Welcome to another episode of the podcast that teaches you how to be a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
Today I want to talk about how to make a few simple changes to uplevel your service offerings as a VA.
Today’s Quote: Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate and doubt, to offer a solution everybody can understand. – Colin Powell
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Connect with Tracey D’Aviero, VA Coach and Trainer
Episode Notes:
One of the things I help Virtual Assistants do is to change the way they approach their relationship and their role with their VA clients.
In order to not be a task taker or a girl Friday, you need to step up.
You need to change how you act and how you talk to them, so that they see you as the expert that you are.
When you change how YOU see you, you can elevate your service offerings, charge higher rates, and more confidently support your clients.
Today I want to share 4 really simple ways to change how you do things – I promise you it will make a huge difference!
1 – Regular Reflection and Self Assessment
It’s really essential to keep tabs on your work. How are you doing? How do your clients think you are doing?
Do you ask for feedback and testimonials? If not, you should.
You don’t have to ask them face to face, you can send them a message to ask for feedback.
My VA sends me a quick note with her monthly invoices from time to time so she can collect feedback.
But it’s not just your clients who can give you feedback.
You can do self assessment too.
What are you doing for your clients? Is it as much as you can do? As you want to do?
When you got started with your VA clients, did you say yes to a lot of things you don’t really want to do?
Sometimes just keeping status quo is keeping you stuck.
If you constantly just say yes when a client asks you to do something new, even if you don’t know how to do it, or you don’t like to do it, then maybe your client views you as more of an employee than as an equal.
What could you do better?
What can you learn to elevate your services?
If you aren’t running your production calls – your client is – then that’s one simple thing that you can change now to be a better VA.
Always remember that you are a contractor – you get to make all the decisions about your VA business.
You get to set your rates, set your schedule, and yes, run all the meetings.
If you are having trouble doing this assessment for the first time, ask someone to help you.
Once you do it the first time, you will be able to do it again and again on your own.
When you review your contributions to your clients and their businesses – really see it – you will better understand the value you are bringing to them.
When you understand them, then you need to share them! Ideally you want to share them with your clients, but posting them online helps too.
The idea is for you to recognize them and believe them.
You do great stuff. Everyone should know it. That starts with you.
2 – Elevate Your Language
The words you use shape the perception that people have of you.
I’m not talking about being better than a fifth grader, or using words that don’t suit you.
But just like taking charge in the meetings that you have with clients, the language you use can elevate your status with clients.
Instead of saying something like ‘what do you need me to do?’, think more like ‘be sure to get me the newsletter pieces by Tuesday’.
Be direct and clear. Communication is so important in a virtual relationship, I tell you all the time.
To be a partner or a collaborator, you have to lift yourself up to the client’s level. Many VAs will let the client take charge and even bark out commands to them. This is not a partner.
You teach people how to treat you and if you are putting up with that kind of communication from your clients, then you are teaching them that it’s okay to treat you like that.
My advice is to change it, pronto, but sometimes it means getting a new client and teaching them the right way from the start – and getting rid of the crappy clients.
The one word that is simplest to change is the word ‘partner’. It’s not about changing your title from Virtual Assistant, but in your marketing content you can describe how you partner with your clients when you work together.
It’s a simple word substitution but can be very powerful.
Clients will interact with you differently when you put yourself up at their level.
I found it easiest to do at live networking events.
When you have a conversation with anyone at a networking event, you are both there for the same purpose… to better your business.
Some people are there to find a VA, some are there to find a graphic artist, some are there for the social aspect, some are there to speak and present their expertise – but all of you are there to better your business.
The playing field is super level.
And it should stay that way once you start working with someone.
If it doesn’t, then you need to teach them how it’s supposed to work.
3 – Network with Other VAs
It’s really important to get support in your VA business.
Yes we are solopreneurs. Yes we might not want to go out networking with the power suit people. But we need support.
And who understands you better than your fellow VAs? No one.
Community is a powerful thing and although I always advise to be a part of a community with your clients, I also recommend being a part of a community with your VA colleagues.
Often there are VAs at all levels in the various groups – you want to make sure that you are networking with VAs who are where you want to go.
The ones who have already uplevelled their services, their language, their role with their clients.
The other VAs are find too, but when you are looking to make a change in your VA business, you need to seek out people who have gone before you and done it themselves.
They are the ones that will give you the right advice – and often the shortcut to how to do it, maybe more smoothly than they did.
The VAs who have not done what you want to do will often give you absolutely atrocious, terrible, unhelpful advice.
One of the posts I often see is the one where a VA says they are overloaded with work and they want to raise their rates because they set them too low to begin working with the client.
This is super common.
And the advice that comes from SO many VAs is ‘You should sub out that work and get new clients at a higher rate. I’d be happy to help.’
