Successful Entrepreneur Employs Leadership Traits to Start and Grow Business - A Virtual Assistant Success Story by: Randall Goruk

One of the great things about being an executive and leadership coach is the opportunity to work with a variety of people who work in a variety of different industries. I have been doing some work recently with Kara Rosner, owner of Key Virtual Office Solutions – a Virtual Assistant (VA) business based in Scottsdale, Arizona.
I asked Kara if she would mind sharing her experiences of starting up her small business through an interview – she was in full agreement. I thought sharing her experience will benefit many of my other clients as well as those who intend to start up their own small business one day.

Kara epitomizes the American entrepreneurial spirit and has demonstrated the leadership traits to be successful in any new enterprise … I hope that you find some benefit into her thoughts about her business.

RG - What is your vision for your business?
Kara -My long-term goal is to build a small team of professional virtual assistants and continue to provide top-notch business support services to small business owners.

RG - Did you have a business plan before you started your business?
Kara -Yes. Writing my business plan helped me think about all aspects of my business–from marketing tactics, to understanding my competition, to assessing my financials. It is a valuable tool and helped me formulate my overall business strategy.

RG - If you had to start over, what would you do differently?
Kara - I would use different marketing tactics now that I know what works best for me. In the beginning I tried various forms of print advertising such as direct mailers and newspaper ads, which did not produce results. My best and most cost-effective forms of marketing have come from personal networking, referrals and my internet presence.

Additionally, I would have begun networking earlier in the process of starting my business. Networking is extremely important in the launch of any business and a great way to let people know what you do. I found it to be very powerful in helping me establish my client base.

RG - What do you think it takes to be successful in your business?
Kara - I think there are several factors for success as a virtual assistant. First and foremost is having a dynamic skill set that is attractive to your target market, which in my case is the small business owner/home-based business. Understand your talents and market them accordingly.

Additionally, a keen sense of client service is vital for success. Knowing your client’s needs and consistently delivering timely and accurate service is crucial. Since most VA-client relationships are not face-to-face it is important to build trust and respect.

It is also very important to be knowledgeable about the marketplace and open to continually learning new skills. Technological advancement is rapid and it is essential to know what skills and services are in demand by prospective clients. A willingness to learn and add to your skill set is important for long-term success.

RG - What are the characteristics you possess that you feel will help you be successful as a VA?
Kara -The traits that contribute to my success as a VA are my creativity, resourcefulness, dedication, strong organizational skills, and proactive nature. Honesty, integrity and a positive attitude are also key characteristics that help me be successful.

RG - What challenges are you faced with today?
Kara -One of my biggest challenges is maintaining a good work/life balance. Starting a new business can be an around-the-clock job. It’s important to take time to rest, recognize accomplishments, and re-energize for the next day!

RG - What is your competition like?
Kara -Since virtual assistance is not bound by physical location my competition is local, national, and international. However, I consider my main competition to be US-based virtual assistants providing right-hand business support services to small business owners. I think what sets me apart is my strong technological skill set, previous corporate management experience, top-quality work and superior client service. There are many talented VA’s all across the country, and that’s a good thing for the industry as a whole.

RG - What are your concerns for the future?
Kara -The VA industry is rapidly growing and the number of people leaving traditional corporate jobs to become virtual assistants is increasing. As the industry grows and competition increases I want to continue to be able to distinguish myself as a top-notch, experienced, and dedicated VA.

RG - Without naming names, can you provide a couple of client success stories?
Kara -I love providing solutions for my clients. One of my clients, an extremely busy entrepreneur with a rapidly growing practice, has little to no time to handle the day-to-day administrative tasks for her business. I started working with her earlier this year, helping organize her client database, managing vendors, developing presentations and organizing financial data. Since then, she has been able to focus more time on expanding her practice, and is now able to spend more time with her clients. We continue to have a strong and productive working relationship.

Another client of mine, also a busy entrepreneur, needed help with various projects including updating his website on a monthly basis. After getting to know his business I’ve been able to take on the website updates each month, along with many other projects. This has allowed him more time to focus on developing his business.

I hope this article has provided you with some insight into the experience of starting a small business. For more information on executive and leadership coaching, or to learn how a virtual assistant could benefit your business please contact Randy Goruk or Kara Rosner.

Read more...

Quality vs. Quantity by: Takhe Tayo

There is a battle in Call Centers. The teams are Quality vs. Quantity; two performance factors that don't seem to get along.
? Representative Super Speedy says, "I've taken more calls than anyone on the team today. My average handle time is the lowest on the floor."
Coach Level Head breaks it down for him, "But your quality scores are below everyone else on your team.
Representative Detailed Dan says, "My quality scores are top notch. I give every one of my customers the detailed attention they deserve."

Coach Level Head breaks it down again, "Your Average Handle time is through the roof, and there are customers waiting in queue for attention to their needs.

Where is the happy medium? True quality means being effective and efficient; meeting the customer's needs fully in a reasonable amount of time.

