Marvin is a top-ranked, nationally recognized financial advisor with a focus on helping people invest & save more wisely for their golden years. As the founder of Compass Retirement Solutions, his team leverages MyOutDesk virtual assistants for both administrative & inside sales roles, and on average, they’re making him over a 20x ROI – and sometimes even more.
“My virtual assistant made me $43,000 in commissions less than half an hour ago, so if you’re still on the fence about hiring one, my advice is: just do it. The ROI on our virtual assistants is amazing – it’s definitely going to finish the year over 20x…”
Marvin isn’t just leveraging his ISAs for prospecting: he’s also using them to prequalify prospects, which saves his team of advisors countless hours – and lets them focus on advising only qualified prospects who are ready to take advantage of his expertise. This is only one of the many strategies Marvin has used to grow his business into the #3 financial advising firm in the United States. Take Marvin’s advice: just do it! Schedule your Double My Business Strategy Session now!
Marvin grew up in a working-class family in St. Louis, with little money. The first in his family to earn a college degree, Marvin put his law school education on hold to help care for his grandmother after she was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer. Marvin soon discovered that, although his grandmother had worked her whole life, she was still susceptible to financial turmoil as a result of poor financial advice and a stock market crash. Inspired to help other, hardworking retirees, Marvin became a broker for a large financial institution in 2005 before founding Compass Retirement Solutions.
“Once we get that lead, that’s where my MyOutDesk virtual assistants come in – they’re following up on those leads, getting them on our calendar and making our time more efficient. It saves us literally hundreds hours of time because we don’t have to skim through all of those individuals to find the most qualified people – and it’s changed our average case size from $325,000 to over $850,000!”
In 2016, he received the Salute to Business Excellence Award as voted by the St. Louis American Newspaper, and also that year, he was an honored recipient of the St. Louis County NAACP Distinguished Legacy Award. Schedule your Double My Business Strategy Session now, and drill down on doing your one thing to the absolute best of your abilities.
https://www.myoutdesk.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/marvin-972x456-1.jpg455972Jeremyhttps://www.myoutdesk.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/myoutdesk-logo-400w.pngJeremy2020-12-23 14:32:272021-01-05 14:09:10Marvin Mitchell: Making a 20x ROI with Virtual Assistants!
Tune in as we discuss leadership strategies for – crisis management, executing flexibility, accessing pivots & improving your cash position. Schedule a free Thrive Strategy Call today.
This special webinar includes 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘 limited-time access to:
1) Famous book “Scaling Up” + tools & worksheets
2) #1 bestselling business book “Scaling Your Business”
3) Business strategy consultants + thrive guides
Free Thrive Guide + Strategy Consultation
We’re joined by Bill Gallagher, CEO of Scaling Coach. Bill Gallagher is a business coach and master facilitator with over 30 years of entrepreneurial and executive experience. Bill has spent the last 15 years coaching and training others in leadership and performance and previously led 4 companies of his own and been a partner or executive in 2 others. Bill discovered the Rockefeller Habits and Scaling Up 20 years ago, has used them in his own companies.
Today, Bill coaches leaders and teams across more than 25 cities in 11 countries and the host of the Scaling Up Business Podcast. He is a passionate and playful presenter, and his clients, at all stages, share a hunger to grow successfully with an openness to new approaches and thinking.
It costs tens of thousands of dollars to attend one of Bill’s Scaling Up Institutes, and today you can access his timely knowledge here for free! If you need help or want to explore some ideas, book aSchedule a free Thrive Strategy Call today.
Free Thrive Guide + Strategy Consultation
Bill shares his strategies to lead in today’s uncertain times.
Lead Without a Plan — Although this sounds like terrible leadership, IF you relay that you’re FIGHTING through any crisis and problem, and when you work collectively with your team, you can figure out and make astounding pivots with your leadership.
Continue to hold the vision and communicate
Fight like hell
Ask your people for help
Radical Requests — Get access to improving the situation. Instead of feeling confined, ask what you really need! Don’t wipe yourself out, BUT work with a solution — For example, with clients & prospects, you can ask, “What do you need? What can I do for you instead?” It can help you turn situations around and come out with success and growth!
Name That Feeling — it takes courage to show emotions, and courage needs strength, to be a whole human! Nobody’s great—there are moments that you are, and moments that you’re not. Emotions make you human. There is power and courage in being a leader. Being human as a leader gives your people a truth, that you’re not faking it to make it. Self-awareness & mindfulness. Calling it out as a practice of acceptance—it becomes a powerful thing. Call it out and go with it!
Execute Flexibly — Working remotely to keep the business going. Technology can help you manage virtually. At the same time, don’t change or abandon your long-term vision and goals. Shift priorities, or even strategies! Metrics and dashboards? It might be missing since you moved virtually. Some tools and apps can help you out and keep it up. This helps people know if we’re collectively hitting metrics and KPIs. Keep the progress visibility out there!
Let People Get Off the Bus — People who continually resist might not be a good fit in your environment. There might be a better place for them to win. How do you get people in this space and get the right request out there? By leading up in the front and leading by example. Work with your team, and ask them what they can do. Keep nudging them up. Make a list of radical requests and have them do one while you are encouraging and helping. Fully appreciate and acknowledge the radical request from both perspectives.
Be a Trend-Spotter — Acknowledge the weaknesses and strengths in the world and yourself right now. What do they need? What can you do better? Pivot your business around what people need, and you might see opportunities. This might be the same business to different people, or a different business for the same people. Look for trends far outside the norm, and look broadly across the world. Bill shares his SWT tool—strengths, weaknesses, and trends. Start using this tool for in your industry, then for your region, and afterward go even broader!
Free Thrive Guide + Strategy Consultation
https://www.myoutdesk.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Bill-Gallagher-BLOG_NL_BANNER.jpg456972Jeremyhttps://www.myoutdesk.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/myoutdesk-logo-400w.pngJeremy2020-12-22 15:45:082020-12-23 15:35:45Leadership Strategies for Crisis Management with Scaling Coach Bill Gallagher
In this special webinar we share an effective & proven recruitment model that is entirely process-driven, where you can find predictable results in bringing high-caliber talent into your team.
