The VA Biz 101 - Topic #8

Now What? Tell Everyone – Part I

Topic Objective: In this topic, we will focus on why you need to tell them and what you need to tell them.

The Need for Virtual Assisting

Way back in 2000 (a lifetime in the internet world) The George Washington University Forecast of Emerging Technology released a report stating that Virtual Assisting was a $130,000,000,000 – yes B for Billion – industry. So, this must mean that by now the VA Industry is pretty mainstream right? Yea, not so much. This Industry is still defining itself and I think there are several more (r)evolutions to come.

Clearly the industry will continue to grow as long as:
•    Tech tools increase in sophistication – they will
•    Companies seek to decrease overhead – they will
•    There is a decrease in corporate allure - absolutely
•    Entrepreneurship increases – it will
•    Women choose not to choose between family and career – they are

As I write this, the general economic atmosphere is full of doom and gloom. The economic sky is falling! This gives business owners two options:

1. Cut expenses
2. Increase revenue

And really, it doesn’t matter what the economic picture is, savvy business people are always looking to cut expenses and increase revenues.

As a Virtual Assistant you can help clients do both. Your clients still need the work done and you can help them be recession proof – or at least recession resistant! So your market needs to be educated not only about the Industry but about you and your services.

Who is your Target Market and who is your ideal client?

In the title for this topic I said, “Tell Everyone” but let’s define everyone. You cannot be all things to all people and you really don’t want to be. Remember that one of the reasons you chose this path is so that you can do the work you enjoy. So – What do you enjoy? + Whom would you like to work with? = Your target market.

Do you have a niche specialty?

Many things make having a niche specialty valuable to your client.
•    You know the vocabulary and language of the industry.
•    You read the publications, blogs and magazines.
•    You know the events, conventions, trade shows and have maybe even attended them.
•    You know who the industry experts are.
•    You have industry expertise and training
•    You understand the challenges of marketing to this group
•    You understand the culture

Niche markets are easier to reach and it is easier to build your reputation. You can set yourself up as an industry expert, i.e. Real Estate Virtual Assistant or eCommerce Manager, and actually get more work with less marketing because you are focusing your efforts.

Now keep in mind that it isn’t necessary to drill down to the microscopic level here. You may want to be very broad in your approach and market yourself as a general administrative assistant. Many Virtual Assistants do this until they get more knowledge of the industry and experience.

Who is your ideal client?

Do you want to work with other Freelancers? Perhaps you are a wiz at Social Media Marketing and you want to help freelancers in your niche specialty spread the word about their services.

If you are a Customer Service Specialist, do you especially enjoy working with the customers of online services?

Think about your abilities and skills and how they fit potential niche markets. How could you help clients in these niches?

Translate Features into Benefits

Your primary marketing task is to educate your market on the benefits of hiring a VA and specifically you.

1. You do what you are good at so they can do what they are good at.

2. There is less overhead expense because they don’t have to supply the office space, computer, phone and other equipment and supplies. They don’t need human resources support to deal with payroll, taxes and benefits.

3. They only pay for actual work time, not the time it takes you to change the radio station or let the dog out.

4. Your fees are a tax-deductible expense.

In general, there is just a lot less hassle!

People don’t need to know how their watch works; they need to know that it does work and that they can depend on it to continue to work. If it doesn’t work, they need to know what to do about it. Your clients need to know what benefits they will derive from hiring you – that is what they will base their buying decision on.

Educate Prospective clients on the Benefits of Hiring You

1. Determine the features of your services
To market your service effectively you need to know your value as a Virtual Assistant and your individual strengths – what separates you from other VAs?

Start with your resume. What expertise, experience and education or training do you have that would be of value to a client.

Include:
•    Your home office equipment
•    Software tools you can use.
•    Communication and workflow management
•    Training courses and certifications you hold.
•    Previous jobs and clients.

2. Turn Features into Benefits
People don’t buy features – they buy benefits. They want to know WIIFM – What’s In It For Me? How can you make their lives easier and their business more successful?

Take all of the features you listed and turn them into benefits statements: “I have a state of the art computer system with a broadband internet connection” becomes “I save you time and money so you can focus on building your business.” Or “I maintain your business so you can build it.” (Oohhh! Great tagline there!)

