenges that could or would be presented to me. Not that I mind being faced with a dilemma or two for its learning opportunities, but to me, it all reverts back to something I learned the hard way, when I first started my business.

“The customer is ALWAYS right!” Okay, I know, literally speaking, the customer isn’t always right, but sometimes no matter what I say, or how I say it, I may never be able to convince someone that what they’ve perceived as bad service, isn’t just that.

Even if the client is totally at fault, how I address the situation and solve it to some satisfaction makes all the difference. Knowing that I may never be able to satisfy someone, and understanding that I have no control over it, helps me to stay focused on the end result.

I have found that making sure that I only do business with those clients that fit my business model, alleviates a lot of these situations.

So let’s make a pact to revive customer service at all levels by establishing good client relations, increased service standards, and give our clients the best possible experience. I believe my business has grown in a more positive direction because of it, which allows me to continue to provide those services I am most passionate about doing.

Customer Service Revival is a post from: Virtual Assistance Business Briefs

Tags: Business Tips, client care, customer service, customer service tips

Are You Like a Salmon When Looking for New Clients?

Jeannine Clontz — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:53:03 +0000

In my former life, I was a purchasing agent for a seafood company. This time of year reminds me of the salmon runs. During the summer months, many wild salmon species take the journey back to their birthplace to spawn and ultimately end their lives.

Their upstream journey is a challenging one, swimming against rugged rapids, leaping over rocky waterfalls, traversing fish ladders, avoiding fishermen nets, and staying clear of hungry bears. When they finally reach their natal stream they are ready to spawn. This is an amazing and focused journey calling them to do what comes naturally.

Some of us make such a journey to find new clients, or maintain those we currently enjoy. Nowadays we have to think outside the box with our marketing and face the challenges of competition, less disposable income, overcoming objections, and differentiating ourselves by creating benefits clients simply can’t live without.

On the flip side, I’m looking for the clients who are like the salmon – the clients who will go through the upstream battle to find the most professional support, the BEST level of service and technology to create the ‘can’t live without’ message that reaches that ideal client who helps them grow their business during tough economic times.

There are only a few ways to grow a business, no matter what the economic situation:

· Find new clients

· Sell more to current clients

· Raise prices

Finding new clients is probably the most expensive way to grow your business, but one that can certainly yield great results if you have the right plan and consistent implementation.

So where are you in the life cycle of my salmon story? Ready to look for those clients who are willing to swim upstream to get to your product or service? And are you willing to leap over rocky waterfalls and traverse rough waters to find the most professional support you need?

Whatever you decide, increase your marketing time and investment if you want to grow your business, or take a chance you’ll get left behind.

Jeannine Clontz, IVAA CVA, MVA, EthicsChecked™, owner of Accurate Business Services is a Virtual Assistant (VA). ABS provides ‘as needed’ marketing support and consulting to busy entrepreneurs. Find the perfect VA by downloading her free 10-Step Guide to Finding the Right VA, or herFREE Report, Social Media Marketing Benefits, send a request to: service@accbizsvcs.com. For more information visit: http://www.accbizsvcs.com, or http://www.internetmarketingvirtualassistant.net

Are You Like a Salmon When Looking for New Clients? is a post from: Virtual Assistance Business Briefs

Tags: business goals, business growth, Business Tips, find new clients, marketing, Marketing Tips

Gain Subscribers for Email Marketing Through Your Website

Jeannine Clontz — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:49:44 +0000

The task of building a list of subscribers for email marketing isn’t too difficult if you already have a website that has engaging content and decent traffic. However, your visitors won’t sign up just because you asked, you need to optimize your site to build your subscriber list without compromising its current focus or making it look like a sales page. To help you use your website to build your subscriber list for email marketing, consider these tips:

1) Make Your Sign-Up Form Visible

The first step to getting email marketing sign-ups is to let your visitors know the option to subscribe exists. Make it easy for them to find your sign-up form. If possible, you should position it in a way that it is visible no matter which part of your site a visitor is viewing.

