Marnie's Blog

Are you communicating to your most important asset?

Marnie Schooling (Virtual Sales Assistance) — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:54:26 -0500

Are you letting your past clients and prospects know that you are there for them? Sometimes we get so stuck in the moment that we do not realize that our past clients can be our future clients or that our prospects are almost ready to be clients. One very effective way to keep your name in front of your clients is with a monthly newsletter.

Did you know that a monthly newsletter can;

•· Build a better business through customer loyalty and referrals

•· Is affordable

•· Make you the local expert in your area or niche

•· An easy way to provide valuable information.

Past clients, too often, are not contacted. We get busy and don't realize the opportunity they can offer us. Your past clients may be looking to move or they can supply you with a referral. If asking for referrals is not something you are strong at than ask if they would like to be a part of your newsletter.

A newsletter is an easy and affordable way to keep your name in front of past clients.

Even if prospects that are weeks or months away from being clients are in need your knowledge. Through your newsletter you can keep prospects informed of local trends. Now more than ever buyers and sellers want to be informed. A regular newsletter shows you are on top of those trends.

Newsletters are affordable if you do them yourself or if you hire a VA to do them for you. Virtual Sales Assistance now offers an affordable newsletter package that will keep you in touch with all of your clients. To learn more, click Newsletter.

Discover how building customer loyalty with a newsletter can be quick and affordable. Start a newsletter today.

Marnie and Catherine
www.VirtualSalesAssistance.com

How are you controlling your leads?

Marnie Schooling (Virtual Sales Assistance) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 12:10:35 -0500

Do you have a drawer full of business cards that you aren't contacting? You may not even realize the opportunities you are losing with those leads just sitting around.

As a Virtual Assistant specializing in drip campaigns, it's our job to help our clients manage their leads. I can't even express to you how important it is to manage all of your leads and stay in contact. Keeping in contact with each lead may provide you with a bounty of referrals and new clients.

I am going to share with you a valuable tool that will take those leads from your drawer and put them into your drip campaign so you can turn them into clients.

One of my favorite tools is Card Scan Executive. It is a business card scan. You take your business card, scan it and then give you a document you can import into your contact management software. Card Scan will even back up your contacts and keep them available to you online. A safety measure anyone can use. Take a look at this great tool. You will agree it's a great asset to your contact management tools. As a plus, it's a tool you can give your Virtual Assistant to manage.

I have been using Card Scan for years and it has saved a lot of time and increased my contact list. Business cards do not get ‘misplaced' when they are entered in Card Scan.

Catherine and Marnie

www.VirtualSalesAssistance.com

866-443-9678 phone

877-419-6519 fax

Wordless Wednesday - Enjoy the flowers

Marnie Schooling (Virtual Sales Assistance) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 11:17:45 -0500

Enjoy the beauty of today - ok maybe a few words today are ok. :)

Giant Internet worm set to change tactics April 1

Marnie Schooling (Virtual Sales Assistance) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 16:36:32 -0500

By JORDAN ROBERTSON, The Associated Press

4:12 a.m. March 30, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO - The fast-moving Conficker computer worm, a scourge of the Internet that has infected at least 3 million PCs, is set to spring to life in a new way on Wednesday - April Fools' Day.

That's when many of the poisoned machines will get more aggressive about "phoning home" to the worm's creators over the Internet. When that happens, the bad guys behind the worm will be able to trigger the program to send spam, spread more infections, clog networks with traffic, or try and bring down Web sites.

Technically, this could cause havoc, from massive network outages to the creation of a cyberweapon of mass destruction that attacks government computers. But researchers who have been tracking Conficker say the date will probably come and go quietly.

More likely, these researchers say, the programming change that goes into effect April 1 is partly symbolic - an April Fools' Day tweaking of Conficker's pursuers, who for now have been able to prevent the worm from doing significant damage.

"I don't think there will be a cataclysmic network event," said Richard Wang, manager of the U.S. research division of security firm Sophos PLC. "It doesn't make sense for the guys behind Conficker to cause a major network problem, because if they're breaking parts of the Internet they can't make any money."

Previous Internet threats were designed to cause haphazard destruction. In 2003 a worm known as Slammer saturated the Internet's data pipelines with so much traffic it crippled corporate and government systems, including ATM networks and 911 centers.

