Virtual assistants are everywhere, no matter who they are, or what they do, they offer similar services, and clients can quickly not know where or who to turn to or look when they need assistance. So while potential clients are in this state of mind, you can help them understand, without selling anything or really doing anything directly, that you are the best person to assist them, because you Care…
Showing you care doesn’t involve sending them a heart shaped box of chocolates and asking them to tell you all their problems, it’s about doing what you do best, and demonstrating your talents before you have even begun to talk about your virtual assistant business.
If you have a ‘lead’, an interesting person whom is potential client material or even someone who has made a brief enquiry with you through social media, you have a small window of time, while you have their attention to stick yourself in their mind. Let me give you a scenario to demonstrate the formula before we get into the nitty gritty…
You walk into a shop and you see two salesmen, the first comes up telling you that they have amazing coats, the best coats on the whole high street! Ummm okay, but you don’t even need a coat because you have a brand new one you’re already wearing that you bought last week. The second salesman comes up and tells you that he noticed your hair is wet, so it must be raining outside and they have umbrellas on the 5th floor, he would be happy to show you where they are, because he can see that you are wearing a very nice new coat and he wouldn’t want you to get that wet… As a consumer, do you go for the coat from salesman 1 that you don’t need, or the umbrella from salesman 2, that would come in very useful after his observation that you were already wearing a very nice coat and you actually needed the umbrella because it’s raining outside?
Securing a client is in the very subtle details that even your client will miss. Also, always keep in mind, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” – because it’s a waste of time, however if it is broke, and you’re the one that spots it, then go for it! You need to do a bit of detective work before you can show that you are a salesman 2, and not a pushy, thoughtless salesman 1.
Get Involved.
The first thing you need to do is put yourself in front of them — this is how you jump up and down with your hands in the air virtually… get involved, @reply them on Twitter, leave a comment on their Facebook page or Blog, subscribe to their newsletter — see from their site what they want their visitors to do, how they want people to interact with them, then do whatever they hope those people will do.
Find A Problem.
Virtual assistants are all about solutions, you need to find a problem to solve, the best way to do this is to go to their website, and dig and delve, sometimes it can be something as small as a broken link or a typo, through to a subscribe box not working to a fuzzy graphic…. Once you have found the detail – you need to politely notify them, with a friendly, helpful email.
Hi [Name]
After reading your brilliant free report on Holistic Health I just went to subscribe to your YouTube channel, but I noticed that the icon on your home page is broken. I managed to do a search and found your channel on YouTube, but thought you might like to know.
[Name], I am a virtual assistant, so if you would like any help with fixing your YouTube link, please don’t hesitate to contact me 
Follow Up.
The point of this exercise is that if they have any inclination whatsoever of hiring a virtual assistant, then by golly, that VA is going to be you. You may hear back from them, and you may begin to strike up a conversation, but if you don’t – check in a week to 10 days time to see if the issue you found on their site is fixed, if it isn’t – that would indicate that they have been too busy for you or have a “can’t be bothered” kind of attitude, if they have fixed it, it shows they paid attention, and it’s most certainly worth a follow up to let them know that you came back and noticed the issue was fixed, and let them know if there is anything else you can help with, that they shouldn’t hesitate to contact you.
Whenever you’re following up on leads, you have to care enough about the potential client for them to care enough about considering looking into you as a VA. If you have already shown that you are not just the salesman looking to sell your wares, and you do actually care whether the client gets wet or not, then you are well over halfway there…
Do you use any other methods to show a potential client you care?
