Category Archives: Marketing

March 3, 2010 – 10:00 am

Dear Gritty VA: How Do I Get Clients

Dear Gritty VA:

Brief question–how do you get clients? I know this is on every Virtual Assistant’s mind in America whom is starting out. I know that the Virtual Assistant business is referral-based, but my God! I know that you can’t just jump up and think you are going to get rich from this (not my intentions). However, it’s one person I did some donated hours for, I have tried working with another client and lowered my prices to accommodate her. Still a no-go on this one. If I would have said it was free for the service, she would have been all over it. I think if I had at least two clients, I would feel like my business is progressing forward. But not having anyone get discouraging at times and you wonder if it’s worth it if your business is solely based off referrals, you know? –ST

Well, first, I had to chuckle because there’s nothing brief about the question, “How do you get clients?” LOL. Not laughing at you, but it’s sort of like asking, “How do we achieve world peace?” It’s a BIG, complicated question with no quick, simple, pat answer.  It’s difficult to start a business, as you recognize. For a large number of Virtual Assistants, they are not going to get clients right away. While they’re waiting, there’s a lot of learning and studying they can be doing to better understand marketing and client psychology. Here are a few thoughts to help you get started in the right direction…

1. Stop donating hours. When you give away your value (the very product you are in business to earn your living from), you devalue it in the eyes of clients. Worse, all giving stuff away for free does is attract freebie-seekers. These are not your clients. They will be gone as soon as you take the free buffet away. If they can’t afford professional services, they either shouldn’t be in business, or they should at least not expect you to subsidize their business (to your own detriment) until they can. These are very selfish, self-centered thinking people. You have your own bills to pay and people to take care of. You can’t put your time and energy into those folks. You’ve got to market to people who can already afford you and who don’t expect you to be footing the bill for their business. If you keep giving it away for free, you’re just going to keep getting more of the same. “Why pay for the cow when you can get the milk for free?” applies here. If you’re dishing it out, they’re gonna take it. You are attracting what you are giving. So stop the gravy train and get serious about serious clients.

2. I’m not sure why you think this, but this is not strictly a referral-based business. A business can become mostly referral-based once they’ve established their business, had a chance to get their foot in the networking door, and have clients and others who happily recommend them. If you’re new, you don’t have that right off the bat. But there are things you can do and ways you can network that will better draw/pull prospective clients to you. What will help here is having a target market to focus your message on and give you direction on where to find those folks you wish to be talking with and expend your efforts and energy there (which are limited and need to be conserved for the highest and best possible use). Two of the most important criteria in deciding on a target market are that a) it must be one where the people in it generally are earning enough money that they can afford professional services, and b) there are enough of them that it’s easy enough to figure out where they are (offline and off) and then find ways to interact with them, come up in their search terms and be found by them.

3. Never, ever bargain with or negotiate your fee. All you are doing is teaching clients to devalue you and your support. You start doing that and they forever after expect freebies and discounts and that everything is up for negotiation. You don’t even have to tell me what you’re charging. I can pretty much guarantee that you are undercharging–all these issues you describe are always symptomatic of rates that are too low. They cater to the wrong crowd. On top of that, I’m willing to bet the conversation on your site is all about cost and discounts and freebies and savings and how much cheaper and more affordable than an employee you are, yada yada yada… am I right? That’s exactly the problem. I would tell you to raise your fee. You likely will be ALL kinds of uncomfortable doing that and at the same time you will need to learn how to market differently and change your message. But when you do that, you will begin to attract a clientele with an entirely different mindset and more professional business sense. Those folks are looking for skill and quality and competence, not handouts. You simply can’t waste your time and energy–and money, because that’s what it boils down to–on folks who can’t afford you and would have you harm yourself in order to help them.

