Is Fear Stopping You From Getting VA Clients?

Do you have a fear of selling yourself or your VA services?

One of the biggest hurdles for service professionals like VAs is getting past the fear of selling themselves.

The idea of talking to people about business conjures up images of the slimy user car salesman, and using the old ‘answer a question with a question’ brand of sales that just feels yucky.

It can even be worse for Virtual Assistants, who have not ever been in a sales role before.

In fact, fear of selling themselves is what comes up most often when I talk to VAs who are struggling with finding clients.

They are afraid to go out networking.

They are afraid to have sales conversations.

They are afraid to ask for the sale if they do talk to someone.

That’s why I teach this stuff to VAs.

Because I have had the gross sales job and I used all those tactics before. Every day. And I hated it!

And I know that selling yourself as a service professional is SO much different than selling a service or a product.

It’s not actually salesy at all to sell yourself. Trust me!

Here is what you need to do.

1. Get Comfortable Talking About Business.

Yes I know I just told you I understand that you are scared to talk about business, and now I’m telling you to just do it anyway. But I am telling you to talk about business – not to sell. You don’t have to sell to talk about business.

Think about talking to a VA colleague who asks you what kinds of services you offer, and what kinds of clients you work with. That’s not hard, is it? (Take a moment now to reflect on some VA convos you’ve had).

Well, it’s absolutely the same thing talking to other business owners. It’s just a conversation. They ask you things and you ask them things. When you just start talking about business, you get better at it. So you need to start there.

2. Take The Money Out of The Conversation.

Many VAs get anxious about conversations with business owners because they are thinking they have to make a sale. They need the money. They need the client. And desperation comes out in their voice. Maybe it does in your voice too.

What you need to do is to forget about the money for MOST of the conversation. Just talk about what they need. Can you help them? Talk about how you can help them. Ask them questions to get the info you need.

If you come to the conclusion that you can help them, then you tell them that. THAT is the sale portion. Then you talk money of course, but the sale is ‘can you help them’. If you can’t help them, there is no sale anyway.

3. Detach Yourself From the Outcome.

You are providing a service for your clients. Plain and simple. Either they need your services, or they don’t.

I talk to WAY more people who don’t need my services every day, than to people who do. It’s okay if they don’t need to work with me right now. It’s not the right time, or it’s not the right fit, or it’s not the right budget for them. It’s totally okay.

Make your business conversations about exactly that – what do you do to help your clients, and is that something the person you are talking to needs. That’s it! If they tell you they need services you don’t offer, the conversation ends there. You can’t help them today, and that’s all you need to realize. It’s okay.

Fear manifests itself when we feel uncomfortable. And it often takes us over completely, paralyzing us.

It has happened to me, and I bet it has happened to you.

But when you just think of it as having conversations (because that’s what it is), and you just focus on whether you can help someone (or not), the fear should never enter into it.

Okay so you might be nervous to have a conversation – but the more conversations you have, the better you will get at them. And someone WILL say yes. I promise you!

You will learn quickly that hearing NO is no big deal. If you can’t help someone, you move along to have a conversation with someone else.

Our fear comes mainly from anticipating that someone will say NO and so we prefer not to have any conversations.

But it’s not personal.

Think about going shopping for a long red scarf. If you walk into 4 stores that don’t have a long red scarf, they can’t help you. It’s not personal. You need to keep looking till you find a store that sells long red scarves, right?

You will never get clients if you don’t talk to people – and you will quickly not have a business anymore.

Help your clients decide if you are their long red scarf. If you’re not, move along. If you are, start a more detailed conversation with them. And start getting clients today.

For more tips on what to say during a sales conversation, watch this video about The Sales Conversation. You’ll get some great tips on what to do when you do get someone on the phone!