Get New Clients, How? – Part 2

Clearly Talk About What You Do

A clear message always leads to better understanding.  Have you ever been in an airport and a heard a voice come over the PA system?  Sometimes, the message that the announcer dispenses is very unclear.  You cannot determine if the airplane that you plan to catch has begun the boarding process or if the doors have already been locked.  In a situation like this, hopefully you are in full view of what is going on at the gate where you plan to take off.  How frustrating!  Now, think about when you are telling someone about your profession. Does the person who is listening to you have a clear picture of how you serve your clients?  Can they determine that you are a service professional?     

Why Clarity is Important

It is important to make sure that the message coming through your “PA system” is crystal clear!  It is imperative that your conversation partner truly understands the message that you are trying to convey.  Why?  Every person that learns about your business is a potential referral partner for you.  Never underestimate the influential power of the people that you meet.  Most people have a wide network of associates.  When you convey a powerful message about the service you provide, you enable the people that you meet to pass that important information to others.  Trust me; you do not want potential referral partners to miss “the flight” that will help you to grow your business.

How To Do It

In order to become adept at talking about what you do, remember the main thing that you should NOT do, label yourself! When someone asks you, ‘what do you do’, do NOT say, “I’m a Virtual Assistant.  Let me tell you, ten out of ten times, people will not know what a Virtual Assistant is.  The percentage of individuals who have knowledge of such a title is very small.

Now, let’s get down to the nitty gritty.  Here are the very important steps in having a productive conversation about what you do as a service professional:

• State what you do: Right away mention exactly what you do for your clients!  What are some of the things that you actually do? Do you maintain your clients’ schedule? Do you make travel arrangements? Do you set up online shopping carts for your clients’ products?  Whatever it is that you do, mention that.
• Include your target market: Who are the individuals that you work with?  Do you work with real estate agents, business coaches, or wellness professionals? Mention the targeted group that you have decided to focus your business on.
• State the problem(s) you solve: This is quite clear! For example, do you alleviate the administrative clutter your clients experience so that they can have more time and earn more money?
• Highlight the benefit(s) your clients receive from working with you: Did you see how I slipped in a benefit in part three of this conversation? You can say, “I alleviate the administrative clutter so that my clients can have more time to focus on building their business and earn more money.  What are some other benefits of this? Your clients, as they earn more money can probably spend more time with their families or take more time off or start new businesses. I think you get the point.

I cannot stress the importance of speaking clearly about what you do as a service professional.  Here at EAtoVA, we have gained so many clients just by implementing this into our business years ago.  You will find that when people clearly understand how you help others, they will easily refer you to their friends and business acquaintances.  This one step is a surefire method of getting more clients and building a profitable Virtual Assistance business.