What should you do when a client says “I can’t afford your services anymore?”

August 2nd, 2010 by inspiringvacoaching

Have you ever had a client that will spend thousands of dollars on other investments, then tell you that they can’t afford your services anymore and within the same breath they tell you how much money they just spent on something else?

In some situations this is definitely the case.  There are business owners who just over extend themselves financially and when they go to check their finances, they come to realize that they have run out of money.  To this business owner this is a sad day.  This business owner goes through several different emotions about what happened and how they can extend the money that they may have left.  Thus they start to think about how they can cut back.  Unfortunately, one of the first things that they think about cutting is you!

On the other hand, you have business owners who just don’t want to use your services anymore and because they don’t have the courage to tell you the truth, they tell you that they can’t afford your services anymore.

Either way you just lost a client.  There are some do’s and don’ts that you need to think about:

1.  Do show your value to that client.  Explain to them how working with you can move their business forward toward their desired results.

2. Do show them the benefit that they have/will  gain by using your service

3. Do-Be kind.  No matter how upset you are with your client, make sure that you kill them with kindness.  Tell them that whenever they are ready that they can come back.  Tell them about how it was a pleasure working with them.  Most importantly, ask them for a referral and a testimonial.

These steps are imperative.  Let me explain.  I once worked with someone who did amazing work for me at the beginning.  However, as time went by they began to push back more and more on various projects that I would give them.  At that point, I had thoughts of diminishing the relationship but I was more than willing to still refer them to others because they did do some amazing work for me.  To make a long story very short, they were so upset that I ended our business relationship that they began to send me very nasty e-mails.  At the end of the day, what I thought was such a great relationship ended up being a disaster.

Don’t let your clients’ walk away regretting working with you.  That brings us to the don’ts:

1.  Don’t EVER yell at your client and make them feel bad about their decision to not work with you anymore.

2. Don’t throw up in their face what you have done for them and their business.

3. Don’t band them from your business because maybe just maybe that one client is actually telling you the truth and they have every intention on working with you again in the future.

Vision Statements – Your Key to Future Business Success

July 19th, 2010 by admin

You should be able to find several essential facts about vision statements in the following paragraphs. If there’s at least one fact you didn’t know before, imagine the difference it might make the next time you are called on to create one.

Organizations face the eventual challenge of developing a vision statement to help secure their future, and as fellow entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized business experts, we understand first-hand the amount of time, energy, and strategic thinking it requires to effectively produce a unique, dependable, and highly regarded vision statement. A well-crafted one can be a most important element in creating a solid corporate or organizational identity, as well as potential future. It really is the embodiment of one’s company and yes it says a whole lot to all your clients and personnel about what you aim to accomplish.

They are designed to motivate, energize, and create a captivating image of where you see your business heading in the future. Unless you document one, your enterprise will undoubtedly be without having direction. Once you have one, your vision will then furnish the motivation for your everyday functions of your company and supply direction pertaining to strategic decisions.

A common method of creating a business mission and vision would be to send the executive staff offsite to some getaway location for a couple of days which is where these people would function until eventually they attain a consensus concerning the essential elements of the strategic plan. None of the supporting staff members desires the task of coping with each of the executives’ huge egos with this process, therefore a strategic-planning advisor is generally introduced in order to conduct the discussion. The business advisor gets the actual participants to brainstorm a list of words and phrases which specify the businesses long term vision. The terms are analyzed, prioritized, talked about, and then blended into a wonderful sentence which articulates the longer term vision. This kind of sentence is frequently wordsmith to death by the team for several hours, until eventually everybody will abide by the suggested words and phrases or is simply too worn out to continue bickering. The final product is frequently so stuffed with mumbo jumbo in addition to stylish catchphrases that, in the event quizzed, the management might have difficulty conveying the idea. The actual consultant enjoys it however, and all of them are much too nauseous from the development to be able to revise the item any more.

These statements are certainly not solutions. They are just plain specific tools that have to be utilized by ready and competent administrators and supervisors. Occasionally these kinds of tools are unsuccessful as a result of insufficient top management support. Wherever mission and vision assertions have been successful there does exist top to bottom indisputable support. So how exactly does almost any business, no matter what the kind, as well as size, grows to be genuinely excellent when they are not able to respond to the fundamental questions. Exactly why do we exist? Where are we heading? Mission and vision assertions respond to these all-important questions. It is very important to comprehend the main difference between to a mission statement and a vision statement as well as the purpose of each. A mission statement is really a declaration as to the reasons a business is out there as well as identifies the business the organization happens to be in. A vision describes what the business desires to end up being.

