by WP-Dev | Sep 3, 2020 | Entrepreneur, Virtual Assistant
For years, I have never been a true believer of fasting. The thought of not eating for 3 days or more is a concept- that I thought to believe –was only for monks up on the hills in Tibet. Why fast when there are so many people starving in the first place?
Well, years later, I found myself a boyfriend, who was well into new and trendy health theories, and who convinced me that this is just the perfect ingredient for a clear mind and healthy body. A couple of days later, and there I was – saying no to food for 3 days in my beautiful kitchen in the middle of Cape Town.
Why Fast? That’s a Perfectly Valid Question
I didn’t only begin fasting for the obvious reasons – losing weight. I was healthy and lean but I was curious to clear the so-called “brain fog” and a reboot of the immune system, which promised a true mental benefit and a test to my own strength of self-discipline.
Benjamin Hardy, a psychologist and best selling author says:
“Fasting is essentially the putting-off of the physical to tap into higher realms of meaning.”
To be honest, I didn’t reach my higher realms of meaning or any higher sense of self that is… but what I do know is, that it was an experience I urge every one to try.
Here are my 4 most loved benefits of fasting, which I hope will motivate you to start too.
1. Mental Clarity
I was on day 1 of my first fasting experience, and after having my last meal just 20 hours ago, I found myself hiking for 3 hours after just having a black coffee and some water. I never felt better. I was energized, the fog had cleared in my brain, and my endorphins were rushing through me like I was on my way to an exciting music festival. I was sharp, quick, and mentally structured, which I had never experienced before. Need a boost before an important presentation? Here is your tool.
2. Self-Control
Every decision one makes is important, isn’t it? If you have a track record of bad decisions, you end up with a ‘not so happy life’. This all comes down to lack of self-control. And if you cant control yourself, then what can you control?
If you need to learn self-discipline, let me tell you, fasting is the way to do it. You are constantly choosing NOT to eat, even when you are hungry. If you get good at fasting, you get good at discipline, you get good at life. Period.
3. Weight-loss & Detox
Although my goal wasn’t weight-loss, loosing a couple of pounds and water weight was an added benefit to this whole fasting-thing. (Lets be honest, ladies, who doesn’t love to wake up in the morning and feel like your pants are a little looser?) With that in mind, this brings more confidence in you, thus, more confidence in the workplace. On top of that, scientists say that it is a complete reboot of your entire immune system just after 24 hours. I am sure we all have years of guilty junk food eating habits, so the thought of clearing all those toxins sounded peachy.
4. Grit
As Angela Duckworth, psychologist and popular science author, put it in her TED Talk: “Grit is the power of passion and perseverance.” Why is this so important? It helps you focus on long-term and meaningful goals whilst giving you the ability to persist and move through difficult obstacles.
On day 2 of my fasting experience, I had a minor (well it was a major) emotional breakdown. Google said I had severe “carb withdrawal symptoms”. I felt like I was in rehab. I was literally crying on the couch wanting food and begging my partner to get me something to eat. I felt ridiculous. But I guess my ‘Grit’ got me through it, and I never felt better the next day.
Would I do it again? Probably not, but with the benefits I might consider it. Experts say you should be fasting 2-3 times a year. Practice makes perfect, right? I felt incredibly proud when I finished my 72 hours of fasting. This boosted my self-confidence and provided mental strength and assurance that I can deal with difficult situations and temptations. I feel incredibly focused and motivated,and have the willpower to push through anything – and so should you.
by WP-Dev | Aug 25, 2020 | Entrepreneur, Virtual Assistant
When last did you sit down and take a look at your social media presence and see what is working for you and what isn’t?
As a social media manager, I try to make sure I am abreast of all things related to social media – because just like anything related to the web and technology, things change daily!
So, it would make sense for me to take a look at what trends are big in 2020 and what is still to come, and I thought it would be very cool of me to share it with you.
As a business owner you would be remiss to not have a social media presence these days as that is where 95% of conversion from lead to purchase generally takes place.
Let us take a closer look at what I do for clients when it comes to social media and then also touch on the trends which we can all take note of and use going forward.
How I do social media
Social media for me is in the blood now. It is my main niche when it comes to the work that I do for clients. I love it. I have a passion for it – but it can also be a headache somedays.
