Davinci Virtual

As sales begin to pick up in the new year, do you want to be stuck with your phone ringing off the hook, and no formal answering service helping?  I know I don’t!  I am hiring a virtual receptionist to help catch all of the overflow calls, help me with prospecting, and make my shadow look a little bigger than it really is.

A virtual receptionist can make a good impression for your business at a fraction of the cost of hiring, training and employing a live receptionist at your office.  When clients call there will be a “real” person on the other end of the phone, instead of an automated machine, giving customers, partners and potential clients the impression of a well run office.

When comparing options for virtual receptionists, make sure you are getting the best deal possible.  Some of the benefits that you shouldn’t do without include the following key benefits:

• Hold music – If your client must be placed on hold they listen to melodious hold music – not dead air.
• Multiple Line Phone Systems – A live receptionist helps you avoid missing calls or forwarding callers to voicemail. Your virtual receptionist only answers the phone for you and up to four other businesses.
• Calendar/Appointment Scheduling – our virtual receptionists can help you get organized and stay organized as a point of contact for your meetings and appointments.
• Order Processing and Customer Service – your customer may have found you through your website, but they want to talk to a real live receptionist before ordering.
• Live Outbound and Sales Calling – we can actively partner with you to grow your business, find new clients, and remind clients of appointments.
• Voicemail and Voicemail to Email – You can get your voicemail via email or on your phone, whichever you prefer.
• Fax to Email and Professional Email Address – get your faxes in your inbox and never worry about having a fax machine again.

Anything less that those options above would be below quality service, and not worth your money.

As the end of the year draws closer, I find myself preparing for 2009 (getting organized, cleaning up my files, setting all my travel dates and accommodations for the first quarter of next year, etc.)  What I am realizing, is that I am going to be on the road quite a bit from January to March, visiting clients and speaking at various conferences and events.  I am going to running non-stop for three months, and one of the problems this causes is I will be struggling to not fall behind in my basic business admin duties (i.e. payroll, taxes, benefits or insurance, paying bills, etc).

To solve this problem, I am contemplating hiring on a “Virtual” Assistant to help manage my administrative load.  A Virtual assistant is just what the name applies, they assist small businesses by offering many of the administrative services of a larger company, including:

• Creative services
• Managerial services
• Technical services
• Business services
• Office/Administrative services
• Personal support services

One of the things that I find the most helpful, is that by using a virtual assistant, I can provide their services to my clients anywhere in the world.  It can really come in handy!

Have you ever used a virtual assistant?  Share your success stories by sending me a comment!

Virtual assistants and virtual offices are two of the tools of our new virtual workforce. As our nation moves more toward a decentralized, virtual office model, we need to develop the skills needed to manage a team we may never see in person.

Many of us already work as part of multi-disciplinary, multi-geographical teams. Never has communication been such a critical, and confounding, issue. To say that team management has become increasingly complicated is putting it mildly.

But don’t despair. I suspect you will find many of the following suggestions very familiar. Find the techniques that work best for you and really work to build those out. You don’t have to encompass all of these abilities, that’s one of the benefits of working as a team. Each person can assume responsibility for a part of the process.

Start by creating a set of operating agreements. Think about how you will interact with each other. What are  your commitments to each other? How will you generate assignments…how will you hold each other accountable? Getting this on paper ahead of time will make it easier when nearing a deadline.

Next, be deliberate in your communications. When virtually managing a group, increase formal methods of contact. Use emails, faxes, online communication that can be printed or saved. This makes it easier to ensure all I’s are dotted and T’s are crossed. Also, infuse written communication with personality and inflection. Doing so makes emails from the leader less threatening, more welcoming.

Finally,  be honest and upfront in your communications. Let people know what you think and encourage them to share in the same way. Don’t be afraid to make adjustments as you go along. Support and encourage proactive membership, leverage the resources and skills individuals bring to the group. Doing so can result in an incredibly healthy, happy team.

Virtual offices have grown out of a concept that originated in the tech community, called Location Independence. Essentially, it means that you have the ability to be everywhere at once, without being in any particular location. See what I mean? No? OK that might  be a bit vague…how about this famous quote (that either originated with Confucius or Buckaroo Bonsai) “No matter where you go, there you are”. Not quite getting it yet? Try this on for size…

You can work from ANY LOCATION…short and simple…Though not as funny, I think I like it best.

Location independence is a concept often used with people who have businesses on the web or who use the web to market their business, but don’t actually have a storefront. This growing class of independent, often very creative, business people want to maximize their flexibility, and maximize their reach. They want their businesses to have access to global markets, but to have free time to see their son after school. They want to work for themselves, but don’t want the burden and overhead of managing an office. Essentially, they want it all…and they can have it…Here’s how:

• Websites are now a standard of operations for all businesses, information is available 24/7
• Geographical barriers are removed. It is no more effort, or expense, to find companies across the world or right next door
• Communication can be affordable or even free, and scheduled according to best timing for the individual
• Web technology is more user-friendly and affordable
• Virtual offices have virtual assistants, without the cost of overhead, consultants, entrepreneurs and small businesses thrive
• Business owners can find space for short term use (even by the hour) for client meetings
• Certain transactions and communications can be automated, allieviating the need to be present for each sale

Now more than ever, there is a support network available to help businesses succeed. So, what are you waiting for? Become Location Independent and embrace the good life!

