It was a ‘typical Monday’ today …. but a few things that happened throughout the busy day made me realize, yet again, about how important good communication for those ’stick situations’ is in a virtual organization.

I’ve been working virtually for 6 years and have certainly run into my share of ’sticky’ situations that may have been avoided had they been in a typical office environment.

Since we rely so heavily on email correspondence - it’s absolutely critical that we remember a few key points when it comes to these challenging situations and how we handle the communication around them. Good communication with our colleagues, clients, prospects - everyone goes a long way and it will either keep or bruise your reputation. In fact, it can make or break your relationships if you’re not careful.

Those who know me well know that I’m a bit ’sensitive’ when it comes to communication. I really (really!) try to word my emails in such a way that they don’t come across as insulting, impatient, rude, or like I’m blaming or selling someone out. If I receive an email that implies any of these - I get a tad bit cranky - just as I’m sure many others would, depending on the content.

So here’s just a few tips to consider before hitting that send button in a unpleasant situation. Remember, there’s no way to retrieve those words once you have send them …

• If you receive an email that upsets you - close it and come back to it later. If you fire off a response before you settle your emotions, you may include things you really didn’t want (or need) to say and completely jeopardize your relationship. Take a few minutes and revisit the email later and respond then.
• Before you hit that send button - read your email one last time. If you received this email - would it upset you? Take the time to re-read and make sure it says what you want to say without causing conflict.
• Select your words wisely. Make sure the words you use will not make the other person feel like you are attacking them in any way. Again, ask yourself if the words used would upset you if you were on the receiving end.
• Decide if it’s really worth a response. Sometimes it’s just not worth responding to an email. If it’s something that should be ‘dropped’, then leave it as is. You may feel like you need to put in the last word but is it really worth it? Likely not.
• Think about other options - would it be better to pick up the phone and talk to the person instead of sending an email? Going the extra step and clarifying a situation voice-to-voice can save a relationship. Take a few minutes to think of the points you want to cover. Don’t act defensive …. talk it out and you’ll likely feel much better immediately after.

These are tips we all know but tend to forget in difficult situations. Think of them next time you receive a irritating email … it may save you a few gray hairs!

~ Cindy

Every Virtual Assistant makes mistakes when it comes to building a successful business - it’s how we learn (sometimes it’s an unfortunate way to learn!).

And believe it or not - most of these mistakes are totally preventable. What does this mean? It means that we are the ones getting the way of our own success!

Over the last few years I’ve been very fortunate to work with 2 great partners. Together we offer 15+ years combined in the Virtual Assistant industry and through our own trial and error - and from conversations we’ve had with hundreds of Virtual Assistants - we’ve seen the most common mistakes Virtual Assistants are making when it comes to building their business.

That’s why we decided to create a special video and free pdf report - to help Virtual Assistants avoid these common mistakes!

Visit www.7BiggestVAMistakes.com to view the video and sign up to receive the free report “The 7 Biggest Mistakes Virtual Assistats are Making and (more importantly) How You Can Avoid Them.”

We’d love to hear from you …. what mistakes have you made that have affected the growth of your business? Post your story below.

Enjoy!

~Cindy

We had a great call with Amy Taggart of DesignFORMARE about the top mistakes Virtual Assistants are making when providing website and blog support to their clients.

For those of you who don`t know Amy … she`s someone to listen to. She`s walked in the shoes of providing general Virtual Assistant and web design support, but because of non-stop clients looking for help with web and blog services, she now specializes exclusively in this VA specialty area.

Here are top 7 Mistakes we discussed …. can you relate to even some of them? I know I can!

1. Training taken years ago doesn’t cut it anymore
If you took web design training a few years ago, you likely need updated training. Setting up a simple webpage using tables isn’t ‘correct’ anymore … there’s new advancements in code and other areas related to design that are critical to understand. It’s not as simple as viewing the webpage source and making changes anymore!

2. Using FrontPage or on-server tools makes things messy
We’ve all heard about how various programs add extra coding to the source of a webpage - it makes things messy, confusing and ultimately very difficult to update. It’s important to keep webpage code clean of unnecessary tags. This is especially dangerous with on-server or WYSIWYG “what you see is what you get” tools. Key point - avoid these programs. Stick to using Dreamweaver or even Notepad to update web files.

3. CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) … taking a nicely designed CSS page and apply non CSS updates
I somewhat smile when I think of this mistake because I can relate! If you are not familiar with CSS, then you’re likely smiling with me. Anyone who attempts to update a webpage that has a CSS file attached to it is making a big mistake. And if you try to update a CSS file without really knowing what you’re doing, you can mess up the entire website! This is a common mistake Virtual Assistants make because they haven’t updated their skillset to fully understand how to use a CSS file.

4. Not saving a copy of a webpage before editing it
Ahh .. another smile just crossed my face. If you can relate to this mistake, you understand the horror felt when you realize your webpage update doesn’t look like it should and you don’t have the original file to go back to. Always save your new updated webpage with a different name before you upload it. Check it out, make sure everything is working properly before you replace an original webpage.

4a. Not taking a few minutes to test and confirm - **Bonus Mistake
This mistake wasn’t originally on our list of 7 but it’s a critical one to point out. How many times have you updated any kind of file and assumed it was perfect …. without testing or reviewing it first. Take just a few minutes to re-re-review and test your changes to make sure they reflect what they should be. Make sure that sign-up form is working, that the autoresponder is connected properly, that the thank you page is linking and that all details are correct. Spending these few minutes now will save you frustration and time to fix it later.

We switched our focus now to blogs …. here are some of the common mistakes Amy shared with us that Virtual Assistants are making with blogs.

5. Creating a page instead of a post
This is a relatively simply mistake but it is a common one. Here’s an easy way to remember whether you should create a post instead of a page. When it comes to posting a typical article, piece of information etc., use a post. If your client wants to promote an upcoming teleclass, or an event then you will want to create a page instead of a post.

6. Playing with the blog template when you don’t really know what you’re doing
Blog templates can be relatively easy to update IF you know what you’re doing. Knowing a little bit of html isn’t enough when it comes to updating the back-end template of the blog. Likely issues that you may experience including erasing critical code and messing up the blog template completely …. not worth it.

7. Not requesting the support of a professional blog/website designer
There are some basic things that are okay for a general Virtual Assistant to do when it comes to website and blog support BUT the key is knowing when a task may be outside of your expertise. If you’re asked to do anything more than revising a link or some text, or setting up a new sign up form etc. (the ‘basics’) and you’re not trained or experienced in this area, seek the support of a specialist. Remember, your client would rather hear you say “I need help with this … let’s connect with someone that knows what they’re doing” instead of taking on the task yourself, spending way too much time on it and messing it up in the end.

There you have …. 8 common mistakes Virtual Assistants Make with blog and website support. The link to the call with Cindy Greenway and Amy Taggart is below.