well i receive this e-mail from a prospective client a while ago and he was asking me to include my written system for preparing and consuming breakfast... any comments? you see i want to ask for your opinions.. i don't want to loose this opportunity again..

please help..

I am not sure if I understand. What do you mean by written system? Do you mean writing samples?

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Brenda A. Jones
www.brevos.com

Ok, now that has got to be the strangest request I've ever heard of...lol It sounds as if he wants to know your process for breakfast as a way to view your thought processes and verbalizing them step by step (remember when we had to do this type of thing in school? I showed everyone how to make brownies from a box).

Before I'd do something that seems a bit silly, I would probably want at least an initial consultation with this client to make sure he wasn't a crackpot(you may have already done this, but didn't mention it). If what he wants is what I mentioned above, then think it through step by little step and have someone else follow it word for word as if they've never done it before. It'll help you fill in any whole's you may have missed.

If you have some sort of process/quality improvement methodolgy training, such as Six Sigma, then maybe he's trying to see how you would improve on the process. But it really doesn't sound like he's asking you to go that far in depth. He could be trying to get a gauge for how you use efficiency in your every day life.

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Stephanie
New VA in the research phase :daisy:

Tell him you are on a diet.




No....I realize that won't work, but this is truly an ODD request. Well - what *is* your process for preparing and consuming breakfast? I'm assuming he wants details - so give plenty and be as descriptive as you can manage. Corn flakes have some great poetry built right into them if you use the right vocabulary.

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Brenda, i'm not really sure what he wants me to write either...
anyway, i search "written system for preparing and consuming breakfast" in google and i found this...

http://www.e-myth.com/cs/user/print/post/secret-to-finding-good-people

check it out and read the article... it really gave me an idea..

stephanie, yes I did the first thing any VA should do like “google finding if the client is a spam” because I don’t want to be fooled again…
I always reminded myself that it will always be my number1 standard procedure.. :daisy:

tess, I am really on a diet..lol
anyway, it’s just that clients nowadays are very choosy in picking “us”, and I think we should be more “logically careful” with our answers…

as for my client, i already emailed my answer to him.. i just don't know if i pass... but i'm praying...

Great blog post! I wonder if you're potential client got that idea from there since it's worded in the exact same way. I hope you had fun with it. I would love to hear what you came up with and how the client responds to it.

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Stephanie
New VA in the research phase :daisy:

Originally Posted by jovelle

well i receive this e-mail from a prospective client a while ago and he was asking me to include my written system for preparing and consuming breakfast... any comments? you see i want to ask for your opinions.. i don't want to loose this opportunity again.. please help..

I wonder if he asks his attorney or accountant to do the same thing! The view of VAs as a profession has a long way to go yet. That has got to be one of the strangest requests I have heard!ut:

I would trust your gut on this one, but if you want, I would ask for further information, like is he requesting a writing sample, is his business in the health and wellness field, is he a dietician? I once had a prospect who wanted me to conduct marketing calls and use the name "M", not Em as short for Emily, but "M". He figured people would remember that more and hence the phone call...(He did end up becoming a client, but we sacked that idea pretty quickly.)

Next...

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Doreen R. Patrick, MVA, ACS, CIVA
www.virtualbusinesspartners.net