Published every Wednesday by Danielle Keister
and the Administrative Consultants Association

ADMINISTRATIVE PARTNERING EDITION

In This Issue:

• A Note from Danielle
• Product Praises
• SPECIAL OFFER ENDS AUGUST 31: Apply All Your Past Purchases Toward a Set
• FREE TELESEMINAR - AUGUST 25: An Open Conversation About Administrative Consulting
• FEATURE ARTICLE: How to Choose an Administrative Consultant
• Recommended Resources
• How to Contribute an Article
• About the VACOC
  

Don't forget to add "danielle@administrativeconsultantsassoc.com" to your email Safe Senders whitelist so you won't miss future issues!

Happy Wednesday :)

You're a solo or boutique business owner. You know you need help. You know you can't do it all alone. You know your business won't grow where you want it go without some support. You know having the help and expertise of an Administrative Consultant could move you eons ahead of the curve; you just aren't sure how to choose between everyone out there. This week's article tell you exactly what to look for in a top-notch, right-hand administrative support partner.

I also want to invite those of you who are in the administrative support business to a free teleseminar I'm hosting on August 25. It's an informal, open conversation about Administrative Consulting and how it can change the entire character of your business (for the better!). We'd love to have you there! Check out the details below.

I also have a special offer that ends August 31 where you can apply all your past product purchases toward a full set of my business success products. Find out how below.

Yours in goodness and success!

Danielle Keister
Administrative Consulting Expert

PS: Share this ezine! Simply forward to your friends and colleagues or send them to our website so they can subscribe for themselves.

PPS: I really love hearing from you. What did you find helpful or enlightening in this week's issue? Your questions and topic ideas are always appreciated, too—what do you want to learn more about?

"This is one of the best decisions you could make and not live without for your business."

I recently purchased some of your products which I love! This is one of the best decisions you could make and not live without for your business. I'm using them on my first client and it has saved me countless hours and legal fees.

—Leesa Peters, Administative Consultants R Us

SPECIAL OFFER (ENDS AUGUST 31): Apply All Your Past Product Purchases Toward a Full Set!

Perhaps you have purchased a few of my forms, templates or guides here and there. And maybe you liked them so well and found them so helpful, you wish now you had purchased a complete set. With a set, you would have saved moolah AND you'd get the special bonus products that ONLY come with the sets and can't be purchased individually.

Or perhaps you are someone who purchased the Admin Consultant Biz Starter Pack (Set-01) and wish now you'd bought The Whole Shebang (Set-03). Well, now you CAN without paying twice for the products you already bought in the first set (but only for a limited time)!

Here's my special, no-obligation offer to you:

1. Tell me which set you wish you would have purchased by filling in the form at the bottom of this page.
2. We'll add up all your past product purchases.
3. Then we'll send you an email telling you how much the difference is and give you a special discount code for it.

So, for example, if you purchased Set-01 at $X, and would now like to have Set-03 (The Whole Shebang), we'll deduct whatever you paid for Set-01 from the cost of Set-03 so you can get the complete library of products without paying twice for those you already have.

Or, say over the years you purchased X, Y and Z products from Set-01. We'll total them up and then subtract that cost of the full set. For Set-03, we'll all up ALL your product purchases and that becomes your special discount toward that set.

There is no obligation to purchase, although I do hope you will take advantage of this special opportunity because it's a one-time deal that ends midnight, August 31. If you decide to get the set you want, all you have to do is add it to your shoppingcart and then enter your special discount in the discount code field and it will recalculate to your special, reduced cost.

But remember, this offer ENDS midnight, August 31.

I have made tons of improvements this past year to all my products and also added a bunch of new bonus products that only come with the sets and I would LOVE for you to have all the latest, greatest! This special offer gives you that opportunity at a great savings.

Fill out the form on this page to get your special discount code >>

FREE TELESEMINAR ON AUGUST 25: You Are Invited to an Open Conversation About Administrative Consulting

Hi, Danielle Keister here, and I'd like to invite you to a free teleseminar I'm holding next week. Really, it's more of an informal conversation to introduce folks to the term "Admnistrative Consultant." We're going to talk about what it is and what it isn't, and the evolution of how the we at the ACA converted from the term "virtual assistant" over to Administrative Consultant.

We're also going to talk about some of the issues virtual assistants continue to experience to this day in properly educating clients and setting expectations, as well as the reasons why the "virtual assistant" term is hugely responsible for holding women in this industry back and keeping them from earning better. And I'm going to share some marketing knowledge and expertise to help you overcome these challenges in your own practice.

Anyone who is in the business of administrative support is welcome to attend. Come with an open mind and your great questions, and I promise you're going to come away with some HUGE aha's. AND it won't cost you dime. :)

Get the rest of the details and register for the call here >>

See you then!