Far more often now, Internet threats are designed to ring up profits. Control of infected PCs is valuable on the black market, since the machines can be rented out, from one group of bad guys to another, and act as a kind of illicit supercomputer, sending spam, scanning Web sites for security holes, or participating in network attacks.

The army of Conficker-infected machines, known as a "botnet," could be one of the greatest cybercrime tools ever assembled. Conficker's authors just need to figure out a way to reliably communicate with it.

Infected PCs need commands to come alive. They get those commands by connecting to Web sites controlled by the bad guys. Even legitimate sites can be co-opted for this purpose, if hackers break in and use the sites' servers to send out malicious commands.

So far, Conficker-infected machines have been trying to connect each day to 250 Internet domains - the spots on the Internet where Web sites are parked. The bad guys need to get just one of those sites under their control to send their commands to the botnet. (The name Conficker comes from rearranging letters in the name of one of the original sites the worm was connecting to.)

Conficker has been a victim of its success, however, because its rapid spread across the Internet drew the notice of computer security companies. They have been able to work with domain name registrars, which administer Web site addresses, to block the botnet from dialing in.

Now those efforts will get much harder. On April 1, many Conficker-infected machines will generate a list of 50,000 new domains a day that they could try. Of that group, the botnet will randomly select 500 for the machines to actually query.

The bad guys still need to get only one of those up and running to connect to their botnet. And the bigger list of possibilities increases the odds they'll slip something by the security community.

Researchers already know which domains the infected machines will check, but pre-emptively registering them all, or persuading the registrars to neutralize all of them, is a bigger hurdle.

"We expect something will happen, but we don't quite know what it will look like," said Jose Nazario, manager of security research for Arbor Networks, a member of the "Conficker Cabal," an alliance trying to hunt down the worm's authors.

"With every move that they make, there's the potential to identify who they are, where they're located and what we can do about them," he added. "The real challenge right now is doing all that work around the world. That's not a technical challenge, but it is a logistical challenge."

Conficker's authors also have updated the worm so infected machines have new ways to talk to each other. They can share malicious commands rather than having to contact a hacked Web site for instructions.

That variation is important because it shows that even as security researchers have neutralized much of what the botnet might do, the worm's authors "didn't lose control of their botnet," said Michael La Pilla, manager of the malicious code operations team at VeriSign Inc.'s iDefense division.

The Conficker outbreak illustrates the importance of keeping current with Internet security updates. Conficker moves from PC to PC by exploiting a vulnerability in Windows that Microsoft Corp. fixed in October. But many people haven't applied the patch or are running pirated copies of Windows that don't get the updates.

Unlike other Internet threats that trick people into downloading a malicious program, Conficker is so good at spreading because it finds vulnerable PCs on its own and doesn't need human involvement to infect a machine.

Once inside, it does nasty things. The worm tries to crack administrators' passwords, disables security software, blocks access to antivirus vendors' Web sites to prevent updating, and opens the machines to further infections by Conficker's authors.

Someone whose machine is infected might have to reinstall the operating system.

Find this article at:
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/mar/30/tec-conficker-countdown-033009/?zIndex=74696

How the ‘bailout’ can help you.

Marnie Schooling (Virtual Sales Assistance) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 12:10:38 -0500

We are all watching the news reports of billions of dollars go to company's or how states and local governments are getting millions for projects that will help stimulate the economy. Then we sit back and wonder if the stimulus is going to work and if I can benefit too. Realty Times published an article today titled "Investor Report: Bailout at work" by Kenneth R. Harney.

This article mentions how $731 million was sent out last week to cities across the country. This money is being used to acquire property and redevelopment proposals. Not only is this good news for the construction industry who can help redevelop their community but the articles outlines how you can benefit too.

Below are a few paragraphs from the article, but I do suggest you click on the link above for more detail.

"Private investors can also work jointly with nonprofits to assemble and prepare real estate for government purchase. Local developers and builders who've been sidelined by the recession may also be able to help reconstruct damaged houses and manage them until they're ready for resale.

How do you position yourself or your firm to take part? Number one: You've absolutely got to be in touch with local housing and community development agencies. They're the ones making the proposals to the feds under the stabilization program, and they can give you immediate feedback on whether you might have a role."

I cannot wait to start reading more blogs about how the stimulus money is helping our industry. Let me know how it has helped you.

Marnie and Catherine

www.virtualsalesassistance.com

866-443-9678

Do you have a target market and not know it?