What you’ll learn in this webinar:
The biggest mistakes that businesses make with talent acquisition
Bulletproof Process on Ad Placements
How to take advantage of short term opportunities in our labor market
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment cost
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide
In today’s unprecedented time, there is a real opportunity to grow your business.
BIG NUMBERS: 50k people per day are applying for unemployment. This is a time to take advantage of the short-term trend. Talent has never been more available and affordable.
Normally, there is a huge gap between the number available workers and the number of available jobs. Usually, there are more available jobs than qualified, quality workers.
When COVID-19 hit, this caused lots of layoffs
Today during the pandemic, the trend has changed, and there are more quality workers who are ready for hire. This massive shift in the market will eventually go back to normal.
If you have the foresight, start talking to candidates now and have the opportunity to get better people who were laid off by older, destabilized companies.
The labor opportunity window is open right now.
TALENTED LABOR WITHOUT DISTANCE LIMITATIONS
For almost any function that can be done remotely and doesn’t require physical space, virtual assistants for recruitment, marketing, & administrative jobs are cost-effective and allow us the adequate focus & time for our functions.
MyOutDesk Virtual assistants are known to exceed expectations in providing excellent customer service and seamless administrative operations.
We will save you up to 70% on employment costs with experienced virtual assistants, precisely matched for your strategic needs. To book an interview with those in our talent pool,click here.
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment cost
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide
Patrick Johnson, CEO of Talentuition (a MyOutDesk client) provides Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) services to Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs). They focus on “process outsourcing” more so than traditional headhunting or recruiting.
Recruitment Fundamentals
The mistake in prioritizing skills & experience over culture fit & talent.
Recruitment should follow this order: Culture fit, talent, skills and experience
There are two things you can’t teach people: culture fit & talent. So skills and experience can follow.
What is culture fit when hiring?
The right candidate who matches your culture is the one you’ve considered once before, (think this mentality) : “We’re not ready to hire yet, but as soon as we do we want you.”
When hiring, culture fit usually gets bumped down when skill sets & experience get prioritized over. Again, remember to prioritize in this order: culture fit, talent, skills, experience. This webinar goes into detail on the technicalities of posting your jobs while attracting the right culture fit.
How to know if it’s talent or not
In basketball drafts, Player A has played ball 10 years and they know how to do everything (he has the skills & experience). Player B is someone who can do the shots, the dunks and the plays — he has the talent! With the both of them together, the culture is the team.
Tip: People apply to several companies at the same time — so the response you make puts you out there in front of other companies for the candidate. Never be that employer who doesn’t reply to any questions.
2 Reasons to Recruit Now
#1 Lots of people got laid off with the pandemic, even those who had 10+ years & are highly sought after — you can get them now!
#2 Now is also the perfect time to make time investments to your business, use thedowntime so you can push your curve steep when you bounce back.
You can connect with Daniel & MyOutDesk to leverage virtual assistants. We have a vested interest in your success! Every MyOutDesk client wants to maximize the ROI on their investment in virtual assistants. Our CEO Daniel Ramsey hosts a live mastermind discussion with MyOutDesk clients and discusses tactical, practical & utterly invaluable strategies to best utilize a virtual assistant while you scale your business!
It’s time to gain market share new by leveraging virtual assistants!
‘Grow Virtual’ with MyOutDesk Today
Access more business guides & Schedule a free consultation today!
https://www.myoutdesk.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Patrick-Johnson-BLOG_NL_BANNER.jpg456972Jeremyhttps://www.myoutdesk.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/myoutdesk-logo-400w.pngJeremy2020-12-22 08:42:032020-12-23 15:35:25Quality Talent Acquisition: The Process & Systems for Predictable Results!
Marketing agencies need bandwidth in order to create impactful reach for their clients and to continue to scale their business.
To scale an integrated enterprise of marketing professionals, it can get very expensive, and without strong capacity meets less marginal profits. (FYI: You can save over $90k per year.)
With any growing marketing agency, more clients means balancing more nuanced tasks and roles. When marketers take on too many assignments, their creativity can take a dip. Often, marketing agencies opt to use freelancers to complete minuscule tasks on the agency’s behalf on an ad-hoc basis.
Matt Buchanan is the founder of Pioneers of Marketing. His marketing agency helps well-known clients each earn over 1.5M on social media through direct messaging — and that’s only one revenue stream!
Matt has 4 MyOutDesk Virtual Assistants working for his marketing agency! “They are very professional & very timely. I’m grateful for them and for all the wisdom shared by MyOutDesk. The people you bring to us are top notch people. In all seriousness, I have to say that!”
Monetizing Social Media: Direct Messaging to Drive Revenue
In this interview, we’re truly diving deep on tried & true methods to scale through direct messaging marketing. Social media is all about principles, guaranteed 100% to work every single time.
Matt shares the idea of having the right mentality about the marketing principles:
Be open minded
Be patient
Execute what you set
If you follow these proven principles of social media, they’ll 100% drive results.
The video elaborates on the 2-step process for social media success:
BRANDING
ADVERTISING
Don’t do this alone, but with the MOD Family.
Free Grow Virtual Guide + Strategy Consultation
THREE PILLARS OF CREDIBILITY and BRANDING for FB, IG and LI
(The main social media networks you focus on)
1 – Audience
You need an audience and followers, having the audience gives you the altitude and credibility — we live in a world of perception, remember that!
How to build an audience: Go to an online event or an in-person event. Make it your intention to connect on socials. Have the goal to make viewers follow you on socials, like “follow me on XX, YY, ZZ for more updates, for a replay, for a special offer, to connect, etc.”
Your goal is to take offline relationships online and vice-versa. You may also collaborate with people who already have an audience or have a good reach.
2 – Content Through Facebook and Instagram Stories
Post IG stories, at least 6x a day from your personal account
What should you be posting? Cycle between these 3 types: personal, professional and lifestyle
Professional — brings value for your audience
Personal — connect as a person instead of just a logo—remember people want to do business with a person, not a logo
Lifestyle — documenting the life you live (your “human interest aspect”)
3 – Content Through Wall Posts
Stories vs. Wall Posts: Wall posts are highlight reels. they stay forever unless you delete it! Stories drive traffic and are more intimate since it’s available for just 24 hours. Stories shouldn’t be edited too much or not edited at all!
