Welcome to another episode of the podcast that teaches you how to be a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
Today I want to talk about actually getting inquiries about your VA services.
Today’s Quote: “A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan executed next week.” – George S. Patton
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Connect with Tracey D’Aviero, VA Coach and Trainer
Episode Notes:
If you are not getting inquiries about your VA services, it’s usually not because you’re not good at what you do. I mean, for sure that’s not the reason.
It’s because of how you’re talking about what you do.
And I want to be really clear here: this is not about becoming a better salesperson in a pushy, uncomfortable way. This is about clarity. This is about confidence. And this is about making it easy for the right people to see themselves in what you offer.
So if you’ve ever felt like you’re posting consistently, you’re showing up, you’re talking about your services, but nothing is really happening, this episode is going to help you shift that.
Change How You Describe What You Do
Let’s start with what most VAs are doing right now. Maybe you’re doing it.
They’re listing tasks. They’re saying things like, I offer email management, calendar management, social media support, admin support, customer service. None of that is technically wrong. Those are real services.
But the problem is that those things don’t mean much to the client.
It’s actually industry jargon, whether you realize it or not.
Because clients are not out there thinking, I really need someone to manage my inbox today. Not in those words.
They’re thinking, I’m overwhelmed. I’m missing important emails. I’m losing opportunities. I feel scattered. I need help.
So when you lead with tasks, you’re speaking your language, not theirs. And that disconnect is what stops people from inquiring.
What we want to do instead is shift from tasks to outcomes.
We want to talk about what changes for the client when they work with you. What gets easier. What gets better. What gets done.
So instead of saying, I manage your inbox, you might say something like, I help you stay on top of important conversations so you never miss an opportunity again. So your clients feel supported. So you feel less overwhelmed. Same service, completely different impact.
One sounds like a task. The other sounds like a solution. And the solution is what makes people lean in and listen. It makes them want respond, or reach out.
I used to talk in tasks too – I figured I knew what email management was, and that’s what everyone called it. But believe it or not, our clients don’t call it that.
What is it? Is it managing the inbox? Is it setting up campaigns? Is it responding to contact form responses? For some VAs, it’s all those things.
Use Your Client’s Words
For clients, we need to use their own words. What do they call it?
When I got really clear on what the ‘things’ I did helped my clients with, I could describe them in a much better way.
I could describe them so that they thought “I need that” and they would then reach out to ask me for help because they knew I said I could help them.
Now here’s where a lot of VAs get stuck.
They think they need to come up with something really clever or really polished. I did that too!
And honestly, that’s not it.
Clever or polished doesn’t do it. Fancy package names is not what you need. What you need is specificity.
Because vague language is another reason people don’t inquire.
If you say, I help business owners with their admin, that could mean anything. And when something could mean anything, it usually means nothing to the person reading it. Does that even make sense?
They have to see themselves in it. They don’t see themselves in ‘general’ or ‘anything’.
But when you get specific, something clicks. And it clicks quickly.
I help coaches who are overwhelmed with client communication organize their inbox and follow ups so they can respond faster and feel back in control of their day.
Now someone reading that can immediately think, that’s me – that’s what you want.
You want recognition. Not for you, particularly, but for what you can DO for them. You want them to recognize that in your messaging.
You want someone to feel seen in your content.
And that doesn’t happen when you stay broad or general.
When I became known as the Telesummit Girl in my community of 6- and 7- figure business coaches, it was very clear what I could help them with.
And yes that’s a cute name, but it was very specific for what they needed. If they needed to organize a telesummit (an online conference), then they knew they could talk to me about it.
I got inquiries for that services ALL the time. And because I knew the specific services I offered, I had three levels of packages priced out as well as a list of a la carte services – so my clients could see exactly how much it would cost them to hire me, before they ever reached out.
That’s how you get specific. You determine what your clients need, and then you describe it in words that they understand. You price it properly. The inquiries come.
Don’t Forget The Emotion
Another thing I see all the time is VAs talking about their services in a very neutral, almost flat way. Without any emotion.
The truth is, people make decisions based on how they feel – even in business. Especially in business.
If someone is feeling stressed, behind, frustrated, or stuck, and your content doesn’t reflect that, it doesn’t connect.
So instead of just describing what you do, speak to how it feels before and after working with you.
Before looks like missed emails, messy systems, things falling through the cracks.
After looks like clarity, organization, consistency, breathing room.
You’re not making it dramatic. You’re making it relatable. You’re showing that you understand their experience. That’s what builds trust.
The best clients are the busy ones – and everything that comes with that gets magnified – their stress, their overwhelm – and their relief after getting help.
It’s part of the reason that I advise you all the time to only do things that you are exceptional at doing.
Because it’s not about learning and asking a million questions. With super busy clients, you need to solve their issues, their problems.
When my clients needed to run a telesummit, they didn’t need me checking with them about every little thing. They needed me to handle it for them.
They didn’t want to learn something new – they needed to use that online conference to get more leads, to sell a program, to make money – whatever their specific goal was. And I was the one to do all the back end stuff so that it could happen.
What do you do that you do exceptionally well? That’s where you start with choosing your services. And when you know that, then you decide how it helps your clients.
Confidence Comes Through In Your Words
Now let’s talk about confidence, because this is a big one – a lot of VAs soften their language without even realizing it.
They say things like, I can help with, or I might be able to support you with, or I offer a variety of services. I have totally done this, that’s why I know you might be doing it too.
It’s not wrong, but it’s definitely not strong. It does NOT position you as someone who knows what they’re doing. It positions you as someone who is available to be told what to do. That’s very different.
Do you see that? I think it really hits the message home.
When you speak with confidence, it changes how people perceive you.
