I have sadly neglected this blog due to being busy, busy, busy and then on top of that, being SICK for about nine weeks with a cold / flu type thing that I did not think was ever going to go away! Now I am back to “normal”, for me, anyway, LOL, and will try to do better with keeping my blog updated. Welcome to this fresh, new year with a chance for new beginnings, new friends and associates and new business!

This has nothing to do with my Virtual Assistance business except for the fact that my focus is ON this business and I have lost my eight year addiction to selling digital products, but I have decided to retire SoftwareWarrioress.com so that I can totally devote my time and energies TO my Virtual Assistance business and my marketing ezine, Rim Digest , which will be celebrating its 10th anniversary with me as its editor on February 10.

I plan to sell the domain name of 8 years, SoftwareWarrioress.com and over 50 Gig of resell digitals plus the web site and pages, etc. This way I can devote myself to my true loves, which are the services I provide as a Virtual Assistant, my wonderful clients and future ones and my ezine. I let myself get stretched in too many directions and this is my goal for 2010 – to get and remain totally focused.

To be perfectly honest, I LOVE Proofreading and Editing and doing Transcriptions and feel I do my best work when it is something I enjoy and excel at.

I am also an avid social networker, especially with Twitter and love helping others with their social networking needs. By retiring the digital sales super store business, I can devote myself to these things.

I do not, however, plan to sell three of my most beloved digital products with this sale. I plan to keep the following three, as they are totally mine, were made for ME and are my 3 best sellers:

First off is the Health Products site with a HUGE inventory of products with resell rights on three levels, Helluva Health Site , which was made for me by my best friend, Sharon McPherson, who is also the owner/operator of Templates Themes and Graphics AND the creator of this blog site and Tallent Agency Virtual Assistance site.

This has been my biggest seller of ALL time next to advertising in my ezine.

Next is the Christmas Bonanza package , which was also made for me by Sharon.

Lastly, the oldest product I plan to hang on to is my Marketing Warrioress Quick and Easy Recipes which was written and made BY ME!

These three items are available to buy but NOT a part of the SoftwareWarrioress.com retirement sale package.

I still love digital products and think they are the neatest things to hit the internet after almost 13 years of my being online BUT they need dedicated time and energy to sell and maintain and I just do not have the “fire” to devote to them any longer.

If anyone is interested in stepping into an already established business, you can email me from any of the pages at the site and I will be glad to talk to you about the possibilities.

Again, Happy New Year and thank you so much for visiting my blog in 2010!

Getting Clients – How to Pull Clients To You

Small Businesses that get clients contacting and reaching out to them find major success. When clients call you, it saves you a lot of effort, plus it allows you increase your pricing due to your demand. Nothing creates success like success. Let’s talk about how to PULL clients to you.

Network
It’s likely that your business is not the only one that a certain client uses. For example, someone hiring a web designer may also need a content writer. Certain fields go hand in hand. Start a Rolodex and put together a network of partnerships to serve clients. They will be very grateful for the referral.

Spread the Wealth
You have a lot of knowledge about your niche. Take the time to give out free information that will prove helpful to current and future clients. Write a newsletter or ezine.

Be of Service
When people are looking for a solution to their problem, they want to know what you can do for them. Focus on service and don’t publicize your needs.

Be a Good Listener
Yes, this works for your business relationships just like it works for personal relationships. Be aware of what is happening with the client at the time of the project. Listen closely, because sometimes people can’t communicate exactly what they need.

Call Them to Action
Getting potential clients to read marketing material is only half the battle. You need to get them to contact you. Be clear about what you want potential clients to do. Give them a “call to action.” Make sure your “call to action” is visible on every page of marketing material.

Jennifer Davey is a Small Business Coach and Marketing Strategist. Jennifer coaches small businesses, self employed professionals, and solopreneurs in strategies for getting clients and making more income. Jennifer can help you implement a successful and easy to repeat marketing program that will attract clients. Contact Jennifer and set up a time discuss your struggles with getting clients and making more income.

Learn what you need to know to get clients, by reading Jennifer’s FREE report “What You Need to Know to Be Successful at Getting Clients”, available at Free-Marketing-Tips http://jjscoaching.com/free-marketing-tips/

P.S. I “met” Jennifer in one of our mutual discussion lists on LinkedIn which is an awesome site for professionals to find like-minded and valuable peers to connect to and network with.

You can also follow Jennifer on Twitter .

Today I would like to share with you a great post by Michelle Mangen, one of my online connections.

Understanding Differences with Virtual Assistants

Frequently I am asked during consultations with new clients why there are so many “variations” between Virtual Assistants, especially with pricing .

If you own a brick and mortar business compare employees you currently have and have had in the past. When you interview a candidate what makes you chose one person over another? Why do they not all ask for the same pay?

Some of the criteria used to determine which employee to hire was probably one of the items on this list:

* past experience/skills
* education
* cost of living (geographical)
* belief in themselves (confidence)
* Personality

The same holds true for Virtual Assistants. Like any service industry no one mandates what can and should be charged.

I know Virtual Assistants who charge $20/hr for bookkeeping and others who charge $65/hr for setting up a Facebook Fan Page.

As with a true brick and mortar company you can’t always hire one person to do all things. The same holds true when hiring Virtual Assistants. Maybe you interview a VA who cannot help you with email management or handling your Aweber newsletters.

Many Virtual Assistants can do much more than what may be listed on their website. When in doubt – ask. If you believe your VA can’t perform a specific task ask if she can refer someone she can trust.

At the end of the day hiring a Virtual Assistant is very similar to hiring an employee. We are all different, yet our goal is the same … to assist you in growing your business and alleviating any stress and anxiety you may feel with running certain aspects of your business.

I welcome any questions you may have in regards to services you may be seeking but have not yet asked me about.

To YOUR success,

Michelle Mangen
The VirtualAssistant.com

P.S. I have been networking with Michelle and her specialties are bookkeeping and dealing with aWeber. Feel feel to visit her site and if you decide to try her services, please mention that Jan Tallent referred you.