July 15, 2011
Finding Your Niche as a Virtual Assistant
If offering many different services seems to leave your prospects indecisive, you might want to reconsider your strategy. It may sound counter-intuitive, but sometimes, offering fewer-but more targeted and specialized services can actually result in more business.
The reason? When you offer too many services, it’s sometimes hard for prospective clients to understand the value of your services. Being able to do “whatever” does not always present you as the solution that you need to convey that you are. Instead of a Jack or Jill of all trades, many small business owners are looking for an expert to assist them with a very specific task.
Years ago, I started off offering every service I could imagine in the administrative support field. While I did manage to gain a decent clientele, I noticed that prospects sometimes seemed lost in trying to understand exactly how they would use my services. I could make suggestions, but I didn’t know exactly what their particular challenges and goals were so although they were interested in the idea of having a Virtual Assistant, they just didn’t know how they would implement using one. The big problem: they were exploring a notion, not looking for a solution to a well-defined need.
It wasn’t until several years ago when I decided to offer one service and one service only that I began to understand that less was more. I decided to offer paralegal services in a very specific discipline of law. It was what I knew most about- and what I really loved to do. I had no idea how it would affect my virtual assistant business, but I wanted to focus my business where my heart was.
Because I know my field well and market only one service, prospects who contact me have already identified a very specific need in their practice and know that there is a chance that I could be part of that solution. Not only did I acquire new clients much faster but I was also able to charge more (although I believe in keeping my rates very reasonable) than one would charge for general secretarial work because I have a very specialized skill set. I had found my niche.
If you’re wondering what your niche should be, my suggestion is to ask yourself the following questions:
-What kind of projects/tasks do I REALLY enjoy?
-What areas do I consider myself an expert in?
-What areas am I most willing to further develop my skills and knowledge?
It probably won’t take long to determine what a suitable niche would be for you. It could be nearly anything. Here are just a few examples of successful Virtual Assistant niches that I have encountered over the years (obviously, these were not my niches, but certain other VAs seemed to have good success specializing in these areas)
-Digital Audio Transcription
-Email Newsletters
-Accounting/Bookkeeping
-Podcast Management
-Desktop Publishing
-Website Maintenance
-Website Creation
-SEO
-Writing
Have you found yours? Want to find yours? Feel free to leave a comment.