It sounds like, I help (your target market) streamline their client communication so they can focus on business growth.
There’s no hesitation in that. There’s clarity and ownership. And that makes people more likely to trust you.
Confidence in your messaging is not about exaggerating what you do. Not at all. It’s just about standing behind it.
When I got clear on my services, it made it really easy to communicate it to the people that I wanted to work with.
Your messaging is so important. It literally works for you all the time.
Focus On What Matters Most
Another shift that makes a huge difference is moving from describing everything you do to focusing on what matters most.
You do not need to list every single task you’re capable of. I call that a laundry list of services – and posting or talking about that usually makes things worse.
Because now the client has to sort through it and figure out what’s relevant to them. Never make them do that. Most people just won’t. They will move on.
Your job is to filter it for them. Send them the right information, don’t make them try to find it in a proposal or a portfolio or on your website.
You just need to highlight the things that solve the problems they already know they have.
So instead of a long list, think in terms of themes or results: client communication, content support, systems and organization.
And then within that, you can expand if needed.
But your main message stays clear and simple.
When I work with VAs to create their packages, we start with a few high level categories. Everything fits into those.
You have to stop mentioning everything because it’s too much. It’s confusing. Call it what it is. And then have a discussion about it.
Okay, next I want to talk about something that might feel small, but it makes a big difference. And that’s how often you actually talk about your services.
A lot of VAs are not getting inquiries because they’re barely mentioning what they do. They’re posting tips. They’re sharing value. They’re showing up consistently. But they’re not clearly connecting that content back to their services.
So people might think, this is helpful. But they don’t think, I should hire this person.
There needs to be a bridge between your content and your offer.
That can be as simple as saying, this is something I support my clients with regularly. Or, this is exactly the kind of thing I can take off your plate. Or even, if this is something you’re struggling with, we should talk.
You don’t have to be salesy. You just have to be clear.
We used to have a marketing ratio of content – 80% non salesy, 20% salesy. But things are very different now. I teach you to use stories to talk about how you help clients. And that’s not the same as ‘salesy’ used to be. It’s just telling stories about how you have helped your clients.
You can do that all the time. You have to tell them you can help them – and many VAs just don’t do this often enough at all.
No more motivational quotes! Tell people what you did today, yesterday, last week or month – or ever – and how it helped a client. That’s how your clients will get the right message that you can help them.
And this brings me to another important point. People need repetition.
You might feel like you’re saying the same thing over and over again. But your audience is not seeing everything you post. And even if they are, they need to hear it multiple times before it sticks.
So don’t assume that because you mentioned your services once or twice, people know what you do.
Keep coming back to it.
Keep refining how you say it.
Keep making it clearer.
That’s how inquiries start to build.
Tell Them What To Do Next
Now let’s talk about making it easy for people to take the next step. Because even if your messaging is clear and compelling, if there’s no obvious next step, people won’t take one.
You need to tell them what to do. And again, this can be simple. Send me a message. Let’s chat.
Here’s how to work with me. Book a call.
The key is that it’s clear and consistent. Don’t leave them guessing. And don’t make them work to figure it out. Just tell them what to do now, if they are interested they will want to do it.
Make Sure Your Messaging Is Aligned With Your Ideal Clients
One last thing I want to touch on is alignment. Because your messaging needs to match the level of client you want to attract.
If you’re speaking in a very casual, task based, open ended way, you’re going to attract clients who are looking for that.
If you want higher level clients, your messaging needs to reflect a higher level of thinking. That means talking about results, strategy, efficiency, growth.
It means positioning yourself as someone who contributes to the business, not just someone who completes tasks.
You don’t have to become a strategist, but you do need to stand behind what you do and be able to have conversations about it in a confident way.
So if we bring this all together, talking about your services in a way that gets inquiries comes down to a few key shifts.
You move from tasks to outcomes.
You get specific so people can see themselves in your work.
You speak to how things feel, not just what gets done.
You use confident language. You simplify your message. You actually talk about your services regularly. And you make it easy for people to take the next step.
None of this requires you to change what you do.
It just requires you to change how you talk about it.
And that’s a much simpler fix than most people think.
Do You Need Help?
So if you’ve been feeling frustrated because things aren’t clicking yet, I want you to take a look at your messaging first, because that’s usually where the gap is. Once you start closing that gap, everything else gets easier. More conversations, more inquiries, more opportunities to turn those into clients.
And if you want help with this, if you want to actually sit down and refine how you’re talking about your services so that it connects and converts, that’s exactly what we do inside my programs.
We don’t just talk about what services to offer. We talk about how to position them, how to communicate them, and how to build a business around them that feels clear and sustainable.
So if that’s something you’re ready for, I’d love to support you.
You can jump into the Booked and Busy Bootcamp and get this done right now. Or you can message me and we can talk about other ways I can help you uplevel what you are doing – the clarity with your messaging – talking about the right stuff, more often.
For now, take a look at how you’re currently describing your services and ask yourself one simple question: Would a potential client read this and immediately understand how it helps them? If the answer is no, that’s your starting point.
Sometimes you need someone else to read it for you, but either way get that done. Because that’s where the real progress begins.
Let’s circle back to today’s quote: “The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits them and sells itself.” That’s literally all you have to do.
I want to tell you one thing – when you start doing this, because you understand it – you will find it so much easier to not just do your marketing and social media, but you will also feel more relaxed in conversations. And all of that leads to the inquiries that you want.
That’s all I’ve got for you today. Thanks so much for tuning in.
I’m Tracey D’Aviero, The Confidence Coach for VAs – and I’m here to help you become a ridiculously good VA.
it’s the only reason I’m here at all. So reach out, connect with me. If I can help you right now, I’d love to talk about it.
I’ll see you next time!