One of the most attractive things about starting a virtual support business is that unlike almost every other career, job or business – you really don’t need much to get off the ground and sign paying clients quickly. If you want to launch a Virtual Assistant business, the barrier to entry is low to nonexistent. But there are a few things that many people think they need before they can be a legit business owner. Here are three things you might think you need, or may have been told you need, to start your biz…but you actually don’t: 1. A Certification I did not have a certification in Virtual Assisting and didn’t take advanced courses to gain more skills when I started in 2017 and that did not hold me back from success in the slightest. But people think that the traditional path to success is college or certification first, and because of that, the same must be true for entrepreneurship and for the VA industry. Nope. Not even a little bit true. I mean, you can. But it would be an epic waste of time and money because you can literally Google and YouTube any skill you need to
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3 Sales Tips That Work Like a Charm for Virtual Support Providers
Let’s cut to the chase – what makes these sales tips I’m about to share with you work SO well?! They are potential client-focused versus YOU-focused. I see people miss the mark on this with their sales process all of the time. When you make it all about you, your services, your prices, what you can offer, you’ve completely forgotten that selling needs to be about the CLIENT. And when you’re client-focused, sales are sooo much easier! People want to know what’s in it for THEM. If you talk about yourself too much, they’ll turn their ears off – but so many business owners don’t even realize they’re doing it! When you want the sale so badly, you often forget to focus on the potential client. Turn that around and they’ll be much more likely to listen to what you have to say and eventually buy! So let’s talk about three sales tips that you can start doing now that are client-focused instead: Tip #1: Make a connection that has NOTHING to do with business Most people exist in their workday doing only business. Tasks are business-related, thoughts are business-related, conversations are business-related. So, if you come in with a
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How to sign your first or next client as a VA or OBM
Aside from how to start an online business, the second most common question I get is, “How the heck do I find paying clients?!” What most people focus on doing to sign clients (that doesn’t work): Creating a logo Launching a website Re-writing their website copy 84285708 times. Why do we do this?! The tasks that REALLY help you sign clients are not the easy or safe ones. They’re the ones that work, yet people still avoid them because they’re new and uncomfortable. Side note: When I started my VA biz in 2017 and replaced my corporate salary in less than two months, I didn’t have a website or logo…just sayin. With that said, here are my 3 steps to ACTUALLY sign paying clients ASAP: Step 1: Market your business with a metric f ton of value that people want to read consistently Value is not “5 reasons you need a virtual assistant” or “2 ways an OBM can help you grow your business.” Value IS an easy IG hack, a Google drive tip, or a strategy lesson – something someone can use to make their business or life better right now (BEFORE hiring you). People are inundated with content
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3 Steps to Find Dream Clients
One of the BEST things about running an online done-for-you business is that if you’re good at what you do, you keep your clients for a looooooong time. Unlike most other online businesses (like coaching, ecommerce, course creation) where clients are served for a finite amount of time, your business model is set up so that, if you’re both happy in the working relationship, you can stay in it infinitely. This is the best news ever because it means in comparison to all of those other businesses, you have to market less, sell less and spend less of your valuable, precious time on client acquisition (and more of it actually doing work that makes you money). Because you have the ability to keep your clients for longer and have way lower client turnover, you spend less time on client acquisition-type tasks. Here’s what else this means. In order to reap the benefits of your business model and keep clients long-term, you have to know what clients are a fit for the way you run your business. Because if you keep taking on clients who aren’t a true fit, you WILL have high turnover and because of that you’ll be
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From 0 clients to a roster full of DREAM clients in 4 short months
I was on a client call the other week with a client who completely booked out her roster (with DREAM clients, btw) within 4 short months of opening the doors to her business. Soooo, how’d she do it? It takes, intention, introspection and flat-out WERK to get a roster full of dream clients who leave you loving the work you do, the people you serve and the income you make. And the very FIRST thing you need to do to get to this place yourself is probably going to surprise you. Because while I’m normally helping my clients make things less about them (and more about the client and the client support experience), if you REALLY want a roster full of dream clients, then you have to start with YOU. 4 ways to book out your biz with a roster full of dream clients 1. Get crystal clear on what you want. You have to get super clear about what you want BEFORE you say yes to any more clients. After all, a dream client for you is different than a dream client for me is different than a dream client for Sally Sue, right? You need to be crystal
