Here are the 3 of the most common mistakes new VAs make when they start out. Avoiding these crippling mistakes will speed up your business success rate.

Mistake #1: Working without a plan

Let’s think about it differently. When you want to take a vacation, do you first

• Think about where you would like to spend your holiday;
• Look at the dates that will suite you and your family best;
• Set time aside to find the best accommodation and make the reservations up front;
• Fill the car with fuel or buy the plane tickets;
• Pack the right type of clothes?

Or do you just decide one day: I’m going on vacation right now. Gather everybody. Jump into your car and start driving without really knowing where you’re going?

Off course you don’t.

To prevent the holiday from turning into a disaster, you’ll probably do some planning upfront.

It’s the same with business. To ensure your business do not turn into a nightmare, it’s better to create a plan that will ensure you’ll reach the place where you want to be in future.

Creating a plan doesn’t need to be difficult. Your first plan simply needs to include

• What services you’ll focus on (and here the emphasis in on ‘focus’ because even though you might be able to do a whole lot of things, you cannot focus on all of them).
• Who needs those services the most? Who you would like to work with?
• How you will reach them?
• How much income do you want to generate on a monthly or annual basis (because that will tell you how many clients you need to enroll every month).

And when you make your plans, don’t just do it in your head – write it down. Put it on a piece of paper or somewhere on your PC where you can access it daily, so you won’t forget about it.

Mistake #2: Putting the cart before the horse

One of the biggest benefits of having a VA business is your ability to work remotely with clients. For this reason, many new VAs believe they first need to get their online presence in place.

Well, contradictory to this belief , the most important thing you need to do when you first start out is NOT getting a website online or setting up your social media presence or designing a logo for your business.

Although all of these things are important for the long term success of your business, don’t focus on them in the beginning… because if you do it’s like putting the cart before the horse and then your business won’t go anywhere fast.

The most important thing you need to do when you first start out is to get paying clients.

This will give a much better return on your time investment because when you enroll clients first (even when you don’t have a website, yet) you start earning an income. And when you have income, you have more options and can make better long-term decisions to benefit your business.

Mistake #3: Waiting for clients

As said in Mistake #2, many new VAs focus their start-up time and energy on getting online and using online marketing tactics to get clients.

This include things like creating a website, writing blog posts or doing guest blogging, completing profiles on online job boards, posting status updates on various social media platforms and online groups, and spending time in online forums.

Then they sit back and wait for potential clients to get in touch.

Well, although online marketing tactics and strategies are great for any business, it takes time for online strategies to produce great results – time that new VAs don’t have.

With online marketing, you do not have much control over who will get in touch, when they’ll get in touch and how many people will actually get in touch.

So, instead of relying on online tactics and strategies in those first critical months (where you have to wait for clients to get in touch), rather focus on marketing where you have more control over the potential results.

Have courage to go out, to meet people and to speak to them in person or over the phone. These direct marketing strategies put you in control of your results and often leads to many more clients in a shorter period of time.

Getting clients doesn’t have to be tough. It can be easy and fun if you follow the right processes and create marketing momentum in your business… right from the start!

To Your Success

• CEO – doing business planning and creating an overall strategy
• Marketing manager –finding clients
• Operations manager –  doing client work
• Financial manager – handling  income and expenses
• Secretary – scheduling client appointments
• Admin assistant – getting your own processes and procedures in place and handling your own admin

Although all these roles/activities are required to ensure the smooth running of your business, they are not all equally important.

For a business to be profitable and sustainable, the most important activities are those that will bring in the money consistently. In my opinion these activities include business planning, finding clients and doing client work – and any VA should focus most of their time on these activities.

However what sometimes happen – especially in the beginning – is that too much valuable time is wasted by unnecessary and time consuming activities where people are happy to spend days searching the internet for  free information instead of buying one book they can read in a few hours to give them all the info they need. Or they spend weeks in developing their own paperwork and procedures instead of acquiring templates and “ready-to-use” info they can just customise to save them time. Or they spend months on figuring out how to do marketing and sometimes don’t even reap the benefits of their efforts instead of attending a training program or getting a coach to learn how to do it right.

