This presentation is an add-on to http://www.bsetc.ca/intheask. The presentation focuses on how to ask for what you want and does include live screen demos. A recording of that video can be found on the URL above.

1. Delegating 101: It’s All in How You Ask Erin Blaskie www.bsetc.com @ErinBlaskie (Twitter)

2. A Little About Me Launched my virtual assistance firm, BSETC (www.bsetc.com) in 2004 Have serviced over 300 entrepreneurs around the globe with their online business Currently have a team of nineteen service professionals

3. A Little About You Entrepreneur: looking to delegate but want to make sure you are effective. Entrepreneur: currently delegating, getting okay results but room for improvement. Entrepreneur: currently delegating but not getting the results you want. Virtual assistant: looking for better ways to communicate to your clients.

4. Leadership & Learning are Indispensible to each other. -- John F. Kennedy

5. Primary Delegation Frustrations Lack of communication. Deadlines not met. Issues around trust and release of tasks. Unsure about when things will come back. Feeling overwhelmed by the process. Not sure about what to let go and what to keep.

6. Primary Frustrations When Receiving Tasks on the VA End of Things No details given on a project – left to guess. Not receiving positive feedback but only hearing the negative / what’s wrong. No clear deadlines or timelines provided. Client not understanding how long tasks take and client assuming 24-hours is enough leeway for tasks. Everything being “urgent”.

7. How Wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. -- Anne Frank

8. It’s All in the “Ask” Asking for what you want clearly provides you with: Increased responsiveness Clarity on the project reducing edits, back and forth and longer turnaround Calmness in the work being delegated Improved relationships

9. But, It’s Tough... Entrepreneurs hesitate spending the time to properly “ask” because: They feel like that is why they are delegating... To avoid the time spent. They just want to offload instead of actively participating in the process. There is a feeling that things are clear in their mind so they think it will translate easily.

10. Excellent Delegation Includes... Precise, focused direction and vision Examples, screenshots and supporting URLs Short, concise wording with bullet points Utilizing the tools and the systems Clarity on deadlines Giving enough lead time on projects Being okay with the back and forth

11. Poor Delegation Includes... Total lack of direction / vision Contradicting language Lengthy paragraphs Avoiding the systems the VA has setup Sending multiple messages in different places Not giving clear deadlines Becoming quickly frustrated

12. The Good, The Bad & The Ugly in Delegation Tools Basecamp Basecamp allows you to create workflow. Most virtual assistants already use Basecamp for their clients. E-mail Delegating tasks through e-mail is not advised as there is no tracking and very little task management.

13. The Good, The Bad & The Ugly in Delegation Tools Phone Telephone is only good if the notes taken on the call and the items discussed are put directly into Basecamp or whatever system you use. Skype / Instant Messenger Avoid delegating items through instant messenger altogether as there is not a good way to delegate tasks and record them.

14. Step One: Utilize Tools to Support “The Ask” Action Item #1 Setup Basecamp or have your virtual assistant add a new project to their account for you. Things to Watch For Now that you have a system, don’t find things to add in there just to use it. This is used to compliment what you are doing and not create more chaos.

15. Step Two: Using the Tools to “Ask” Basecamp Live demo of software. SnagIt Live demo of the power of screenshots to compliment your delegating “asks” Color Swatches, Background Patterns Googling Great Samples

16. We should work on our process, not the outcome of our processes. -- W. Edwards Deming

17. Tools You May Want to Use Basecamp - http://bit.ly/3xm3s SnagIt- http://www.techsmith.com/screen-capture.asp Audio Acrobat - http://bit.ly/UgNih Kuler - http://kuler.adobe.com/ Maxemail - http://www.maxemail.com/

18. Engage With Me So That I May Engage With You @ErinBlaskie on Twitter www.erinblaskie.com and www.bsetc.com erin@erinblaskie.com

19. If you are not moving closer to what you want in sales (or in life), you probably aren't doing enough asking. -- Jack Canfield