(The Justice League)

It all started because I was amazed at the quality and creative work that my web guy consistently produces. When one of our clients wants something to happen on their site they simply describe it and - bam! Joe does it.  I discovered that nothing seemed impossible for this guy - thus I started calling him Superman.  Faster than a speeding bullet - more powerful than a locomotive - able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! Well, okay, maybe I am exaggerating but Joe really is amazing!

Superman on the other hand began acknowledging the increasing list of clients I was bringing in and dubbed me Wonder Woman.  It became an affectionate way to acknowledge each other’s strengths.  Our instant messages became riddled with hero compliments and fun.  In fact Joe even had an audio/visual that would pop up sometimes saying, “Don’t worry - I’m here now”!  It is nice to have people that you like on your team.

Soon we brought Jeanne in on the action. Jeanne is one of my top VA’s and is worth her weight in gold, but she is a buried treasure.  Content to stay behind the scenes she consistently makes me look amazing by creating quality work that I am proud to have bear the company name.  Finding a name for Jeanne was a little tougher - she does so many things well and perhaps her greatest strength is her willingness to learn anything I throw at her.  Acknowledging the fact that she is an important yet hidden resource, we dubbed Jeanne the Invisible Woman - always there, making a difference, getting things done behind the scenes and letting the company take the credit. Though you may not see her - you know she has been there. Another amazing superhero!

So now we spend our days (and sometimes nights) helping our clients to rid websites of poor grammar, boring web pages, and taking on the tasks they themselves wish not to do.  As a Justice League - we are shy a few superheroes, but as a team we are unstoppable.  Anytime you have a team to work with that is this talented, this personable, and this fun, you feel like a superhero.

Customer Support is a large part of what I currently do as well as what I have done over the last 20 years.  Of all of the things we have to do to make a business run, attending to the customer is one of the most important.  Without the customer, there would be no business.

Over the years of dealing with clients - and being one myself - I have learned that customer satisfaction really is key.  This is so with any business, but especially true in the online world.  Jeff Bezos, the Founder and President of Amazon.com, said, “If you make customers unhappy in the physical world, they might each tell 6 friends. If you make customers unhappy on the Internet, they can each tell 6,000 friends.”

The University of Michigan’s American Customer Satisfaction Index listed Internet retail in 2007 as having an 83% rate of customer satisfaction.  That means that 17% of our customers are walking away unhappy!  Often an unsatisfactory experience is due to simple misunderstanding.  These situations can easily be resolved by reassuring the client that their problem will be taken care of expediently and also, will not be repeated.  Customers want to be dealt with on a personal level.  Take on each case as though you’ve put your arm around that person and made their problem your problem.

So what key strategies do I follow?

 #1    Respond promptly.  Nothing burns a customer more than having to wait for a reply.  The longer they stew, the harder it is to diffuse their anger.  A quick reply denies them the advantage of saying they “tried to contact you several times with no reply”.  This only justifies their stance and puts them even more strongly on the defensive.  Even if you need to tell them, “I received your request and am looking into the issue.  Thank for your patience”, you will have given them your respectful attention.  Now the ball is in your court.

 #2    Listen.   Find out what the customer is really asking for.  Let them vent and then reiterate what it is they want.  It should be your aim to please.  You will not only be securing a customer, but gaining credibility. J.C. Penney said, “A happy customer is your walking advertisement.”

 #3    Empathize.  As far as the customer is concerned, you are the company.  Be as real and personable as possible.

 #4    Commit.  Benjamin Franklin said, “Well done is better than well said.”  Avoid making promises you can’t keep.  Tell the customer what you plan to do and then do it.  If you aren’t certain of something, assure them that you will find out.

 #5    Offer incentives to stay.  Go above and beyond what the customer is asking.  People inherently feel that there should be some compensation for their inconvenience.  An apology doesn’t always wipe the slate clean, so add a peace offering.

