‘How Do I Keep Clients?’ is probably the 2nd top question I receive from Virtual Assistants.

Let me tell you something … it’s easier to build a long term relationship with a client than it is to find a new one, so once you have a client, nurture that relationship to turn it into a solid, consistent relationship.

The simple to answer to this question is this >>> it’s all about Business Mindset. 

Check out the video below to hear more AND be sure to post your comments below.  Have you applied business mindset and seen a difference in your client relationships?  OR how will you implement this into your business?

Let's face it ... business owners are wonderfully skilled at their area of expertise, but when it comes to automating various tasks and implementing pieces to help the business grow - that's the VAs job.

There are so many ways Virtual Assistants can help business owners  ... I'd like to explore 7 very hot ways that VAs can easily help their clients with automating tasks and growing their business (i.e. making more money, building credibility etc.)

On Tuesday, September 13th, I'm offering a FREE livestream session in which I will share very specific steps and strategies that Virtual Assistants can put into practice right now with their current clients, and easily implement with future clients.

Some of these are very basic, some are a little more advanced, but overall they support a business owner with generating more revenue, connecting with their community regularly, raising their profile and credibility and so much more.

Join me to find out what I'm talking about and how you can WOW your clients even more.  Sign up below and I'll send you all the details:

It's my 36th birthday today and while I don't typically celebrate 'virtually', I thought this year I'd do something a little different and combine a bunch of my 'loves'.

I love to have some fun. I love the VA industry. I love training. I love to help VAs find great clients, build a great businesses and achieve their goals.

So I thought it would be fun to offer a discount on a few items - one that connects with my special number - in hopes that it may YOU move forward in your business.

The 36% savings can be applied to any of the following.  Enter the coupon code BIRTHDAY in the coupon code field when you check out and the shopping cart will automatically apply the discount.

Hurry because the discount ends when my birthday weekend ends -- Sunday morning!

Get Clients Club Annual Membership

Boost Your Confidence, Easily Find GREAT Clients, Stand Out and Generate Serious $$. Meet with me each month to uncover a hot topic to support you in finding great clients and building your business.  >>>Learn More ...

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Virtually Successful: 8 Simple Ways Virtual Assistants Can Find (and Keep) Clients Book

Each year thousands of administrative professionals leave their employment in search of a better and more flexible life as a Virtual Assistant. Once the office is set up, the website is created and the business cards are ready to be handed out, the realization and struggle of finding ‘good’ clients and earning a decent living is experienced by (too) many.

Learn the specific steps to help you find great clients and build the business you want. >>> Learn more about the book

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Membership Specialist Self-Study Program

Membership Programs are one of the most popular and successful revenue streams for online based businesses.

This program will give you the tools to create and customize a membership program as well as the essentials to managing it, protecting content, integrating it with payment processors and more.

Effective Membership System + Ongoing Member Support = Lucrative Revenue Stream. The number of business owners who need this support far exceeds the number of Virtual Assistants who specialize in this area.  >>> Read More

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Publicity Specialist Training Program - Self-Study Program

Every business owners wants to be the called-on expert from the media. They crave the right kind of publicity to build their credibility, exposure and expert status.

Business owners desperately seek the support of someone who can manage publicity efforts on their behalf … they simply don’t have the time to do it themselves PLUS they don’t even know where to begin.

In this program you will learn hot publicity skills clients want wand will pay generously for. >>> Read More

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Website & Blog Design Basics Training Program - Self-Study Program

You don’t need to be a designer, but as a Virtual Assistant, you really should be able to provide basic website maintenance support to your clients.

This 5-session program will show you exactly how to make simple changes to existing webpages, how to set up lead generation opt-in webpages, developing a simple sales page, creating a newsletter template and more. Plus you’ll learn how to install and setup a WordPress blog, how to customize a theme as well as installing plug-ins and widgets.

There’s no need to wait days and days for the web developer to make a simple change … this program will provide you with the tools to do it all yourself. >>>Read more

Think back to previous conversations you've had with either a potential new client or a current client.   Do  you recall ever asking "How Can I Help You?"

While it's a very valid question and meant to stimulate further discussion- this question does the complete  opposite - it actually discourages further discussion.

I'd like to share a real-life situation to help demonstrate this point.

Sue (business owner) and Kathy (VA) were very excited to work together. Their personalities matched perfectly and Kathy appeared to have all the skills that Sue needed to support the growth of her business.

A few months after they started working together, I received an email from Sue "Cindy, I really enjoy working with Kathy, but don't feel I'm getting return on my investment with her. I am unclear on how I can really benefit from working with her.  I'm not even sure how to really how to have her help me more."

After speaking with Sue, I spoke with Kathy.  We spoke about her relationship with Sue and the tasks she was working on. Everything  sounded fine at first -- I couldn't figure out what was 'wrong'.

