Steps to Success: The Ultimate Guide

to Becoming a Virtual Assistant

Strategies for Finding Clients and

Responding to a Request For Proposal (RFP)
Paula Farthing & Laurie Cantus
Virtual-Assistant-Training.com
Version 2010.10
 St eps t o Success: The Ult imat e Guide t o
Becoming A Virt ual Assist ant

Paula Farthing
During my school years when someone asked
me what I wanted to be when I grew up I
always told them I wanted to be a secretary.
Not a nurse, or a teacher, or a million other
things that I could have chosen, but a secretary. I even remember
writing that on the forms that the guidance counselor asks you to
fill out. Little did I know then that I would become the “secretary” to
many small business owners and actually create my own business
(http://www.AdminAtYourService.com) around my love of being the
worker bee and computer geek. The mind is a powerful thing – you
really can become what you think about most!

The quote “Find something you love to do and you'll never have to
work a day in your life” by Harvey McKay is a quote that I live every
day of my life. I’m doing the type of work that I really enjoy and
creating a lifestyle that most only dream about. I’ve found so much
satisfaction in my business that I started a local group
(http://www.SoCalVAGroup.org) to provide support and advice to
current and aspiring VAs as they work to grow their own businesses
and to educate the local business community about the work that
VAs do.

If you are like me and you find that you are actually happy learning
new software, can spend hours in the office supply store, consider
your computer use one of your main hobbies, and are perfectly
content to work on your own, you may find that becoming a virtual
assistant is the perfect fit for you too. My hope is that this new site
will help many others create the life of their dreams as well. I wish
you much success in your journey.

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 St eps t o Success: The Ult imat e Guide t o
Becoming A Virt ual Assist ant

Laurie Cantus
I’ve always been a supporter. A helper.
For everything. As far back as I can
remember, I always LOVED being part of
a support team. It’s always been this way
for me - from coaching little riders at my
horse-back riding lessons, to working
with kids in my karate class, to volunteering at our local hospital as
a candy striper. I really enjoy receiving the appreciation of others,
which naturally led me to a career as an executive assistant.

I amassed over a decade of high-level administrative experience in

the fast-paced industries of fashion and telecommunications before
launching my successful VA business, Go2Girls
(http://www.yourgotogirls.com) in August of 2006. I have supported
decision-makers at all levels of the corporate ladder, from mid-level
managers to C-level executives. Prior to entering the corporate
world, I spent over 12 years in the United States Army, where I was
exposed to a myriad of exciting and challenging situations. Through
these experiences, I developed superb organizational skills, creative
approaches to problem solving, and was able to work with diverse
groups of people from all walks of life.

As a mom, I intimately understand the reasons that more and more

women are seeking a way to leave the traditional 9-5 world, and
launched Go2Girls after struggling with many of those same issues.
Today I am able to work from home and enjoy my husband and son.
I get to focus my energy on the things that are important to me – my
family, and my own business and projects. I consider it a privilege
to encourage other women who seek to make virtual assisting their
path to personal freedom.

I am a member of Toastmasters, IVAA. The SoCal VA Group.

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 St eps t o Success: The Ult imat e Guide t o
Becoming A Virt ual Assist ant
I WANT TO BE A VA, BUT HOW DO I FIND CLIENTS?

Once you are a business owner, you also get t o becom e t he

m arket ing expert for your own business. Market ing yourself is a
crit ical com ponent , because t his is how you will acquire client s. As
your VA business develops, your client s will likely com e from
referrals and word- of- m out h recom m endat ions, but you will st ill
want t o have a m ar ket ing st rat egy in place. Through consist ent
m arket ing effort s, you will avoid t he sur ges and lulls wit h client
work, and you will st art t o build a recognizable brand.

Face- t o- face and online net working are t wo ways t o spread t he

word about your business and m eet pot ent ial client s. People hire
people t hat t hey know, like and t rust . I f you are hiding in your
new hom e office and relying on your Web sit e t o bring you client s
you are going t o be very disappoint ed. I t ’s pret t y hard t o build a
relat ionship wit h anyone t hat way, so let ’s t ake a look at som e of
t he ways you can connect wit h pot ent ial client s.

IN PERSON NETWORKING EVENTS

For m any VAs t he idea of net working is scary, especially t o t he

new VA. The best st rat egy for in person event s is t o go t her e wit h
t he int ent ion of helping ot hers, not t o sell your services. The m ost
im port ant t hing you can do is t o LI STEN t o t he people t hat you
m eet and find out w hat t hey do, what t hey need, and how you
can help t hem . When you are less concerned wit h “ m aking a sale”
you are able t o be m ore relaxed . When you t ake t he t im e t o help

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 St eps t o Success: The Ult imat e Guide t o
Becoming A Virt ual Assist ant
som eone, t hat person is m ore likely t o be open t o hearing what it
is t hat you do and what you m ay need help wit h.

