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Communication is Key

By Gayle Buske, President and CEO, Team Double-Click® and VirtualAssistingUSA;

If a client starts that all-important dialogue with you, or you start it with them, be sure to respond as soon as possible to their messages and questions. Dropping the ball during that client-gaining process is a sure way to let your competition get their foot in the door.

  • Admit when you don't have an answer, but offer to find out. This practice shows, not only your honesty, but also your willingness to help.

  • Respond quickly. If you give the conversation time to cool off, you stand a good chance at losing the client's interest.

  • Do what you say you are going to do. This sounds like something your mother would say, I know. But it's so important and so true. If you tell someone   you're going to do something -even something as simple as send him or her a link to a site- DO IT! Example, you ask? I once switched chiropractors because   he didn't do what he said he was going to do. What did he promise? Nothing major - he was going to talk to the local massage therapist about getting me in for   my massage sooner. He never did. There were a few other things too. Again, nothing major, but the point is that I could no longer trust his word. He was   feeding me a bunch of junk to make me feel good at the time. He was a good enough chiropractor, but I won't work with anyone whose word I can't trust.   Think about that before you promise anyone anything. Be sure you plan to follow through before you make the promise.

  • Be likeable. A client simply will not work with someone they don't like as a person. Speak kindly and professionally with them. I often think of myself as chameleon-like because I have the ability to pick up their manner of speak and style. If they swear a bit, I swear a bit. If they like to talk horses, let’s talk horses, if they want to talk about their grand kids, by all means, let's talk about those little cuties

  • Connect with the client. Find a way to connect with the client. Listen to what they talk about. Do they mention a recent trip to Paris? Search your brain -   what connection do you have with Paris or France? Did you take French class in high school? Mention it, start a dialogue. Even the most remote connection you   can make with the client will help heighten your likeability with them. Once, when speaking with a client, he mentioned that he liked antique airplanes. Well, by   golly, my granddaddy used to fly an old Champ when I was a kid. Don't make your story too long - just give them something on some level that they can   connect with, making you a human, something they're familiar with.

  • Don't be afraid to spend some time chitchatting with the client. Conversations with clients should consist of about 80% chat and 20% business. And of   that 80% chat, only 25% of it should be yours and should be spent asking questions. People LOVE to talk about themselves. Believe me, they will love you if   you let them talk and appear to find interest in what they are saying. And if they love you (regardless the reason) they will give you business.

You'll notice that most of the above tips don't deal one bit with work. That's right. It's sales. You must, must, must, first let the client know that you are human and that you are thinking more about other things than money and work. That out of the way, the work will naturally flow.




About the author:
Gayle Buske is the co-founder, president and CEO of Team Double-Click® and VirtualAssistingUSA. As the head of a virtual staffing agency with over 57,000 virtual professionals in its pool, Ms. Buske is uniquely qualified to aid small business owners in their growth and development through virtual outsourcing. Virtual Assistants across the globe look to Ms. Buske and her organizations for guidance, mentoring and motivation.

Team Double-Click®, the country's foremost staffing agency for trained Virtual Assistants - Matching Top Virtual Workers with Top Companies! Visit www.teamdoubleclick.com or phone 888.827.9129 for a variety of full-service virtual staffing options.

VirtualAssistingUSA provides Virtual Assistants a place to upload their profile, advertise their services and get access to affordable training, marketing and billing assistance for their business. VirtualAssistingUSA gives small business owners direct access to our database of tens of thousands of virtual assistants - without the ongoing agency fees and gives them access to talent that is not available through other venues. Visit www.virtualassistingusa.com for more information.

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