All the while, wall posts are permanent — it’s the face of your brand and company. They will never go away. So, only post what you want to last, but use the three content types mentioned. Throw in a lot of content, especially when you’re starting out. But, keep it to 3-4x a week if you’ve built an audience already. All of your promotions and posts should also go to your personal account.
Are you afraid of DMs? What do you say when you start a convo?
Understanding it in simple basic form — all social media is just a networking event
When you meet somebody in person — think about how you do it in real life: Introduce yourself!
“Hey how’s it going, saw your page/profile here, and want to get connected”
“Nice connecting with you, I have a great idea. I’d love to share it with you, what’s your cell? Can we chat about it?”
If they reply, send a text from your phone.
Ask: “When’s the best time to talk with you”
Depending on how credible you are, that’s how many people will reply to you. A response rate of 5-6 people out of 25 is a good start.
The higher your credibility, the more responses and messages you’ll get.
If they don’t respond, move on to the next.
Get used to rejection, don’t take NO personally—it’s going to happen.
Focus on the few that respond.
Don’t do this alone, but with the MOD Family.
Free Grow Virtual Guide + Strategy Consultation
https://www.myoutdesk.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Matt-Buchanan-BLOG_NL_BANNER.jpg456972Jeremyhttps://www.myoutdesk.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/myoutdesk-logo-400w.pngJeremy2020-12-22 01:19:292020-12-28 10:20:04Growing Your Digital Marketing Agency & Drive Revenue | With Matt Buchanan
Cannabis Business (or Canna-Bus, get it?). If you’re in the cannabis industry, or interested, the stats are in your favor. Inspired by new research that marijuana was used in a temple dating back to 2,700 years … Today, virtual assistants help lead cannabusiness to success and outperform competitors.
Since the shelter-in-place orders, cannabis & CBD products sales have only INCREASED. If you need help, or want to explore some ideas, schedule a free Business Strategy Call today.
Worshippers at a Jewish temple dating back more than 2,700 years got high on cannabis, according to new research. The researchers wrote, “It seems feasible to suggest that the use of cannabis on the Arad altar had a deliberate psychoactive role.”
2,737 BCE First recorded use of cannabis as medicine by Emperor Shen Neng of China.
23-79 AD Pliny the Elder’s The Natural History mentions hemp rope and marijuana’s analgesic effects.
HOW VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS ARE HELPING CANNABIS BUSINESSES GAIN MARKET SHARE
Virtual Assistants offer INDISPENSABLE help that allows your business to make quicker + more informed decisions.
Your Cannabis Business Virtual Assistant can take on:
As the go-to administrative support assistant
As the default note-taker for all business meetings
Compiling all reports (KPIs, sales, customer demographics, employee performance)
Helping + organizing all managers
All digital marketing, flyers, templates, website maintenance, blogs, & ads
8 MARIJUANA VIRTUAL ASSISTANT CANDIDATES, NO SWEAT
“We went through at least 8 candidates & interviews”
Tony Trinh’s delivery & consulting business SAVED valuable time by allowing MyOutDesk to help recruit and organize 20-30 minute interviews, recruitment ads, phone screening, interviews, background checks, personality profile, and final interviews.
Here are the trends: The legal cannabis industry is reported at 78% growth, year-by-year.
Marijuana retail is an “essential service” in many states (great for prolonged shelter-in-place orders)
Medical & recreational marijuana has inelastic demand (the business is recession-proof)
Weed delivery & CBD retail are in high demand, seeing a 65% percent spike in March 2020 alone.
NOT ONLY CAN A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT CAN HELP YOU, BUT THE ENTIRE CANNABIS BUSINESS TEAM.
“Why didn’t we do this two years earlier?” shares Tony when asked about how much he’s appreciated his MyOutDesk Virtual Assistant. “If you’re thinking about it, just go for it. We paid off in a month.” If you need help, or want to explore some ideas, book a Schedule a free Business Strategy Call today.
Focus on your growth & scale your operations
ENVISIONING OF A NEW REALITY FOR YOUR Legal Marijuana / CBD / Cannabis BUSINESS
Simply put, MyOutDesk equips entrepreneurs & business owners with tools, strategies, and virtual employees – and when combined, businesses have a competitive edge and find growth while efficient systems and processes are put in place.
MyOutDesk proudly provides additional free business growth guides, books, and strategy calls.
See what we are about, and schedule a free consultation with us. We’ll take the time to learn more about your legal marijuana, CBD, or cannabis business and offer solutions to foster top talent and lower operational costs for your company.
Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment cost
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide
https://www.myoutdesk.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Cannabis-Been-doing-it-for-2700-years.jpg456972Jeremyhttps://www.myoutdesk.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/myoutdesk-logo-400w.pngJeremy2020-12-08 07:35:522020-12-09 10:05:24Cannabis Business: How long has marijuana been used by humans?
Since COVID, Jennifer’s business operations are now more efficient than ever — even with a downsized team. How? With Tello and a virtual assistant.
We grab a cup of virtual coffee with Jennifer Geddes as she talks about how she utilizes Trello and her MyOutDesk Virtual Assistant to gain leverage in her business. We ask Jennifer how she does it, and she takes us through her systems and processes she built with Trello to help create a system and process for her production and training.
Now, she has these systems in place, and she is ready to scale her business!
How a Virtual Assistant Manages My Trello
Combined with a virtual assistant, I use the free version of Trello, so it doesn’t even cost us anything!
We have a couple of boards. Having a free system is awesome because I feel like I had so many different systems, and they’re all thirty dollars. well, it all adds up with Trello, just jump in!
I have one virtual assistant from MyOutDesk, as well as a marketing person. Wanda, who is my virtual assistant, is doing all the administrative tasks. She does the transaction coordination.
Upgrading the operational system
I had a team a year ago, a team of six agents. A year and a half ago, I had eight agents. Now I have one, so I’m really just trying to trim the fat and focus on the revenue and generating streams. And the highest and best use.
