Does this sound familiar? You’re about ready to scream out of frustration, or cry (or both) because:
1. You’re a new virtual assistant and you’re working your butt off to get your first client and you’re feeling defeated
2. You’re a virtual assistant and you have a few clients but for months you’re sitting at this plateau and nothing is moving?
I’m about to get into the details that will change the course of your virtual assistant business. I’m going to show you exactly what I did to market my business and why these techniques work.
Now, I want to make something clear up front. When I started my virtual assistant business I didn’t have a website for an entire year. This turned out to be a good thing.
Why?
It proved that I could market my virtual assistant business and grow it from 1 client to 10 in 12 months with just my LinkedIn profile.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that you don’t need a website. I’m simply saying that you don’t need to get your panties (or Jockeys for you guys) in a bunch if you don’t have one. You can still set up shop and market your business like a ninja without just your LinkedIn profile.
Set a goal to get your website online but don’t let it become a bottleneck to start marketing yourself and networking as a virtual assistant.
So let’s go over the way I network online and off. Since I am a huge fan of LinkedIn I’m going to start here and share how to use this social network to get a flood of leads.
LinkedIn Networking
First, your LinkedIn profile should be completed 100%. What makes your profile complete?
• Your industry and location
• An up-to-date current position (with a description)
• Two past positions
• Your education
• Your skills (minimum of 3)
• A profile photo
• At least 50 connections
Next, read up on the two blog posts that I’ve written about how to use LinkedIn to find and secure clients for your virtual assistant business. Click here and here for those posts.
Facebook Networking
I just wrote a blog post on how to find professional networking groups on Facebook. I am a member of a lot of groups on Facebook. Groups on Internet marketing, copy writing, coaching groups for professional coaches and more. The more I participate in discussions in the groups on Facebook, the more the members get to know me.
I always make sure to dig deeper with the people I communicate with in Facebook groups by sending them a friend request and then following up with a quick note saying hi. The key here is to build relationships. While I’m always thinking about ways to prospect clients, my first goal is to build relationships.
Of course you should have a Facebook fan page for your business so if you haven’t set one up do so now. Push to get people to have conversations with you on your Facebook page and just as I say above, engage your fans. Communicate with them and mix up your posts so it’s not just about your business.
Post about things you love, and things you hate. Show off who you are because people want to do business with someone they can relate to and like. Be yourself.
But where can you find groups on Facebook where your ideal clients are hanging out? No problem, I’ve covered that. Click here to learn where to go where your ideal clients are having conversations on Facebook.
Twitter Networking
I have got a love hate relationship with Twitter. The reason for that is that I loathe idle banter and Twitter is full of a lot of fluffy conversations.
Most businesses lack real connection between their followers. They are not having a conversation but rather standing on a soap box shouting out “buy my stuff/services”.
There are plenty of ways to build meaningful relationships with your prospects on Twitter. The key is to actually have a conversation, not to just promote your business. If you want to see results in your marketing with Twitter than it’s time to stop promoting, it’s time to start communicating.
Find out if your ideal clients have a Twitter account and start following them. Start conversations with your ideal clients and just be yourself. Provide value and show off your personality. Don’t try to sell. Give people the opportunity to know, like and trust you. Want some great examples of people doing it right on Twitter? Gary Vaynerchuk just authored a great book about how to use social media the right way to get more business.
He likens boxing to social media and his book is called Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World. He talks about why you must give, give, give and only after giving do you throw in your hook.
So go and find your ideal clients and start talking TO them, not at them. If you want to learn how I prospect my ideal clients on Twitter check out my quick how-to video here.
Face-to-Face Networking
The magic of networking is always in face-to-face meetings and nothing is going to change that. I don’t care where you live, there is some kind of local networking group happening right now. Now is the time to find a professional networking group near you and get your butt over there and start building business relationships.
Get your business cards ready (if you don’t have any get some made at Moo)
Put on something sharp because people do judge you based on how you look (unfortunately) and plan on walking up to people and introducing yourself. NO WALLFLOWERS ALLOWED. You’re not in business to sit on the sidelines and wait for something to happen. Make things happen.
