It’s one of those mysterious things in the virtual support profession: how to best respond to a Request for Proposal (RFP).

Over the last several years, myself (Cindy Greenway) and Tina Forsyth have seen our share of RFP responses VAs have sent to businesses owners. Some of these responses have been great. Others — not so much.

The problem is two-fold really:

(1) Many Business Owners have trouble communicating the kind of help they really need (because they ‘don’t know what they don’t know’). Some include very few details while others include WAY too much info.

and

(2) Many Virtual Assistants respond as if they were applying for a job, others include a full proposal or official contract while others include their rate, a simple line such as “I’d love to work with you, please contact me asap.” and next to nothing else.

So what’s the secret to responding to RFPs?

Join us on Tuesday, October 21st and we’ll share:

• What you should do BEFORE you even start a response to an RFP
• The biggest mistake Virtual Assistants make in their response
• How to make your RFP response stand out from the others
• The quality you must demonstrate (and it can be tough to do so in writing)
• much, much more

This class will provide you with more than the ‘mistakes’ of RFP responses … join us to learn the tools to confidently respond to RFPs, get noticed from potential clients and give business owners exactly what they want and need to hear from you.

Will you join us? Here are all the details:

Date: Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Time: 12pm Pacific / 3pm Eastern
Investment: $47 (includes live call, audio recording and comprehensive notes)

P.S. Are there other topics you’d like us to cover? Let us know — simply post your comments and suggestions below.

It's no secret ... you've heard me say it and you've heard business owners say it too:

Business owners want to make money while they sleep.

True Story:
I remember a client calling me one morning.  She was literally shouting with excitement when I picked up the phone.

I had recently helped her implement all kinds of technology; one being a shopping cart system so she could sell her coaching programs and two products.

I looked after everything for her - connecting the technology to her website, ensuring a secure and professional environment for her customers to go to from her website to entering their credit card details, to getting additional details via a branded webpage and finally an email with even more valuable information.

This client was beyond excited because she turned on her computer in the morning and saw an order had come in overnight.  She was so appreciative of everything I had done. I felt pretty darn good about the value I had provided her.

If you, as a virtual support professional, don't know how to provide this kind of value, you need to consider the eCommerce Specialist Training program.  Check it out -- http://www.HotSkillsVATraining.com/ecommerce

Learn more about the "Magic Behind the Buy Now Button" in the video below:

I have an important tip I'd like to share with you today.  If this is something you need to learn more about, be sure to check out the deadline at the bottom.

It’s a must have for every business.

It's essential, even before social media. It a necessity before a business owner heads out to a networking event to find potential clients.

In fact, it’s a requirement BEFORE any mark'eting strategies are implemented.

If it’s not implemented … the time spent in marketing is essentially a waste of time.

Quite simply, it’s the opt-in – an enticing offer that a business owner provides on their website in exchange for the contact details of their website visitors.

%%First Name%%, I'm sharing this today because it's a problem in the business community – and one that you, the virtual support professional can easily solve.

In most cases, business owners have no idea how to set up their opt-in.  They can write it - but the technology side is a mystery to them.

By helping business owners with implementing the technology, such as the shopping cart, to automate the delivery of enticing information, as well as create the website form that encourages visitors to enter their contact details, you are supporting your clients with a huge component to their business growth.

If you don’t know how to do this -- it’s one of the many items I will cover in the upcoming eCommerce Specialist training program >>http://www.HotSkillsVATraining.com/ecommerce

Here’s the truth. When a website (or business as a whole) does not offer an opt-in, they lose the chance to:

• Build a database of people who are interested in their products/services
• Regularly connect and provide additional value and information to people who want to know more
• Create an ongoing relationship with prospects and increasing your credibility with them

Why send people to a website via your social media, network or implement any mark'eting effort, when you can’t capture contact information, provide more value, create a list of prospects and start building a relationship with the people who are interested in what you offer?

For over four years the eCommerce Specialist training program has taught Virtual Assistants the essentials to help business owners with the eCommerce side of their business – also known as the foundation to their business.

Today is the last day for the very affordable 4-pay option for this program.  We start Tuesday, September 27th.

Get the solutions business owners will pay for - visit www.HotSkillsVATraining.com/ecommerce

Any questions?  Post them below and I'll get right back to you!

If I could help you with ANYTHING ... what would it be?

Please include your comments below.  I can't wait to hear from you.

Thank you!
Cindy

A few years ago when myself and Tina Forsyth hosted a teleclass for business owners "How to Boost  Business with a Virtual Assistant", a business owner asked a question/statement that  stumped me, but then opened up a whole new world of understanding.