What I found with the agents on the team was that they were not the best use, and it also led me to hire my virtual assistant and really just finding someone who was going to be more productive, efficient, and effective to increase the bottom line.
This year has given me a chance to step back and really focus on what we’re doing in improved systems and processes.
What’s the system and process to cross that million-dollar threshold?
What you’ve learned as you implemented this system and process for your business. Why did you decide on Trello? At what point did you decide you needed a system and a process to run the team?
So, Trello was recommended through real estate b-school, which is the company that I use for coaching.
I spoke with quite a few individuals there who were using it, and it seemed like it made the most sense, so I tried it out myself and, through kind of playing around with it, I decided that it was going to achieve the things that we wanted to.
I had actually started out using Wunderlist, which is just an elementary kind of to-do list, and had built out some of these kinds of checklists there, which was like my step one of kind of like first grade then I graduated to middle school and so forth. I then integrated Trello definitely takes time to set up, and it’s an ever-evolving process because to me, what’s significant is to have every single step in here so that somebody can pick this up brand new.
A Transaction coordination virtual assistant can pick this up, and they can run with it! I have every step, but we also have how-to sheets and videos linked in a separate google drive.
So, as they’re going through each task, the individual could say, “okay, it says do x y z I don’t know how to do x y z, but they can go back and reference the video or the how-to sheet on how to actually do that step.”
It’s about creating the process and then creating the training that goes along with it that doesn’t involve me doing that and explaining.
Because it’s so time-consuming to have to explain those things over and over again. So, I’m big on recording videos, sharing my screen, talking through it while I’m doing it one time, then I don’t want to do it again.
I love your mindset. Show us one of those examples? Can you share with us one of those examples in Trello? A task where you click on it, and then you pull up a video? How long is that video? What kind of detail did you share in that video?
We have our Trello how-to sheet. This is showing someone how to process a termination and then document names so for us. On Trello, we basically have every step on here like pre-offer, offer prep, under contract, after settlement. So now, if we go back to my Trello boards, and this is where I keep my template.
Under our templates, I have a pre-offer section, offer prep, under contract, and after settlement. So, the same as here, you could follow along and say, “okay. offer prep… where are the how-to sheets on offer prep?” If we go to the top here to ‘offer prep’ and ‘create a Trello card ‘… in KW Command, create a contact command through DocuSign. How to do that it’s through your CRM.
I’m just clarifying that those who aren’t KW people command are just a CRM like Salesforce or HubSpot or any other CRM.
You have to create what’s called “an opportunity” through KW Command so that KW knows what business we’re doing right now. These are pretty simple steps here. Most of them are self-explanatory. Command, save, mortgage pre-approval, CPE, ad, client, once buyer broker assigned CTE is what we use for financial and gold tracking. So once we have a buyer broker signed, we’re going to add that into CTE. If we go back here, I’ve got a “How to add to CTE,” so if the person doesn’t know how to do that, they open it up.
It’s simple. Follow the steps. You can figure out more complicated things. We have videos on these. this, the pre-offer, is really just setting the stage. Then you get to offer prep a little bit more complicated. Creating the documents, and setting them up in DocuSign, so that they’re ready for me to then review before we send them to the client. Once we go under contract, we broke things up into Day One, which needs to be done right away. And then we get down to Day Two, and then we’ve reached Day 10, Day 16. So there’s a timeline.
Oh my gosh, there are 500 tasks, but as you can see, I’m scrolling through. There are many things here, but it’s all simple tasks that the person can complete in KW Command.
KW wants to see stuff, so we have to submit these documents to them. Once we go under contract right check off above is meant for these labels that we use here. So when you see the labels on my big screen, you can see as we go through a transaction, you get less and less of the labels, so that’s really a way for us to track how many tasks are left. We have a KW command submission. Once that’s complete, that would be checked off here. So we check that off, and now that’s gone. So that’s what that’s talking about completing it up above. But it’s really again just every step that we go through in Trello, and add the due dates above.
We’ve got an area where all of our critical due dates, execution date, first deposit, reply to inspection, second deposit, title order, and mortgage settlement. So I don’t want my VA wasting time searching for this. It’s all right here. She sets it up one time, and she sets it up when she’s sending out the initial email to the seller’s side that’s telling them about the due dates.
Once tasks get input into the system, it gets set as reminders on her calendar and finished. We do a lot with email templates, so all email templates are sent out that the VA knows what to fill in. We’re also scheduling a lot of our templates now. So before it was okay, you need to go back into the file like every day. We’re scheduling out this buyer with five pending emails sent out three to four days before the deposit.
Essentially almost all of our emails are going out on day one, or at least they’re being set to be scheduled to go out day one.
How does the CRM, your email calendar, CTE commit to excellence? How do they all play with Trello in your world?
Wanda has this template saved in her Gmail. she pulls it up and schedules it to send when it’s due on the 10th. It takes about five minutes to input these into the calendar, and again it’s done on day one. The seller side knows the dates as well as when the mortgage commitment is due. This gets emailed to the lender a day before it’s due.
Now it’s on Wanda’s calendar the day it’s due, and then we actually have a reminder. So she’ll put the calendar reminder that the mortgage commitment is due on the 10th. there will be an email that gets sent to her on the 9th and an email that gets sent to her on the 7th, so all of our due dates, we have a one-day email reminder and a three-day email reminder; what I found is having a calendar alert those get missed you’re in the middle of a Zoom, and you click off of it, or whatever it is so I have the reminders in our google calendar set as actual email reminders, so that goes into her email box she doesn’t miss it she can see that it’s due and it stays there until it’s addressed.
I love it! How do you manage what’s done versus what’s not done? How do you manage multiple people with deadlines?
In Trello, there’s this chat feature here at the bottom. So we actually have a different template that is it’s on another board. It’ll take me too long to get over to it, but when another agent is involved, we have a pre-offer dash admin pre-offer dash agent, so it’s very clear who is responsible for what task so Wanda could see.
I found that when I had agents who weren’t following my pretty good process, not perfect, those were not the right people.
So I think that’s my simple answer, although it sounds pretty elementary. If you have a process that makes the agent’s lives easier and they’re not doing it, maybe we need to look at something else.
