Loading ...Seriously, I consider these posts over at Virtual Moxie required reading for all Virtual Assistants:
What a Virtual Assistant Does: http://www.virtualmoxie.com/2008/06/what-virtual-as.html
More on What a Virtual Assistant Does: http://www.virtualmoxie.com/2008/07/hey-outsiders-.html
Hey, Outsiders! That’s Just Crap: http://www.virtualmoxie.com/2008/07/hey-outsiders-.html
Stacy and I have always been on the same page with this stuff. I’m constantly trying to refine and find better ways to articulate what Virtual Assistance is all about so that Virtual Assistants, as well as our marketplace, find it easier to “get it.”
The customer is NOT always right. When clients try to get you to lump things into your service, work that doesn’t have anything to do with administrative support, what’s really going on is that they are trying to get something for nothing. New Virtual Assistants who don’t have a frame of reference then think they are supposed to know all this other stuff and give it away for free. As Stacy put it, that is absolute crap.
I have a new workbook coming out that I’ve been working on for a few months (and if you’d like to get on the mailing list for when I announce it and receive a special discount, I’ll give you the sign-up form at the end of this post), one that is designed to help Virtual Assistants truly understand their value, craft their own unique value statement (one that will take you out of the “script” rut and find your own creative voice).
One of the things I talk about in this workbook is the fact that unless you truly understand what business you are in and the solution you provide, you will never be able to fully and meaningful articulate your value to your market or identify opportunities for creating additional income streams and profits to supplement your administrative support profits. Here’s an excerpt:
“…a large segment of our marketplace has been trained—even spoiled, if you will—to expect highly skilled, technical or creative work to be lumped in with their administrative packages without paying anything extra for that value. That’s crazy!
“Take Web design and shoppingcart installation and maintenance for instance. These are highly specialized fields of expertise that require their own separate skillsets, training and knowledge. That work really falls into the creative and technical arenas, not administrative support, and warrants being charged for separately, perhaps at a premium. By not charging separately for special projects and highly specialized creative or technical services that don’t have anything to do with administrative support, Virtual Assistants are leaving huge amounts of money on the table and depriving their businesses of additional income streams and profits.”
Get over the idea that these discussions have anything to do with telling who can call themselves a Virtual Assistant. It doesn’t have anything to do with that. It has everything to do with good business and marketing and bringing greater clarity and brand understanding to the marketplace, as well as more money and respect for Virtual Assistants.
If you’d like to get on the list for my new workbook, “Understanding Your Value: How to Create Your Unique Value Proposition and Cash In on Value-Billing Methodologies,” sign up below:
