The day you decide to start selling services virtually, you’re faced with one big dilemma…
Competition… and lots of it.
Most of the time it’s not only reasonable and fair competition, but you also compete with 1000s of VAs around the world who advertise their services on job boards for extremely low rates.
The question then comes up – how do you compete with that. How can you make a reasonable living from your business and how will you ever get clients when you compete with people who charge less than 1/10th of what you charge for exactly the same services? How on earth can you compete with that?
Well, today I want to tell you that you don’t NEED to compete with that.
In actual fact, you don’t WANT to compete with that. You don’t want to compete with other VAs on price alone, because there will always be someone charging a lower rate.
You want to compete on your own grounds and have clients that are willing and happy to pay your fees. The only way you can achieve that is by having a business that stands out above this crowd.
Have a business that is different because if you are the same – or appears to be the same as your competitors, you are not giving potential clients a chance to pick your business.
Now the fact of the matter is. People are very selfish creatures and 99% of the time they think about themselves first. Before they part with their hard-earned money the first question popping up in their mind is “What is in it for Me”? In other words, “What will I benefit if I buy this service from you?”; “Why should I buy from you specifically!”
It is therefore important to answer those questions satisfactory to convince clients that you are different and that by working with you they will experience so much more benefits.
But how do you do that?
How exactly can you differentiate your business and position yourself as the “Go To” person in your niche?
Luckily, it’s not that difficult to stand out and be different. You just have to do 1 of 3 things.
You either need to
- solve a unique problem for a client that not many other VAs can solve, or
- solve a common problem but solve it in a unique way, or
- solve a common problem in a common way but specialize in a particular audience.
And let me tell you a dirty little secret today. People who succeed in their business sometimes do things just a little bit better or they do things just a little bit different in a particular area and it leads to extraordinary differences in results.
It is like a horse race. When a horse runs a race and wins by a nose, he wins ten times more in price money than the horse that comes in second. This doesn’t mean he is ten times faster… he is just a “nose” faster.
Brian Tracey says: “People who succeed in life are a “nose” better than those who don’t”
So decide today in what area of your business, you’ll be a “nose” better than the rest.
Your Business Assignment For Today:
1. Knowing what you do best can be critical to differentiate yourself from the competition because trying to incorporate too many different services into your business, sometimes only lead to the discovery that you can do them all but not do any of them exceedingly well. Thus, make a list today of the things you can do particularly well. Then focuses upon doing it better than anyone else.
2. Schedule an hour or two in your diary and put on a “client hat”. Have a look at the websites of other VAs in your niche. Evaluate what they say and how they do it. The idea is not to copy what they do, but to find something where you can be different.
