Small Business Growth – Virtual Assistant Success Strategies

Wil Hart on April 17, 2015

Where in the HECK have you been?

We know that you’ve been wondering…

Sydni and I have been getting this question a LOT lately. “Where in the HECK have you been?”

But, you will be ecstatic when you hear why we have been hibernating for so long. Plus, you are going to benefit a great deal!

So, this note is much less about us and MORE about you and your future.

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WHAT EAtoVA HAS BEEN UP TO…

For the past year and some months, a whole LOT of coolness has been happening in the world of Smart Simple Marketing (SSM) and Executive Assistant to Virtual Assistant (EAtoVA)

There has been a host of projects that we’ve worked on that has enabled us to hone our skills so that you can get better at developing yours

We have had top notch clients hire us; big name organizations such as:

Verizon
Oracle
Google

Yep, you read that correctly… GOOGLE! And these are just a few of the amazing companies that we have partnered with. Very shortly, you will see how this is going to help YOU to develop your own successful business.

It doesn’t matter if you want to be a Virtual Assistant, an Online Business Manager or a consultant. We are so much better at drilling down what our audience needs and empowering you with the knowledge, skills and resources that will help you to surpass your wildest dreams.

Remember those big organizations that I told you about a minute ago? Well, it gets even better for you… We are now partners with a company that you may have heard of before. it just so happens that it is the nations largest email marketing firm… Constant Contact!

Let me tell you part of the story as to why we’ve been so short on time (and thus away from you for so long).

We have developed a partnership with Constant Contact that keeps both Sydni and I tremendously busy. First, let me share one of the great benefits of this alliance.

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Before joining forces with this amazing company, we spent 100% of our business in a virtual environment. That’s right, we conducted the majority of our business online.

Now, we speak in front of hundreds of people each quarter and the results have been astounding! In fewer than 15 months we have been able to build a database of over 1,500 prospects. Many of them have become clients of ours.

How is this helpful to you? Well, we are living proof that public speaking is a great way to grow your business. When you speak in front of a live audience (or a virtual one), you gain instant credibility and expert status. (Be sure to make a note of this marketing strategy. This piece of advice is a freebie 🙂

Because of our relationship with Constant Contact, we have earned a few certifications as well. These certifications prove that we have gone through a stringent vetting process and Constant Contact now gladly funnels fresh leads to our company. (See why we’ve been away for so long?)

Here is where this gets really good for you. Now that we are Master Certified Trainers and consultants that are vetted by Constant Contact, that means we have so much more valuable content and resources to share with you!

Very shortly, we will be inviting you to online trainings, live seminars (if you live near San Francisco) and other courses and resources that will help you to master email marketing. Whether you use email marketing for yourself or for your clients, we have exactly what you need to take your marketing skills to an expert level.

Trust me, you will want to join some of these events…

CLAIM YOUR Seat For Our Online Master Class

This is the training that will teach you exactly what you need to know

CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR SEAT NOW!

BUT WAIT… THAT’S NOT ALL

Here at EAtoVA, we have always been big on working with mentors in order to grow our business. So, we have started working with new mentors who have opened our minds to new and exciting possibilities in business.

One of the reasons we created EAtoVA was to make and easier path for individuals who wanted to start and grow their very own Virtual Assistants business. If we can show you some short cuts and speed up your learning curve, that is exactly what we want to do for you!

So what are some of the things that we have acquired from our mentors? We now have the skills to:

Identify customer problems more easily
Solve customer problems more quickly
Educate our audience more thoroughly
Create and implement marketing strategies
Build marketing funnels

… and the list goes on

Now, we will share with you the vast marketing knowledge that we have acquired. You will learn exactly what we know. Most importantly, you will build the business that you have always wanted.

Stick closely because this is great news for you as a business owner. We have so many wonderful goodies to share with you in the days to come!

CLAIM YOUR Seat For Our Online Master Class

This is the training that will teach you exactly what you need to know

CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR SEAT NOW!

Wil Hart on December 11, 2013

Use The Caterpillar Method Of Business Growth

There are so many examples in the insect world that can help you with building your Virtual Assistance business. Stretch your imagination for a bit and try to think as if you were a caterpillar.