But then I asked Kathy - "Tell me about your conversations with Sue.   What do you ask her, how do you both communicate about upcoming
goals/projects?"  Kathy replied "I ask Sue what she's up to and I always ask 'Sue, how can I help you this week?'"

A hugely bright light bulb went off for me at that exact moment.   The "How can I help you?" question - while coming from a pure genuine place of wanting to help, was the problem.

The question 'How can I help you?' is a problem because in most cases, business owners don't know what they don't know.

Based on conversations I've had with business owners of all kinds - I've come to understand the following:

Business owners know they need help.  Their business coaches and colleagues have told them they to hire a VA.  But when it comes down   to it, they have trouble really grasping what a VA can help them with and how to go about it.

They don't know what a Virtual Assistant is really capable of.  They don't realize the full potential a Virtual Assistant can offer, how they  can help them, and more importantly, how they can help them boost their business.

Therefore it's up to each and every Virtual Assistant to TELL their clients how they can help. And they do this by what I like to  call 'taking inventory'.

Taking Inventory consists of asking your clients these 3 questions:

(1) Tell me about your business, your specialty and how you help your target market

(2) What are your goals for your business within the next 3 months?  6 months?

(3) What are the immediate priorities you want to complete right away (and may be struggling with)?

LISTEN to the responses that are shared with.

While you're listening, start to think about all the pieces that need to happen in order to achieve the goals and priorities your client (or prospect) shares.

And then the most important step - TELL them how you can help.  Tell them about the various pieces you can take care of to support them in  reaching their goal or taking care of that priority.

NOTE: This questions can be applied to your potential clients.   Questions 2 and 3 can be applied to regular discussions with your current
clients.

Use this 'formula' over and over again and you will:

• attract the attention of potential clients
• build stronger relationships with current clients
• establish long-lasting, ongoing relationships with top clients who you REALLY want to work with

Notice how the question "How can I help you?" was no where in the formula above.

How can you implement this formula immediately in to your business?  If you already do 'take inventory', how has it impacted your relationships with your clients?  Please share your comments, questions and stories below.

I recorded a short video on this topic also - check it out!

One of the best ways to connect with potential clients is attending live events.

But how do you do it?  How do you:

• easily connect with potential clients at live events?
• know what to say when you do connect with them?
• attract attention from the right people?
• make an impact and truly demonstrate your level of professionalism?
  
• keep in touch, build the relationship and hopefully convert some new contacts into great clients?

It's this month's topic at the Get Clients Club.

Join us for the discussion on Wednesday, June 8th and get the answers to these questions above and so much more.

See you there!  Click here to claim your spot.

We need to work on our next step which is how do you provide a solution to your target market’s challenges.

Knowing your target market’s challenges is great …. But being able to express to your target market how you offer a solution to their challenges is really what gets them hooked ….. it’s the bait.

Let’s visualize for a second. Let’s say you attend a networking event. Many of the participants at this event are within your target market. You introduce yourself and start a discussion …. You demonstrate to them that you have done your research …. You know what they do, how they help people, what they may be struggling with, common trends etc. It’s a nice conversation but really it gets you nowhere.

Not let’s visualize a second scenario. Same as above – but you take it 1 step further. You TELL them exactly how you and your services can help eliminate very specific challenges they are faced with in their business. You show confidence in your delivery and you use key words and examples that relate specifically to them ….. so they feel you know and understand them… but better yet, are THE person to help them with their business.

THAT’S how you get the attention of a potential client. And that’s how you build a relationship to later bring them on as a client.

We’ll talk about additional ways to introduce yourself and build a relationship with a prospect later but for now, here’s what I’d like you to do:

Action Tip #4
Review your notes about your target market. Take a close look at the top 5-10 challenges that they are faced with and note how you can provide support and ultimately a solution to the challenge. It may be a big solution, but it may even be a very small one …. One that you may not even realize at first.

Here’s a few examples:

CHALLENGE:

• A client wants to distribute a monthly ezine but just doesn’t make the time to do it – it never gets done.

SOLUTION:

• You work with your client to create a schedule of when they will provide the content, you set up the template, you provide drafts for approval, you have a specific day/deadline that the ezine WILL go out and you keep your client accountable. Super simple.

CHALLENGE:

• A client has an ebook they’ve been wanting to finish up for a long time. It’s almost done but they’re stuck on the formatting and a few details.

SOLUTION:

• You and your client work on a deadline together. They must give you the ebook copy by this time and you will review, proofread and format. You may provide feedback to your client about what else they may want to consider adding. You may connect with a graphic designer to get a cover made up and you’ll set up the shopping cart so it can easily be added to the website to sell.