How to Choose an Administrative Consultant

7 Steps to Finding the Perfect Fit

As a savvy business owner, you know you can't do everything yourself. Whether you're capable or not, you understand that your time is best spent on activities that grow your business and generate revenue. By taking certain administrative tasks and functions off your plate each month and allowing an Administrative Consultant to handle them instead, you free yourself to focus on just those roles that are the best use of your time and energy as the CEO in your business.

Administrative Consultants are THE administrative experts. They specialize in providing clients with ongoing administrative support in one-on-one, collaborative relationships. But how do you determine who is truly skilled, qualified and committed to their own business and yours? Below are some practical points to consider and questions to ask as you go about the selection process.

Website

You can tell a lot about a business by simply taking a look around their office. It is neat and tidy or messy and unkempt? Is it inviting with helpful, welcoming touches or is the client's comfort only an afterthought in an uptight, impersonal atmosphere? Since Administrative Consultants run their businesses virtually, their websites become their virtual "office" so consider these questions as you take a look around:

• Is the site hosted on their own domain or a freebie service?
• Is it well-designed or at least well organized and coherent?
• Does it look like they care about their "office" appearance and regularly attend to it?
• Does it present a polished, credible business image that instills your trust?
• Was there some thought put into providing you with helpful information and resources or is it all about them and not you?

If the Administrative Consultant didn't care enough about investing in her own business and presenting you with a professional image, how serious can she be about your business?

Demonstration

An Administrative Consultant's website, marketing materials, business processes and interactions with you should all be active demonstrations of the skill, competence and professionalism you are seeking. For example, a website can yield critical clues as to the Administrative Consultant's skills and competence. If the site is littered with typos, misspelling, sloppy writing and improper grammar, punctuation and formatting, don't expect that she is going to provide you with any greater skill or attention to detail should you decide to work together.

Experience & Commitment

You want to look for an Administrative Consultant who is actually IN business to best serve your needs and expectations. If an Administrative Consultant only freelances or dabbles in this work on the side, that lack of business commitment can definitely cause you many headaches, wasted time and an all-around unsatisfactory experience. This is often manifested as longer turn-around times, lack of continuity, poor communication, conflicting priorities, interrupted progress, and long or inconvenient periods of unavailability.

Likewise, anyone can slap up a website and call themselves an Administrative Consultant. However, the only thing that qualifies someone for this kind of business is actual skills and experience gained in the real world workforce. Unless you enjoy being someone's guinea pig, beware of anyone who has no background or experience in administrative support. Some questions to ask include:

• How long has she been in business?
• What was her background prior to opening her business?
• Does she view her business as a chosen profession she is committed to for the long-haul, or is it something she is only doing on the side to earn a little extra money?
• Does she have well-thought out policies and business standards that will support you in working and communicating together effectively?

Testimonials

Testimonials are an Administrative Consultant's "references," and a successful, experienced Administrative Consultant will have a few of these on her website. Once you are in active consultation, she may also be willing to provide you with the names and contact information of happy clients who would be willing to speak with you.

Of course, there are lots of accomplished Administrative Consultants who might be new in business, but not new in their expertise. Keep an open mind toward the Administrative Consultant who is still in the stage of obtaining clients and testimonials if all other indications point to her being well-qualified and great to work with.

Consultation

Most Administrative Consultants provide a complimentary consultation as this is a vital part of the process in determing a mutually beneficial fit. You naturally want to find someone you can work with well and who offers a professional level of skill and service. Once you find a site that instills confidence and piques your interest, simply follow whatever instructions are provided to get your consultation scheduled.

Look for Administrative Consultant who gives some indication that she will be professional, responsive and easy to work with. In making contact, take note of these clues:

• Does she respond to your inquiries in a timely manner?
• Does she answer the phone professionally?
• If she uses a service, are the messages handled professionally?
• Is she on time and prepared when you meet for the consultation?
• Does she follow-through exactly as promised?

How well the Administrative Consultant guides you through her consultation process can tell you a lot about what it will be like to work with her. Not only do you want someone who is masterfully skilled and can provide superior service, you also want someone who demonstrates excellent business sense, especially since she will be instrumental in helping you in your business. During the consultation, information you should expect her to cover with you include:

• Significant time asking about your needs, goals and challenges.
• A clear overview of how she works with clients and what her values and expectations are for working together.
• What support she provides (as well as what she doesn't).
• Her support plan recommendations (or how that will proceed).
• A discussion about fees.
• What the next step is.

