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Dear Danielle: How Do I Get Over Blogging Writer’s Block

Posted by Danielle Keister on
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Dear Danielle:

There are so many things to consider in starting or re-starting a business, as I’m sure you know. At this point, there are so many different marketing avenues to promote our business and the industry as a whole.  Let me tell you, I am so excited about this up and coming ‘virtual’ profession.

One of the areas I was going to start off with again is a blog. And you are correct – sometimes it’s difficult to come up with ideas or topics to talk about. Frankly, sometimes I even think before I start to write ‘What could I possibly have to say that may make a difference in someone’s life?’ or ‘Do I really have anything to offer to benefit the VA industry – individually and as a whole?’

Do you have any suggestions on how to overcome this writer’s block or how to research what topics would be interesting to my peers and potential customers?

Oh, you know I do. ;)

My first bit of clarity for you is to stop thinking you need to write for your peers and the industry. You are wasting your business building time and energy.

I can’t tell you how many people I see and mentor who complain about not having clients and needing to get more clients–and then waste all their time and energy talking to and blogging for each other instead of their would-be clients!

You may have heard the phrase “wasted real estate” when experts talk about how business owners waste valuable website space with content that has nothing to do with anything when it comes to attracting clients and being of interest to them.

In the same way, you don’t need to be writing for your peers or for the industry. They are not your clients. If that’s what you’re doing, you’re wasting one of your most valuable pieces of marketing and networking “real estate.” If you are starting your business or trying to grow it and attract more clients and be of service to them, write your blog for them.

And my second bit of advice for getting over writer’s block is to get a target market.

(For those who don’t know, a target market is a specific field, industry or profession you focus your business support on.)

Of course you will be at a loss as to what to write about when you don’t know who you are talking to. When you try to write for anyone and everyone, you end up being interesting to no one.

This is yet another way having a target market helps you:  it gives you clarity, focus and direction. When you know who you are talking to, it’s easier to know or figure out what is going to be of value, use and interest to them. And this is what will help make your content far more interesting, useful and compelling.

A few other little blogging tips:

  • Make sure you have several ways for your target market to subscribe to your blog. First and foremost, use a service like Aweber which will help you build your list and automate the distribution of new post notifications to these subscribers. Make the subscription form your most prominent feature in your upper right sidebar (“above the fold”).
  • There will be people who prefer to subscribe by RSS or with things like Networked Blogs. Give them those options as well. However, if you are interested in building your list, you may want to feature those options less prominently.
  • Give your blog a title and/or tag line so that your target market knows instantly that your blog is especially for them.
  • Survey your subscribers periodically. Pick their brains. Ask them questions. Your blog isn’t just a way to connect with clients. It can also be an excellent research tool for getting to know them better and find out more about what their challenges and common goals and interests are in business–which is going to help you in your business and offerings to them as well as knowing what to write about for them.

Dear Danielle: Will Certification Make Me Look More Professional?

Posted by Danielle Keister on
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This question comes up frequently. And I often see  newcomers to the industry being preyed upon due to their mistaken belief that “certification will make me look more professional.”

The fact is, no one’s little piece of paper is going to make you look more professional. The only thing that will make you look more professional is by DEMONSTRATING your expertise and competence and skills in everything you do. That includes how your website looks, how you speak, your message, your business operations and processes. These are the things that make you look more professional.

In over 14 years of business, I have never once been asked by a client if I am certified. They simply do not care. Sadly, many people will waste their precious time and money on certifications that will have absolutely nothing to do with getting clients and whether they succeed or fail.

I’ve written about this topic extensively on my old blog and have just moved all these posts over to the new blog here under their own category called “Certification Is a Joke.”

If you are thinking about paying for certification in our industry, read the posts I’ve written on this subject first.