Marnie Schooling (Virtual Sales Assistance) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 12:24:50 -0600

You have heard all the talk about target marketing / niche marketing and you think to yourself "that is fine for others but I do not have a target market." I think you do and you just do not know it.

Do you sell mainly to a certain community? Do you go to their farmers market, school plays, and parades? Your target market is your community.

Within the community do you find yourself working mostly with retirees, young families, or first time home buyers? That is your niche market.

Are you unsure on how to market to your target market? Read "The important of Website Target Marketing."

And remember a Virtual Assistant is always willing to help you with identifying your Target Market and expanding your presence in that market.

Marnie and Catherine

www.VirtualSalesAssistance.com

CS@VirtualSalesAssistance.com

866-443-9678 phone

877-419-6519 fax

What are visitors doing on your web site? Google analytics!

Marnie Schooling (Virtual Sales Assistance) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:15:44 -0600

I am a big fan of Google! They offer so many free tools to help with your business, website and hobbies. One of the best tools to analyze websites is Google Analytics. One of the things this does is explain what your visitors are doing when they click on your website. How great is that! So, for FREE I can find out what people are looking at and where they are clicking.

How do you get this for FREE? All you have to do is sign up and add their code to your website. Then the tracking begins!

The Official Google Blog is posting a series on "The Power of Measurement." The first tip explains "Bounce rate" and how by analyzing the bounce rate on your website you can improve the viewer's experience.

We all want visitors to stay on our website and read every page right? Well with this analyzes you can find out if your visitors are only looking at the first page they land on or are they clicking through to another page. The goal is to have them click through! If most people are only looking at the first page they land on, then that tells you they are not finding what they are searching for. This tells you it is time to update your content or change you keywords to better match the content.

Another way to look at it is; if visitors are clicking through you find out what pages are your strongest. From there you can model the rest of your web pages to match your strong web page.

We all work very hard to have valuable content on our website, it is comforting to know that there are FREE services out there guide you through the process.

Do you use Google analytics? What is your favorite tool? Has your bounce rate decreased as a result of changes you made?

Marnie and Catherine

www.virtualsalesassistance.com

866-443-9678

NOW IS THE RIGHT TIME TO HIRE A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT (VA)!

Marnie Schooling (Virtual Sales Assistance) — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 23:07:51 -0600

The bad economy is surrounding us in the media. This company is laying off people and that company is laying off people and another company is going out of business. Yes, we are facing hard economic times but in the face of adversity we need to re-evaluate our businesses and make them more efficient.

A Virtual Assistant or even a few Virtual Assistants can help you with your business model.

It seems strange to suggest to hire VAs when money isn't stretching as far as it did before. But you became a success doing some tasks very well. In fact you probably listened to buyer's needs and found their perfect home on the first or second showing. Or you are able to market and show a house better than anyone else and you mastered a neighborhood or target market. People knew you were the one to go to when they needed to sell their home. As you grew bigger, so did all the marketing, day to day tasks and all the things you need to do to keep moving forward. All of these tasks kept you from doing what you excel at, working with clients and selling homes.

In this economy, people are still in need of a Real Estate Agent. More than ever people need the agent that listens to them and helps them reach their goal and really holds their hands through these troubled times. You need to get back with your clients and work only on that part of your business that you do well, sell. It's time to hand over all other business tasks to a VA.

As you are a specialist in your field, a Virtual Assistant is a specialist in theirs. VAs do what they love to do. It could be marketing, copywriting or transaction coordination. Virtual Assistants are business owners themselves and they know what it takes to succeed. Real Estate Virtual Assistants love the real estate business and we concentrate on many different aspects of the Real Estate Market. The one thing we all have in common is we love what we do. We will take your business and keep it running smoothly and prosperous. Most VAs will run your business as if it was their own. Some of the Real Estate Virtual Assistant specialties are:

Transaction Coordination
Listing Coordination
Marketing
Blogs
Online Marketing
Drip Campaigns
Copywriting
Website Management and more

Experienced Virtual Assistants can guide you through your business needs. At times, your VA will become your counselor or coach by giving you ways to excel in certain areas. They may suggest software or an easier way of doing things. They will provide new and improved options that will be efficient and you'll notice the difference it makes.

The right VA will take your business to the next level. A virtual assistant will run your behind the scenes business needs while you get back to working with clients and selling real estate.

