Differentiate Your Business To Compete In An Overcrowded Marketplace

The day you decide to start selling services virtually, you’re faced with one big dilemma…

Competition… and lots of it.

Most of the time it’s not only reasonable and fair competition, but you also compete with 1000s of VAs around the world who advertise their services on job boards for extremely low rates.

The question then comes up – how do you compete with that. How can you make a reasonable living from your business and how will you ever get clients when you compete with people who charge less than 1/10th  of what you charge for exactly the same services? How on earth can you compete with that?

Well, today I want to tell you that you don’t NEED to compete with that.

In actual fact, you don’t WANT to compete with that. You don’t want to compete with other VAs on price alone, because there will always be someone charging a lower rate.

You want to compete on your own grounds and have clients that are willing and happy to pay your fees. The only way you can achieve that is by having a business that stands out above this crowd.

Have a business that is different because if you are the same – or appears to be the same as your competitors, you are not giving potential clients a chance to pick your business.

Now the fact of the matter is. People are very selfish creatures and 99% of the time they think about themselves first. Before they part with their hard-earned money the first question popping up in their mind is “What is in it for Me”? In other words, “What will I benefit if I buy this service from you?”; “Why should I buy from you specifically!”

It is therefore important to answer those questions satisfactory to convince clients that you are different and that by working with you they will experience so much more benefits.

But how do you do that?

How exactly can you differentiate your business and position yourself as the “Go To” person in your niche?

Luckily, it’s not that difficult to stand out and be different. You just have to do 1 of 3 things.

You either need to

• solve a unique problem for a client that not many other VAs can solve, or
• solve a common problem but solve it in a unique way, or
• solve a common problem in a common way but specialize in a particular audience.

And let me tell you a dirty little secret today. People who succeed in their business sometimes do things just a little bit better or they do things just a little bit different in a particular area and it leads to extraordinary differences in results.

It is like a horse race. When a horse runs a race and wins by a nose, he wins ten times more in price money than the horse that comes in second. This doesn’t mean he is ten times faster… he is just a “nose” faster.

Brian Tracey says: “People who succeed in life are a “nose” better than those who don’t”

So decide today in what area of your business, you’ll be a “nose” better than the rest.

Your Business Assignment For Today:

1. Knowing what you do best can be critical to differentiate yourself from the competition because trying to incorporate too many different services into your business, sometimes only lead to the discovery that you can do them all but not do any of them exceedingly well. Thus, make a list today of the things you can do particularly well. Then focuses upon doing it better than anyone else.

2. Schedule an hour or two in your diary and put on a “client hat”.  Have a look at the websites of other VAs in your niche. Evaluate what they say and how they do it. The idea is not to copy what they do, but to find something where you can be different.

Develop a Marketing Mindset

It’s the most important thing you can do for your business.

If your business is not growing to your expectations, the problem may not lie in your business, it may be a result of your marketing mindset – how you think about- and respond to marketing.

I believe that marketing is by far the most important thing that you can do for your business.

Why?

Because if people don’t know you exist or  how you can help them, they’re simply not going to come to you when they need your help.

The problem with marketing however is that lots of people are afraid of it or they sometimes have these inherent believes that marketing is a sleazy business – much like a door-to-door salesman trying to sell you something you don’t need.

But in actual fact, you don’t have to be afraid of marketing and it doesn’t have to be sleazy. It can be done ethically without sacrificing your own values.

Marketing is about building trust, building relationship with your prospective clients and making people aware of your company, your services and what you have to offer.

Marketing is also about having a genuine belief in the importance AND the value of your services and knowing that it can really help your clients. When you truly belief this, marketing is not an obstacle any more. It then becomes a passion because you just have to let potential clients know how you can help them!

This belief then becomes your marketing MINDSET.

Having a successful marketing mindset helps you to focus everything you do and everything you say into a common goal namely building awareness among your current and potential clients of what you can do for them and how they can benefit from making use of your services.

Thus, to create a strong marketing mindset, just follow these 6 steps:

1.    Start with you. Build confidence in yourself, your services and your business. If you are confident about

• what you do and
• know how it can benefit people, it will show.

