Client relationships – when everything’s going along smoothly, you’re communicating well and they’re happy with your work/deliverables - then it’s great.

However, as in life, there will be times when things don’t go as planned…and that’s when the concept of a ‘virtual bank account’ can come in useful.

When things are going well, you can build up ‘virtual credit’ with your client – perhaps you over deliver on a project; come in well before their desired timescale; give them a referral which brings in additional revenue; suggest a cost- or time-saving solution, or simply go the extra mile.

These are all ways of building ‘virtual credit’.

Now for those dark times, and it happens to us all – in haste, you may send back work with typos; you miss a deadline; you turn up on the wrong day/time for a meeting.  Well, this is when you go into ‘virtual debit’.

The essential thing to remember, to keep your client relationship healthy, is to ensure that your credit balance always exceeds your debit balance – preferably by a large margin.  Too much debit and not only will you have a disgruntled client, but they may decide to discontinue using your services.

On the reverse side, I don’t think you can ever have too much credit!  If you client is very happy with your services, they will hopefully becoming a raving fan and refer you to other people.

It does work both ways though…on the client side, there will be times when they go into credit and times when they go into debit.  It’s then your decision how you evaluate this virtual bank balance.

So, start taking a look at your client relationships one by one.  How much in credit and debit are you with each one?  What could you do to improve your credit earning potential?

And remember, nobody’s perfect.  There will be times when you go into debit – just make sure you’ve built up lots of credit beforehand!

1. A Virtual Assistant can email you a reminder so that you don’t forget important occasions.  For example, birthdays, wedding anniversary, etc. Plus, remind you when you need to start writing your monthly newsletter!
2. As they network regularly, a Virtual Assistant can recommend other small businesses you may benefit from using.  E.g. Business: book-keeper, accountant, marketing consultant, logo design & branding agency, coach, IT support.  Personal: mortgage advisor, cleaner, caterer, photographer, complementary therapist, financial advisor.
3. A Virtual Assistant can publicise events for you by posting details on relevant forums and websites.
4. Give your Virtual Assistant access to your online diary and they can arrange meetings for you, send confirmation emails and even confirm your meeting the day before for you.
5. A Virtual Assistant can call people who’ve attended your events and ask for feedback.  As they are calling independently, people are more likely to be honest.
6. Having typed up your report for you, a Virtual Assistant can save you the time and energy of getting your report printed and bound by liaising with your local printer (e.g. Mail Boxes Etc) – all you do is pick up the reports and pay.
7. A Virtual Assistant can research a topic, company, industry or person for you on the internet and provide you with a report of their findings.
8. Going to a meeting? A Virtual Assistant can book hotels and car hire for you, plus type up an itinerary with maps and routes.
9. A Virtual Assistant can save you time by sourcing a company who can convert your videos to DVDs.  E.g. a training video.
10. Think it’s about time you started to use Twitter? A Virtual Assistant can set up a Twitter account for you, show you how to use TweetDeck or Hootsuite....and if you don’t have time, even tweet for you!
11. A Virtual Assistant can transcribe phone interviews that you’ve recorded, so that you have a hard copy of the conversation.
12. Keep on running out of paper for your printer and envelopes? A Virtual Assistant can order your stationery for you and arrange for it to be delivered straight to your office.
    

I find that I tend to always be looking into the future, organising and making plans, which means that I often fail to look back at what I’ve achieved.

The end of the year however is a great opportunity to take time out to review the last 12 months – both on a business and personal level, by asking yourself the following questions : -

• What did you achieve?
• What were your biggest disappointments?

What did you achieve?

With your diary to hand, go back over the last 12 months and list out on a piece of paper all of the tasks which you’ve completed. It can be very satisfying and it also helps to explain how you spent your time. 

Take a look at your 2009 goals with regards to your work.  If you run your own business, did you reach your revenue targets?  If you work for someone else, have you achieved your objectives from your appraisal?

On a personal level, have you managed to fit in regular exercise and eaten 5 fruit/veg a day?

You may find it hard to write down all you’ve achieved…people’s initial thoughts about the past are generally negative! 

What were your biggest disappointments?

What didn’t turn out as well as you expected?  You can’t turn back the clock, but you can learn from your experiences and mistakes.

We rarely stop and think about what we’ve achieved in a day, let alone a year…so make 2009 different and start your review now!  I can recommend a great book called ‘Your Best Year Yet!’ by Jinny Ditzler.

Once you’ve looked back at the year, it’s then time to start thinking about your plans and goals for 2010!

At the Enterprise Nation Conference last week (http://www.enterprisenation.com/), a number of speakers spoke about the subject of marketing.  And it really brought home to me the different challenges faced by people marketing a service versus marketing a product.

Being a Virtual Assistant, I provide a service which is intangible and one could say that it makes it more difficult to market than a product.  I am ‘selling the invisible’.

A product, on the other hand, is tangible.  Customers can physically touch it, see it and even try it out before buying it.

