Behind the Scene Execs

Virtual Assistant | Gilbert, AZ

Jenny

Tips for Managing Subcontractors

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Subcontractors aren’t new in the workforce, but they’re becoming increasingly common, and any business can benefit from this flexible labor solution. Because they technically work for themselves, subcontractors are less expensive than hiring a full-time employee and are excellent resources for completing one-off projects and providing specialized skills you may not need 100 percent of the time.

As with everything in life, your mileage with subcontractors will vary. They’ll fall anywhere on the spectrum of “I’m so glad I never have to work with them again!” to “Wow, I wish I was hiring so I could keep them all to myself!”

Hopefully, you’ve had more of the latter than the former, but if you haven’t, there are ways to make sure the partnership is a positive experience.

Consider these tips for managing subcontractors.

Get it in writing

Don’t let a subcontractor start without a written contract. Contracts set expectations, spell out each party’s rights and obligations, and enforce accountability to protect you and the subcontractor.

Make sure you:

  • Identify each party correctly. Use legal names and official titles, don’t forget the Inc. or LLC suffixes, etc.
  • Spell out the details. If you discuss something but don’t put it in writing, it will be difficult to enforce.
  • Specify payment terms. Will you pay in installments, when work is completed to your satisfaction, monthly, weekly, or on some other schedule? Do you offer payment via cash, check, PayPal, or direct deposit? And don’t forget to include the pay rate.
  • Agree on resolving disputes. Consider using arbitration or mediation before taking disputes to court.
  • Agree on contract termination. If one party fails to uphold their responsibilities, the other party must have the right to terminate the contract.
  • Define the scope of work. Describe, down to what seems like ridiculously minute details, what the subcontractor is being hired to do.
  • Identify rights, duties, and constraints of each party. Is the subcontractor responsible for their own liability insurance? Can they subcontract parts of their work? Will they provide their own tools?

We strongly encourage you to consult a lawyer to help you draw up contracts.

Set expectations

The contract may be signed, but that doesn’t mean your subcontractor can jump in with both feet. They need to know how you work, particularly involving communication.

  • Who do they approach with questions?
  • What is your primary means of communication?
  • Do they need to download software (e.g., Zoom or Slack)?
  • How often do you expect them to check in?

Subcontractors won’t necessarily need to “jive” with your team, especially if they work remotely, but they need to know your standard operating procedures.

Also, be clear about what you want and when. A well-designed brochure? New content for a website? Consultation on a research project? Friday? Next week? Whenever you have time? You can’t hold them responsible for what you don’t tell them.

Don’t be hands-off

Because they aren’t technically your employees and your work together is limited/finite, your relationships with subcontractors will differ from those with official employees. Sometimes, managers assume they don’t need to ‘tend to’ subcontractors as much, and while there is truth to that, steer clear of making your work with subcontractors purely transactional. Treating them like people will inspire them to do their best work and ensure they want to work with you again.

But don’t micromanage

Many subcontractors freelance for autonomy, so it’s essential to give them that freedom. If they complete their work on time and to your satisfaction and follow your standard operating procedures, give them space to work.

Stay compliant

Many industries are subject to state and/or federal regulations, and failure to comply can cause penalties like fines and criminal charges. Hiring subcontractors with compliance in mind can be challenging, but it’s your responsibility to make sure your subcontractors follow regulations.

For example, if you’re in the medical industry, make sure they understand HIPAA. If you’re hiring drone pilots, make sure they have a remote pilot certificate with a small UAS rating. If you work in a manufacturing or distribution plant, make sure they’re aware of OSHA standards. Et cetera.

Follow the Golden Rule

As in all parts of life, follow the Golden Rule: Treat others as you would like to be treated. Pay your subcontractors on time. When you offer criticism, make sure it’s constructive. Offer positive feedback for a job well done. Respect their time. (You get the idea.)

Managing your subcontractors is as important as managing your employees. Follow our tips for long, happy, and productive relationships with subcontractors.

Don’t have the time to manage your subcontractors? Behind the Scene Online Business Manager specializes in team management. Schedule a free consult today.

3 Mistakes You Didn’t Know You Were Making in Your Email Marketing

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Prospecting by email is challenging, and often unrewarding. People exchange 112.4 billion (yes, with a B) business emails every day – that’s 122 emails per person per day. So, it’s unsurprising how carefully you must approach email marketing.

Here are three mistakes you’re already making.

Your content is subpar

The subject line

Forty-seven percent of email recipients open an email based on the subject line, and sixty-nine percent report email as spam based on the subject line. The subject line is the gateway to an email, so if yours sucks, don’t bother emailing.

One of the most common mistakes is making them too long. Marketing experts say the optimal length of an email subject line is 41 characters (but fewer never hurts).

The copy

Incorrect grammar, punctuation, spelling, and typos make you look unprofessional and disorganized.