Here are 10 tips for dealing with those unhappy customers:

http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/223/Tips-To-Deal-With-Unhappy-Clients-From-Your-Strategic-Thinking-Business-Coach.html

Finally, look at the unhappy client as a guide to where you need to improve.  Their feedback is an invaluable resource.  Their issue resolved is one step closer to 100% customer satisfaction.

Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning. - Bill Gates

I have been rifling through the same shirts for years. Shirts I never wear anymore, though I keep them. Why do I do it? Well, there are plenty of reasons that I tell myself. This one only has a tiny stain on it, and I can wear it for home improvement jobs. This one doesn’t quite fit me, but I could still wear it around the house. I got this one for a steal, and even though it doesn’t go with anything else I own, I’m keeping my eyes open for something that might match it. This type of nonsensical thinking about why we keep things is probably behind most of our clutter.

So, what’s the advantage to keeping all this stuff we don’t use? Well, I suppose there’s the chance we might actually use it someday. The disadvantages are more numerous. Just the idea of opening my shirt drawer makes me anxious. How many times have I had to refold clothes that I threw out of the way to get to the item I knew would fit me? How many times did I try on that one shirt, forgetting it was too small and then had to refold it and put it back in the drawer? How many times did I chastise myself for not fitting into it? I wonder how much time I waste in a year?

William Morris said, “Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” Doesn’t that just sound wonderful?

We hang onto unused gifts, ugly heirlooms, broken trinkets and even relationships. Socrates said, “How many things are there which I do not want.” How many of you have a box stuffed full of art projects from your kids? Knickknacks from past vacations? Books you’ve never read? Some of them are treasures for sure, but how many could be sorted into your “circular file” - if you’d just the guts to do it!

We’re all a bit unorganized, it’s true, but try this quiz to see whether your clutter has gotten out of hand: http://clutterworkshop.com/quiz.shtml

When it comes to our workspace, we’re usually just plain too busy to get to it, and organizing truly takes a time investment. However, a cluttered environment clutters the soul. It drags down productivity and creates anxiety. Think of it like this: “clutter creates resistance to the natural energy flow in a room and creates “stuck energy”. Stuck energy causes procrastination, lack of motivation, a feeling of being in limbo… confusion, and even depression.” [1]

At work it can be worse and the overwhelm of tackling the clutter is real. Perceived lack of time is a real roadblock though we realize in the end it will save time. Staying on top of clutter helps. A clutter basket that is cleaned out weekly can be a good tool. The freedom that comes from a clutter-free work environment is worth the investment to create some positive flow. Here is a quiz to see how badly you need to clean up your own workspace:

http://www.taylorintime.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=95

And also, some great decluttering tips for your life and your mind:

http://www.lifedesignstrategies.com/art/clutterbusting_tips.html

Visit this site and pick up your free declutter calendar:

http://www.mysimplerlife.com/decluttercalendar.htm

If you could use some professional help with your clutter:

http://www.clutterfreeforever.com/index.htm

Remember:

The sculptor produces the beautiful statue by chipping away such parts of the marble block as are not needed - it is a process of elimination. ~Elbert Hubbard

Colors are very powerful things - they say a lot about a person. I was recently reminded of this as I worked on a website for an artist client. You see, orange is one of the colors on her site.

Now I have a personal resistance to orange. When I was young I had a best friend Karla and she was born with cystic fibrosis. Karla wore orange. Me, I never liked the color - too loud! I’d much rather wear a soft pink like little girls were supposed to wear.

Karla was different. Not only did she like orange, she wore it in all kinds of ways. She was in fact, one of the first kids I ever saw in bright orange high top Converse sneakers. She usually wore them with Hawaiian print “jams” (long shorts, for those not growing up in the 80’s).

Karla didn’t mind getting noticed. She was authentic through and through. It may have been the fact that she had exceeded her life expectancy by the time she was 12 or it may have been just her personality. I on the other hand had 11 siblings, went to catholic school and blended in with what people expected without question.

