If you are still struggling to get that first client (or that first great client), this is what you need to do.
One of the things many Virtual Assistants struggle with is getting their first client.
There is so much anxiety around getting clients – especially that first one – that we can often be overcome and get paralyzed. And nothing happens.
We try to adjust our services. We try to adjust our rates. We apply for countless RFPs and hear nothing back.
Or worse yet, we take any work someone offers us because we don’t want to miss out on money – and we hate it.
The one thing that VAs who are struggling to get great clients are usually not doing … is having conversations.
Actually talking to people is what will get you clients.
It’s how I got my first client. And the one after that. And the one after that. And pretty much every client I ever got.
When I was 7 months pregnant I was leaving my regular job. I knew I wasn’t going back because I lived outside the city and I didn’t want to pay for daycare and basically have my whole paycheque going to that and the gas for the commute.
My boss asked me when I could start working again, because the financial work I did was really important to him. He used to do it before I did, and he had only trained me. He knew I had the expertise and it would be easier to have me just do that work (and split up the rest of my job tasks to someone else) – and it gave me the opportunity to earn enough money each month to stay home and still contribute to my household.
A conversation about my boss’s needs and my needs got me my first client.
When I realized a bunch of years later that I was actually a VA, I joined CAVA and I got my ‘next’ first client by responding to an RFP. She was an editor in New York City who I signed after a GREAT conversation, and we worked together until I stopped doing VA work in 2018. She also sent me countless referrals over the years and became a great friend.
When I took my Virtual Events certification through VAClassroom (now FreelanceU), I started talking to my audience and connections about my new services – and I got another ‘first’ client. My first telesummit, that turned into another, that turned me into ‘Telesummit Girl’.
You see?
You will always be looking for a ‘first’ client of some kind.
Many of you are still looking for that actual ‘first’ client.
You need to speak to people in order for it to happen.
You will never know what clients need until you talk to them. Some of them you will be able to help, and some of them you will not be able to help. But then you just keep moving along to another conversation. The numbers are on your side.
The clients WILL come when you are talking to people about how you can help them.
And you will never get better at conversations until you start doing them.
I challenge you to make a list of people that you can reach out to, to have conversations about supporting them. And then start reaching out to them. Build relationships daily. It is a great skill to build as a business owner, and one that not many VAs are using. Make it work for you!
If you want accountability with your networking and sales conversations, our Inspired community is the place for you. The Inspired Action VA Mastermind is a tight knit group of professionals who are getting things done in our businesses because we have the support we need to do it. It’s a (very) low-cost, high-value coaching alternative. If you are struggling through your VA business, check out this group to see if it’s the right time for you! Our next session starts in just a few weeks.