Avoid giant blocks of text, too; they’re overwhelming. Most readers scan for details, so use bold, italicized, or highlighted text, bullets, images, and whitespace to make critical points obvious – and be concise.

Only talking about you

Talk about them. Don’t tell them how great your product is, explain the rewards they’ll reap from using it. Always focus on solving their problems.

Attachments

You know who uses attachments in emails? Spammers.

Language

Salesy language makes you sound like a commercial; write your emails as if you’re friends with the recipient.

Also, use their language. Avoid acronyms, business jargon, and “$5” vocabulary. Ask, “What words would they put in a search engine to find my business?” Then use those words.

Calls-to-action (CTAs)

Without a call-to-action, you’re leaving it to chance that readers will figure out the action you want them to take. Decide why you’re writing the email, then craft it so readers are 100% sure what you want them to do, how to do it, and what’s in it for them.

You’re mishandling your email list

You rarely clean out your contacts

Most companies email the same people relentlessly, and many people stop opening the emails. Even if they’re subscribers (Why don’t they just unsubscribe? Laziness), this causes email providers to mark your emails as spam because of low open rates. It also kills open and clickthrough rates. Fix this by setting lists to exclude recipients who haven’t opened X number of emails.

Your list isn’t segmented

Rarely send the same emails to every customer. Instead, segment your list by dividing readers into smaller segments based on X criteria. The best way is segmenting based on behavior – how they interact with emails, which site pages they visit and how often, what they purchase, how much they spend, which content they download, etc.

Segmented lists allow you to send more relevant emails, which increases engagement, improves open and clickthrough rates, and lowers unsubscribe rates.

You’re sending to purchased email lists

As email automation has improved, businesses have increased their email campaigns. Unfortunately, so have spammers. Eighty-four percent of emails are spam.

Laws govern email marketing and using personal information for commercial purposes, including the CAN-SPAM Act (US), the CASL Laws (Canada), the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (UK), and the General Data Protection Regulation (EU). These laws make it risky to email anyone who hasn’t opted-in to your emails.

You’re spammy

The spam folder: every email marketer’s worst nightmare. Nearly one in five emails gets caught by a spam filter, never to be seen again.

You’re probably not a Nigerian prince who can only access your inheritance in exchange for a small fee and a share in the inheritance – you’re a legit marketer who wants to help people with your products/services.

But spam filters don’t know that, so they check for red flags like:

  • Trigger words
  • Links to sketchy URLs (often indicated by shortened URLs)
  • Image-only content
  • Attachments
  • Big fonts, flashy colors, lots of exclamation points, symbols, and ALL CAPS
  • No unsubscribe button
  • No physical address
  • Misleading subject line (a form of clickbait)
  • No plain text version

To help prevent sending spammy emails, test them first.

Bonus mistake: You’re not optimizing for mobile users

Statistics show that mobile is now the preferred platform for reading email – so are you designing your emails to be opened on mobile devices?

The easiest way is to use responsive design. Many email service providers and all marketing software platforms offer responsive design templates designed to detect and conform to the reader’s screen size automatically. (But test them anyway!)

Remember that statistic about 122 emails per person per day? That’s a lot of email to sort through and many chances to frustrate recipients. Luckily, as a marketer, you can send effective emails that stay out of spam folders and get opened and interacted with by avoiding the above mistakes.  Need more guidance? Behind the Scene Execs is happy to do a Free Email Marketing Audit. Scheu

4 Mistakes to Avoid When Hiring a Virtual Assistant

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Solopreneur and Superheros are practically interchangeable, don’t you think? At least, as a fellow solopreneur, that’s what it feels like to me.

One minute you are the social media manager; the next you could be customer service, production, or even the accountant. We pat ourselves on the back for being able to juggle so many balls…but are we? Imagine how much more productive you could be if you were able to stop the juggling and delegate some of the day to day tasks. But it is important to know how to delegate and find the right person for the job.

So here are the 4 mistakes to avoid when hiring a Virtual Assistant.

Do not assign tasks that are best suited to be done by you.

Virtual Assistants are meant to take the task off your plate that stops you from focusing on your business. Not the task that requires your expertise.

Do not be vague in your instructions

The more precise and clear you can be on what you expect to be completed will give you better results. Remember you know what needs to be done and how, after all, you created it. But your Virtual Assistants is new to your business and procedures.

Start off slow.

We love you are excited to delegate, but take it slow. Don’t overwhelm your virtual assistant by giving them everything the minute you hire them. Take your time, build trust, and create communication.

Do not overreact to early mistakes.

No one is perfect, no matter how good they are. Again remember you know the ins and outs of your business, a new VA will take some time to adjust to your way of things. Mistakes will happen. Learn from them and keep moving forward.

Keep It Simple, Like Winnie the Pooh

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I had always enjoyed Winnie the Pooh but had never truly appreciated the lovable bear until much later in life.

