There’s nothing I love more than a good “Success Story”. It’s why I’m a sucker for those weight loss shows and Shark Tank stories. They just make you feel good inside, right?

Let me tell you, though – the BEST success stories come from the people that I work with directly.

Here’s some of the “success stories” people have sent to me, just in the last few weeks:

Does that fire you up like it does me? There’s something about success stories that make you say, “If she can do it… I can do it too!”

Whether it’s Shark Tank successes or Virtual Assistants posting their “win’s”, the problem usually is, we don’t know HOW to get there ourselves. We see the success story, but we don’t get to see behind the scenes and know what it took to make it happen.

That’s why I want to pull back the curtain today and show you the EXACT steps that I lead my Virtual Assistant clients through to start gaining more clients for their business.

Ready for a step-by-step, detailed marketing plan for your Virtual Assistant business? You’re in the right place.

THE PLAN

Here’s something that’s tough to say, but it needs to be said:

Your clients are NOT going to come to you.

At least, not at first. When you first start your virtual assistant business, no one knows who you are or what you can do for them. If you want to start getting clients for your business, you are going to have to go out and GET them.

Marketing scares the crap out of people. This is usually for two reasons:

1. You aren’t confident in your own abilities

2. You don’t have a plan of action (and simply, just don’t know what to do)


Let’s talk about each of these super-quick.

You aren’t confident in your own abilities.

You became a virtual assistant for a reason. Most people who start virtual assistant businesses have some kind of administrative background. You have been in a supporting role in the past, you have techie skills, or have some other skill that originally made you think, “Hey, maybe I can do this!”.

Hold on to that. Gather testimonials from friends and family that say, “This girl is incredible. You should hire her now”. It’s okay if you haven’t had a client. You have skills to offer and the ability to learn. You ARE worth hiring. Know it. Believe it. Gather a few stories from others so you can remind yourself and your future clients.

You don’t have a plan of action.

That’s when it’s time to ask for a little help along the way. You don’t have experience selling out virtual assistant services. So, you need to ask help from someone who has (ahem… that would be me : ).

Here’s the four-piece marketing plan I’m going to be sharing with you today.

Take notes, this info is legit.

1. Reserve an hour a day to market your business
2. Send out a friends and family email
3. Make Facebook groups your new best friend
4. Propose well

Let’s jump into each of these, in detail.

RESERVE AN HOUR A DAY TO MARKET YOUR BUSINESS

What is the most important part of a virtual assistant business?

A logo? Nope.

A perfect website? Uh-uh.

A time-tracking system? No siree.

The MOST IMPORTANT part of your virtual assistant business. The MAIN thing that you need in order to make it successful is…

…

…

…

…

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CLIENTS!

Earth-shattering, right? Seriously though. If you don’t have clients – you won’t make money and you won’t HAVE a business.

That’s why it’s so important to have marketing as part of your daily schedule. I recommend having at least one hour a day set aside for marketing your business. When you are first starting out – increase that number as much as you can. Spend 3, 4, 5 hours marketing your business. It’s the one thing that will actually yield a return.

So, go ahead – right now – and decide when you will spend time marketing your business. Put it in your planner, or it won’t happen. When will you carve out time in your day to market your business?

Don’t move on to the next step until you’ve done this. Or else, you won’t actually make it a priority!

SEND OUT A FRIENDS AND FAMILY EMAIL

This is seriously one of the easiest ways to start finding clients, that most virtual assistants (and other business owners, for that matter) tend to skip over.

You may be thinking, “Abbey – my friends and family don’t need a virtual assistant”.

First off – MAYBE THEY DO!

Second – MAYBE THEY KNOW SOMEONE WHO DOES!

Even if your Aunt Silvia isn’t a business owner, I can guarantee she knows a business owner, and would likely be happy to send your information along to the right people.

Here’s how you’ll accomplish this task:

Step #1: Make a list of 50+ friends and family members

This list is easier to find than you may think. Start an excel spreadsheet (I even made one for you HERE) where you can list out the people you plan to reach out to.

First, list out your family.

Then, go through your list of friends on Facebook, your followers on Twitter and Instagram, your connections on LinkedIn. Who are you already connected with?

Lastly, go through your email and look at the people that you have emailed in the last 6 months. How many of these individuals could you add to your list?

Step #2: Send a personalized email to each person

Yes – this is going to take time. But you’re here because you need clients, right?

Here’s the email template that I suggest sending out to your friends and family:

If you don’t have the email address of the person you want to reach out to, simply send them something similar via social media. Even better, give them a call and have a conversation about what you are doing.

The goal is to GET OUT THERE. Let people know what you are doing so they can support you. Remember, these are the people that love you and believe in you already. LET THEM support you!

Step #3: Follow up

You’ve sent out your email to 50+ people. Some of them you may get responses from and some of them you may not. I recommend setting a reminder for yourself to reach out to these individuals again in a week. It’s not being pushy. Most people just forget to get around to stuff like this – so a reminder email will help them tremendously!

MAKE FACEBOOK GROUPS YOUR NEW BEST FRIEND

Facebook is the #1 spot where I found my clients for my Virtual Assistant business. It’s where online entrepreneurs are hanging out, and where many go to first when they are looking for their own VA.

Here’s how to make Facebook groups your new best friend.

