Sell an Outcome

I recently read some information about marketing that I found very interesting. It's important to market in order to grow our businesses. If we are doing the same old thing we have been doing to market our business, it becomes stagnant and our business does not grow.

The thought I found interesting was instead of selling or marketing the service, let's sell an outcome. Instead of saying "I provide administrative services", say "I save service providers time and money".

This is an important mind shift for many. Prospects and clients need to understand what outcome they can expect from using our products and services.

How do you sell an outcome?

4 Online Marketing Tips

1. Social Networking - Use social networking responsibly. It can be addictive and time-consuming. I suggest joining Twitter andFacebook and perhaps one more specific to your industry. Maintain a complete and updated profile. Then start connecting with people. Don't just connect for the sake of adding another contact. Really take time to get to know the person you are connecting with.

2. Blogging for Business - Schedule time to create blog entries. Start with two entries per week. Don't forget to go out and contribute valuable comments on other blogs in your industry. I'd recommend trying to make two valuable comments per week to begin.

3. Newsletters - Your newsletter should provide interesting and valuable information. Stick to a consistent schedule of sending it out.

4. Articles - Write interesting and informative articles. These can be used in your newsletter, on blog posts, posted on your website and submitted to article directories.

What's your favorite online marketing tip?

Typos in Your Marketing Materials?

It seems that due to technology, text messaging, trying to squeeze lots of information into 140 characters on Twitter, status updates on Facebook, etc., that we've become very sloppy spellers. I see typos more and more often in marketing materials.

I have a strong belief that we need to present ourselves as professionals - and that includes correct spelling and proper grammar. This is especially important in our marketing materials. Often, business persons hire a virtual assistant to help them write articles, post information on their website, and create other marketing materials. These business owners expect a level of professionalism that includes correct use of the English language - and no typos!

You may feel that posting a quick tip on Twitter or updating your status on Facebook doesn't require correct spelling. However, it is a reflection on you and your business. More and more this is how your prospects are going to find you and you need to make a good first impression.

So take the time to spell our 'you' instead of using 'u' and proofread your marketing materials before sending them out. Get a second set of eyes to review your materials also. It's very easy for our eyes to see the same mistake over and over and not catch it.

One aspect of our virtual assistant coaching is to review all your marketing materials. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you present your virtual assistant business in a professional manner.

4 Ways to Attract Clients to Your Virtual Assistant Services

In any industry, one of the main challenges is attracting new clients. How can you attract new clients to your virtual assistant services? There are several steps you can take to increase your prospect's interest in contacting you. Here are 4 suggestions:

1. Be authentic. In everything you do, say, post on the internet, make sure it's authentic, honest, really you. As a service provider, you are your business. Prospects want to know who you really are. So be sure to inject your personality in everything you do - authentically. Prospects will be turned off immediately if they see you are not who you portray yourself to be.

2. Connect personally. Again, as a service provider, you are your business. That means your prospects want to know about you; they want you to tell them about yourself. For that reason, I strongly encourage you to post your picture on your website and profiles; let your prospects and clients know that you are a real human being. Write a bit about your background, your hobbies, your interests, why you became a virtual assistant.

3. Narrow your market. Here's an area that can be very challenging, especially if you're just starting your VA business. You may think that to get started you should offer your services to everyone. It's important to narrow your market and be very specific in who you target so your prospects know you are the person they should be working with. Once you've defined your target market, hang out where they hang out - online or at networking events. Find their pain points, offer a solution, and your target market will choose you!

4. Write articles. This is a great way to attract clients specific to your niche. It may seem like a huge task to undertake if you've never written an article before. Consider what solutions you offer clients and then create a top 5 solutions list and write a short article. If you need additional help in learning how to get started, just let me know. I have lots of great information to help you get started in article writing.

These are just a few of the many ways you can attract clients to your VA services. What ways do you use to attract new clients?

Contact us for your free 30-minute VA coaching call and let's discuss specific ways you can attract clients to your services.

Commonsense Virtual Assistant Coaching Program Launched

I'm very excited to announce a new VA Coaching Program.

If you'd like to start your new year with a bang, subscribe to our 5-month program.

