Today’s Quote: Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friend. – Walt Disney
Welcome to another episode of the podcast that teaches you how to be a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
Today we are going to talk about your qualifications to be a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.
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Connect with Tracey D’Aviero, VA Coach and Trainer
Episode Notes:
So Walt Disney says you need to be so good they want to come back. That’s exactly true for any service based business, not just for a theme park. It’s because they are happy, of course. Happy customers are the key to a successful business – any business, but of course, your VA business.
How do we make sure our customers are happy?
Lots of ways – but the simplest one I can think of is to do what you know how to do.
Common complaints from business owners about VAs include:
- pretending to be something they are not
- too much hand holding needed
- not enough industry knowledge
- lack of communication
- level of professionalism
Now don’t worry, we VAs have a list of things that clients do wrong too!
But this is really important information to know, when it comes to your VA business.
So that’s why I say I think the easiest way to make your clients rave about you is to do what you know how to do.
If you have general admin experience -guess what? You are qualified to be a great VA.
You don’t need to start there and learn something else.
Every single business owner in the world needs general admin work done in their business. And they should be outsourcing that business so they can focus on what it is that they do best – working in their brilliance with their clients.
Enter Virtual Assistants.
It’s what we do. It’s what we specialize in. It’s what you specialize in.
I talk to a lot of new VAs every day – but also a lot of women who are just checking out our industry – and one of the biggest misconceptions I have to clear up for them is that “i need to learn xyz to get VA clients’.
Nope, you don’t. You already know what clients need – from your work experience in an admin role.
Now, if you don’t have admin experience, then you have to take training.
Or, if you were a receptionist and you didn’t do a lot of admin work, same thing.
But most of us who are starting our VA businesses are doing so after working for a period of time (sometimes a long period of time) in an admin role, and we know that we can work with multiple clients to help them as a freelance VA.
If you aspire to be a social media VA, or a podcaster’s VA, or a course creator’s VA, you can. But you need to get money coming in to your VA business first. And the easiest way to do that is doing what you know right now.
My best advice is to start with what you know now.
If I asked you what you could help me with today, what would you say? There must be something. Customer service? Email management? Scheduling? Those are probably the top 3 general admin services I hear that new VAs can provide.
And if you tell me that you can do that for me, then it’s clear to me that you are capable and we can start working together today.
If I asked you questions about how we could work together to do any of those things, you could tell me. And I as a potential client would be confident that you could help me with what I need done.
I would see the value in spending money to work with you.
But if you tell me that you are taking some training to do this, that or the other, or that you are a brand new VA, and you are willing to learn, or that you are a quick study and you could look after whatever I asked, I would not have the same confidence in you.
I would not see the value in spending my money to work with you today. I would call someone else.
VAs are shooting themselves in the foot every day because of what they THINK the clients need.
Here’s the big news: if you think that all business owners need social media, so that’s what you need to learn … guess what? They don’t.
I know several people in my local town who run multi million dollar business – and they don’t need social media support. You know what they need? General admin support. Bookkeeping.
Where are you seeing that people need social media as their top service? You’re seeing it on social media! That’s what you think that.
And that’s why a lot of clients think that’s all VAs do.
And because the clients don’t understand it, they don’t see the value in it. And so it will take them longer to spend their money on it.
This is my point – that whatever a client decided to place value on is what they decide to spend their money on.
What is valuable to them is worth their money.
So that’s what you need to figure out – and it’s why I always tell you that you should choose a target market. Because it helps you with that value part.
If you say I do customer service and research and reports and data entry and business presentations, that may make sense to you but it may not be appealing at all to people who are seeing you.
But if you choose target market of say, course creators, then you can say that you help with researching their course materials, you upload their course materials into their systems and test them, that you can do their new student or client onboarding, that you can find course content for them, and you can create their course handouts and resources – do you see the difference that makes in getting noticed by a potential who needs support?
And it’s the same thing – it’s just getting more specific with describing what you can do for them.