With a service, clients generally want to get to know you first.  This is where networking becomes so important, as it gives you the opportunity to build a relationship with people, whether they are potential clients or people who may become third party referrals.

Plus testimonials are vital to help your potential clients find out how other people rate the service you provide.

So, it all boils down to the intangible versus the tangible.  I’m not saying that marketing a product is easy, it’s just that there are different challenges to face.

Your business card is like a first impression.  You have a lot to say and very little space.  That's why it's so important to get it right and I would thoroughly recommend enlisting the services of a professional graphic designer.

Recently, I had my business card redesigned and I'm delighted with the results.  The design is now portrait rather than landscape and the whole 'look and feel' is much more modern.

There are so many variables to consider when you are having your business card designed : -

Quality/thickness of the card : Make sure you go for a good quality card...touch is an important sense.

Design : Your business card should provide an insight into the corporate culture of your business.  If you are supposed to be creative, then your card should reflect that.  It you are trying to convey that you are professional and solid, then your card might be a little more refined.

Font : Choose one which reflects you or if you're unsure, ask your graphic designer for their input.

Colour : An obvious consideration...different colours have different meanings.  Also, do you need to be 'on trend' and include the colours of the moment?

Information to include : your name, position, company name, telephone numbers, email address and if it isn't obvious, what your company does...but be careful not to put too much information on your card.

Double-sided : Make the most of the space you do have and use the back of the card.  For example, list the services which you offer, so that when someone picks up your card, they'll gain an understanding of what you can help them with.

Uniqueness : Make sure that it will stand out from the crowd.

Size : Use a standard size of business card so that it fits into a person's business card holder/rolodex/ purse/wallet.  Size can differentiate you, but it can also mean that someone throws your card away.

Also, ask people for their opinion on your old business card if you have one and ask for their feedback on your new artwork, before it goes to print.

The look, feel and message on your business card helps people determine how they view you and more importantly remember you.  It performs a very specific marketing role - to share contact information with others.

I would thoroughly recommend investing time and money into having your card professionally designed.  It will make a big difference in the long run and it is a reflection of you and your business.

I can personally recommend Guildford printing.com www.guildfordprinting.com and in particular, their graphic designer, Chloe Charlton.

This week, I took advantage of a great service offered by Business Link....a free Business Review.  It's the second time I've benefitted from this service and it was just what I needed to help me put in place an action plan to take my business forward.

Ruth Lambert, Business Link (Surrey), visited my office and gave me information about:

• A free website review, courtesy of Business Link
• Local networking groups
• Free local Business Link courses available
• Details of their Supplier Matching service (http://www.suppliermatching.co.uk/) : This is a service which suppliers of Business to Business services can use to promote their business, simply by registering.  Once their business is registered, their details will then be available to small businesses in the South East and South West of England.

Business Link is funded by Regional Development Agencies and supported by government departments,
agencies and local authorities.  For more information on Business Link : www.businesslink.gov.uk

And if you're based in Surrey, why not contact Ruth direct at ruth.lambert@businesslinksurrey.co.uk?

I keep on hearing the buzz term 'Viral Marketing' crop up in conversation...and to be honest I wasn't completely sure what it actually meant.

So, I decided to do some research on the internet and have come up with varying definitions :

'A piece of content so good that people want to pass it on.'

'Any marketing technique that induces websites or users to pass on a marketing message to other websites or users, creating a potentially exponential growth in the message's visibility and effect.
 
'Marketing phenomenon that facilitates and encourages people to pass along a marketing message.'

Some commentators say that viral marketing can be delivered by word-of-mouth or it can be enhanced by the network effect of the internet. 

The underlying factor is that a message is passed from person-to-person.  If a large percentage of recipients forward the message to a large number of friends, the overall growth snowballs very quickly. If the pass-along numbers get too low, the overall growth quickly fizzles.

The goal of marketers interested in creating successful viral marketing campaigns is to identify individuals with high social networking potential and create viral messages that appeal to this segment of the population and have a high probability of being passed along.

One example of successful viral marketing is Hotmail, which promotes its service and its own advertisers' messages in every user's e-mail notes.

Another notable example is the Cadbury's Dairy Milk 2007 advertising campaign, in the form of a gorilla playing the drums to the Phil Collins song 'In the Air Tonight', which was heavily popularised on YouTube and Facebook.

So, in essence, viral marketing is promoting information or products, the details of which people are compelled to pass on to others.

The apostrophe seems to be a very misunderstood and misused piece of punctuation in the English language.

This is made worse by the fact that some people don't appear to understand what it does and in an effort to appear correct, add apostrophe's every time a word ends in an s.

For example, VA's instead of simply VAs.

There are 2 main uses of the apostrophe: -

1. They are used to denote a missing letter or letters. 

For example:

2. They are used to denote possession.

For example:

- The secretary's filofax
- The company's logo
- The girl's laptop

However, if there are two or more secretaries, companies or girls,  then the apostrophe comes after the s :-

- The secretaries' filofaxes
- The companies' logos
- The girls' laptops

Hope the above examples help to clarify all the confusion and did you note the deliberate mistake?!