That’s not helpful. At all. It’s also terrible advice.
If you aren’t charging your clients enough right now, subbing is the worst thing you can do. You need to increase your client’s rate. Or get rid of that client.
And any VA who has done either of those things will give you the better advice.
The bad advice doesn’t stop with subs.
I see it all day long, people giving bad advice. I know many of them are trying to be helpful, but it is my opinion that you should learn from someone who has been where you want to go – even if it’s just one step ahead of you.
That’s why I think investing in a mastermind group like The Virtual Circle or a group coaching program like 50K Bootcamp is the better way to go when you are trying to uplevel your VA business.
Not because I want you to pay me – you don’t have to! But because that’s why I designed those programs as they are, because I know what I needed help with when I was stuck like you are.
I know what many VAs need help with when they are stuck – because I ask you, and you tell me. Every single day. That’s what I build my programs and teachings around. What you tell me you are struggling with.
I used to be terrified to network with anyone – but I build an amazing group of VAs that I trusted . We attended events together, we purchased the same programs and worked through them together, and we helped each other along the way.
You have to be going at the same speed in the same direction to help each other.
Find the VAs that are doing that and hop on!
4 – Offer Solutions, Not Just Support
And finally, to elevate your VA business, you should be focusing on offering solutions, not just support.
I don’t mean you have to plan our your client’s marketing strategy for the year. You can if that’s your expertise, but that’s not what I’m talking about here.
I mean offering solutions when things go wrong, or when things could be done more efficiently, or when you know about something new that could help your productivity or the client’s bottom line.
Providing support is great, we all do it as VAs. That’s what our clients pay us to do and that’s totally okay.
But when we want to be excellent – and viewed as excellent – and referred because we are excellent – then we need to up our game.
Offer solutions. My VA and I were struggling with a situation recently – two factor authentication. I was trying to go the regular route – tech support, waiting it out, trying again. She offered a simple solution – why don’t we just add me as a user and I will get the notifications and code directly?
Why didn’t I think of that? Because we had a process where she was using a company email address to log in and access this platform. But she could be set up as a user and that would alleviate the issue. SMART!
That’s what I want you to do.
Thing about what you know that maybe your client can’t see.
Find solutions for productivity, for problem-solving, for speeding up processes how things are done.
Taking initiative does not go unnoticed. I tell the stories of working with clients who I wrote entire blogs for, because they dreaded it and spent way too much time doing it. If I could draft their weekly blog post, then I got lots of work each week – they just had to read it over and send me edits, then I got to publish the blog, send out the newsletter, and create the social media posts to promote it. Without the blog post that they often didn’t send me, I got none of that work.
So it works for you too!
And of course your clients will love you because they are getting more visibility, more consistent content, fewer problems, and definitely less back and forth communication.
Be proactive and offer solutions where possible. It’s really easy to get good at that, fast.
I’m going to leave it here for today, but let’s circle back to today’s quote:
Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate and doubt, to offer a solution everybody can understand.
To be a great VA, you need to simplify things – identify things that you can do better at, elevate your communication and the words you use, find some solid VAs to hang out with, and offer solutions.
Those are all SO easy to do. So you should go and do them.
If you want more information about the program, drop me a PM. I’ll share more info in the coming weeks across all of my social channels, but I’m available to answer any questions you have right now too.
Thank you again for trusting me to teach you and to guide you. I truly love to be here for you every week.
If I could ask you a favour – to subscribe to the podcast or leave me a review if you haven’t already. That’s something I should say every week and I never really do. But it matters and it will make sure that I know you are finding value in what I create just for you every week.
Do You Need Help?
If you are looking to build the kind of business I’m talking about – a 50K and beyond VA business, that’s where I can help. I am here to help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving through private coaching, group coaching, and live and self study trainings. If you want to talk about how we can work together, let’s connect on a Cut to the Chase call. You can book yours at YourVAMentor.com/chase
Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
What You Need to Do Next:
PRIVATE COACHING: Let’s work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It’s the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
GROUP COACHING MASTERMIND: The Virtual Circle is a group coaching mastermind option that costs less than private coaching, and can help you achieve the goals you set for yourself. . Check it out here: The Virtual Circle Group Coaching Mastermind for Virtual Assistants . We’d love to have you join us!
50K VA GROUP COACHING PROGRAM: If you have been struggling to build your VA business, get in on this live coaching program where we will help you create the framework for a business that can earn you 50K a year and beyond. LAUNCHING FALL 2024, stay tuned!
MONTHLY EMAIL MEMBERSHIP: I also have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business – and it doesn’t require you to be on social media! It’s an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you’ll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. Get more details and sign up here now!
SELF STUDY PROGRAM: My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
COMPLIMENTARY CONSULT: Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.