TBBVA 017: As A Virtual Assistant, Start Recording It All, Here’s Why

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Referenced Links:

• Skype
• Google Voice
• UberConference
• InstantTeleseminar
• Pamela
• Call Recorder
• ScreenFlow
• QuickTime

Tweetables:

Record the call if you’re talking to a prospective client. #vatip Gotta Tweet!

Recording makes it easy so you can focus on what your client is saying. #vatipGotta Tweet!

A recording of a client call is gold for your content marketing. #vatip Gotta Tweet!

In Words:

Let’s dive right in. Most recently I had a prospective client and we talked in early February about her project, and we talked over Skype. We were doing Skype-to-Skype, a video call. When we first got on, I told her that I would be recording our call to help me remember everything that we talked about, you know, and if that would be okay. She said of course that would be fine, so was able to record that.

Fast-forward a couple months later and she had to get me some follow-up information from our call, and so it took a couple months for her to get back to me. So now she’s ready and now it’s time for me to write the proposal. If I hadn’t recorded our call, I know for sure just looking at the notes that I may not have had everything in place, or it wouldn’t have been totally clear.

When I revisited the notes all the information was there, but just looking at it by itself, it wasn’t exactly clear to me what all we had talked about. So the recording was such a huge help, and as soon as I went through that whole process, and I’ve been recording calls for a while, but this has been one where it’s been the longest timeframe from the time of our initial call to the time that I needed the follow-up information. So, you know, of course, I had to share it with you on the podcast because I’m not sure if this is something that you’re doing.

If you have a call with one of your prospective clients, record it.

If you’re calling from your phone, and I think a couple of podcast episodes ago, I talked about Google Voice. Google Voice will let you record. You want to always let the person on the other end know that you’re recording the call.

You can also use teleconferencing software like UberConference or InstantTeleseminar, depending on what you already have or what you know you’ll be using for future clients and want to go ahead and get some practice with yourself. Either way, those three things for voice will record: Google Voice, UberConference, and InstantTeleseminar.

Now, if you’re doing Skype calls, even if it’s voice-to-voice, you can record using these tools, and I’ll tell you in a second what they are, if it’s a voice call or video call.

You can use Pamela. That’s what I used initially when I first started recording calls, and that’s when I had a PC. I think it’s called Pamela Call Recorder. I’ll make sure the right name is in the show notes. And then Call Recorder once I got a Mac, and as I backup I also use ScreenFlow as well to record Skype video calls.

If it’s just the audio, I’ll use Pamela or Call Recorder, or even QuickTime may be an option as well. It’s been a while since I’ve tried that. That may be one-sided. I’m not 100% sure on that. But that’ll give you a start as to what to record your calls with.

The biggest key is just to put that in your mind that you’re always going to record calls if you’re talking to a prospective client.

Let them know that you’re recording and why. Your why to them is to help you remember everything that you discussed so you don’t miss any of the details.

When you have taken past classes, maybe in college or at a conference or something like that, do you find that you get all the information right away on that initial listen while you’re listening, the speaker’s talking, and you’re talking notes?

I have found that as I’m writing sometimes I’m missing a point because I’m focused on hurrying up and getting the writing down, that note down, and I miss the next thing that they said that was good also. This is why recording calls is so important. This is why when trainings are recorded, it makes all the difference in the world so we can go back and review.

I mean, even in church, we’re not getting everything in that message just by sitting there or just by taking notes while it’s happening. You’ve got to go back and listen to it again and revisit it so that information sinks in.

For our clients, we don’t want to miss a single detail, and we want to give them our undivided attention when they’re talking to us.

When a call is not recorded, you have to focus on what they’re saying and what you’re writing; getting all the notes down, and sometimes you miss details doing that. But if you’ve got a recording going and you also take like an outline of notes to kind of help jog your memory, then the combination of the two makes it so that you don’t miss a single detail. And because you know that recording is going, you can really zoom in on what they’re saying so you can ask the right questions.

Additionally, besides getting the details for their project, it helps you as well for later. These are your reasons. Now, the reason for your client is to get the details so you’ll know what they need for the project and what to ask during that call and so you can reference back later.

But that recording has even more benefits. Besides the fact that it helps you remember what you guys talked about and what you said, it also helps you to know exactly what they want.

A lot of times when you’re talking to clients, they are thinking out loud, and so it may be part brainstorming, part actually what they want, and so you have to filter through the during the conversation. Your notes may reflect that. You may have something scratched out or something that says for later or on hold, just based on how the conversation is going and what the information is that they’re providing to you.

When you can go back and revisit the whole conversation, then you get the full picture. It also lets you know exactly what to include in your proposal.

I like lists, so I like to breakdown all the different things that they need. One, two, three, four, five, whatever it is. It helps me to know as a checklist for when we’re actually working, but also to let them know the rates and this is what’s included based on what we talked about for your project.

It’ll help you know what to charge because you know exactly what you have to do, what’s included, when, and all the specific details that they outlined to you or that you found out as a result of the questions that you asked them.

This recording will also help you not to overextend yourself because you’re adding extra things to fill in based on your notes because you don’t fully remember the details. It also helps you not to under price because you won’t leave any of the detail out because you’ve got that full recording. You’ve got the whole conversation as a reference point.

The recording is also gold for your content marketing.

There are lots of questions that you ask, that your client asks of you, that will help you write content for your blog, for social media, for policies and procedures, for future standards of operation, for systemizing. Because you may start to notice that people are asking the same question each time during your initial call, and because you’ve got those recordings, it’s information you can refer back to, to specifically get information for content.

The recording is rich. It goes beyond just having all those specific details for your client. It makes it easy so you can focus in right on what they’re saying. You know you’ve got something that you can refer back to later. Because who in the world remembers everything that you talk about in a conversation? Unless you have superpowers, I think a lot of us are missing the details because we don’t have anything to refer back to.

Even if you’ve got notes, there’s nothing like getting that recording and having the two together.

I highly recommend you start recording your calls with your prospective clients. Let them know first and you’ll be glad that you did. You won’t miss any of the details.

Thanks so much for tuning in. If you like what you heard, stay tuned. We’ll be back. Tell me what’s going on with you. Come on over the Facebook page: facebook.com/tiffanyparsonbiz, or if you prefer a little shorter message, come on over to Twitter: @tiffanydparson.

See you next time.