I however learned that the secret to a successful business is to work smarter and not harder. And the quickest way to succeed is to find someone who already did the groundwork for you and then use their shortcuts to help you progress faster – even if you have to pay for it.

Now at this point, people often object and say: “Well, I do not have money to spend on the things I really need– so I will rather do it myself.”

This can be a valid excuse because people are often cash strapped when they first start out. But have you ever asked yourself: “What Is your TIME WORTH to you?” In other words, how much does it cost you to spend your time reinventing the wheel and doing everything yourself?

Let’s look at an example: Let’s say you need information on how to start a new business and you spend 2 hours per day for the next month to find all the free info you can get on the internet (2 hours a day is 10 hours / week or 40h /month). If your time is worth e.g. R100/h (the rate you charge clients for an hour of work), it will cost you R4000 to find information! Although you might argue this is not real money, it is definitely potential money lost, especially if you could’ve rather use that time getting an income.

Now, if you think about it, that’s a lot of time and money wasted on finding information!

If you instead buy a book for R200 or attend training for R2000, you can receive all the info you need in a fraction of the time. Now, this is real money spend. But, here is where you start thinking about return on investment (ROI).

If for example, you invest R2000 in an 8 hour training course that gives you the same info (and more) than surfing the net for 40 hours this month, you have 32 additional hours in your month available to implement the training, to do marketing and to find clients to ensure you get your initial investment of R2000 back as soon as possible.

If you can get one long-term client as a result of the additional time you’ve spend on marketing, and start earning an income from that client, you can potentially get your investment of R2000 back within the first month or two. Thus, not only did you save time (32hours), you also prevented your business from losing potential money (R4000 by spending your time on finding clients instead of information) and you started making money (Rxxx.00 from using your time more effectively, getting clients and earning an income).

Remember, any successful entrepreneur knows it makes business sense to spend more time on the important activities that returns and income than spending it on those that don’t.

So, don’t get caught up in the pitfall of struggling on your own, wasting time and reinventing the wheel over and over again. Rather invest in your business strategically and obtain the right time saving resources (people and programs) – even if you have to pay for it. That will help you to:

• Run your business much more effectively;
• Be more productive;
• Have more time to get clients and earn an income;
• Prevent your business from losing potential money;
• Start making money…

There are excellent resources available to help you start and run your business more efficiently. Your task is to recognize and start using them.

Here are a couple of excellent resources to help you start and run your VA business:

I would love to hear your comments on this…

1. Marketing is the most important activity in your business. Making money does not happen automatically – even if you are excellent in what you do, have the nicest personality and deliver the best services possible. It also doesn’t help much to sit behind a computer and wonder where your next clients or your income will come from. You need to step out and market your business daily.

Marketing is one of the areas that take most people out of their comfort zones – but it is necessary – because marketing enables you to share your talents and skills with the world.  Don’t be afraid to talk to people or to meet new people regularly. Become comfortable telling them about your business and what you offer. Do it in such a way that they understand how you can help them. I’ve learned that marketing and earning more money becomes much easier when (1) you have a target market; (2) when you understand exactly what your market needs and (3) when you know how you can help them.

2. Don’t re-invent the wheel. I’m someone who likes to do things myself and I want to understand stuff in great detail. Now, it is not necessarily a bad quality, but the downside of this quality is you are prone to re-invent the wheel.  You waste loads of valuable time by doing everything yourself and by trying to figure out how things work. It is a much better strategy to get help and rather invest your time into strategies that enhances your revenue. I’ve learned in my business that the quickest way to progress is to have a coach or someone to show you the shortcuts. When you model and implement their processes, you reduce the long and tire-some learning curve dramatically and financially leaps forward much quicker.

3. Be crystal clear on what you want. For as long as I can remember, I always had goals of some sort. The problem was, I just didn’t always achieve them. However, since I got real clarity on my dreams – getting really clear on exactly what I want – and started to put that on my goal cards, things dramatically changed. The reason for this is: when you are crystal clear on what you want from your business, what services you want to offer, what to focus on, what clients you want to work with, how much money you want to earn etc. you can make specific plans to get what you want. Clarity goes a long way. If you do not have clarity, your plans will be woo-hoo and it will take much longer to reap financial success.

