Welcome to this edition of Weekly VA Marketing Tip! This series is specifically designed to help virtual assistants avoid marketing insanity.  Every Monday, my posts will prompt you to accomplish one specific marketing action to promote, brand or position your professional virtual business.

Implement these tips each week and I guarantee you’ll sustain your marketing momentum, increase credibility and visibility in your field, build stronger relationships, boost your ‘know-like-trust factor,’ get more ideal clients looking for you, and have a consistent marketing game plan for your virtual assistant business.

You might even start to like marketing!

Get Aggressive About Referrals

Does the word aggressive scare you? I hope not. I’m not talking about being unprofessional, annoying or offensive. And I certainly don’t want you getting involved with icky high-pressure marketing techniques.

I say aggressive because this week (well…  every week) I’m challenging you to take decisive, purposeful action to grow your business. Get ready to kick your business to a whole new level with this referral system.

Rick Crandall calls it “The Most Aggressive Referral System” in his book, Marketing Your Services: For People Who HATE to Sell, which was the inspiration for this Weekly VA Marketing Tip (scripts are taken from his book as well).

So, how does a virtual administrative assistant go about launching an aggressive referral building program?

The very first step is to believe that your virtual office assistant services make people’s lives better.

The second step — which is pretty much the cornerstone of marketing a service-based business — is to be willing to spend most of your resources (time, money, energy, etc.) reaching out to your ideal clients, letting them know how you can make their lives better.

Once you’ve nailed down those steps, you’re ready to move on.

When you have a satisfied client, make sure you tell them:

“As you know, I get most of my business from referrals. [If applicable, continue with: For instance, you heard about me through So-and-So]. Would you be willing to write a letter commenting on how I’ve helped you in your business?“

Most satisfied clients will gladly help you in this way. BUT (there’s always a but!) your well-intentioned clients are busy people and they’re not really sure what to write. If you leave the conversation at that, you may not see a letter for a long time (if ever). Don’t take it personally.

Now your job is to continue making your client’s life as easy as possible. This is where you:

1. Thank them profusely for agreeing to help you in this way.
2. Acknowledge how busy you know they are.
3. Offer to write the letter on their letterhead.
4. Send it to them to review and sign.

Tip: Interview them for 5 minutes or less (record the call) and draft the letter based on their actual words.

How do you want your referral letter to sound like? Think about the different aspects of your business:

• your personality
• your strengths
• your work ethic
• your values
• the quality of your work
• etc.

For each client, draft different questions that will cover all the benefits of working with you.

Are you uncomfortable just thinking about doing this? WAIT… I haven’t got to the aggressive part yet!

Blow this referral-building marketing strategy out of the water with this next step.

After your client has agreed to write a letter (or have you write it for them), say:

“Would you mind if I sent this letter to some people you know, rather than just keeping it as a general letter for the files?“

Ask them who comes to mind. After they give you a name or two, continue with:

“Could we go through your database to get ideas about to whom to send it?“

Aggressive, right. But for whom? Admit it, it’s only aggressive, because you’re feeling uncomfortable.

If your clients are business-minded professionals, they will admire your tenacity, drive and diligence. They’re thinking: If she’s this persistent with marketing her own business, imagine what she can do for mine!

Remember, if this tip makes you squirm in your chair, know that it’s making most other VA’s who read this blog uneasy too. What’s more, at least 80% of you will procrastinate and flat out refuse to undertake this week’s marketing project.

Are you part of  the 20% who will choose to use their discomfort as an opportunity for growth?

So… that’s your assignment this week! Get aggressive about your own business. Crusade for your own success.

This question came up on LinkedIn a few weeks ago:

What do you do at a Business Networking meeting when you meet a competitor who seems to know everyone … and you don’t…?

I felt compelled to leave this reply:

I tend to use my natural defense mechanism (to be disarmingly charming) to my advantage.

