Ways You Can Grow Your Virtual Assistant Business

March 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Part of growing a successful business means that you continually need to market as there will be times when clients stop using you so you need to be able to replace them.
 
There are a couple of ways you can grow your business without taking on employees:
 
Sub Contracting
You may do some work with a client and you don’t have the necessary skill – sub contracting could be the solution. You build up relationships with fellow VAs to build a team of associates who you can call upon when necessary. Your clients won’t know that the sub contractor VA has completed the work as all communication is through you so they never meet.
 
Make sure that you get all your associates to sign a contract before sending any work for them to complete. You will need to check the work before sending through to the client in case there are any problems – the client doesn’t want to know that the sub contractor has done it wrong, they have contracted to work with you!
 
Team VA
A team VA business model is very similar to sub contracting but has some small differences.
The main difference with a team VA business is that you shout about your Associate VAs and showcase them as team members.
 
You will have a profile of them on your website and explain to prospective clients that you have a team and will assign them with a VA most suited to their needs.
 
The other main difference is that the client and Associate VA have a relationship and you won’t need to check work before the client sees it like you do with sub contractors. As part of the client consultation stage, you would introduce the Associate VA and prospective client to make sure that they ‘gel’.
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Learn How the VA Experts Got Started

March 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment
We have answered the important questions about why we started our own Virtual Assistant businesses, how we get clients and other top tips on free audio interview.
 
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Networking Preparation Tips for Virtual Assistants

March 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment
There are a number of things you can do before any event to help you prepare. If you are prepared, you will feel more relaxed which is always a good thing. 
 
Prepare your presentation
At any networking event, the most common question you will get asked is ‘what do you do’? Otherwise known as your elevator pitch, this is how people get to know you and so it is a good idea to prepare what you want to say.
 
You have up to 30 seconds for your answer so you need to prepare your answer to make sure that it flows off your tongue easily. Think about your target market and USP so that you can create a statement to say exactly what you do and what makes you different. 
 
Take plenty of business cards
Swapping business cards is how you start building relationships with your fellow business owner. However, only give out your business card if someone asks for it.
   
Speak with the organiser before the event  
Call the organiser before the event to ask what types of people attend their meetings. You can then tailor your elevator pitch accordingly.
  
Wear something you feel comfortable in 
You need to feel comfortable when at an event and clothes will play a big part in this. There is no point wearing clothes or shoes that are too big or small as you will not concentrate on the event and be too self conscious.
 
Arrive at the event earlyA lot of people are nervous when attending a networking event and aren’t sure what to do. Why not arrive early so that you are there to welcome people and they then have to approach you.
 
If you are at a loss as to what to do or who to approach, go get a drink as there is normally always someone else there that you can strike up a conversation with.
 
 Ask the organiser to introduce you to some people 
If you don’t know anyone at the event, explain this to the organiser and ask them to introduce you to some people. Most organisers will be more than happy to help you if you ask.
 
Just remember to be friendly and approachable as people will remember and will want to talk to you.
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The System You Need In Place for New Clients

March 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment
In the last article (Justine, please link to 4th March article), we discussed what system you need in place to talk with prospects. Today, we will look at what happens when you and a prospect decide to work together.
 
You’ve gone through your client consultation process and decided that you are a good fit for working together. Now is your opportunity to continue to build on the initial excitement of your conversation and make sure that the relationship moves forward as opposed to stalling.
 
For your new clients, an effective system should include:
 
Welcome PackThis gives new clients all the information they need before they start working with you. Outline your standard operating procedures and pre-empt any questions you think they may have. This is also a great opportunity to give details on the standards and boundaries you have in your business so that clients understand how you work and helps to avoid any misunderstandings.
 
‘Pay As You Go’ Contract
If you are only carrying out work on an ad-hoc basis, or as a one-off project, you will send this type of contract for them to sign and return to you.
 
Retainer Contract    
This is for clients for whom you will provide regular VA support to each month. Ideally, these are the clients you want to be working with as it is easier to build effective relationships with clients over time.
 
Terms & Conditions
These should include details regarding payment, confidentiality, omissions, etc. These are a vital part of your process as they tell clients how you operate.
 
        New Client Questionnaire         
Once new clients come on board, it is useful to get some basic details from them. A questionnaire is a good way to ensure that you get all the information you require.
 
What will you include in your system?

 

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What Were Our Reasons for Starting Our VA Business?

