When’s the Last Time You Said “Yes” But Did “No” ?

Meeting organizers know too well that if you get 40 “yes” RSVPs, you’ll get 12 attendees, maybe even less.

When did it become so acceptable to say yes, I’ll be there, and then not only fail to show, but to simply ignore the entire thing?

Yes, I’m a crusty old codger who believes that manners matter as a foundation of business. But I’ll bet even you young folks would prefer to get 13 yeses and 27 maybes than have those 27 people say something they don’t really mean.

Don’t use your RSVP as a way to reward the meeting organizer for having a good idea. Don’t use it to fill up your calendar so you look busy (nobody cares if you’re busy; they’re too busy to notice.) Don’t tell them what you hope to do, tell them what you intend to do.

Hold yourself accountable for keeping your word in even the little things. It’s the only way to be absolutely sure you’ll be keeping your word when the big things come along.

Besides, your prospects might be watching, and you know you want them to think you keep your word, right?

Virtual Assistants Meetup

We live in a virtual world. As virtual assistants, for the most part, it is not necessary to leave our home office to do our work. Yet there are some cons to working solo in this environment. It can be lonely not to have the comaraderie we once had in an office setting. We no longer have the ready access to a fellow office mate to bounce ideas against and get instantaneous feedback on our work. Sure we can get that from other people online. But the connection is not quite the same.

Virtual assistants in many areas are creating meetup groups at Meetup.com. They meet regularly with one another as a group at a local setting. Here they are able to exchange ideas, brainstorm, and get encouragement to help them in their businesses. Some have other people come in and speak on topics that are of interest to the group and can help them develop their businesses.

I belong to such a group that meets in Roseville, Caliornia each month. The Northern California Virtual Assistants Meetup Group usually meets the fourth Saturday of each month. We’ve had a business coach come in and speak to us; someone else came in and spoke about their time tracking software; another coach came in to speak on getting out of our comfort zone; another came in to discuss our motivation in selling our services; another is coming to discuss organization and productivity tips.

Perhaps you can find or create a similar group in your area so that you and other virtual assistants have a way to brainstorm ideas and grow your businesses. Let’s work together to grow the virtual assistant industry.