Categories
Planning & Management

It’s Not Your VA’s Fault

Not Your VA’s Fault

Just last week I had two, almost identical, conversations with two clients.  But the worrying thing is this isn’t the first time I’ve had these conversations; in fact it’s cropped up quite a bit over the past couple of years. And it goes something like this:

I’m frustrated with my VA (Virtual Assistant). She’s missing things.

Or

I’m on my third VA this year.  I can’t find someone who knows what to do.

Or

My VA takes two / three / four days to get back to me when I need her to respond to me sooner.

Whenever I hear a client say this it raises a red flag for me because, very often, it’s not the VA who’s at fault … it’s the client.  So I dig a little deeper and start to ask a few questions, such as “give me an example of what’s going wrong”; or “what kind of things does she miss”? And usually what I find is that:

  • The VA is doing a great job; she’s doing exactly what the client asks her to do (no problem there!).
  • It’s the client who doesn’t know what to do. They don’t understand the strategy behind their business so they can’t give specific instructions to their VA on what to do; instead they believe that the VA should know what to do without the client having to tell them.
  • The client doesn’t have a plan or doesn’t share the plan with the VA. So their VA is constantly operating in reactive mode and the client is operating in “constant crisis” mode (which is why they get frustrated when their VA doesn’t reply to them immediately).

A Virtual Assistant’s role is to provide administrative support to the business owner; they’re not a strategist/consultant and their role is very much in a support capacity, not strategic capacity. Therefore it’s not their job to tell the client what to do, how to run their business, or when to send out promotions etc.  It’s the client’s job to understand business strategies, create a strategic business plan, and share it with their VA so their VA can support the client and the business as fully as possible.

And this is where the problem lies!  There is a mismatch between what the client’s expectations are and what the VA’s role is.

As a client/business owner, it’s your responsibility to:

  1. Understand the strategy behind everything you do in your business, i.e. hosting a telesummit, launching a new product, running an online coaching program – how does all this fit into your “Big Picture Vision”?
  2. Create a strategic business plan that supports the “Big Picture Vision”.
  3. Share your strategic business plan with your VA and other team members.
Categories
Communication Skills

Sales Scripts No More

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Ever used a sales script? Chances are that at one point or another during your climb up the sales ladder you’ve been exposed to the devilish ways of the corporate script.

The romance ended a long time ago however there’s a new kid on the block when it comes to sales effectiveness.

The checklist.

The aviation industry has been using the checklist for many years now (possibly the pioneers of the practice?) – the sole purpose of these checklists are to avoid trouble however if trouble does arise the checklists are also there to guide the pilots to safety.

Now sales and flying and completely different things but when it comes down to the checklist you’ll notice that they work in every industry (obviously some sort of adjustment/editing will be required to match up with company products/ideas and methods).

The use of a script initially has always been to give the operator a “guide” on how they should address prospects, how they should move the sales cycle along and how they should close. Like a robot.

Checklists offer opportunities to go off the beaten track but still remain completely in control – they also offer a fail-safe in that you can just go through the checklist when you’re in need of assistance.

That has always been the problem with a generic sales script, if the operator goes off track or the prospect leads them down a road that their script doesn’t provide an answer for there has to be a break in the process or “let me just get my supervisor”. There’s nothing wrong with this however it definitely does hinder the progress of the sales cycle – time is a valuable asset that you may now be wasting.

The Checklist

Firstly avoid these aspects of checklists when designing one at all costs:

  • Long winded (aim to stick within 5-10 checks)
  • Not spoken in the language of the professional
  • Not concise
  • Vagueness

Those are huge mistakes to make with checklists however it’s also vital to remember that no single checklist will ever be perfect without field testing. In simulation they’ll be perfect but in real life situations you’ll begin to find flaws and missteps in process. Don’t drop the idea but work with it until you solve the problems, which are usually minor.

Let’s create ourselves a sample checklist to get an idea of what you could potentially create:

Prior to the Sales Call

  • Have you researched the company (Decision makers name, 2nd decision makers name, company profile, checked for notable news/notes).
  • Made key notes regarding the prospect.
  • Sent an e-mail with an introduction to yourself and the company prior to the call.
  • Created key values that your product will provide to the key problems the prospects may have.
  • Materials (If this is instead a sales meeting rather than a call): Laptop, charger, brochure.
  • Understood and answered these questions: What is the purpose of the call? How will you achieve this goal? What is the next step after you achieve the goal?

As you can see this isn’t rocket science by all means but some of the “mundane” tasks in the checklist are often forgotten about simply because we place little value on it.

Imagine turning up to a meeting with an account when you realise that you’ve forgotten their paperwork or your laptop isn’t charged – they were mundane checks then but it sure enough makes you look a fool in front of the client now.

The checklist also offers the opportunity for the sales person to do what they need to do to gain access to the answers for each checklist, there’s no “go onto www.website.com and find your prospect…” and so on instead it gives the sales person the ability to create their own mini tasks to accomplish the checklist goals.

Try out the sample checklist or adapt it to suit your needs or just create a brand new one and test it, chances are you’ll start to pick up on things you may have missed before and even see an increase in deals and clients being won over.

Categories
Finance & Capital

Do You Have Negative Cash Flow after Factoring or Invoice Discounting? How Can this Happen?