Karla went on to further exceed the limitations placed upon her. She graduated high school, then college and even got married. At the time of her wedding, I was 9 months pregnant with my oldest child (Karla Rae). Reminding me that she had worn pink in my wedding, Karla announced her colors would be orange. Can you picture a pumpkin? She took pity on me as maid of honor and settled on a peach colored dress.

Three years after a double lung transplant, at the age of 24, Karla passed away and I took my children to their first funeral. I was not prepared for what greeted me. Karla was surrounded by 100’s of teddy bears (her entire collection) and on the floor beside her were her Converse sneakers.

Though my daughter as namesake was given many treasures that had belonged to my dearest friend, including said collection of bears, her wedding gown and pieces of jewelry, the thing she has kept in her closet since before she could fit into them are those orange hightops.

One of the lessons Karla taught both of us was - wear orange!

When you hear the word “value”, you probably think of how many rolls of toilet paper you can get in the big package as opposed to the small one. Or how the price per pound of bulk food is exponentially less than those little boxes you find at gas stations. So what is value, really? Certainly it’s not just about sheer quantity for your dollar. No, it’s about quality for your dollar.

When standing in the checkout lane I am often faced with a small decision as to which treat I would like to indulge myself with. While a simple chocolate bar is somewhat satisfying and fairly inexpensive I usually find myself choosing a smaller piece of Godiva chocolate instead. Is it overpriced? Maybe. Is it worth it? Absolutely. It’s about value.

I’m sure you’ve heard it said that the most valuable thing in the world is time. Yet, for many of you, your job takes up most of it. If you own your own business, you are probably one who enjoys a good day of work. However, I bet there are certain tasks you face each day that you absolutely trudge through, just to get to the stuff you really wish you were doing. Couldn’t your time be better spent on more meaningful business pursuits? Something you actually enjoy? That is the reason you started your own business after all. To do what you love. Freeing up time to do that – now, that’s valuable.

Jim Rohn is quoted as saying, “Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.” I’m sure you can agree. Even a mountain of money wouldn’t buy you more time here on this planet. But certainly, if you could just find a way to save a bit of time within each day, you could pool it into a few more minutes, hours or days to do those things that really matter to you.

As a virtual assistant, I’m in the business of giving others more time.

I often find myself bogged down by certain activities that, while necessary, prevent me from doing the things I enjoy. A cupboard needs fixing, the lawn needs trimming but I really would like to spend time with my kids. Fortunately, I sometimes enlist the help of others so that I can accomplish the goals that are more important to me. By hiring a boy who lives around the block to do yard work I can free up that space in my day do things that I really love.

I apply this same concept to work. There are many tasks that are added to my workload throughout the day. By hiring an assistant or a specialist I can hand certain tasks off to people I trust, while also handling the things that I would like to personally accomplish.

What do you value? What else could you “buy” with a little more time in your day? It could be something as simple as the opportunity to pick your kids up for school, or, even bigger, a chance to take a day off? It could also be work-related. Like the chance to concentrate on the parts of your job or business that you value the most by simply handing other things off to someone such as a virtual assistant.

Top Ten Things to Check Before Posting an Article

1. Check for awkward sentences, or sentences that just don’t sound right, and try rewording them. You want your sentences to be clear and precise so that the reader can understand you. It may help to read them aloud.

2. Avoid using too many clichés, you want your article to be interesting, but not over the top. Furthermore, don’t overdo it on the exclamation points.

3. Be careful to avoid humorous comments that may be offensive to some. Remember, just because you think it’s funny, doesn’t mean your readers will.

4. Certain words go together. For example “a person needs to spend time doing the things he loves.” NOT “A person needs to spend time doing the things they love.” Make sure the pronoun and the noun agree.

5. Avoid writing articles that you know are from a biased perspective, unless it is clearly an opinion article.

6. Keep the article interesting. Find ways to add creativity to a sentence. For example: instead of “Mrs. Jones paid her bills” try “Mrs. Jones tackled the towering stack of bills on her desk.” Which sentence sounds better?

