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Open Doors by Catering to Your Clients
By Janice D. Byer, CCVA, MVA, Docu-Type Administrative & Web Design Services

Clients… they are the most important influence in the success of any business. It is vital to keep them satisfied and happy.

Clients should be catered to. Their every need should be met and more. We need to make them feel like they are our number one client, as they all are.

Catering to our clients should not be anything new to a professional business person. After all, we all know that exceptional customer service is the key to keeping clients happy which, in turn, keeps them coming back for more and influences them to refer you and your business to others.

Then, why is it that there are so many times that we have to deal with businesses who don't put their clients first? We have all had one (or more) of those experiences, haven't we? And each time I have ever had to deal with someone who doesn't provide exceptional customer service, I am just mystified as to how they possibly manage to stay in business.

Now, catering to your customers does not mean that you should have to sacrifice your integrity or your reputation but it does mean that you have to make them feel like they are the most important customer you have. Whether they spend thousands of dollars on your product or service or they only buy in small amounts at irregular times, they are all important to your success. Every client is a door waiting to be opened and for more business to come walking through.

Catering should result in your clients always being happy and thinking positively about you.

There are some obvious, yet often forgotten, simple tasks that you can do that shows your clients that you care about them and want them to feel your are there for them when they really need you. So, let's revisit some of them now.

First, make sure you always give your very best AND that you provide it to your client when they need it. These two go hand in hand. If you have a great product or service but you can't deliver on time, then you are going to lose clients. The same holds true that if you can always deliver on time but it isn't the best that you have to offer, you are bound to be fielding unhappy comments and questions from those who matter the most.

Next, be sure that you have your client's needs and wants in mind when you are supplying to them. Listen to them when you are discussing the aspects of what they need and be sure to match that and even throw in something a little extra to show you were listening.

When listening to your clients, take note of how you can improve your product or service. After all, they are telling you what they need and it is probably what others need as well. By improving your product or service you are not only catering to your clients, you are also opening up new doors for others who may need what you have to offer but are unsure if you can customize to suit their requirements.

Always provide a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Everyone wants to be completely satisfied with everything they obtain or purchase. By guaranteeing your product or service, your customer will be more reassured that they will receive exactly what they ordered. And, if you publicly offer a guarantee, more people will feel at ease dealing with you.

Remember to never keep a client or potential client waiting. When you receive an inquiry from an individual, whether it is a phone message, email, or a letter, be sure to respond to it right away. By not providing a prompt response, you are taking a chance that the client will grow impatient and move onto another business to supply what they are requiring.

And finally, be sure to always say thank you to your clients. Send a thank you note to everyone who requests a quotation, signs up as a new client, or an existing client that has a habit of ordering quite a bit from you. This will not only show that you care about them but it will also keep your company fresh in their minds. If you find that your budget is limited, sending an online e-card will project your appreciation just as well.

Janice Byer, owner of Docu-Type Administrative & Web Design Services provides professional, creative and affordable virtual office assistance and small business website design. She is a Certified Canadian Virtual Assistant (CCVA), certified Master Virtual Assistant (MVA) and co-founder of the Canadian Virtual Assistant Connection (www.cvac.ca). She is also the author of Surfin' The Net - Docu-Type's Virtual Collection of Links, as well a number of Business Building Ebooks. Visit her website (http://www.docutype.net) for more information.

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Simplify, Simplify, Simplify: The Art of Organizing Your Computer Part 1
By Clara Fyffe

A few years ago during a college course on writing, our instructor assigned a certain book to "carefully" read, and then tested us on the contents. The test was an unusual "take your pick" concept. She handed out two sheets of paper to each of us - one with multiple questions, and the other with only one question.

We were told to choose the test we preferred to take. The first exam consisted of twenty essay questions and would be graded on a percentage scale: Miss one question, you'd receive 95%; miss two, 90%; miss three, 85%, and so on. With this exam, the chance of a decent grade ran fairly high. The one-question exam, though, would be an "all or nothing" test where, if you were incorrect, you would receive an automatic 0% or F grade, but if you answered it correctly, you'd receive two 100% or A grades!

We were given five minutes to decide which test to take. Every one of us took the "easy" and assured way out by choosing the multiple question exam. The reason? Who in the world could answer the single question of "What are the last three words of Chapter 3 in Zinsser's On Writing Well?

My goodness! That book had many chapters! How could she expect us to know specifically what the last three words in a particular chapter were?

Upon completing the lengthy essay exam, the instructor gathered the test, then asked us to open that book to the end of Chapter 3. The class breathed a collective "Ohhhhh" as we read those three words: "Simplify, simplify, simplify."

I've never forgotten those words again. And you should remember them, too, in your computer filing system. Simplify for clarity, organization, and ease of use.

This article is in two parts to explain more of the ways to organize your computer. Next month we'll delve into other areas to set things straight. These ideas are not all inclusive; some of you may have better ideas. If you do, please send them to me and I'll list them in future articles. This issue we'll work with mostly business files and folders.

As soon as you turn on your new computer, it starts to accumulate things - programs and files associated with programs, pictures, songs, letters, documents, notes, databases, graphics - you get the idea. I've remember my previous filing systems as well as those of my friends. We forget where we put things. Where is that download? Where is that picture of Jimmy? Where is that letter to my boss? What did I do with that neat clipart I wanted to use in that newsletter?