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Companies looking for an immediate injection of cash quite often find that the quickest way to accomplish this is through invoice factoring or discounting. Although it seems like a relatively straightforward process, it isn’t as simple as it may sound. It all sounds fairly basic where the lender will provide up to a certain percentage, often as much as 85pc, of the accounts receivable on the ledgers. Unfortunately, there may be times when this can work as a disadvantage, putting a company further into a negative cashflow. That being said, Real Business Rescue will only recommend factoring or invoice discounting if it seems like the most beneficial way to inject money into your business without putting you further into the negative.

Factoring, Discounting and Accumulated Interest on Loans

When your cash flow is worse off as a result of factoring or invoice discounting, several factors could be the ultimate cause. The first thing to consider is that there are a great number of businesses in distress at the moment and if you are having problems collecting debts owed to your company, those debtors may be in distress as well. Yes, you did get a ‘loan’ against your books but will the factor be able to collect those debts and if so, how long will it take to do so? Keep in mind that there is interest charged on the amount of money you will be borrowing against your books and if it takes an inordinate amount of time to collect on those invoices, you may be paying more in interest than you had anticipated.

Invoice Factoring and Discounting vs. Bank Overdrafts

Another area which may be problematic is when a company has an overdraft account with a lender, typically a bank. In many cases the overdraft will be discontinued when a loan is taken against the books which might end up, as mentioned above, costing more than anticipated. Before seeking invoice discounting or factoring, take a good look at your overdraft account to evaluate which would be most cost effective in terms of cash flow. If the factor or your bookkeeping department (for discounting) has trouble collecting from your clients, the overdraft account might just be a more logical choice. This is why our insolvency specialists do a thorough analysis of your accounts before giving advice on which path to take.

When your cashflow is worse off as a result of factoring or invoice discounting, the problem is probably due to an inability to collect on outstanding debts. It’s as simple as that. This is why it is so important to know the difference between a turnaround specialist and a lender! A turnaround (insolvency) specialist will seek to find solutions to your cash flow problems that are realistic. Lenders obviously want to make a profit on loans. That is not a bad thing because, after all, every company is in business to make money. However, Real Business Rescue wants to help you find financing that will not leave you in even greater distress. Talk to our specialists with a free consultation so that we can help determine if invoice discounting or factoring are the best way to raise immediate funds for your company.

Categories
Operations

Why it is Essential You Invest in the Best Testing Equipment

test-equipment

Any professional that works with electronics, high voltage installations, gas, plumbing, the rail services or anything similar all have something in common in their line of work, and this is that a lot of their work relies on accurate readings. All of these readings will be different types and obtained in different ways, but the similarity is that they require readings to get their job done both properly and safely, which means that they need testing equipment of the highest quality. Having high quality testing equipment improves accuracy, and it should also last a lifetime too, so it is always worth the investment.

A good example of the importance of this accuracy is when you use a traditional tape measure. These are extremely helpful, but have you ever used one and then found yourself a few millimetres out? This is something that occurs all the time, and it is because these tape measures are a bit fiddly, they often require two people, and it is not easy to get a totally accurate reading. The best solution to this is to invest in a high quality laser distance meter, as these will give you completely accurate readings and are extremely easy to use. This is just one example of high quality equipment, and a lot of the testing equipment that electricians and plumbers use is a lot more important than this example because of the risks involved in their line of work. Advances in technology have really benefited any worker that needs accurate readings, and it makes their jobs much easier but also safer too.

Finding the Best Quality Testing Equipment

This is why they will need the best voltage detectors, cable locators, fuse finders, leak detectors, earth and insulation test equipment, carbon monoxide detectors, flow meters and lots, lots more. All of these help to get the job done properly and safely, and it is always worth investing in the best kit as otherwise you run the risk of error, and your equipment may deteriorate over time as well. This means that you need to find a supplier, like PASS, that carries all the leading industry names. It ensures your own safety as well as the safety of those around you, so it is up to you to make sure that you are up to the task at hand and have all the right tools for the job.

Categories
Human Resource

How to Easily Attract and Keep Hold of Talented Staff

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No matter the size of a business, the employees that build up the workforce will determine how successful you are. It is important that in every single role you have the right person for the job, and you also need to ensure that you are building for the future so that you can enjoy continued success over the years. This is not so straightforward though as people will come and go over the years, and managing your talent is something that all businesses will struggle with at one point or another. This is true of all sized businesses, but the problems that you may encounter are significantly multiplied for global organisations, and these companies will face a lot more issues than any other type of company.

They of course have to deal with working in different time zones to the offices abroad, there are cultural differences that can have an impact, and on top of this having the right person for the right job becomes harder to manage too. There is something that these large corporations can do however to make the attracting, recruiting and keeping of talent a little easier and more manageable, and this is through talent management software solutions that have been developed.

How Software Packages can Manage Your Talent

All kinds of software is constantly being developed that greatly benefits all kinds of different companies, and you can now add talent management onto this list. These software packages, like the one available from Cornerstone, help to attract and retain talent in a few different ways; they help to recruit the finest talent around with recruitment management, they help to train new employees through e-learning and social collaboration, they improve performance with goals, reviews and more, and also help to develop a network throughout the company.

As you can see, these packages really tackle everything involved in getting the right person for the job and helping employees to reach their full potential. When you have this it means that your organisation will be working efficiently and to the best of its ability, which is of course something that all businesses strive for. The great advantage that using a software package has is that it does all of the difficult, ongoing work for you, and this will alleviate a lot of the stress that talent management inevitably brings.