7. If you are defining something, don’t use the word you are defining in the definition of it. For example, don’t say “A virtual assistant is an assistant that…” Find a different word.

8. Use a thesaurus. Try to find different ways to say something. Using the same words can make an article dull. For example, instead of saying “helpful” more than once try words such as “beneficial, advantageous, profitable,” etc.

9. Don’t always trust spell check to fix your grammatical errors. If you know you have trouble with grammar, ask someone else to read your article before posting it. Feed off of each other’s ideas.

10. Integrate things like quotes, or anecdotes into your article to keep it interesting. For example, if your article is about music, include something like: Victor Hugo once said that, “Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and cannot remain silent.” Try www.thinkexist.com if you can’t find a quote.

“It’s estimated that out of every 11,000 signals we receive from our senses, our brain only consciously processes 40.”[1] In short, we are creatures of habit. A habit can be defined as any action we have performed so often, that we now do it without thinking, and may not even realize we are doing it. Certain habits can be seen as undesirable however, and some of us are unaware of the signals we send through our habits.

Often, we think things like nail biting or never changing the toilet paper roll shouldn’t really bother anyone else. To us, they are merely an extension of who we are and we aren’t even aware we’re doing them. In the eyes of others however, our habits may stick out like a sore thumb. There’s a pretty good chance that our significant other, family member or friend will eventually point out our irritating customs.

Bad habits that go uncriticized can be detrimental to us, especially in the workplace. Smoking, swearing, bad grammar, excuse making, procrastination, complaining, arrogance, and being overly authoritarian can be undesirable responses to common, everyday circumstances. When we spend one third of our day working, those kinds of bad habits are bound to be unveiled to our coworkers. Worst case, they can cause derision, provoke your employees to find other work or cost you that much anticipated promotion.

While some of our behaviors may seem less harmful, they can be conceived in a bad light and create a false portrait of us to our coworkers. Folding of the arms when meeting with peers might give an impression of insecurity. Talking about personal issues with a new client may instill an air of unprofessionalism. Never leaving the tip at lunch meetings may give prospective customers an uneasy feeling about that lack of concern for the little guy. Consistently answering a cell phone in the middle of conversations or even spitting while talking can cause important people to avoid future encounters. Don’t become the person that people whisper about when you leave the room. People may not always have the nerve to tell you something to your face, so take this opportunity to analyze yourself, and see if a change needs to be made. Be honest as you consider, “Do I belong in any of these categories?”

Not Listening - The most passive-aggressive form of disrespect for colleagues.

Failing to Give Proper Recognition - The inability to praise and reward.

Negativity - That person that needs to share his negative thoughts, without invitation.

You can find a more in-depth list of bad habits that can hold you back at http://www.businessweek.com/playbook/06/1228_1.htm.

Many of us attempt to break bad habits with little success. Often we go headlong into the fight and at the first sign of failure, we get discouraged and quit (another bad habit). Conquering those shortcomings seems a monumental task, and sad to say, there’s no magic cure for learned behaviors - just hard work. One overarching rule that I have found to be true: bad habits absolutely must be replaced with good ones. We can’t just slice out a neat little piece of ourselves and call it a day, because that incision leaves a gap that needs to be filled.

Fortunately, there is help. Find a few friends or coworkers who share your problem or at least would love to see you conquer yours. Hash out ways to avoid situations that prompt your bad habit and some substitute behaviors. Get on the internet and take a course. Don’t expect things to change overnight. You’re going to slip up sometimes, so forgive yourself if you fail and move forward. Remember that it took you a good long time to form that behavior, so give yourself some time to unform it. Mark Twain said, “Habit is habit and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time.”

Examine your own behaviors, and pay attention to the subtle hints from those around you - maybe someone’s trying to tell you something!