2) Provide Incentives to Subscribers

All internet users have become wary of signing up with their email addresses because of the many ways it can be used. This may bring up privacy concerns. To put such privacy concerns to rest, you need to give your website visitors powerful incentives to subscribe. Statements like "Register to Receive Our Weekly Newsletter" or "Sign Up for More Information" will no longer be enough to gain subscribers for email marketing. Experiment with different statements and incentives in order to find exactly what it is that will work for your specific target audience.

3) Minimize Required Fields

Although getting as much information as you can from your subscribers will allow you to fully customize your email marketing campaign for them, it may not be a good idea to ask for too much information right away. If your subscription form requires too many fields, potential subscribers may easily be turned off and refuse to sign-up at all. Generally, all you really need to ask for is the subscriber’s name and email address.

4) Send an Email at Once

To manage expectations, immediately send emails to all who subscribe. These emails should contain everything new subscribers can expect from you whether it’s a newsletter, free report, or something else. The same email should contain instructions that will allow new subscribers to confirm their email addresses or opt-in if you so desire. This will help you make sure that all the email addresses in your mailing list are valid and all those who subscribed are actually interested in what you have to offer. Doing this will help you avoid statistical nightmares when tracking the results of your email marketing campaign.

Always remember that visitors won’t subscribe to your newsletters or marketing emails just because a sign up form is available on your site. You need to woo them with incentives, entice them with proper communication strategies, and make it easy for them to sign up. As long as you keep all these in mind, you can make good use of your website to gain subscribers for email marketing.

Share your thoughts and ideas for new ways to gain subscribers by leaving a comment below!

Jeannine Clontz, IVAA CVA, MVA, EthicsChecked™, owner of Accurate Business Services is a Virtual Assistant (VA). ABS provides ‘as needed’ marketing and social media support, training and consulting to busy entrepreneurs. Clontz is a writer, author, VA Coach, and speaker on business topics including business ethics. For her FREE 10-Step Guide to Finding the Right VA, or herFREE Report, Social Media Marketing Benefits, visit: http://www.accbizsvcs.com. Find out more at www.VAbizcoach.com or her book website http://www.entrepreneurialfreedom.com

Gain Subscribers for Email Marketing Through Your Website is a post from: Virtual Assistance Business Briefs

Tags: add subscribers, build your list, Business Tips, email marketing, email marketing tips, website

Tips For Developing a Popular Business Blog

Jeannine Clontz — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:41:52 +0000

A blog is a great marketing tool to connect with a specific audience. Blogs allow you to build a relationship, and establish a level of trust, a critical piece in establishing your expertise and creating the desire to connect to you, and your products or services. It is important to establish good practices on your business blog, being certain never to lie or exaggerate your income, popularity, stats, readers, subscriptions, etc on your blog.

There is such a thing as being too honest about your lack of experience as a blog writer, or the fact that your site is new and therefore does not yet have a big following. This can happen by either having a lack of professionalism in the way your blog site is presented, or by your own posts telling your readers that no one ever visits.

Keep low visitor count frustrations to yourself, and treat every blog post like a sales presentation. (This doesn’t mean using a sales pitch. Today’s blog reader is way too sharp for that and will quickly transition away from your blog. What I mean is always put your best, most professional face forward.) Never, ever comment on low blog reader turnout on the blog itself. No one wants to hang out someplace that tells them up front that it is unpopular! Instead, find out why visitor count is low, and fix it!

Take a look at other blogs in your niche, and take note of the ones you find professional. Compare this to your site, focusing on the differences in graphics, presentation, layout, and how they handle business promotion. Also notice if they have a professional theme for their blog. There are many wonderful, professional-looking free themes out there, but you will need to dig around and choose carefully.

When you find a site you like, don’t clone it, but do learn from it. Conversely, when you spot a blog that you don’t like, ask yourself why. Is it a lack of professional design? Does the site have too many advertisements? Does it use flashing or gaudy graphics? These observations will be valuable when analyzing what your blog should look like. Visiting the competition is critical, because it also shows you immediately what your own readers will be reading. Your blog has to stack up, and exceed expectations.