Keep these benefits statements handy – you’ll be using them in your marketing.

Your Elevator Pitch

According to Wikipedia
“An elevator pitch is an overview of an idea for a product, service, or project. The name reflects the fact that an elevator pitch can be delivered in the time span of an elevator ride (for example, thirty seconds or 100-150 words).”

Developing your Elevator Pitch at this point helps you to clarify your direction so that your marketing efforts have laser focus. It must quickly convey the benefits of what you do and entice the listener or reader to want to know more. It’s not just a tagline though, it should actually bring your tagline to life.

Here is a sample:

I am a Virtual Assistant – I help small and home based business owners with administrative tasks so they are free to focus on the core work of their business. For example, all the day-to-day admin functions need to be done but if the business owner is doing them, the business owner is out of business.

An elevator speech should be 100 to 150 words. This one is only 55 words and very generic so there is plenty of space to put “you” into it. Add your personality and your USP (Unique Selling Proposition).

If you are going to be marketing locally, you will definitely need business cards. Add some power to you card by putting your Elevator Pitch on the back.

Once you have developed your pitch – know it! Own it! Shout it from the Mountaintops! Well, maybe not the mountaintops but never be afraid to use it. And if successful, the other person will be so curious that they forget what floor they wanted to get off on. Take advantage of this by engaging them in a conversation about them. Find out what they do but don’t tell them how you can help them – yet. Make the conversation all about them. Then get their business card. If they ask for your card, great, but be sure to get theirs. This lets you follow up. Use this to start a relationship. Send them a handwritten card expressing how nice it was to meet them. Check out their website – do they have a blog? Leave some helpful comments on a few posts. Subscribe to their RSS feed.

Nurture the relationship but whatever you do, please do not just take the card and add it to your collection. A business card does no good if you just save it like a stamp in a collection. Ok, so once again this sounds like common sense but as I’ve said before, that doesn’t mean we do it!

Your Marketing Plan

Now let’s take the pieces of the puzzle, your skills, your abilities, and your niche specialty if you have chosen one – everything you translated into benefits statements and develop a marketing plan.
1.    Give careful thought to what you want your Marketing Plan to accomplish. You need to be very focused and clear. Do you want to:
•    Generate leads?
•    Develop a drip marketing strategy?
•    Strengthen your ability to close when you pitch?
•    Use Social Media to market your services?
•    Use a Freelance job site to market your services?
2.    Develop your strategy recognizing that you are looking for long-term benefits and that not all methods work for every person or in every niche.
•    Grassroots – do you want to network with your local Chamber of Commerce?
•    Advertising – do you want to place ads in your local newspaper or on websites that target solopreneurs?
•    Social Media – do you want to use social media such as LinkedIn to educate prospective clients?
•    SEO – will you use Search Engine Optimization to bring search engine traffic to your website?
•    PR/article marketing – will you write articles educating your clients on the benefits of outsourcing their work?
•    Freelance sites – will you place your profile on a freelance site and build your reputation there?
3.    Do It! – This is often the hardest part. This is where the fear can set in. Take it slow if you need to but now that you have a plan pick one marketing method and jump in. You don’t need huge results. You want a steady flow of good, solid clients. At this point, it’s just you so you don’t want 100 new clients in a month.

Be sure to track your results and the return on investment (ROI) and adjust as necessary. Don’t give up too quickly but don’t throw more time, effort and money at a failing strategy.

For example, do you want to join your Chamber of Commerce? If you live in an area that has a lot of home based and small businesses, joining your Chamber can be a great way to spread the word about what you offer, find local services and products you need and provide some of the socialization you won’t have from a traditional office environment.

It can take some time to establish yourself in a new organization. I have been a member of my local Chamber of Commerce and I have done sales and marketing for them as well. This is definitely a situation where slow and steady wins the race. So give it a year. Keep records of the time you spend at events and the money you spend. In addition to your membership there will be other expenses such as luncheons or a booth at the trade show. Keep track of the clients you bring in, how much you net from them, the caliber of clients you bring in and the pipeline you build. At the end of the year assess the experience and determine the ROI – not just in terms of dollars made but potential for more; are you getting quality clients and referrals?

Next Up: Tell Everyone! Part II – How to tell them

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