Another thing I did was if you, the agent, follow the process and do all the steps and don’t miss any of your due dates, and the virtual assistant will do more of the deal and do more tasks for you.
It’s like the more you follow your process, the more they do so. If you do x on time, the assistant will do y and z, you miss x, now you have to do y and z., so it was a favorable combination of positive-negative reinforcement to try to get the agents to do things.
I think it’s spending the time to do it the right way, and it’s having the right person too. So when Wanda started, we had probably 70 of it done. It would be, “okay, Wanda do these things all right? I’ll talk to you in two or three hours.” in two or three hours, we’d talk, and she’d say, “Jen, I don’t know how to do XYZ.”
“Did you look at the how-to sheet?”
“Yep, it’s blank.”
“Oh, okay, great, let’s walk through it together over zoom screen share.”
And she would create the manual, take notes on it, and then complete it. So I think now having it all complete, it would be seamless to bring someone else in.
People complain about the paperwork and transaction coordination. I mean, that is such a small portion of my business now, whereas, in the past, I’d say my admin spent probably 90% of the time on it.
Now with my virtual assistant, I’d say Wanda is spending 25% of her time on it in a perfect world with booming business. she’ll spend well under 50 percent of her time doing transaction coordination, which means I’ll run 25 million through the business with someone doing 15 hours a week of transaction coordination. Before, if I had someone spending 40 hours a week on this, and now they’re spending 15 hours a week. What can I have them do in that other time that’s 25 extra hours a week?
For me, I enjoy selling and growing and evolving; this is just kind of a side effect that needs to be done, and it needs to be done correctly, so I don’t want to spend time on it
I want it to be a system that just flows and is super easy to go through, making a lot of sense.
What’s it been like working with MyOutDesk?
MyOutDesk has been great. I have no complaints. Communication was excellent. I wanted to get started right away and was pretty demanding about that. And my request was met, which was great. I know you guys were in a significant backlog, but you could fit me in, which was really super important to me. I asked Wanda to find other resources within MyOutDesk periodically, and she does, but with her training and skillsets and all of that, I really have no complaints.
I have a client who just went under contract who complimented Wanda, “She’s been so great. How long has she worked with you?”
He’s been a long time client, and I ask for feedback.
“I’m so glad you found her. Is she in your office?” … and that’s what I was waiting for. I’m explain, “Our office is closed. She’s in the Philippines, actually.
“No kidding?”
So this is someone that’s been working with him. And he had no idea that she was in the Philippines, which to me is the goal.
My virtual assistant has been a lot more motivated and enthusiastic than anyone I’ve had in this role in a long time in person. She’s finding things to do when I get busy, and I’m not giving her something to do. I feel confident she’s working the whole time, which was not the case when someone was sitting in the office.
Growing Your Business With An Administrative Virtual Assistant
As a business person, you’re already familiar with what an administrative assistant can support do for you and why it’s crucial to your business. Staying on top of administrative functions is essential to your success.
You can be more effective if you’re not bogged down by paperwork, repetitive administrative tasks and troubleshooting bureaucratic red tape delays and issues. A administrative virtual assistant can take care of these tasks and ensure that sales paperwork and its administration run smoothly and your clients are receiving excellent customer support.
With a virtual coordinator, you can become more efficient & effective – while your coordinator handles all the repetitive tasks involved with your business – like gathering documents and signatures, calling clients, and stakeholders, completing paperwork, following up on contracts & requirements, and putting together a broker file for each completed transaction.
Having a virtual professional tackle operations and administrative outcomes for you can go far beyond what a traditional assistant does, like answering phones and keeping your calendar. There are many more ways a virtual professional can help you administratively. Here are some concrete examples of my favorite things administrative virtual professionals do for our clients.
Simply put, MyOutDesk equips entrepreneurs & business owners with tools, strategies, and virtual employees – and when combined, businesses have a competitive edge and find growth while efficient systems and processes are put in place.
MyOutDesk proudly provides additional free business growth guides, books, and strategy calls.
See what we are about, and schedule a free consultation with us. We’ll take the time to learn more about your business and offer solutions to foster top talent and lower operational costs for your company.
Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment cost
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide
Did You Know? MyOutDesk’s origin story is set during the last global financial crisis of 2008. Yes, that’s right — our business started by scaling businesses with virtual assistants during a recession! Pioneers of virtual assistant services, our first client in 2008 went from five to seventeen VAs with a completely revamped organizational model in short order, and he told MyOutDesk, “Our virtual professionals have shaved $250,000 off our monthly overhead.”
https://www.myoutdesk.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Trello-Thumb-v3.png321845Jeremyhttps://www.myoutdesk.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/myoutdesk-logo-400w.pngJeremy2020-11-17 14:49:402020-12-03 09:25:59Trello & Virtual Assistants: The Best System for Efficient Admin Work!
A friend of mine was recently on a call with Mark Cuban. Who else can say they’ve been taught by a billionaire?
Entrepreneurs, it is certain that the businesses who act diligently and stay informed will rise to the top. We are tired of hearing about today’s uncertainty. Instead of pausing with the rest of the world, the proactive business is reinventing itself.
Here are billionaire Mark Cuban’s advice and lessons on how to handle today’s market downturn. He is VERY bullish on the US and on American ingenuity. Once we are out of this recession, he thinks the country’s economy will bounce back and be so much stronger as a result.
Of all of the “models” that the experts share as “data,” this is not actual data but rather an opinion or projection. Today, the data that we are looking at now is skewed by a huge outside factor that is making it more difficult to trust and analyze.
Look at it but take it with a grain of salt. Most of our best analysis and learning will be reflective.
Pay attention to the said data, but remember that the data presented AFTER this situation will be considered the “real” data.
It’s always the time to sell
It’s never the time to be selling and pitching items and services of value even in this current environment.
Authenticity is critical more than ever when selling. If you are calling on a prospect, empathy is key. Mark said that it’s ok to tell prospects that you are scared too (if that’s true). A great way to sell to continue rapport building, at a time that people are seeking to connect. Your authenticity will make you more relatable.