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The 4 reasons you aren’t signing more clients in your VA, OBM or SMM biz
As a mentor for done-for-you service providers, I see ALL the ways in which we keep ourselves stuck. And without fail MOST of the ways in which we keep ourselves stuck have to do with sales. Meaning, I see all the reasons VAs, OBMs and SMMs aren’t signing more clients and making more money in their businesses. And I KNOW how defeating a place this can be since you feel like you’re doing #allthethings without seeing #alltheresults. So, if you find yourself wishing and praying you could sign another client — like yesterday — then settle into a comfy chair and grab a hot cup o’ joe. We’re chatting about the FOUR reasons you aren’t signing more clients in your done-for-you biz. The best part? To change that, all you gotta start doing is the opposite! The 4 reasons you aren’t signing more clients in your VA, OBM or SMM biz 1. You aren’t persistent enough. If you want to make more sales, sign more clients and increase the income in your biz, then you gotta pull out your laptop, open your inbox and get to craftin’ a pretty little follow-up note. ‘Cause the #1 reason you aren’t signing more
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3 Steps to Happier Clients + Better Boundaries
I don’t know a single business owner who hasn’t experienced boundary issues with their clients. You know what I’m talking about, right? You have boundary issues if you’ve experienced any of the following: Clients texting you non-stop Clients emailing you over the weekend expecting work to be done ASAP Clients expecting response times that you aren’t able to or don’t want to provide Clients asking for more revisions than you’ve agreed to Clients not paying their invoices on time Clients arguing over your invoices Constant and consistent frustration in your relationships with your clients The feeling of always being on edge with your clients The feeling that you have 0 balance in your business and life Any of this sound familiar? If the answer is yes, the first thing I want you to know is that you’re not alone! I experienced this in my businesses back when I was doing VA + OBM work, I support my clients with these issues often and honestly, it’s also a bit of a rite of passage as an entrepreneur. Once you experience them you know it’s time to fix them, and that’s a good thing! So here’s something really important to remember: boundary
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5 Foolproof Ways to Land Your Next Virtual Client
When I started my Virtual Assisting business almost 2 years ago I saw success FAST. Within eight days of starting the business I signed my first client. Two weeks later, I left my corporate job. Another two weeks and I had the clients (and income) to replace my 9-5 salary. Within months, I added contractors to my team, took on more clients and scaled to 10K+ months. When people hear about this, they always want to know HOW I did it. HOW I landed so many clients so quickly, HOW I figured out when to bring on my first team members, HOW I created raving fans that kept sending me burning hot leads and HOW I was always full and on a waiting list. If there’s 1 thing I’ve learned to do well as an online entrepreneur it’s attracting and signing clients. And y’all…paying clients are what takes you from an expensive hobby to a real, big girl business. So today, I’m sharing my 5 foolproof ways to land your first or next virtual client. They’re the ways I found my first clients, the ways I tell my clients to look for clients, and when you commit to them and
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3 Ways to Get Clients (+ Make Money) as a Virtual Assistant
I started my Virtual Assisting business in March of 2017 and within 4 weeks I had filled my roster and replaced my 9-5 income 🎉. Online businesses are popping up each day, and the need for Virtual Assistants will only grow as more of our world population comes online. So, you’re probably thinking “yeah that’s cool Sara, but how do I replicate your success and make money with MY Virtual Assistant business?”. I’ve gotcha girl! Here are 3 ways to get clients (+ make money) as a Virtual Assistant: 1. Hang out in Facebook groups. This is my #1 tip and it’s so successful you should be RUNNING to Facebook right now. Go find some entrepreneurial Facebook groups (here are a few suggestions: 1,2,3). Hang out in there to understand who is there and what their business needs are. When someone asks for a recommendation for a VA, respond! When someone asks for tech help (something that often happens in these groups) help them! When one of these group members runs a free challenge, ENTER IT! That’s actually how I got my first 2 clients, just by entering a challenge and giving tons of free value. 2. Use your network. I
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