So, what is it exactly that I do?
I create thought provoking content for clients ranging from digital marketing agencies through to life coaches and PR companies. I have vast experience in many sectors of social media and have written content with spiritual undertones, information related to the automotive industry, real estate and much more.
Therefore, I know that with each client, with each business type, comes a new way of writing content and showcasing the business as a whole.
I also know that these things change often. What works this week could not work next week, and that is why I am forever looking at what is happening globally and applying it (where able and where relevant) to my clients.
So, what is trending?
- Brands are reevaluating – Businesses are taking a new look at what works for them on social media and what doesn’t and from what Sprout Social is telling us, 72% of marketers look at Likes and Comments to find out what to run with and what to bin. This makes sense because when you are getting a Like, or especially comments, it means people have taken notice and found what you have to say to be of relevance to them. The close second is 62% looking at shares and retweets.
- Interest driven versus “just because” – The trends show us that marketers are looking at making real connections with their actual target audience and not just anybody who engages with them (because not just anybody is who you are targeting). This means that they look at their target market as people and not just figures or sales. Marketers are saying, “What do you want? How are you feeling today and what can we give you or show you that can make that feeling change?” They want to know the real people behind the engagement and make them want to stick around. Just as an example, the new Instagram Threads allows one to share stories only with selected people, this gives a more personal touch and more connection, trust and integrity is gained.
- Advertisements – Did you know that Twitter is doing ads as well? I must say I found this to be news to my ears, another reason I like to do research and look around at what is happening in the world of social media. That said, target social ads create major return on investment. When you do paid ads on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter you can choose your ad spend and that spend will determine how many MORE people get to see your posts. These targeted ads then get in front of exactly who you want it to, they allow you to either get more reach, have more page likes or even allow you to get more traffic to your website. So, all in all, spending some money on paid social media ads every now and again can be highly beneficial.
- The Influencer Conundrum – Influencers on social media are not going anywhere anytime soon, but the way brands utilize them may be changing. Before brands would look at influencers with massive amounts of followers and ambassadors who promoted many other products and brands. Nowadays the trend seems to lean more towards what is called “Nano-Influencers”. These are exactly what it sounds like, influencers with a smaller group of followers. The smaller group again leads back to the more intimate, personalized feeling when it comes to marketing towards a target market.
- Stories are still all the rage – Facebook and Instagram have what they called “stories”. These are more fun and more engaging than just regular posts and from what I personally have heard from clients, they definitely get a lot more traction when they post stories. Make them fun, make a video, show off your product and services – you will get people interested and they will come back to check in and see what you are up to.
- Moving pictures for the win – Video content is still high up there when it comes to social media content. People like to watch things. We are more viewers than readers now days. And I think again a video or a Facebook Live has a more personal and intimate feel and people connect on another level. Trust and rapport are built and that is key when it comes to sales.
- Customer is king – Just like in sales in person, so too you should make your customer your focus when creating content for social media. What sort of customer are you targeting? What are their favorite things which you have to offer? Have they said what they would like from your business? If you listened, you would tap into that and use it to market your brand via your social media content.
- Which is better – Now we all know there are a few social media platforms, i.e. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn among the most used for business purposes. But which one should you be nurturing more? The answer is simple really, which one brings you the most business and the most engagement at the moment? It is not that one – you need to be nurturing the one that is not getting anywhere, because maybe you are doing something that does not work on that platform. Take a look at the insights on the platforms and you will see what the trends are and where you need to put in more effort. If after a while one just does not do anything for you – you can drop it!
In conclusion
After all that information, I hope that you are able to take some of these trends and run with it. I am certain that none of these trends will change much in the New Year – but one never knows.
Enjoy your social media marketing, it can be fun and very rewarding, when done right.
Thanks for reading!
by WP-Dev | Aug 25, 2020 | Entrepreneur, Virtual Assistant
Working in the sales environment can be one of the most demanding, rewarding and thrilling workspaces out there. As a salesperson, I do not think that there is anything quite like closing your first deal. Then there is the same customer reordering within a few weeks of their first deal.
The pleasure and stress of joining a new company as a sales consultant can be daunting. Especially when the company is a start-up business in America, and you must virtually create a whole new client base, with the added pressure of achieving sales targets or making any sales at all. When one’s experience is predominantly based on face to face direct sales, adapting to a virtual sales strategy can be challenging, let alone entering an entirely new industry. It can pull at the strings of your self-esteem and capabilities as an experienced salesperson. The timeline of joining a company is always crucial because the longer it takes to close a deal, the less confidence your new employer has in your capacity to be a successful salesperson.
This is exactly how I felt a little over month into my new role, having not closed a single sale for the company. After 6 weeks of nothing, and getting used to the American accent, cultural differences, and colloquialisms, dealing with clients from another country. I began to doubt myself. My self-confidence was shaken. I started to question my experience, and whether I was indeed a good fit for the position. Any salesperson with tell you that having thick skin is a part of the game, but even the toughest salespeople have their outer exterior scathed every now and then.
First sale
Nevertheless, like all things in life, it is always darkest before the dawn. Finally, my first lead was easily and quickly closed. It was a small order of 75 units but well enough to give me the boost I needed to push myself even harder. Which also came with a pat on the back from my COO. That, for me, is always a great motivator.
Second sale
Then, within the next few days, a second lead of mine closed. A modest 25 units, but still an order. The most vital thing that came out of my second order was a positive review. The client positively praised me on my sales etiquette to one of the business partners.
Another win!
Third sale
Staying on my winning streak, after weeks of running email campaigns targeted at various industries, a positive response from one of my email campaigns for a much more substantial order of 250 units.
Two wins here, one from a successful email campaign and my largest order so far.
Valuable lessons learned
The important lessons I have learned from my recent achievements:
- The first is always stay hungry and to stay motivated, even when the initial results show otherwise. Hard work and perseverance never go unnoticed.
- The second lesson is from my COO, which is to not to be afraid to ask for referrals from clients.
As salespeople, we tend to want to achieve results on our own accord, but there is no harm in a little help from your client base.
by VA Connect | Aug 21, 2020 | Entrepreneur, Virtual Assistant
Let’s not kid ourselves. This pandemic has ground the aspirations of most businesses to a halt or even forced some companies to shut their doors completely. Nobody could have foreseen the impact that Covid-19 has had on revenue – the lifeblood of most companies. Chances are unless you sell hand sanitiser or facemasks, your revenue has taken a knock too.
Putting out fires
When trying to put out fires at present, most businesses turn to reduce costs to survive and keep heads above water. These costs include reducing your workforce, cutting salaries, marketing budgets either kept to a minimum or even scrapped and in some cases working from home to cut out office rent. When the dust settles, however, the only thing that will be able to propel business performance forward is generating revenue and using that to regain momentum.
That is easier said than done of course. Most business owners or leaders are currently trying to hold the fort, multi-tasking, and trying to keep the ship steady. And let’s face it – finding new business in most industries is tough enough as it is. Many people are holding on to the money that they earn with the fear that things could get tougher. Therefore, spending their money on what is now is luxury in their eyes is a big no-no!
Free up your time
As the chief business winner in most cases, business owners and leaders should be doing everything they can to focus their energy on establishing new relationships and closing deals. But they face many distractions from that at this moment in time. Dealing with HR issues, finance, and other critical business areas, let alone the restrictions in place from the government. But none of these will fuel growth. Being able to free oneself from these distractions to be able to free up time and focus on sales is possibly the most critical business need.
How a virtual assistant will make the difference
Using a virtual assistant service is one such way to be able to do this, without the financial burden of taking on full-time staff too soon, when the road ahead of us is uncertain and inevitably lined with challenges. A VA can offer a range of skills and services, which can all be deployed at short notice on short term contracts, including administration, marketing, accounting, and various others.
- Here are some reasons why a virtual assistant is not a financial or HR burden:
They are not a full-time employee, therefore you don’t have to worry about salaries or the benefits that one needs to provide to full-time staff. - With the current pandemic we are facing, there may be months where a VA is not required as some projects may have come to an end or business is a bit slow. You would be able to have an agreement with your VA to use their services when required. The contract can be flexible.
- As the name says, your assistant is virtual, so you do not have to worry about office space or a laptop for them. They can plug in online as and when you need them.
Leverage an agile and scalable team to contribute to your business so that you can focus all your attention on generating sales!
Hiring a virtual assistant would help you achieve your goal.
by WP-Dev | Aug 11, 2020 | Entrepreneur, Virtual Assistant
Have you ever started designing a flyer or a social media post then forty-five minutes later decide that you don’t like it and end up deleting it?
Do you ever say to yourself, ‘’This project will take me fifteen minutes to complete and instead end up spending two hours on it? Some may say that it’s part and parcel of the creative process and that they have binned many projects.
Are you one of those designers who find themselves in a time-wasting trap leaving you feeling annoyed and overwhelmed especially when you have a list of other tasks that still need to be completed?
It is important to learn how to manage your time, so here are a few techniques that may help you:
Always keep a lookout for inspiration and new ideas
Your best source of inspiration may come from looking at similar or competing designs of others. Ask yourself what inspires you about their work? What do you like or dislike? Is it the colours, the idea or style? How can you change and re-invent the design by bringing in your own fresh ideas? Save your new ideas in folders. The next time you have a project; you can quickly go to your folder and put a creative design together.
Ensure you have a good pc and even better internet
If the tools you use are inefficient, you will be as well. You will need a computer that can handle heavy graphics and large files without crawling, losing information or crashing. You cannot wait for two or more minutes each time you need to upload images from the internet or download your project. You will eventually become de-motivated to do graphic design work.
Organise your files and folders as early as possible
Think of a way that you can consistently save repetitive client projects into one folder which will include their branding guidelines, logo, colour scheme, design style and projects. Give the folder an appropriate name that can be easily found. It is quite difficult to locate a file name called IMG0213397 especially as your portfolio grows rapidly. Well organised folders will save you heaps of time and hassle in the future from having to locate a folder.
Find out what your client needs
How many times have you found yourself working to what you believed to be your client’s objective, only to find way later that you have missed the mark? If you want to get things done and done correctly, you need to communicate with your client. Here are a few questions to ask. Why are you creating what you are creating? Who is their target audience, what are the goals they wish to accomplish with the project? What is their budget for the project? What are the must have elements in their design. Ensure that you ask questions before you begin and don’t spend two weeks trying to acquire information you need to complete work that only lasts two hours.
Plan your project in detail before you create it
Have a clear vision in your mind before you start with your creation. Sketch and draft designs for about 5-10 minutes as you may need to test layouts, colour schemes and experiment with the different graphics. Ensure that you know exactly what you want to do before you start.
Use Templates
You name it, they’ve got it! Canva has so many templates for flyers, resumes, brochures, business cards and social media banners that you can choose from. You will save great amounts of time if the outline of the project is already there. Design should never repeat itself, however you don’t need to re-create the wheel with every project. Only use the elements, images or fonts which could help you put together your own project. Jump starting workflows by reusing and recycling parts of a wasted project that didn’t look so great can save you time.
Get rid of the distractions
Forget about multi-tasking. Turn off your notifications, put your computer on airplane mode, and don’t feel like you need to respond to every email that pops into your inbox straight away. According to Gloria Mark a Professor in the Department of Informatics at the University of California, it takes roughly 23 minutes to get back on track again once you have been disrupted. Ignore all interrupters such as Facebook and WhatsApp for as long as you can.
Keep track of your time
When you first offer Graphic Design as a service, your time estimates will probably be inaccurate because you won’t have the experience or measurable data to see how long you worked on a specific task. Use time tracking software such as Toggl to make you more aware of the time you need to set aside to complete each project which is the key to get better at managing your time. Challenge yourself by allotting a time less time than it would usually take and always try to deliver your project a day or two before the deadline.
Stop before you think you are done
The perfectionists may not agree! Noodling over every last detail will rob you of most of your time. That one little tiny fragment that keeps annoying you because it wouldn’t move into place will probably go unnoticed. Show someone your design and ask them to give you feedback. They may think that it’s absolutely perfect and you may not have to do anything more. Remember that you are not your client so you shouldn’t judge the brochure or flyer that you are designing only according to your own standard and opinion-your client may love your design.
Any one of these time management techniques can easily save you time and boost your productivity. And finally, always give yourself a reward for completing a complicated design or project before the deadline-whether it be a café latte or a treat to the mall for a new item of clothing. Remember that enjoying what you do increases your productivity and brings out the best in you.
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels
by WP-Dev | Aug 11, 2020 | Entrepreneur, Virtual Assistant
There is an old saying that 80% of your sales revenue come from 20% of your clients. Also, another, not so great statistic, is that 80% of the work in your business is done by 20% of your staff.
These statistics bring to light two of the main complaints of any business looking to add to their team—the cost and investment it takes to bring on a new permanent employee. When you factor in the hidden costs like training and employee benefits, it’s a hard pill to swallow, KNOWING that, give or take, 80% of your staff is not there giving their all, all the time. This rings true especially when you are busting your behind getting your life-long-dream, still in that crazy roller-coaster ride called the start-up phase, off the ground. Anyone who has ever started a business knows that you as the entrepreneur, is BUSY. You are most probably dividing your time between operations, marketing, financial management & HR – heck you may just as well be the tea lady!
The dilemma which presents itself is that you need sales to grow the business. Entrepreneurs are not necessarily great at selling. Or perhaps you are a hot shot salesperson, but don’t have the time or desire to nurture and grow the relationships with your newly landed clients. The great news is that a Virtual Assistant hire is a straightforward, simple way to add to your sales team, without having to worry about hidden costs. Virtual Assistants are paid for the hours they work, whether it is 3 hours or 8 hours per day. They will happily take over all the tasks that you don’t want to manage yourself.
A Sales VA can, to name a few, run with customer relationship management, customer support, prospecting, managing your sales funnel, managing leads through social media, and much more. The question you need to ask yourself is, what do I need my Virtual Sales Assistant to do to bring VALUE to my business? Once you have figured out this, you are ready to interview your selection of candidates and choose a Virtual Assistant with the exact required experience.
What Can You Outsource to a Virtual Sales Assistant?
At this stage you must be pondering the question – What exactly can I outsource to someone in this line of work? Surprisingly, there is a whole lot of work which you can hand over to a Sales VA. Think of a Virtual Sales Assistant as roughly a Marketing Assistant; they’re not only good at taking on tasks that you would rather not do, but they can add to yours as well as your existing sales team’s capacity in virtually (excuse the pun) anything that has to do with marketing and sales.
Let’s get a little more specific:
- Telemarketing: This is not something you may always enjoy doing, but it’s often a necessary part of doing business. You can easily hire a remote worker who not only really loves calling people all day but is also highly skilled at this! A virtual sales assistant can make outgoing calls to businesses on your behalf, as well as manage inbound calls. Calling software such as Dialpad, has made this easy. Gone are the days of having to onboard someone in a full-time capacity to sit in your office and make calls. This way, qualified leads can be passed on to yourself or your top salespeople to do what they do best – close new deals!
- CRM skills: The management of customer relationship software is usually key to adding to your sales funnel and creating a profitable and successful pipeline. This is something that you can outsource to an expert Virtual Sales Assistant. Give them the responsibility of making sure that every customer’s data entry is continuously updated with the latest information. You can also put your Sales VA in charge of following up with clients you haven’t heard from in a while or run email campaigns using your CRM software.
- Outsourcing marketing strategy: Has your marketing strategy been stuck in a rut & aimless? Business owners can not only outsource basic marketing tasks but also outsource strategic thought when it comes to running the sales team and streamlining the sales processes. The fresh mind of an ‘outsider’ may just well be what your marketing strategy requires to give it a creative boost.
- Sales assistant services: If your sales & marketing team needs an assistant who can grasp the basics of your most common sales & marketing tasks, a Virtual Sales Assistant can leverage their skills and experience to join your team nearly seamlessly. The VA can even serve in an executive assistant role for the Sales or Marketing Manager.
- Social Media Management: Your Sales VA can be put in charge of managing all your social media platforms. Think Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Now, more than ever, business owners have to think creatively when it comes to running a successful, profitable business. Making use of a qualified Virtual Assistant will unquestionably add great VALUE to your business sans the risk and hidden costs of permanent employees.