In the words of the great philosopher, Aristotle,

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

We’ve probably read a dozen guilt-inducing articles about how much time we waste on the things that aren’t really important in our lives. Disheartening, right? Yet, having filtered that information and agreed that some things needed to change, do we still find we’ve done nothing about it? So, what’s your excuse? In the immortal words of William Penn, “Time is what we want most, but what we use worst”.

Consider these stats: the average person gets 8 hours of sleep per night, which leaves 120 waking hours each week. If that person lives 77 years (or 2,800 days or 670,000 hours), they will spend:

1 year getting dressed

2 years on the phone

3 years in the bathroom

9 years watching TV[1]

Now, I don’t know how much time we could cut down on getting dressed or being in the bathroom, but I do know that we could spend a lot less time doing some other ridiculous things. Like editing this blog fifty times!

As percentages go, our jobs typically get the lion’s share of our day. Money is a necessity, thus our jobs gain priority - there’s no getting around it. But, there are things we can do to make our time at work more efficient and in turn, free us up to do the things that are most important to us. See my April 16^th blog on delegating! Here’s a simple test to see how you’re doing and some quick tips to help you improve: http://www133.americanexpress.com/osbn/tool/articles/time_management.asp

Making time for physical exercise is important. Often it’s the energy lift we need for the day and of course, the health benefits are innumerable. But you may not have considered setting aside time for a spiritual lift. It’s important “to recognize that there are many circumstances and situations over which we have no control; and the need to acknowledge and seek out that quiet place for introspection, prayer, and peace. If we do not create that space for ourselves, the world will take it from us. We need to be proactive, we need to be assertive, and we need to seek out positive, constructive, and nurturing relationships to sustain us as our journeys unfold.”[2] It also takes time to nurture those relationships in return!

Ultimately, you need to decide what’s important to you. Make a list of those things. Put them in order of priority. It could be quality time with your family, fishing, volunteer work or having a daily time of quiet, spiritual refreshment. Next to each item, place a percentage of your day that you spend doing those things. Then multiply that number by a week, a month, a year. In ten years, what percentage of your waking hours will you have spent doing the things you truly love? Are you doing them as much as you’d like to be?

If you’ve never heard the 1000 Marbles story, it’s an eye-opener. You can read it here: http://www.ewebtribe.com/inspiration/1000marbles.html

[2] Excerpt from article http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress/SR00075/rss=5

You’ve all heard the story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it. Everybody was sure Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

 

Delegating. Seems like it should be freeing, right? Giving all of those tedious and mundane tasks to someone else to do - things that could surely done by anyone who’s not as busy as you are right now. You’ve got deadlines to meet, clients to please and for-goodness-sake, a life outside of work! But. It’s. So. Painful. Not only will you have to choose a perfect assistant, you’ll actually have to drop the reigns and let them take over! Is it time to unclench your grip?

 

Here’s a neat test I found to help you decide. Answer yes or no:

 

1. Do you allow your team members to make mistakes?

2. Do you frequently take work home or work late at the

office?

3. Does your team function smoothly when you are

absent?

4. Do you over-rule or reverse decisions made by

team members?

5. If you were incapacitated for 6 months, could a team

member take over smoothly?

6. Do you do some things your team members could be

doing?

7. Do your team members take initiative without input from

you?

8. When you return from a trip or training, is there a big pile

in your in-box?

9. Do your team members delegate to their teams (if

applicable)?

10. Do you spend time on details that you would rather spend

on planning and supervision?