The question was simply ... "Cindy, I know I need help.  Everyone around me tells me I  need a VA.  But I don't know what I don't know.  Tell me what I need to know."

Honestly, I was stumped.  I didn't know how to respond and it wasn't until 2 weeks after this live  call that I realized what this business owner was trying to tell me.

She knew she need help.

Her coach and colleagues told her she needed to hire a VA.

But she didn't know how to get started.  She didn't where to find a VA.  She didn't know how to hire one.  She didn't know  anything about how one could really help her.

Fast forward a few years and business owners are still telling me the same thing.

In the last two days alone, I've spoken with three business owners - two of which are completely stumped on how to even go about  getting help and one that is trying really hard to tell her program members how to go about finding and getting help.

And so the challenge continues.  But ... I DO see a light at the end of the tunnel.

It seems that us, the Virtual Support Industry as a whole, have a fantastic opportunity to step it up and tell business owners what they don't know --- how to find us, how to hire us, how we can help them eliminate chaos from their business, but
more importantly, how we can help them build their business, increase their credibility, find more clients and generate more  revenue.

For me, it starts with us getting out there, connecting with members of our target markets, asking four very specific questions,  answering to the answers and then applying a mindset - the magical key behind making a connection with a potential client.

What does this mean to you? How will you help business owners realize the full extent of what you do to help them build their  business?  Please post your comments below.

Let's face it ... business owners are wonderfully skilled at their area of expertise, but when it comes to automating various tasks and implementing pieces to help the business grow - that's the VAs job.

There are so many ways Virtual Assistants can help business owners  ... I'd like to explore 7 very hot ways that VAs can easily help their clients with automating tasks and growing their business (i.e. making more money, building credibility etc.)

On Tuesday, September 13th, I'm offering a FREE livestream session in which I will share very specific steps and strategies that Virtual Assistants can put into practice right now with their current clients, and easily implement with future clients.

Some of these are very basic, some are a little more advanced, but overall they support a business owner with generating more revenue, connecting with their community regularly, raising their profile and credibility and so much more.

Join me to find out what I'm talking about and how you can WOW your clients even more.  Sign up below and I'll send you all the details:

What's your biggest fear about mark'eting and how is it impacting the growth of your business?

Would you be willing to answer those two questions via a video?

What if, by submitting your video, you could be entered to win a spot in my upcoming ‘Marketing Bootcamp for Virtual Assistants: The Formula to Finding Clients & Building a Successful VA Business' program, starting on Tuesday, August 23rd?

>>> http://www.virtuallysuccessful.com/marketing-fear-contest/

I know a lot of VAs experience stress, frustration and anxiety about mark’eting their business because they’re afraid of rejection, not seeing results, and not feeling they provide tremendous value to business owners.

However, with just a few tweaks to this mindset as well as their strategy, mark’eting can be fun, rewarding and very encouraging (not to mention support business growth, make you more money and so much more).

It’s my hope that by sharing your fear, recording your quick video and submitting your entry, that this contest will bring you one step closer to taking action in the right direction to building your business.

Will you do it?

It’s super easy to enter … but hurry, the contest closes on Tuesday, August 16th. >>> http://www.virtuallysuccessful.com/marketing-fear-contest/

Welcome to video #7 (the final video) in the Virtual Assistant Marketing Mistakes video series.

There is nothing more powerful then being in a room with your target market who are learning about business strategies and tasks that you can easily help with.

For example, I attended a conference where relatively new business owners were learning the concept of adding an opt-in on their website and also a shopping cart system so they could sell the products, programs and services from their website. When the word got out that I could do all of this for a business (and much more), I had people hunt me down throughout the whole 3 day event.

Learn about this mistake and how you can avoid it in your business. And of course, please do post your comments on how you will stop this mistake in your business (or your own challenges with this topic).

Welcome to video #6 in the Virtual Assistant Marketing Mistakes Video Series.

This mistake is one I've shared lots of information about in the last several weeks.

Your website is your opportunity to connect with potential clients. To intrigue them, engage with them, and connect with them. Unfortunately, many VA websites do the opposite -- they're boring and they speak in general terms, therefore not capturing anyone's attention.

Check out this video to learn more. And to strengthen your commitment to take action - please do leave your comments below on the specific steps you will take to avoid this mistake moving forward.

Welcome to video #5 in the Virtual Assistant Marketing Mistakes Video Series.

Today's video is about a common challenge in marketing - trying to implement too many strategies. Any ideas on what the problem/challenge is with this mistake?

Check out the video and let me know your thoughts on the content. What will you do to better manage the marketing strategies you implement into your business?  Please include your comments/thoughts below.