Anot her really im port ant t hing t o rem em ber is t hat running
around t he room t r ading business cards is a useless exercise. I t
does you absolut ely no good t o ret urn hom e wit h 100 business
cards and not know a single t hing about any of t he people t hat
gave t hem t o you. As one of m y client s likes t o say, “ if you j ust
gat her a bunch of business cards you w on’t know if Pat or Chris is
a m ale or fem ale when you get hom e and go t hrough t hem .” The
best t hing you can do is t ake som e ext ra t im e t o get t o know a
handful of people t hat you feel a connect ion wit h and don’t worry
about t ry ing t o m eet everyone. Feel free t o m ake som e not es
about t he person on t he back of t heir business card so you will
rem em ber t hem lat er. You can t hen follow up wit h t hem lat er via
em ail and perhaps give t hem som e addit ional feedback on som e
of t he t hings you discussed or invit e t hem for coffee t o get t o
know t hem a lit t le bet t er. The key t o net working is not how m any
people you know, but how m any people know you.

Som e of t he places you m ay go t o net w ork are your local

Cham ber of Com m erce, BNI , NAWBO, or you can check
ht t p: / / www.m eet up.com for list ings of groups in your area.

ONLINE NETWORKING

Social net working sit es also provide a great opport unit y t o

connect wit h pot ent ial client s. They are generally very
inexpensive and m ost are free, but wit h a lit t le bit of effort t hey
are a t rem endous way t o build your business. At t he very least ,

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 St eps t o Success: The Ult imat e Guide t o
Becoming A Virt ual Assist ant
be sure t o post a pr ofile about you and your business on t w o of
t he biggest net works, LinkedI n and Facebook. Net works have
different funct ions, but generally choosing t o be present and
profiled on Facebook, LinkedI n and Twit t er is a good rule of
t hum b. Be sure t o include a bio, a pict ure, a descript ion of your
services, and your cont act inform at ion. Wit h social net working,
being engaged is t he key. Take t im e t o j oin LinkedI n Groups t hat
would be of int erest t o your t arget m ar ket and be act ive in t he
discussions of t hose groups. Anot her gr eat st rat egy is t o visit t he
Q&A area of LinkedI n and est ablish yourself as an expert in your
field by answering quest ions in your area of expert ise.

Plan t o block out about t hree hours each week at t he beginning t o

accept new friends, followers, and connect ions and respond t o
t hose who discover ( or rediscover) you. Be sure t o t ake t he
t ut orials for each com m unit y t o learn t he basics of how t o build
your net work and send announcem ent s.

Whet her you want t o prom ot e your business or j ust part icipat e
wit h like- m inded people or peers in t he VA indust ry or your
specific niche, t he v irt ual world is virt ually unbeat able. Finally, for
t hose VAs who becom e adept at social net working, doing t his for
your client s can be a great source of incom e. For t hose new t o
social net working VA Classroom has a great Social Media
Market ing course as well as t raining on Facebook, blogging,
I nt ernet m arket ing and a variet y of ot her program s. These
program s are highly recom m ended and t he social net working
sit es wit hin t he cour ses are also a great way t o connect w it h ot her
VAs.

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 St eps t o Success: The Ult imat e Guide t o
Becoming A Virt ual Assist ant
ARTICLE MARKETING

Anot her way t o m ar ket your business is by writ ing ar t icles. There
are t wo pat hs t o accom plish t his. You can writ e t radit ional
business ar t icles t o be published in a local publicat ion, such as a
Cham ber of Com m erce newslet t er or your local paper. Writ ing
art icles est ablishes you as an expert in t he area t hat you writ e
about . This can generat e int erest in you and your business. The
second avenue for art icle m arket ing is t hrough online art icles. You
can writ e art icles and t hen subm it t hem t o places for ot her t o use
in t heir ezines et c. You do not get paid for t heir use, but t he user
m ust keep t he aut hor’s biography and cont act inform at ion int act
so be sure t o include a link t o your Web sit e in your bio. This will
drive t raffic t o your Web sit e and generat e int erest in you and
your business. There are LOTS of art icle dat abases out t here and
we have provided som e of our favorit es below:

- www.ezineart icles.com
- www.art iclecit y.com
- www.Goart icles.com
- www.Buzzle.com
- www.Art icledashboard.com
- www.Art iclealley.com

BLOGGING

Post ing t o a blog on your Web sit e is a great way t o get not iced
and get som e t raffic com ing t o your sit e. We suggest working
wit h a WordPress blog as t hat is t he m ost popular blogging
plat form . By writ ing current , relevant and helpful cont ent for your
t arget audience you can est ablish yourself as an expert , let ot hers

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 St eps t o Success: The Ult imat e Guide t o
Becoming A Virt ual Assist ant
get t o know you, and highlight your skills and services. This is a
great way t o connect wit h pot ent ial client s if you are com fort able
wit h writ ing and have t he t im e t o creat e fresh cont ent on a
regular basis.

