Virtual Coastie - Tradie Admin Support

‘It’s great having you fellas on board.’ A quick shoutout from Ian McIsaac at Green Van Electrical – nothing better than knowing we’re making a difference for our clients!

"Always ready to help, with all the knowledge to do so." 👊

There's no shortage of software, systems, and business advice out there.

The challenge isn't finding information.

The challenge is knowing what's relevant to your business and how to actually use it.

Whether it's Fergus, Xero, automation, reporting, or business processes, our goal is always the same:

Make it simple.
Make it practical.
Make it work.

Because there's no point having powerful systems if they're too complicated to use.

A big thank you to Ashleigh and the team at Monster Housewash for the kind words and continued support.

Helping tradies build better systems and easier businesses is what we're here for.

If you're feeling overwhelmed by the tech side of running a business, let's have a chat.

Here we go again! 🥹🏆

I’m absolutely stoked to be named a 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗩𝗔 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 at the 2026 NZ Virtual Assistant Awards 2026!

Running an agency is definitely not a solo gig. Virtual Coastie is what it is because of the incredible team behind me, our amazing clients who trust us with their businesses, and the people in my corner who keep cheering us on.

The last 12 months have brought plenty of growth, change, challenges and a whole lot of learning – so being recognised as a finalist again feels pretty bloody special. 💙

A massive thank you to the team at Virtually Anything for continuing to champion and celebrate the VA industry here in NZ.

Now we wait for awards night… 🤞🥂

𝟮𝟳 - 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝘄𝗸𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴
𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝘄𝗸𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴

How many customers did you actually 𝗮𝘀𝗸 for a Google review last week?

Not how many reviews you received — how many people did you ask?

Google reviews are one of the most powerful forms of social proof for a trade business, particularly if you're working with residential customers. Before someone even picks up the phone, there's a good chance they've already Googled you, checked your reviews and compared you with other tradies in the area.

But getting more reviews shouldn't rely on someone in the office remembering to ask every few months.

It needs to become part of your 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀.

In this episode of the 𝗛𝗲𝘆 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁, Amanda shares a simple process for consistently asking for Google reviews without it feeling awkward or pushy — including how to involve your field team, automate your follow-up and make asking for a review part of every suitable job.

𝗜𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲

• Why Google reviews are so important for residential trade businesses
• Why you should start asking for a review while you're still on site
• A simple script your field team can use with customers
• Why asking once often isn't enough
• How to follow up by text, email and after payment
• Using Fergus alongside your email marketing or CRM system to automate review requests
• Why you should give customers a direct review link instead of making them search for you
• How to make Google reviews part of your job completion checklist
• Getting your field team involved — and even turning reviews into a team competition
• Why you should track 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝘀𝗸, not just how many reviews you receive
• Responding to positive and negative reviews professionally
• Why consistent recent reviews can become an incredibly valuable marketing asset

𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗔𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀

Don't wait until you suddenly decide your business needs more Google reviews.

Build the request into your normal customer journey:

𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝗯 → 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 → 𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 → 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸 → 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 → 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘂𝗽 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 → 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀.

Your customer might genuinely want to leave you a great review but forget.

They're busy too.

That's why multiple friendly reminders can make such a difference.

𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗱

Google reviews don't have to be the office team's responsibility.

Give your field team a short, simple script they can comfortably use before leaving site and make it part of your job completion checklist.

You could even create a team incentive when a customer mentions a team member by name in their review.

It's not just about getting another five-star review. It gets your team thinking about the entire customer experience.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸'𝘀 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽

Create 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁 for your business this week.

Share it with your team, give everyone easy access to your direct Google review link and add “𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄” to your job completion process.

Once you're doing that consistently, look at how you can automate the follow-up.

𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗩𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗲

If customer follow-up, invoicing and admin are still relying on you remembering to do everything, we can help you build better processes.

Through 𝗙𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘂𝘀 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀, 𝗙𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘂𝘀 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁, Virtual Coastie helps trade businesses put practical systems in place so the right things happen consistently — without you having to remember them at the end of another long day.