Benefits:
Access by email 24/7
One 1-hour phone call each month with Joel and Sue
Review of website, particularly in the area of marketing and SEO, any marketing materials, including business cards, brochures, postcards, cold calling scripts, etc., blog, articles and rates
Assistance developing description of your ideal client, creating a 30-60 second pitch, a one page business plan, one page marketing plan and marketing calendar
Products as listed below, one each month
PDFs as listed below, one each month
Questionnaire to determine your specific coaching needs
We only work with ten clients at a time

Books and CDs included, valued at over $100:
(one mailed each month of paid coaching)

The Commonsense Virtual Assistant: Becoming an Entrepreneur, Not an Employee
Motivation 101: 5 Steps to Activate Your Potential in Any Economy, An Audio Mastery Course
49 Commonsense Business Observations
The Commonsense Entrepreneur
Surprise bonus business book

Bonus PDFs included:

Self Promotion: Getting Started - includes marketing tools and resources
Blogging for Your Business: includes 3 Keys to Successful Blogging and 5 Ways to Promote Your Blog, Finding the Time to Write and What to Write About, Ideas on How to Get More Traffic to Your Blog and a questionnaire to help you get started
Article Submissions and Press Release Sites
Duct Tape Marketing Guide: 7 Steps to Small Business Marketing Success
Marketing and Promoting Your Teleseminar: a list of online sites you can post your teleseminars

Bonus for signing up by July 31, 2009!
Membership in VIP Business Heretics
Monthly Subscription
(Included for the duration of the coaching program; ongoing subscription is $25/month)
Weekly teleclass with coaches Joel D Canfield and Jerry L Kennedy
Digital copies of all Business Heretics products: audios and ebooks
First look at all new Canfield Kennedy content posted at the website

All for $250/Month for the 5-Month Program

To learn more about this program, visit Commonsense Virtual Assistant Coaching.

10 Tools to Promote Your Online Event

Creating a teleclass, teleseminar and webinars online can be very effective ways to build your list and educate prospects and clients.

Once you've created your online event, how do you promote it? Here are 10 tools you can use.

1. EventBrite.com - Here you can set up an account at no charge. EventBrite provides ways to post the event on your website, send out invitations to your contacts, and follow up with reminders to those who registered.

2. Facebook - You can create an Event and invite all your friends. You can also send reminders, post links, photos and videos, and others can post comments.

3. LinkedIn- You can also post events here and invite contacts.

4. Twitter- Use Twitter to post a brief sentence about what your contacts will learn with a link to your sign up page.

5. Blog - Post a blog entry about your event, focusing on what your prospects and clients will learn.

6. Website - Post the event on your website. If you've used EventBrite, you can post a 'Register Now' button that you created at EventBrite.

7. SeminarAnnouncer.com - This is another free tool you can use to post your events.

8. CCULearning.comm - Conference Call University is one more free place to post your event.

9. EventSetter.com - Post your virtual events here at no charge.

10. Local Online Newspaper - Your local paper may have an online version where you can post events at no charge.

These are all free and easy to use. Your virtual assistant could post to all 10 of these free sites within two hours. Where will you post your next online event?

Follow Up With Your Prospects

Follow up is important in converting prospects to clients. Too often though we are afraid to follow up too soon or too often, thinking we may turn the prospect off. However, you can stay on your prospects mind in ways that do not require them to make an immediate decision.

You may have written an article, newsletter, or blog post that would be of interest to them. Send it. If you notice they've posted something, acknowledge it. Learn more about them and their business, do some research and then send them some information you feel would benefit them in their business.

Take a sincere, personal interest in them and their needs and provide valuable information to them. They'll come knocking when they need you!

Article Marketing in 2009

Because we're in a recession, it doesn't mean that we stop marketing. It means we NEED to market smarter. Here are 3 New Years Resolutions for 2009:

1. Start writing articles on a weekly basis. Put them on
your website, on your blog and in your newsletters.
Put them into your notes on Facebook and post them for
your friends to see. And, submit your articles to the
top websites, ezines and article directories in your
niche. Don't forget to tweet about your awesome
placements to get even more people viewing your
articles.

2. Turn your articles into videos and post them on
YouTube and other video sites.

3. Turn your articles into special reports, ebooks, e-
courses, home-study courses and more to create
multiple streams of income.

By writing articles, you will open many doors to many different opportunities. But you have to start writing articles on a consistent basis. To help you get started check out my instant article writing templates at http://www.startwritingarticlesfaster.com

Reprinted from "The PR LEADS Article Marketing Secrets & Breakthroughs Newsletter", a free ezine featuring tips, tricks, tools, news, developments and trends that will help you generate free online publicity, build credibility, increase web traffic and boost your SEO ranking. Subscribe
at: http://www.IwantMoreProspects.com/articlenewsletter