From the Desk of Janet Barclay

No one can argue that technology has opened up a lot of options for home-based businesses. When my dad started his business in the 1960s, my mother answered all his phone calls and took messages for him to return when he returned from his service calls. That worked well because he didn’t have to pay her, and because they wanted her to be at home with the kids when we were young. When we got a little older and his business was bringing in a more regular income, he engaged a professional answering service. It wasn’t a perfect arrangement, but it worked well and he continued operating that way for many years. Although he could have purchased an answering machine at some point, he believed that customers prefer talking to people than to machines.

When voicemail was introduced, it was widely adopted not only by businesses, but for personal use as well. (Wikipedia has a detailed history of voicemail, if you’re interested.) In fact, these days, it’s very unusual to call someone and get a busy signal or no answer at all. Voicemail allows businesses to have their telephone answered around the clock very inexpensively, and many large businesses have even replaced their switchboard operator with an automated attendant.

Some automated attendant systems work well, but I think we’ve all experienced the frustration of listening to lengthy lists of menu options, only to have to repeat them when it’s not clear which option we need. I have actually called a number of businesses where it is virtually impossible to speak to a human unless you already know the name of the person you wish to speak to and/or their extension number. I understand that it’s probably intentional, so their staff aren’t losing productivity due to calls from telemarketers, but what about potential customers? Are they doing so well that they don’t have to worry about people hanging up the phone and calling their competition?

Telephone answering is not one of the services I offer as a virtual assistant, but I have on occasion agreed to look after calls while a client is on vacation. In one case, I had to call in to check the client’s voice mail twice a day, then call back anyone who left a message. In most cases, I would return the call only to reach the client’s voicemail. So back and forth it went – I probably only connected with half of the people who called. So what became of the others? They, most likely, went to my client’s competitor for services. (My client, meanwhile, still had to pay me for my time.)

Another client uses a system where voicemail messages are delivered by email. When she went on vacation, she arranged for the messages to be delivered by me. This was better than the previous system, because I didn’t have to make a point of calling in to check for messages, and because I was able to return the call immediately in most cases, I had more success reaching the clients, although I still got their voicemail a few times. What I really noticed, however, was the number of blank messages that came in. These were probably people who knew they couldn’t be reached by return phone call, so they would either try again later, or move on to the next business on their list. Although it was a better system for me as a VA, I am not convinced that it was ideal in terms of customer service.

A third client regularly uses a team of consultants who all work from their home offices, of which I am one. In the past, we had to dial in regularly to check for messages, similar to the first scenario described above. Since our work involves a lot of telephone contact, and people could never reach us directly, we tended to play a lot of phone tag. This year, she signed up for a service where all incoming calls are routed to a remote receptionist, a live human being who answers the call and then redirects it to the appropriate consultant. This is much better for the team, because we can talk to callers when they are available to talk to us – which is better for them too! If I’m not available to take the call, the receptionist will offer to connect them with another consultant, or they can leave me a voicemail message, which will be delivered to me by email.

I highly recommend this type of service to anyone who wants to provide superior customer service without the expense of hiring a full-time receptionist. My client uses Smiledog but I’ve also heard good things about Encore Tele Solutions and Appointment-Link.

*This post was featured in the LinkedIn Bloggers Carnival: August Edition.

I can’t even remember when I first heard of the Pareto Principle – you know, the one that says that 80% of the effects comes from 20% of the causes. For example, we wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time, and we spend 80% of our time with 20% of our acquaintances. In business, it’s said that 80% of your sales comes from 20% of your clients.

I recently attended a networking breakfast where I had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Tony Alessandra share some strategies for keeping clients and attracting new ones. He suggested that you create a profile of the top 20% of your clients, and seek more clients who fit that profile. It seems obvious, but how many of us actually do that?

He went on to recommend that you develop a plan to make it happen. The first step of the plan he outlined is to identify which clients are actively recommending you to others. Next, figure out what it is you do differently for those clients, and then start doing that for your other clients. That could be a bit more challenging to figure out, but I can definitely see the value in it.

