Networking and Collecting Business Cards – what do you do?

What do you do with the “tons” of business cards you have collected while networking??  Can your VA help you with this?? The answer is a bellowing YES!!  Networking is fun and sometimes can be a chore in itself.  You are out there at Chamber events, and sometimes multiple Chambers too.  You belong to a networking group, or two.  You attend “meet your neighbor” events and other locally sponsored events.  All of this is done to get your business out there and in the eyes of consumers and other business owners in order to attrack business.  But in doing all of this “networking” you have collected business cards by the masses and leads by the handfuls, what do you do with them all?  Staring at the piles can be overwhelming and some of us tend to do nothing and those leads and relationships can go cold.    A virtual assistant can help you create a data-base from those items.  Your VA can scan or hand input each one and delivers them to you via mail, email or even creates a shared database for the two of you to keep up to date!  This is a daunting admin task that is a time stealer for business owners!  Pass this task to your VA and free time for you to actually tend to those leads and relationships!

Your Virtual Assistant can help you with Hosting an Event!!

Many small business owners host throughout the year – these could be “open house” for a new business to lectures and workshops.    The events might be big and they might be a bit more intimate and special invite only.  Virtual Assistants can help set up ways for announcing the event, (newsletter format, email blast, regular mail, and website advertising).  VA’s can help by handling registration or RSVP’s (organizing them on a chart).  VA’s can take payment for the event through the business owner’s merchant account or paypal account if it requires payment to attend.  VA’s can follow up on the details of the event with the guest, confirming they have everything they need.  Wow, I am exhausted just going through all of the steps that need to happen to take note of RSVP’s and registrations for an event.  A VA can also help secure a location, secure food and speakers if needed.  There are so many tasks to hosting one event, why do it alone?  It would not make sense for the business owner to go through all of these administrative tasks to host an event without any help!   Check into a Virtual Assistant and see how they can assist you at your next event!

Your Virtual Assistant can help you with on-line Shopping Cart programs!!

Many small business owners have product for sale.  Products can consist of tangible “touchable” items like books, CD’s or DVD’s.  Products can be digital too like e-books and MP3 downloads.  Products can also be service or event based like counseling time, coaching time, seminars, webinars and workshops.  All of these items can be managed online through your website and programs called “shopping carts”.  There are several shopping cart programs you can subscribe to, 1Shopping Cart is just one to name for the moment.  Your VA can create items within your shopping cart and create a link to be put on your website.  Customers then can purchase or register right through the website.  Your VA can also set up “auto responders” so that your customers receive immediate messages regarding their purchase.  You can also use the shopping cart for reports on your product sales, tracking your customer’s purchases along with sending global “news blasts” to the data base that has been created by your customers.  Having a shopping cart is a great way to begin to automate your business and employing a VA to run it can even makes it more hands free for you!

Your Virtual Assistant can help you with E-mail Blasts and Newsletters!!

Are you one of those business owners that are finding precious time lost in their day/week just in creating E-mail Blasts or monthly Newsletters to their contact database.  Why not hire help for this task?  V.A.’s can help design and maintain your monthly mailings (yes even real paper mailings as well as digital)!  There are several software options out there to create monthly/weekly mailings like Constant Contact, Swiftpage Aweber, iContact and Get Response just to name a few.  Personally, as a VA that has used all three types mentioned, I prefer Constant Contact.  It is easy to use and maintain.  The reports are very easy to follow.  As far as Outlook, there is a limit as to how many contacts you can send to at one time and it will shut you down to prevent spamming.  Swiftpage integrates with your Outlook so you only maintain one database but it was difficult for me to manipulate and create Newsletters. I also feel the look of the Newsletter was not as “pretty to the eye” as the Constant Contact templates.  Aweber and Get Response offer a double opt in feature for your newsletter or email receivers to help protect you from “spam” reports.