Marnie and Catherine

www.VirtualSalesAssistance.com

CS@VirtualSalesAssistance.com

866-443-9678 phone

877-419-6519 fax

Yes I am still optimistic! Are you?

Marnie Schooling (Virtual Sales Assistance) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 12:52:46 -0600

Yes I am still optimistic! And so are others. In KLA groups latest newsletter, the featured article is titled "Create Opportunities in our Tough Economy." It is about keeping your business going and not giving in.

My favorite line is, "When they tell you all spending has been curtailed, don't stop the conversation." Kendra Lee says to keep asking questions don't just get off the phone as quickly as possible. When there is money to be spent do you think they are going to remember the person who got off the phone quickly? Or are they going to remember the one who asked more questions.

I think 2009 will be a great year! Full of hard work and fun. I am sure I will learn and grow more this year. That sounds exciting!

Since we are mostly hearing of dome and gloom, let me know if are optimistic? What are you doing to stay positive?

Marnie and Catherine

www.VirtualSalesAssistance.com

CS@VirtualSalesAssistance.com

866-443-9678 phone

877-419-6519 fax

4 Benefits of an Email Newsletter

Marnie Schooling (Virtual Sales Assistance) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 16:22:52 -0600

Are you still thinking about starting an eNewsletter and you need more convincing? Does an eNewsletter seem too difficult? Are you still wondering if Email marketing and online marketing is a trend and not around to stay? Then let me ask you; how do you keep in touch with your clients and target market? Does it cost you time, therefore costing you money?

1) Does an eNewsletter seem too difficult? If you find the right companies to work with, an email newsletter is so easy and affordable you will wonder how you ever did without it. We at Virtual Sales Assistance are interested in you getting your message out. If you choose to use our company we would be happy to help you. If not we still want to give you the right tools to move forward. The best tool that we have found to manage contacts and have a professional eNewsletter is Constant Contact. With more than 250,000 customers worldwide Constant Contact helps small business grow. Constant Contact even offers a FREE 60 Day trial. Do your own test for FREE.

2) At one time (a few years ago) some people felt the internet would not change how we do business. Well it has. People no longer have to wait for information they expect it at a click of the button. You may think it is getting harder and harder for your name or business to get its message out. With an email newsletter your name will be in front of your clients every month. You can even announce new listings and use your email campaigns to promote your listings, just solds and even new testimonials. It is a great tool to show people why they should work with you.

3) Do you have a hard time managing your contacts? How about your newsletter system managing your website leads for you? With the right email system like Constant Contact in place you can have a sign up box on your website and the system will automatically deliver your newsletters and any other messages you would like. Even automatic responders that will allow you to manage leads with custom messages. Sometimes it may be hard to contact every lead you receive right away; with automatic responders you can let the client know you are there for them.

4) Email newsletters are affordable. Not only can you contact all of your clients with one click but you can have someone else create and maintain an eNewsletter for you, while still being affordable. Systems like Constant Contact offer pricing according to the amount of your contacts and not the amount of emails. We could send an email everyday to 500 contacts with Autoresponders to every new sign up and you will only pay $15 to Constant Contact. Your prospects will receive a colorful, custom copy newsletter that speaks directly to them with area information. We at Virtual Sales Assistance (VSA), can help you create a powerful message to your contacts and even help manage ALL of your contacts for less than $100 a month.

Email marketing is there for you. Newsletters are a very good way to start your email marketing. Don't forget that email marketing can be expanded to ‘Just Listed' and ‘Just Sold' announcements, ‘Open House' postcards and even reminders for special events you are involved in. Email Marketing is the best way to keep in touch with your clients. Why not make it easier on yourself by establishing an eNewsletter that speaks to your target market? We at VSA will continue to provide you free tips through our blog; if you would like more details of how VSA can assist you click here to book an appointment. We have a special offer on pricing that will end VERY SOON -- January 31, 2009, contact us today to take advantage of the offer.

MAKE YOUR APPOINTMENT TODAY FOR A $50 SAVINGS!!!

