Top Secret: How to Find Virtual Assistant Clients (Marketing Can Be EASY!)

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Abbey Ashley

Wanna know my top secrets for finding virtual assistant clients?!

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in life, it’s that everybody likes a good secret…

I’m not sure where you are at with starting your business.

Maybe you already have your business name.

Maybe you’re working on your packages and prices.

But let me tell you something…

Without PAYING CLIENTS, your business won’t become a reality.

That’s where marketing comes into play.

It’s NEVER too early to start telling people about your business.

The secrets that I am about to share not only worked for me, but have worked for the thousands of students that have joined my course.

Brianna says, “I will forever be thankful for this course. Only three weeks in and I landed my second client. I never thought I would have gotten this big of a client either. I’ve built so much confidence by going through the course.”

Maria says, “I started at the end of July, got my first client in August and the second in September. As of right now, I have a total of seven clients and tomorrow possibly we’ll turn into eight.”

Sarah says, “I just want to say Hip, Hip, Hooray! With only one week in the course, I booked two clients and have two more prospects.”

I’m literally going to crack the book on what is working for these students.

Prefer to watch (or listen) instead?

I’m sharing some of my best marketing tips for finding clients right now. Grab a pen and paper. I hope you’re ready!

Tip #1: Friends and Family First

Okay, I know, I know. Don’t discredit me just yet. This is such a neglected tip that I don’t want you to pass by it!

I want you to close your eyes right now and think, “Do I know one small business owner?”

Yes.

Somebody is popping into your head!

And just like YOU know one small business owner, likely everyone that you know knows one small business owner.

The thing I love most about virtual assistants is that you don’t have to sell to your friends and family. If you’re selling leggings or candles online, then you’re likely trying to get your friends and family to buy things from you (and that just never felt good to me, personally).

However, there IS something really important about letting your friends and family know what you’re doing.

Don’t forget to download our free Personal Outreach Template for sending to friends and family.

Have you asked?

I like to tell the story of a good friend of mine who was a local photographer. She knew I had a marketing mind and she wanted to pick my brain on how she could grow her business. She started telling me, “Abbey, I just need more clients. I don’t know how to get out there. I don’t know how to be visible.”

I’m listening to her. I know she’s a great photographer, but the thought dawned on me that she had never asked me to be one of her clients.

She had never asked if she could take my family’s photo.

So I brought this up to her. She immediately says, “Oh, could I take your family’s photos?”

And I said, of course! And it’s still one of the best photography sessions that we’ve ever had.

Referrals work!

Many times, potential clients are right under our noses. Even if the small business owners you know don’t need your services right now, letting them know about your business (in addition to your friends and family) is going to make you come to mind whenever they hear of somebody who needs a Virtual Assistant.

Maybe a landscaper will come to their house to do yard work, and that landscaper says, “Oh, I’m so overwhelmed. We have so many invoices, and I’m so sorry that I didn’t get back to you.”

Instantly, you’re going to come to mind! 

I’ve had several students think this approach doesn’t work. They reached out to 100 people and didn’t get one single bite. But two or even three weeks later, all of a sudden the referrals start coming in.

I highly recommend NOT skipping this step when it comes to your own business. Telling people about what you’re doing is really rewarding, so be sure you talk to friends and family first.

Tip #2: Let’s get in person.

Going to your first live event is very empowering. There are several ways to get in front of a live audience (and I know this may sound scary to some), but let me clear some of that tension up for you.

Show Up

Generally, when you’re attending a conference, you’re attending a networking event of some sort.

Now, most people are very concerned with only themselves. Let’s just be honest. 🙂

You might be, too! You might be overwhelmed and fearful. But a lot of people will come to these networking events only thinking about how they can pitch and sell their own services.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, since you’re not trying to be one of their customers, but YOU can offer a really valuable service to them.

My experience is if you just show up to networking events and introduce yourself, people will be interested in what you’re doing. I’ve found I am really unique at most of the conferences, live events, and in-person networking events I’ve attended.

I’m generally the only Virtual Assistant in the room.

You’ll really stand out, too!

Your job is just to listen to people talk. Listen to what other people do, and if you can offer your services, great!

This is why I’m a huge fan of networking.

There’s also something magical that happens when you show up to an event and say, “Hi, my name is Abbey. I’m a Virtual Assistant.”

That kind of makes it real, right? So I love the realness factor of it, too. I recommend pushing yourself to go to live events.

Local Networking

Even if you can only attend one event per month, try to get out and do some local networking. You won’t regret it!