You get so much stuff, and that's a problem in itself. But we get in a hurry and just save that stuff wherever it lands, no truly organized thought involved. If you can't find something, then it's basically like you don't have it at all. It's basically the simple outline, just like you used in high school, easy and effective. Let's look at a couple general ideas and guidelines to think about, using your own criteria.

The first thing you need to do is sit down and think about how your computer is used. You also need to think about who uses it. Think about the old saying:

"A place for everything, and everything in its place!"

That really is the key to getting and keeping your computer organized. Think about it. If you would make a paper folder for each client, why wouldn't you make one on your computer? If you save all of your documents into one folder, it's going to get crowded. And if you just drop your document into whatever folder shows up in that "Save" box, you're going to have a rough time finding all your documents. So, create folder for each client or each topic, but don't stop there. Create not only one folder, but an entire "stairstep" group of folders of documents that relate to the one above it and the one above that one, on up the line.

I, of course, use the "My Documents" folder as a starting place for every bit of data that's in my computer. I'll use the example of my church, one of my best clients, to show how I organize my computer. Let's start at the beginning of this year.

I first went, of course, to "My Documents" and found the folder I'd created the previous years earlier titled "Business." In that folder were, already, other folders titled "2003 Business," "2004 Business," and "2005 Business," etc. I created a new folder called "2006 Business" in that same "Business" folder. I then clicked on that 2006 folder and began creating my business categories, i.e. 2006 Client Invoices, 2006 Marketing Materials, 2006 Website Documents, 2006 Winters Associates, 2006 Michael Swick, and other files, one for each and every client, and others for any other category of my business.

Now, within each client's folder, I list the dates first, with the title, of the documents I created for that particular client. Dates and specific titles must be listed, for example, as "02-05-06 Letter to Matthew Folly," using double digits for the month and day in order for the files to remain in chronological order as you add more for that client. A file named "Newsletter.doc" seems straightforward, but if you have one every month, it can get messy. "09-02-06 Hotshots Newsletter.doc" is easier to figure out as well as letting you quickly organize by date and type.

Continue creating new folders in those Business categories as they are needed, and be sure to always, at the minute a document is completed, file it in it's appropriate folder right then.

Following the same procedure, other folders will be created for other categories, such as "Family," "Holidays," "Medical," etc. - anything at all that you need individual folders for to keep your business, both professional and personal, separate and completely organized. Then just

This will immediately make any file easier to find. A place for everything. When you're trying to find something specific, you know exactly where to look. And if you can't quite remember a file's name, you have that precise "trickle down" of folders that will take you along the string until you locate the forgotten file. One more thing, date your documents.

Next month, we'll look into specific ideas on organizing other areas of your computer, including pictures, music, programs, and more. We'll also mention backups. 'Til then, I hope you'll work on getting your files in order. Remember: "Simplify, simplify, simplify."

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Outlook Productivity Tips: Sharing Outlook Items
by Andrea Kalli

4 Ways to Take Control of your Email Inbox

Click on the included link to view the complete article. You'll be VERY glad you did. And a big thank you goes out to Sally McGhee for this wonderful information. For those of you struggling to keep on top of the email you receive, here's an article by an industry expert, Sally McGhee, Consultant and Productivity Expert, that personally I have found invaluable and I wanted to share it with you. Do you have an effective way to process and organize your e-mail so that you can get to an empty Inbox on a routine basis? If you have lots of e-mail in your Inbox-we know people with as many as 7,000 messages-you might want to rethink your processing methods. Really, it is possible to empty your Inbox. The key is to evaluate how you are processing and organizing your e-mail and make some changes. No doubt you've opened an e-mail and thought, 'Hmmm, not sure what to do with this. I'll deal with it later!'-and promptly closed the message. If you do this over and over again, it doesn't take long to end up with several hundred (or thousand) messages in your Inbox. Developing a new approach to processing your Inbox will help you to gain more control, improve your response time, and keep up with critical actions and due dates. This article will cover 4 key factors that will help you process your e-mail more efficiently. Sally McGhee A recognized thought leader and innovator in the field of productivity management, Sally McGhee has trained thousands of people in the corporate environment. She has 25 years experience as a consultant and an executive coach, and is the founder and managing partner of McGhee Productivity Solutions. Her new book, "Take Back Your Life! How to Get Organized and Stay Organized with Microsoft Outlook" is now available.

Click here to view Andrea's helpful videos from these tips!
Andrea Kali is a virtual Trainer and virtual Assistant. Visit her website at virtualassist.net

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Editor's Corner
by Kathy Ritchie

Blackberry, so bad its good…

Ok, I admit it, I finally got a Blackberry.

I wanted to combine my cell phone and my PDA instead of carrying around multiple gadgets. Makes sense when you prefer small purses or portfolios.

Not only is my BB smaller than I thought it would be, its easier to use than I thought it would be as well. And having been a die-hard PocketPC user for years, to call me skeptical was an understatement.

Pros of the Blackberry:
Smaller
Integrated Phone and PDA

Cons:
Not as many software programs to use (PocketPC has tons of them)

I purchased a Blackberry 7100t and I can't say enough about it. I love it!

What this has to do with the VA Industry? Nuthin'. I just like gadgets…

Have a great day!
Kathy Ritchie, Editor

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