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THE VA LIVE NEWSLETTER
Volume 8 | June 2010
 
   
Articles
1 Three advantages of hiring a virtual assistant
2

Logo: Create your own brand identity

3 How to make your telemarketing campaign a success
4 How virtual assistants can help you in data entry
 
  Three advantages of hiring a virtual assistant
Industry News
  THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
  Could You Use a Virtual Assistant?
  EDMONTON JOURNAL
  Virtual assistance offers a flexible option
  WebWorkerDaily
  Is it Time for a Shift in Your Work Strategy?
  Tribune Nigerian
  Start selling something v
 
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With the passage of time entrepreneurs have moved towards taking advantage of outsourcing. Virtual assistant service is a new way of outsourcing that can help you in making your business more profitable. Virtual assistants provide an opportunity for small to medium businesses to access the benefits of outsourcing.

Advantages of virtual assistant services are not restricted to money. There are several other advantages such as:

Increased concentration on core business activities

In the growing stage, expansion of your company may start consuming your time. It can drastically affect your core competency area. Remember it is always service or products that makes a company successful. For start-ups and small businesses it is beneficial to outsource services like documentation, database management, email management to the companies who have expertise in these domains. Outsourcing your routine tasks to virtual assistants can give you enough time to concentrate on your core business activities.

Reduction in overhead costs

It is not only salary that bothers entrepreneurs while recruiting people. Overhead costs such as office space, computer systems, internet connection and other expenses are associated with the recruitment of an employee. Sometimes, overhead costs may not be affordable with the projects that your company is handling. In that scenario, virtual assistance service is the best option. You will not pay for the office space or equipments and in turn will get all the freedom to grow your business.

Flexible staffing

Virtual assistants give you a unique opportunity. You can hire them according to your requirements. Some businesses have peak and lean seasons. Virtual assistants can work with you when your business needs some additional resource to share your burden. Virtual assistants work on the task or assignment basis. You will not be bound to pay for any extra hour. For example accountants can hire virtual assistants during tax seasons when they have loads of work to attend.

Virtual assistants are one of the most efficient ways to work smarter. Virtual assistant service providers are quite common in developing countries like China, India and Philippines. XceedAgents is a NOIDA based company that offers virtual assistant services in a professional manner. Very few companies have expertise and tools to provide seamless VA services like XceedAgents.

 Logo: Create your own brand identity

Branding is invaluable. It includes name, tagline, logo, symbol and design that help your customers to differentiate your products or services from your competitors. It is a well known fact that people remember pictures more than the text. Therefore, logo has a significant role in branding. Logo is one of the most vital marketing assets and is considered as the official trademark of your organization.

Logo provides a unique identity to your organization. It can be a symbol, sign, text or a combination of design and text. A logo should be aesthetically pleasant and easily identifiable. Following are some of the factors that should be considered while designing a logo:

Research – It is imperative to conduct a thorough research and analysis because it symbolizes an organization through a single word or icon. Logo designer should have a clear understanding of the company’s objectives and goals.

Brainstorming – Logo designer should spend some time to brainstorm. Focus on the company’s image, brand, name and character. Try to sketch all you ideas on a simple paper. It will make easier for you to decide a logo.

Balance – An appealing logo should have a perfect balance of weight, color and size. Logo designer should have a thorough knowledge of colors and the feelings associated with the particular color. The color should always be in sync with the color of the website. Use generic colors and avoid sharp colors. Don’t use too many colors on your logo. Size of your logo should always be in proportion. It is advisable to use vector graphics for logo as it can be resized.

Design – Conceptualization is the central part of logo designing. Logo should not just be an alphabet or a small piece of image. It should be able to leave an everlasting impression on your customers’ mind. Design should go well with the company’s profile. Make your designs innovative. You can use 3-d and drop shadows to give it a trendy appearance.

Fonts – If your logo has text then be extra cautious while selecting font type and size. Try to use a single font and if necessary you can use two fonts; but never more than two.

Logo designing needs expertise and therefore it should be designed by a professional graphic designer. Small business owners often neglect logos because of the costs associated with the logo designing. Nowadays, it is not difficult to find a professional logo designer that offers logo designing service at an affordable price. Companies like XceedAgents can create quality logo for just $75. As a business owner you should realize the importance of logo and the role it plays in establishing the brand identity.

 How to make your telemarketing campaign a success

Telemarketing or telesales is an effective direct marketing technique. With the increasing popularity of online social networking entrepreneurs are looking for different marketing options. However, cold calling is still the primary source of sales relationships.

Cold calling is the best way to find out the right person, communicating with the prospective clients to understand their requirements and establishing long-term relationship. Establishing contact with someone you have never met is not an easy task. With information technology moving at a fast pace you can get all the relevant information of your prospective clients. Social networking websites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Jigsaw and MySpace you can study their educational and professional background along with their personal interest and hobbies. All this information helps you to build a rapport with the person you are going to call.

As an entrepreneur you should pay close attention to your telemarketing campaign. Make sure that all your executives are answering the customer calls with same passion and mannerism. Vocabulary, grammar and diction of your telesales executive are critical for the success of your business. If possible conduct a training program on how to initiate and close sales for your company.

Telemarketers can provide customer support and can process the orders. At times they can also act as your call center. The biggest challenge is the overhead cost that is associated with the hiring and training of telemarketing executives. A successful telemarketing campaign needs high quality communication equipments and twenty four hour support that further increases your operations cost.

Depending on the finance and business requirements, you can outsource your telemarketing process to the companies who have specialization in this field. In past few years India has become a center for telemarketing jobs because of skilled manpower and high quality services. If your business needs telemarketing services at low cost then XceedAgents is a good choice. XceedAgents can provide you end-to-end solution for your telemarketing needs.

Telemarketing campaigns, if done in a proficient manner, can significantly speed up the sales cycle. XceedAgents can connect you with the right person at the right time. XceedAgents has specialized data-mining experts that can create an exhaustive list of contacts from different parts of the world. Telesales executives at XceedAgents have relevant experience to sell in a systematic manner and can build strong relationships over the phone.

How virtual assistants can help you in data entry

Data entry operations need skilled manpower and large amount of money to invest in computer equipments. It is believed that data entry outsourcing is an economical option that gives you freedom to concentrate on core business activities. By outsourcing data entry jobs to the virtual assistants who have expertise in online and offline data entry, entrepreneurs can get solution at cost effective rates.

Data entry service provides are boon for the companies that are in the business of providing reports such as business firms, insurance companies and healthcare organizations. Data entry operators can extract data from any format be it hand written, typed or scanned document.  Data typing services may include:

Data entry from paper/books
Online data extraction
Data entry from image file
Data entry from mailing lists
Data entry from business cards
Data entry into software programs
Bill/catalog data entry
Business transaction data entry
Document conversion
Formatting

Information or data is an asset for the organization and should be properly managed. Virtual assistants can provide you high quality data management service. If data entry has become a routine task and consuming your time and money then outsourcing is a strategic management option. It helps you to gain access of world class capabilities while keeping control on difficult functions.

If you need a competent data entry assistant for your business XceedAgents can deliver best solution for any kind of data entry task. XceedAgents use latest techniques to deliver great results before deadline. Outsourcing your data entry tasks to XceedAgents can reduce your data entry operation costs up to 50%.

   
   
For more information on services, please contact us
or visit our website at www.xceedagents.com
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