Dear Danielle: Client Wants to Do a Background Check on Me

Posted by Danielle Keister on
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Dear Danielle:

I have recently purchased a few of your items and love them. They have helped me tremendously! Thanks. :)

I have a question: I have done a couple of consultations and the client has asked if they could run a background check because they will be disclosing some bank and financial information to me. I have no problem with them doing this and can’t blame them for asking; however, I was wondering if you had heard of a service where I could get the background check for myself and just be able to send it to the clients when they ask for it? The main reason for this is that in the same way that they don’t want to hand over their banking info to me, I do not want to hand over my SS#, birth date, home address, etc.

Great question and thanks so much for asking. I don’t have any recommendations for you when it comes to background checks. Obviously, it’s everyone’s personal choice, but I highly discourage allowing clients to do personal background checks. Even if they themselves have honest intentions and are not some kind of shady character, if their computer or systems or office security are compromised somehow, that information can get leaked out in all kind of ways through no fault of their own. Having been a private investigator in a former life, this is a really bad idea for all kinds of reasons.

Plus, it’s just the wrong mindset to cater to. If you were an employee they were considering hiring, it might be appropriate, but this is a business relationship, not an employment one. A background check also doesn’t guarantee that someone can be trusted. There simply has to be a certain level of trust extended to each other or there isn’t room to do business together.

You didn’t say what kind of work you will be doing for them, but generally, trust in business is something that grows and is earned in stages. With some exceptions, of course, it’s very often not necessary to need that kind of sensitive client data right off the bat. You can let the relationship grow naturally as you continue working together over those first months and getting to know each other. As they see things progress and they get more comfortable, they will know the right time to share that information if and when it’s needed.

I do want you to think about this from a different perspective. Have a conversation with the client. What might really be going on behind their request? Do they simply have trust issues beyond what is reasonable? Is there something they aren’t seeing or feeling from you that they need to in order to feel more trusting?

There are all kinds of ways you can help instill trust and credibility without submitting to background checks:

  • Put your name and face on your website. People connect with people, not anonymous, nameless, faceless entities. This is one of the most potent, instant trust and rapport builders you can employ!
  • Put an address on your website. Not your home address, but some kind of mailing address as well as an email and contact number. This satisfies an emotional (not logical) need people have to see that you can be contacted in the “real” world if need be. It just gives them added assurance. When you don’t provide that info, they feel there is something to distrust.
  • If you are in the U.S., get an EIN number from the IRS (this is so that you don’t have to provide your SSN when you are an unincorporated sole proprietor), and then provide new clients with a completed IRS Form W-9.
  • Put a copy of your business license/registration in PDF format so you can provide that to clients as well. This shows that you are credible, legitimately registered business.
  • Have errors and omissions (E & O) insurance and provide a PDF copy of your certificate to new clients.
  • Provide a values/promise statement on your website. Tell clients that you have a feedback process instituted in your business and will solicit their input at regular intervals throughout the relationship. Let them know if they are ever unhappy, you encourage and welcome their feedback and will do everything in your power to rectify any unsatisfactory performance.
  • If you belong to the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and have a spotless record, place your membership seal on your website (their code will link to your BBB profile where they can read your record for themselves).
  • Provide clients with testimonials on your website. Have a PDF list of clients who are happy to talk with your prospective clients about you and your work.

As you can see, there are all kinds of things you can and should be doing that will help new clients feel comfortable and safe with you. But do politely decline the background checks. It’s far too intrusive and just not the right place to start the relationship off.

Do you have others to add to the list? Please post in the comments!

Does Your Image Match?

Posted by Danielle Keister on
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So, I took the car into the shop for some routine maintenance. I go to a place I’ve been taking it to for the past couple years now. They are so awesome. The front desk staff is so friendly. Unlike lots of car shops, this one is actually clean and tidy. They give complimentary engine light checks if you have one come on. They’ll drive you home if it’s going to be awhile for your car. The mechanics are clean-cut, take time to explain things to you clearly, and don’t leer and drool at you if you’re a woman. (Ladies, you know what I’m taking about!)

Anyway, as I was waiting in the reception area for one of the guys to drive me back home, I was nosing around the business card table. This is a little spot where the shop owner lets his customers leave their business cards and flyers. I like to see who else is on the local independent business owner scene (indy businesses are my favorite!), and I came across a card that had me feeling so sorry for the owner.

