Have you heard the news?
The Alliance for Virtual Businesses (A4VB) had its 1st ever “Break It Down Mini-Series” event the first part of December. And was it ever a hit! Attendance was huge and those present went away with many new tips on how to work with and how to use WordPress.
As a follow-up to our previous events, the #A4VB has scheduled February’s session, “Adding eBay Skills to your VA Services”.
In this webinar, Linda Anderson, eBay Education Specialist, will show you some things you can do to add ebay skills to your VA services. Which may help you to get new clients.
You’ll also have a chance to ask questions. You’ll even be able to share your own tips and suggestions with attendees if you want. We’re still taking names so register now.
Thursday, February 2, 4-6 pm (EDT)
During the months of April and May, I conducted a blog hopping and podcast tour to promote the recently concluded Online International Virtual Assistants Convention (OIVAC).
I was asked several thought-provoking questions during the tour and I’ve chosen to share a few here on the Smart Business Marketing Blog.
Today’s question was asked by Tawnya Sutherland, of VANetworking.com
Is the downturn in the economy affecting the VA industry?
Yes! The downturn has had positive and negative effects. I’m sure VAs without a written business plan and concise marketing strategy are experiencing difficulty, because they haven’t “planned” for situations such as client loss or slowdown.
Also, many entrepreneurs are “price shopping” resulting in “cheap” being the major determining factor when choosing a virtual assistant, instead of “value-add” which takes into consideration an individual’s knowledge, skills, experience, abilities and potential to contribute to the continued growth of the business.
In addition, many VAs “discount” services, believing this will attract and retain customers. However, they fail to realize that by under pricing services they are actually digging a deeper hole for themselves, because while volume may initially increase, when the economy takes an upswing, it will be very difficult to raise rates proportionately for low paying clients.
Also, discounting rates may impact the VAs income potential, lifestyle and eventually health because they may be required to work longer hours or assume a more difficult workload to earn the same income as prior to the downswing.
Foresight and Flexibility
On the other hand, VAs with foresight, flexibility, a targeted customer base, sensible marketing plan, and appreciable skills, will continue, at a minimum, to sustain their business and in many instances increase profits.
Why and How?
Savvy business owners are looking for ways to reduce costs, develop alternative resources, and continue providing valuable-add services to their clients, and VAs (if positioned properly) can fulfill these demands.
If a VA’s income is decreasing because of the economic downturn, I recommend the following:
*Evaluate the situation, conduct research and identify services clients are seeking.
*Confer with current clients, to identify new responsibilities you can assume.
*Become efficient (even an expert) in sought-after skills.
*Develop a marketing strategy for your new target audience, to pull those customers into your business funnel.
*Become a valuable asset to the client.
The state of the economy won’t matter if the VA possess marketable skills, know their ideal clients’ NEEDS and wants, and positions themselves as THE value-add; and a viable contributing member of the team.
What do you think?
Share your thoughts on how the economic downturn is affecting your business and steps you have taken to sustain your income.
The 24 Hour Secretary leads a team of 100 Virtual Assistants to help voter registration and Election Day run smoothly.
Baltimore, MD, November 20, 2008 – September 17, 2008, marked the beginning of one of the largest projects undertaken by a team of Virtual Assistants. InfoVoter Technologies, a voter access, voter protection and election administration technologies and services company contracted The 24 Hour Secretary (http://www.the24hoursecretary.com) for a 45-day marathon transcribing voter registration requests and complaints from more than 45,000 respondents during the nationwide election. Read more
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