2010 will go over as the last year this virtual assistant will be over-marketed.

Email is my primary method of communication. I monitor several email Inboxes boxes, which quickly fill-up with marketing messages faster than I can hit the delete button.

Email Marketers use numerous tactics to increase their chances that I will open their email promotions. But the practice has backfired as many of these email marketing ploys have ended up in my delete box.

You see, marketing messages do not excite me anymore. It’s just too much hype.

I have been over-marketed and I am tired.

There was a time when I was motivated to read an article entitled, “9 Deadly Mistakes to Avoid…” or “Killer Marketing Methods You Can’t Afford to Pass Up” or “Smokin’ Hot Tips”.

But then EVERYONE started with ‘killer-this’ and ‘deadly-that’. By mid-year, every CD, eBook or Teleseminar was “Smokin’ Hot” and ‘Chock-full” of something or other. (I exaggerate to make a point.)

And so the thrill was gone.

Just tell it like it is.

Squeeze Pages Gone Wild

Squeeze pages or marketing pages no longer intrigue me. I once thought these sites were rather clever with their colorful fonts, lots of white space, enthusiastic text, ‘…if you click this button now you will receive direct to your Inbox, “10 Killer Tips (yep, ‘killer tips’, gag!) Which Will Make You Six Figures Richer in Six Months”.

And that was fine for a while, until I began to loathe the term ‘Six Figures’.  Nearly every email marketer was using this self-despised term which I coined as ‘snake oil’ sales promotions.

The ‘six figure’ phrase preys upon the vulnerable so it is a shady term in my marketing book

I am not saying that creating ‘six-figure’ financial goals is wrong or that making ‘six figures’ does not happen for entrepreneurs. Many, many folks have made six-figure-plus fortunes.

But the term is overused. And when the promotional verbiage is no longer a unique selling tool, the credibility factor decreases.

It would be my wish that Marketers could be truthful and use a definite, realistic dollar amount claim instead of using an imaginary, general term which conjures up nothing more in my mind than ambiguity.

But the reality is this…consumers do not want the truth. They want to believe they can make ‘six figures’. And who is to say that someone will more likely open an email that states, “Make $50 More Per Week” versus “Make Six Figures in 12 months”?

And those contentious squeeze pages!

These are Marketing Emails which contain miles and miles of text with no clickable way ‘out of the website mire’ EXCEPT to buy the product or sign-up for a newsletter loaded with more self-promoting ads.

I feel trapped when I click on a squeeze page. But I know that they are a valuable tool for Marketers and if one is to make ‘six figures’ then marketers will employ every online tactic available.

Oh, no…not another Hover Ad!

Hovering ads over text on site pages are Everywhere! My knee jerk reaction is to click the X to remove these messages.

At one time, hovering ads were ‘polite’ and clever marketing ploys. Hover ads would appear in the corner of the viewing screen and quickly fade away. Now, a hover ad comes at me as if to pop out of the screen and wrap its beady little corners around my face.

It takes several minutes to find the X to close these gigantic ads, which are ever more hidden in the background colors. Hover ads refuse to ‘go away’ quietly.

I am reminded of one instance where I clicked on an article link and was taken to a website. Without warning, an ENORMOUS pop-up ad came out at me which can only be described as ‘shocking’. It took me several minutes to find the X to close the ad that I totally forgot why I even came to that page! I did, however, find the X to close out the entire site all together so nothing was accomplished for that marketer.

As a marketing virtual assistant, I know that if a hovering message appears 100 times a day prompting one individual to sign on, this may mean another online sale for the advertiser.  But how many others are turned away with such ‘in yer face’ ads?

What’s In Your Email Subject Title?

Getting the recipient to open an email message is the most important objective in email marketing. If the receiver does not open the message, then nothing within that message will be read. So Marketers create email message titles which must insight a user to open.

But some of these marketing message titles simply border on vagueness and possible deception.

Earlier this year I read an article entitled, “Why No Business Should Be Involved In Online Social Networking”. The title was a great hook but the article was really about businesses being involved in social marketing and not necessarily social networking.  After reading the article, the difference between the two terms was not significant. Many readers voiced a negative opinion to the author about the vague title more so than the contents of the article.

This backfired for the author.

So as I begin a new work year, I surmise that reading junk email marketing will find a smaller place in my work day.

I’m watching more videos now and listening to podcasts while I work.  I am also signing on for more teleseminars and viewing more PowerPoint presentations. This is how I am receiving my marketing information and I feel more in control of how I spend my time.

Recently, I have ‘been on’ a few back-to-back consultations with potential clients. Each conversation had to be fine-tuned on the spot depending upon the clients’ expertise with working with a VA and in regard to his/her use of the internet.  Since consults are not ‘one size fits all’ this post can help VAs to customize the conversation to achieve maximum results.

*note RFP used herein is a Request for Proposal. This is the form that potential clients complete with information regarding their virtual assistant needs.
*Letter of Intent is the reply letter a VA writes in response to the RFP.

1)      Research, Research And More Research – If there is any tidbit of information you will take away from this post this will be it:  Research the client’s website and business as much as possible before dialing the phone. I suggest going one step further and research as much as possible before hitting the send button to reply to the initial RFP itself.  Although each Letter of Intent should be customized to the client’s requirements, take more time than usual to know the client because you may not have much time to do the research between the time you hit send and the time the client replies back to your customized letter of intent.  I have been in close-timing situations and have had mere minutes to vamp-up my research before I called the client back. Being prepared ahead of time will thwart being caught off-guard because you may need to book an immediate consult. It happens.

2)      Be Careful How You Phrase Your Opinions – Before making the consult call (and creating the Letter of Intent), make a list of what you think can be improved on the website or blog but do not come forward right away with a critique while on the phone with the potential client. Wait until the client asks for your opinion and phrase your critique as such, “If your website heading is decreased in size you can offer more information about your business above the page fold” or “If you add your social marketing badges to your home page, you can increase your membership”.  Making suggestions as opposed to saying, “The header is too big” or “The web page is messy” may make for bad vibes during the consult. Diplomacy is key.

3)      If the client indicates that they do not know how to do something while you explain what services you can provide, offer to show them how to do it. You may think that offering to train a client, for example how to post a blog will take away work from you; I actually believe that this leads to more work, which is what we all really want as virtual assistants.  I believe in offering to share my knowledge with a client for three reasons:  First, you will get paid for training; Second, once you spend more time teaching the client a task, this helps to build a relationship and solidifies you as the expert and, Three, these tasks lead to more work because then you can make suggestions as to how the task can be fine-tuned. The latter is much easier to do when you have built a rapport with the client.

4)      During the consultation call, be keen and listen to the client as they speak. Clues to how much expertise they have will be apparent just by listening. It can be embarrassing for the VA to review services the client is already familiar with.  In fact it is a waste of time.  Some clients know what ftp might be, while others have no idea.  Do not assume a client knows the entire internet ‘lingo’ so it pays to be clear during conversation without being too ‘techie’. It is easier to consult with client who has already worked with a VA so be sure you know this information in advance. 

5) If the client is seeking to replace their VA, it pays to know why but never be intrusive by asking outright. Most clients will say if they are replacing their VA upfront.  Use that information to your advantage.  For example, if the client states, “My VA does not know how to post a blog”, that would be your cue to indicate this is a service you offer (if you do, of course). But do not ask why the VA is being replaced. Only use the information if offered to indicate what you can offer to fill that hole.

Finally, evaluate each consultation call immediately after hanging up.  What could you have done better? What did you do well that you can use for the next call?  Consultations calls can improve over time.

Janine Gregor