Carol Deckert is a Virtual Assistant, working out of her home in beautiful, scenic Amish country - Lancaster, PA! Although she lives in PA, her client base has no geographical limitations – the beauty of working virtually! She specializes in marketing support and administrivia, such as database management, mailing list brokering, mailing services, contact management such as handwritten notes and cards and customized Keep-In-Touch Programs for her clients, event/teleseminar/seminar management and association management.

Her background includes executive level secretary duties for 35+ years and 13 years of business ownership. She opened ASAP Business Services in 1993 as a result of loosing her job to a company closing (the first time ever being unemployed in her life!). Having no capital to start the business, Carol relied on word-of-mouth marketing and community involvement and soon the business grew to include 10 employees. In 2002, she changed the name of the company to operate as an independent consultant, and moved her office back to her home in order to slow down a little and enjoy time with her 5 grandchildren. Virtual Assistant & Marketing Support Specialist Consider It Done - Virtually!

What is the difference between on-line (virtual) networking and face-to-face networking?

Thank you, Heidi, for the opportunity to be here today. Networking is a passion of mine and I am happy to share what I know. I appreciate questions and comments so please feel free to share!

There really is no difference at all. When networking virtually, you begin to “speak” to someone online, the same as you would at a networking function. The questions to begin a conversation could be as simple as “how long have you been a member” or “have you met any interesting people that you think I should meet” or the basic get-to-know-you questions. The one area to steer away from is getting very personal until you know who you are dealing with. Unfortunately online predators lurk on business networks as well as social networks.

How do I determine if I should participate in a social or business community online?

Are you looking to build business contacts or are you looking to spend some time “chatting”? Many business owners don’t have time to just “chat” and are interested in meeting people that could influence their business or provide much needed resources for them or their contacts. In a social community, you will find people that are retired, single, etc., looking to meet someone to spend time talking with. Again, please get to know someone before you give away too much personal information.

How much time is needed or how often do I need to participate in order to see results from my networking?

In my networking, I spend approximately 1-2 hours daily. I don’t want to “scare anyone away” by saying that. As a Virtual Assistant I am on my computer all day and it is very easy for me to “flip” back and forth from my networks to completing my client work. As with face-to-face networking, you need to determine how much time you have to spend doing your networking. Remember, networking IS marketing and time should be devoted to doing this on a regular basis. For some people it’s one time a week, others it’s once a day and others check in with their networks every few weeks or so. What fits into your networking/marketing time budget?

Do I need to set goals to network virtually?

Absolutely! If you don’t know what you expect to gain from your networking, how will you know when you receive it? Are you looking to simply make connections? Are you looking for potential clients? Are you looking to find contacts in different organizations? Are you looking for someone to introduce you to someone in a specific company or industry? All these questions are filtered into the goals you set for yourself in networking.

Where can I find places to network online?

If you don’t know where to begin, start with checking Yahoo Groups, Google Groups, and other search engine related groups. I would be happy to recommend using WECAI, NAFE, LinkedIn, Ryze, WorldWIT and SoFlow. Be sure to provide a detailed profile so others can find out more about you and will contact you as well to begin building relationships.

How many groups should I participate in?

Again, this would be determined by how much time you are willing to devote to networking. The more groups you participate in, the more people will get to know you. One of my favorite comments I receive is that people are saying to me “I see you everywhere!” That’s exactly what I am trying to do – build awareness of me and my services!

How do I follow-up after participating in an on-line (virtual) networking activity?

Since you are networking virtually, it is very easy to begin following up via email. Be sure to get the receiver’s permission to follow-up with them before you begin with emails. As the conversation builds, ask permission to go further – add them to your mailing list, keep them up-to-date with new happenings with you or your business, send them newsletters. Be sure to get their important information in your database such as day and month of their birthday – send them online birthday cards. A great thing to ask is the anniversary date of the start of their business and every year send them a congratulations for being in business x number of years card! A great way to keep in touch!

What is needed to build an on-line relationship? How much personal information should be divulged?

Be very careful when divulging personal information. As in a face-to-face setting, always know who you are giving out personal contact information to - online predators are almost more deadly than offline predators. To begin your on-line relationship, start talking about business issues - how did you start your business, what motivated you to do so, how long have you been in business, is this a franchise or family-owned business, did you start this business with your own ideas, how long have you been operating your business (or been in this profession); where do you see yourself in the next 3 or 5 years. I would suggest starting out with that type of "personal" information and leave out the actual addresses and telephone numbers, unless you want contacted for business at those numbers. For example, I am home-based, so I do give out my home phone number as my office number, however, I also have Caller ID so that I know who is calling me and I can decide whether or not to pick up the call.

Do I need a website to network virtually?

Absolutely Not! However, having said that, if you do have a website, make sure your signature blocks contain that information and you DO give out the web address. Websites are a great way to learn more about a business or the people operating it. For virtual networking, if you have a profile (like LinkedIn) that is published to the web, that is more than sufficient to get started.

What should be included in my signature to network in an on-line forum?

Include your name, company name, email, website address and a contact telephone number. Some people also include a special they are running, a book they just wrote or some other tidbit of information. Bottom line, make sure you are able to be contacted!

Win-Win relationships – what is this?

Win/Win relationships are when you are able to give business as well as receive business with your connection(s). In order to be a good networker, this should be a primary goal.

How can our guests contact you?

Please contact me at caroldeckert@comcast.net or via telephone at 717-394-6453. You may also find out more about me by viewing my LinkedIn Profile at http://www.linkedin.com/in/caroldeckert.

Thank you very much for allowing me to be part of your day today. These are two great organizations that I am looking forward to participating with and getting more involved.

If you have any questions about me or my services, please feel free to contact me!