During the consultation, listen for cues that tell you this is someone upon whom you can depend. How professionally the Administrative Consultant handles her own business correlates directly with how well she will handle your work and business relationship. Some things you should pay attention to include:

• Does she appropriately take the lead in guiding you through her consultation? If not, that may mean a lot of hand holding and a lack of initiative in the future.
• Does she ask lots of questions about you and your business? Are those questions smart and purposeful? This demonstrates an expert's understanding that this information must be obtained before she can determine how she can help.
• Is she confident and articulate? This tends to indicate someone who is competent, knowledgeable and will be proactive in supporting you.
• Does she inspire feelings of comfort and trust? Listen to your gut.
• Do you feel a good connection and chemistry? You have to fit together well on a personal level before anything will work at the business level.
• Is she an engaged and active listener? If not, ask yourself if someone who interrupts often and doesn't listen well is someone you would enjoy working with.

Personality/Chemistry

Administrative support is an ongoing collaboration, a "partnership" so to speak. That means it's a two-way relationship. And you naturally want to find someone with some chemistry whose personality and style is compatible with yours.

For this reason, many Administrative Consultants provide an "About the Owner" or "Meet Me" page on their website as a way to share important aspects of themselves with prospective clients. It's intended to provide you with a little glimpse into their personality, life and belief systems with regard to their work and supporting clients.

This information can be helpful in determining whether you share similar values and sensibilities and want to talk further with a particular Administrative Consultant. Since you will be choosing each other, make an equal effort to get to tknow the Administrative Consultant by reading that page.

Pricing

Administrative Consultants generally charge anywhere from $35 - $100 per hour, although many who only work with clients on monthly retainer offer a simple monthly fee for a package of support instead of charging by the hour.

This is not the type of service you want to price shop--it's too important of a role. Certainly, we all are interested in getting the best value we can. But we’ve all heard the saying “you get what you pay for,” and this is very true in the Administrative Consulting profession as well.

Take yourself for example--you know you aren’t the cheapest, and you wouldn’t want to be. You know that delivering quality and expertise comes at a price, but the value of that caliber of service extends far beyond mere dollars, and, in turn, saves your clients money.

You know this. And the same is true with Administrative Consultants.

You will find Administrative Consultants who charge very little—so little, in fact, that they can’t possibly be running a profitable, sustainable practice, one that’s going to be around long enough for you to depend on. Inappropriately low rates also signal a lack of business sense, which most often translates to poor quality, and lack of skill and experience. The consequence of hiring an Administrative Consultant who falls in this category is that your investment in her is unstable and ever at risk.

Administrative Consultants who don't price their services profitably quickly begin to fail their clients. In their last gasps, they may end up taking on a day-job or more clients than they can handle just to break even, becoming overwhelmed in the process. To cope, they might turn to subcontracting much of your work out to others which typically results in longer turn-around times, less availability, and inconsistent service, delivery and quality of work.

You want ability. You want someone you can work with well. You want great customer service. You want your work cared for by the person you intentionally chose to handle it. And you want someone who is going to stick around.

So look for quality and value—it's an investment that will literally put money back in your pocket.

RESOURCE: The ACA offers clients an entire Client Guide's Guide to Administrative Consultants to help them find, hire and get their business relationship with an Administrative Consultant off to a great start!

© Copyright 2011, The Portable Business™ and respective authors. All U.S. and International rights reserved. You may print this article for personal use or republish it online only if it is left unaltered and used in its entirety, including bylines, links, copyright notice, resource and author information. Contact the author for any other permission.

Contribute an Article to Promote Your Biz!

Claim your expertise! Our ezine is written for clients and business owners of all types. The idea is that when your business runs well, you can work from just about anywhere and have more time for life! And since our ezine is written for ALL business owners, it's a powerful platform to get our Administrative Consultant members in front of an audience of 6500+ potential clients.

We want to promote YOU! For that reason, we're always looking for articles to be published here in The Portable Business™ As an Administrative Consultant and business owner, you have valuable knowledge and insights to share with potential clients and colleagues alike. Your articles are a great way to get in front of prospective clients and attract them to your website. There are no deadlines—email me whenever you have an article you'd like to submit. Article categories are:

• Business Management
• Marketing & Networking
• Administrative Partnering
• Office Organization or Stress Busters
• Technology (tips, tricks, overviews and reviews)

We're looking for short and sweet. When you submit your article, include your headshot, "about the author" text (about two or three sentences), a resource link for the end of the article and, if possible, an image of some kind to add visual interest. Oh, and be sure to provide your full business name and website address.

The Administrative Consultants Association is an online professional community and education resource just for administrative experts. We are passionate about helping each other grow stronger, more financially successful practices that bring us greater personal happiness, freedom and client satisfaction.

DISCLAIMER: Neither Danielle Keister nor the Administrative Consultants Association™ endorses the accuracy or reliability of any of the paid advertisers above nor the quality of any products, information or other materials displayed, purchased or obtained by you as result of an offer in connection with any ad. Please do your own due diligence BEFORE purchasing any product.

© 2011 Administrative Consultants Association™ (ACA). All U.S. & International rights reserved. The Portable Business is a trademark of the ACA. All logos, names and contributed articles are the copyrights of their respective owners.