The Gritty Virtual Assistant Blog

One of the biggest complaints I hear from clients is that all the Virtual Assistant sites they visit say the same thing. There are a number of reasons for this.

For one thing, it seems to me that many people attracted to this industry somehow get the idea that it’s a sort of club to belong to instead of a business or profession. They see that the majority of other sites are all saying the same thing, which leads them to think that’s what they are supposed to be saying as well to show that they belong to the “tribe.” So they simply parrot what they see on every other site or, worse, copy and paste it verbatim. Which, in turn, continues the cycle of miseducation for the next wave of new VAs.

Then there are those who do get that this is a business, not a club, but they just don’t know how to even begin coming up with their own message. They write about what they do in only the most general sense, and because they don’t want to miss out on any opportunity, they write to an audience of anyone and everyone. Which gives their message no real clarity or compelling resonance–to anyone.

The problem with this is none of this differentiates them in any distinguishable way from their competition. They don’t give clients any reason to choose them over anyone else because they all sound the same. They become just another invisible, unmemorable drop in a sea of generic blandness.

The trick is to 1) get a different perspective about what you are really in business to do, 2) stop talking about yourself, and 3)  figure out who you are talking to and then start talking about them.

It is absolutely possible to craft a unique marketing message all your own! Every single Virtual Assistant, including new VAs, can do this. It’s not difficult once you are shown the keys. In fact, once you know the keys, it becomes incredibly simple and easy to come up with your own unique value proposition. You’ll wonder why on earth you struggled so much with your message before. With the keys, you’ll never need to parrot or mimick or copy or use anyone else’s sample marketing language again because you’ll know how to think for yourself.

This is exactly what I’ve done with my guide, “Understanding Your Value: How to Craft Your Unique Marketing Message and Make More Money with Alternative Billing Strategies.” You really get several guides in one. In it, I take you through the Fit – Focus – Value process with exercises for identifying your target market, profiling your ideal client and then identifying your true value proposition.  But we don’t stop there. I also give you a primer on alternative billing methodologies and give you ideas for packaging up your support in innovative ways that will not only appeal more to clients, but also help you make more money by trading value–not hours–for money.

I would really love to see you take your practice to an entirely different level in 2010 so you can earn better and stop struggling to find clients. As my gift to you this holiday season, from now until Sunday, Dec. 13, you can get this guide for $47 (a $20 savings).