The data regarding visions offered here will do 1 of 2 things: either it’s going to enhance that which you understand about vision statements or perhaps it will show you something new. Both of them are very good effects.

Lots of people mistake vision for mission statement, and occasionally an example may be easily employed like a longer term variation of the other. A vision specifies the reason or perhaps broader aim for being around or in the business and may stay the same for many years when constructed properly. For those who have an existing company where the mission is published, then often times, the mission guides the vision as well as the remainder of the strategic plan of action.

To become truly successful, a particular organizational vision statement ought to end up being merged into your corporation’s culture. The generation of a vision can be quite a wonderful resource to virtually any kind of business. Basically, a vision considers the present condition of the company, and acts to aim the actual route regarding the location where the organization desires to get. As a method connected with establishing an important objective that the business will aim to achieve, the vision helps to give you a target for the mission of the company.

A vision statement might be known as a picture of your organization in later life but it really is much in addition to that. Your vision is your inspiration, the framework for all your excellent planning. A vision may apply to an entire business or to just one department of the company. Whether or not it pertains to the entire or part of a business, the vision answers the actual question… where do we desire to get?

What you really are accomplishing whenever developing a vision is actually articulating your ambitions as well as expectations for your business. Although a vision will not tell you exactly how you are going to reach one’s destination, it does establish the course for your business planning.

Whenever developing vision statements it is frequently helpful to distinguish the internal and external facets. Inside a business setting, you can think of external vision statements as how you want to have “outsiders” which include your customers, suppliers, as well as the community to look at and conduct themselves towards your business. A strong internal vision statement would summarize the way you really want your employees, owners and other insiders to view your business.

Keep in mind that the objective of the actual vision is not really to function as a “genuine” goal that you are likely to measure against to ascertain if you have been successful or perhaps failed. Rather, the objective of the vision would be to open your eyes to what is achievable. Express your vision in present tense as though you were reporting what you actually see, hear, think and feel immediately after your most suitable final result had been realized. Your vision ought to identify the way you will certainly feel when the end result is realized. Incorporating an emotional payoff within your vision statement infuses it with passion and will allow it to be much more persuasive, uplifting, and energizing.

Because vision statements are generally aimed at the long-term, they need not be updated or evaluated as often as mission statements. My particular inclination is to review vision statements at least quarterly, to find out if your vision statement continues to describe the optimal final result you desire.

One thing to think about when creating a vision statement for an organization is… what is the purpose of the organization? That response will allow you to generate an excellent vision statement. It is suggested that an organizational vision statement abide by the following recommendations:

- Be Long term focused.

- Simple to read and comprehend.

- Gets people’s attention.

- Provides a motivating force.

- Inspiring and also descriptive.

- Persuasive… bold and dynamic.

- Summarized with a highly effective phrase.

- Meaningful words… no buzz words.

- Written in the present… not future tense.

- Describes the very best outcome that can be attained.

- Echoes the company’s values.

- Stresses the uniqueness of the company.

- Captures the desired spirit of the organization.

- Kindles excitement and encourages commitment.

- Is comprehensive… concentrating on more than one aspect of the company?

- Clarifies purpose and direction for the company (can be used to guide decision-making).

- Details where the company wants to go (but not how the company will get there).

- Explains the company’s future in positive terms (instead of describing what is not wanted).

- Produces a mental picture for readers of what the company will look like (a preferred state).

With these in mind, it ought to be easy to create a vision statement which will invigorate as well as motivate workers.

It is recommended whenever designing a vision statement to allow your mind to dare to dream. It is additionally essential that a vision statement captures your passion. In contrast to the mission statement, a vision statement is for you as well as the other members of your organization, not for your clients or customers. After you have one, your vision statement will have a tremendous impact on making decisions and how you allocate resources.

Your vision statement should describe the best possible end result. In reality, you might want to visualize something more desirable than what you consider to be the best possible outcome. Keep in mind that the objective of the vision statement is to inspire, energize, motivate, as well as stimulate… not necessarily to function as a rule of thumb regarding success – that is the job of your objectives and goals. A strong vision statement should stretch expectations as well as aspirations enabling you to jump out of your comfort zone. A number of folks might object to the usage of such an optimistic or impractical vision statement because a few may consider it a failure if you fall short of the best possible outcome, even though you meet all the goals/objectives.

Whenever leaders provide a vision statement, it is usually to get folks working toward the same goals, utilizing common approaches, with the same motivation. In spite of the popularity of vision statements, there is no one recognized standard with regard to crafting them. Business planners still have lengthy conversations regarding their proper purpose, structure, and content.

Right now might be an excellent time for you to jot down the key points covered above. The act of putting it down on paper will allow you to recall what’s important concerning vision statements.

Thomas Goniwiecha

Author

Create a Business Vision and Secure Your Success – A Result of Your Imagination and Decision Making

July 12th, 2010 by admin

Speak to any successful business owner and he – she will tell you exactly where the business will be in 3-5 years time. They know where the business is going and what they have to do to get there. A Business Vision is the Where the Business Mission is how. Having a vision is having a clear picture of what you want the future to be, and what it will hold for your business. A Business Vision will give you the drive to move your business forward, and the determination to get there.

II.          What does a Business Vision look like?

All visions start with a dream. You need some time to let your mind wander, and your imagination to run wild. Think really big, about how the most successful business of your type should look, and write down what you come up with. There are no limits on your thoughts, look a head 3-5 years. Your vision has to be strong enough to motivate you through those times when the daily distractions make you wonder whether it is all worth while. It has to be powerful enough to make you jump out of bed each morning and drive the business forward.

It must be bold and inspire you and others who will help you achieve it. It is the dream which covers all aspects of the business as you look forward. It must be a concise summary of all your thoughts, written in a way that everyone understands it. You may be in a service industry, and decide that when someone thinks of employing that service, you want them to contact you first. You may decide that you want to expand your range of services to provide a complete turnkey operation. Then your Vision might be, – “To be First Choice for. (Industry)…… Solutions”

III          What is the next step?

Unless you take some action, the vision you have decided upon will remain only a dream. You have decided where you want your business to be, you must use that to help you decide how you are going to get there. In other words you need to evaluate what steps are necessary to cover each item in your Vision statement, and create a plan to achieve those steps. Remember that the Vision must be used by you and those around you to motivate you, inspire you and spur you into action to achieve it.

Bob Pearce

Author

Helping Yourself to Success

July 5th, 2010 by admin

It is important not to be merely a passenger on the road to success, but to be the driver, steering yourself on the path to your desired success. Of course, you must first have a clear vision of what success means to you.

The first step towards success is knowing and defining exactly what it is that you are striving to reach. As difficult as it may be, try to be as specific as possible. It is not enough to say, for example, that you want to be successful in business. Take it a step further and explore what exactly it would mean to you be successful in business.

Does it mean that you make $10 million a year? Does it mean that you run a company that employs 50 people? Does it mean that you work for an organization that is working to make the world a better place? The possibilities are endless, but, like with any road trip, if you do not have a final destination in mind, you cannot create a set of directions to get there.

Once you have a clear picture in your mind of what success means to you, you can start considering ways to achieve it. Continuing with our business example, imagine that you have decided that for you to consider yourself successful, your business must bring in revenues of $10 million per year. If you set that goal and then just sit back and wait for it to happen, chances are you will be unsuccessful. Instead, you need to carefully consider everything that is in your power to do to bring in the $10 million.

You can start by making a simple brainstorming list. Open up a Word document and just start listing out every idea you can think of that might help you reach your goal. Even if the idea seems ridiculous, just write it down. You list may include items such as: hire competent and motivated employees, advertise effectively, focus on customer service, etc. After you have completed your list, go back and pick the top three or four items that you think are the most important and on which you want to focus.

Once you have chosen your focus items, make yourself a to-do list of tasks that you can do related to each item. Again, following our example, if you think hiring competent and motivated employees is essential for your success (with success being defined as $10 million in revenues), then your tasks may include something along the lines of finding a high-quality staffing company to assist you in finding stellar employees.

You can then convert your task list into a detailed work plan where you can easily keep track of your progress in each area. Constant referral back to your work plan on a daily basis will remind you of your ultimate goal and will keep you focused and motivated. Seeing how far you have come will motivate you to keep pressing forward. You will also be able to easily identify the items on your list that may not be providing you with the results you need and you can adjust accordingly.

As long as you remember your ultimate definition of success, you can always redefine the tasks as necessary. Realizing and accepting that it is you who is responsible for ensuring that you achieve success is the true key. If you can do that, you are well on your way to much-deserved success.

7 Secrets to Success

June 28th, 2010 by inspiringvacoaching

What is success to you? It is very difficult to define success because it means so many things to some many different people. What success is to me may not necessarily be what it is to you! So what is your definition of success? Is it financial freedom? Maybe time freedom? Being able to take vacations? Operating your own home based business? Is it being totally financially independent and not having another worry ever again? What exactly is success to you? There is NOTHING like the feeling of success!

