It introduced me to my ‘magic number’ – my conversion rate of prospects.

What does that mean? Well, simply put, that means how many people I actually convert to clients while on a sales call.

I realized that I was converting at about 40 per cent, which would mean that for every 10 people I talked to, 4 would actually sign on to work with me. (Note: that’s not a very good conversion rate!)

Think about it … if you are working at a 40 per cent conversion rate, and you need 10 clients to build your business to the level that you want it to be at, that means that you will need to have sales conversations with 25 people to get those 10 clients. This is your magic number.

Do you know what your magic number is?

It’s important to know this number for a couple of reasons. First, you need to know in order to accurately match your networking efforts with your client goals.

Second, by knowing this number, you can assess your efforts and figure out how to increase your odds of closing a client.

There are two ways of doing this:

1. Increase your networking efforts. Speak to more people and you will get more sales calls. So, if you need to speak with 50 people to get 10 sales calls, then you will need to ramp up your networking efforts so that you are actively connecting with those 50 people regularly, in order to move them to the next level … a call.

2. Increase your conversion rate.  In the example above, 40% is quite low. You can also assess your strategy on your sales calls to see why you are not converting clients at a higher rate. What are their objections? Why are they getting off the phone with you without signing the deal? What can you change about your conversations to increase your conversion rate?

Either way will be an effective way for you to increase your client conversions. It’s up to you which one is right for you, but with the limited time that everyone has for networking, it seems logical to try to increase your success so that you are closing at a higher rate. That way you can still talk to the same number of people as you are now, but you will get more clients from those calls.

Getting clients easily requires a carefully thought out strategy – make the connections, secure the sales calls, and convert the clients. Everything is better with a well-thought-out plan!

LinkedIn works differently and I think it’s very effective. People will connect with you based on what you say in the various groups, discussion areas and so on, but they will almost always check out your profile first (at least I do!).

So you should have a look at your profile to be sure that you look as professional as you think you do! LinkedIn has some applications and tools that you should be taking advantage of to help maximize your profile.

Here are my favourite five:

1. Recommendations: Reach out to people you have worked with before and ask them for recommendations. Also offer to give recommendations in return! Having recommendations on your profile establishes you as a real person, and can instill confidence in people who are wondering if they should connect with you.

2. Groups: Get involved after you set up your profile. Your profile will never serve you if you do not get involved in discussions with people who have similar interests. I have made some wonderful connections with people that I would never have met except that we joined the same group. It’s about networking!

3. WordPress: Install this application to pull your blogfeed into your LinkedIn profile. When you publish a post, it will automatically display in your profile, so people don’t have to leave LinkedIn to see what you have written.

4. Twitter: Your twitter feed will display on your profile, and you can even update your Twitter status while surfing on LinkedIn. There is so much great information shared in groups on LinkedIn that you will find this to be a quick sharing tool!

5. Events: I love this application because you can see at a glance the events for all of your connections.  It’s easy to add your own events and invite your connections.

There are plenty of others (and they are adding new ones all the time), but these are my favourite five, and ones that I use all the time with my profile.  Check out the application directory to see what apps you can add to your LinkedIn profile!

As you may know, I do automate several of my social media posts … you know, the product and service ones. I only have so much time to post on my networks, and really what I want to be doing when I am ‘live’ is to be connecting with people, not tweeting or posting about the services I offer. So I automate those so that people can get a sense of what I do and how I do it.

So I thought by asking that question on LinkedIn I would get some input as to whether people liked or disliked the automation aspect as I see it. Instead, I got all kinds of answers that really surprised me. Many people thought that automation was a bad idea, no doubt because of those bots that post dozens of posts every hour (you know the ones) in an effort to monopolize the twitter feed. I auto-post about once every two hours on Twitter … in order to reach my audience at various stages of their day.

Anyway, most people said they didn’t like automation, and I agree to a certain extent. I know when you ask a question you have a 50/50 chance of people agreeing with you, but it doesn’t help if they don’t really understand your question.

This was an interesting exercise for me because I realized that what is so clear to me in my head really doesn’t always translate to others without more explanation. I actually had a semi-heated discussion with someone about this very topic as a result of me posting that question (but that’s another blog post!).

So my lesson was this … when posting on social forums or networks, be sure to make your point clear. My intention was to post a question that would generate discussion, but what I received in return was opinions that either agreed with my viewpoint, disagreed vehemently, or were way off track on what I was actually asking.

Clarity … essential when trying to foster discussion. I chalk it up to ‘ask a stupid question’ and I will be sure to be more careful in the future. By the way, I am grateful to each person who took the time to answer my query … whether we agreed, disagreed, or completely misunderstood each other! 

Communicating online is not always as simple as communicating in person, but it certainly expands our networks farther than we ever could have in person. Good to meet all of you!

When you run your own business, it can be easy to fall into the trap of ‘doing it all’ yourself. But remember that by outsourcing those tasks that you don’t do well, or that you don’t want to do, you will be freeing up your time to do the things that you are an expert at doing.