As a call center supervisor in a Customer Service department I managed a team of 20 representatives. Like many teams there were "top performers" or super stars, "middle of the road performers" or most of the team and "low performers" or the folks that needed help to the middle of the road. My goal was to work with everyone to bring them up to the next level and ensure quality and efficiency as a group.

I remember one team member who fell into the low performer category. She was very detailed, very good with customers and her quality scores were outstanding. So, what put her in the low performer category? The amount of time she spent on each call. In one work day she would complete only half the number of calls completed by her team members. Her average handle time was off the charts. We had to work on this as soon as possible.

I coached her on several occasions and we found ways for her to cut time off of her calls. She did more typing while she talked to the customer; she learned the system more thoroughly so she could offer the answers to the customer's billing questions. Still her efficiency was not there. So, we continued the coaching.

Her argument was that her quality scores were so high that the quantity should not matter. She would receive 95% to 100% on each monitoring score. She was providing the customer with a quality interaction. They would go away feeling good about the company and the services they purchased. So, why did it matter if she took a long time talking with each customer? This discussion changed my explanation of quality and quantity forever. I explained to her (and everyone else, on every team I ever coached going forward) that Quantity is not a separate goal from Quality.

Quantity is actually efficiency, and efficiency is part of Quality. Instead of focusing on the number of calls we took in a day, we must talk about this performance goal in terms of how efficiently we took those calls. Did we use the time we had with them appropriately? We can not say that we offered the customer a Quality Interaction if we kept them on the phone for 25 minutes trying to solve their issue. On each call we owe the customer courtesy, information, honesty, answers and EFFICIENCY. A customer who received the answer they called looking for in 3 to 4 minutes will be happier than one who reaches their answer after 10 minutes.

In addition to the individual call, the time one representative spends on a call with one customer can also affect the perspective of the customer who is waiting in queue. I'm not suggesting that team members rush through calls to answer the next, but it is important to be aware of the impact of the time you spend on each call. The more efficient you are on each call, the more effective the department will be as a whole.

We ensure the efficiency part of Quality by being prepared for each call. Preparation includes knowing the tools and systems we use to answer the customer's needs, being up to date on new products, services or issues the customers may be calling about, and having our best Customer Service attitude ready to talk to each customer.

All this has become my Quality message. I have been known to pull up a soap box in the break room and spread this good word. Quality is built on quantity or efficiency. Offer clear, helpful, efficient customer interactions. My team learned it and improved in each one of their performance goals.
Let the Quality vs. Quantity battle end. Your customers will thank you.


Read more...

mplementing A Quality Management System In Your Business by: Tony Connor

The process of implementing a quality management system should start with Senior Management composing a list of Customers and Potential Customers. Determining customer and potential customer’s expectations and requirements should be the next phase of the process of implementing a quality management system. Senior Management should
determine customer and potential customer requirements by market research and interviewing targeted customers to gain an understanding of their requirements.

Confirmation from the customer of the organisation’s understanding of their requirements should be obtained prior to proceeding.The requirements for the quality management system are ascertained from the market research and confirmed customer requirements and subsequently senior management should define the organisation’s policies.Based on the quality management system policies, senior management should then establish objectives for the company.

In order to achieve the predetermined objectives the senior management should then decide the quality management system processes that are required.For each of the quality management system processes , including customers and suppliers the team should then identify the inputs and outputs. E.g. the quality management system process product realisation could have inputs including planning, training, maintenance and IT Systems, and outputs to distribution and customer.

The next step is to describe the quality management system processes and their interaction, considering the supplier, customer, inputs and outputs of each process.The process sequences and their interactions can be displayed on flowcharts to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the sequence and show the timing of the sequence.Individual responsibilities for ensuring the implementation, maintenance and improvement of each quality management system process should be assigned by the senior management team. E.g. the Planning Manager would normally be the planning process owner with responsibility in the quality management system would be for implementing, maintaining and improving the planning process and interacting effectively with sales and production processes. The Planning Manager objectives should be in line with quality management system objectives for example 100% Accurate Production Plan.A management team including representatives from all the processes should be established to oversee the quality management system processes.

The process management team should then assess each quality management system process and determine any documentation required and the most effective method of managing the process.

Different methods of documentation can be used, the team should decide which is best to represent and comprehend the quality management system process. The process management team should then undertake a project implementing the quality management system processes and their activities as planned that including communication, awareness, training, change management, management involvement and review activities.

The team should now determine where and how monitoring and measuring should be applied both for control and improvement of the quality management system processes and the intended process outputs.Measurement is a powerful management and quality management system improvement tool, measure or monitor to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of the quality management system process, taking into account such factors as conformity with requirements, customer satisfaction, supplier performance, on time delivery, waste, process costs, incident frequency. At this stage there should be corrective and preventative actions taken as per the documented quality management system procedure. This should include the identification and elimination of the root causes and potential causes of the problems such as defects or lack of adequate process controls.

Improvement opportunities for the quality management system based on the results of the analysis of process information should be determined at this stage.Finally, compare the results of your performance information with your defined requirements to confirm your quality management system is effective.
Read more...