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Bio and Article by Gayle Santana
Gayle Santana left an accomplished career in corporate
America to pursue her own full time on-line business. She is an expert
on supplying virtual support services to entrepreneurs and publishers.
She helps entrepreneurs run profitable businesses with her ability to
organize a startup business effectively in their nascent stages.
Gayle empowers virtual businesses by handling the tedious
details of the day to day operations of a business, therefore freeing
up entrepreneurs to focus on the big picture. More importantly she frees
up netpreneurs to have more time to generate sales.
Furthermore, Santana helps them handle their personal
and business workflow effectively and to manage a team to expand their
business. Santana manages a network of virtual assistants with her on-line
business Professional Virtual Services (www.PVSnetwork.com). Ms. Santana
also has experience with helping Black - Minority - Women - or disadvantaged
businesses get the appropriate certifications to be considered for contracts
with major corporations or the US Government. Read her article below on
running a successful Internet business.
OBJECTS
IN THE MIRROR ARE FURTHER THAN THEY APPEAR
"The Key to Running a Successful Virtual Company
or Department By Gayle E. Santana"
Definition From http://www.merriamwebster.com -- "Virtual:
- being such in essence or effect though not formally recognized or admitted."
Virtual Businesses offer Real
World Profitability
Let's face it, most of the Fortune 500 companies are doing it. When you
press five for customer service and you imagine a department on another
floor, you are actually being routed, sometimes overseas, to a remote
call center. These days, virtual or remote departments and workers exist
in every aspect of business. In an online article called Good Times for
Call Centers, at Network World Fusion (www.nwfusion.com) , a quote By
Toni Kistner states "Customers include 1-800 Flowers, several marquis-name
catalog and e-commerce retailers, as well as several retailers that sell
direct via TV infomercials." Another article about Cisco advertising
ventures at www.cisco.com states, "Thanks to Cisco, we keep a small
group of our best people working effectively, when and where they want
to while also empowering us to bring in specialists from around the world,
if and when needed to support our 15 person staff. These people work virtually
as if they were in the office next door."
"Virtuality" is the hottest trend in business
today. The recognition that four walls are not needed to establish a company
presence has sparked the imagination of virtually everyone. But no one
wants to admit it! Does the call center mention that they are located
in Taiwan? You have a problem and you want it solved. As long as the end
result is accomplished you, as the customer, are satisfied. If this result
is accomplished pleasantly and efficiently, you are more than satisfied,
you are now an assured repeat customer.
Making a Virtual Business Work
As an employee, you want to feel confident in your product
knowledge, an integral part of the company and included in its vision,
mission and results, and not treated like an outsider. Being left in the
dark is not only a death knoll for employee loyalty, it can eventually
erode your company! The efficacy of virtual departments and companies
is evident. They can work. What is the most important factor? Having worked
with cutting-edge companies that embrace and utilize "Virtuality",
I have seen successes, situations that need improvement, and total failures.
My observance of this has led me to the following conclusion:
That communication is the absolute key to success in such ventures. The
quality of communication between employees as well as customers will determine
your future success, period. Your employees cannot be effective unless
they are informed and have a feeling of belonging. They must be knowledgeable
about the company mission, values, goals and products. They must be excellent
with troubleshooting but without communication how effective can they
be? Their feelings are most certainly conveyed to the client or customer.
If they feel connected and informed, it comes through.
Start with a Virtual PBX System
Great technology can most assuredly help in the area of
communication. A phone system that keeps you all connected, seamlessly
is the beginning. There are many products on the market, but my personal
experience with one in particular has been most satisfactory. Virtual
PBX, a system available through Access Direct, (www.messagingservice.com)
is wonderful.
A local number (or 800 number, depending upon your preference)
is established. For a virtual company, having a staff (for example) of
say six virtual employees, the auto attendant will go down the line "for
John Doe, press 1, for Mary Doe, press 2. You are then seamlessly routed
to your party, whatever that employee's preference; cell phone, landline,
etc. The employee is then alerted that the incoming call is from the company
with an announcement of "To accept this call, press 1, to return
this call to voicemail, press 2)". If the call is routed to voicemail,
not only will that message be waiting in your voicemail box, it is also
routed to your email address, so they can click and listen through their
desktop computer speakers or, we can send a brief e-mail text message
to their cell phone, letting them know a new message is waiting. This
system not only works beautifully, it's affordable.
Teleconferencing is the Way
to Go!
Weekly or monthly staff meetings will foster camaraderie
amongst the staff, keep everyone in touch with what is going on in the
company and personalize relationships. Using a "bridge line"
is great for this. Eagle Teleconferencing (www.eagleconf.com) is a great
company to use. For companies that can afford video conferencing, this
is the piece d' resistance in the world of virtuality. This is the perfect
vehicle for enforcing or updating the company mission, values and goals
and also to listen to and address employee concerns and needs, not to
mention the next best thing to being in front of your customers. But we
are getting away from what matters most because it's not really about
the equipment you use. Even if it's just the landline phone or the dreaded
snail mail, communicating with everyone, often, is the key.
The Personal Touch goes a Long
Way
Having someone to touch base with your customers, adding
the personal touch (thereby eliminating or at least lessening, the impersonality
fostered by technology) can create customer loyalty.
A customer outreach program - - someone call just to say
hello, update contact information and keeping your company in the face
of customers can have a direct impact by increasing business because you
have placed yourself in the forefront of their minds and they may possibly
make an order right there. Sending a useful, yet inexpensive gift or a
thoughtful card can help. Terrie Williams, of the Terrie Williams Agency,
has built her success on the foundation of "The Personal Touch"
which is also the title of her book. "… you can learn to succeed
by taking the time to know the person you're trying to contact or deal
with-even those with whom you've already established a relationship."
Doing something a little extra can go a long way with your
employees as well. First, knowing something about your remote employees,
and sending little personalized cards or gifts accordingly, will foster
loyalty. If you really want to go over the top, here's a suggestion. Know
the location of your remote employees and research the local deli or restaurant
that provides delivery. Order coffee and Danish from each, paying via
credit card and have it delivered at the time of a weekly or monthly staff
meeting. It takes a bit of effort to be "personal" but the rewards
can affect your bottom line in keeping the loyalty of employees and customers
alike.
How can you find the time to be personal and run a company
when there aren't enough hours in the day? Outsource! Use a professional
service to make this happen for you. PVS Network is one company that specializes
in providing a myriad of services to the small to midsize business on
an as-needed basis at affordable rates. It is a company that understands
the challenges and demands of the new state of "Virtuality"
and addresses those challenges creatively. For more information contact
gayle@pvsnetwork.com. or see her site at: PVS
network
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