Today I’m going to share a MASSIVE blunder that I made with one of my main clients just so you can see that it isn’t so much the mistake that’s the problem, it’s how you respond and deal with that mistake that matters to the client. And hold on to your hats and hide behind your fingers, because this was a pretty big and rather embarrassing error!
Back when I used to offer 1-2-1 training, I mentioned to a friend that a couple of trainees had confidence issues. I’d given them the practical steps they needed to become a VA, but I wasn’t sure how to move them forward when it came to building confidence. He reminded me that I wasn’t a therapist and asked if they’d completed a SWOT analysis.
I often meet up with a local VA called Rachel Brown. I’ve known her for years now and we get together for a coffee and discuss how our businesses are doing, our plans for the future and just to see how each other is getting on, really. So, when Rachel told me she made an absolute killing from just one service, I wanted to know more… much more!
Although the types of tasks you’ll be given by clients will obviously vary depending on what your services are and what these clients do for a living, I thought it might be a good idea to give you three examples of different Virtual Assistant tasks so you can get a basic idea of what to expect.
People often email me their questions and concerns about becoming a Virtual Assistant and, although I reckon I’ve now heard pretty much every mindset stumbling block under the sun, I’ve still not found one reason why someone shouldn’t set up their own business. Here are your biggest fears and why they shouldn’t hold you back.
Annoyingly, you will regularly be contacted by people who have absolutely no idea what they want you to do. They know they need help, but they’re often so busy they can’t think straight and really aren’t sure of the best way to use you. You obviously need to fix this or you won’t end up doing any work for them at all!
Ever been on LinkedIn and want to connect with someone but don’t know what to say? Or maybe you’ve already connected but you don’t know how to continue the conversation. Perhaps someone has requested to connect with you, but you want to know why before accepting. Don’t worry, because I have three templates that completely eliminate the weird awkwardness that is LinkedIn messaging!
A great service to offer is credit control – i.e. chasing invoices. You might shudder at the thought of calling strangers to chase money, but it’s actually completely painless if you know what to say. Many small business owners prefer to outsource this task because it prevents awkwardness by creating a professional buffer between them and their clients.
An “elevator pitch” is how you would deliver a summary of your product, business or service to someone during a short elevator ride. It’s not a sales pitch; it’s a concise explanation of who you are, what you do, who you do it for and why someone might want this. It’s useful to have an elevator pitch when networking, so let me show you how to write one.
Another popular question from new Virtual Assistants is what services they should offer their clients. Obviously, this will depend on numerous things such as demand, your niche, your skill set, your interests, your previous career and your location, but here are 30 different VA services you could consider offering to start you off.
