Posts Tagged "Value"

You're Missing the Value Proposition

Posted by Erin Blaskie on Nov 19, 2009 in blog, Virtual Assistance | 18 comments

Do you ever get the feeling that sometimes people miss the value proposition you are setting forth? Like, it’s the biggest part of your business… the biggest attribute to your clients but because it’s so obvious, it gets overlooked?  That’s what is inspiring this blog post.

Now, I know it’s YOUR job, as entrepreneur / business owner / CEO / leader, to set forth your value proposition and describe the benefit statements to your clients, colleagues, etc. but do you ever find yourself still trying to show the REAL value?

Our virtual assistance services / creative, professional outsourcing services are priced in the mid-pricing scale of virtual assistance companies.  We offer excellent services for the online business owner and we have a team of people that my clients can plug into and rely on to get their work done.  We offer more diverse skill sets and services than a lot of solopreneur companies will.  All of these are great benefit statements and selling points.

But here’s the thing most people miss… I built my clients a team.

If you are working with a multi-VA firm, that firm’s owner built YOU a team.  You didn’t have to.  The hiring, the process of making sure the talent was good enough, shortening the know/like/trust factor was all done for you.  Hours spent unbillable doing interviews, creating sub-contractor agreements, e-mail addresses, Basecamp accounts, etc. was completed when you got here.

Now, I’m not moaning about the time spent building a multi-VA team and I certainly know it was my choice in creating a large company but I realized the other day that when people say, “You’re a little more expensive than other virtual assistants” I should respond, “I know!  We should be!”  THAT is our value.

Our benefit statement is that I’ve created YOU a company with web designers, blog designers, graphic designers, internet marketing support people, administrative support staff, PHP programmers, social media assistants… the list continues so that you don’t have to scour the web looking.  You don’t have to waste your time.

So, all this to say that if you are working with a multi-VA team and you are complaining about rates (or even gently trying to get even further discounted rates) remember that the time spent building this team was all done so you wouldn’t have to do it.

Do you have a benefit statement that is so obvious it gets missed?  If so, share it!

Using Ning to Create a Value-Added Service

Posted by Erin Blaskie on Jan 15, 2009 in blog, Web & Technology | 0 comments

Today I put together a Ning group for my clients. I’ve been thinking for a long time about a way I could pull together my clients in a non-intrusive way to allow them to network with one another, share opportunities and a place where my team and I could post opportunities we came across.  When I say opportunities, I mean things like book launches where our clients are looking for bonuses, telesummits where our clients need additional speakers, etc.

For those of you who don’t know, Ning.com is a website where you can build your very own social network.  It’s a place that allows total customization in both the look and feel of the site as well as the layout and features that are included.

In the Savvy Social Networking course (which just ended and is now being turned into a self-study program), we looked at how to setup and customize Ning and how to use it effectively in your business.

Here is a screenshot of the Inner Circle group for our clients:

The beauty of a group like this is that your clients can then have access to a place where they can setup their own profiles, sharing as much or as little information as they wish, and you can post information to your clients in one place.  I anticipate that as this grows (we just started inviting our clients), our clients will find immense value in being able to communicate with one another.

In my business, I am always trying to see where I can provide good value and add on value for our clients.  This year our focus is really turned inward as much as it is turned outward so that we can make sure our clients are setup for success and we are providing the tools they need.

What do you do to provide value to your business for your clients and customers?

[tags]Value, value-add, value-added, Ning, Ning.com, social network, social networking, social networks, Erin Blaskie, BSETC, internet marketing, internet marketing strategy, internet marketing strategist[/tags]