Catherine and Marnie

www.VirtualSalesAssistance.com

CS@VirtualSalesAssistance.com

866-443-9678 phone

877-419-6519 fax

15 reasons why you have missed marketing opportunitites on your Website

Marnie Schooling (Virtual Sales Assistance) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 12:15:35 -0600

In the last few weeks, I have spent A LOT of time reviewing websites and expanding my 2009 marketing plan. As I look at all of these different websites, I am finding so many different errors and missed marketing opportunities. It ranges from typos to forcing someone to search for your contact information. I even read someone's blog and directed me to their website to sign up for a newsletter. I went to the website and I couldn't find any newsletter sign up. This make me click off the site and now in my eyes this person is not credible. Many sites have tried but they could be better by spending a day or two polishing off the website and giving a clear message to any potential client. Remember, you only have one shot at a great first impression and your website would be an avenue to a first impression. Your 2009 Priority should be to make sure your website is the best it can be.

I thought I would make a check list for you to review your own site. I hope this will help you leave a lasting impression with your clients and assure them you are professional and you are the one they need to help them. A professional polished website will assure any client that your marketing will be as professional and polished.

Let's get started....
1. Be clear on your target market. Speak directly to the people you want to work with. Add graphics and other information that would be interesting to your target market. Copy and graphics will help new visitors feel comfortable. Tip: Don't use too many graphics - there is a balance between copy and graphics. Write copy with headlines. The headline will be the attention grabber.
2. Be clear on the message you want to communicate. Have a tagline and support your tagline throughout the copy.
3. Do a spell check. Never have any typos.
4. Have someone else read each page. Never have any typos.
5. Add your contact information on each page - do not make your clients search for ways to contact you
6. Your contact info should include: Name, Address, Company Logo, Updated Photo, Designations, Phone, Email, blog, IM and any other ways you want to be contacted.
7. A clear bio. People want to work with people that they share common interests. Don't be afraid to expand on things that are special to you. This will help you stand out from the crowd.
8. Add Testimonials - Testimonials are still valuable. Since people are making their decisions online you want to give them all the reasons why you are the one to use. Testimonials are still good in communicating your service. TIP: take a picture of your client in front of their new home or with a SOLD sign. This will really personalize the testimonial even more.
9. Clear Navigation. Don't be afraid to spell things out when your abbreviations aren't common knowledge. Spend some time mapping out a navigation plan that will make sense to the new visitor. You want them to feel comfortable and find all the information you offer. Add Navigation buttons or links to your blogs and even to your designations home page. This will allow the user to get more information. 10. Add neighborhood information. Take local pictures of landmarks, new communities, parks and etc... Giving a tour of the area will provide a very clear picture on your area. Add maps too. Include links to city websites, chamber of commerce and other active organizations in the area.
11. For Sellers, give them a preview of your marketing plan. This will help sellers see how many avenues you will use to promote their property
12. Add links to your Social Marketing Profiles. This will help users connect with you in a way they may feel important. FaceBook, Linked In, Active Rain and Twitter are some options.
13. Offer an IDX Solution. Give buyers an advanced way to search for properties.
14. Provide a way to capture leads. Offer a monthly newsletter and ask users to sign up with an email address. You can ask them to fill in their first name but the least amount of information the more likely you are to get people to sign up. Tip: Put the sign up box on every page. Have the sign ups go directly to your email campaign software. Constant Contact is a great software for a drip campaign and keeping your contacts in order.
15. Add a privacy policy. Reassure your leads what your privacy policy is and give details. If you hate spam let them know that and you will protect their information etc.....

Please use this checklist as a guide to improving your website. We would be happy to review your website. For the month of January we are offer a Website Evaluation Special. We'll review your website and give you a detailed report of ways you can improve for only $75. This is a savings of $50. Contact Us before 1/31/09 for this special.

Catherine and Marnie

www.VirtualSalesAssistance.com

CS@VirtualSalesAssistance.com

866-443-9678 phone

877-419-6519 fax

Are you optimistic about your Online Marketing in 2009?

Marnie Schooling (Virtual Sales Assistance) — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 13:06:44 -0600

If you are like us, you are preparing for 2009. We are preparing new products and finalizing our 09 marketing plan and even getting press releases ready to announce new alliances. We are excited about what 2009 will bring. We hope you can feel the positive energy in the air as well. Yes, things may get worse before they get better but I can't help feeling better days are off in the horizon. It's getting closer and not only can I see it but I can feel it. I hope you have the same optimism for our new year.