4. Adding onto the idea of changing your message, you’ve got to frame what you have to offer in respectful ways. You’ve got to hold what you do in high esteem and talk about it in respectful terms. If you use words like “generalist” and “mundane” and “affordable” and the like, you are lowering the perceived value of what you have to offer. You are teaching prospects to look down upon your work and view it as lowly, and thus, not worthy of professional fees. And the industry as a whole has GOT to get off the cost conversation and all the employee comparisons. If you have any of that stuff on your site, take it off immediately. You are creating and attracting the very mindsets you are complaining about now. If everything you put on your website is about how cheap you are, how much they can save, how much more affordable you are than employees, save this, get a discount on that, guess what you are focusing people on? MONEY. You can’t make your marketing message about that–unless you want to continue to attract nothing but people who are looking for savings and discounts and bargains and cheap and affordable. Stop talking about costs whatsoever. That’s the last thing you should be talking about. And if you don’t have anything else to talk about with regard to what you do for your clients and your value to them, then you’ve got a lot more work to do about understanding what you are and what you do.

Marketing and attracting clients is an area of ongoing learning and study. It’s not anything that can be answered quickly or simply in a mere blogpost, but I hope this at least gets your wheels turning. The very best way I can help you is to recommend that you get my e-book, “Understanding Your Value: How to Craft Your Own Unique Marketing Message and Make More Money with Alternative Billing Strategies.” This is a self-study guide that will help you determine your target market, define an ideal client profile, differentiate yourself with your own unique marketing message and value proposition and use value-based pricing methodologies to package up your support in much more attractive, marketable ways.

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By Danielle Keister | Also posted in Business Savvy, Dear Gritty VA, Virtual Assistant/Virtual Assistance | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (11)
February 22, 2010 – 10:00 am

So, What Does an Administrative Support Consultant Do for Me, You Ask?

Here’s a little video for ya… feel free to use it on your site if you have trouble explaining to clients what you do as a Virtual Assistant and Administrative Support Consultant.

So, how does an Administrative Support Consultant Help Me?

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By Danielle Keister | Also posted in Cool Stuff, Virtual Assistant/Virtual Assistance | Comments (8)
January 6, 2010 – 10:00 am

Dear Gritty VA: What’s Your Website Advice?

Dear Gritty VA:

I found your website today and am very impressed. I am new to the world of Virtual Assistance–actually, today is my first day! My 2010 goal is to build a professional Virtual Assistant business, the kind of quality practice you describe in your website. It seems that one of the first really big steps is to design and build a website. Can you share any advice on selecting a host web service geared to Virtual Assistants or what pitfalls to avoid? The seemingly endless options are overwhelming and building the right website is a step I don’t want to take lightly. I’d really appreciate any insights you can share. Thanks. –FS

Oh, this is always a tough one for me to answer because honestly, I think the best business advice is to hire a professional (meaning, someone with actual design training and not someone who simply owns the software) to design your site so you can stay focused on the business-building and simply provide the designer with the direction. Unless, of course, you actually have the design and technical knowledge to do it yourself, and even then, we can often be too close to our own “product” to see the forest for the trees, so to speak. But I know the reality is that most VAs do not start their businesses properly capitalized so I’ll speak from the bootstrapping route.

As far as hosting, you don’t need a service that is geared toward VAs. Basically, it just needs to have reliable servers and great customer service. There are so many out there and we could both wear ourselves out just trying to go over all the particulars of things to look for and what ones to avoid. I don’t have the energy for that today, LOL, so I’m just going to give you a recommendation: A2Hosting.

I had been with another hosting company for years and years… had all my sites hosted through them as well as my web client sites. But the company got sold a couple times and went from being an absolute gem to an absolute dud. I mean, I can’t even begin to tell you how horrible they became…. horrible, horrible offshored customer service, constant server crashes, problems getting into your own accounts (they’d change the password on you without telling you and then you’d have to waste all kinds of time sitting on the phone trying to get your damn info)…. I’m about to die just remembering all the crap I had to go through with them. It was a nightmare.

