It’s a tough decision to make … but once you actually do it, it makes a HUGE difference in the growth of your business. Before you even think of saying “I can work with all kinds of business owners, why would I want to limit myself by selecting a specific market?”, hear me out.
When I started my own VA business in 2003, I didn’t have a target market. When I heard anything related to the importance of selecting a target market, I turned away and thought “I Do NOT need a target market …. anyone and everyone can benefit from my services.”
It’s true. Virtually ANY kind of business can benefit by working with a Virtual Assistant. But what I was missing was this - by not selecting a target market, I was marketing to every business owner. How do you possibly do that and get someone’s attention?
Here’s another example I’m hoping you can relate to.
Scenario #1
A Virtual Assistant who has not selected a target market, attends a Chamber of Commerce networking event. The VA offers great services and is ready to work with any business owner who is willing to consider her. She tells people she’s a Virtual Assistant and shares a little about the services she offers.
In some cases, people have never heard of the term Virtual Assistant and while they may be interested in learning more, they are not captivated by the VA and her services and move along to connect with others at the event.
Scenario #2
A VA who has identified her target market attends a networking event that she knows her target market will also be attending. She knows exactly what kind of challenges her target market is faced with and so when she connects with new contacts, she shares what she does — using specific words that relate to the target market and the kind of help they need. The new contacts are captivated by the VA, want to learn more, are eager to continue the discussion and a new relationship, which may turn into a paying client, is born.
These scenarios are very general, however my goal is to emphasize the difference in response when you have selected and understand a target market.
Take a look at the article below “Virtual Assistant Tips to Identifying Your Target Market” and take some time to answer the 5 questions included.
What will you do differently moving forward? Share with us by commenting below.
Virtual Assistant Tips to Identify your Target Market
Identifying your target market is essential in the success of a Virtual Assistant business. It doesn’t matter if you have a fabulous website, brochure and business card, if you have not identified your target market, all your marketing efforts can be a waste of your time, money and energy.
Selecting a specific target market can be somewhat of a daunting task for those in the Virtual Assistant industry. Quite often one may think that absolutely anyone in business can benefit from the services of a Virtual Assistant – right? Not necessarily.
Many Virtual Assistants (VAs) feel that if they select a specific target market, they are limiting the potential number of clients that come to them for assistance. The reality is that by not targeting and promoting your VA services within a specific market, you are actually limiting yourself and preventing your Virtual Assistant business from growing.
These 5 questions will help you determine your target market for your virtual assistant business.
- What kind of work do you enjoy? What tasks/projects excite you? If you could create your own job description, what would it include? If you enjoy what you do, then you are more likely to express enthusiasm and demonstrate your best work. This is an important factor – if you don’t enjoy a specific type of work, then stay away from the professionals who may need that kind of support.
- Who do you enjoy working with? This may an obvious question but it is one few Virtual Assistants consider. Do you prefer to work with men or women? What age group? Do you work best with people that are older or younger than you?
- What does your ideal client look like? Is your ideal client a well-known professional with a large business, and making seven figures? Do you prefer small or start-up businesses? If you have family, do you want to work with someone who may also have a family and understands the flexibility required in your Virtual Assistant business?
- What professions interest you and which do not? This is important. Just like question #1 above, it’s important to enjoy and be enthusiastic about the work you do. If you dread a specific profession, then there’s no use in attempting to work with that profession. For example, I personally have no interest in the financial industry so working with a financial planner or accounting business would not be in my best interest or in the best interest of a potential client.
- What skills/knowledge/expertise do you offer? If you offer great skills, knowledge and expertise in a certain area, consider which professions are in dire need of this kind of support. For example, if you offer expertise and enjoy working with online technology, to support the automation, product delivery and marketing of a business, which type of industry would benefit and be willing to pay for this support? If an industry does not need your expertise or are not willing to pay for it, you may be better off finding another industry that does.
The five questions above may seem obvious, however Virtual Assistants are not taking the time to consider these questions, and many others, to help in selecting a target market.
If you want to build a Virtual Assistant business with great clients, you must select a target market. With a target market selected, you can market and speak directly to those who you want to attract to your business. And then your virtual assistant business will grow like you always imagined it would.
Cindy Greenway is the author of “Virtually Successful: 8 Simple Ways to Find (and Keep) Clients” and co-founder and lead trainer of Hot Skills VA Training – a skills training center for Virtual Assistants. Get your copy of “The 10 Critical Skills for a Thriving Virtual Assistant Practice” at www.GrowYourVABiz.com. Article is free to be reprinted as long as bio remains.
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One of the practices that we all (Andrea, Tina and Cindy) firmly believe in is connecting with clients every week - even for just 20 minutes at a time. The voice-to-voice connection has proved to be invaluable. By coming prepared to the meeting, ready to discuss upcoming deadlines, priorities and goals, the time is well-spent and more efficient than sending countless emails (which may be intrepreted differently) on the same topics. 
