How I Landed My First VA Client

How I Landed My First VA Client

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If you are still struggling to get that first Virtual Assistant client (or that first great client), this is what you need to do.

One of the things many Virtual Assistants struggle with is getting their first client.

There is so much anxiety around getting clients – especially that first one – that we can often be overcome and get paralyzed. And nothing happens.

We try to adjust our services. We try to adjust our rates. We apply for countless RFPs and hear nothing back.

Or worse yet, we take any work someone offers us because we don’t want to miss out on money – and we hate it.

The one thing that VAs who are struggling to get great clients are usually not doing … is having conversations.

Actually talking to people is what will get you clients.

It’s how I got my first client. And the one after that. And the one after that. And pretty much every client I ever got.

How I Got My First Virtual Assistant Client

When I was 7 months pregnant I was leaving my regular job. I knew I wasn’t going back because I lived outside the city and I didn’t want to pay for daycare and basically have my whole paycheque going to that and the gas for the commute.

My boss asked me when I could start working again, because the financial work I did was really important to him. He used to do it before I did, and he had only trained me. He knew I had the expertise and it would be easier to have me just do that work (and split up the rest of my job tasks to someone else) – and it gave me the opportunity to earn enough money each month to stay home and still contribute to my household.

A conversation about my boss’s needs and my needs got me my first client.

When I realized a bunch of years later that I was actually a VA, I joined CAVA and I got my ‘next’ first client by responding to an RFP. She was an editor in New York City who I signed after a GREAT conversation, and we worked together until I stopped doing VA work in 2018. She also sent me countless referrals over the years and became a great friend.

When I took my Virtual Events certification through VAClassroom (now FreelanceU), I started talking to my audience and connections about my new services – and I got another ‘first’ client. My first telesummit, that turned into another, that turned me into ‘Telesummit Girl’.

You see?

You will always be looking for a ‘first’ client of some kind.

Many of you are still looking for that actual ‘first’ client.

You need to speak to people in order for it to happen.

You will never know what clients need until you talk to them. Some of them you will be able to help, and some of them you will not be able to help. But then you just keep moving along to another conversation. The numbers are on your side.

The clients WILL come when you are talking to people about how you can help them.

And you will never get better at conversations until you start doing them.

I challenge you to make a list of people that can reach out to, to have conversations about supporting them. And then start reaching out to them. Build relationships daily. It is a great skill to build as a business owner, and one that not many VAs are using. Make it work for you!

To get more tips on networking to find clients, check out my free training videos on Youtube.

About the Author: Tracey D’Aviero is a Virtual Assistant Coach, Trainer, Speaker and Author. After operating a busy VA business of her own since 1996, Tracey began teaching others to run their VA businesses in 2010 through Your VA Mentor. In 2016 she purchased the CAVA and GAVA VA associations and now teaches and coaches VAs exclusively. She has a vast amount of experience working in a many different industries which helps her to offer her students and coaching clients a unique perspective and sound advice. She is a proud advocate of the Virtual Assistant industry. Learn more about Tracey’s journey in the VA industry here. 

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3 Simple Ways to Get Clients for Your VA Business

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If you are struggling to find Virtual Assistant clients, this article is for you!

When we start our Virtual Assistant business, most of us don't realize the work involved to get clients.

We meticulously launch our website, get business cards printed, and expect the clients to start calling. Or we expect to join job boards and fill our client roster easily.

That's not always the way it works. In fact, most of the time it's very different.

While writing blog posts and posting to social media is an important part of your marketing, it's not enough to get clients easily. Your posts need to have an audience - and that takes work to build.

To get clients for your business, you need to do outreach. You need to find your clients and connect with them.

Here are 3 simple ways you can reach out to people about your VA business:

Contact 100 People You Know

When you start talking to people about your business, the first place to begin is with who you know. Make a list of 100 people you know (it's okay if this list starts with your mom - mine does too!). Maybe not all of these people will be your clients, but they can certainly help to spread the word about what you are doing - provided that they understand what you do. You will see quickly that you know a lot of people. Once you have your list, start reaching out to them by email or by phone. Introduce your business, tell them exactly what kind of clients you offer services for, and ask them if they know anyone who might need your services.

Attend A Networking Event

Going to a networking event is a great place to find potential clients. Everyone is there for the same reason - to network with other business owners. Make sure when you choose an event to go to, you always have a goal of how many people you want to connect with. Often the local networking groups have Facebook groups where you can connect with the attendees before and after the event. When you network with a goal in mind, you will have much better results.

Find Strategic Partners

The connections you will make in your business are not always going to become your clients. Some of the best people you can connect with are strategic partners. These are people who can potentially refer business to you. Usually they are in contact with your audience or market, but they are not providing the same services as you. Your VA colleagues can be great strategic partners. If you don't provide the same services as a colleague, you can refer business back and forth to each other. When you make your list above, identify potential strategic partners on it and reach out to them as such.

Getting comfortable with outreach is going to be one of the best things you can do for your VA business. The more conversations you have with other business owners, the better you will get at it. And the more connections you make, the more potential clients and referrals you will have.

What are you doing for outreach in your business? If you are struggling to find clients and you are still hiding behind your computer, I challenge you to do these three simple things to see how it impacts your VA business.

For some more ideas on how to get clients for your VA business so that you get clients, read this blog post: Where Do I Find Clients for My VA Business?

About the Author: Tracey D’Aviero is a Virtual Assistant Coach, Trainer, Speaker and Author. After operating a busy VA business of her own since 1996, Tracey began teaching others to run their VA businesses in 2010 through Your VA Mentor. In 2016 she purchased the CAVA and GAVA VA associations and now teaches and coaches VAs exclusively. She has a vast amount of experience working in a many different industries which helps her to offer her students and coaching clients a unique perspective and sound advice. She is a proud advocate of the Virtual Assistant industry. Learn more about Tracey’s journey in the VA industry here. 