So I went shopping around and tried many of the hosting services that are frequently recommended. And they sucked. But eventually I found A-2 and tried them out and I could not be happier. Actually, ecstatic would be a better word. I have not had any problems with their servers. They have fantastic in-house 24/7 telephone support on top of an easy-to-use online support ticket system (depending on what you prefer). They’ve got a Fantastico control panel with all the bells and whistles. I have moved all of my sites and as well as the client sites I manage over there and I could not recommend them more highly. They personally “walked” with me through a few more complex site transfers, all the while continuing to be their very personable and cheery selves. They’ve also got a sale going on right now of 40% off any hosting plan for new customers. Here’s a page where you can view all your plan options and discounts.

As far as the site design goes itself, you don’t mention where you’re at in terms of know-how on the web design thing so I’m flying blind here. That being the case, one route you could take is self-hosting a blogsite from WordPress.org (do not go with WordPress.com as you have no control over hosting, have fewer capabilities and people have lost their sites before going that route). A hosting company like A2 has one-click installs of WordPress. You could also hire someone who already has the know-how to do the installation and then work with them to customize a template. Lots of folks recommend Wordpress as being easy as pie, but truthfully, it is a bit more complicated than that and if you don’t have the know-how, you can expend a lot of wasted time and energy concerning yourself with all the ins and outs. And getting the site to look like a professional site and not just the same generic template that everyone has seen on a million other sites takes some doing . You’ll have to weigh that out for yourself. Personally, I learned long ago not to waste my time with things I’m not good at and hire those who are. It saves all kinds of time, aggravation and ultimately, money.

I should add that your site will always be a work-in-progress. It’s the most important piece of marketing collateral you have and should always be in a constant state of improvement as you learn more about marketing and your clientele and how to better articulate your message to be more compelling and have more meaning for them. So the good news about that is that it doesn’t have to be perfect, get something up and then work from there. And if design isn’t your forte, at your first opportunity, find a pro to partner with to help you so you can have a visually attractive site with your own unique visual identity that will help draw people into the all-important content and facilitates their ease and use of the site.

As far as content goes, one of the biggest pitfalls in our industry is that VAs are recycling the same, tired old industry rhetoric so their sites sound exactly alike. This frustrates clients and doesn’t do anything to differentiate the VA from the herd. The one thing that makes literally everything easier–your marketing, your networking, your work, finding client…everything–is to focus on a target market. I can’t stress this enough. Narrow down one audience to speak to and then study and learn everything about them. The direction this focusing on a target market gives you will make everything less overwhelming and vastly more effective and expedient.

It’s important to remember that when your product is a service, it’s invisible… meaning, it’s not something a person can physically hold in their hand. That’s why your “packaging”–hich is what your website is–becomes so important. It’s the physical, more tangible representation of your business and image. If your site looks amateurish, prospective clients will think the caliber of your service may be amateurish as well. Any money you invest here in making your site top-notch, professional, polished and unique is an investment in your success.

38gdeNow, getting direction in your marketing and messaging efforts can be overwhelming in and of itself. If you have any trouble in that area, I’ve figured all that out for folks in my guide, “Understanding Your Value: How to Craft Your Own Unique Marketing Message and Make More Money with Alternative Billing Strategies.”

By Danielle Keister | Also posted in Dear Gritty VA, Virtual Assistant/Virtual Assistance | Tagged , , , | Comments (2)
December 2, 2009 – 10:00 am

Dear Gritty VA: Do I HAVE to Know This and This and This, Too?

Dear Gritty VA:

My biggest strengths are written and verbal communication, research and word processing. Can I still be a successful Virtual Assistant or do I need to know things like 1shoppingcart, website design and desktop publishing to even have a prayer of getting any clients? -KT

I’m going to be annoying and not really answer your question directly. And the reason is because there are several aspects to consider. In pondering those things, you will end up answering the question for yourself.

My first question to you is: Do you know what business you are in (or considering being in)?

Being in business first has to be something you want to be in, want to be doing and have the qualifications to do. I mean, it wouldn’t serve you to wake up one day and decide to be a plumber if you have zero interest in pipes and sewage. And it certainly wouldn’t serve any customers you got if you didn’t have the training, experience or qualifications to be a plumber, right?

