I’ve always considered myself very outgoing. I can talk to anyone on just about any subject (one that’s interesting to me, of course) and not even think twice about it. However, I’m not a sales person and I’m finding this carries over into the selling of my VA services - something I find EXTREMELY interesting.
I know the services I offer carry many great benefits to the potential client and I know the services I offer are very necessary. I’ve found though that helping this to come across in my presentation is somewhat harder for me than I’d hoped.
I could try to blame it on the fact that I just moved to this area - Buffalo, but we VAs know that would be just an excuse. We are Virtual you know! Geography does not matter to us, right? Well, in my case, it might matter somewhat. I am meeting with two potential clients next week, in person, in a new town, and my presentation is definitely going to make or break the possible business relationship.
Nerves and stress over the move to Buffalo might well play a part in preparing for these meetings. I must try very hard to overcome this potential obstacle.Sharing this here will, hopefully, be therapeutic for me and over the weekend I will be working on my benefits/features list and getting my VA speak burned into my memory!
What a great idea whose time has come! I love my city’s chamber. They offer some very valuable services and resources as well as a great networking web. Having a Virtual Assistant Chamber of Commerce offers these same great opportunities. However, instead of having to travel to networking opportunities you can just “log on” to the forum, any time, any place, and find a plethora of VA’s just waiting to offer insight, answers, suggestions, and even potential clients/work projects.
One of the great things about this industry is the willingness of other VA’s to share their work and knowledge. VA’s don’t view others within this community as competition, but rather as co-solopreneurs and entrepreneurs. What a valuable commodity to have access to. Of course, membership is not easy - you have to be accepted into the chamber and you have to remain active with posts and maintain a “visible” presence in the organization.
It is such that often times, things that are worth trying for are not easy. It takes time and effort to succeed. The rewards however, are plentiful.
Sometimes, the best way to get going in a particular direction is to take Baby Steps. This might seem like a time-consuming endeavor, but giant leaps can cause a person to overlook the important, however minute, details that can make or break any career journey.I have been trying to make giant leaps from the outset of my VA journey. I want to have clients NOW! I know I have the skill and have my fully-functional home-office, but I don’t have the thriving client-base I know will eventually appear. I have the website (which I’m revamping at the moment), business cards, marketing material, etc. What I have found I don’t have is a strong network. This, in my opinion, is a Baby Step.
Finding like-minded individuals who can support my enterprising efforts is not the easiest part of starting my VA business. Because personal relationships with other VA’s and clients are one of the founding blocks to the Virtual Assistant field I have started to truly research and join VA organizations like the VA Revolution and the VANA. Of course, these organizations are not always free to join, but whatever I must spend to build this network will be well worth it in the end.
Another Baby Step I must take is being diligent in posting ideas, questions, concerns and simple thoughts about this industry to the many forums available to me. It is here that I will begin to build my network and secure the strong support that is necessary to growing my VA business.
Once I have made this Baby Step of beginning my network, I can make a giant leap into the world of a client-rich VA business.