To determine whether delegation may be able to help you, give yourself one point for each answer of “Yes” on the even-numbered questions (2, 4, 6, 8, and 10), and one point for each answer of “No” on the odd-numbered questions (1, 3, 5, 7, and 9). The higher your score, the more likely you are to need to use delegation more than you are now. Any score higher than 5 indicates some need for additional delegation of tasks.[1]

 

I like the use of the term “team” above. Your team is just that. Imagine a game where you are playing all the positions yourself. Could you win? Possibly - but more likely, you would run out of time, get burned out or just flat out fail. We need to be able to pass the ball. We also need to be aware of who it’s best to pass it to – each team member has his own set of skills. At times, duties may even be best handled outside the office. One time-consuming task that has made its way to the top of every web owner’s to-do list these days is a weekly blog or newsletter. Did you know that you can hire someone to write your blogs for you? Here are some professional ghostwriters who can keep your blog up to date or create a newsletter:

http://www.mccordweb.com

http://www.thenewslettercompany.com/

http://www.getitinwriting.biz/e-newsletters.htm

Initially, outsourcing may seem like an unnecessary expense (after all, you could do it yourself!), but not if it can free you up to focus on more profitable projects.

 

The above test is a good self-examination for the workplace, but what about at home? New team, different game! No matter what arena of life we play in – as a boss, parent, homemaker - we think nobody can do it as good as we can. But, just as we delegate in business, we can also delegate in our homes. Sometimes we just overlook the fact that we can! Ask your spouse to share the yard or housework with you. Have the kids to take over getting the mail, walking the dog or emptying the dishwasher. Pay bills online. Get a nanny. Have the house professionally cleaned once a month. Order out.

Theodore Roosevelt himself said, “The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it.” Eighty years later, Ronald Reagan said the same thing: “Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don’t interfere.” Now, maybe Ron just adopted that notion from Teddy, but might I suggest that great minds think alike! And if the President of the United States can feel secure enough to let some of his team handle a few things, shouldn’t we?

 

For more seriously in-depth info on delegating, see this article: http://www.lawsoncg.com/lcgi-article_delegate.htm

---

[1] http://sa-health.wikidot.com/how-to-delegate

 

There are a variety of thoughts on To-Do lists.
I’m addicted - I love them - I love the satisfaction of checking them off and of looking at them at the end of the day and seeing how much I accomplished. The satisfaction of a day well spent. But that is just me.

Some people, my sister for example, hate them - it is to them a nagging reminder listing all their failures taunting them throughout the day.

To-Do lists serve as reminders for us feeble minded souls who can’t remember 10 things, never mind 50. They allow you to choose smaller things when time is short and to bully you into the larger things that seem overwhelming. They free up your brain to focus on one thing at a time without worrying about forgetting all the rest. However, they may not be all good. The simple act of putting something on the list can create a sense of urgency where this is none. A long list can become overwhelming and a sense of failure may accompany it if not enough items are checked off. It can even (contrary to one’s first thought) become a time waster if it becomes a focus (for example - for a period of my life I would rewrite my list each time I crossed something off so it looked neater!)

A friend once told me her therapist suggested she have no more than 5 things on her To-Do list so that she not become overwhelmed. This would not work for me. If I was only juggling 5 things, I would not need to write them down!

Nowadays you have a host of online To-Do lists available including Ta-Da, Bla-Bla, Tu-do, and Remember the Milk to bring the paper To-Do list into the new century. There is even a book about To-Do lists that shares the To-Do lists of famous people and the stories behind them. Ever wonder what your To-Do list says about you? You can find out at the authors website www.sashcagen.com.

Another idea I have come across is the Not To-Do list - this one comes in handy as a parent and when trying to break some bad habits. Just writing the goal of not doing something can help reinforce your commitment to stop the behavior.

A book I read once suggested a “what I accomplished today list” - this is good for the end of the day especially when you are feeling like nothing got done - at times I have resorted to putting “got out of bed” on this list.

To-Do lists are even touted by Universities of learning. Cornell suggests to their new students that the three things that are essential for a To-Do list are:

- making a new To-Do list everyday
- prioritizing the tasks
- breaking things down into small pieces

I wonder if it’s considered cheating if I leave yesterdays accomplishments on the paper just to feel good!

(article written - one more thing off my To-Do list!)

Resources:

sashacagen.com
tadalist.com
blablalist.com
rememberthemilk.com