For this reason, you have to get really clear and cognizant of exactly and specifically what you want to be in business to do. In this case, you may want to ask yourself: Am I in business to provide support or am I in business to sell individual services. Because there is a big difference between delivering ongoing administrative support (which is a service offering all its own) and selling individual services. When you are selling line-item services, the focus is on the individual project and the transaction. But if you are in business to provide administrative support, the product you are really offering is an ongoing, right-hand relationship. The relationship is the focus, not the transactions or tasks.

The reason this clarity is important is because it makes all the difference in how you market, articulate your value and attract exactly the right clients who have a need for what you are in business to offer.

Which brings us back to your original question, and the answer to that is, it depends. It depends on what you are in business to do, who has a need for what you offer and who you want to work with. You can be an administrative expert and not have to also be a website designer and a graphic designer and a bookkeeper, etc., etc., if that’s not what you want to do. Your value isn’t in trying to be every single kind of professional under the sun or to know how to do everything in the world. In fact, it’s really silly to and ineffective to try to do that because you can quickly distract yourself from your focus, spread yourself too thin and dillute your strengths and expertise.

You’re in the driver’s seat. You get to set the expectations and craft your marketing message in a way that attracts exactly who you want it to attract. If you don’t want to do any of those other things you mention, focus clients on the thing you do do and how that helps them in their business.

Now, I’m not saying you can’t or shouldn’t do any of those other things. If you want to work with online business owners, knowing HTML and being able to draft up web pages, etc., is something that will add value to what you offer. Additional divisions and layers of support in your business (such as technical support for 1shoppingcart, for example) are also ways you can add more revenue streams by offering them as stand-alone services or at higher priced support packages.

At the same time, there are plenty of clients doing real-world work and running non-virtual businesses who aren’t going to care a whit whether you know 1shoppingcart and don’t need you to know graphic design because they already have a talented graphic design house they use, thank you very much. They just need you to be focused on administrative support, and really, that’s plenty as it is!

They certainly wouldn’t turn to you for legal advice if you weren’t an attorney, and they wouldn’t ask you for financial guidance if you weren’t an accountant, right? Of course not. So focus clients on exactly what you are in business to do and explain things so they know as clear as day exactly what kind of expert you are.

The trick is to get clear about what you want to be in business to do and then target a market that has a need for exactly that. The more clear you are, the more you’ll attract exactly the right clients.

32frmPS: I think you’d find my Virtual Assistant Business Plan very helpful in sorting all this out. It’s not only a template that shows you how a professional business plan should be structured and formatted, it’s also designed to get your thought juices going with regard to these kinds of questions, figure out exactly what kind of business you want to be in and how you can create a multi-layered administrative support business with multiple revenue streams.

726 participants–only 274 to go! Take part in the 2009 Virtual Assistant Industry Survey and spread the word!

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By Danielle Keister | Also posted in Business Savvy, Dear Gritty VA, Virtual Assistant/Virtual Assistance | Tagged , | Comments (4)
November 20, 2009 – 10:00 am

You are Not a Generalist

I frequently hear Virtual Assistants refer to themselves as “generalists” and I always wonder why they denigrate themselves like that. It’s like saying “I’m just a mom” or “I’m just the help.”

It’s certainly not attractive marketing-wise. It portrays what you do as unimportant and of less value or consequence. It implies that there is no special talent, knowledge, skills or training involved in your expertise (and we Virtual Assistants know that’s not the case). People simply hold specialists in higher esteem; they perceive greater value.

So I want to remind you that as a Virtual Assistant you are not a generalist. You have a specialty:  the specialty of administrative support. That makes you an administrative expert or administrative support specialist, not a generalist (unless, of course, you really are someone with no skills, experience or talent for this work). Remember that.

;)

679 participants–only 321 to go! Take part in the 2009 Virtual Assistant Industry Survey and spread the word!

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By Danielle Keister | Also posted in Business Savvy, Virtual Assistant/Virtual Assistance | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (7)
November 3, 2009 – 10:00 am

It’s Not About the Price

As a Virtual Assistant, if your only selling point is how little you cost or how much cheaper you are than an employee, you’ve already failed in business.