In today's Inman Headlines, the top story was "Don't Scrimp On Marketing During Downturn." It is a great article and it coincides with our feeling of good things are waiting in the near future so you should be preparing now. Most of all --- Don't Stop Your Marketing. You need to keep your name in the front of all your clients and leads so they will call you first. It's been proven that most people hire the first Real Estate Agent they call so you want to be that call. We agree that Real Estate Marketing is shifting from primarily print advertising to online advertisings like spotlight ads, and other online options. Now, is a good time to review all of the options and put your Marketing Plan into place with all of these new marketing options included. Take a look at this article and let us know what you think. We would love to know what works for you.

http://www.inman.com/news/2008/12/30/dont-scrimp-marketing-during-downturn

To book an appointment to discuss your Online Marketing for 2009 click here.

Happy New Year!

Catherine and Marnie

Marketing for 2009 has been the theme

Marnie Schooling (Virtual Sales Assistance) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 14:05:16 -0600

I have to admit that I subscribe to so many blogs and newsletters. I read some, save some for later and others I never get to. Over the last few weeks, the main theme has been Marketing for 2009.

In the current economic times marketing has become more and more important but not just throwing lots of money at every marketing opportunity.

A successful business needs to plan for the marketing that gives them the highest ROI (Return On Investment). For some, snail mail marketing like postcards are very successful, while others have a higher ROI with their Online Marketing like SEO Pay Per Click or Drip Campaigns. I agree that there is a balance for every business between print and online marketing and the balance will shift for each business. For us, we are going to focus more on online marketing of newsletters, email cards and continue our personal follow ups. For us this has lead to successful campaigns. Click here for more information about Online Marketing.

What are you going to do? Have you made a marketing plan for 2009? What are your plans?

Are you trying anything new or are you going with proven methods?

Do you have a follow up system in place? If so what is the system?

As we face the last days of 2008, we hope you have a wonderful holiday season and that 2009 brings you the very best.

Catherine and Marnie www.VirtualSalesAssistance.com

Announcing A New Package - Monthly Newsletters

Marnie Schooling (Virtual Sales Assistance) — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:40:57 -0600

Let's Start 2009 Off Right!

Start a custom monthly newsletter that speaks to your target market.

Keep Your Name In Front Of Your Leads and Clients
Showcase your Real Estate and Area Knowledge
Promote Listings and even Manage Your Leads

Did you know that most new visitors to your website are about 6 months away from a purchase? They go to websites to start gathering information and begin their education process. So, you need to keep your name in front of them until they are ready.

A marketing rule is that you need to touch a lead 8-10 times before they will work with you.

You are losing a lot of business by not having a good follow up system in place.

A newsletter is a great way to showcase your knowledge of real estate and your love for the local area will also help your online visitors to connect with you. Plus it is simple and inexpensive.

Here is how your custom monthly newsletter package works:

Virtual Sales Assistance will create a monthly newsletter for you. We'll go over your needs and come up with a custom plan to target your clients. You will decide the theme of each newsletter, delivery dates then we'll get to work to find articles, local events and other items to support your newsletter each month. We will use current software like Constant Contact (your own subscription is required) to create the monthly newsletter and manage your contacts.

Here is one sample layout for your newsletter:

A local or community information section- we will find local events and highlight the major events and even link to the event for more information.
Updates from you which could be market conditions, tips on real estate for your target market, new listings, new testimonials, recent solds and etc...
The third section could be a good informational article about real estate.

Take advantage of this special soon this introductory price is good until Jan 31, 2009. We are committed to making your business thrive. Together, we can make 2009 a great year!

For more about Virtual Sales Assistance click here.

Schedule Your Newsletter Consultation today. Book an appointment or email us

Catherine and Marnie

Is working with a Virtual Assistant (VA) right for you?

Marnie Schooling (Virtual Sales Assistance) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:11:47 -0600

First and foremost you need to know what you need assistance with. Find a VA that fits your business needs and your personality. The perfect VA will become a very important part of your team.

You will also need to find a VA that fits your business needs. There are many specialties of Virtual Assistants and many different business models that Virtual Assistants can assist easily. For example; Real Estate, Small Business, Legal, Medical and more.

Here is a list of what type of VA might fit your business model.

• Executive VA: An Executive VA will manage all of your VA needs. They may hire other Virtual Assistants to complete all the tasks you need.

• Copywriting: Do you need marketing materials written? A Website? A VA copywriter is an excellent place to start for marketing needs.

• Marketing Specialist: Do you need assistance with your marketing? This VA can assist you with a variety of marketing tasks.