I would befriend this competitor and make him/her my ally. I’ve had no qualms in the past about saying things such as “It seems like you know everyone here and I don’t know a soul. Is there anyone here I should meet? How did you get to know all these people?” etc. Ask questions and figure out how they got to where they are today.

There’s no disgrace in admitting a weakness and asking for help.

This may seem counterintuitive, but GIVING a referral is the best way to GET a referral. I’m not saying you must give a referral to your competitor (but don’t rule it out). Approach your networking group from the standpoint of “Who can sincerely refer to this person?” Make the referral and follow up. Yeah, it’s a little more work, but well worth it. You’ll create meaningful relationships and you’ll get known in no time flat!

A few days later, I received a message from the woman who asked the question. She thanked me for my “refreshing response,” and said she loved the “really simple, practical ‘woman to woman’ solution.”

Since someone else found my advice to be useful, I thought I’d share it with you here and see what you thought of it.

Last week, I posted a call for help to a few VA online groups I’m on. I needed assistance with an important, detailed, last minute and complicated RFP for a client.

Most replies were professional. There were those who offered advice and even provided outlines and templates, while others submitted formal service quotes.

A few replies, however, totally blew me away — not in a good way.

The first reply had for a subject line “[Listname] off list,” so I wasn’t even sure if it was in reference to my request or if it was sent out of the blue. The actual message was even more baffling — it goes like this (I removed all incriminating references):

So do you need my advice?

I’ve coordinated workshops, special events, and have done handouts. I use MS Word and that’s it.

Probably a lot of others will contact you.

I am skilled in a lot of things.

Why not break up the project into small groups of people, up to 3 people.

I can spare a bit of time in the morning after 8 am if you need me.

I’ve done this biz for 14 years, and 2 days.. for 7 years with an organization that had tradeshows, workshops etc.

How much would the subcontract rate be?

I’m good at proofreading

You can hire me for 45 min if you want to help you with all kinds of advice $[X] x 5%

I’m very resourceful.

[Name]
[Signature Line]

I mean really… what kind of reply is this???

1. First of all, who starts off a professional submission of their services with “So do you need my advice?” This person didn’t even bother to address me by name.
2. Secondly, there is NO reference to my original request for assistance with a RFP. Why exactly are you sending this to me???
3. Third, all (except 3) of the choppy sentences contain the words I, me or my. This person is more interested in talking about themselves than in what I really need.

If you’ve been in business for 14 years and 2 days… surely you must know this is NOT the way to promote your services!? Oh, there’s so much more to say about the rest of this message… but I think you get the point.

A second perplexing (sad, really) reply I received was this:

Subject: ongoing offsite support [all lowercase, but at least I know what this is in reference to]

Cristina, [thank you for addressing me by name]

I would be interested in helping with the ongoing offsite support but I don’t know how to do the RFP. If you know anybody that needs subcontract please let them know about me, I am looking for work. I am attaching my resume. Thank you.

Sincerely,

[Name]
[Signature]

You’d be surprised (then again, maybe not) at how many emails I get like this.

It’s not so much annoying as it is saddening and troubling. This person is taking the time to reply, but ends up sounding desperate and pitiful.

A better reply would have been:

Subject: Ongoing Offsite Support

Cristina,

I saw your message for help with your client’s RFP. While I don’t have experience in that field, I would be interested in working with you regarding your request for ongoing offsite support. As you can see from my attached resume, I specialize in [name your specialty here]. If this is what you’re looking for please contact me for details. My business grows by referrals, so if you know someone who would benefit from my services, please feel free to forward them this message. Thank you.

Sincerely,

[Name]
[Signature]

OK, so writing is not my forte… and that’s not the point. The point is, if you’re going to take the time and effort to reply to someone’s call for help and you KNOW you’re the right one for the job, don’t pussyfoot around with excuse-making and begging. If you’re not exactly the right fit or if your service has NOTHING to do with what’s being requested, don’t bother sending a reply. You risk hurting yourself a lot more had you not replied.

Think of this: If you received these 2 messages in your Inbox, would you readily refer them to colleagues and clients?