Have you ever wondered if a caterpillar looks forward to becoming a beautiful monarch butterfly? As a human, we can sit back and thoroughly appreciate this fascinating process.

Even people who find caterpillars icky or creepy, likely find immeasurable beauty in the monarch. Do you find it lovely?

Why should you consider thinking like a caterpillar?

The monarch butterfly has 4 stages of its life. What stage of your Virtual Assistance business are you in? What is your BIG PICTURE goal? I hope that you look forward to creating a business as gorgeous as the monarch (but with a longer life-span).

Phase I – Foundation Continue Reading>>

Wil Hart on November 25, 2013

#005 VA Success Cafe: Dominate In December – Part II

Wil Hart on November 15, 2013

How To Win During the Sluggish Season

As time draws closer to the end of the 2013, I hope that you are not thinking of slowing down in your efforts to grow your business!

NOW is the time to kick your business activity into a higher gear. Rev your engine and step up your Virtual Assistance game. You may ask, ‘How do I do that?’ That is a very important question and I have an answer for you. But, before I answer your question, let me tell you why it is imperative for you to do so.

Why Kick Into A Higher Gear Now?

‘Tis the season for slowing down and getting lazy. It is possible that you as a business owner may feel that this year is finished. That is far from true. There are 46 days left in this wonderful year. You, my friend, should make the best of it. Avoid the sluggishness that occurs in November and December and use the remaining time to light a spark under your business.

Many of your competitors will not read this message and you can get the edge over them. By stepping up your game, you can use the next 6 weeks to build traction and gain momentum as you blaze a trail in January! How will this benefit your Virtual Assistance business? Think about it for a moment. A sluggish November and December leads to a sluggish January. Do you want to start the new year at full speed? Continue Reading>>

Wil Hart on November 8, 2013

5 Steps To Starting A Virtual Assistance Business

You are likely reading this article because you have a vast array of skills as an administrative professional. In a previous time, you may have been an executive assistant for a large company. Or, you developed your skills supporting a wide range of professionals who needed help with their administrative tasks.

Now, you are looking for another option. The possibility of using your admin support skills to start your own business has become very appealing to you. There are probably 100 reasons why you are interested in started your own Virtual Assistance business.

To name a few, you may desire to:

1. Dictate your own schedule and income
2. Work for the best boss in the world – YOU!
3. Spend more time with family and friends
4. Take better care of an aging relative
5. Retire with grace

The list can go on for miles. The important thing to keep in mind is the motivating force for you. Why are you driven to learn more about building your own business? Your reason is important to me as well. It is so important that I want to share with you 5 keys to keep in mind when starting your VA business from scratch!

The fun part about the steps that I am going to share with you is that you can do them in any order. You have to take the lead and decide which is the next best step for your current circumstances. Heck! You can even do two steps at the same time!

Step 1: Set Up Your Infrastructure Continue Reading>>

Wil Hart on October 25, 2013

4 Reasons You Are Hiding From Your Goals

You have 70 days left before the start of 2014!

Are you thinking the same thing that many other Virtual Assistants are thinking; ‘Where did the time go?’ The year 2013 is almost gone, a wrap, over, FINITO! How do you feel about your goals for this year? Are you beaming with excitement because you have accomplished a large portion of them? Or, are you avoiding the area where you have posted those goals. You know the feeling of being afraid to review your goals because you think that they will fully understand how you have ignored them for so long.

That is understandable. We all have been there before! So, instead of being scared of those goals, we will discuss 4 reasons why you are hiding from them. Let’s put it out there. Recognize and acknowledge the reasons so that you can overcome them in the future

Reason #1 Procrastination

For some presumably good reason, you decided to delay getting started on a particular objective. Maybe in your mind it was a bit too overwhelming to tackle. Or, you thought that the goal was so easy to reach, that you could start on it at any time and finish it at your leisure. However, there are fewer than 70 days left in the year and you haven’t even started working toward the goal.

Reason #2 They Got Lost and Forgotten Continue Reading>>

Wil Hart on October 15, 2013

5 Pieces To Effective Business Conversations

Have you ever had that feeling? You know what I mean.

It’s that feeling that you get when your mind is racing, your palms start to sweat and your thoughts decide that they do not want to make the faintest connection to your vocal cords. And then, you become…

SPEECHLESS!