• Online Marketing: Do you need to boost your online leads? Put an email drip campaign into place? Start a Newsletter? This VA can help you increase your leads.

• Website Development and Maintenance: Is your website updated? Does it need an update? This VA helps you maintain your web site.

To read more about working with a VA click here.

We would love to help you find a Virtual Assistants that fits your needs. Together, we will go over your needs and see how we can assist you. If we can't help, we will be glad to refer you to other VA that are also leaders in the field. Click here to book an appointment.

Catherine and Marnie

www.VirtualSalesAssistance.com

1-866-443-9678 Phone

1-877-419-6519 Fax

Join Our Monthly Email Newsletter

Why a Newsletter? Are you producing a newsletter? If not, you should.

Marnie Schooling (Virtual Sales Assistance) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 17:00:39 -0600

In today's busy world, finding time to connect with prospects, current and past clients requires incredible amount of time and creativity. People are receiving all sorts of other marketing materials from your competitors trying to lure their business. So, you need to stay in touch with your clients and remind them you are here to assist them with any real estate needs they may have.

Your prospects could be months away from needing your services but doesn't it make sense to keep in touch with them? You want to be the first one they think of when they are ready to move forward with their real estate transaction.

An email newsletter is a perfect opportunity to showcase your knowledge of the local area, the current real estate market and trends. An email newsletter will provide all of these services to all of your prospects and clients (past and present). You will also be able to educate your client on local topics or events, the real estate business and even highlight your listings.

It's a simple and easy way to keep in touch and provide valuable information. It's a Win-Win Situation.

Do you.....

Keep your name in front of your leads and clients?
Follow up with your website leads so they remember you when they are ready to move forward with their real estate transaction?
Educate your clients and leads about your area?
Announce your listings or highlight properties for your clients?
Provide information that speaks directly to your target market?

If you answered "No" to any of these questions, contact us and we can design a custom newsletter package that fits your target market. Virtual Sales Assistance now offers an affordable newsletter package that will keep you in touch with all of your clients. To learn more, click Newsletter.

Catherine and Marnie

Why work with a Virtual Assistant?

Marnie Schooling (Virtual Sales Assistance) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:18:26 -0600

Virtual Assistants (VA) are the answer to any business that needs assistance with everyday tasks. You cannot do it all and you cannot be great at everything. Concentrate on what you do great and then hire a Virtual Assistant for all the other tasks your business needs.

You will see results quickly because a specialist is handling your important business tasks.

· A VA is an expert in the field they specialize in. A VA designs their business around talents and experiences they already have. They have built a career around the things they love to do and each VA works for you out of their own office.
· Each VA is an independent contractor but can quickly become an extremely valuable part of your team.
· Since each VA has a particular specialty they offer the experience and assistance of a long term employee without the expense or training.
· A Virtual Assistant can easily take over some of the items you don't like to do or don't have time to.

A VA is an asset to your business by helping with all of the tasks that need to help keep your business growing. Your business will thrive and you'll be able to spend more time on the things that you love to do. How would you spend your extra time? With your family or maybe a hobby?

Visit www.VirtualSalesAssistance.com if you need help with your online presence or more information about Virtual Assistants, we are here to help you.

Sincerely,

Catherine and Marnie

The importance of Website Target Marketing

Marnie Schooling (Virtual Sales Assistance) — Fri, 23 May 2008 14:08:56 -0500

With all the talk about how important SEO is, we may forget about how important online target marketing/ internet marketing is.

SEO is important, it will help you in the search rankings, which will allow more people to be aware of you as a Realtor® but online target marketing can be just as important and does help your search engine raking.

First things first, let us define online marketing - according to Wikipedia online marketing or Internet marketing is promoting a business by using online media; goals are to increase sales. Internet marketing brings together all creative and technical aspects, such as design, development, branding and advertising.

*For the purpose of this article I am only going to talk about custom websites, branding, and drip campaigns. Other online marketing topics will be discussed in the future.

Did you know that over 80% of consumers go to the internet first? Wow! If you do not have a website to let people know that you are a Realtor® you are probably missing out on a lot of potential business. Even more if you aren't speaking directing to a target market or following up with a drip campaign.