If you enjoyed this episode, share it with another tradie. And if you're enjoying the 𝗛𝗲𝘆 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁, follow the show and leave a quick rating on your favourite podcast app.
https://pod.co/hey-tradies-podcast/27-how-to-get-more-google-reviews-without-feeling-awkward-asking

"She's now helping us achieve things that 8 months ago would have seemed like an unrealistic dream." 👊

This is why I love what we do.

When business owners first come to us, they're often overwhelmed, wearing too many hats, and trying to figure everything out on their own.

What many don't realise is that the challenges they're facing aren't unique. Usually, they're just a few systems, processes, and numbers away from having a business that feels a whole lot easier to run.

Watching clients go from feeling stuck to confidently growing their business is one of the most rewarding parts of my job.

Jayden and the team at We Do Landscaping have done the hard work. They've backed themselves, stayed committed, and kept moving forward even when things felt tough.

We're incredibly proud to be part of that journey.

The best part? We're only getting started. 🚀

If you're feeling stuck in your business right now, don't assume that's just how it has to be.

Book a discovery call and let's see what's possible

𝟮𝟲 - 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗖𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱 - 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿
𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗖𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱: 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀, 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 & 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆

Have you ever found yourself saying, “𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲!” when a team member hasn’t done something the way you expected?

The problem is, your version of common sense comes from your own experience — and your team can’t read your mind.

In this episode of the 𝗛𝗲𝘆 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁, Amanda talks about why clear expectations, proper onboarding and documented systems are so important as your trade business grows.

From timesheets and vehicle checks to customer communication and job completion checklists, if you want something done a certain way, you need to show your team what “𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱” 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲.

But this isn’t about removing accountability from your team either.

Once you’ve explained the process, trained them, documented it and made it easy to access, your team has a responsibility to follow it — and when they don’t, you need to address it.

𝗜𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲

• Why a 15-minute induction isn’t enough for a new team member
• The problem with saying, “It’s just common sense”
• Why every employee brings different life and work experience
• What should be included in your onboarding and SOPs
• Why your processes don’t need to be 100-page documents
• Using videos, photos, screenshots and checklists for different learning styles
• Why your systems need to be easy to access from site
• The importance of explaining 𝘄𝗵𝘆 a process needs to be followed
• How better timesheet descriptions help both the field and office teams
• Why the person actually doing the job can be the best person to document the process
• How to use AI tools to help get processes out of your head and documented
• The difference between a broken system and a performance problem
• How to give a simple 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗻𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲 when someone doesn’t follow the agreed process
• Why documented systems make it easier for you to take holidays, cover key staff and eventually sell your business

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸

When you're creating or improving a process, keep it simple:

𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝘁 → 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘁 → 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘁 → 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝘁 → 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁

Your first version doesn't need to be perfect. Start by documenting what happens now, then improve it as your business and team grow.

𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲

Clear systems don’t mean accepting poor performance.

If someone has been trained, understands the process and has access to it but doesn’t follow it, address it early.

A simple performance conversation might be:

“𝗜 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗫 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗱. 𝗠𝘆 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗫. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻?”

Explain the impact too. A missed step could mean a callback, another trip to the customer, lost billable hours, disruption to the schedule and a poorer customer experience.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸’𝘀 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽

Choose 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸.

It could be timesheets, finishing jobs, vehicle checks, invoicing or communicating when a job runs over.

Document version one — even if it’s just a page in Word.

Then give it to someone on your team and ask:

“𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻?”

If not, keep improving it.

𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗩𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗲

If half your business is still living inside your head, we can help you start getting it out.

Through 𝗙𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘂𝘀 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀, 𝗙𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘂𝘀 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁, we help trade businesses create better systems, remove bottlenecks and build processes their team can actually follow.

Because your team can’t read your mind — and they shouldn’t have to.

If you enjoyed this episode, share it with another tradie. And don’t forget to follow and rate the 𝗛𝗲𝘆 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 on your favourite podcast app.
https://pod.co/hey-tradies-podcast/26-your-team-can-t-read-your-mind-why-clear-systems-and-expectations-matter