You see, the biz card said it was a marketing business, but everything about the card loudly contradicted this and instead indicated that this wasn’t someone who understood marketing at all. The card was a stock template from Vistaprint I’ve seen a million times with “business cards are FREE at vistaprint.com” on the back. On the front, the font was so small I could barely make out the name of the biz owner. There was no website listed so I couldn’t go online to learn more about the business and what it offered. And the email was a gmail address.

You don’t have to be a great designer to be in the marketing business. BUT someone in the marketing business… that is, someone who really is an expert in marketing KNOWS (as this is one of the most basic things to understand) that image is everything. If you say you are an expert and professional, your marketing materials MUST demonstrate that. That being the case, this business owner who was supposedly in the marketing profession should have known to hire a designer to put together a proper and professional-looking business card.

So instead of a business that I would ever call for marketing, I get the impression that this isn’t a real expert at all. Now, maybe they really are an expert and really great. But as the only thing I have to judge them on right in front of me, their business card tells me otherwise.

I don’t know this business from Adam. As the first introduction and presentation of that business, their business card is a either a deal maker or a deal breaker. It’s either going to instill confidence in me that they are a successful, expert marketing business that I’d be interested in looking into further, or it’s going to tell me, either consciously or subconsciously, not to bother. And this goes for anything that represents your business–your website, your content, your brochures and cards, etc.

So why is a well-designed website important? Why do you need a properly designed logo? Why spend money on a designer when you have tools on your computer that you can use yourself? Because your business image tells a story to your prospective clients. It gives them clues as to whether you really are a successful professional who is expert at what you do or merely an amateur they shouldn’t waste money on. It helps them connect the dots and encourages them to take the next step (whether that’s going to your website or contacting you for a consultation).

If this biz owner really knew what he was doing, he would have a properly designed, original card–not a template and definitely not one that told the world he was too unsuccessful to afford to pay for his own business cards. He would have a website for people to go to so they could learn more. He would have some kind of offer or call to action on the card. He would use a proper email address on his own domain.

Image is everything people. Don’t skimp on yours.

Dear Danielle: Is Virtual Assistant Certification Necessary?

Posted by Danielle Keister on
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Dear Danielle:

I have wanted to start my own Virtual Assistant business for a while now. I’ve been with the same large corporation for 12 years, some of that time spent in the Medical Law department, as a human resources assistant and about six years as an executive assistant juggling multiple managers. Prior to that, I worked from a woman’s home as her assistant as she ran her own company bringing in over $400,000 gross per year. I have the experience, I have the drive and motivation; I learn quickly; I’m resourceful; I am able to work independently and have a record of excellent customer service and problem solving skills. I am concerned that not having a Virtual Assistant certificate from a college may hinder client selection. From your experience, are degree-less Virtual Assistants making a living out there? Do you know of a legitimate online Virtual Assistant certification?

Fabulous! You have listed just about everything you need to start an administrative support business:  experience, drive, resourcefulness, ability to learn quickly and excellent customer service and problem-solving skills. The only other requirement is going to be excellent business sense. Because running a business and doing the work and taking care of clients are two completely different things.

I’ve written extensively on the subject of Virtual Assistant certification. You do not need anyone’s piece of paper to “certify” that you have the administrative expertise to offer your services. I say this as someone who has been in this business for over 14 years and never once been asked by a single client–ever–whether I was “certified” or not.

Most of the certification programs in our industry are a joke. I’ve even had colleagues go through some of these programs where the administrators themselves can’t spell, litter their correspondence with typos, and get their own exams wrong. There’s a proliferation of opportunists and exploiters out there who are just using these programs as personal sales vehicles and will certify anyone willing to pay. These “certifications” will have absolutely no influence or affect on your success or client attraction whatsoever.

Pay for skills training. Pay for business knowledge and education. Pay for products and services that have actual, practical value and use in your business. But when it comes to “certification,” save your money.