Potential clients will be able to see it and you’ll find it much easier to convey your marketing message to them.

2.    Realize that when you do marketing, you’re not pushing people to buy what they don’t want.

• Instead, you offer potential clients a solution to the problems and pain they experience in their lives.
• Thus, you have to let them know you exist and that you can help them! What can be more satisfying than helping people?

3. With every marketing action you take, think about the following:

• Does this action / words build awareness among potential clients on how your services can benefit them;
• Is it something they really need and will give attention to;
• Does it help you achieve your marketing goals?

4. Refine your marketing processes continuously.

• Ask yourself  how you can make it even better;
• As you gain confidence in one marketing technique, find new marketing ideas to try out;

5.    Do some marketing activities daily. Nobody is born a great marketer. It takes practice, every day. But you know what, the more you practice, the better you will become at it.

Your business assignment for this week: Start developing your marketing mindset, by making a list of how potential clients can benefit from your services, what problems they have and what solutions you offer to their problems. Then plan your marketing message accordingly and choose at least one marketing tool (something you’re comfortable to use) to deliver this message to your clients.

If you are unsure how to do it or how to get started with creating your marketing strategy, I recommend getting a copy of “Jumpstart your Virtual Assistant Business”. It contains content rich marketing information to show you EXACTLY how to set up a simple, solid marketing strategy, so that you consistently fill your client pipeline and continually get new clients. You just follow and do the steps, one-by-one. It is that easy. You can get Jumpstart at http://www.be-virtual-assistant-wise.com/jumpstart

How to Identify Clients for your Virtual Assistant business

“Where do I FIND clients?” is certainly one of the most asked questions in the VA industry.

The problem with this question is that if you do not know who you are looking for, it will be pretty difficult to find them.

It is the same as practising archery with your eyes closed or trying to hit a goal on the hockey field with a blindfold on. In both cases, not being able to see your target would make it extremely difficult to score.

This concept can easily be applied in your business, as well. Doing business without knowing WHO your clients (or “target market”)  is and WHERE you can find them, will make it extremely frustrating and difficult to get clients for your business.

Let’s start with “What is a Target Market?”

Well, in the most basic terms, a target market is the group of people or clients that you want to work with.

It is people who may be interested in your particular service and who have common characteristics that set them apart as a group.

The term “target market” is then used because that market (group of potential clients) is the target at which you aim all your marketing efforts.

The reason you need to identify a target market is because it makes your plans for designing a pricing and marketing strategy more streamlined and effective. Because, the more you know about your target market, the more precisely you can develop these strategies and plans and it will become easier to attract clients.

For me, the easiest way to find a target market – those people you would like to work with, is to start “close to home”.

Start with yourself – assess your own interests, work style, and personality

…and then expand it step by step to include your ideal clients and their needs.

Ask yourself some basic questions such as

• What am I good at
• What do I enjoy doing
• What passions do I have that I haven’t explored yet
• What do I hate/dislike doing
• What of my services are profitable / not profitable
• What services are not requested often enough to keep them on my service list

By answering these questions, patterns might arise that can offer some clues about the services to focus on. Concentrate on the services you enjoy and which are profitable and cut the ones you dislike and/or do not provide enough profit.

Now, take a look at your ideal clients and answer the following questions

• Who do I want to work with? Lawyers, doctors, small businesses, home based business owners, small shops, entrepreneurs, internet marketers, real estate agents etc?
• What services do they need?
• What services can I provide to them?
• Why am I confident to provide these services to them?
• Is it a profitable market?
• Where are these ideal clients located?
• What is the best way to reach these clients?

Answering these questions will bring you a step closer to providing the services that you enjoy most, to the clients that you enjoy working with.

Then the only thing left is to develop a plan for getting your message in front of this group  – your target market. Go out and get them.

PS: What are your thoughts on having a target market. Please share it with us in the comment box below.