It helps you to get clearer on their specific needs – and that’s where they place their value.
They will see that you understand their business – their industry – and that you won’t be one of those VAs that I talked about earlier – that they don’t really feel is a good fit.
So when I tell you that you are already qualified to be a ridiculously good VA, it’s because you are.
Draw on your previous work experience. All of your experiences, actually.
When I work privately with a VA, or in my group programs too – I get them to do what I call my Skills Inventory.
It’s an exercise that reminds you of all of the stuff you know.
Quite often when we are thinking about what we know how to do for clients, we just think about our most recent job or role.
But you know wayyyy more than that. To do the skills inventory, go back to the very first job you ever had. What did you do there? What did you learn? What skills are transferrable to a business. Then go to the next job, and the next, and the next.
What education do you have? What courses have you taken?
What volunteer work have you done? What else have you learned – online or otherwise?
And finally what are your hobbies? You can incorporate your hobbies into your business too.
When you look at this whole inventory you will see how much you can actually do now. When I first did this exercise for myself, I had forgotten so many things that I had learned, or that I loved to do.
Everything you know is what makes you unique – and it’s what makes your business unique.
You are more than qualified to have clients hire you. You don’t need to learn about Facebook ads or how to edit videos for Instagram reels, you don’t need to do something brand new.
It’s hard enough to be a brand new business owner – confidence-wise – so give yourself a break with your services. Do what you know.
And like I said, if you want to take training and be a social media expert, do it after you already have your business up and running, money coming in. You can change your services to whatever you want. You can change your target market. You can change your rates. Everything. But it’s easiest to start with where you are.
When you are comfortable having business conversations and networking, the confidence comes through.
I often record the coaching calls I do with my VAs and I can show them exactly where their voice changes in a call, when they are describing what they do. When they are trying to convince me of something, they look away from the camera, they use too many words, they stumble on what they are trying to say. But when I ask them a question about what they do know, they settle right in. Their voice gets louder, they look right at me, and they can describe the process easily and confidently.
THAT’s what you want your clients to hear. That’s what will make them feel comfortable and trust that you can help them with their business.
Remember their business is very important to them – and so is their money. They want to believe that you can help them. They have no way to do that if you don’t assure them.
That’s why working in your brilliance is key.
Also, it’s easier! While I am a perpetual learner, I definitely don’t want to have to learn something new every time I try to complete a task.
When you are doing things that are new to you, that’s sometimes the case.
I remember trying to learn how to do Facebook ads. It was the most frustrating thing in the world, I definitely didn’t know what I was doing, but my client had heard that she ‘needed’ them, and it seemed pretty simple. Not only did I not have any idea what I was doing, so I spent a lot of her billable time learning and testing … but I also spent her other money on clicks and ad revenue (which I had no confidence in doing).
But you know what? There are a lot of VAs who DO know how to do Facebook ads – and they charge accordingly, and they actually can help their client get results. That’s a referral to me.
There are so many reasons that you should stick to what you know, but my biggest message for you today is to do it because you CAN.
Don’t be one of those VAs who thinks that you need to learn something to start your business.
You don’t. You are creating more stress for yourself.
Here’s what to do instead:
Target a group of clients that you know you could help today.
Determine exactly how you can help them and describe the value they will get from working with you today.
Connect with a lot of them, and help them today.
Your business will grow immediately – today. I promise!
And don’t forget, one happy client will tell their friends about you – and that’s exactly why Walt Disney says to do what you do well.
Do You Need Help?
If you are ready to take a step forward (or many steps forward, actually!), that’s where I come in. I am here for one reason – to help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving through private coaching, group coaching, and live and self study trainings. If you want to talk about how we can work together, let’s connect on a Cut to the Chase call. You can book yours at YourVAMentor.com/chase
Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
What You Need To Do Next
Let’s work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It’s the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It’s a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
Click here for more tips to help you with your productivity and time management in your Virtual Assistant business.
Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.