4. Align decisions with your goals. In business, you are always confronted with decisions and some are not really straight forward or simple.  For me decision-making is like a ride on a roller coaster – you’ve really got two choices. You can jump on the ride, hold on and have fun in spite of the fear OR you don’t get on the ride because of the fear. The truth is, sometimes lucrative opportunities can be hidden behind difficult decisions, but you won’t know about it unless you’ve made the decision. To help me make better decisions I always refer to the previous point on having clarity about what I want. When I have big decisions to make, I whip out my goal cards and take inventory. Does this decision align with where I want to be in several years? Yes? Then I jump on the ride, hold on and take action in spite of…!

5. Nothing happens without ACTION. OK, I know this sounds obvious, but it is scary how we can delay our own success and progress by procrastination.  A great idea, plan, suggestion or opportunity means nothing and generates no income if you do not take ACTION.  Bottom line: You have to take personal responsibility for the outcome of your business. Financial security and business success are only for those who are willing to do what others aren’t willing to do. You cannot complain about something you’re not willing to change. So if you struggle to get clients or a better income, then be willing to change how you do things and take action to change it.

So, can a Virtual Assistant make money?

In my personal opinion and from experience, the answer is “yes” – a virtual Assistant can make money, but not every virtual assistant will make money.

Making money depends on your commitment to your business and how you do things. It depends on the actions you take and the actions you don’t take. It often boils down to careful planning, knowing what you want and your willingness to step outside your comfort zone to do what it takes.

So, regardless where you are – in a corporate career, starting up or in an established VA business – you need to understand that you are ultimately responsible for creating the life and career you want.  Make the decision today and take action on creating the financial destiny you want.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Share it in the comment box below… 🙂

For me, working as a services professional for the past 5 years, the benefits of working at home far outweigh the concerns and I cannot imagine ever going back to a corporate office again.

However, there are also a couple of things that are not as glamorous. There are many challenges that you have to deal with on a daily basis working as a Virtual Assistant. So, here is a list of some of the top challenges and some ways to solve each.

No fixed income

It’s true that you are in control of your financial destiny when you work at home. That destiny can be very rosy, but unfortunately it can also be (for some) disastrous. Working from home inevitably means that you do not have a fixed pay-cheque every month. Your income varies from month to month and especially in the beginning, it is difficult to earn the same you’ve earned while working in corporate.

When you start out, evaluate your situation. Are you the sole provider for your family? Do you have a spouse that can take care of your day-to-day living costs for an indefinite period until your business is sustainable and profitable? If not, do not quit your job immediately – start your business part-time because you need to live first. It’s quite stressful living off your savings and seeing it reach a point where you are forced to take up employment again.

Separating work from family life

One of the main advantages of working at home is to be closer to the family. But, this can be one of the biggest challenges too. The daily routine in the house could get in the way of getting your work done: children demanding your attention, hubby returning home early from work and wants to chat about his workday while you know there’s still a ton of work to do.

The easiest to separate work from family life is to set some rules and to have specific working hours as the first wave of defense. Do it in such a way that it fit your lifestyle. For me, I work in the mornings and then the afternoons are usually occupied by the children and playing mom’s taxi. So I rarely get to do some work during the afternoons. But, at night when everybody goes to bed and the house is quite, I return to my office and put in another 3-4 hours of working time.

Struggling with self-discipline or self-management

It is much harder to stay on task in a home office when there is no one watching over your shoulder. It is also easy to get distracted – even if you have the best laid out plans and intentions. A friend can show up unexpected, or you need to run to the shop for bread and milk, or there is a party coming and you need a new outfit or the washing is piling up and you need to attend to it. There are so many things that can test your self-discipline at home.

One of the best solutions that really help with this is to set specific working hours and rules – mostly for yourself. Show up at your “office” at the same time each morning. Block out the times that you will work and then stay focused on the tasks at hand. When in your office, you work. Schedule breaks for times when you need to do the washing, and limit trips to town for weekends and afterhours when your “work day” is over.