4 Sure Ways to Get More Clients

Virtual Assistant, do you know

-the average small business owner spends up to 40% of their time on routine administrative tasks

What an excellent opportunity to build your virtual assistant business and clientele.   Go and Google ‘small business directory’ and search for small business owners that fit your niche.  I was amazed to find a directory with 196 small businesses listed in the Vaal Triangle on one of the 5+ business directories for our area. 

-potential clients don’t know where to find you

I read a blog post the other day where a guy raved about his virtual assistant.  He surely did a good job  because one of the comments was:  “Sounds like a great idea. How do you go about finding a good one?”  His answer was:  “Look on virtual assistant directories.”  So … is your business listed on virtual assistant directories?  Make sure potential clients find you … list your business here

-there are more than 1.7 million South Africans on Facebook  … and that was a year ago

Do you have a Facebook business/fan page?  With a significant 40% plus of Facebook users over age 35 (CheckFaceBook) the idea that Facebook is just for college kids was put to rest long ago.  Get involved in social media and start to build relationships.  Get yourself on Facebook and start mingling with others because if you don’t have a “facebook footprint” you are losing out.   Oh, and while we are on the subject, become a fan of Be-VA-Wise and receive valuable updates about the virtual assistant industry.

-more and more CEOs will use social media in future

Two recent posts by Mashable highlighted how ‘up to date’ CEOs use social media for business exposure and that “business leaders of tomorrow will be versed in social media”.  Another excellent opportunity often overlooked because we tend to think virtual assistants only do normal admin tasks. If you’re interested in social media and have the necessary experience and knowledge, this might be an excellent niche to consider.  The business leaders of tomorrow might not have enough time at hand to spend on social media and a virtual assistant might be their answer to social media involvement.

The virtual assistant industry is surely gaining momentum in South Africa … ensure you are on the forefront to pick the best of the crop when small business owners are looking for virtual assistants.

Mass Marketing vs Target Marketing

Have you ever wondered;

“if you’ve done marketing differently from the start,

what the outcome could have been?”

Well, that thought crossed my mind this week while I was reading a bedtime story to my daughter. I was actually amazed with how I could draw a parallel between the story and how so many of us (and I speak out of experience) are marketing our businesses.

I would like to tell you the story (in a few words), so you can understand what I mean.

The story was about a very poor little boy, who by some tragic events was the only provider for his sick mother and 2 little sisters. To ensure there was food on the table he daily went to the nearby lake and spend hours waiting with his shotgun for a flock of geese to arrive.

Having only one shot per day and hoping that one of the pellets in the shot actually kills a bird, he had to get his timing right. Unfortunately it often happened that his one shot didn’t even kill one goose and he had to go home disappointed and sad because his family didn’t have meat to eat.

Then one day while waiting at the lake a hunter passed by, spotted the boy and asked him what he was doing. After some conversation, the hunter felt very sorry for the boy and gave him his rifle and 3 bullets as well as the instructions that when he shoots his first deer with the rifle, he must take it to butcher’s stall at the market place.

The boy was too afraid to use the rifle and carefully buried it under a huge tree. Eventually his shotgun ammunition run out, and after many weeks, struggling to provide for his family, his sick mother died.

He then remembered about the rifle, the 3 bullets and the instructions from the hunter.

Well, to make a long story short, he killed a deer with the 3rd bullet and that one kill changed the boy’s life. It not only provided food for himself and his sisters, but he could also sell the access meat to the butcher at the marketplace. Through a good strategy of repeat kills and selling the meat, he eventually became quite a wealthy man.

This is just a children’s story, but it actually made me sit up and realise the truth behind it with regard to how we sometimes do our marketing:

The shotgun approach (mass marketing) vs

the rifle approach (target marketing).

As in the story above, a lot of us sometimes use the shotgun approach in marketing and hope that one of the pellets hits a client – any client.

We are also sometimes too afraid to use the rifle approach to target a specific type of client in the fear that we might lose out on a bigger audience.

We want to be…

“All Things to All People”

We’re trying to spread our marketing message to anyone and everyone that is willing to listen; we do a truckload of general advertising to the mass market in the hope that some of it will hit a target; we want to have such a wide range of services to enable us to take each and every job that comes our way; and ultimately we become a “jack of all trades and a master of none”.