Here are some of the best places you can find local networking opportunities:

  1. Meetup

    Meetup.com is a website where you can search for local meetup groups in your area. I’ve found that, especially in larger cities, you’re going to find lots and lots of entrepreneurial groups. You can find these groups by typing in entrepreneur-type words like business or small business. You can see if there are any local meetups in your area. You can join a lot of the groups for free (or at least your first meeting can be free).

  2. Local Chamber of Commerce

    Check out your local Chamber of Commerce! Type in your city name and Chamber of Commerce into Google. The Chamber often hosts a monthly business meeting you can join, as well.

  3. Local Conferences

    Type your city, state, and the words “business conference” (or even just your state and “business conference”). When I type “Missouri Business Conference” in Google, there are tons of opportunities available for local conferences. Some of them may be a few hours away from me, but at least I can put them on my radar and research to see if I think they would be a good networking opportunity.

I always leave live networking events with a stack of business cards. These aren’t just cards. These are people I can start to build real relationships with. One-to-one relationships are the most important part of marketing your business.

Tip #3: Online Networking Groups

When I first started my business, I was attending a lot of in-person networking events. However, I started my business when I was eight months pregnant. So yes, I was showing up very pregnant to my networking events. I eventually did have a baby, so attending local events wasn’t quite as easy.

And while I love that in-person interaction, I also love the flexibility of being able to network inside of online networking groups!

Ideal Clients Online

I highly recommend joining a Facebook group, a LinkedIn group, or even a few other groups that have your ideal client inside of them. Maybe your ideal clients are general small business owners, photographers, or those in the wedding industry.

Whatever it is, go ahead and join some Facebook groups that have those types of small business owners in them and start engaging, interacting, and showing up because this is another great place to find clients for your Virtual Assistant business.

If you haven’t already, make sure you check out my TOP FACEBOOK HACKS!

Become a Booked Out Virtual Assistant

If you want more information on becoming a Booked-Out Virtual Assistant, make sure you go to thevirtualsavvy.com/bbo.

I have a 60-minute free training ready for you to access immediately where I share with you exactly how you can start your own virtual assistant business, become booked out, and start making money working from home.

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Meet Abbey

Abbey Ashley is the Founder of The Virtual Savvy. She helps aspiring virtual assistants launch and grow their own at-home business from scratch. She's since gone on to grow a multi-six figure business and retire her husband ALL from her at-home business. It's now her passion to help others start their own VA business so they can taste the freedom and flexibility of entrepreneurship as well.

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This free one-hour training combines thousands of hours of research, years of experience in growing a virtual assistant business!

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6 Comments

  1. Virtual Assistant Services on November 13, 2019 at 5:41 am

    Really amazing content that will really help me to grow my outsourcing business serves lots of staffing services.
    Thank you so much for the content.

    • Abbey Ashley on November 13, 2019 at 1:44 pm

      Thanks, Hinal! I really appreciate the feedback! Wishing you all the best, so happy to help!

  2. Kitty Smith on March 7, 2020 at 12:10 pm

    Really fantastic tips here Abby. I’ve started out my VA services on Fiverr.com while still working a full time job as a Financial Controller. So the biggest challenge for me is to manage both, until I have enough clients of my own.

    Guess the biggest advantage is that you just bravely came out and stood out and market your own brand, whereas I have to take this lengthy transition period and try very hard to keep well balance of everything – job, business and kids & family.

    Wondering if you have any tips on this pls?

    • Abbey Ashley on March 11, 2020 at 10:08 am

      Hey, there, Kitty! My biggest tip is to be really intentional with your time. If it’s time for business– allow yourself no distractions. Choose a time when you know you can devote yourself to your business. If it’s time to me mom/wife/whatever, be intentional about being just that, in the moment. Have you time blocked at all? It is a lot to manage, but you can totally do it! 🙂

  3. Cat on March 7, 2023 at 6:23 pm

    I really want to find something I can do from home during the sporadic hours I have free between clients of my other business – but I”’m not computer savvy, and I don’t like making phone calls….
    Would this still be an option for me? Are there basic courses I’d have to take, or (preferably) free video training?

    • Jaime Nickerson on March 8, 2023 at 10:26 am

      Great question! You really can make it your own with the skillset that you already have and then learn as you go. To get started, here are a few things we recommend:

      1. Download our free checklist and starter guide at thevirtualsavvy.com/checklist
      2. Join our free Facebook group with over 100k members sharing free resources and job opportunities every day. http://www.Facebook.com/groups/vasavvies
      3. Visit our blog and/or YouTube channel use the search bar to learn how you can get clients now. thevirtualsavvy.com/blog YouTube.com/abbeyashley

      – Jaime, Team TVS

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