You’re “always” at work

I must admit, this is the one challenge that I struggle with the most. I often allow the temptation to work too much sneak into the picture. It is easy to quickly check some email while cooking dinner or run to the computer when you have a few minutes or take work with you everywhere you go. The technology beast humankind created even allows me to take my work on vacation (much to the frustration of my family).

But, you need to create some balance. Apart from setting work hours and rules for yourself, it is also important to “be in the moment”. When you work, you work fully, but when you are with your family, you are fully with them. This is sometimes easier said than done. Something that works for me is to involve my daughter in my work. At times when I have a deadline looming and cannot give my attention to her fully, I ask her to assist me with things like writing my goals on colourful paper and decorating it with picture or drawings. That not only keeps her busy but helps her to understand what I do, makes her feel part of my work and when we achieve that goal she feels part of the success as well.

Staying professional

As Virtual Assistants we work with many different clients and clients do not enjoy (or understand) background noises when speaking to you on the phone or on Skype. Things like children playing and shouting in the background, the dog barking outside the window, the TV or radio playing in the background are all diminishing the professional image you want to portray to clients.

To be more productive and to feel professional when working, it is best to have a dedicated workspace and preferably in a room with a door that you can close to block out background noises. If space is a problem, be creative to find somewhere you can put a desk away from the noisiest areas of the house.

While these are not the only challenges Virtual Assistants face, they are some of the most common ones. Everybody will not face the same challenges, but we all have some to deal with daily. Luckily we are by nature entrepreneurs and when we face challenges, we will find a solution for it!

Share with us below what are the challenges of working at home that you face in your business.

you are on the right way for success

Many women (and some cool guys too) dream of starting a home business where they are available to their family, managing their own hours, making a difference in clients’ lives and simultaneously earning a good income for playing (and paying the bills).

The increasing popularity of becoming a Virtual Assistant makes this dream a reality for many.

The truth is: starting a Virtual Assistant business is not difficult. It is relatively inexpensive and if you have the right skills, the correct equipment such as a PC and internet access, as well as a client or two, you can be in business within a few days.

However, there is a huge difference between Virtual Assistants who deliver virtual services as a hobby and virtual assistants who are serious about making a success of their business and build it a level where they do have a sustainable and profitable income.

The problem is: to become successful as a virtual assistant is not always easy. You need desire, plenty of motivation, constant commitment, good planning, a truckload of perseverance and you have to do it right from the start.

So, here are 10 important steps to get your business off to the right start and to set up the foundation for success:

Step 1: Do a self-assessment. Understand your reasons for becoming a VA. Take stock of your strengths and weaknesses and ensure you understand what virtual assistance is all about. Evaluate if you have the right characteristics to be a self-owned business owner.

If you are of the opinion that: “Well, I own a computer, I have access to the Internet, and I own a few software programs with a printer—I can be a virtual assistant. Everyone else is doing it”,  you have to question if virtual assistance is the right career for you.

Step 2: Do the necessary planning. Starting a business without a plan might work in the short term, but research has shown over and over again that businesses without the necessary planning, fails within the first year of their existence. For me it is scary to think that something so trivial can cause so many people to fail, because planning is not really that difficult.  We do it every day of our lives – even if it is just to plan the next meal of the fastest trip to town and back.

Creating a plan for your business is the same. It only requires that you spend a little bit of time ON your business, to really think about all your ideas, to think about where you are now and where you want to be in 6 months’ time, a year, two years. Then it’s about creating the plan to take you there.

Step 3: Decide on your services. Avoid becoming a jack of all trades and delivering any service to any client coming your way. One of the secrets for long-term sustainability in your business is: master something and people will notice. In other words, have a couple of CORE services that you can offer to clients, do it exceptionally well  and use it to make a real difference in your clients’ lives.

Step 4: Take care of the financials. When starting a VA business, you take a risk in terms of a constant income. There is absolutely no guarantee you will have money at the end of each month to pay the bills – especially in the beginning when you first have to settle in. Thus, ensure you have enough back-up money to carry you through the first couple of months.

Another side of the financial coin is to ensure you are paid well for your services and earns an income. So before you can deliver a service you need to set your rates.  Although it’s good to know what other VAs charge for similar services, you have to set your rates according to your own situation, taking in account your own expenses and the value you provide to your clients.