I get it… many people are new to business. They just don’t know how to market themselves. They see what everyone else in the Virtual Assistant industry is talking about on their websites and think that’s what they should be talking about, too. Little do they know that most of those people they are mimicking are struggling, making very little money and attracting all the worst kinds of client traits (think cheapskates and nitpickers, the kind that do not make for a happy nor profitable business).

Let me ask you: Is it your rate that improves the businesses of your clients? Is it your rate that does the skilled work that allows clients to move forward? Is it your rate that streamlines their businesses and helps them run more effectively? Is it your rate that creates more precious time in their lives?

No? Then why do you continue to focus clients on nothing but your price? Surely there is more reason to work with you than the fact that you charge so little or that you are “affordable” or “cheaper than an employee.” Isn’t there?

And for that matter, why do you think that value (i.e., skills, expertise, knowledge and all the host of solutions and benefits that clients reap from those traits) should cost nary a thing?

Sure, you might have clients beating down your door, but are they the right clients? Are they the kind of clients you will enjoy working with? Can you build a real, sustainable business and make an actual living from the amount of money the cheap-seekers want to pay? How long do you think it will take before you resent not making enough money or burn out before barely breaking even?

If you don’t work to understand this dynamic, you are going to forever be stuck on a hamster wheel chasing down clients, attracting the worst kind, and still never making any money. You can’t be (or stay long) in business if clients are the only ones who benefit. Your business absolutely must benefit you equally as well. Otherwise, you don’t have a business.

I encourage you to keep thinking about the real value you bring to the table. How exactly does your support put your clients in a better place in their business than they were before? Hint: It has nothing to do with how much you charge.

616 participants–only 384 to go! Take part in the 2009 Virtual Assistant Industry Survey and spread the word!

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By Danielle Keister | Also posted in Business Savvy, Virtual Assistant/Virtual Assistance | Tagged , , | Comments (6)
October 7, 2009 – 10:00 am

Dear Gritty VA: Should I Pay a Fee to Find Clients?

Dear Gritty VA:

Hello! I’m in the beginning stages of starting my own Virtual Assistant business, but the information on the Web is a tad overwhelming. I’m well-qualified with eight years of administrative experience within various fields (marketing, accounting, constructions and the military). I have so many questions!!! My first question is how do I find a niche and is it necessary to my business’s success? Where do I find clients and should I pay a fee to do so? –MT

Generally speaking, I would say no to paying a fee to find clients. I’m guessing that you are referring to job referral sites and such, and those places just do not bring the kind of clients with the proper mindset to pay professional fees. Mostly they are looking for project work sourced out to the lowest bidder. You can’t build a VA business like that and they’ll have you working for $1-$10 an hour. Seriously. If that makes sense to you, you of course have that option, but if you’re truly looking to build a business that will yield a livable income or better, you’ll want to save your time, energy and efforts for better avenues.

Determining a target market (another term for niche) is one of things you can do to make everything less overwhelming and give you some direction as far as finding clients. When you know who you are directing your message to, you can write a clearer, more compelling message that will resonate with them. When you know who your audience is, you can create your offerings specifically to meet their needs, which in turn will make them more attractive to clients. When you know who your market is, you don’t have to wonder how to find clients. You simply figure out where your target market hangs out online and off, and then look for opportunities to network and interact with them. Knowing who your intended market is will make all the work of figuring out what their common interests, goals and challenges so much easier.

There’s not really a secret to determining a target market. Some people start with what they are familiar with, meaning they might choose a target market because they’ve worked in that particular field or industry before, they know what it’s about, how those businesses are run and can easily identify the kind of administrative support they can give to professionals in that field.

Some people might choose a target market because it’s one that already has established history of working with Virtual Assistants. For example, the coaching, speaking, real estate and legal fields are industries with a long history of utilizing Virtual Assistants. Those industries are already familiar with ours, they know the drill, so to speak, and you can be pretty sure there are plenty of clients to go around and they will be easy to find.

Other people might end up with a wild card–a client who works in an industry they weren’t familiar with before. In those circumstances, they might find they really have an affinity for the field and the kind of work clients do and really enjoy working with folks in that industry.