Understand EFFECTIVE inside sales operations — by boosting your prospecting engine starting with a free business STRATEGY call with MyOutDesk!
Make it a point to learn something new daily. Even if you don’t think you need to know it. Mark mentioned he is going deep into learning about the future of A.I.
This is a common lesson of many billionaires, including Jeff Hoffman (founder of Priceline). Bill Gates reads at least 50 books a year. If you hear it more than once coming from a billionaire, then it must be a valid point, right? Mark pointed out to the group to take notes in the book margins and reflect chapter by chapter on what you’ve learned.
Learn how billionaires and millionaires are leveraging the remote workplace with a free MyOutDesk Business strategy call. Be proactive in today’s downturn!
You won’t get it unless you ask for it
You will never get anything without first asking. In the call, the moderator tested Mark’s advice and promptly asked him for an introduction to another influential person that the group could learn from. After laughing, Mark offered to connect the group with Barbara Corcharon. Point taken.
Stay proactive
When you look in a decade from now, there will be around three to five huge companies that were formed during this time. Why not grow your business during these times? Mark said that all the improvements that you have been thinking about HAVE TO BE implemented now both personally and professionally. Get your unfair share and it starts by making those changes now.
If you wanted to implement that new system or software, do it now. Make that huge shift in your offering or streamline processes. Make it happen now.
Scale your business operations by leveraging experienced virtual assistants in your industry.
The CEO Mindset. Lead by example, double down, and gain market share.
Refreshed value. Understand what people want and need now, and how your business can respond to these demands.
Becoming an Exceptional Force – all while reducing operational costs. Reduce operational costs with virtual assistants, a forgivable expense through the SBA. Restructure to a remote workspace and create new plans with a CEO’s mindset.
MyOutDesk brings you 13 years of recession-tackling knowledge. We are committed to supporting your continued drive to champion a thriving business and support your local community during the COVID-19 health crisis.
Simply put, MyOutDesk equips entrepreneurs & business owners with tools, strategies, and virtual employees – and when combined, businesses have a competitive edge and find growth while efficient systems and processes are put in place.
MyOutDesk proudly provides additional free business growth guides, books, and strategy calls.
See what we are about, and schedule a free consultation with us. We’ll take the time to learn more about your business and offer solutions to foster top talent and lower operational costs for your company.
Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment cost
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide
Did You Know? MyOutDesk’s origin story is set during the last global financial crisis of 2008. Yes, that’s right — our business started by scaling businesses with virtual assistants during a recession! Pioneers of virtual assistant services, our first client in 2008 went from five to seventeen VAs with a completely revamped organizational model in short order, and he told MyOutDesk, “Our virtual professionals have shaved $250,000 off our monthly overhead.”
https://www.myoutdesk.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/What-We-Can-Learn-from-Billionaire.jpg456972Daniel Ramseyhttps://www.myoutdesk.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/myoutdesk-logo-400w.pngDaniel Ramsey2020-11-14 15:32:542020-11-18 16:11:12What We Can Learn from a Billionaire About Today's Market
https://www.myoutdesk.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/what-results-to-expect-from-va.jpg456972Jeremyhttps://www.myoutdesk.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/myoutdesk-logo-400w.pngJeremy2020-11-09 15:26:172020-11-11 15:56:40Explained: What is a Virtual Assistant? Pros, Cons, How to Hire
Sales development is a broad term that covers many different tasks. The success of each initiative depends on the unique needs and goals of every company, so a good sales development representative must be able to adapt to the specific needs of his or her team.
The contents in this guide covers:
Sales Development Models & Goals
The Sales Development Cycle
Recommendations for Improving Sales Development Effectiveness
Examples of SDR (Sales Development Representative) Calls
Recruiting the right SDR to my team
Converting leads using the right angle (Motivations, Fit, Timeframe)
Sales Development Operating Models & Goals
There are several key operating models that sales teams use to reach their goals. The ultimate goal of sales development is to increase revenue. Of course, it’s not a simple task to achieve this goal even for seasoned sales people–it takes a strong team.
In terms of operating models, some companies focus on growing their top line by acquiring new customers and keeping existing ones happy with good service. Other businesses concentrate on increasing customer lifetime value (CLV). Although there are countless ways for businesses to generate more leads, they all fall into one or more categories:
Introducing new products or services;
Cross-selling or existing clients;
Turning prospects into paying customers.
The job of a sales development team job is to do whatever it takes to achieve these objectives & goals. For example, they may need to conduct market research and analyze the results.
In some cases, a company might require its sales development reps to carry out lead generation campaigns. This relationship building process is called the lead generation cycle and it consists of four steps:
Prospect Identification – This step involves finding potential clients or customers that are interested in a product or service from the company. The goal here is to build relationships with these organizations by contacting them directly through emails, phone calls, and even face-to-face meetings.
Lead Nurturing – In this step, sales executives try to get the potential clients or customers engaged in a conversation about their product or service. The goal is to build enough trust and credibility so that they will open up about why they need the company’s services or products.
Lead Qualification – The sales executives use this step to qualify the potential clients or customers based on their need and desire for a product or service. They want to ensure that they will get a positive response if they offer them an opportunity.
Lead Closing – In this step, the sales executives try to convert potential clients or customers into actual buyers by providing them an opportunity for a product or service that they want.
After that, the sales development representative (SDR) works with members of their team to follow up on leads to allow sales reps to close actual buyers. The sales development cycle is a continuous ongoing process.
Recommendations for Improving Sales Development Effectiveness
Business models must change and adapt gradually over time to stay afloat. Your business, as it exists now, will look different 10 years from now. Therefore, your current activities must be oriented toward what the future holds for your present company and others like it.
1. The first thing we recommend you do when considering sales development effectiveness is to define your goals.
You’ll need to focus on measurable and trackable outcomes. Business models must change and adapt gradually over time to stay afloat. Your business, as it exists now, will look different 10 years from now. Therefore, your current activities must be oriented toward what the future holds for your present company and others like it.
2. The second step to ensure continual improvement to your operation is to hire the right people for your sales team. You should aim to recruit people for their talent, over their skills. Find those who are trustworthy, hard-working, and have a strong sense of responsibility.