Step 5: Set up your office. Create a comfortable space to work from and acquire the right equipment and tools. As a VA, your business is touched on so many different levels by the internet that you absolutely HAVE to invest in a stable broadband internet connection and a reliable PC. As part of the job, you may need to send/receive large files, and thus your bandwidth should be sufficient enough to upload/download these files effortlessly. Also establish a way of communication with your clients whether it is via email, telephone, Skype (or all of them) and ensure your equipment are set up accordingly.

Step 6: Create systems and procedures to take care of your business. Systems streamline your business operations and help you save a truckload of time. Important systems include things like an accounting system (to keep track of your income and expenses); a billing system (to send invoices and receive payments for your work) and a client management system (including a procedure for new client intakes, keeping record of client information and client communications).

Step 7: Target your clients. Conduct research to determine if there is a need for your services. It’s preferable to deliver a service that is in high demand – i.e. lots of people are looking for it, but not enough people are providing it. Then outline who your clients are, where they are and how you’ll find them.

Step 8: Develop your marketing materials. Create a marketing message to get your client’s attention. Use it to develop different marketing materials, such as an introduction letter, website, business cards, elevator speech and brochures.

Step 9: Spread the word via your marketing activities. Marketing is a process and the marketing you do today, will only bring you clients in a few months’ time. Do not make the mistake of waiting for clients and assume that because you have a website and your business is listed on various directories, the clients will come knocking on your door. Market your business daily, persistently and effectively to bring you all the clients you want in future.

Step 10: Take massive action. For things to happen, you need to create motion or movement in your business by taking action. A secret in business is that you create your own reality by the actions you take or the actions you don’t take. Thus, you cannot complain about something you are not willing to do. For example, if you want more clients, then you can’t complain about the things you have to do or the actions you need to take to make it happen. Nothing will happen, unless you take action on the opportunities in front of you in spite of the things that might stand in your way.

***

If you are just starting out and trying to figure out how to do all this, then following a step-by-step system that authentically takes you through the total process will reduce your stress and make your start-up so much easier.  Jumpstart your Virtual Assistant Business takes you step-by-step through the most important things to do to set up all the different aspects of a Virtual Assistant business right from the start. It includes information on choosing the right business name, office and equipment requirements, business structures, tax & insurance, setting your rates, documentation requirements, business planning, marketing planning, creating a website, getting your family on board, planning your daily routing, growing your business and so much more). Jumpstart your Virtual Assistant Business gives you the confidence to operate your business effectively from day 1.

In every Virtual Assistant business things often get tough and you might feel like quitting. This is however the time for you to persist in what you’ve set out to do.

Never give up on your dreams because you never know how close you are in reaching them.  Be persistent and take action on your dreams daily.

Persistence can be cultivated by a couple of things…

1. Know what is important to you, what motivates you, what interest you and what your values are. In other words, make sure that you know what makes you tick!

2. Develop and practice perseverance. Perseverance is not a theory, it is a hands-on skill. It can be hard work and also need to be practiced regularly. To practice perseverance, persist in finishing difficult tasks even if it seems not to work out. Developing perseverance may take time, but when it’s there, you are encouraged to achieve your dreams and become the best you can be.

3. Make perseverance a habit. Refrain from saying “this is just too hard for me” or “I can’t do this, I give up”. These phrases are only excuses for not persisting in what you try to do. Make perseverance a habit and decide to always carry on in spite of difficult situations.

4. Be accountable for your actions. Take personal responsibility in your business and stay accountable for your actions. A secret in business is that you create your own reality by the actions you take or the actions you don’t take. Remember that tough times never last, but tough people do. So persevere and take action today.

Barack Obama said: “Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. But it’s not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way. The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won’t. It’s whether you let it harden or shame you into in-action, or whether you learn from it, whether you choose to persevere.”

Remember, if you quit, you will never know whether you would have succeeded.

“Everyone wants to have a good day, but not many people know what a good day looks like – much less how to create one. And even fewer people understand how the way you live today impacts your tomorrow.” John C Maxwell

That is why Today Matters!

John Maxwell wrote in his book, Today Matters that you can create success in your life by focusing on what you do TODAY. Unfotunately, most of the time we miss that success, because we . . .