You might switch target markets several times throughout the life of your business, but the point is to start somewhere as it will give you much needed direction and focus for your efforts all the way around. In choosing a target market, the most important criteria it must meet are:

  • It must be an industry that has a need for the solution you are in business to provide;
  • It must be an industry where there are plenty of clients who have a need for your solution and who are easy to find and network with;
  • It must be an industry/field where the business owners are making enough money to afford professional fees (you can’t work with people who can’t afford you).

467 participants so far–533 to go. We’re almost there! Take part in the 2009 Virtual Assistant Industry Survey and spread the word!

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By Danielle Keister | Also posted in Business Savvy, Dear Gritty VA, Virtual Assistant/Virtual Assistance | Tagged , , | Comments (0)
September 3, 2009 – 10:00 am

That's Not Your Client's Burden

You’ve seen them, those charts and cost comparisons on many, many (did I say “many”) Virtual Assistant sites trying to bribe clients into working with them because they are cheaper than employees. Back in my early days, I even had a similar cost comparison. Egads! LOL

But it’s not necessarily true that Virtual Assistants are cheaper than employees. Accomplished, successful Virtual Assistants who know their worth and value to clients and who are running profitable businesses for themselves very often do cost more than employees or at least the same and in some instances, less perhaps. But not because of comparing apples to oranges.

And think this through… if this is how you are enticing people to work with you, what kind of platform are you creating right from the get-go? How difficult might you be making it for yourself when you realize you need or want to raise your fees? How many clients might you lose because the relationship was based on you being cheap? Are those the clients you really want and deserve?

I’ve said it a million times on here and it bears repeating… take cost (including all those employee comparisons) completely out of the conversation, at least on your website and marketing. Unless the solution you provide is being “cheap” and “affordable.” Then by all means, keep it on there.

The reason that Virtual Assistants very often do cost more than employees is related to how the results of their work creates value for clients. When clients are able to move forward and in turn grow their business, make more money, have more time for life–that’s value. That’s results.

Don’t make the argument to clients that your fees are $X because of all it costs you to run your business. That’s not their burden to bear. It’s not their role or their obligation to worry about what it costs us to be in business.

Focus clients on your value to them–the problems you help solve, the obstacles and challenges you help them overcome, what your work helps them achieve in their business and what that might equate to in turn (e.g., more money, free time, ease…). Isn’t that the solution you’re really in business to provide?

By Danielle Keister | Also posted in Business Savvy, Virtual Assistant/Virtual Assistance | Comments (5)
August 24, 2009 – 10:00 am

Where Is Your Arrow Pointing?

Last week I had a conversation with a Virtual Assistant who was struggling to get out of nickel and dime project work and find more reliable, consistent clients and income. She wasn’t new to the industry, but so far, she wasn’t having any success in making the leap to retained clients, which is what she wanted, and she simply couldn’t live off what little she earned doing project work.

A quick look at her website told me that part of the problem was that she wasn’t making it clear that’s the kind of work she did and the kind of clients she wanted. As the saying goes, you won’t get what you don’t ask for. ;)

She was also having trouble wrapping her brain around the idea of narrowing her sights down to a specific target market. She couldn’t understand why you would want to do that. In her words, “All I want to do is work with anyone who needs administrative support.”

There isn’t anything wrong with wanting that. The problem is, as she is continuing to experience, you can’t be everywhere, talking to everyone, and make any kind of effective, expedient, compelling, unique impact. Today’s article in The Portable Business™ was inspired by this conversation…

Where Is Your Arrow Pointing?

bullseyedartAre you a small business owner trying to connect with people you can help? How do you know who you can help? What exactly do they need help with? Where can these people be found? And once you find them, how can you craft a unique and compelling message that will resonate with these folks?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions, more than likely you’re trying to do business without any direction. The result is that getting clients is haphazard at best and the clients you do get are not particularly ideal for you. You expend an enormous amount of time and energy marketing and networking all over the place in the hopes that someone, anyone, (pretty please?!) will need your services. You’re shooting your arrows in all directions and not hitting much of anything in the process. Are you exhausted yet?