Early in my marriage, I remember planning a trip to Disney World and receiving zero interest nor participation from my husband in mapping out the activities. One activity that I was adamant about doing was getting my Mickey Mouse pancakes, unfortunately, at that time, you could only get them at the Character’s breakfast.

Enjoying my pancakes, I continually pointed out all the characters to my husband.

“Oh look there’s Mickey,”

“Grumble, grumble,” from my husband.

“Oh look there is Woody from Toy Story,”

“Grumble, grumble,” from my husband.

Starting to feel slightly annoyed in his lack of enthusiasm, I hear a loud voice yell, “Winnie the Pooh!” and I see in a blink of an eye my tough, burly husband running to embrace the large yellow bear with the biggest smile I had ever seen.

So many thoughts were racing through my head, “who is this man? How did I not know this…this love of Winnie the Pooh.”  I was so intrigued.

“Why do you love Winnie the Pooh so much?”

“It’s simple, Winnie the Pooh is the greatest,” my  husband shared, “Pooh is a true friend with  unwavering love.”

“What do you mean unwavering love?”

Unwavering Love

“You see Pooh has several friends and they are all different. There’s Eeyore he suffers from depression, there’s Piglet who is narcotic, the anal-retentive rabbit, Owl, the know it all, the naïve Tigger, and the nurturing mother, Kanga with her fun-loving Ru. And with all of this compilation of personality Pooh bear always manages to keep everyone together and relaxed. Pooh keeps it simple.” he replied.

Pooh allows his friends to be themselves, there’s no judgment and he never disregards their opinion. He keeps it’s simple and doesn’t ever overthink it. Everyone should try to be like Winnie the Pooh.

Apply it to Everyday Life

I thought about that. It could be applied to everything, your circle of friends, your clients, and your co-workers. Sometimes we over complicate things trying to take too much into consideration when really we just need to respect everyone- their lifestyle, their opinions, and even their faults because we all have them.

So my friends, clients, and teammates. . . Keep it simple, like Winnie the Pooh.

When you are a Bear of Very Little brain, and you Think Things, you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it.

~Winnie-the-Pooh

The Lost Art of Handwritten Notes

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There is no denying the convenience of email and text messages, but nothing captures a moment like putting pen to paper. Consider how many emails you receive or send in a day. Now ask yourself, “When was the last time you received a handwritten note?”

According to the US Postal Service’s 2010 Survey, one handwritten note was delivered every 7 weeks.

A written note carries a lot of power and therefore can become a powerful marketing tool. When you receive one, you think, “wow this person took the time to write me a note”.  That note puts you in the top of mind of the person receiving your note. The scarcity of a handwritten note is what makes it such a powerful tool. However do not try and get clever, most people can tell the difference of a written note and a font designed to look like handwriting.

A handwritten addressed envelope has an open rate of 99.2%.

Imagine how you can easily get your name in front of potential business clients, just with a simple written note. Whether it be a thank you note, great to meet you or even a holiday card, it will it will be appreciated and leave a positive mark.

 

The New Workforce

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In this ever-expanding digital world – where you can practically run your business remotely from a simple phone or tablet – a new workforce has been sparked: The Virtual Assistant (VA).

Ok, so maybe the idea of a VA isn’t THAT new, but how they are being leveraged and what they can offer has changed dramatically over the last few years. From simple daily tasks to more strategic support like building funnels and growing your social media following, VAs are key to driving the entrepreneurial workforce.

Let’s start by defining what a Virtual Assistant Is…

The high-level definition of a VA is, typically, an individual that is self-employed works remotely and supports businesses with various tasks. They provide their own equipment and software, thus making them a true independent subcontractor.

Most VAs will search for a particular niche – both in what they offer and whom they market to. Some will focus on strictly the administrative side of a business and cater to all industries, where other VAs will pick a particular industry to focus on and offer a very defined set of skills.

So why should you use a Virtual Assistant?

By far one of the greatest reasons for hiring a VA is that they only work when you need them to. Only need support 5 hours a week? Why hire someone full time and potentially have to pay them benefits when you can subcontract out a VA!

Also, their vast knowledge and skill set allows them to start a task with minimal training, especially if you find a VA that specializes in your field. They allow solopreneurs to increase their business production without greatly impacting their overhead. No need to purchase more office space, they work remotely! No need to buy more computers or printers, a VA already has all the equipment!

What can a Virtual Assistant do?

Sometimes it’s hard to define exactly what a VA can do because the list is so vast, but what you need to know is that a VA can support your business in virtually whatever you need help with! The key is to just find the right VA for you that specializes in what you need to help grow your business.

To determine how to get started delegating, click this link for a quick exercise! http://behindthesceneexecs.com/delegating

Want to hire a Virtual Assistant?