S = Solo Focus: Solo focus is just one focus and it is laser focus. People tend to get distracted and go off in 10 different directions. You cannot do this and become successful. You MUST stay focused on what you are doing, the goal you are trying to accomplish, and the tasks you need to perform in order to reach your goal. Do not get distracted! People can sense when you are solo focused and you become more magnetic and attract people to follow you. You will be become a more successful leader!

U = Unlocked Imagination: You need to unlock your imagination. Our imagination is usually locked and we limit ourselves. When you unlock your imagination it will in turn unlock your creativity, your passions, and it follows the rules of success. Remember that all success is, is an image you have in your mind. Unlocking your imagination will allow you to have a huge vision and reach your goals much easier. Get around people who are successful and big thinkers, stay away from negative thinkers and limited minded people. Get around people who can train and teach you to unlock your imagination and you will get a huge vision in your life! A huge vision is not only magnetic, but part of the success foundation.

C = Crystal Clear Path: You know the step required to obtain your goals and building your business. Success is going to be very hard to obtain is you do not have a crystal clear path. You must know your path and be able to convey it to your team members so they can duplicate your steps.

C = Connection to the Heart: You can accomplish anything you set your mind to as long as it is powered by the heart. This is evident in and the basis for the book “As a Man Thinketh”. Have you ever heard the phrase: “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right!”? Your heart is the success driver in you. It drives you to success every day. It drives you to do things beyond where most people would give up, which drives you to succeed simply because it is in your heart to do so! Is your heart connected to your business? Figure out what you value most in your life (Your WHY) and connect it to your business and you will have found your ultimate success driver!

E = Extraordinary Energy: This is the energy that comes when you connect to the heart. It’s the extraordinary energy of emotion, creativity, faith, and your presence. Your heart will create all of these things when you connect your business to it. Hype comes from the mind, energy comes from the heart. This is energy, not hype!

S = Skill Set: You HAVE to have a good skill set. This is something that can be learned. Most people start with little, or underdeveloped skills. You can develop these skills through personal growth and it must be developed in order for you to succeed. As you work your business your skill set will naturally develop on its own, but you should be personally working on it every day as well.

S = Stop at Nothing: No matter what people say, do, or think. No matter what limitations they throw at you, no matter what kind of negativity they throw at you.

If you possess all of the above qualities we have discussed, you will stop at nothing to obtain your goals because you will be so determined and focused that success will be yours, no matter what!

Create a VISION for YOUR SUCCESS

June 8th, 2010 by inspiringvacoaching

By: Lisa Malloy

I want to share with you how you can have a successful Virtual Assistant Business. It is not only obtainable but it’s possible.

I have been an Administrative Professional for over 20 years. When I first started my career, I started on a clerical level and worked my up to an Executive Level position in a very short period of time. While I was working in the capacity of an Administrative Professional I also had a part time VA business in the early 90s’.

During my 20 year career, I have coached my Peers, Manager/Supervisors, and Vice Presidents. I have coached people to get promotions, how deal with a difficult boss, and how to start their own business. When I was laid off from my corporate Administrative Supervisor position I still had a strong passion to help Administrative Professionals move forward in their life and business.

So I decided to become a Virtual Assistant Coach full time. I thought wow this is great! I began signing up for every call that was out there on the subject of how to have a successful business. I literally spend several months trying to follow what I learned on those calls. I took several different courses and attend even more workshops.

As you can only imagine, I was on total over load. Each class/workshop told me to do something different. One day I just sat and cried. Why, because I had way too much information from so many different resources. Instead of living my dream of having my own business I ended up confused, lost, and frustrated. I knew I could help people because I have been so successful in the past but I just didn’t know how to get started correctly.

Then one day I said enough! I began to ask myself, what do I want out of my business? What do I want my business to look like? What type of life style do I want? Once I began to ask myself specific questions, I began to create MY VISION for my business.

Once I create MY VISION I was amazed at how easy it was for me to build a strong and solid foundation for my business. It was the best decision I have ever made.

Now, I am no longer lost, frustrated, and confused. I am inspired, empowered, excited, and happy. Why? Because I didn’t follow what everyone else told me I should be doing instead, I created MY OWN VISION for MY SUCCESS.

I don’t want you to stay in that frustrated, lost, and confused state. Not knowing how to get your business started and not knowing where to find the answers to your most pressing questions.

That is why I created the Visioning Process to help you create a strong and solid foundation to have a successful business. I don’t want you to waste several months and a lot of money like I did just to follow some one else and be unsuccessful.

