Sharon Williams Stops By on the OIVAC Blog Hopping Tour

Sharon I am so glad to have you here today and I appreciate you coming. If there is one thing that I am passionate about, it’s virtual assistants. They totally rock don’t they? The educational opportunities available to them this  year at OIVAC are mind blowing. If they don’t have their tickets yet, they need to get them right now at www.OIVAC.com!

Now onto Sharon!

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Hello Becki,

Lady, I’m glad to be able to stop by and chat. My train ran out of fuel, and I had to make a pit stop and recharge the engines. But, I’m back on track and ready to go full steam ahead. Pump your questions into my engine and let’s chug along the virtual assistant education and information track. Whatcha got?

What are some of the little known target markets a VA can focus on?

Becki, I’m asked this question often, and have created a short list for your readers:

• financial planners
• architects
• nonprofits
• churches
• artists
• chiropractors
• appraisers
• bookkeepers
• accountants
• associations
• building contractors
• import/exporters
• market research companies

There are literally hundreds of “little known” target markets VA can focus on to build their practices. These markets may not have much information about or even be aware of virtual assisting. Because of this lack of awareness, approaching these industries provides an excellent opportunity for a VA to penetrate these groups and become the “go-to”, resourceful VA.

To accomplish this, identify the market/profile that best matches your idea of a “dream customer”, conduct research and survey the particular industry, become knowledgeable about the group’s issues/problems, communicate with members and eventually be able to offer solutions. In other words, first identify their pain, let them know you are aware of it, possess the solution and provide the soothing balm.

How can a VA find the right client for them?

Who you work with is your choice and has a huge impact on your happiness, productivity, quality, and the future of your business. Working with the right clients is absolutely critical. The wrong client can kill your morale and cost you big opportunities. Working with the right client isn’t work at all — it’s a pleasure.

However, there are several factors to consider during your evaluation:

Feeling Trust!

Working closely with someone is a rather personal experience and you want very much to positively present this person in a way that represents the business in an exceptional manner. However, if a person bombards you with a million questions and wants to know why you can do a better job than someone else, you’re probably heading in the wrong direction fast!

Consciousness of Success

The person you work with has to be willing to control their own destiny. I mean, they cannot place their success in your hands – and should not hold YOU responsible if they do not achieve it. Each business owner is responsible for their own success, and once an individual recognizes (and projects it), they have developed the consciousness of success I refer to.

Conduct a Thorough Interview

As part of our interview process, drilled down into the potential client’s business model and financial objectives. Ask lots of questions to see if you can contribute significantly to a company’s success and to see if they meet your criteria for the right fit.

See the Opportunity and Weigh the Risks

Clients are an important and valuable asset and a major investment of time, processes, brain power, etc. Complete this brief exercise to help determine your dream client.

1) Get a piece of paper and draw 3 columns.
2) In the first column list your clients in order their profitability – most profitable at the top, least profitable at the bottom.
3) In the second column, write the annual revenue the client brings to your company.
4) Use the third column to apply adjectives to each client (ex: pleasant, fun, easygoing, motivated, distrustful, draining, etc.)
5) Now go back and circle all of the clients that have negative adjectives.

Usually, the most PROFITABLE (don’t confuse this with gross sales!) are also the ones with the most positive associations (pleasant, easy, friendly, respectful, loyal). The least profitable usually have the most negative associations (high maintenance, untrusting, hagglers, etc).

Bottom line, carefully define your dream customer. Write down as many things about them as possible – their annual revenue, personality, industry, business approach, and the amount of money they spend with your company. In most cases, this description will align with your clients who are at the top. Now, commit to using the criteria you just defined as your new rulebook for accepting new clients. If a prospect doesn’t fit, then respectfully decline the engagement. Only take on new work that is a match. Pretend your business is an exclusive nightclub and you only let a select few past that velvet rope. And yes, your company is that special!

*Exercise provided by: www.kinesisinc.com

What kind of technical education opportunities are available at OIVAC?

OIVAC 2010 has quite a bit of technical education opportunities planned this year. They include:

• Landing Business Success with a Facebook Fan Page (FBML)
• Shopping Carts for VAs
• 1Shopping Cart Mastery: Marketable Skills to Make You a Star
• Digital Security Salad
• How to Incorporate Camtasia Screencasts into Your VA Practice
• Creating a Membership Site to Use with Your Clients
• Incorporating Video into Your VA Marketing
• How to Add Website SEO Services to Your VA Practice
• Basic PC Maintenance – Tools to Keep Your PC Functioning
• Turbocharge Your Wordpress Blog
• How to Get Out of Second Gear and Get Your Wordpress Site Moving

But don’t despair! We also have excellent business and marketing sessions scheduled, too. Stop over to the seminar schedule to check out dates/times and registration packages.

Becki, it was great to stop over today. I particularly enjoyed discussing finding “the right client” and hope the information will open some eyes and help struggling VAs reevaluate how they decide who to partner with.

Next stop, Amy Blesser’s Virtual Services 4 U, where I’m sure Amy will ask very interesting questions.

Sharon Williams is President of The 24 Hour Secretary and chair of the Online International Virtual Assistants Convention. Don’t forget to stop by OIVAC and checkout our lineup of savvy business owners. Visit the schedule and register for the Technology or Business/Marketing Tracks to propel your business to its next plateau.