Actually there are only 2 things you should be doing in your business : you should be working with clients (the thing you are an expert at!), or you should be doing specific marketing tasks to grow or manage your business (meeting and getting to know prospective clients!). All the rest should be outsourced to appropriate people.

In my networking circles, I am always talking about the merits of finding a VA who is a good fit for you … but up until last month I didn’t follow my own advice! I just hired my own VA last month and am already realizing how much more organized I am … how much more time I actually have to ‘be’ in my business.

It is amazing when you get those little things off your plate that you really shouldn’t be doing anyway, how much more organized you can be and how you can actually save money by spending money – by freeing up your time to do client work, networking or marketing.

So if you haven’t started working with a VA yet, what are you waiting for? I can honestly say I wish I did this a long time ago (and you will too!)

When you work on your own, it really helps to get together with people who ‘get’ what you do for a living. I am aware that there are many people who don’t understand what I do for work, and it’s always nice to get together with my colleagues to have a bit of a chat about how work is going.

I have mentioned before that I really value the face time that I can get with my colleagues, and OVA is no exception. We enjoy breakfast while using each other as sounding boards for ideas and issues, and sharing industry stories.  Barbara Best (Virtual Works)and Raymonde Lemire (Documents Etc.)are the founders of OVA and together they provide support and direction for new and aspiring VAs, as well as great advice and insight for those of us who have been in the business for a while.

We have just set up a Facebook Page for Ottawa Virtual Alliance. Check it out here, and please feel free to contact us if you are a VA in the Ottawa area. Our next breakfast meeting is December 11 and there is always space at the table!

And if you are not in the Ottawa area, seek out your Virtual Assistant association in your area – you will be able to share and network with people who truly understand our industry.

One of the things I love about being a Virtual Assistant is the chance to work with people that I want to work with.

It’s not a job, it’s a business. And I have worked very hard over the years to be able to pick and choose my clientele now. I rarely seek out new clients, though … much of my business comes through referral from my other clients or people that I know.

It can be said that networking is everything when you are running any type of business, but networking doesn’t seal the deal. It gets you to where you need to be, but YOU are the reason that potential clients will want to work with you, or they won’t.

YOU = your personality, your work ethic, your style, your communication skills.

Many of my clients have been with me for many years. I don’t very often have a client ‘quit me’, and I don’t very often quit them. If that happens, it’s usually pretty early in the game. Once we have done any type of work together, we end up growing together, because the fit was right.

Oh, that’s not to say that I haven’t parted ways with clients over the years. That has definitely happened … but I am proud to say that in the last, probably, three years, that I still work with 90% of the clients that have come on board with me. That’s 9 out of 10, which is pretty good.

Take the time when you are having your preliminary meeting with your potential client, to really see how their personality and their style and their needs fit into your ‘work box’. If they don’t fit into your ideal client type, take a pass on them. It probably won’t work out long-term.

It’s like any relationship … you have to ‘fit’ to make it work.

From June 3 to 7, I was in Niagara Falls, Ontario with a number of other virtual assistants at the Forum on Virtual Assistance, or as we call it, FoVA.

The slogan for FoVA is ‘Meet, Learn and Grow’ and we sure did that (and more!).

It is a gathering where we meet others in same line of work (it can be isolating working from home all the time!), and where we learn (seminars and workshops) and where we grow from our experiences at the conference (whether they are work-related or personal experiences!).

Wesnesday, June 3, I made my way to Niagara Falls and got in quite late. I was lucky enough to locate a gang of VAs – some of whom I had met before, but some of whom I had not. They had finished dinner and were just hanging out relaxing after dinner, and luckily I was able to join them to unwind after a long day of driving. I also met my roommates that I would be staying with for the week (more on them in another post!). There is nothing like meeting people in person who you ‘know’ online. Great fun!

Thursday, June 4,  I had the very good fortune to be able to attend a workshop on blogging and social media by an industry great, Kathie Thomas. Kathie came all the way from Australia to speak at FoVA this year, and I was thrilled to meet her and to learn from her.

Thursday night was the official meet n greet for FoVA, and everyone else arrived for dinner and drinks. Somehow after our great dinner at the Marriott, we ended up at the Casino, where we had fun dancing to the band, and we even spotted a celebrity or two (check out Facebook photos for our much-discussed missed photo op!).

Well, it so happened that Friday, June 5 was my birthday, so when the clock struck 12 in the Casino that night, I received quite the celebration (with my friend Pat @cletch who was also born June 5). There aren’t many better places to celebrate your birthday than with a gang of crazy friends in Niagara Falls (but I digress!).

Friday brought more seminars, and I was happy to see my favourite FoVA 2008 speaker again, Mary Lou Ashton, who talked about how to set professional and personal foundations and how to eliminate tolerations. Friday lunch was a Lunch n Learn session about different personality types with Janet Barclay. Friday afternoon we learned all about Wordpress from Frances Palaschuk (one of my awesome roomies). Friday night the whole gang went for dinner with Alex and Julie from Solvate. Very full schedule, so Friday night was a welcome relaxing evening with plenty of laughs!