There is only one thing you need to prove to clients and that is done by simply demonstrating your qualifications, competence and service in all that you do. Your site, your messages, your writing and articles… every bit of it is an example of your skills, expertise and professionalism. When you demonstrate a professional level of expertise and competence, no one is going to ask you about certification. Those questions only come when prospective clients don’t see those things exampled on your website, your business image, your content and your communications. But when you do demonstrate those things in all those places, you instill credibility. You instill trust. They don’t need to ask because they already get that sense of your competence through all your displays of marketing, presentation and interaction.

No piece of paper will prove those things. And any certification you get becomes meaningless if you can’t demonstrate on a daily basis, in everything you do, the qualities that the certification is supposed to “prove.”

Here are some other posts I’ve written on the topic of certification that may be of interest to you:

http://www.administrativeconsultantsassoc.com/blog/2008/05/11/are-you-trying-too-hard/

http://www.administrativeconsultantsassoc.com/blog/2008/01/08/demonstrate-your-competence/

http://www.administrativeconsultantsassoc.com/blog/2007/10/10/dear-danielle-what-can-you-tell-me-about-credentialing/

It sounds like you’ve got all the qualifications and experience you need to open a business as an Administrative Consultant and offer professional level administrative support and expertise. Learning to be a good businessperson may take some additional skills and education, if you don’t have those already. Don’t bother with certification, though. Just become a good student of business. Read business books. Find business mentors. Ask lots of questions. If you do take some kind of course, I would recommend classes on business management and marketing, not a certification course.

Good luck to you and thanks for the great question! We need more highly skilled and competent people like you in our field!

Business Owners Don’t Provide Resumes

Posted by Danielle Keister on
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I wanted to focus today on another of the words to delete from your business vocabulary: resume.

Business owners don’t provide resumes. Employees do.

Here’s how to understand this stuff:

When you were an employee, the cover letter is what got your resume read. The resume is what landed you an interview. And the goal of the interview was to cinch the job.

But once you are in business, you need to use business terminology to set proper expectations and understandings in clients. When you use employment terminology and apply employee-minded ways to business situations, you confuse and miseducate your prospective clients about the nature of the relationship. It actually causes the kind of problems you live to regret later down the road.

In the business world, your marketing and networking become your “cover letter.” This is what lets your target market and prospective clients get to know, like and trust you, and leads them to your business website to learn more about you and how you can help them.

As a business, your entire website and other marketing collateral become your “resume.” This is what should be working toward educating qualified and interested would-be clients about how you can help them and lead them towards engaging with you further in a consultation.

And the consultation is what is used to learn more about the client, determine if and how you can help and that there’s a mutual fit of needs and interests, and ultimately decide whether or not to work together.

Here’s the visual:

THAT WAS THEN (EMPLOYEE)
Cover Letter > Resume/References > Interview > Job

THIS IS NOW (BUSINESS OWNER & ADMINISTRATIVE CONSULTANT)
Marketing/Networking > Website/Testimonials > Consultation > New Client!

Just because someone asks you for a resume, doesn’t mean you provide one. If you continue to indulge requests for resumes and references from clients, you have no one but yourself to blame when you keep getting clients who don’t extend you professional respect nor view the relationship in its proper context–namely, one of business owner and client.

Instead, steer them toward your website. In fact, you could even say something like, “Oh, my website is my business resume. It will give you all the information you need about the work I do/my company does, how I help clients and what kind of clients benefit most from working with me. There’s even a page where you can learn more about me personally, and I’ve included some words from some of my happy clients!”

You have to understand that many clients have been completely miseducated about the nature of our profession, the relationship and the work we do thanks to incorrect (and, frankly, idiotic) articles about our industry. When most of them ask for a resume, it really is because they think we are a sort of offsite, telecommuting employee.

The term “Virtual Assistant’” doesn’t help things either–when you call yourself an assistant, that’s exactly what people think you are. Go figure. ;)

Call yourself an Administrative Consultant instead and just see what a difference it makes in peoples’ demeanor and understandings. It’s like night and day!

