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.

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.

1. 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.
2. 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?
3. 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?
4. 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.
5. 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.

You hear us talk about it all the time … ‘taking inventory’ of your clients so you can better understand their goals and priorities. 

Well this time we want you to take your own inventory.

Every December and January, many of us make a note of goals we want to accomplish for ourselves and our business. Yet, we don’t always consider our current commitments and surroundings and what might need to change in order for us to accomplish these new goals and priorities.

Then before you know it … we continue working away, we get busy, maybe even a little overwhelmed and nothing changes.

It’s time to break the cycle and we’d like to help.

The ‘Taking Inventory’ document has been developed to assist you with:

• identifying your current business commitments  -  the number of clients you have, the number of hours you are committed to etc.
• confirming the amount of revenue you are generating each month versus the number of hours you are working
• uncovering what you really want to accomplish
• recognizing what needs to change in order for you to make the amount of money you want, work with the clients (and number of clients) you want, have the time ‘off’ that you want and still accomplish the goals that are important to you

One of the goals here at VirtuallySuccessful.com is to empower virtual professionals to step up and create the business THEY want … not just support
their clients in building the business they want.

Take a few minutes now to download the Taking Inventory document below and schedule some time in your schedule to take your own inventory.

>>> Download the “Taking Inventory” document

"VAs Do It On Their Laptops" Receives Great Response!

In the last issue of the V-Scoop we revealed the new "Virtual Assistants Do It On Their Laptops" slogan and fun products in the brand new store. It was so great to see so many of you enjoy and get a few of the items!

Here’s what Kate Bradbury shared on the VirtuallySuccessful.com blog:

LOVE IT! "Virtual Assistants Do it on Their Laptops"!!!!!!

and Patricia Hartfield wrote:

THIS IS FANTASTIC LADIES! I already placed an order. I was looking for some products that has a Virtual Assistant on it. And, you guys did a great job. … Lets tell the WORLD who we are!!!

We will be looking at adding additional items (thanks for your suggestions!) and promise to keep you posted. Currently there are t-shirts, tank tops, hoodies, hats, clocks, journals, mugs - travel and coffee, water bottle, magnets, buttons and stickers.

Here’s a quick pic of some of the items.

Check out the full store!

Remember, done tastefully, attention-getting publicity and promotion can be a way to really broaden the reach of your business too. Click to comment here.

Question of the Week

What Are You Doing to Help Grow Your Client’s Business?

Tina recently posted this on her blog and we thought it would be a great topic to get you thinking about the work you do with your clients.

I’ve included a link to the full blog post below but here’s a snippet that I’d like to share here with you:

With all the bumps in the economy these days, I’m hearing some buzz among online support folks (virtual assistants, online business managers and the like) along the lines of "If my client’s business is struggling - doesn’t that mean they’ll have to let me go?"

Au contraire! Your services are needed more than ever because of these challenges…

We need to always be focused on how we are helping to grow our client’s business. If you find yourself in fear of ‘losing your clients’ or are seeing some of your clients struggling I want to ask you: What are you doing to help grow your client’s business?

Read the ideas Tina shares on her blog …. you’ll be surprised at how effective these points are no matter who you work with! Take a few minutes to leave your comments about what you ARE doing to help your clients build their business.

And if you’re a Virtual Assistant looking for help in how to really impact your client’s business and build your own at the same time, check out the customized VA coaching packages available to you.

The number one question we receive from Virtual Assistants is "How do I find clients?" and we’re actually tackling that challenge head on in our "3 Clients in 30 Days" Program right now! Finding clients is one part of the puzzle when it comes to building your VA business…. yet it is just as important to make sure that potential clients fit the description of your Ideal Client.

How would you describe your ideal client? Can you tell within the first 10-15 minutes of meeting with a potential client (either by phone or in person) whether they fit the description of your ideal client?

After talking to literally hundreds of business owners looking for a VA, we’ve come up with a set of criteria that allows us to know - within a quick 10-15 minute chat - whether a business owner fits the description of our ideal target market.

So to help you out - we’ve created - tada! The Ideal Client Comparison Chart for you. With the number of potential new clients out there you really should not be working with anyone other than those that you really want to work with!

The point of this chart is to help you quickly identify who is ready to work with you, who is a great match for you and those who aren’t (you know, the ones that give you that ‘pit in your stomach’ feeling.)

Use this tool to help build relationships with the RIGHT kind of clients for you. Enjoy! Click here for PDF.

Got a burning need or desire for a tool you’d like to see created, for the benefit of the Virtual Assistant industry and yourself? Just hit reply to put in your request.

© 2009 Virtually Successful.com. Adapted from the book "Virtually Successful: 8 Simple Ways to Find (and Keep) Clients" by Cindy Greenway. Reproduction permitted with full attribution.

It’s time to reconnect with the community to hold the second Future of Virtual Assistance call to discuss another hot topic.

The conversation around VA Certification has been brewing for years - there have been discussions at VA Conferences, on message boards, within private groups and associations - with no general agreement yet on the subject.

Will a certified VA be more successful than a non-certified VA? Will the business owners we support find value in having a certified VA?

If you’ve been a VA for years, should you consider this? If you’re new to the VA world, is it one more thing to look into?

Sign up below for the call on Tuesday, July 28th at Noon Pacific (3pm Eastern) - we look forward to a juice and sure to be thought-provoking call!

Looking forward to having you join us!

Andrea, Tina & Cindy