PRINT ADS

Anot her way t o prom ot e your business is t hrough t radit ional print
ads. While we don’t recom m end t aking out an ad in People
m agazine or t he Sunday Tim es, we will caut ion you t o not discard
t he idea of a print ed advert isem ent . Think of publicat ions t hat
your com m unit y or business colleagues m ight read and recognize
you as a person t hey’ve m et or heard of. Som e ideas are t he
Cham ber newslet t er, your church or synagogue direct ory, or a
publicat ion published by your child’s school.

DIRECT MAIL

Direct m ail can also be a way t o connect wit h client s. You could
m ail post cards t o cont act s at previous em ployers, friends, fam ily
and local businesses out lining t he services you offer and pr oviding
your cont act inform at ion. You m ight even t ry t o m ail a m ont hly
let t er out lining st rat egies for local sm all business owners. Wit h
direct m ail, you need seven or eight cont act s wit h som eone
before t hey will rem em ber you, so it can get a lit t le expensive in
post age, but it can definit ely pay for it self wit h a couple of new
client s.

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 St eps t o Success: The Ult imat e Guide t o
Becoming A Virt ual Assist ant

CRAIGSLIST

We have heard m ixed reviews about using Craigslist , but it can be

a place t o find client s. I t ’s free, so t he only t hing you lose is t im e
if it doesn’t work for you. You m ay get a lot of j unk and spam
responses when post ing on Craigslist , so you m ay want t o use an
em ail address set up specifically for t hat purpose, but you m ay
find t hat you pull a client from t here every once in a while. We
suggest t hat you sign up for a free Craigslist account . This m akes
post ing and t aking down ads very easy because you won’t have t o
verify each ad befor e it goes up.

OTHER VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS

Believe it or not , ot her VAs provide very good net working

opport unit ies. VAs, as a general rule, ar e a very support ive group
of professionals. I f you j oin a large VA net working group, such as
I VAA ( www.ivaa.org) or VANA ( www.vanet working.com ) and
becom e involved wit h t he ot her m em bers, you can easily
est ablish yourself as som eone t o be count ed on, or who has a
part icular skill set . Then, when ot her VAs need assist ance wit h
client s or proj ect s, you can be uniquely useful. I f you’re alr eady
well known on t he various VA forum s and have built a great
reput at ion or core of peers and fans, people will be far m ore likely
t o want t o work wit h you. Also, t here are oft en local VA
Connect ion groups t hat m eet regularly. This is a good place t o
m eet ot her VAs, not only t o t alk about your challenges and
successes, but also t o get advice and w ork! VAs will oft en refer

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 St eps t o Success: The Ult imat e Guide t o
Becoming A Virt ual Assist ant
work t o ot her VAs when som et hing com es up t hat is not in t heir
part icular skill- set , or som et hing t hat t hey don’t have t im e t o do
t hem selves!

We know several VAs t hat have filled t heir pract ice t o capacit y
solely by subcont ract ing for ot her VAs t hat had an overflow of
client work. Since m ult i- VA businesses ( where t he lead VA has
t eam m em bers working w it h t hem t o provide services t o t heir
client base) are becom ing m ore com m on, t here are m any
opport unit ies t o work wit h ot her VAs as part of t heir t eam .

VOLUNTEERING

Volunt eering wit h local organizat ions is also a great way t o

showcase your skills and get t o know people in your com m unit y,
not t o m ent ion how great you are going t o feel t hat you are
helping ot hers! There are also opport unit ies wit hin som e of t he VA
net working groups as I VAA and VANA bot h use volunt eers t o help
wit h t heir forum s, event s, and day - t o- day act ivit ies. This is also a
great way t o showcase your skills and get t o know your fellow
VAs.

We have given you quit e a few ways t o connect wit h pot ent ial
client s, so pick a couple t hat resonat e wit h you an t ry t hem out
for a bit t o see what works best for you. I f a part icular idea isn’t
working for you, swit ch it out and t ry one of t he ot her m et hods
unt il you find t he right com binat ion for you and your business.