Saturday morning we had an amazing panel of professionals available for a panel discussion: representatives from various VA groups and associations around the world  (Yvonne Weld, Kristi Pavlik, MaryLou Ashton, Jeannine Clontz, Stacy Brice, Dawn Goldberg, Kathie Thomas, Sharon Williams, Pam Ivey .. have I missed anyone? If I got your link wrong, please let me know and I’ll edit it!).  We missed seeing Tawnya Sutherland and Elayne Whitfield on the panel, but it was amazing to have such a group of highly respected people all on the same panel!

Saturday afternoon we spent with Pam Ivey who discussed defining your niche, and creating passive streams of revenue within your niche.

In between we had loads of fun, but the sessions were extremely informative by all – (there were many more sessions available – the above list are the seminars I attended).

It’s truly professional development (amid the fun) for virtual assistants anywhere. I would highly recommend attending FoVA to any virtual assistant, whether you are starting out or have been in business for while.

There is nothing like getting together with colleagues and even mentors, to discuss the finer points of our industry. And there is definitely nothing like meeting the people that you are in contact with every day online, up close and in person!

I know for myself that I came home from this year’s conference with a renewed excitement for my business, some great networking opportunities, and some fantastic new friendships. I am looking forward to using all of my newly-acquired knowledge to forge ahead in my business for 2009.

Thanks to Barb Lang for all her hard work this year, pulling FoVA 2009 together. Thanks also to all of those who helped in any small (or large!) way, to make the conference such a memorable event for all of us.

I can’t wait for FoVA 2010 (wherever it is!) …

When I started my VA business, I was a hospitality industry specialist. I still offer some hospitality services on my website, and I get many questions about how I arrived at my selection of service offerings.

In my early 20s I went back to college to study catering management. I was fortunate enough to find work in a multi-unit restaurant chain, where there was plenty of opportunity for growth into management.

After opening a few restaurants with the company, I left to run my own consulting business, working with other restaurants and bars. The company became one of my biggest clients, and I continued to work with them for almost 8 years. I analyzed their controllable expenses, prepared their training materials and maintained their point of sales databases, all from the comfort of my own home office. In 2004, we parted ways and I began working with other local restaurants and bars again. 

As I was seeking work with new clients via the Internet, I came upon the VA industry. In researching the VA sites and groups, I realized that for the last eight years I had been a VA specializing in documentation and finance.

So I jumped at the chance to market myself as a VA, and I am glad I did! I expanded my target market and have been working with wonderful new clients in many industries.

I obtained my Internet Marketing VA certification through VAclassroom. Now I offer even more services, such as article marketing, email marketing, search engine marketing, affiliate marketing, blogging and social media marketing. I also continue to offer hospitality services where my clients require them (it’s in my blood after almost 20 years!). 

So there you have it!

My journey continues to present me with opportunities that I would never have dreamed of in 1993 when I went back to school at the age of 24.

So while I will always look back down the road I have travelled with a smile, I really can’t wait to see what’s up ahead!

Although I network online all the time using Twitter and Facebook and LinkedIn, I have not done too much business networking in person in recent years.

Oh, I have my elevator speech, and I talk to everyone about what I do for a living, but I don’t actively seek clients in my own area. In fact, as a virtual assistant, I have purposely built a clientele that is located away from my hometown.

There are reasons that I have done that, of course. Prior to being an internet marketing virtual assistant, I was focused on the hospitality industry, working mainly with variable costs in restaurants and bars.

I worked from my own home office, and could compile, analyze and report on the data from my own office, I found that the clients I was working with preferred that I was on their site more than I thought I needed to be.

So, for many years I still travelled back and forth from my office to restaurants … and also needed to be available at some crazy times of day, being that the restaurant industry is not open ‘regular office hours’. I worked many holidays and weekends, and although I was very good at what I did, sometimes it just didn’t seem like it was worth it.

When I decided to swap my hospitality clients for online clients, I made a conscious decision to work with people whose offices or businesses I could not possibly drive to. Harsh? Probably. But it wouldn’t have worked for me otherwise.

Now I have established myself over the last three or so years, and am comfortable with setting my own work boundaries … and so I am finally getting out there in my own city!

Needless to say, the breakfast was great, and I enjoyed meeting many women who are running their own businesses like I am.

I learned from going to FoVA last year that getting together with people who understand my line of work is an invaluable source of support for me. That’s what this breakfast did as well, and I am sorry that it took me so long to realize the benefits I could gain by networking locally.

I will definitely look forward to the next networking meeting, wherever it is!

As a virtual assistant, I have found Twitter to be an invaluable networking tool for my business. I think you might like it too!

Watch this short video (just over 2 minutes).

If you think you might be interested in seeing what Twitter is all about, go to www.twitter.com to set up your own account.

Follow me at www.twitter.com/Tracey_D – I’d love see what you are doing!