Educating the local biz community

[ladydianab]

I don't have clients yet but I have been talking to everyone about my VA biz. I have come to the realization that I am going to have to spend some time educating local businesses on what a VA is and how that can benefit their business. I have actually thought about offering a workshop for business owners etc.. I am not sure that qualifies as marketing but I think that I am going to have to do something or I am going to be one lonely VA. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Diana

[tsheridan]

I'd say it qualifies as marketing and I'd say it's a great idea! Personally I'm not all that comfortable in those kinds of situations, but if you are, go for it.

[Virtual Express Inc]

You are on the rigth track! When I talk about my business with friends, family and co-workers, (I work full time and work part time on my Virtual assistant business, well at least for now. Hopefully, this can turned out to be a full time job!) they look at me as what in the world I'm talking about. When I explain what is a Virtual Assistant they agree that it's a great idea.

[e-IndyOffice]

How are you explaining your business? I started out explaining WHAT I do but now have changed it to state the three specific services I offer and the benefit of my services to business owners. More business owners are understanding what a VA does since several VAs have paved to way in my area. I'm still trying to refine my 30 second pitch - I guess it is an ongoing process.
Janet

[VBP]

Offering a workshop is a great idea! A couple of things come to mind, Chamber of Commerce's and local business associations love to have presenters so that would be a good place to pitch your idea. Secondly, as you said, be sure to highlight what the benefits are to them. I have attended events and I all I heard were these people talk about themselves and what they do instead of presenting real life challenges about their clients and what they did to overcome that. That's not to say you have to give all your secrets away, but if you hit on the pain sources of these business owners they will clamor for your attention :-). Suffice it to say that the more you know about your target audience, the more you will be able to "speak" to them!

[virtual writing]

I go to a local networking meeting once a week, and have been doing so pretty regularly for many months, but still get little work from them, because they don't understand what a VA is. Today, at the meeting, I asked if they'd like a separate session on doing inbound marketing, and they said yes definitely.
It's important to plan these things carefully, and have plenty of lead time to tell people about it, and then hope at least a few show up and get something out of it. But you probably can't do more effective marketing than this.

[Virtual-Jen]

You might try a press release to your local news outlets. With a press release you can explain a bit more about what a virtual assistant is and how you are beneficial. And any local business network groups...go just to find out what they are struggling with and when you see an opportunity to assist, let them know you can.

Good luck to you!

[mandanicole]

What a great idea to hold a workshop, that is way far outside of the "box" my brain was operating in. I can't believe the wealth of information that I am constantly finding here on the forums! Good Stuff!! Good Stuff!

[Seaboard Consulting]

I think a workshop would be great! If I was comfortable speaking I would do that for sure. How about starting a group in your area via meetup.com.

[Maven]

I think the workshop is a great idea! It will be a great marketing tool to bring clients in while at the same time informing the community as to what a VA is and what you do. I wish you the best of luck with it and I hope you succeed in building your client base!