Unfortunately, I will not. I’m certain these entrepreneurs are good at what they do and are really nice people, but their unprofessional approach created a bad first impression that I just can’t shake.

Are you sending message like the ones I received? If you’re unsure about how your message will come across, send it first to someone for feedback.

The world of email marketing is a tough and cruel one. Your audience can’t hear the modulation of your voice or see the expression on your face. When promoting yourself by email, make it count and be sure you’re sending the message you intended to send.

Yesterday, a client explained her business model to me, justifying (red lights already) why she thought she should attend a trade show as a vendor, putting her family $5000+ in debt: “If I’m a vendor, then I’ll get clients and contacts. Then I can build relationships with them and get referrals.“

Hmmmm. I experienced my typical visceral reaction. I asked, “What would happen if you turned that model around? Build relationships, GIVE referrals, and attract clients to you?“

The words were hardly out of my mouth when she replied, “I’m scared of doing it that way.“

“Scared of what, exactly?“

“My model is safe. In doing it the other way, I’m putting myself out there to be rejected.“

AH! The coachable moment. I knew we were on to something.

As I gently delved deeper, I discovered my client had recently felt like she was “burned” by a potential client. A professor was highly interested in her service a few months ago, and gladly offered to be her guinea pig. He raved about her service during the trial period, but when it ended, the professor, according to my client, ignored her. He didn’t reply to emails or voice mail. My client understood that as his way of saying he had no need for her service and wouldn’t give her referrals, not even a testimonial.

In my clients’ eyes, this was a betrayal. The way she sees it, she “sold” him her service (“He agreed to a trial run. He really wanted my service.“), spent lots of time and energy building a relationship, hoping he’d turn into a paying client and/or a referral source. “After all,” my client reasoned, “he knows me personally. How can he reject me like that?” I even caught her using the word “jerk“…

That’s when the old tell-it-the-way-it-is-Cristina turned it on. I had to lay it out for her.

“A business relationship is NOT a personal relationship. He doesn’t REALLY know you personally. It’s not personal, it’s business. Besides, even if he does come right out and say ‘no, I don’t need your service’ — or anyone for that matter — it just means ‘not now.’ You can’t give up that easily.“

I took it a step further. “Instead of taking his non-response as a rejection, take it as feedback – and always assume the best. This professor is probably so busy, he really DOES need your service, but he just doesn’t have the time to sit down and write an email or pick up the phone to call you. Assume the best and your reaction will be a positive one.“

It was a hard pill to swallow, but after a deep, cleansing and reflective sigh, she understood the message. Clients are not friends. It’s business, not personal.

By the end of our call she was excited to implement a few follow-up strategies, without annoying the busy professor, and without putting the family in debt.

I’d love to find out your thoughts. How do you view your clients? Does viewing them as friends help or hinder your business? How do you degage without being unresponsive or cool? How do you get close without crossing the line?

On the Get Clients Now! Yahoo Group last week, someone posed a question about how to make a “cold call” referral request:

“Could you share scripts you’ve used to approach potential referral sources?”

Every one gave great responses, but of course CJ came to the rescue with her reply:

“All you really need to get started is an opening line. Let’s suppose you are a business coach, and the potential referral partner is an accountant. Here’s what you might say in a phone call, voice mail message, or email: “It looks like your target market for accounting and tax preparation is small business owners, and that’s who I work with too. I’m a business coach, and most of my clients are local entrepreneurs. I’d like to get to know you better and see if we could help each other get more business. Could we set up a time to meet or talk on the phone?“

[...]

When you connect with a potential referral partner, ask enough questions about his or her business that you would feel comfortable referring someone, and know who an appropriate referral would be. Then describe who a good client for you would be, and conclude by saying, “If you run across someone who could use my services, would you be comfortable referring that person to me?“

How perfect is that? I’ll be using this script in the near future. If you like this script and use it, let us know how it works. Do you have a better script? How do you ask for referrals while keeping with the goal of building relationships?