March 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment
In these two audio downloads, we share in frank detail how we started our own VA businesses, how we get clients and much, much more.
 
Learn all the insider secrets today for free!
 
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Why You Must Have a Target Market

March 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment
When you first start your business, you will probably think that you will work with anyone who needs the services that you provide. While this may be true, it will make it extremely difficult for you to market your business effectively.
 
This is where having a target market makes things so much easier for you.
 
Once you have identified what services you want to provide, you then need to look at the type of clients you want to work with. To begin with, look at the different people you have worked with in past jobs, look at people in your life you respect and identify the characteristics that these people have in common. This will then form your target market for marketing purposes.
 
Some people may think that reducing the numbers of people you can market to will reduce the results. This is just not true. To be honest, defining your target market will make marketing a lot easier as you will only be marketing to a select number of people – a lot easier and cheaper than trying to market to everyone! This is called a niche and the idea is for you to become an expert for your chosen niche industry.
 
You also need to look at your unique selling point (USP) – what makes you different from your competitors? Why should clients work with you? By identifying your niche market and USP now, you can tailor your marketing materials to attract the right type of clients that you want to work with.
 
The good thing about target market is that it doesn’t have to be set in stone, you can change it as you and your business adapts.
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The System You Need In Place for Talking To Prospects

March 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment
One thing that sets successful virtual assistants apart from others is the systems they have in place to run their business and deal with clients. This may not sound exciting to you when you are first starting out, you’re excited and eager to start working with fabulous clients, but it is something that you take time out now to get this right.
 
One system that is vitally important is how you deal with prospects and new clients.
 
For your prospects, an effective system should include:
 
Information Pack
This is an outline of your working practices, services and rates, which you send to prospective clients interested in your services. This is a great way to answer some of the frequently asked questions in advance so that you don’t have to waste time discussing these items. It also helps prospects to realise that you are a business owner yourself, not an employee.

 

Prospective Client Questionnaire
This is where you collate as much information as possible about your prospect so that you have an idea of who the prospect is, what their business is about and some of the goals they want to achieve. This will give you a quick snapshot as to the support a prospective client need might need.

 

Client Consultation
This is your opportunity to find out if you and the prospect will be a good match working together. So use this as your fact-finding process, with a list of detailed questions to ask them. You can then both decide on the way forward – whether that is working together or not.

 

In the next article, we’ll discuss the system for bringing on board new clients.
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Free Article: Using an Effective Client Consultation Process to Attract Great Clients

February 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Emma shares some fantastic tips on how to have a successful client consultation so that you only work with great clients.
 
Check out this great article about Using an Effective Client Consultation Process to Attract Great Clients.
 
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Steps for Your VA Client Consultation Process

February 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Using an effective client consultation process is one of the best ways to ensure that you only work with great clients that you really gel with and can work well together – you soon learn who is a good fit with you if you use a process.
 
So what should you include to make sure you have an effective client consultation process? Think about the following:
 
Information pack – before you even speak with prospective clients, you need to send them your information pack giving details about your business.
 
Arranging calls – it is a good idea to schedule all calls in advance so that you come across as a fellow business owner and not an employee.
 
Questions to ask – have standard questions so that you can learn more about the prospective client and their business.
 
Information to give prospective clients – what do you want to say about your business and how you operate?
 
Next steps – what happens now and how you will follow up.
 
Following this simple process means you can work with some great clients who you can build long term relationships with.
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Creating your Virtual Assistant Business Brand

February 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment
One of the most important decisions you will make for your business will relate to the branding and may take you a long time to reach a decision.
 
Some things you need to consider before making any final decisions:
 
Is the name already being used?
You need to do a search on the internet to see if your potential name is already being used. Some good places to look include:
 
Is the domain name available?
There are a variety of different companies you could use to register your domain name. Find a company who you want to use for your website hosting and then go through their process to see if the domain name is available.
 
Is the name easy to say on the telephone?
One of the things I did before proceeding with the name was to pretend to answer the telephone to hear how it sounded. Remember, if the name is too difficult to say, it won’t create the right impression for you or your business.
 
Is it relevant to your business?
There is no point calling yourself Dentists R Us if you are not a Dentist. Your target market will not identify with you if your name doesn’t reflect what you do.
 
Is there scope for expansion?
The great thing about business and life is that things change all the time and your business could go in totally new directions. Try not to limit yourself too much with your name e.g. We Only Do Business Plans – what would you do if you wanted to branch out into business advice and coaching.
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