Hi there fellow VA's!

My business partner and I are about ready to launch our virtual assistant business and were wondering how others began building their clientele. We have a few contacts that can send us a few clients that need tasks done here and there, but we were looking for at least a few long-term consistent clients to begin with to get our business rolling. We have the basic marketing tools such as a website and facebook, twitter, and blogspot accounts but we don't really have the money to spend on advertising at this point.

Does anyone have any tips on how to get our name out to potential long-term clients?

Any advice would be much appreciated! Thank you!

Good timing on this post! I was just about to ask a similar question and I look forward to the responses. I'm also curious as to how receptive businesses are to receiving emails and/or marketing materials via mail.

Good luck to you on your new business!

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Donna
Paragon Support Services

I am also looking at ways to build my clientele. I am going to do some cold calling to some smaller businesses in my area to see if I have any success. I have also decided to look in the job ads for companies that are looking for part or even full time assistants. If the company is smaller and I think it would allow for the assistant to be virtual, I am going to call them and offer my services.

I am very interested in other ideas people may have as well.

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Kara Tesch
GetVirtual Solutions, www.getvirtualsolutions.com

Great question!
I would love to hear others advice as well. I am planning on doing some postcard mailings and am thinking more on doing a press release but would like other ideas as well.
I look forward to reading more posts!

Your best source of business is networking, which takes time. I have also had some success with post cards, but going to networking meetings, leaving biz cards everywhere I go and telling everyone I know what I do has gotten me a lot farther.

I won't do email because as a consumer I consider unsolicited email to be spam and I get annoyed when I receive it, especially considering how many emails I receive that I DO need to deal with... I try to base my marketing strategies as a business owner on how I react to the same strategies as a consumer.

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Lily Chambers, The Virtual Office Goddess, LLC
Author "How to Do Your Own Small Business Bookkeeping"

Looking for marketing tips, I found Tory Johnson's Spark and Hustle website and listened to a recorded call on marketing. She suggests that you always have a list of 50 potential clients in your target area to market to. As people so yes or no you mark them off and add another in its place so the list is always full. I am working on this list and since one of my target markets is medical I am googling the surrounding areas for counselors, psychologist, etc to add clients to my list. I then plan to send out post cards and/or brochures to each business. I am new to the VA world too so this is the first time I have tried this, I hope it's a success.

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Rachel Clay
http://virtualassistantsofthewiregrass.weebly.com/

I'm also in the same boat , this is an informative thread.

Cold calling and post cards are a good and inexpensive way to get our names out, I tried emailing once or twice but people don't respond , because it's spamming I prefer the latter.

I will also try the list , that sounds like a good idea for a starting point.

I agree with Janine, it is all about networking. Many of my current clients have some from the networking that I do (offline as much as online). When I am out and about I always talk to those around me and one of the first questions I ask is what they do. This is a great way to find business owners and a great conversation starter.

Also, look for conferences, workshops or meets that are out of your area and attempt to attend those so you can widen your reach.

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Lee Drozak
My Office Assistant

On the topic of networking, I recommend checking out www.meetup.com for events and groups meeting in your area.

I found a "networking for newbies" group through this site which was a great way to break the ice with networking and build my confidence. I am also attending an "SEO & Social Media" meetup later this month so I can meet other business people while also learning how to improve my own SEO efforts.

The nice thing with meetup.com is that you can find quite a few free groups - very helpful when starting out on a limited budget.

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Linda
Clockwise Virtual Assistance

Linda,
Thanks for the suggestion of www.meetup.com! I look forward to checking it out and hopefully finding something to attend in my area.
Great resource!

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LaVon S., Owner
Midwest Virtual Assistance