Month: December 2011

I think it’s safe for me to assume that it’s a no brainer that you want more clients. That is why you are started a Virtual Assistant business in the first place, to make a living, helping others while working for yourself. If you are struggling to enroll your first few clients have no more fear. The answers to your business prayers are right here. I am going to teach you three simple tactics that are easy to implement, effective and comes directly from the heart.

When you come into contact with new business owners, you never quite know who may be a prospective client. That is why you need to be on top of your game when you are discussing who you are and what you do as an entrepreneur.

Here’s what you do:

1. Talk About The Benefits of Working With You– Just the other day I went to get a massage. (I absolutely LOVE massages by the way :-). After this relaxing experience I thought about the many benefits that I received (release of tension, rejuvenation, etc.). So, I wondered if my therapist highlights these wonderful benefits when she speaks about her business. If not, she should, because it’s the reason why her clients come to her. I didn’t go to get a massage because I needed a massage therapist. I went because I wanted to treat myself and feel good. Imagine for a moment that you met her at a networking event and asked her “What do you do?” She might say:a. ‘I am a massage therapist.’
   b. ‘I liberate people from tension, stress and anxiety.’Now if you heard either of those responses, which one would make you want to learn more? EXACTLY!  I chose B as well. Can you see how powerful that is? The same applies to your business.

   The people who need your help aren’t looking for a Virtual Assistant. But they would like to feel less frazzled, more organized and to make more money in their business. When people ask you about what you do in your profession, make sure to highlight the benefits so that your prospects can see themselves experiencing the results from working with you. If you say, “I’m a Virtual Assistant”, you are likely to receive a confused look in response. Instead, focus on the real benefit clients will enjoy in working with you so that your conversation partner will want to learn more about you and even refer you to others who may need you.

2. Ask to Keep In Touch – As you progress in the conversation about the wonderful work that you do for your clients, this next tactic becomes very important. Simply say, “I’d like to continue this conversation with you, when would be a good time for us to connect again?” Then capture their contact information and let them know you’ll confirm the appointment shortly. When you receive this information, move along to easy tactic number three.
3. Follow Up Quickly – Please don’t allow more than 48 hours to pass before you contact the person. I know that you are quite engaging and very interesting, but you have to remember that everyone has a terribly busy lifestyle. With all of the gadgets and activities, people are more distracted than ever. Make follow up your #1 Priority. Let the person know how much you enjoyed meeting them and the conversation you had. And that you look forward to continuing it on DATE/TIME! Your diligence in following up shows your contact exactly how serious you are about your business and how serious you will be about theirs.

The three steps I shared with you are simple to implement, quite effective and are focused on you being of service. The People will be so impressed with the way that you express yourself. They will be excited to work with you and find it easy to say yes to what you have to offer them.

How will you apply this strategy to your business? Share your thoughts with me on the blog or in the LinkedIn group and I’ll offer you some additional support.

As you strive to build a successful Virtual Assistant business, I encourage you to not hold back from acquiring new skills and knowledge. Because you are an entrepreneur, you are likely hesitant to experience failure. Those feelings are completely normal.

What will help you to not allow that fear to hold you back is to understand that there is really no such thing as failure. Even if a situation or opportunity doesn’t turn out as planned, there are valuable lessons to be learned. Plus, if you never try, you won’t really know what’s possible for you.

Does the thought of failing prevent you from progressing beyond your comfort zone? Don’t fret, I’m going to help you S-T-R-R-R-E-T-C-H those ‘comfort muscles’ and branch out into new territory.

I am sure that you are familiar with the expression ‘trial and error’. That is the process of experimenting with various methods of doing something until you find the one that’s most successful. Think about this for a moment. Should your business building efforts be considered trial and error? It may be better to consider them ‘Trial and Triumph’?

Let me give you an example. Imagine you are looking to use new software to organize your business accounting system. So, you download a 30-day trial of Quickbooks. You have never used Quickbooks before, but you know that you must organize your money matters. During the 30 day freebie, you decide that this software is a bit more complicated than you expected. That is a triumph for sure. You gained new knowledge and decided that you want to go in another direction. Now you have some experience and a better understanding of what you need to build the business that you desire. The time spent can hardly be considered an error. Are you still with me?

This principle should be applied to everything that you do in your business. As you try new software and new marketing strategies you will continue to increase your effectiveness as an entrepreneur and be more valuable to your clients. My goal is really to help you avoid being ‘stuck in time’ due to fear of failure.

You are not a “bad business owner” if you try something new but do not obtain the intended results. Use that new knowledge as fuel that will propel your business forward to prosperity. If your mindset is right, you can turn ‘trial and error’ into trial and triumph.