• Over-exaggerate yesterday – we dwell in the past and constantly think about the things we did or could have done better;
• Overestimate tomorrow – we expect things to be better in future;

….and then we underestimate the importance of today.

What we need to do is to take advantage of today, because the secret of your success is determined by your daily agenda. It’s about what you do today!

Seth Godin, author of Permission Marketing, said: “You don’t win an Olympic gold medal with a few weeks of intensive training. There’s no such thing as an overnight opera sensation…. Every great company, every great brand, and every great career has been built in exactly the same way: bit by bit, step by step, little by little.”

So, there is no magic solution to success. It just starts by what you do today, because your decisions and actions today have a profound impact on your success tomorrow….

Here are a few tips:

Preparation today will give you confidence for tomorrow. Preparation includes having a plan, having goals, having a purpose. Following your plan today, achieving your goals and living your purpose today will instill confidence to grow and achieve even more successes tomorrow.

Good decisions today will give you a better tomorrow. Decisions are not always simple, but they are necessary for success. When opportunity knocks, do not procrastinate. Make the decision today because tomorrow might be too late.

The disciplines you practice today will create a better tomorrow. You can make all the good decisions in life, but if you are not practicing good discipline, you will not reap the success. For example if you want clients; be disciplined, create time on a daily basis to plan and market your services persistently. Practice what you have decided to do and then do it diligently today.

I believe that everyone has the power to impact the outcome of his life. The way to do it is to focus on today. If you are willing to implement small positive changes into your business today, you will create more options to grab opportunity tomorrow when it knocks at your door.

Clarity AND Action!

It is all about getting crystal clear on your goals and what you want from your business and your clients, and then taking action to achieve it.

It is similar to solving a puzzle. Imagine trying to solve a 1000 piece puzzle without looking at the picture on the box. I bet it will be extremely difficult and you might even give up at some stage. But when you have the full picture right next to you, solving that puzzle becomes a whole lot easier.

It is the same in your business. When you have absolute clarity about what you want (i.e. when you have a clear picture of your goals) and are really focused on achieving it, your brain has an amazing power to pick up information and decipher opportunities. You then become hypersensitive to strategies, ideas, people and plans that can help you meet those goals.

But being clear about your goals is not merely enough. It is also necessary to take persistent action on all the opportunities, strategies, ideas and plans that present themselves to you.

Let’s stretch our puzzle example a little further. If you’re just staring at, and admiring the picture on the puzzle box, the puzzle can’t be completed. You need to take action, empty the puzzle box on a table and start turning over the pieces one by one. Only then can you slowly start building the puzzle, one piece at a time. In the beginning it might seem like an impossible task. But when you consult the puzzle picture regularly and start putting together the pieces that obviously fit, a small recognizable picture starts to take shape. As you progress, the bigger picture unfolds and eventually the puzzle on the table represents the picture on the box.

That is when you achieved your goal through clarity and action.

Napolean Hill said in his classic book Think & Grow Rich: “Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”

Thus, no goal or dream for this year is impossible. You can do it! It just requires…

Clarity AND Action.

Your Action Steps For This Week.

1.  Get clear on your goals and exactly what you want in your business this year. How much money do you want to make? How many clients do you need to get there? What do you need to implement or change to achieve that? Write it all down so you can easily refer to it.

2. If your goals seem unreachable or even impossible, break it down into smaller manageable monthly, weekly and daily goals that you can easily achieve.

3. Create a plan on how to achieve your daily and weekly goals so that you know exactly what to do and when to do it.

4. Take action and be consistent and persistent in achieving your goals. Do something daily that brings you closer to your end goal.

Any VA can give a service and find some clients, but a Virtual Assistant who focuses on service excellence, will have a business that prosper and will attract clients into long-term relationships.

Now the question is: what is service excellence and how can you ensure your business delivers it?

Well, service excellence is about having:

• Solid beliefs in what you do and how it can benefit your clients;
• Exceptional behaviours and applying those to your client relationships.
• A great attitude;

Service excellence is all about finding ways to make your clients feel good about your services, your business and themselves because they simply feel good when dealing with you.