Step #1: Request to join 30+ entrepreneurial Facebook groups

This is easier than you may think. There are literally thousands of groups that entrepreneurs are hanging out in every day. These people are growing their businesses and are prime candidates for hiring a Virtual Assistant.

Here’s a quick video tutorial on how I find Facebook groups for entrepreneurs:

 

Here’s some of the key search terms you can look for when discovering groups:

Entrepreneur
Business
Biz
Boss
At Home
Creative
Collective

I would recommend sticking with groups that have 1,000 members or more. These groups generally have more involvement and you’ll be casting out a wider net when trying to find people who need a VA.

Step #2: Do a DAILY search in each of these groups

Remember how you set aside an hour a day for marketing?

This is where the majority of that time is going to be spent when you are first starting out.

You’ll go into your groups each day and search for the term “VA” and “Virtual Assistant”. You might even want to add “Social Media Manager”, “OBM”,  and “Online Business Manager” to your list.

Once you’ve searched for this term, you’ll see all the times that a member of the group has searched for that term. Oftentimes, the individual will be posting that they NEED a VA. This is your time to comment on their post and send them a personalized proposal.

A quick note on Facebook Groups:

Facebook groups are an incredible way to find community with other entrepreneurs, not just market your own business. I recommend finding 4-5 groups that you make “your people”. Share your life and your business struggles with them. When it comes to Facebook groups, look for a community – not just clients. Some of my FAVORITE groups for finding real community and awesome support are:

Savvy Business Owners with Heather Crabtree
For Love + Money with Caitlin Bacher
Blog + Biz BFFs with Melyssa Griffin
Freedom Hacker’s Mastermind with Kimra Luna

Step #3: Show up regularly in three or more Facebook groups

Many people avoid posting in Facebook groups because they don’t want to appear “sales-y”.

However, showing up in groups on a regular basis (posting 1-3x per day) can be one of the BEST ways to find clients for your virtual assistant business!

When you post regularly, people will begin to notice you and will be curious about the services that you offer.

In fact, I recommend prioritizing posting in Facebook groups regularly over posting on your own Facebook business page!

So… what do you post about?

Here’s a lovely little cheat sheet to help you do just that:

 

 

PROPOSE WELL

I’m about to share with you the SECRET to finding clients for your virtual assistant business.

This is seriously the #1 way that you will stand out from the crowd and start getting clients for your VA Business.

It’s ALL about the proposal.

Remember how you’ve been searching daily in Facebook groups for the terms “VA” and “Virtual Assistant”?

Once you find a person looking to hire a Virtual Assistant, the game isn’t over.

Chances are, there are going to be other virtual assistants vetting for the same job. A few weeks ago, I hired a virtual assistant to help me out with a few tasks and I got 35 responses.

Yep – 35. That’s a LOT.

If you are going to stand a CHANCE in getting that job, you’re going to have to stand out.

Before you get scared, let me reassure you. Standing out doesn’t mean having the most polished website or even the most experience. It means going above and beyond in your proposal.

What does a BAD proposal look like?

Seriously. So bad. But it’s what I see VA’s doing time and time again.

By submitting this kind of “proposal”, you are leaving all the work in their hands. You may still get jobs if you have a really stellar website, but I guarantee you won’t make people say “WOW” with a proposal like this.

So, if you’re ready to propose well, do these three things:

1. Spend time researching.

Let the potential client know that you will be sending them an email or private message, but then spend some time researching their business. Take time to read who they are and what they offer. What have they posted about previously in this same Facebook group? What do you like about their website or the programs they offer? What do you see immediately that you can help with? You’ll only know this by taking the time to research them.

2. Make it personal.

When you email your client – make sure to give them a compliment on what they are doing or tell them what you like about their products. Is there anything that connects the two of you? Maybe you grew up in the same state or have the same kind of dog in her profile picture. Find a way to connect and make it personal.

3. Give value first.

What if you took an extra 30 minutes to SHOW your potential client what you could do for them? In addition to sending them a general portfolio of your work, is there a way that you could show off your skills for their business personally?

Here’s some ideas of how this could play out:

The client: Wants help with Pinterest
Give value: Go ahead and create a “pinnable” image for their most recent blog post

The client: Is looking for someone to help them with blogging
Give value: Write out a very detailed outline for a post you would like to write for them

The client: Wants help with scheduling tweets
Give value: Make a list of 50 tweets that you have pre-created for them

The client: Wants help growing their Instagram account
Give value: Lay out a personalized plan of the exact steps you’ll do for them to increase their followers and engagement.

I’m telling you – people aren’t doing this. It takes time. It takes you doing work without getting paid for it *Ghasp!*. However, if this is a client you really want to work with (which you’ll actually know since you’ve done your research), isn’t it worth it to take time to make sure your proposal gets noticed?

LET’S RECAP

Building a business isn’t easy. It will take work. It will take waking up early and saying “no” to other things. However, when you land your first client (and then another… and another… and another) it makes the hard work 1000% worth it.

Here’s the steps you’ll need to land your first (and future) clients for your Virtual Assistant business:

1. Reserve an hour a day to market your business
2. Send out a friends and family email
3. Make Facebook groups your new best friend
4. Propose well

Let me help simplify this for you. I’ve collected all the tools in this article in one “Sell Out Your Services” swipe file. This file will include:

• A daily checklist/marketing plan to help you accomplish the goals listed here
• An editable copy of the friends and family email
• A massive list of all the entrepreneurial groups I recommend joining