Secretarial Services - These Expensive Mistakes Will Reduce Your Profits
Are you interested in starting a secretarial service business and providing secretarial services from home? By learning from other people's mistakes, you can increase your profits and become successful faster when starting a home-based secretarial service business.
Mistake 1: Selling features instead of solutions.
Benefits sell.
Features explain.
If your secretarial services can solve someone's problem, you'll have a profitable business.
Don't tell prospective customers how great you are or how fast you can type.
Instead, tell them how you can solve their problems.
For example, providing word processing services is a feature.
Helping them with overload work and saving them time by performing some of their routine secretarial work and word processing is a benefit.
Mistake 2: Not asking for the sale.
After mentioning the benefits businesses will get from using your secretarial services, showing samples of your work or providing testimonials of happy clients, you must ask for the sale.
If you are not asking for the business, you're not bringing in as much money as you could be.
Have a call to action (e.
g.
call now) in your literature and on your web site.
Ask for the sale when talking to people on the phone or in person.
Mistake 3: Not following up with past customers.
It is easier to get repeat business from existing customers than it is to get a new customer.
Asking your existing customers for referrals is the easiest way to get new customers.
You must follow up with your customers.
If you are not getting in touch with past customers regularly you are losing money.
Mistake 4: Not managing your time effectively.
When you work from home, nobody is telling you what to do.
It's also easy to get distracted by family members and friends.
Setting a schedule for work and personal time and sticking to it will prevent days going by without getting much work done.
Draw a clear line between work and non-work time.
Prioritize and make sure you get the most important work done.
Train your family and friends not to distract you during your business hours.
Mistake 5: Control expenses.
Check your business expenses regularly and only buy supplies and equipment you need to provide secretarial services.
Don't reduce your profits by spending more than you need.
Mistake 6: Not looking professional.
Make your home office suitable for clients' visits.
Make sure your home office looks professional and builds trust.
Even if you are conducting most of your secretarial business through email, you may have clients who visit your home office occasionally.
Give a good impression with a clean house and an organized work area.
Keep family members out of the way when meeting clients and turn off the TV.
Have someone look after your children while you have a meeting with a client or plan your meetings when your children are at school.
Learn from the mistakes from other secretarial services, and avoid making the same mistakes yourself in your own secretarial business.
Then, dive in and get started.
Mistake 1: Selling features instead of solutions.
Benefits sell.
Features explain.
If your secretarial services can solve someone's problem, you'll have a profitable business.
Don't tell prospective customers how great you are or how fast you can type.
Instead, tell them how you can solve their problems.
For example, providing word processing services is a feature.
Helping them with overload work and saving them time by performing some of their routine secretarial work and word processing is a benefit.
Mistake 2: Not asking for the sale.
After mentioning the benefits businesses will get from using your secretarial services, showing samples of your work or providing testimonials of happy clients, you must ask for the sale.
If you are not asking for the business, you're not bringing in as much money as you could be.
Have a call to action (e.
g.
call now) in your literature and on your web site.
Ask for the sale when talking to people on the phone or in person.
Mistake 3: Not following up with past customers.
It is easier to get repeat business from existing customers than it is to get a new customer.
Asking your existing customers for referrals is the easiest way to get new customers.
You must follow up with your customers.
If you are not getting in touch with past customers regularly you are losing money.
Mistake 4: Not managing your time effectively.
When you work from home, nobody is telling you what to do.
It's also easy to get distracted by family members and friends.
Setting a schedule for work and personal time and sticking to it will prevent days going by without getting much work done.
Draw a clear line between work and non-work time.
Prioritize and make sure you get the most important work done.
Train your family and friends not to distract you during your business hours.
Mistake 5: Control expenses.
Check your business expenses regularly and only buy supplies and equipment you need to provide secretarial services.
Don't reduce your profits by spending more than you need.
Mistake 6: Not looking professional.
Make your home office suitable for clients' visits.
Make sure your home office looks professional and builds trust.
Even if you are conducting most of your secretarial business through email, you may have clients who visit your home office occasionally.
Give a good impression with a clean house and an organized work area.
Keep family members out of the way when meeting clients and turn off the TV.
Have someone look after your children while you have a meeting with a client or plan your meetings when your children are at school.
Learn from the mistakes from other secretarial services, and avoid making the same mistakes yourself in your own secretarial business.
Then, dive in and get started.