This week, I attended a very interesting talk about the difference between a feature and a benefit, and it brought back memories of a Sales Director I used to work with. 

He was very passionate about making sure that his sales team appreciated the difference between these two terms and thereby sold the benefits to our clients and not the features.

So what is a feature and what is a benefit?

• A feature is a fact, detail or description about your services.
• A benefit is the positive result that your client gets as a result of working with you.

To improve their sales technique, this Sales Director would ask his sales team to take a feature and then ask themselves 'So what?'.  This forced them to think about why this feature meant something to a prospective client.  He made them ask this question over and over again until they couldn't come up with any more answers.

All of the answers to these 'So what? questions gave the sales team a list of benefits.

For example, let's take the services of an Image Consultant.

A feature is the fact that when you have a Colour Consultation, you will receive a personalised wallet containing 42 fabric swatches of colours that suit you.

So what, you may say? Well, the benefit is that you can take the wallet with you on future shopping trips and ensure that you buy clothes in the most suitable colours for you.

So what? Well, the benefit is that buy buying clothes in the most suitable colours for you means that you won't make any expensive mistakes and buy something in a colour that doesn't suit you.

So what? The benefit is that you won't waste money on clothes that you won't wear.

I think you get the idea now...

'So what?' is a very useful phrase to remember when you're putting together copy for your marketing materials and website.

The essential thing to remember is to always think about which benefits will be important to your clients.

Selling benefits instead of features can make you stand out from the competition, connect your services directly to your clients' wants and needs, and persuade prospective clients to take a closer look at your business.

Have you thought about joining The Athena Network?

Last week, I attended 'The Women's Business Mastermind Conference & Awards in Solihull, organised by Carmen MacDougall of CMA Coaching.

It was a very inspirational event, in particular due to the quality of the speakers, including Jacqueline Rogers, co-founder of The Athena Network(http://www.theathenanetwork.com/).

Jacqueline founded The Athena Network in February 2006 with Louise Heasman, as they felt that there was a gap in the market for an informal networking group for women in the UK.

The Athena Network aims are: -

• Provide opportunities to make strategic connections with professionals in a wide range of industry sectors.
• Develop members' business skills through a choice of interactive workshops and training courses.
• Encourage women in business to inspire and support others for greater success.

When I set up my Virtual Assistant business, I recognised that networking was going to be high on the list of ways to meet potential new clients.  So, after a lot of research into the networking groups available in the Surrey area, I decided to join the Athena group in Hampton. 

What I didn't appreciate at that time was how fortunate I would be in meeting such supportive like-minded business women. Nor did I realise what great friendships I would develop, both on a professional and personal level.

I attend a monthly networking lunch, which includes open networking, guest speakers, business training and the opportunity to promote my business.  Plus, I regularly attend a monthly informal coffee networking event called Cappuccino Connections, which is open to members and non-members.

What I love about The Athena Network is that it is not a referral organisation and they don't apply any pressure on their members - yet, business constantly passes throughout the membership.

If you would like further information about The Athena Network in the Surrey area, then please contact Robyn Hatley, who is the Regional Director for SW London (Richmond Borough). She runs Athena groups in Hampton, Kew, Richmond, Teddington and Twickenham (http://wwwww.athenanetworkingrichmond.co.uk/).

I hear that Jacqueline is launching The Athena Network in Australia this week...great news for business women on the other side of the world!

There any many tasks which can be delegated to a Virtual Assistant.

The tasks that are most often delegated include those that are:

- Repetitive in nature
- Time-consuming, menial or low-thought items
- Tasks that do not require your expertise to complete
- Tasks that you may not like to complete 
- Items that will require someone to remember to do them on a daily, weekly or monthly basis

Analysing Your Workload

The first step to enable you to know what you can delegate is to start to track your time, say for a week or fortnight to get a really good idea of what you are doing.

To do this, it’s useful to use a time-tracking software, such as MyHours (www.myhours.com).  MyHours is free web-based tool which is very easy to set up.

Simply punch in and out each time you do a different task.  You can also make notes to remind yourself of exactly what you did for each task.

Once you’ve kept track of your time for a week or two, you need to then go back and analyse it.

Run the report and sit down with a print-out of it so that you can write on it and make additional notes. 

Here is a list of the things you should consider making notes on:

- What are you spending too much time on?
- What are the tasks that you don’t like doing?
- What would be easy to delegate?

Also, think about those tasks that you keep on putting off and ask yourself whether these are things that can be delegated too.

From this analysis, you can then make an informed decision on which tasks to delegate to a Virtual Assistant, thereby freeing up your time to either spend it on revenue-generating activities for your business or precious time with your family.

The saying 'A picture is worth a thousand words' comes from an old Chinese proverb.

People buy from people and if you are a sole trader, you are the most unique part of the business.  So, you need to make sure that you get a great photo that communicates who you are and speaks directly to your target audience.

Tips

Use a professional photographer

If you want to portray a professional image, then use a professional photographer.
Ask your contacts if they have any recommendations and take a look at the photographer's website for examples of their work.