So, let us talk about what your website will communicate. If you are going to invest in a website it should be a reflection of you and your target market. A good example of this is www.RealEstateForHeros.com. The agent, Frank Zedar, decided that he wanted to say thank you to our soldiers: and all difference types of Military personnel. As the site developed he realized that he could say thank you to more than our soldiers, so he also says thank you to our teachers, nurses, firefighters and the list goes on. The site now is a good representation of target marketing and making online marketing work. He is getting many leads from his website and using the online tools to follow up with the new prospects.

Another example is www.DavidsonCountyHomeFinder.com. The agent, Megan Clement, wanted a site that reflected her beautiful country small town community. The site if full of beautiful pictures of where she lives and the background color reflects the community as well. Megan is speaking to area current residents, new and future residents. In addition to spotlighting the local area, Megan offers gardening and cooking tips. She is passionate about both and makes a connection with clients that have the same passion. Megan offers several follow-up or drip campaigns that target potential buyers and sellers and anyone with the same interest as hers. The campaigns were developed to be helpful tips for buyers, sellers, gardeners and cooks.

What both of these agents have done is create a unique feel to their site. Their personality, local area and target market are the true focus of the site and it's designed to make a personal connection with prospects they want to work with.

People that match these target markets will be more likely to stop and look around since the site shows the agent's personality and has a connection with them. With the abundance of Real Estate Websites available to consumers, you will get more positive response when you speak directly to the type of consumer you want to work with.

It is important to branded your style and focus on your target market. If you are nervous about this, don't be. Keep in mind, that you already are an agent working with clients, those people like your personality, so why not showcase your personality on a website. Think of things this way....would you rather speak to people you have a connection with or speak in such broad terms that you speak to no one. There is nothing stopping you from targeting multiply target markets. The idea is to make a connection.

Once you get the website and branding down, the email drip campaign is easy and allows you to, once again, showcase you and your target market. *If you do not have a website an email campaign is still important and should be kept up. You want people to think of you first when they are looking buy or sell their home. It's been said that you need between 8-13 touches to gain the trust of a prospect. Setting up an automatic drip campaign is a great way to do this. We'll focus on email drip campaigns in a future blog.

All-in-all, online target marketing is about letting people know that you are ready to work with them. Since so many people are looking to the internet first why not make sure that your face, website, or email is the first that they see and the one they remember.

For information on online target marketing and having a VA help you develop a plan click here.

SEO defined for the beginners

Marnie Schooling (Virtual Sales Assistance) — Fri, 16 May 2008 18:46:50 -0500

Yes, I am going to define what SEO actually is. SEO is Search Engine Optimization. Another way to look at it is....optimizing your website for the Search Engines to rank you higher. In today's internet world, it's critical to have your website ranked as high as possible on the search engines. Your leads and website hits should increase for every spot you are closer to the #1 listing.

There is a lot of confusion on what is needed to get to the treasured #1 spot. The Search Engines "Crawl" websites and search for keywords, backlinks (links from other sites going to your site) and a few other items. Google, Yahoo! and MSN are the top three search engines and they are constantly changing their requirements. It's not uncommon to go from #1 spot one day and then the next you are dropped down a few spots or even pages.

The key to being in a top position with any of the search engines are to meet the requirements set by Google, Yahoo! and MSN and prepare your site for your target audience. Many have attempted to beat the system and they have found themselves "blacklisted" or denied placement by any search engine. Once you are blacklisted, that URL is blacklisted for life. At this time, there is no forgiveness.

Good SEO is equal to being an honest sales person. There are a lot of honest sales people and only a few dishonest sales people. But SEO is being honest about who you are and what your site is about. In life, if you are friends with someone that is known to be dishonest or someone whose opinion is not liked by others, do you tell every person you know that this dishonest person is a friend of yours? No probably not. Yes, some may but most will not. Well if another website has been blacklisted or known for false advertisements then you do not what to be linked to them or have them linked to you.

There is a saying that you are known for who your friends are. We need to keep that in mind when we build our websites and backlinks because all the Search Engines like Google and Yahoo! do recognize who you are linking to. The exact opposite is true as well. Having links from very popular sites to your website can boost your site ranking.

Long gone are the days when we could flood our websites with keywords or have backlinking farms. Here are the days where if you sell real estate, your web site will need to be about real estate. Having a good balance of valuable keywords for your area and great links to and from your site; will show the search engines that your site is rich in content and they will pay you back with higher search engine rankings. That just may give you leads that could make you money rich.