Has that ever happened to you met a potential business associate. You exchange greetings, you learn each others’ name, and then the conversation goes deeper with the one question that makes you cringe… “So, what do you do?”

For many Virtual Assistants this is the most dreaded question because they do not know how to clearly convey the problems of their target market (if they have one), or how they solve those problems effectively.

What Are the 5 Pieces?

There are 5 critical pieces to masterfully articulating your value as a business owner and making strong connections. When you are face to face with a conversation partner keep the following conversation pieces in mind.

1 ~ Choose A Target Market

Having a target market gives great subject matter on which to have business conversations. If you tend to be on the shy side, focusing your attention on a separate group of people will give you the confidence needed to add more fuel to your conversation fire. If your target market is business coaches, you can talk about how that stresses that they experience with owning and operating their coaching practice. Then move to piece #2. Continue Reading>>

Wil Hart on October 7, 2013

3 Things You Fail To Do In Your Business

Have you ever baked a cake? Imagine for a moment that you were baking a red velvet cake. However, you failed to include you flour, sugar and red food coloring. Would the finished product be a success? I don’t think so!

What about your Virtual Assistance business? If you are missing key ingredients, how do you expect to accomplish your goals? Make sure that you do not fail to generously use the following three key ingredients for baking up business success.

Those ingredients are Planning, Focus and Completion.

Planning

If you do not know where you are going, any road will take you there. Almost everything conceivable has a vision, action steps and progress. When you decide to bake a cake, you have likely seen the finished product in one form or another. It may have been a picture or you could have tasted the delectable item.

The same is the case with your business. You know what your version of success looks like. One of the easiest ways to measure that is in terms of income generated. Why? Most businesses are designed to produce revenue. The health of the business can be determine by its’ profits. You should already know your revenue goal for the year, for the month and for each week.

Now that you have those numbers written on paper, you will need to determine what activities will enable you to reach these goals. The amount you charge your clients should be clear. The number of clients you need to have each month should be stated. Your marketing strategies for acquiring clients must be recognized. And you need to measure your activity and your results. You should have a detailed plan with a copy of it on your desk for daily review.

Focus

When your cake pan is in the oven, the mixture of ingredients in that pan is ready for intense heat. This is the only way to bring about the finished product; focused, intense heat. Are you putting focused heat into your work? It is one thing to have a plan, but undistracted follow through on that plan is of paramount importance.

Of course you wear many hats as an entrepreneur. Still, a successful business is the result of many projects and tasks being carried out with committed focus. Take a look around your office. How many projects, tasks and follow up appointments are waiting on your attention? After acknowledging these matters, you can progress towards the third ingredient.

Completion

What indicators make it apparent that a baking cake is almost done? Your nose gives you a hint. A better and more accurate gauge is your clock. Likewise, put a time stamp on all of the projects and tasks that you need to complete. Be realistic in your assessment. If you need to get a new website up and running, there is no need to block off three months for this project. Also, when it comes to marketing your business, you should have specific activities noted on your calendar for each month and each week. Note as well, the day and time that you will engage in your marketing activity. Do these to completion!

It is certainly difficult to focus on and complete projects and tasks in this day and age. We live in an era of many distractions and shiny objects. At the same time, if you want your Virtual Assistance business to be a success for you and your family, it is imperative that you know what your vision of success looks like. Plan out the work that it takes to bring that vision about. Focus with intense heat on all of the projects and tasks that will enable you to fulfill your vision. Do not stop working until you have completed every project and task. When you generously apply these three ingredients, your success is certain!

Wil Hart on May 25, 2013

Your Next Client Might Be In Your Back Yard

finding clients You say that you want more clients. Is that really true? Examine your marketing efforts over the past six weeks. What have you done to actually enroll new clients? Perhaps you sent a few emails out. Maybe you made a few new connections on LinkedIn. What have you really done? I want to challenge you to take a different look at getting new clients.

Peruse your contact files of the people you have known for quite some time. Is there anyone in your personal network that does not fully understand what you do in your business? Notice that I didn’t say ‘Is there anyone who does not know you are in business’. That is important. If people know that you have a business but do not clearly understand what you do and whom you serve, they will not be able to help you build your business.