What to wear?

If you're having a colour photograph done, you may like to wear a particular colour which will go well with the colours on your website.

Appearance

You may like to take a trip to the hairdressers before you have your photo taken, so that you're looking your very best.  Ladies, you may also like to have your make-up done especially.  Some beauty counters offer free make-up sessions.  And don't forget to smile!

Asks for opinions

Once you have had the photo shoot, you'll generally receive a selection of photos from
the photographer to choose from.

Sometimes we are our own worst critic.  How we perceive ourselves and how others perceive us if often different.  So, it may be useful to circulate the photos to friends and family and ask their opinion as to which photo they think would be the most suitable.

Upload your photo

Upload the same photo on all the places on the internet where you have the option of uploading an image...your website, Twitter, Facebook, online networking forums, etc. 

Once you've got your new photo uploaded, people who you've met before will recognise you and people who you've seen you online will then recognise you when they meet you in person.

Now...all you need to do is find a great professional photographer.  If you live in the Surrey or London area, I can highly recommend Annie Armitage: -

http://www.anniearmitage.com/

Annie has recently photographed me and I am delighted by the results...soon to be uploaded to my website.
 

P.S.  Did you know that sometimes profile photos are referred to as 'avatars'?  An avatar is a graphical image that represents a person. 

The Company

It's a company which aims to help people start and grow their business at home.

Emma Jones set up Enterprise Nation in 2006 and the company hosts the UK’s largest website for people starting and growing a business from home, runs the Home Business Awards, produces the annual Home Business Report and advises the Government on the topic.

She has also written a book called 'Spare Room Start Up – how to start a business
from home'.

If you would like to meet Emma, she is one of the speakers at a conference taking place next month, called 'The National Women's Business Conference and Awards'.

http://www.womensbusinessconference.co.uk/

Also, if you would like to follow her on Twitter, her URL is:-

http://twitter.com/emmaljones

The Website

http://www.enterprisenation.com/

Great free source of inspiration to help you start and grow your business at home.

If you register, you can also receive the informative newsletter, post information and ask for advice on the forums, plus view video podcasts.

My dabbling into 'Twitterland' continues and slowly but surely I'm starting to learn a little bit more about how it all works.

Whilst at an Athena networking meeting recently, we were discussing the benefits of
Twitter as a marketing tool for small businesses.  As very few people within the group were aware of it, I offered to write a "Beginner's Guide to Twitter".

It's something which I wish had been available when I first stepped my toe into Twitter.

So, if you'd like some pointers on how to get started, please click on the link below and you can download the guide free from my website.

http://www.theorganisedpa.com/page9.htm 

I'd love any feedback you may have.

Enjoy!

Recently, I was proofreading a website and it occurred to me how there are certain words in the English language which are easily confused and therefore misused.

Complement and compliment are often confused with one another because they are homophones.  Homophones are words which are pronounced the same but have different meanings.

What makes things even more complicated are that complement and compliment can be used as both a noun and a verb. 

In essence, a complement completes, while a compliment flatters.

Below are some examples, which I hope help to clarify when to use each word as a noun and verb, plus their adjectival endings: -

COMPLEMENT

Complement ~ noun

1. thing that completes
2. full number needed

E.g. The biscuits were served as a complement to the tea.

Complement ~ verb

1. complete
2. form a complement to

E.g. The bride chose a veil which complemented her wedding dress.

Complementary ~ adjective

1. completing; forming a complement
2. (of two or more things) complementing each other

E.g. Complementary medicine is used together with conventional medicine.

COMPLIMENTARY

Compliment ~ noun

1. polite expression of praise

E.g. Natalie gave Sarah a compliment about her new dress.

Compliments ~ noun (plural)

1. formal greetings accompanying a present etc.
2. praise

E.g. Please do give my compliments to the chef.

Compliment ~ verb

1. congratulate, praise

E.g. Paul complimented his accountant for his excellent service.

Complimentary ~ adjective

1. expressing a compliment
2. given free of charge

E.g. The shop was giving away complimentary chocolates to its first twenty customers.

Other misused words are : -

• Practice & Practise : Practice is a noun, practise is a verb.
• Loose & Lose : Loose is the opposite to tight, lose is the opposite of find.
• Stationary & Stationery : Stationary means remain in one place, stationery means writing materials.

(Definitions are adapted from The Pocket Oxford Dictionary.)

The power of networking never ceases to amaze me.

During the last couple of months in particular, connecting people seems to have been even easier than ever.

For example, I met a lady recently at a networking event.  She mentioned that she is getting married this year and the conversation came around to wedding flowers.  I told her that I had trained as a florist, so she asked me if I could recommend any florists in London.  From a list I gave her, she contacted a few of them and now is delighted to say that she is really happy with the florist she has chosen - a florist she would never have heard of, if I hadn't have recommended her.