Professional respect and understanding of the relationship are very important ingredients in shaping client perceptions, showing them how to treat you, and commanding professional fees. Insist on being treated as a professional. Use the right language to reinforce that expectation and understanding.

Ultimately, this is about providing superior service to clients. If you create misconceptions and confusion because you’ve used or allowed clients to continue using wrong terminology at the start of your business relationships, you make things more difficult for them in working with you because I guarantee you, it will cause problems and misunderstandings in the relationship in some form or fashion down the road.

Using correct terminology and engaging in business practices that subtly educate clients that you are a professional they hire for business, not employment, facilitates great working relationships.

Should There Be a Probationary Period?

Posted by Danielle Keister on
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Dear Danielle:

I’m wondering if I should offer a three-month probationary period to new clients to make sure we are a fit. Is this customary? Is it a good idea?

A probationary period for what? Are you applying for a job?

“Probationary periods” don’t have any place in a business relationship. Probationary periods are for employees. The term reveals someone who is thinking with employee mentality. But you’re not applying for a job. You’re running a business. Aren’t you?

Here’s how I would advise you to shift your thinking on this. First, the concept of a “probationary period” in your business is really akin to auditioning. And auditioning is obsequious. It portrays you as someone who doesn’t think of herself as a business equal with something of quality and value to offer.

It’s also narcissistic and condescending. Who are you to second-guess a client’s decision to work with you? It says to them, “I don’t think you are an adult who can be trusted to know whether the decision you made to work with me was a good choice or not so I’m going to patronizingly give you a few months to still decide.” You’re basically telling them they are too stupid to make their own decision and commitment.

Worse, it tells them to second-guess you… after you went to all the effort to let folks know that you are someone with something great to offer who can really help. It puts them in a “testing” frame of mind that actually delays the start of the “real” relationship.

And that’s just flat out stupid. You don’t need to be tested. You just need to get down to it.

Here’s how business works…

You study your target market. You get to know the people in it, how their businesses are run, what their challenges and objectives are and how your solution can fit into resolving those challenges and achieving those goals. So you put up a website that speaks to them and those things. You create compelling, resonate messaging and package your solutions in a way that is most attractive to them and draws them to you. You hang out and network where folks in your target market can be found and you have real, genuine conversations with them, allowing them to get to know you as a person while  getting a sense of your competence and expertise at the same time.

Eventually, someone with a need for your solution and who is attracted to you and what you have to offer will want to talk with you about working together. That’s where your consultation comes in. You might have one conversation, you might have more. After that, each of you are grownups who get to decide for yourselves whether there is a mutual fit or not.

And if there’s a mutual fit, you enter into a business relationship (that’s your contract) and begin working together. That’s it. But what you do is replace a “probationary period” with a clean and easy termination clause in your contract that allows either of you to end the business relationship with X amount of written notice (personally, I use 20 days notice).

Simple as that. There doesn’t need to be some irrelevant, drawn-out “probationary period.” At any point that the relationship becomes not a fit anymore, for either of you, for any reason, you can easily walk away according to the terms of the termination clause. It really doesn’t need to be any more complicated than that.

(By the way, all of the contracts in the Administrative Consultant Success Store include legal language for this.)

The only “auditioning” you should be doing after you have entered into your business contract/retained administrative support relationship is the continued competent demonstration of your skills and following through of the things you promised you could/would do for clients–basically, just doing good work. That is what will secure their desire to keep working together and growing the relationship.

And any client who truly is wishy-washy, can’t make a decision, and wants you to keep jumping through auditioning, probationary hoops is not one you can afford to waste your time and energy on. Next!

Are You Trying Too Hard?

Posted by Danielle Keister on
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Have you ever had a conversation with someone who goes into so much explanatation or effort to provide “evidence” that in trying to convince you, they actually have the opposite effect? In trying to make you think they know what they’re talking about, you clearly see they don’t know what they’re talking about at all. It’s like the criminal who offers up such advance intricate detail of his alibi and reasons for his every minute action that he actually ends up looking more guilty. They’re trying too hard.