Here are some great ways to create service excellence in your business:

• Be reliable and ALWAYS deliver on what you say. Reliability is one of the key aspects to any good relationship. If you say, “Your report will be typed and ready on Tuesday”, make sure it is ready and delivered on Tuesday. Otherwise, don’t say it. Never “over-promise” and then “under-deliver” – rather do it the other way round (i.e. under-promise then over-deliver).

• Listen to your customers. Let your customer talk and take the time to identify exactly what they need by asking questions and concentrating on what the client is really saying. Listen to their words, tone of voice, body language, and how they feel. Show that you are listening by making the appropriate responses and suggestions or giving alternative options on how to solve the issues. From a client’s perspective, there is nothing more frustrating than telling someone what you want or what your problem is and then discovering that that person hasn’t been paying attention.

• Always play open cards with your clients and be honest in all your negotiations. Don’t tell a “half” truth or withhold information from your clients, just to “save face” or earn a few more bucks. When you are honest about situations, even when you’ve made a bad mistake, you’ll win the client’s respect and trust.

• Deal with complaints promptly. No one likes hearing complaints, but when a client complains, the chances are there is a problem in your service that is causing it. Listening and solving complaints is an ideal opportunity to restore goodwill, keep a client and build stronger relationships. Improve your procedures to eliminate or minimise similar issues in future.

• Give more than expected. Be creative and give your clients what they do not get elsewhere. People love to get more than they thought they were getting – and it doesn’t need to be large to be effective. E.g. include a thank-you note when you’ve completed a project; send a birthday card – even when you’re not working together anymore; follow-up and thank them even when they don’t buy; send them information to help them in their business without expecting anything in return; give them a coupon for a couple of additional service hours. There are all sorts of ways to go the extra mile and to give them more than they expect. They may not say so, but people notice when you make an extra effort and will tell other people.

Creating service excellence in your business doesn’t cost much, but it can mean a world of difference to your clients and your business. If you deliver service excellence consistently, it’s a free form of marketing. Over time your business will become known for its good customer service and will attract more clients.

Your business assignment for this week:

How can you create even more service excellence in your business to make your clients come back for more.

1. Clients first knowing about you
2. Then liking you enough to work with you and also
3. Trusting that you will be able to do the work.

This is what I call the “know, like and trust” factor.

Building a Virtual Assistant business and getting clients to fill your business has a lot to do with building solid business relationships. When you “sell” a service it usually brings a more personal dimension into your business (since you work more closely with a client) than when you purely sell a product. Thus relationships with people become a key aspect of your success.

Building a business relationships based on the “know, like and trust” factor follows a similar path than building a social relationship – e.g. you meet new people and as the relationship progress, you get to know them better, like them more and eventually trust them with your friendship or your business.

It works the same for your clients as well. They first want to get to know you and the more they know you, they will start to like you and eventually trust you enough to send you their business.

Therefore building relationships with potential clients should form an important part of your total marketing strategy.

Unfortunately, when many VAs want more clients, they do marketing only on the surface.  They set-up a website,  hand out lots of business cards, send out flyers or pin advertisements on a bulletin board and then hope somebody will react. In the process they unfortunately miss some of these key elements.

Apart from getting the word out there through all their marketing efforts and letting people know who you are and what you do (the “know” factor), it is also important to work on the “like and trust factors” and deepen the business relationship with potential clients.

The thing is: it is unlikely that people will start working with you on the first occasion they hear about you or see an advertisement in a newspaper. It is just human and it is not your fault. Most people need to be re-assured on more than one occasion that you are indeed the person they want to work with.

Be in front of potential clients all the time in order for them to get to know you. When they know you, they will seek to learn more about your services.

This is where the “like factor” starts to kick in. When you keep in contact with potential clients on a regular basis, share information with them that they would find helpful, touch base, check in, and refer them, the relationship will grow, the like factor will grow and people will start to trust that you might be the solution to their problems.

Once a client trusts you – i.e. trust that you can indeed solve their problems, they will be more willing to work with you and become a long-term paying client.

So don’t focus all you marketing efforts solely on the “know” factor, but also incorporate and develop some “stay-in-touch” marketing vehicles to strengthen the “like and trust” factors as well.