For long-term success, the purpose of sales development personnel must be considered.
If employees are frantically running around trying to get as many leads as possible so that they can close as many deals as possible, there is no time for quality. The problem, of course, is that this approach is counterproductive. The harder you push to close deals and get leads the more resistance you encounter from potential customers. This in turn reduces your conversion rate, which means that sales people are getting fewer leads per hour than they were before.
In order to increase your sales, you should not be trying to force leads and close deals. Your company needs to develop a new business model based on value creation for the customer rather than profit generation for yourself.
Virtual Assistants for Sales Development
Consider virtual assistants (up to 70% less than the cost of a traditional employee) as your Sales Development Representatives. You can save time and focus on closing deals, while the assistants help handle prospecting, nurturing, and service.
Understanding Your Leads’ Motivations, Fit, and Timeframe
We’ve garnered a lot of experience about how best to prepare virtual professionals for sales development roles—and we have created a concrete system to ensure that you have success with yours too.
When leading prospective buyers through your nurturing processes, consider the lead’s motivations, fit and timeframe.
Motivations:
Ask: What’s the reason for your call?
Locate the urgency of what they need in the tone of their voice
Figure out whether they are ‘in pain’ or ‘in opportunity’ while considering your product and service as a remedy to the issue.
Usual ‘pain’ responses:
“I’m not reaching my goals”
“I’m dropping the ball in some way. I’m overwhelmed.”
“I’m losing a lot of opportunities, Can’t keep up with our leads or paperwork.”
Usual ‘opportunity’ responses:
“My business has grown. I’ve had this opportunity”
“We’re super busy. No time”
“Have looked into this before and now I and ready”
“I would like to learn more about how you can help me”
Quantify the pain or sense of opportunity. Is it motivated by time? money? growth?
Questions to ask:
What exactly is being missed/dropped and what is that costing you?
How much business are you losing, are you able to put a dollar amount around it?
How many hours are you spending in non-productive activities?
What are you leaving on the table, and how are missing those opportunities costing you?
If you could fix this problem today, what would that be worth to you?
The Fit:
Consider their responses and identify how your product and service and best serve (or best ‘fit’ into) your lead’s background & experiences.
This is the right time to deliver more value to the lead. If you have a free giveaway or resource, now is the time to offer it: “I have a free resource, can I send it to you?”
Timeframe:
Look into seeing their timeframe to buy. When the lead expresses interest, this is the time to figure out if they are considering other competitors and the urgency of responding to them.
Typical motivated responses:
“I’m talking to other companies right now, but I like you.”
“How soon can we buy?”
“I don’t need more calls. I just want to sign up”
“I already know how this works, I just want to sign up”
Typical not motivated responses:
“Not ready”
“Not sure”
“Exploring options”
“I want to see what you guys do”
“I don’t know how you can help me”
“Send me an email of what you guys do, pricing, list of your services”
“Doing research for future reference”
“Who else do you work with? Specifically around [area]”
If you’re far into the call and still unsure about the lead’s motivations, ask this question:
“On a scale of 1-10 on [the value you provide, i.e. buying a home], how much do you move quickly on this?”
The last important key factor to good sales development is: You know what the best sales development is? The one which has the best product.
You want to generate leads? Then you must have a great, well-tested product for your target market. If you have a great product, and if you can explain it brilliantly, then people will want it. When you make it really easy for people to find your product, and then lead traffic will come to you. [Considering a Marketing Specialist Virtual Assistant?]
Example SDR Calls, Scripts & Recruitment Tips
We’ve compiled all the tips and strategies you need to easily recruit & implement the perfect Sales Development Representative. Focus on talent aquisition, time-savings, and lowering overhead.
Simply put, MyOutDesk equips entrepreneurs & business owners with tools, strategies, and virtual employees – and when combined, businesses have a competitive edge and find growth while efficient systems and processes are put in place.
MyOutDesk proudly provides additional free business growth guides, books, and strategy calls.
See what we are about, and schedule a free consultation with us. We’ll take the time to learn more about your business and offer solutions to foster top talent and lower operational costs for your company.
Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment cost
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide
Did You Know? MyOutDesk’s origin story is set during the last global financial crisis of 2008. Yes, that’s right — our business started by scaling businesses with virtual assistants during a recession! Pioneers of virtual assistant services, our first client in 2008 went from five to seventeen VAs with a completely revamped organizational model in short order, and he told MyOutDesk, “Our virtual professionals have shaved $250,000 off our monthly overhead.”
https://www.myoutdesk.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Scale-Your-Business-and-Grow-Profitability.jpg456972Jeremyhttps://www.myoutdesk.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/myoutdesk-logo-400w.pngJeremy2020-11-04 16:07:392020-11-11 13:19:56The Sales Guide: A deep look into Sales Development operating models
What are virtual assistants, and how can they help with your human resources (HR) operation?
Remote workers, or virtual assistants, are the answer to saving big on overhead costs. At the same time, transitioning to a (hybrid) remote workplace increases efficiency when it comes to handling unemployment coordination, disability claims, employment verification, employee support, compliance, risk, and workers compensation.
With over 900 PEOs (Professional Employers Organizations) in the US providing services to 175,000 small and mid-sized businesses, the industry expects to grow and serve beyond its current 3.7 million worksite employees.
Today’s trends in HR
HR professionals are responsible for the creation of an employee-friendly workplace culture, providing training and development opportunities, managing performance appraisal systems, and ensuring compliance with employment laws.
Many times, the HR department has many different hats to wear. The role may entail: employee relations, compensation and benefits management, employment law compliance, recruitment and hiring practices; organizational development; training and development.
PEOs & HR organizations can grow their capacity and dramatically reduce costs with virtual staffing solutions. The industry is increasingly competitive, and you aren’t getting your fair share of the new clients until you leverage virtual assistants to help drive up your results.
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment costs with experienced, full-time virtual assistants. To book an interview with those in our talent pool, click here.
Whether in an HRO (Human Resources Organization), PEO (Professional Employers Organization), or an HR department for your company, the HR sector has evolved out of its origin in the field of management. The HR profession, sometimes referred to as Industrial Relations, was once associated with those who saw it their duty to bring together workers and employers through collective bargaining agreements or other means for the purpose of achieving industrial peace.