Whether you use a free or fee-based theme, don’t use it straight out of the box. Most themes make it easy to incorporate a new header or logo to help expand your branding efforts, and familiarize readers of who you are. Minimally, consider changing the color scheme so your site won’t look exactly like thousands of others out there. This is most critical if you use a free blog platform like Blogger.com or WordPress.com. These sites have a very small selection of standard themes, and your blog will virtually disappear in your reader’s minds if you don’t customize them!

Do you have a free or low-cost theme resource to share? Don’t be shy, leave a comment or question below. Let’s connect.

Tips For Developing a Popular Business Blog is a post from: Virtual Assistance Business Briefs

Tags: blog, blogger, blogging, Business Tips, social media, social media marketing, Social Networking

Subscriber Respect Builds Trust in Email Marketing

Jeannine Clontz — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 23:37:11 +0000

Respecting your current and potential subscribers is important in building trust through your email marketing campaign. How you collect email addresses and what you do with them will establish the level of respect you’ll provide. Most individuals consider their email address as private so what you do with it greatly affects whether you get to build on that trust or ruin it entirely. Subscribers trust those that show the most respect for their privacy. Here are tips to help you give subscribers the highest level of respect.

1. Set High Permission Standards

Never trick people into opting in. Get clear permission to send out everything you want to through your email marketing campaign. This means you should never pre-check opt-in boxes or trick subscribers with intentionally misleading text (i.e. "Do not select this option if you do not want to receive…"). Before people sign up, provide clear information on exactly what they are signing up for. Let them know what type of emails they will be receiving and how often they can expect them. Another level of confirmation is best. Ask new subscribers to confirm their decision to opt in through a second action, like asking them to click on a confirmation link located in your first email.

2. Be Transparent About Your Privacy Policies

Don’t intentionally publish privacy policies in long legal speak, or small print, knowing subscribers are unlikely to read them. Make it simple for them to discover and understand exactly what you intend to use their data for, and establish the proper level of respect. This means writing your privacy policies in simple language and making it easily accessible. If you trust and respect their privacy and if you really are trustworthy, you shouldn’t have anything to hide.

3. Respect Permission to the Highest Degree

Never rent or sell your list to third parties, even if you feel confident it can’t be traced back to you. People set certain expectations when they submit their email addresses to trustworthy email marketers. Subscribers don’t expect marketing messages from new senders or other things they did not explicitly sign up for. They should receive exactly what you told them to expect. In doing so, you will be recognized as a trustworthy provider.

In email marketing, you need to show subscribers exactly why they should trust you; and the amount of respect you give their privacy is a huge part of creating your trustworthiness. Never try to trick them into opting in for anything they don’t expect or fully understand. Value the trust they show for you as they give you their email addresses.

Jeannine Clontz, IVAA CVA, MVA, EthicsChecked™, owner of Accurate Business Services is a Virtual Assistant (VA). ABS provides ‘as needed’ marketing and social media support, training and consulting to busy entrepreneurs. Clontz is a writer, author, VA Coach, and speaker on business topics including business ethics. For her FREE 10-Step Guide to Finding the Right VA, or herFREE Report, Social Media Marketing Benefits, visit: http://www.accbizsvcs.com. Find out more at www.VAbizcoach.com or her book website http://www.entrepreneurialfreedom.com

Subscriber Respect Builds Trust in Email Marketing is a post from: Virtual Assistance Business Briefs

Tags: attracting clients, building client relationship, business brand, Business Ethics, business goals, Business Tips, ethical decisions, ethical dilemma, ethics, marketing, Marketing Tips

Small Business Marketing on Twitter

Jeannine Clontz — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 14:27:56 +0000

Of all the small business marketing options social media creates, Twitter presents the most challenges in determining its use to help your company grow. Luckily, you don’t have to be a computer expert or a marketing guru to infuse Twitter into your overall promotional strategy.

What Is Twitter?

Twitter is a web-based social networking site that can be utilized to send relatively brief messages (140 characters) to acquaintances, family members, friends, or to the overall worldwide Internet community.

Common Uses

There are numerous application options for Twitter, but mainly its uses include, news, resources, and communications. For example, LA Firefighters employ Twitter to keep the community abreast of potential fires and other emergencies. In addition, news agencies provide up-to-the-minute news updates using Twitter, While companies and public services utilize Twitter more and more, most utilize Twitter to keep family and friends updated on their current activities.