So here is a list of some great face-to-face networking groups that you can join.
LinkedIn – often times there are meet-ups organized within geo-specific networking groups so keep your eyes peeled.
When you meet someone at a face-to-face networking groups always ask for their business card. If they mentioned something personal about them make sure to note it. Jot down details about the person on the back of the card. The next day send an email to everyone you met and make it personal. Let them know how much you enjoyed meeting them, include any personal details you remember from the conversation and ask them how you can help them by saying something at the end of the email like this:
I look forward to keeping in touch with you and if there is anything I can help you with, just let me know.
So, now is the time to take action. Go out and find at least 5 relevant groups on LinkedIn and Twitter to join right now. Next go and find at least one networking group in your area and register to join it.
All while you’re doing this go and complete your LinkedIn profile and come back and let me know in the comments how you’ve done!
Get. To. Work.
Rock on,
Reese
0 thoughts on “How To Find Clients For Your Virtual Assistant Business”
Reese- I tried to watch the video, but it says it’s private. Do I have to join a group in order to watch it?
I am having the same problem too. It doesn’t usually happen with her blog vid’s and I’m sure she will re-upload it when she can.
Hey Colleen! You should be able to see the vid now so come back and let me know that you saw it. XO
Hey Kristen! What a goof I am. I set the video to private. It’s public now so go back and watch. I can’t wait to hear what you think. XO
So I’m not the only one!
No, Lon, it’s me. I forgot to post the video as public. 🙂
What I was referring to was the fact that the video was marked as private, so neither Kristen or I could see it! BUMMER!
It’s public now so go check it out and let me know what you think!
Is anyone having trouble with the sound on this video besides me?
Loved the video. I am joining groups online and getting ready to network face to face. Question, how to keep contact with the business cards you receive? Do you ask the person if they would like to receive an ezine from you. Do you recommend a Contact like Outlook? Thanks again for a great video
Cindy, thanks! After you get a biz card enter the data into your contact database so if that’s just Outlook or Gmail – get it in there and make sure to note that it’s a prospect or business partner. You can easily forget who someone is that you met at a networking event so you must note specific details ASAP. Don’t ask the person if they want to receive your newsletter, just be yourself, be willing to offer value to them and keep in touch. As I mentioned, write them an email the next day after the f2f event and tell them how great it was to meet, etc, etc.
Hi Reese -Thanks for keeping us motivated! One question, you mentioned having 50 connections on Linkedin. Is that as simple as asking someone (similar to friend request on Facebook)? Should we have most or all of our profile ready before we do that? I’m feeling like 2 people here – one that says “Come on, you ABSOLUTELY can do this” and then the other one slapping me in the face and saying “What are you thinking???” Make no mistake here – I’m not just a social media newbie, I’m more like a social media virgin!!
Cathy, there are many ways to start building your connections on LinkedIn. Let me first address your questions about whether or not your profile should be ready. I would say, yes. There is no reason why it should take you longer than one working day to get your profile where it needs to be. Just sit down and bang it out. You can ALWAYS edit it. Nothing is set in stone. As for building connections. First try importing contacts you already have by clicking on on NETWORK –> ADD CONNECTIONS from the navigation bar on the top of the screen. From there follow the instructions that LinkedIn gives so you can import from all the email services you have. After that is complete see if any of the connections that were imported are professional connections. If so, reach out and say hello. If any of them could provide a recommendation for you ask for one. If it’s a former employer, ask for one and suggest writing it yourself and submitting it back to them for review. Most people are super busy and would actually love the idea of you writing it yourself for their review.
Do you have any other questions?
Hello,When you say VA business, do you get other people to work as VA for you and find them clients or you market yourself as a VA and find client only for yourself?
Great tips on the above article by the way.
Thanks,
Lance
Hi Lance! Thanks for your comment. I definitely have other VAs working for me that support me and my clients.