I will be sharing my Visioning Process in my new workshop “VISION FOR SUCCESS WORKSHOP” This workshop is unlike any other workshop that you may have attended in the past. WHY? Because you will be begin to create your own vision for your business. You will no longer have to follow in someone else’s shoes hoping that their vision will work for you. You will create your own.

Once you create YOUR VISION, you will see how easy building a strong foundation for your business will be for you. You will know exactly what your next steps will be, what resources you will need to reach your goals, and you will walk away feeling inspired and empowered. Building your business will become fun once again.

To register for my VISION FOR SUCCESS WORKSHOP, just visit:

www.inspiringvacoach.eventbright.com.

Also on this same site, you can register to win one of my amazing e-books on my visioning process as well as schedule a FREE 30 Minute Complimentary Session with me.

Don’t put off being happy in your business another day. Register today!

All the best to your success!

Lisa Malloy
Inspiring VA Coaching, LLC

www.inspiringva.com

Being in business for yourself doing what you love to do is possible.

June 1st, 2010 by inspiringvacoaching
My name is Lisa Malloy and I am a Virtual Assistant Coach.  Before I get into why creating a Vision is imperative to building a solid foundation for your business I would like to share a little bit about myself.

I have been an Administrative Professional for over 20 years.  When I first started my career, I started on a clerical level and worked my up to an Executive Level position in a very short period of time.  While I was working in the capacity of an Administrative Professional I have coached my Peers, Manager/Supervisors, and Vice Presidents.  I have coached people to get promotions, how deal with a difficult boss, and how to start their own business.  When I was laid off from my corporate administrative supervisor position I still wanted to help Administrative Professionals move forward in their life and business.

So I took all of my years of knowledge and experience and created the Visioning Process.  Every business that you know of right now started out with a Vision.  Think about it for a second, do you think that Walt Disney knew that he would own ESPN, have retail stores around the world selling Walt Disney products, own Pixar Films, and have three major amusement parks?  Of course he did.  Even though Walt didn’t live to see his first park open, the people he left behind knew what his vision was for the company and made it come to life.

Imagine you sitting down on a Sunday morning drinking your coffee and reading the paper.  You look into the classified ads and see that the company you have always wanted to work for (your dream job) is now hiring and the pay is more than you ever made in your entire life.  So what do you do, you take the time to carefully update your resume making sure it is absolutely perfect, and then you submit your resume with your figures crossed.  Two days later, they call you for an interview.  You think OMG this is great!  In your mind you think “everything has to be perfect for me to get this job”. So you begin to prepare.  You may even go out and buy new cloths to fit the occasion.  You play in the mirror for several hours trying to figure out the best way to present yourself. You review your resume and skills to make sure you tell them about how you can be an asset to their company. The night before you lay out your clothes, make sure you have enough gas in your car to get there or if you don’t drive you make sure you have your car fair to get to and from or you confirm your ride for the next day.  Now here we are on your interview day.  You get up bright and early get dressed and make sure that you look prefect because you want to put your best foot forward. You go in do your best and now the interview is over.  You sit patiently for about two to three days waiting to hear something.  The phones rings and guess what, you got the job.  WAHOO life is good.  So you start your new job, again buying new clothes to make sure that you look your best. You go in on your first day and they train you on what they want you to do.  You get up every day on time so you are not late. You make friends with your peers at work.  You put your best foot forward every day and why?  Because this is your dream job and you want to do everything and anything they tell you to do to keep working for this company that you always wanted to work for.

Questions?  How about putting all of that time and energy that you would put into someone else’s company into your own?  Think about it, someone had a vision for that company and what you are doing as an employee is working to help them reach that vision right? Reach that sales quota for the month, to make more money to open up new locations. So why not do that for yourself?   Look at the financial and emotional investment you went through to work for someone else.  All the time you spend preparing.

If you can do ALL of that for someone else, why do you struggle with investing in YOURSELF and YOUR BUSINESS?  NOW, you don’t have to any more.

That is what my Visioning Process is all about.  Creating a vision, YOUR VISION for your company.   Please understand that there is a difference between owning your own business and owning your own company.  You can have one or the other but without a vision, how do you know which one you have or want to have?

That is what I do.  I help Administrative Professionals/Virtual Assistants create a vision just like so many other companies that you already know have done and are doing to be successful.

For a limited time, I am offering a FREE 30 Minute Complimentary Session to help you create your VISION for your life and your business.

Schedule your time today at www.inspiringva.com.

Until next time, all the best to your success!

Lisa Malloy
Inspiring VA Coaching, LLC.
www.inspiringva.com