Doesn’t it bother you when you call a company around noon and get a voicemail message saying “the office is closed for lunch until 1:30”? Maybe you called because that was the only time you could find a spare moment to make the call, and now you’ll have to find the time again later on in the day to call back. It’s not a popular practice and we’re sure it’s lost many companies many customers as a result.  With a virtual receptionist, this simply doesn’t happen. A virtual receptionist is there to answer your customer’s calls during business hours – from breakfast meetings to business lunches right on through to a business dinner.
Aside from never taking a long lunch or calling in sick for three days straight, a virtual receptionist also benefits your business’ budget. How could that be? Most of the time, the cost of a virtual receptionist is a portion of the cost of hiring, training, and keeping a receptionist in benefits. You’re also not paying for a receptionist’s office space or business equipment. These are all business expenditures that you might think are required, but the new reality is that, through the use of a virtual receptionist, these expenditures are far from necessary.
Virtual Receptionist Tip: No matter the time of the business day, the virtual receptionist is there to answer calls and properly direct them.

Just about any small company can operate much like a larger company with the help of a virtual assistant. You know how much customer service can mean to a business. If you’re answering your cell phone on the road while you’re running your business, you cannot give the level of service your customers expect…not to mention you know you shouldn’t talk on your cell phone while driving! Here are some of the benefits of having a virtual assistant:

• Your virtual assistant is professionally and fully-compliant with federal and state regulations.

• Your virtual assistant will be up on the latest technology that you need to make your office run smoothly and efficiently.

• You won’t need to pay payroll taxes, benefits or insurance for a full-time employee. You’ll also save money by not having the phone system, office space, or other tools a receptionist or admin staff needs.

On top of all of that, we manage the employee, so you don’t have to handle hiring, managing an employee, or other issues.
Our staff is already trained in the latest technology so you won’t incur ongoing training costs. When you have a virtual assistant, you are essentially sharing a secretary or office manager. Your virtual assistant only works with a maximum of five clients at a time. They’ll always answer your phone with your business name.
Virtual Assistant Tip: If you’re a small business wanting to compete with larger businesses a Virtual Assistant may be an invaluable tool.

Many entrepreneurs or small startup companies struggle with how to maintain a professional image with a new-business budget. Signing on with Davinci’s Suites virtual receptionist services is a business decision that a large number of small business owners will not be regretting anytime soon.
With Davinci’s virtual receptionist services your company can have an impressive office setting, an expert receptionist, and many other support services that allow you to maintain a professional appearance with limited expense. Your clients won’t even know that your regular day-to-day office is not on-site. In fact, they’ll appreciate how nice the building is as well as compliment you for hiring such a great receptionist!
Having the Davinci virtual office can free you from worrying about maintaining an office and managing staff. This will allow you to concentrate on building your business and serving your clientele, which we feel is one of the top goals of every business owner.
Virtual Receptionist Tip: A virtual receptionist can handle an enormous number of office tasks while not actually being located in your office. Fielding incoming phone calls, faxes, mail sorting, making business travel business arrangements, these are all tasks that can be handled by a virtual receptionist.

The explosion of new business tools offered by and through the Internet has produced not only the virtual organization, but also a new business opportunity: virtual assistants.
You may be wondering if you might have a future as a virtual assistant. Countless experienced, trusted, and valued office administrators or assistants are dreaming of a different job, one in a non-traditional office, one that will value their efforts and skills but also not require a move out-of-state or one of those nightmarish commutes. Or perhaps you wish you could be your own boss, set your own hours, and work for yourself. And many virtual assistants today enjoy some unprecedented work-life balance, enabling them to spend more quality time with their families while their take-home pay is not negatively affected.  The typical day for virtual assistants may be taking on the nitty-gritty work for independent professionals and small businesses that don’t need a full-time secretary or office manager. Their tasks may include secretarial work, meeting and travel planning, project managing, and logistics coordinating. It’s rare that a virtual assistant will be askedto make their boss a cup of coffee.
Virtual Assistants Tip: Making the boss look good and feel better by your competent, swift, and efficient completing of business tasks is a mark of a great virtual assistant.

We’d be willing to bet that a good number of small businesses that you might come into contact with over the course of your day or week are making use of virtual receptionists…without your even realizing it. That’s the sign of a very good virtual receptionist, your not being aware that the person fielding your business call is not physically sitting in the foyer of the small business’ office.
Small businesses are finding that virtual receptionists are very often a perfect solution for them. Whether it’s a business with one person or a dozen, a central, professional, and efficient telephone presence offered by a virtual receptionist is a deal they can’t pass up.
Actually, it’s not just small businesses that can benefit from using a virtual receptionist can work for most any sized-company you could think of. Nor does a company’s business decide if a virtual receptionist would be beneficial for them. Virtual receptionists are capable of handling customer service inquiries or taking orders, making sales calls, screen and/or announce your calls, just to name a few.
Best of all, virtual receptionist service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Weather, illnesses, or personal issues won’t keep a virtual receptionist from answering your calls.
Virtual Receptionist Tip: Small businesses can use virtual receptionists to establish a presence in multiple markets and have a local telephone number for each.

Your new receptionist will do the administrative tasks, conference or meeting planning, event planning, travel arrangements, you name it. She just can’t get you your coffee. Why? Because she’s a virtual receptionist, taking care of your office administration remotely.
Countless companies in dozens of industries are choosing virtual receptionists for their offices. They’re finding that the virtual employees offer great benefits, including maintaining the company’s professional image and enhancing business productivity through smooth business communication flow.
Companies love that, instead of getting an answering machine, voicemail, or a rushed business owner, their clients will speak with a live person. Other benefits are the potential for establishing a presence in multiple markets and enjoying a local phone number for each. There are so many benefits to having a virtual receptionist.v
How does it work? Through a virtual receptionist you can have all your company’s calls professionally answered and the messages sent to you as a text and email. You can choose to send calls to your virtual receptionist as often or as seldom as needed. Your virtual receptionist will take a message for you, and then forward the message to you by either email, or text message right to your phone.
Virtual Receptionist Tip: Companies enjoy having a single, reliable, and competent point of access for customers through the use of a virtual receptionist.