Here’s how!

When hiring a VA, it’s important to make sure they fit your personality and style. Don’t be afraid to ask questions! Here are some example questions we recommend asking:

  • What’s your background/experience and do you have a specific skillset?
  • Can you give me some examples of your work?
  • How many clients do you typically have at once?
  • What are your normal working hours?
  • How do you prefer to communicate?
  • Can you provide references?
  • Do you work on an hourly rate or packages? What is the cost?

Not sure how to even begin working with a virtual assistant? Try this quick excercise by clicking here.

Balancing Work and Family Life

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If you are like most solopreneurs you started your business with the intent of helping or making your family life better. However, balancing work and family life is one of the hardest things to manage.

The conflict between work and family life can be one of the most common sources of stress. It is important to find that balance between both. Here are just a few tips to finding your equilibrium.

Establishing limits and boundaries

Boundaries are a line of protection to draw around yourself. Determine what is acceptable for you and your family. As solopreneurs, we tend to always be in work mode. If we are not working, it’s in the back of our mind. To help solve this, set office hours and retrain your work brain to think within those hours.

Stop answering text messages and emails outside your business hours. If you feel the need to answer then schedule the message to send the next business morning. Both text and emails have delayed sending features. When you answer your clients within your set hours they will always know when to expect to hear from you.

If you work from home the lines can get blurry. I recommend staying out of your office, den, or corner of the room you occupy when you are not working. That will help avoid the temptation.

Without boundaries in place, it is difficult to say “No”.

Build a support network inside the office and outside 

Utilize your team, family and close friends to build a support network. This will help you stay on top of the balance and provide you with the positive push that can be necessary for our busy lives.

Organization

The more you organize your day the more you can accomplish. Assign tasks to a dedicated day of the week. Accounting will be Fridays mornings. Networking is Wednesdays. If that’s getting too detailed for you, create a task list and highlight what “has to be done today”.

Be reasonable with your lists. It’s easy to try to cram too much into one day. A little tip to note is block time for the random pop-ups that occur to all solopreneurs.

The more organized you are with the day the easier it is to feel a sense of accomplishment. You can confidentially walk away from the “work” day without the guilt of what should have been done weighing on you.

Sometimes you are unable to find the balance

Stuff happens. Emergencies will pop-up, don’t beat yourself up over it. A family member may be sick or there is a deadline you need to meet at work. Take note and learn from the situation to better manage it next time.

Get help

Free up your day by delegating your work. Stop trying to fight that uphill battle of doing everything yourself. If you have redundant tasks or something you struggle to do, then find a virtual assistant to complete them and take the burden off your shoulders.

Don’t know how to delegate?

Try this short exercise on how to start delegating.

With the support of your family and implementing these few tips, you can find that happy balance.

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t Stressinar Your Webinars

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Webinars are a great way to promote your business, but they don’t need to be stressful, especially if you follow these 15 tips:

15 Tips to a Successful Webinar

  1. Remember webinars are not about you. It’s about your audience so avoid using “I am” make it “you will.”
  2. Nothing resonates more with an audience than a success story the audience can relate to.
  3. Don’t go it alone. Have a virtual assistant, assist you on your webinars to handle the technical side.
  4. Practice your webinar in your chosen webinar platform. Be sure to test sound, slides, and technology. Time your presentation leave time for questions.
  5. Practice the webinar but practice your offer again and again. This is where people tend to trip up the most on their webinars because delivering offers feels awkward. The more you practice it, the more comfortable and confident you are.
  6. Stay true to you. There are so many programs that teach you how to do webinars but keep your voice yours and your personality. Stay true to you.
  7. Chose the right webinar platform for you. If you are going it alone, then make sure the webinar platform you choose matches your technology skills.
  8. Wednesday and Thursdays are the best days to hold webinars preferably at 11:00 AM PST.
  9. Be on the webinar 10 minutes before the start time. This trouble shoots any potential technical difficulties and gives you a little window to resolve them. If you have a co-host or a virtual assistant get on 15 minutes before the start time.
  10. Utilize social media. Announce your webinar on Facebook or any social media platform you use.
  11. Blog about the webinar. You can pick from topics of your webinar or what they are going get from the webinar. Post blog on website and link to your opt-in page. It also gives you social media posts that are not all about selling.
  12. Test everything. Check your links in your emails, social media posts, and opt-in page.
  13. Proof your slides. If you plan on having slides in your presentation be sure to have another person proof read them.
  14. Start the webinar on time. Don’t wait for the stragglers and be respectful to the attendees that were on time.
  15. I hate to state the obvious but make sure you are in a quiet environment. Confirm the kids are occupied, and the pets are in another room.

Remember to relax, breathe, and realize nothing is perfect and nothing has to be perfect. Enjoy your presentation and have fun with it.

Take a little more pressure off and download our free checklist.