Overall, I was very impressed with Dr. Alessandra’s presentation and I hope to have an opportunity to hear him again. Did you notice I said "hear" and not "see"? That’s because he wasn’t actually in the room when I heard him. This particular event takes place every month, with the presentation delivered by speaker phone. It’s really quite unique, because there isn’t an actual group to join, so you get to meet different people all the time. If you want to find out if there’s one happening in your area, simply Google "Breakfast with Fran" along with the name of your city or town.

Email has really taken over as the #1 form of communication, to the point where it’s rare to receive anything significant by mail. As a result, when you do, it really stands out. That’s the principle behind companies like SendOutCards and Client Connections. And I have to admit that I love it when something unexpected shows up in my mailbox. Like a couple of weeks ago, I was puzzled to receive a large envelope from EzineArticles.com, but my confusion turned to delight when I opened it to find a mousepad with "Ezine Articles Expert Author" on it. That made me feel really good! (Now I just need a mouse to go with it.)

On the other hand, email is so easy and so affordable, that some people really abuse it. I recently heard through one of my online groups that a certain marketing expert was going to be offering her very last free teleclasses this week. I had heard of this person many times so I thought I should take advantage of this opportunity, and signed up for the teleclass. As expected, I received an email confirming my registration. That was fine. I also received a newsletter and a "special announcement", which was not fine, but I thought I’d better wait until after the teleclasses to remove myself from her mailing list to make sure I received the link to the recordings. Over the past week I have received at least 8 emails from her, including three "courtesy" messages reminding me about the call being "tomorrow," "today," and "in a few hours" PLUS a voicemail reminder. I haven’t looked up "courtesy" in the dictionary lately, but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t mean the same as "harassment." This experience has made me question the value of the information being offered – is this the way she recommends people market their services? No thank you! And I will definitely not be purchasing or recommending any of her products or services either.

One last comment, before I get off my soapbox – back on the topic of paper mail. I received something in the mail from a supplier, who spelled both my business name and my last name wrong. That doesn’t endear me either.

What do these stories have in common?  They show the ways that your communications can influence your clients. So, remember these three things:

1. Show your clients you appreciate them by occasionally sending a card or small gift instead of an email.
2. Do NOT assume that potential clients have nothing more important to do with their time than read multiple messages from you containing the same information.
3. Make sure you spell their names correctly!

Anita Campbell of Small Business Trends recently blogged about a survey conducted by Staples on the work hours and habits of small business managers. It comes as no surprise to me that most of the people surveyed do not work a regular 40-hour work week. I start work most days by 7:00 AM, and when I check my email I have often received emails which clients sent during the evening or even during the wee small hours of the morning. One of the reasons many people have chosen to be their own boss and/or work from home is so they can work at times that are convenient for them, whether it be early morning, late at night, weekends, or whatever, and that’s great.

What concerns me is the number of people who work long hours and don’t take vacation, not out of a passion for what they do, but because they feel they have to. Today’s technology means that people can reach us whether we are in the office or not, but does that mean we have to be available? Being accessible to everyone all the time may sound like the ultimate in customer service, but are you really serving your clients well if you answer the phone when you are too tired or too involved with something else (be it work or personal) to be attentive to their needs? The reason we have technology such as voice mail and email is so that people can leave us a message at their convenience and we can respond at ours. If you feel it’s vital to your business to provide service 24-7 (and 52 weeks a year), you owe it to your clients and yourself to find someone else to handle your calls so you can focus on important work tasks and so you can get some downtime, not just for a few hours of sleep each night, but so you can enjoy some leisure time with friends and family, and even take a vacation - yes, a real vacation!

I confess - I have not taken a "real" vacation since I started my business, but I intend to change that this year. And now that I’ve posted this publicly, I’m one step closer to making it happen! But I will definitely NOT be available to receive phone calls or emails during my vacation! I need and deserve a break, and so do you!