I was reading my copy of Profits magazine this morning and the Sixty-Second Coach column really caught my eye – it was about standing out in a crowd.

I remember when I first started my business, I really struggled with that concept. How do I differ from any other VA out there? What is going to make people choose me instead of someone else? A lot of VA websites listed the same sort of services (mine included!). Being a “generalist” seemed to be the best way to find clients. I was afraid of alienating any prospective clients by not offering what it is they might have needed. I didn’t get the concept of keywords, or niche marketing, or “Build it and they will come”, because I was afraid of losing clients I didn’t even have yet!

Duh.

So here’s the skinny:

Step 1. Build your business around what you’re good at, what you love, what you know like the back of your hand, what people come to you for advice about, and what’s in demand. There. That’s your niche.

Step 2. Know who your ideal client is (a good start is “someone who values their time, knows their strengths & weaknesses, and gets the concept of paying a little to make a lot”. You don’t want to be spending your time marketing to people who are afraid to spend money or are micro-managers, do you? No, you want big-picture thinkers who are ready to take the next step in their business!).

Step 3. Market to your ideal client. Use specific keywords to help them find you (sign up for my weekly tip sheet over there on your left and you’ll get 2 audios related to driving website traffic). Have an online presence and start building relationships and networking. Walk the walk and Talk the talk!

There’s a place for everybody, especially in the VA industry. We’re SCREAMING for more Virtual Assistants! I’m turning away prospective clients week after week and I have noone to send them to! (That’s another reason why I’m about to launch my training program – but more on that another time.) Perfect example of why a niche is important is, well, me. Right now I have a few word processing jobs that I could use help with as my star Admin VA has recently switched gears and has moved on to another industry. She was my go-to VA for all word processing projects. From building online forms to formulating spreadsheets, to preparing minutes and agendas; all kinds of ad-hoc stuff that comes up from my clients once in a while. Well, for some reason, a bunch of it just came up and I really need someone who’s ON IT with word processing. Someone who knows MS Office products like it’s nobody’s business! Someone who can create a form in a jiffy, not someone who is learning as they go. So there, there’s a great example of a niche. A niche that’s needed. A niche that’s of value.

Don’t be afraid to narrow down your service offerings, or to create a whole business around one service in particular. There’s no shortage of potential clients, that’s one thing I know for sure!

 

Filed under: Niche Market