However, the role of the HR professional has evolved over time to encompass a much broader range of activities. Indeed, it was not long ago that ‘human resources’ became an industry in its own right. The HR industry is a large segment of the business world, and its role today is to focus on the development, growth, and improvement of employees at all levels within an organization.
A big part of the HR department is about ‘matching’ people in a company. This typically involves finding out what those people are like and then trying to find other employees which match them, though not too closely. In general, the role of HR is to make sure that everyone in a company works well together and gets along. If they fail at this task, then productivity will suffer.
There are many ways in which remote employees, or virtual assistants, in HR are beneficial. The HR is a field that has traditionally been focused on the idea of ‘fit’. That is, finding employees who have skills and qualities which make them well suited to do their jobs. Traditionally, employees are hired locally and work within a relatively small, local area. But that has changed dramatically over the last few decades. Many of today’s employees are working remotely from one country to another – or even several.
The question of fit doesn’t make any sense in a situation where there is no local work. Human resources professionals must adapt to the changing world, and that means moving beyond this notion of ‘fit’. Nowadays, it’s better for businesses to focus more on finding employees who are flexible and willing to learn new skills.
There has never been a more important time to optimize remote operations.
Allocating virtual staffing is a known secret that leading B2B companies across the US practice to enhance their workforce, all the while significantly undercutting costs.
The virtual assistants protect the company’s valuable time and shoulder many of the repetitive daily duties, such as:
Reception calls, recruitment, sourcing, and intake conversations
Time and attendance
Transaction coordination, bookkeeping, and expense accounting
Calendar scheduling, event coordination, and travel arrangements
Reporting, CRM updating, and IT support
It’s no wonder entrepreneurs trust us most — with 13 years of experience serving over 6,000 clients. Last year we saved our clients $55 million as the highest-rated virtual assistant company with more than 500 verified 5-star business reviews.
HROs & PEOs know that MyOutDesk is the most reliable virtual assistant service provider with thorough qualifying & talent-matching procedures.
To book an interview with those in our talent pool, click here.
Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment cost
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide
Did You Know? MyOutDesk’s origin story is set during the last global financial crisis of 2008. Yes, that’s right — our business started by scaling businesses with virtual assistants during a recession! Pioneers of virtual assistant services, our first client in 2008 went from five to seventeen VAs with a completely revamped organizational model in short order, and he told MyOutDesk, “Our virtual professionals have shaved $250,000 off our monthly overhead.”
Case Study: Growing HR Firm with Virtual Assistants
From a successful east coast Human Resources Company:
About our Virtual Assistants (VA) and their contributions
In working with MyOutDesk, we currently have 7 virtual assistants (VA’s) working within. Six of these VA’s work within the Services department and one VA works within the Risk department.
Chris is our unemployment liaison. He is the middleman between our clients, our third-party administrator and state unemployment offices
Karen manages State Paid Disability Claims for NY and NJ, claim coordination with the employee, client and state agency . She’s recently been trained on running backend reports from HRP. She assists with the CS mailbox, unemployment claims, helps with WOTC, power of attorney documentation and backs-up Shiella with Worker’s Compensation Certifications
Aileen manages our unemployment claims mailbox and work’s hand-in-hand with Chris with the unemployment claim process. Aileen also back’s up Jayson with Employment Verifications.
Jayson handles the majority of our Employment Verifications and manages the verifications mailbox.
Stephanie & Ira handle support calls and emails from ESS and other employees. They works on password resets and login issues related to the employee portal. She also assists employees with direct deposit changes or tax changes and W2’s. Stephanie handles daytime and Ira handles evenings.
Shiela works in the risk department handling Worker Compensation Certificates, first report of injury for any worker comp claim, and client claim history reports (Lost Run Report).
A THANK YOU to Stephanie, Ira, Chris, Jayson, and team. They continue to receive thank you notes from employees and employers for their prompt service and care.
Simply put, MyOutDesk equips entrepreneurs & business owners with tools, strategies, and virtual employees – and when combined, businesses have a competitive edge and find growth while efficient systems and processes are put in place.
MyOutDesk proudly provides additional free business growth guides, books, and strategy calls.
See what we are about, and schedule a free consultation with us. We’ll take the time to learn more about your business and offer solutions to foster top talent and lower operational costs for your company.
Did You Know? MyOutDesk’s origin story is set during the last global financial crisis of 2008. Yes, that’s right — our business started by scaling businesses with virtual assistants during a recession! Pioneers of virtual assistant services, our first client in 2008 went from five to seventeen VAs with a completely revamped organizational model in short order, and he told MyOutDesk, “Our virtual professionals have shaved $250,000 off our monthly overhead.”
“Our top reps have been able to focus more on developing relationships & creating new business with clients — rather than task-work like simply handling claims. MyOutDesk allows us to scale more quickly & be more profitable at the same time!”
— Mark Schwaiger, Managing Partner at Ininifit HR
Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment cost
https://www.myoutdesk.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Virtual-Assistants-for-HR.jpg456972Jeremyhttps://www.myoutdesk.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/myoutdesk-logo-400w.pngJeremy2020-11-04 14:52:342020-11-11 13:14:44Efficient & Reliable: Virtual Assistants for HR
Real Estate Virtual Assistants » Grow your real estate business & generate massive revenue with a quality Real Estate Virtual Assistant from MyOutDesk.
Mortgage Virtual Assistants » Stay focused on building relationships & business – that’s why mortgage & loan officers trust our virtual assistants.
IT Outsourcing » Rapidly scale your technology business and improve your customer service, support & retention with IT outsourcing from MyOutDesk.
HR Outsourcing » Industry leading HR & PEO organizations trust MyOutDesk virtual assistant services for the highest quality HR outsourcing.
Healthcare Virtual Assistants » Rapidly scale your Healthcare Organization by recruiting top-quality staff with MyOutDesk virtual assistants!
MyOutDesk, LLC • 3001 E St. • Sacramento, CA 95816 • Phone: (800) 583-9950