Many Virtual Assistants think getting clients is all about jumping through hoops and junking up their websites with every credential and work sample they can think of. They want to put up examples of PowerPoint presentations, spreadsheets, brochures, yada yada yada…

This indicates the erroneous thinking that a website or work sample is going to be the thing that clinches the deal. In fact, any work samples you provide will make very little difference. They will be of only passing importance, after the fact, after the prospect has already made up their mind about you one way or the other.

You know what? It’s not necessary… especially if you truly are what you say you are.

First of all, you need to know, really know, what business you are in. Are you in the business of writing or design or bookkeeping or secretarial services? Or are you in the business of administrative support. What is your first and primary focus?

If you are in the administrative support business, what you are “selling” (so to speak) is an administrative relationship, not line-item services. And think about it… how do you provide a “work sample” of a relationship?

The absolute, most important credential you need to have in this business is competence. That qualification isn’t “sold” or evidenced through work samples. It is an intangible characteristic that is demonstrated throughout all your interactions with your prospects and site visitors.

It’s in how you’ve set your business, policies and processes up. It’s in the conversations you have with would-be clients. It’s in your ability to lead your own business. It’s in your writing on your blog and your content on your website. It’s the confidence you project when you meet with new clients (whether that’s in person or on the phone). It’s the professional image you present visually, verbally, in writing, even in the operation of your business.

All of these things combined become a living, dynamic demonstration–work sample, if you like–of your competence and expertise. While they are intangible, these are the things that clients will directly and powerfully correlate with your administrative ability and skill level. That might not sound right to you. It might not be logical. It is, nonetheless, absolutely true.

Consumers make purchasing decisions for emotional reasons. It’s a researched, proven and verifiable fact. They are also hugely influenced by instant, unconscious judgments they make within minutes of meeting you or visiting your site, as well as other subliminal messages they receive along the way. They will only look to rational “evidence” to back up their emotional decision. Nothing, and especially not any work sample, will have more effect on your ability to be perceived as worth every penny you charge than the things I’ve outlined above.

So the questions you should be asking yourself don’t have to do with what work samples to provide. Instead, the questions to really be pondering are:

What message is the visual presentation of your website communicating to your site visitors? Is it one of high-calibre competence and ability? Is it one of an established, truthworthy, credible and committed business? Will your audience have an affinity with it?

What about your written message? Does it portray a confident, qualified and skilled professional? Does it demonstrate an absolute understanding of the difficulties or problems your target market wants to solve? Does it expertly inform them about the solution you provide for those difficulties and problems? Does it convey warmth, trust, perhaps even the feeling that they are having a close and personal conversation with you? Does it portray, without any doubt, that you know exactly what you’re doing, are highly skilled and have a plan to help take away their burdens?

What about practical correlations? Is it flawless in its execution of spelling, punctuation and grammar or is it littered with typos and misspellings? Are the ideas coherently presented?

Keep this in mind as well… No one is going to come to your website and decide to work with you based on a brochure or desktop publishing sample. “Selling” professional services is a far more personal, intricate and involved dance. Most of the time, clients come to us through our networking efforts and word-of-mouth. And why is that? Because through our writing and interactions with them (or those who refer them), we have demonstrated our competence and instilled the know, like and trust factor. Your most well-placed efforts, with a great return on results, will be along those lines.

Demonstrate Your Competence

Posted by Danielle Keister on
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Actions speak louder than words.

You can say you are the smartest, most competent, most wonderful administrative expert in the world, but if those statements aren’t backed up–evidenced–in all that you do in the most visible, tangible ways, your message will fall on deaf ears.

Everything you do is a demonstration of your professional competence. Every action, communication, effort and follow-up is an example of the level of skill, awareness, intelligence, professionalism and critical thinking ability you possess.

Even the visual presentation you provide, be it in your personal appearance or the design of your website, is communicating certain messages, either positive or negative, about you as a professional.

When someone doesn’t know a thing about you, they are unconsciously looking at any and all evidence of what you’re about. And they make assessments (yup, you can call ‘em judgments) about you instantly, without even thinking, based on what you show them.

Think about it.