Fear is usually what keeps business owners from focusing on one specific market. New business owners are naturally eager to get clients and they fear restricting their options because they don’t want to miss any opportunities. It seems completely counter-intuitive, but getting clients can be so much easier by simply narrowing your trajectory.

Benefits of Pointing Your Arrows Toward a Target Market

  • When you know who you’re concentrating on, it’s much easier to learn everything you can about a particular market and its common needs, pains and objectives.
  • When you know who you’re talking to, you can create a message that will be music to their ears.
  • You’ll be able to tailor much better, more attractive solutions just for them.
  • It’s much easier to find your would-be clients online and off.
  • When you have direction, it’s far easier to identify what actions to take and where.
  • Instead of trying to be everywhere, talking to everyone, you can focus your best, most fruitful efforts mixing and mingling with your target market.
  • In turn, you’ll have much more time and energy for actually working with clients once they start coming in the doors.
  • It’s much easier to systemize and manage your business when you cater to a specific clientele.
  • Your work also becomes much easier and your expertise in serving that market increases, allowing you to make more money.

So what’s not to love about having a target market? The only opportunities you’ll be missing out on are those that would have taken forever to come your way anyway. Take aim and start building your business more quickly today.

By Danielle Keister | Also posted in Business Savvy, Virtual Assistant/Virtual Assistance | Tagged , | Comments (1)
August 19, 2009 – 10:00 am

Bigger Isn't Necessarily Better

Why do some folks think bigger is necessarily better when it comes to business?

Some of the absolute worst service and quality comes from big companies.

Bigger can mean less service, less personal attention, less devotion to detail, and clients being treated like numbers instead of human beings. Where each is viewed as a transaction instead of an opportunity to serve and deliver with craftsmanship and pride.

Bigger also very often means more difficulty and complexity in managing, with less effectiveness and control over the quality of the end result or work product, and the need for greater profit margins just to break even.

So why do so many solopreneurs (including Virtual Assistants) try to sound bigger than they are? Why do many put on airs and try to pretend they have a “team” when all they’re doing is referring clients or subcontracting work out to colleagues? What do they hope sounding “bigger” will achieve for them?

After pondering this, I’ve concluded that they think it will make them come across as more capable, more legitimate. That somehow “sounding bigger” will imbue them with credibility.

But listen, you aren’t going to fool anyone. What happens when you do get a client on the phone and they realize that you truly are a solopreneur or small business? Big or small is irrelevant when it comes to expertise. But you’ve just started a new relationship being less than truthful. And now the client knows you are willing to “fudge” things. You think that’s a good thing? How do you think that might affect their trust and confidence in you? And what if your absolute best, most ideal clients are completely passing you by because they’re looking for personal service, not big and impersonal?

Stop trying to manipulate and seduce and trick people.  It doesn’t work (and the world is a less trustful place because of those behaviors).

You don’t have to be dishonest in order to convey credibility. Credibility comes from expertise, authenticity and truthfulness, regardless of how many people are in the business. Projecting credibility comes from demonstration and accomplishment.

If you’re not educated, educate yourself. If you want to be a business person, study business by any means you have available to you (even if that’s simply checking business books out from the library). Become well-read. Speak like an educated, knowledgeable person. Focus on and emphasize your expertise without any false modesty.

Have a professional looking website. Have professionally crafted marketing collateral. Run your business like a business, not a hobby.

Don’t hide who or where you are (like your photo or your address/location). Putting your face on the business is the very best way to establish rapport and give prospective clients someone and something to relate to as people.

Dispense truth and education. Write your content in way that shows prospects that you know what you’re talking about, understand their problems and obstacles, and have the chops to help them.

Put people and your craft first; the money will come. And when it comes to money, charge like a professional who honors and values their craft and represents truly helpful and solution-full expertise and service.

Every one of those things and more, in whole or in part, will project the credibility you’re looking for. And none of them is dependent upon lying.

By Danielle Keister | Also posted in Business Savvy | Comments (5)