This same lady works in the music industry.  I thought it was a bit of a long shot, but asked if she knew any local guitar teachers.  One of my friends wanted to buy her partner guitar lessons for his birthday and instead of looking blindly in the Yellow Pages or on the internet, she wanted a recommendation.  Funnily enough, this lady knew a great teacher and he actually lives in the same town.  The friend's partner thoroughly enjoyed the lesson and picked up loads of new tips.

Also, a lady I know who owns a beauty salon mentioned to me that she is looking for maternity cover, whilst she has her baby later this year.  Today, at a networking event I met a lady who recruits staff for beauty salons.  Now, I had never met anyone who does this before, but was delighted when I was able to connect them both.

These are just a few stories of how powerful networking can be.  I think the most important lesson I've learnt is that you have to 'tell' people exactly what you're looking for when you're networking. 

Are you looking for a photographer, a copywriter, someone to book your next holiday or a Virtual Assistant? 

If you are specific, then it is more likely that people will remember and then be able to connect you.

By the way, I'm looking for Coaches and Trainers, who need help with their admin, so that they can concentrate on building their businesses :)

I was reminded the other day of Stephen Covey's great illustration of time management:-

In the middle of a seminar on time management, recalls Covey in his book 'First Things First', the lecturer said, "Okay, it's time for a quiz." Reaching under the table, he pulled out a large wide-mouthed glass jar and put it on the table next to a plate
covered with fist-sized rocks. "How many of these rocks do you think we can get in the jar?" he asked the audience.

After the students made their guesses, the lecturer said, "Okay, let's find out." He put one rock in the jar, then another, then another...until no more rocks would fit in. Then he asked, "Is the jar full?"

Everybody could see that not one more of the rocks would fit, so they said, "Yes."

"Not so fast," he cautioned. From under the table, he lifted out a bucket of gravel,  emptied it into the jar, and shook it. The gravel slid into all the little spaces left by the big rocks. Grinning, the lecturer asked once more, "Is the jar full?"

A little wiser by now, the students responded, "Probably not."

"Good," the lecturer said. Then he reached under the table to pick up a bucket of sand. He started pouring the sand into the jar. While the students watched, the sand filled in the little spaces left by the rocks and gravel. Once more he looked at the class and said, "Now, is the jar full?"

"No," everyone shouted back.

"Good!" said the lecturer, who then grabbed a jug of water and began to pour it into the jar. He poured about a pint of water into the jar before he said, "Ladies and gentlemen, the jar is now full. Can anybody tell me the lesson you can learn from this? What's my point?"

An eager participant spoke up: "Well, there are gaps in your diary. And if you really work at it, you can always fit more into your life."

"No," the lecturer said. "That's not the point. The point is this: if I hadn't put those big rocks in first, I would never have got them in."

So, what can we all learn from this story? 

The big rocks represent all the important things that we have to do, such as setting goals for the year, creating a marketing strategy, developing our website, etc.

The gravel, sand and water represent tasks such as dealing with emails, answering the phone, posting tweets on Twitter, etc.

Our natural tendency is to deal with the gravel, sand and water, leaving little space for the big rocks.  By responding to the urgent tasks, the important tasks can sometimes be forgotten.

What are the 'big rocks' in your life? A large project? Your health? Your finances?
Your personal development? Your dreams?

Why not make a list of your big rocks and then make a plan to ensure that you put them first.  Block out time in your diary and amazingly, the other stuff will still get done.

When you're planning your month, your week or your day, refer back to your list of big rocks.

Then, put those in your jar first.

Do you remember back in the good old 'Life on Mars' days, when people used to use dictaphones with mini-cassettes?  As long as the cassette wasn't mislaid, their secretaries then transcribed their letters and while doing so, hoped that the machine wouldn't gnarl up the cassette!

Well, although some people do still use them, many have moved into the digital age and are benefiting from using a digital dictaphone to dictate their reports, letters, emails and transcripts, etc and then emailing them to a Virtual Assistant.

So, how does it all work?  Well, you simply dictate into your digital dictaphone, upload the file on to your pc, attach the file to an email and then send it to your Virtual Assistant.  They open the attachment, transcribe your file and email the completed document back to you.

The industry standard allows one hour to transcribe 15 minutes of clearly recorded speech.  So, a one hour digital audio file would take four hours to transcribe. Think how much time you could therefore save by delegating your typing!

Also, using a dictaphone gives you complete flexibility.  You don't have to be at your desk and it's therefore an ideal solution if you're out on the road a lot.  For example, if you work in the property industry, you could use your dictaphone and dictate your observations when inspecting a building, rather than writing notes on site.

Here are also a few handy hints and tips : -

1. At the start of your dictation, state whether it is a letter, email or report, etc.  Say who it is for, stating the email address/postal address.
2. Speak clearly and at a regular speed.
3. Spell out any names, unusual words, technical terms or ambiguous words (e.g. cite, site or sight!)
4. Actually say the words 'comma', 'full stop' and 'new paragraph'. 
5. Make sure you're in a quiet area, so that there is no background noise.
6. When you have finished, say 'end of dictation'. 

If you would like to find out more about the time-saving digital transcription services we offer, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Well, it's been a month since I've signed up to Twitter and I'm starting to understand a little bit more about how it works.

There seem to me to be two different camps of people who use Twitter. 

The first camp are celebrities who tweet about what they're up to throughout the day.  I've been following Fearne Cotton and Jenni Falconer recently - both of them very entertaining.

Then, the other camp is businesses, using Twitter as a marketing tool, sharing links to interesting articles, directing people to their blogs, informing people about events or teleclasses, and asking questions for feedback.

There was a great article on Twitter for beginners last weekend in The Telegraph, which is now on their website : - http://snipurl.com/bmn42

By the way, if you're wondering why the URL above looks 'different', it's because
I've used the website http://snipurl.com/ to reduce the length of the original URL -
essential on Twitter as your whole tweet is limited to 140 characters.

So, if you would like to follow me on Twitter, simply click on the link below and then
click on 'Follow'.

http://twitter.com/OrganisedPA

I look forward to seeing you soon!

Yesterday, the residents of Surrey, like a lot of the UK, woke up to a beautiful snowy scene. 

It just goes to show though, that even in this day and age, nature can slow us down.  Due to the weather conditions, train lines into London were disrupted and buses were simply not running.  Thousands of workers were unable to make it into work...and had to stay at home, communicating with their colleagues via their Blackberries.

What I noticed, however, was the positive impact the snow had on people's behaviour towards one another.  Whilst I was walking to the local shops, instead of strangers ignoring me as they passed by, they smiled and said 'Hello'.  Even people driving gingerly past smiled and waved!  Pretty unheard of!  

Anne Widdecombe, interviewed on the BBC News, also commented that her neighbours who normally walked past her in silence, smiled and wished her a 'Good Morning'.  And teenagers who didn't know each other were filmed, building a huge snowman together...saying they had now made some good friends.

So, hopefully the appearance of the snow has made us more aware of who's around us and improved community camaraderie.  I think we should make the most it...because as soon as the snow has melted, it won't be long before we're rushing around and ignoring everyone again.

Isn't it a shame that it takes the snow to slow us down and that we can't be like it every day? You never know...the neighbour who you start speaking to in the snow might become a future client!

Or do they start reading them and then find it too much of a struggle to continue?

I've recently been reading an excellent book by Robert Gentle called 'Read this! - Business Writing That Works'. 

Robert has some great tips on how to improve your business writing.

For example: -

Use plain, everyday language

I love this quote from Robert : 'No one has ever complained that something is too easy to understand'.

Use short sentences

They get your point across quickly, so don't pad out sentences with superfluous words.

Clean, airy layout

Use lots of white space, as dense text can put the reader off.

This great book is available from all good book shops and Amazon....and no, I'm not on commission!

Happy reading....and then writing!

Google Calendar is a free online calendar service - www.google.com/calendar

It is web-based which means you can access it from any computer.  You can colour code different events and send out invites to attendees.  Also, you can set up your calendar to send you emails or mobile text-messages to remind you about events.

One of the biggest advantages of using Google Calendar is its sharing facility.  This is a great feature when you're working with a Virtual Assistant. 

By having your calendar set up so that your Virtual Assistant shares it, once they have made your travel arrangements, such as booking flights, hotels and car hire, they can immediately record the details in your Google Calendar. 

You can also save time by delegating the making and confirming of your appointments to your Virtual Assistant.  They can enter all the details into your Google Calendar and you can then view it simultaneously, thereby avoiding the issue of double-bookings.

If you would like The Organised PA to help you set up your Google Calendar and book your travel arrangements and appointments on your behalf, please contact Rona on 0844 3575798 or rona@theorganisedpa.com.

It really is.... and the more networking meetings that I attend the more apparent it is to me that there really do appear to be 'six degrees of separation'.

You may be wondering...what are the 'six degrees of separation'?  Well, according to Wikipedia :

Six degrees of separation refers to the idea that, if a person is one step away from each person they know and two steps away from each person who is known by one of the people they know, then everyone is no more than six "steps" away from each person on Earth.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_degrees_of_separation

For example, last month, I met someone at a networking meeting...we'll call them person A...who is 1 degree of separation from me.  I met them recently for a coffee and they introduced me to person B. 

Person B is 2 degrees of separation from me.  I then had a telephone conversation with Person B and they happened to mention Person C....who is actually a very good friend of mine.....it is a very small world!

There are now studies saying that due to social networking sites, such as www.facebook.com and www.myspace.com, the number of degrees of separation is actually getting less...and is nearer to three degrees.

If you aren't already networking, either in person or online, I would thoroughly recommend that you start researching potential networking organisations that you would like to join. 

They not only enable you to build beneficial business contacts, but also provide support when you're working for yourself.  It feels great to share stories, become inspired and learn from each others' experiences.  In particular, for women, I would thoroughly recommend Athena, www.theathenanetwork.com.

Finally, one useful tip... when I meet someone new at a networking event I always try to visualise a group of their acquaintances standing behind them.

It's not always what you know, but who you know...that makes it such a small world!