These are 2 very simple examples of how you can provide a solution to your client. Remember, they are the expert in what they do … and although these kinds of tasks may seem simple to us, they can be very stressful and overwhelming for others.

So …..what solutions do you offer?

What's the ultimate goal of everything we do here at VirtuallySuccessful.com?
To help you find clients ... not just any client, but GREAT clients.

So in addition to offering the class with the Get Clients Club - where you'll
receive great content, key strategies and very specific action steps - I thought
I'd offer an additional call this March to help you a teeny bit more.

On Tuesday, March 8th, I'm hosting a gratis call on the '7 Mistakes Virtual
Assistants Make in Finding Clients'.

If you're:

• unsure how to start finding clients
• struggling with building your business
• frustrated with not making any money (or very little)
• desperately trying to find a way to make this business work
• exhausted with all your efforts ... can you really do it

then you need to be on this call.

It's time to start paying attention and making changes.  It's time to
build your confidence in yourself and your business.

Claim your spot here and I'll 'see' you Tuesday, March 8th!

It's time for the March session of the Get Client's Club.  This month we're tackling the topic of identifying a target market and attracting their attention so we can convert them into clients.

Too often we struggle to make the connection with great clients.  Here's a few reasons why ... in many cases, Virtual Assistants are:

• using general terms that mean little to business owners (because they haven't selected a target market)

• offering very basic administrative support (biz owners are looking for more than help with word processing)

• insecure about sharing and communicating how they can help a business owner (if you don't share, how will anyone know to hire you?)

• networking in the wrong places (often networking with peers instead of with their target market)

• not using words that attract and demand the attention of a business owner (therefore waiting for the phone to ring but it's not.

On Wednesday, March 2nd, on the March Get Clients Call,  I'm going to share:

1. the keys to selecting a target market - it's the key to a thriving business
2. what you must know about your target market to attract their attention - demonstrating that you understand them will give you a huge advantage
3. where to find this information --- it's easier than you may think

This promises to be another edgy, to the point call with very specific action steps for you to move forward and overcome the
challenge of finding great clients.  It all takes place Wednesday, February 2nd at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern.

Will you join me?  Visit www.GetClientsClub.com

Ever wonder why you’re not getting hired?

Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of connecting with all kinds of great business owners. From these discussions I’ve discovered very specific obstacles that are preventing business owners from hiring Virtual Assistants.

Here are some reasons why business owners may not hiring you … you haven’t:

• proven that you understand their business
• proven that you understand what they want to accomplish with their business
• demonstrated your skills and expertise provide a solution to their challenges
• demonstrated that you can ‘speak’ their language
• established a relationship – they may not ‘know, like and trust’ you
• proven that you understand their challenges
• proven your value – or that you are a good investment for their business – not just an expense

A couple of other reasons business owners don’t hire a Virtual Assistant … they:

• are unfamiliar with how to work with a Virtual Assistant … therefore unsure
• think they can’t really afford it
• think they can do it all themselves
• they don’t know what they don’t know – they know they need help but don’t really know the full benefits of working with a VA
• they’re simply not ready to hire someone

Every profession is different, but when it comes to feeling the need to hire help – a business owner must feel confident that they’re going to gain from that help – that they will receive a return on their investment.

When a Virtual Assistant can eliminate several of these obstacles at the very beginning of a relationship with a potential client – they will have a much easier time with building that relationship and becoming a client.

What challenges have you encountered in connecting and building relationships with potential clients? Please post your comments below.

Before any business owner begins a relationship with an expert in any area, they want to know ‘what’s in it for them?’ When a Virtual Assistants understands specific things about her target market – attracting and connecting with new clients comes very easy.

By reviewing websites, reading articles (online, in magazines etc.), subscribing to ezines, participating in online groups, and just researching in general, a Virtual Assistant will become familiar with the language, challenges and so much more of their target market.

Here are some things a Virtual Assistant should be familiar with:

• What their target market wants to accomplish in their business
• How they help their clients
• The education/training have typically have
• Organizations they belong to and participate in
• Common places they visit online
• Common events they attend offline
• Publications they read and subscribe to (online and offline)

By reading what their target market is reading and participating where their target market is participating, a Virtual Assistant will learn all kinds of information about the target market, including their:

• Interests
• Common challenges
• Resources
• Industry leaders
• Common terms used in their industry
• Ongoing trends

By knowing this information, a Virtual Assistant can engage in a great conversation with a potential client. By demonstrating that they understand their challenges, their business and other important details, they will attract a business owner’s attention.
Imagine feeling confident in your conversations with business owners and the success you will achieve in attracting their attention and converting them into a client!

I'd love to hear from you - what do you do in your business that attracts the attention of potential clients? Please post your comments below.