Communicating via Email

February 13, 2008 by Kylie Short 

Over the weekend I received an email from a potential client asking me about my services. GREAT! What was even better was that they came through my IVAA.org listing. Perfect!!

So why this post?

In talking with this potential client she told me that she had emailed 4 other VAs in Australia from the same directory and I was the only to respond to her. I was stunned. How often do we get a hot lead like this through our websites?

So my question is, if you receive an email from a potential client, how quickly should you answer it?

I believe that even if your client roster is full you need to answer the email and let them know. Who knows, maybe you know another VA who’d be perfect for that potential client and in making the connection for them your VA friend will thank you and the potential client will remember your willingness to help them find someone else. So when it comes time for them to refer a friend, who are they going to send them to?

Business to me is about building relationships. Relationships between your and your clients. Relationships between you and your colleagues including other VAs. Relationships between you and your suppliers. You need these relationships to be able to manage and grow your business.

Educating the wider business community about the value and professionalism of Virtual Assistants happens on an ongoing basis and I still get a blank look when I tell people I am a Virtual Assistant. It’s important that we treat our email habits as professionally as possible. Especially if you are like me and communicate mainly by email.

Filed under: Customer Service, General Topics, Time Management
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Comments

One Response to “Communicating via Email”

  1. Jaime Mann on February 13th, 2008 5:47 am

    Hi Kylie,

    Great point. I read somewhere that when a person makes contact by email, they expect a reply in an hour. We’re a ‘now’ society and it has come to this. I work with real estate agents, and it’s so important in that industry to reply to prospects right away, because they’re moments away from emailing the next agent on their list.

    Looks like things are shifting to that in the VA world as well :)

    Jaime

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