I keep on hearing the word 'Twitter' mentioned in conversations and articles, so have decided to look into what it actually is.

What is Twitter?

Twitter is a micro-blogging tool that allows short messages, called 'tweets', of up to 140 characters to be instantly shared with others via the internet or mobile phones.

Like updating your status on FaceBook, it allows everyone within your network (known as followers) to immediately receive your latest messages and read, reply or comment upon them.  It’s a free service that allows anyone to publish their thoughts, ideas or messages to anyone wishing to ‘follow’.

Why?

This is the big question! Well, why do people want to know what you're doing and why would you decide to 'follow' what another what somebody else is doing?

There must be something in it, as people such as Richard Branson, Stephen Fry, Lance Armstrong, Andy Murray and Will Carling are all on Twitter.  Stephen Fry, in particular, has currently over 40,000 followers!

Is Twitter however useful for businesses?

From the research I've done, it seems it's a little too early to tell.  However, some commentators feel that it will help businesses network with customers, generate brand awareness, promote products and services, as well as foster customer loyalty.

Personally, I'm still getting my head around the whole concept...and wondering what's in it for me?  I'll let you know once I gain a better understanding,  after having signed up to follow four 'tweeters'!

Now that we're coming to the end of 2008, many people are starting to think about their goals for 2009.  However, how many of them spend time first to look back over the last 12 months?

Reviewing your year can, in the long run, be very beneficial.

You can learn what was successful and therefore continue to do it in the New Year.

You can identify areas which need improvement and plan, as part of your 2009 goals, to tackle those areas.

Plus, you can learn from your mistakes and avoid making them again in the next 12 months.

Only once you've reviewed your year, should you then start to create your new goals for 2009.

Below are some examples of goals which you may like to take on:

- Promote your business regularly

- Join a new networking group

- Learn how to delegate and do it more

- Give something back to your community

- Learn something new

- Put 'me-time' in your calendar

I hope this helps you with your goal planning.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Google has become for many people, their preferred search engine.  Most of us tend to simply type in a few words and generally what we're looking for will come up on the first page or two.

However, if you're having problems finding what you're looking for, you may be interested in the following tips when using Google:-

When you type in your search terms, be aware that you do not need to put an 'and' between the terms. 

Bear in mind that the order in which you type in the terms will affect the search results.

Google searches are not case sensitive, so it doesn't matter whether you use lower case or capital letters - searches will return the same results.

If you are searching for an exact phrase, simply put quotation marks around your search terms.  E.g. "blackberry bold"

If you want to search for two different search terms, then you can simply type in 'OR' between the search terms. (Please note that 'OR' has to be in capital letters.)              E.g. virtual assistant OR virtual pa

If you need to quickly look up the definition of a word, simply use the 'define:' command.  E.g. define:rapprochement

I hope these tips help you to find what you're looking for when you're searching using either www.google.com or the UK version www.google.co.uk.

P.S. If you interested in finding out where the name 'google' came from, please click on the link below: -

http://www-graphics.stanford.edu/~dk/google_name_origin.html

Having a friend in the US who uses Skype (as it's all the rage over there apparently ..... more and more so for businesses!), I decided to bite the bullet and invest in a headset with a microphone, a webcam and downloaded Skype on to my computer.  This meant that I could talk to her for free! 

Then, I started to think about how I could save money by making my business calls using Skype and I've been very pleased by the visible reduction in my quarterly phone bill.

So, what is Skype?

Skype is a software that allows you to make telephone calls over the internet. Using Skype to call another person who also has Skype is totally free! If confidentiality is an issue, then it's great to know that calls between Skype users are secure and encrypted.

You can also call people who are not on Skype for a small charge.  There are two ways to pay and make calls to landlines and mobile phones:-

Pay As You Go : where you add some money to your account and then you just pay for the calls as you make them.

Monthly Subscription : which includes unlimited calls to landlines in selected countries and regions.  For example, to make calls within the UK, the monthly charge is approximately £2.00.

Having now experienced first-hand the benefits of Skype, I also attended a very informative seminar last week at the Business StartUp Show at Olympia(www.bstartup.com), conducted by Ian Robin, Director of Skype for Business...and learnt about more useful features.

SkypeIn : People call your online telephone number from a phone or mobile and you pick up the call in Skype. 

Skype To Go : You can make international calls from any phone and save money on your call charges.

Conference Calls : You and 24 other people can take part in a conference call.

In addition , Skype offers instant messaging, file transfer and video conferencing.

If you would like more information, then take a look at www.skype.com ....and start saving some money!

I hate to admit it, but I started my business life before emails existed.

I can remember faxing long documents, with the frustration of the paper jamming the other end and the constant annoying beep of the fax machine that followed!
 
I also remember visits to the post room, hoping that I'd be able to find 10 internal envelopes, so that I could send out a memo to my boss's ten direct reports.

Picking up the phone and calling clients on their landline was the norm.

