Top Three

"What are your most-requested services?"

I'm asked this question alot. And mostly when discussing our services offering with a potential client. It's a fantastic question! It can completely open the door on delegation. Quite often people aren't sure where to start and feel overwhelmed just thinking about what to delegate. So here's our top three and they all fall under the umbrella of Online Marketing & Brand Management:

1. Social Media Management. Biznik. Facebook. LinkedIn. Ryze. Twitter. Online Forums. Message Boards.... ARGH! Don't know where to start? We do! We'll help you set up a profile and maintain it on the sites you need to have a presence on. We'll come up with a social networking strategy to make sure you're connected and communicating with your desired audience. We'll manage your online reputation to see what your customers are saying... and your competitors too! It's all about keeping OUR ears to the ground so you can focus on growing your business!


2. Public Relations. Have something press-worthy? (Believe me, whether you know it or not, YOU DO!) We'll work closely with you to create an online PR campaign to get the word out. Let's get a buzz going! Perhaps you've already received a press mention and don't know what to do with it? We're full believers in tooting your own horn; we'll work with you to leverage it to the max and get it out in front of your target market! Don't have a huge corporate PR budget? No worries... we'll create a guerrilla marketing campaign to work within your means. No problem. It's what we do. It's what we love.


3. Web presence. If you don't have a website... you need one. From the moment your business concept is but a sparkle in your eye, to the smallest of start-ups, to a well-established and functioning business, we've got you covered. We can customize a package for you tailored to where you are now, and where you want to be. We'll do it all starting with the domain name purchase and registration, to design and development of the site (via html or content management system), to writing the content and even the ongoing maintenance & updating. Hey... we'll even write your blog! On the flip side, we can also get you up and running and then train you on the upkeep. Are you breathing a sigh of relief yet?


4. Ok, so our Top Three has turned into Four. Honourable mention goes to our standard virtual assistant services (after all, we are a virtual assistant business!) Are the administrative aspects of your business not really your forté? That's where we come in! We love them (it's kinda what we do after all!) These services keep us very busy and can be quite quick and easy to delegate! Need some templates created, or contracts prepared? Fire the rough copies to us and we'll get it done in no time! Have a few ideas of what you need created or expanded on? A quick discussion of your thoughts and we can get a draft prepared for you. Need a PowerPoint presentation developed? Let's put our heads together and we'll get started!
   

What do you want to delegate today?

So how does it work exactly?

I find people are extremely interested in finding out just how this "virtual assistant thing" works. When I first started getting this question, I stumbled a bit. I mean, it's so open-ended. So here's a brief 3-pointer to get you started.

1. Delegation - you have to take the time to delegate. Even if it's just a few minutes to fire off an email, or a quick conference call... but you have to do it if you're going to move forward. I've had clients scan and email me their handwritten to-do lists and then we quickly chat about what I can start in on. Or we quickly discuss via Skype if we're both online, or Google Talk. It really doesn't have to be time-consuming at all. (Tip: if you're thinking about hiring some help, take a few days to track what you really need help with and start a "wish list".)


2. Communication - it's been my experience that my clients prefer straight-up email. This works great for me too. I do, however, like to touch base via, gasp!, a telephone once in a while to see how things are working for you (and to let you know I'm a real person, lol!). Quite often if we're both online we do alot of chatting (see above), or a quick text message now and again. It's pretty organic with us. We'll totally work how you prefer.


3. Payment - most of our services are purchased in bulk packages which are all prepaid. If it's a special project, we accept 50% prior to contracting, and the remainder upon project completion. If you're not fully satisfied with our work we're happy to offer a full refund, no questions asked.

Pretty bare-bones and basic info, but it's one of the five top questions I get over and over.

What are some more questions you may have about how this "virtual assistant thing" works? Don't know what to delegate? Aren't sure if email will work for you? Have another payment option? Let us know, we love to find new ways of doing business!

What is a VA?

I'm asked, all the time, "What is it you do? A VA? Virtual Assistant? What is that? So just *what* is it you do again?"

Seriously.

All. The. Time.

So here's the professional definition of a virtual assistant taken from my own homepage:

A Virtual Assistant is a professional who provides support out of their own office utilizing their own equipment to other business professionals, entrepreneurs, small business owners, etc, who have a lot of work to do but not enough time to do it. A Virtual Assistant is a business owner, just like you.

Partnering with a Virtual Assistant reduces stress, protects cash flow, eliminates administrative hassles and enables business people to find the success they originally set out to achieve. You eliminate the need to pay for vacation time, sick time, employee taxes, benefits and the high overhead associated with having an assistant in-house.

The short and sweet of it?

Whatever an administrative assistant would do in your office is what I do for you off-site.

Plus some.

There's alot of collaboration involved. Alot of proactivity. Strategizing. Planning. Executing. At Scratchpad Secretaries we not only offer Administrative services, but our Online Marketing and Brand Management services are highly sought after in this day and age of Web 2.0. And our creative and technical side is very busy with website development and maintenance. And then there's our Personal Assistant services...we really have alot to offer!

So that's a Virtual Assistant. That's what we do. And that's just a few of the offerings at Scratchpad Secretaries.

Questions, anyone?

;)

Stay tuned

New blog format coming soon!