Marketing Your Business On Twitter

A Mass Media Outlet

If you run a business, Twitter can be utilized to publish news and updates about your specific products or business. The biggest overall value involves posting a clickable link to a complete article or press release allowing customers to "discover" the material via Twitter. It’s especially popular for B2Bs looking to build brand awareness and relationships. Proper etiquette is essential to effectively market on Twitter. Overt advertising can alienate followers and usually serves to create bad feelings among potential consumers.

An Internet Bulletin Board

An ideal forum to promote sales or special events, Twitter keeps customers updated on specials and new items. When promoting your business on Twitter, keep in mind that it’s designed for conversation and timely news. Make sure that you post in a personal and conversational manner and don’t subject followers to blatant advertising.

Instill personality Into Your Brand

Twitter is a wonderful option for giving your brand name its own unique voice. Successful Twittering reveals your personality and individual flair, creates a considerable difference in your overall success while increasing your Twitter followers. Followers create value when using Twitter as a marketing platform for your small business.

Client Support

When using Twitter, you’ll immediately discover its conversion benefits. Twitter allows you the opportunity to talk to prospects and potential consumers, while also responding to your followers. Demonstrate to your following that you would like to engage with them to create optimum client support and tell them that you are a trustworthy, personable individual.

Small Business Marketing on Twitter is a post from: Virtual Assistance Business Briefs

Tags: attracting clients, building client relationship, business goals, Business Tips, creating a marketing plan, Goals, marketing, marketing a business, Marketing Tips, twitter, Twitter tips

Three Tips to Build Trust in Email Marketing

Jeannine Clontz — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:46:14 +0000

While using Email is an accepted form of Internet marketing, it’s still important that you build trust and show contacts that you respect them in how you collect email addresses and what you do with them. When a prospect shares their email address it greatly affects your ability to build on that trust. Here are three tips to help you build solid relationships with current and potential subscribers.

1. Set High Permission Standards

Never try to trick people into opting in for something. Get clear permission to send out everything you want to through your email marketing campaign. This means that you should never pre-check the opt-in box or trick subscribers with intentionally misleading text (i.e. “Do not select this option if you do not want to receive…”). It’s also important to provide clear information on what they’re signing up for and what they’ll be receiving; even how often they should expect them. Taking the extra step of requesting they confirm their opt-in status in a separate confirmation email, is a great way to communicate your intention.

2. Be Transparent About Your Privacy Policies

Don’t be like some email marketers and intentionally publish privacy policies in long legal speak, small print, or make it difficult to find, knowing that subscribers are unlikely to read them. Make it simple for them to discover and understand what exactly you intend to use their data for. Writing your privacy policies in simple language and making it easily accessible is a great way to show that you’re trustworthy and have nothing to hide.

3. Respect Permission to the Highest Degree

To keep prospect expectations high, never rent your list out to third parties even if you believe it won’t be tracked back to you. Don’t even use your list to promote other parts of your business, or other things they did not explicitly sign up for. Give your subscribers exactly what you told them to expect and they will recognize you as trustworthy.

When utilizing email as a part of your marketing plan show subscribers exactly why they should trust you; and respect their privacy at all costs. Never trick them into opting in for anything they don’t expect or fully understand and value the trust they show for you as they give you their email addresses.

How are you building trust with prospects and clients with your Email Marketing strategies? Please share your comments below.

Jeannine Clontz, IVAA CVA, MVA, EthicsChecked™, owner of Accurate Business Services is a Virtual Assistant (VA). ABS provides ‘as needed’ marketing and social media support, training and consulting to busy entrepreneurs. Clontz is a writer, author, VA Coach, and speaker on business topics including business ethics. For her FREE 10-Step Guide to Finding the Right VA, or her FREE Report, Social Media Marketing Benefits, send a request to: service@accbizsvcs.com or visit: http://www.accbizsvcs.com, www.VAbizcoach.com or her book website http://www.entrepreneurialfreedom.com

Three Tips to Build Trust in Email Marketing is a post from: Virtual Assistance Business Briefs

Tags: Business Tips, emai marketing, email marketing tips