But, what often happens with this type of “shotgun-mass-marketing” approach is that

• VAs are mostly disappointed with the results they get or
• they tend to do a lot of work that they don’t really want to do or have experience in

Eventually they reach a point where they have to do some soul searching and need to make important decisions about their ideal clients and how to reach them.

It is at this point, that they start taking a look at the “rifle approach”.

What do you want to do?  Wait for a turning point in your business, or use a rifle from the start?

I would love to hear what you think about this.

Getting Clients is Easy

“Getting clients is easy if you are willing to build relationships with your prospects” – Marietjie Steyn

Yet, most virtual assistant business owners find ‘getting clients’ one of their biggest headaches and for many years I had the same situation until I’ve discovered that “you have to put relationships before your agenda and value those relationships above the transaction” to change the situation.

That’s right.  People will only do business with you when they trust you and that’s not all.  When they trust you they will refer their friends to you.

Want more clients?  -  Build Relationships … 

Most people think contacting a prospect once, is enough to make them line up in front of your office door begging for your “service”

but

the fact of the matter is that you have to make contact with a prospect at least 18 – 24 times per year to build a sound relationship.

Wow, 24 times a year? 

Yes and if you commit yourself to contact your prospects on a structured, well set out plan and keep track of it for at least 12 to 24 months you will have more clients than you can handle on your own.

A couple of thoughts

1. Build a database of 100 prospects (the average person knows 285 people according a Gallup poll)
2. Send your prospects an item of value each month
3. Call your prospects every second month
4. Send them a handwritten note six times a year
5.  Remember to ask for work or referrals

And remember …

Not all of them will become clients but they might refer friends and colleagues to you.

Let’s talk numbers

If only 10% of your prospects (100) become loyal clients and only 10% of your prospects (100) refer one person to you over a period of two years and of these referrals only 5 become your clients you will have 15 loyal clients in 24 months.

Wow!!

Do you think this is worth a try?   Especially in our industry?

I did exactly that and secured more deals than ever before.  And that’s not all!!  I’m  still getting referrals from my database without even asking!

Get Out & Get Clients!

6 Reasons why Face-to-Face Marketing can Land you Clients

With all the talk of social networking, Facebook, Twitter, blogs and having an on-line presence, I think we as VAs sometimes forget that one of the most effective ways to find new clients is to have some face-to-face interactions with people.

I often get the perception that Virtual Assistants feel, because they work “virtually” they do not need to find clients via face-to-face marketing. I also sometimes get the perception that it is easy to “hide” behind a computer because it is a safe, friendly and comfortable environment where a person do not “have” to step out of their comfort zone to talk and directly interact with people.

But here are 6 reasons why face-to-face meetings with people can help you get clients. Read more »

Network Like the “King of Rock and Roll”

33 Years after his death, Elvis Presley is still alive.

Although he lives only in our hearts and for those old enough to have been part of his “era” in our memories, Elvis will always be the Icon of Rock and Roll!

Apart from his pure love for music Elvis was also a bibliophile.   He had always been truthful, warm and interactive with his friends and admirers and he  had the characteristics of an excellent networker.

In order to make sure you reap the full benefits of networking events, you should be able to network like the  King of Rock and Roll.

Read more »

5 Dynamic Marketing Tips

“Marketing is not an event, it is a process . . .

It has a beginning, a middle, but never an end.

You improve it, perfect it, change it, even pause it, but you never stop it completely”

You may deliver the best virtual administrative services and support in the world, but if your target market doesn’t know about you, you won’t make a dime. Why be average?  Use your own dynamic approach and make sure you end up head and shoulders above the crowd… Read more »

Love Marketing And Your Market Will Love You

Marketing is all about growth and growth normally happens through planning and action.

When you’ve found your passion, marketing will be something you “love to do” and not something you have to do.   You will look at marketing from a different perspective and it will not only become an effort to grow your own business but it will become a joint effort with your niche market to grow their business as well.

The “action” part of marketing your virtual assistant services to your passion or niche market will involve…

Read more »