I n our next sect ion, we will t ake a look at t he Request for

Proposal process.

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 St eps t o Success: The Ult imat e Guide t o
Becoming A Virt ual Assist ant
WHAT IS AN RFP?

A Request for Proposal is a post t hat a pot ent ial client subm it s
out lining t he t asks or proj ect s t hat t hey need assist ance w it h, as
well as t he skills and som et im es t he background required t o
perform t he work. Bot h I VAA and VANA, t wo popular VA groups,
post Request for Proposals for t heir m em bers on t heir Web sit es.
Learning how t o properly respond t o RFPs can m ake a huge
difference in how quickly you get your business up and running
wit h paying client s.

TIPS ON RESPONDING TO AN RFP

While t here is no st andard t em plat e t o use when responding t o an

RFP, t here are som e im port ant guidelines you should follow t o
fram e your response. We st rongly recom m end t hat you refer back
t o t his list whenever necessary in order t o be guided t hrough t he
process properly.

 Re a d t he post t hor oughly, before beginning t o respond,

in order t o det erm ine exact ly what infor m at ion t he post er is
looking for. I f you fail t o provide t he specific inform at ion
t he post er has request ed, you are guar ant eed t o be
excluded from t he select ion process right away. Oft en, t his
is a benchm ark or even a t est , because t he person post ing
want s t o det erm ine whet her or not you can follow
direct ions. DO NOT use t he sam e canned responses and
subm it t hose t o every post .

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 St eps t o Success: The Ult imat e Guide t o
Becoming A Virt ual Assist ant
 Be br ie f, but highlight t he be ne fit s of choosing you
ove r e ve r yone e lse . Your responses will usually end up
being only one page, unless t he person post ing t he request
specifically request s m ore det ail, or is request ing a lot of
inform at ion or background det ails up fr ont . Generally, if
som eone is looking for a virt ual assist ant t hey are already
overwhelm ed. Burying t hem under six pages of t ext is not
going t o give t hem a good feeling about you. Your j ob is t o
m ake t hings easier, not harder.

 Be posit ive a nd confide nt in your r e sponse , and give

specific det ails and “ deliverables” t hat dem onst rat e why y ou
should be t heir final choice. Consider at t aching one brief
t est im onial.

 Know your a udie n ce . Research t he person or com pany

who post ed t he RFP. Ot her VAs oft en post RFPs when t hey
need subcont ract ors t o help t hem wit h t heir workload. I t
doesn’t help you or t hem if you spend an ent ire paragraph
explaining what a VA is and how t o wor k virt ually. Know
your audience and respond accordingly.

 Be sure t o use a “ clean eye.” Take som e t im e away from

your response t o t he RFP, and go back t o read it again aft er
a break. Ch e ck for e r r or s t ha t you m a y ha ve m a de , or
r e pe t it ious w or ding. Try t o lim it sent ences t hat begin
wit h t he word “ I .” I t definit ely helps t o look at your
response from a fresh perspect ive; you m ay even want t o

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 St eps t o Success: The Ult imat e Guide t o
Becoming A Virt ual Assist ant
have som eone else read it over. Be sure you use spell
check before sending it out . We can’t t ell you how m any
t im es we’ve received responses t o RFPs filled wit h t ypos or
gram m ar errors.

 I f you respond t o an RFP and don’t hear back, definit ely

follow up a ft e r a fe w da ys ha ve pa sse d. This
dem onst rat es t hat y ou are st ill int erest ed, and it set s you
apart from t he m any people who do not t ake t he t im e t o do
t his.

We have highlight ed som e basic guidelines. You would be

am azed at how m any VAs fail t o follow t hese sim ple st eps in order
t o keep t heir response from being im m ediat ely discarded. Don’t
let t hat be you!

One m or e t hing…

Many of t he pot ent ial client s t hat post RFPs don’t bot her t o t ake
t he t im e t o send a r esponse once t hey have m ade a decision and
found som eone t o work wit h. Oft en, t hey don’t even
acknowledge t hat t hey ever received your inform at ion. That ’s a
whole different book. Don’t t ake t his personally. Som et im es
people will post RFPs j ust t o do som e pr ice com paring.  I f you
do t ry t o follow up, and st ill don’t get a response, j ust m ove on.
There are m ore t han enough client s out t here for everyone. The
client or proj ect you don’t get t oday, m ay be your best j ob or ally
down t he road. Rem em ber, RFPs m ay not always land you t he
j ob, but oft en st and for Real Fut ure Possibilit ies.

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