Again, look in your personal network and examine the people that you know well. Would your family and friends be able to explain to a prospective customer who your target market is and how you help solve their problems? Make that part of your marketing strategy. Educate your warm market, or people who know you well about your Virtual Assistance company. Educate them in a way so that they will be able to help you find your next client. You will be surprised at the number of referrals that come your way after you take this very important action. Here is a challenge for you to enroll your next client.

If you repeat the following steps as a part of your marketing plan, you will reap several amazing benefits.

7 Step Marketing Strategy

Step 1: Choose 5 people from your network. (Do more if you are really ambitious.)
Step 2: Invite them individually to learn about your VA business. Set up a coffee, lunch or phone date.
Step 3: Teach about the following things:

Your target market and the problems they face.
How you solve the problems of your target market and the benefits your clients receive from working with you.
How you improve the lives of your clients with the work you do.
How people in your network can make introductions for you.

Step 4: Ask your contact if they have any questions. Clarify any misunderstandings.
Step 5: Ask your contact if they could explain what you do to someone else. (If not, help them to do so.)
Step 6: Ask your contact if they know anyone who is facing the same struggles from Step 3.
Step 7: Make arrangements for your contact to make an introduction for you.

Do you think that you can follow this easy formula for acquiring new clients? If you want to grow your business, you would do well to tap into the network of people that you already know. A warm lead may be easily found in your warm market. One of your personal contacts may need your services or they may be able to quickly introduce you to someone who does. Make sure that the people who are close to you are able to articulate what you do in business. It is an intelligent way of building a free sales force of people who know you and want you to succeed!

Wil Hart on March 15, 2013

If I Were a New VA I’d Start Here

After being in business for 7 years, we have learned what it takes to grow a successful business. We had no idea when we started our first Virtual Assistance business that friends, family and associates would constantly ask the same question: “How did you do it?”

Every single day of the week, we have new members join our community and ask a sought-after question. That question is, “How do I get clients?” Follow along as I share some foundational work that you can copy and start to implement today.

If I were a new Virtual Assistant trying to grow a business, I would do the following:

Assess my marketable skills – In the 17 years that I have been in the work force, I have developed many skills and a wealth of knowledge. People pay for the skills and talents that I use on a daily basis.
Determine what problems my skills solve – Even as an administrative assistant, I solved problems for the people that I worked for. Who created all those spreadsheets and documents and booked all of those travel arrangements? Me, that’s who! If a company paid me for it then, someone will pay me for it as a VA.
List the benefits that my clients will receive when I solve their problem – For a fact, I know that my clients will experience less stress and fewer headaches when I solve their problems. They will also be able to focus on income generating activities as I care for their administrative overwhelm.
Find out who struggles with the problems that I solve – There are a lot of micro-business owners who need the skills that I have. I would reach out to my warm market, or the people who are in my personal network, to tell them about my business as a VA. I’d simply ask, ” Do you know people who are dealing with the problems that I solve?”
Locate where those people ‘hang out’ – Here is where looking into associations and Meet-ups is helpful. I would definitely join a networking group such as BNI in order to expand my network and receive introductions to people who are looking for my services.
Show up in those ‘hang out’ places – I would take action and show up offline and online where people who need me are spending their time.
Help others to solve their problems – Being a valuable resource for others will make me stand out as a “go-to person” when people need help.
Deepen the connections that I make with people – Staying in touch with people that I meet will keep me top of mind when they or something in their network is looking for the solutions that I provide.
Exchange my solutions for fees at the appropriate time – The more connections I make with individuals, the more opportunities I’ll have to exchange my expertise for a fee. Potential clients are already looking for my services. I just need to show up as the solution at the right time.

This list is by no means comprehensive. The key to finding clients is becoming a problem solver in your industry. View prospective clients as people who are looking for solutions to their problems. View your business as THE Solution to their problems. As long as you continue to put yourself in a position to solve other people’s problems, you will always be in business.

Is running a business challenging? Of course! Going in to work for a company every day is also challenging at times. If you want to be successful in running your own Virtual Assistance company, you will need to become adept at the points listed above. Show up in a big way for the people who are already looking for your help. Serve them well and become a VA success story!

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