The Top 8 Tools for Your Virtual Office – Part 2
By Gayle Buske, President and CEO, Team Double-Click® and VirtualAssistingUSA
By now we hope you’ve had the opportunity to begin using the tools we discussed in Part 1 to begin setting up your virtual office. You should have your virtual phone and fax set up and should be easily sharing files with your virtual assistant. Now it’s time to move on and finish putting the tools in place to complete your virtual office.
File Collaboration
It’s very easy, these days, to work on the same document along with your virtual assistant. For smaller documents simply emailing the document to the virtual assistant so they can make updates and such works well. Be sure to use MS Word’s “track changes” function (“tools menu”, “track changes”) so each of you knows what changes the other has made.
For larger documents or those in which you need more than two people collaborating, there are two great services we recommend for your virtual office.
- LapLink ShareDirect: http://www.laplink.com/products/sharedirect/overview.asp This is a great tool for going paperless. It allows instant sharing of any folder on your PC with one or thousands of users, without ever having to change or manage your Internet, firewall, or router configurations. And it is 256-bit encrypted!
Calendar and Outlook Contact Sharing
4TeamBiz: This is a great company who has designed a software program which allows you to share your Outlook contacts and calendar with your virtual assistant and vice versa. The program plugs right into your Outlook so when your VA adds a new contact for you, you will automatically receive that contact’s info. Your VA can make changes to your calendar and schedule appointments and they will appear in your calendar. Check out www.4Team.biz.com.
Google Calendar: If you and your virtual assistant need to share a calendar or spread sheets, Google offers a free calendar that both of you can view and change, as well as, being able to upload spreadsheets, that you can both make changes to and view. Just do a Google search for “Google Calendar” to locate it.
Meeting With Clients and Virtual Staff in a Virtual Office
In some cases, of course, you’ll need to visit the client or a business prospect in person to seal a deal. But for the most part, many of your meetings with both staff and clients can easily be handled from a distance. Try these services:
- Conference calls: www.freeconferencecall.com. With FreeConferenceCall you can have as many as 99 people on the line at once. Everyone dials into the main conference call line where you can hold meetings, conduct teleseminars, coach, train, or teach.
- Online meetings: www.gotomeeting.com For a few dollars a month you can make use of Go To Meeting, which allows you to simultaneously “meet” with clients or associates via the web. When you set up a meeting you will be given a conference call line for all attendees to dial in and hear you speak, along with being able to allow them to see your computer screen while you talk. This lets you demonstrate or train on software or show a PowerPoint presentation from the comfort of your own desk and without the travel costs.
- DimDim: If you’re looking for free software to handle your online meetings then you can’t beat DimDim www.dimdim.com. It also allows you to simultaneously “meet” with clients or associates via the web. Many of our clients are using this now!
Contact Relationship Management (CRM)
Of course, if you wish to have your virtual assistant enter leads into your database, or help with contact relationship management, you’ll need something that’s accessible to both of you. Here are a few we recommend:
- Sales Force www.salesforce.com
- cBiz www.cbizsoft.com (this system is designed for staffing but is fully customizable and has many possible applications)
- Top Producer www.topproducer.com (for real estate)
- Constant Contact www.constantcontact.com
- Sharper Agent www.sharperagent.com
Armed And Ready To Be Virtual
Now you are fully armed and ready to be virtual! Of course there are thousands of software options available to you so if you don’t find what you’re looking for here then perhaps we can help. Our experienced team of Virtual Services Representatives are available to take you call and can place you with a virtual assistant who will also have knowledge of the latest software to benefit your virtual office. Call us today for your free consultation.
Did you happen to miss part 1 of the Top Eight Tools For Your Virtual Office? You can read it by visiting http://www.virtualassistingusa.com/free_articles/topeighttools1.html
About the author:
Gayle Buske is the co-founder, president and CEO of Team Double-Click and VirtualAssistingUSA. As the head of a virtual staffing agency with over 57,000 virtual professionals in its pool, Ms. Buske is uniquely qualified to aid small business owners in their growth and development through virtual outsourcing. Virtual Assistants across the globe look to Ms. Buske and her organizations for guidance, mentoring and motivation.
Team Double-Click®, the country’s foremost staffing agency for trained Virtual Assistants – Matching Top Virtual Workers with Top Companies! Visit http://www.teamdoubleclick.com for a variety of full-service virtual staffing options.
VirtualAssistingUSA provides virtual assistants a place to upload their profile, advertise their services and get access to affordable training, marketing and billing assistance for their business. VirtualAssistingUSA gives small business owners direct access to our database of tens of thousands of virtual assistants – without the ongoing agency fees and gives them access to talent that is not available through other venues. Visit http://www.virtualassistingusa.com for more information.