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How Many Virtual Assistant Clients Do You Actually Need?

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Getting clients can seem overwhelming until you look at the numbers.

The idea of getting clients is often the most daunting part of your Virtual Assistant business.

As support professionals, the thought of selling ourselves comes up in conversations as not a very pleasant task. And it often seems like something that will be never-ending.

It’s something that many Virtual Assistants don’t do well as a result.

When I ask VAs how many clients they need, they often don’t even know the answer to that question.

Or they get flustered and say, ‘One!’ and don’t think much farther than that.

But when you stop to think about just how many clients you need, it might make things just a bit easier.

How does that work?

Well let’s change hats here. Take off the ‘I’m not sure’ VA hat and put on your CEO hat for a few minutes.

Consider the revenue you need to earn in your VA business. Then consider how many clients you need to work with to make up that revenue. It’s simple math.

If you need to earn $2000 per month, how many clients does that translate to?
If you need to earn $5000, how many clients is that?

You need to just change the way you are thinking about earning. When we look at revenue from an open end, it is much more daunting.

Often we look for one client, then we look for another, and we bill them according to their needs.

But when you are proactive about it, you can plan better, and even be strategic about it. I promise, you will have less anxiety when the numbers are clearer.

For instance, if you know you need to earn $2000 per month, and you offer a package of services (or a suite of services) that is in the $500 range, that means you only need to find 4 clients to reach your revenue goal.

Or, if you offer a $1000 service, you only need 2 clients. For a $250 service, you need 8 clients. But a lower budget is often much easier to sell.

It seems less daunting when you look at the actual clients you need when you are planning how and where to find them.

Starting with your end goal and using your numbers to figure out what you need to do to fill your practice is the simplest way to manage your mindset around it.

If you realize you are only looking for 2 or 3 clients, how much easier does that sound than looking for an endless supply of clients?

It sounds a lot better to me!

And if you don’t have a solid idea of what your service offerings are valued at right now, then that’s where you need to do a little bit of work first.

Knowing how much you charge your clients is a key part of forecasting your revenue.

Look at the services you offer. How can you build a package of services that falls into that $250 or $500 range? Whether you charge by the hour or just by the package, identifying specifically what you can do for your clients and how much it will cost them is an excellent way to level yourself up.

Clients love clarity and all they want to know is what you can do for them and how much it will cost.

When you know that, you can figure out how many clients you are looking for.

And then go and find them!

Numbers are your friend in your business – use them in situations like this to map out your strategy, and your practice will be full in no time!

For more great info about getting clients for your VA business, check out my free getting clients video playlist for Virtual Assistants on my Youtube channel.

About the Author: Tracey D’Aviero is a Virtual Assistant Coach, Trainer, Speaker and Author. After operating a busy VA business of her own since 1996, Tracey began teaching others to run their VA businesses in 2010 through Your VA Mentor. In 2016 she purchased the CAVA and GAVA VA associations and now teaches and coaches VAs exclusively. She has a vast amount of experience working in a many different industries which helps her to offer her students and coaching clients a unique perspective and sound advice. She is a proud advocate of the Virtual Assistant industry. Learn more about Tracey’s journey in the VA industry here. 

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How to Get Your First Virtual Assistant Client

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Are you still searching for that elusive first Virtual Assistant client? (or the first good client!?)

Starting your business brings excitement and anticipation. That can quickly be extinguished when you look for clients and don't find any.

The first piece of advice is to make sure you know your service offerings and your rates.

Clients want to know what you can do for them and how much it will cost them. Tell them. Figure out a clear way to convey this message. 

When you are searching for clients, if you don't know those basics, you won't be putting out a very confident message to those you are connecting with.

Once you know what you can offer and how much you charge, then it's really a matter of connecting with people who can a) potentially use your services, or b) tell people they come into contact about you.

That probably makes it sound like it's simple to get clients. It's not. It takes hard work and persistence.

Here are a few tips that should help:

  1. Talk to people about how you can help them. Be specific. Do not talk about being a VA. Talk about what you do to help business owners.  Whether you are talking to people online or in person, be sure to focus on how you help.
  2. Connect with communities - online or offline. Local business associations are great places to connect face to face with people to talk about business. Even if you want online clients, networking in person can do wonders for your business conversation skills. Live interactions often result in getting clients faster.
  3. Make your efforts consistent. Reaching out to a few people a day consistently will bring you better results. When you do, you develop good habits. You can tweak what you say, how you say it, or even fix issues with the actual services you offer. Connect with people every day and the clients will come.
  4. Check your online profile bios. Be sure that the message you are putting out there is the same across your profiles. When people connect with you online or in person, they often go and check you out. Be sure that what you want to put out there is what they see.
  5. Make a list of everyone you know that might be able to either use your services, or might know people who do. Strive to get a list of 100 people on that list. Reach out to them, a few at a time, to let them know about your business and how you help your clients.

Getting clients is about making connections. Once you have these basic tips in place, reach out to that list of people consistently - and add to it as you come into contact with other people. Creating a steady pipeline of connections is the key to getting clients - whether it's your first or your fiftieth.

About the Author: Tracey D’Aviero is a Virtual Assistant Coach, Trainer, Speaker and Author. After operating a busy VA business of her own since 1996, Tracey began teaching others to run their VA businesses in 2010 through Your VA Mentor. In 2016 she purchased the CAVA and GAVA VA associations and now teaches and coaches VAs exclusively. She has a vast amount of experience working in a many different industries which helps her to offer her students and coaching clients a unique perspective and sound advice. She is a proud advocate of the Virtual Assistant industry. Learn more about Tracey’s journey in the VA industry here. 

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