A prospective client doesn’t know anything about you, even less if they aren’t coming to you on referral. If your website is sloppy, they will assume your work is sloppy, too.

If there are misspellings, punctuation errors and poor grammar used, they are going to wonder whether you have the most basic of skills to provide professional services to them.

If you don’t take care in the messages you write or can’t seem to follow the simplest of directions, they are immediately going to correlate that with what it will be like to work with you–and probably pass.

Understand the dynamics involved in the prospect-provider relationship. It’s not the prospective client’s job to waste their time (and they won’t) trying to figure out if someone really is competent if all other indications tell them that’s not the case. Nor will they second-guess the poor image or example you present. Trust me, they are going to take you at face value and assume that your services are amateur, sub-par and not at a professional level.

That’s why it’s really important to pay attention to the details. You have to show up, in everything you do, in a way that clearly demonstrates your professional competence and the kind of experience they will have if they choose to work with you.

Let’s Talk About Trust

Posted by Danielle Keister on
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When talking about the idea of “trust,” many folks tend to think it’s about honesty.

But trust is about so much more than that, and it’s something every Administrative Consultant needs to understand because it’s the one thing that forging new relationships with prospects and cementing existing bonds with current clients hinges upon.

Trust isn’t just about whether someone is a truthful type of person.

Trust also isn’t something that’s handed over on a silver platter. That’s a fallacy that Administrative Consultants need to get straight about.

Administrative Consultants are crazy if they think a client should grant them instant access to every part of their business, much less remote access to their computer. You might as well ask them to take their clothes off and get naked. Not gonna happen.

Yes, there needs to be minimum level of trust for any relationship to work, or to even begin, for that matter. But trust isn’t something that is turned over lock, stock and barrel. Trust is something that is both earned and grown into, with different levels being achieved as you continue to work together. The more trust is established, the more will be entrusted to you.

For clients, trust is about feeling safe. It’s about feeling a level of comfort and confidence that the Administrative Consultant they are considering working with is competent and will be well-worth the time and money invested.

That’s where credibility and rapport come in; those are the things that help establish that first level of trust.

It’s why you need to have an address and contact information easily found on your website–that helps clients feel like they are dealing with a legitimate business and not scam artist.

It’s why your website should be as professionally designed as possible–its appearance is going to directly impact how prospects view your abilities. They will both consciously and subconsciously correlate the look of your site with your skill level, professionalism and competence.

It’s why you need to talk to your prospective client, person-to-person, in your copy. It helps establish rapport, like you’re taking directly to them.

It’s why your website needs to be about them, not you. This is what helps prospects identify with your message, see that you totally get them and the obstacles and challenges they face, and feel confident that you have the solutions to solve those problems for them and reach their goals.

The next level of trust is achieved once you begin working together. What comes into play here in instilling continued trust is consistency. Consistency in your demeanor. Consistency in your professionalism. Consistency in the quality of your work and service. Consistency in your follow-through and responses.

All these things trigger in clients the feeling that the other shoe isn’t going to drop any time soon. If you are inconsistent, flaky or “schizophrenic” in any of these areas, you’re going to shatter any trust that you’ve managed to create and actually create distrust and disharmony.

What happens then is that they won’t trust that they can relax with you and let go of control. They won’t trust that you will always follow-through. They won’t trust that you will get things done when or in the manner you say you will.

So achieving that second level of trust is going to be really important for the relationship to progress to the next level, which is when the client begins to allow you further into their business. If remote access is necessary to some of the work, this is the stage when it’s natural and appropriate for that trust to be granted. But try to assert that before the client is ready, and you risk damage to the relationship.

Trust is a sensibility that you as an Administrative Consultant need to be diligently and consciously aware of. Your understanding about how it works–how people work–is something you should be continually learning about. Don’t demand it from clients as your right–because it’s not.

Would you give a stranger off the street the keys to your car or your house? Of course not. So don’t expect that clients will feel any different about their business. But let them get to know what you’re about, who you are, what you know and what you understand about them–and consistently and proactively demonstrate those things–and it will be a different story.

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