I remember when email first appeared on the scene and I was working in the Client Services Department for a large company in the City.  The Sales Director asked me to email a client and I felt very uncomfortable, as I considered it such an informal way of contacting them! 

Well, that was then, and this is now.  Technology has advanced so quickly, speeding up our business lives and email is now a very effective tool for communication. 

 However, even though it is very fast and saves time, there are situations when a different form of communication could be more effective.

A recent report I read listed our communication methods at work in terms of the quality of information exchanged, in descending order : -

- In-person conversation
- In-person meeting
- Telephone conversation
- Teleconference
- Instant message
- Email to a single person
- Email to a group
- Formal written report

The first five methods allow for a two-way exchange of information, whereas the last three only allow a one-way flow of information. Each method has its time and place. 

Email is a great communication tool, however, it is not the only one available to us nowadays.  So, don't wait for the next time you have technical problems and have no access to email, why not try some of the other methods now? 

Pick up the phone.  Arrange to meet up with someone face-to-face over coffee.
 
Vary your communication methods and you may find improvements in your business relationships.

One of the most effective ways to promote your business is to create an email signature. 

It's a great way to advertise your products and services for free and is also an
important way of building brand recognition.

You may ask, what is an email signature?  It's the text which appears at the end of your emails, which identifies you, your company and your products or services.

It's advisable to include the following :

- name
- company name
- company logo
- phone number
- email address
- website address
- marketing strapline

Ensure that every email you send out includes your email signature by setting it up in your email software.  You can change the colours of the text to tie in with your company branding and add your logo.

If you need any assistance in setting up your email signature, please feel free to contact me .

Just think how many times your company gets exposure if you include these details in all your emails!

A signature file is one of the most powerful marketing and communication tools available to businesses.

Why not set yours up now?

You meet someone for the first time, they tell you their name when they introduce themselves, but a few minutes later, you've forgotten it!

The reason we don't remember people's names is because we're so focused on ourselves, busy thinking of what we're going to say to them, that we don't concentrate and actually listen to them speaking.

However, as Dale Carnegie commented :

'A person's name is to him or her the sweetest and most important sound in any language'.

So it makes sense to try and improve your memory skills.  You'll find it not only helps create a good first impression in your business life, for example if you're networking, but also in your social life.

If you would like some hints and tips, please read on : -

Concentrate

You can only remember what you observe in the first place.  If you are not paying attention, you won't register the person's name, so you can't possibly remember it.

So, concentrate on firstly paying attention to the person's name when you first hear it and secondly, form an impression of the person. 

Repeat Repeat Repeat

Repetition helps engrave the person's name in your memory.

Use the name immediately.  For example, 'So, what type of business are you in, Yvette?'  Repeat it silently to yourself.  Comment on the name, if possible. Use it occasionally in the conversation (without overdoing it!). Use it when leaving. 

If, however, you realise that you've forgotten their name by the time you come to the end of your conversation, politely ask them again.

Association

Some people find it helpful to associate a person with someone they know, either a friend, relative or a well-known person. 

For example, if you meet someone called Bruce, you could associate him with Bruce Forsyth from 'Strictly Come Dancing'.

Being able to remember people's names is a valuable asset in both your business and social life, so why not try out a few of these tips the next time you meet a new person?

Email is an amazing communication tool, however it can become a distraction and prevent you from getting things done.

Having recently listened in to a conference call by Mike Song, who wrote the book 'The Hamster Revolution', please find below some of his suggestions on how to control your emails, rather than let them control you.

• Disconnect your email notification, so that you don't receive an alert every time an email comes into your inbox.
• Work on email in batches, e.g. every 45 minutes, spend 5-10 mins reading and replying to emails. Don't process one email at a time when it appears in your inbox, as it breaks your concentration and disrupts your workflow.
• If you use your inbox as a To-Do list, set a target for the number of emails you want to have in your inbox at any one time. For example, you may decide that it is 35.  Then, if you have over 35, use this as a trigger to work on your emails
  and reduce the number.  Scan through them and see which ones can be deleted immediately.
• Then, select those emails which can be deferred and using the functionality in Outlook, drag them into your calendar or task list.  Alternatively, flag emails to act as a reminder to follow them up.
• Create rules for low priority emails, like newsletters. Set up a special mail folder for low priority emails and when going through your inbox, right-click on a low priority email, click on Create Rule and follow the instructions.  Then read those emails when you have a free minute or schedule regular time in your calendar.

Good luck!

Well, for all of us, there will only be 24 hours in the day.  However, some people manage to accomplish more than others.

One tip is to regularly write a To-Do List each morning. 

I, personally, find it useful to split my list into two columns, Work and Personal.  Then, under each column, I have three sections : red, amber and green.  Red means I absolutely have to do it today, amber means it would be great to do it today and green means it's a nice-to-have.

The secret is to review your list at the end of the day, transferring 'untackled' items to the next day's list.

Also, another tip is to make sure that you handwrite your list, as opposed to typing it up.  Somehow...don't ask me how...having tried both methods, I find more tasks get done when they're handwritten!

Why not start writing that To-Do List now.....?

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