The 6 Reasons Why You Are Not Booking Clients for Your VA Business

Not booking clients for your new Virtual Assistant Business? We all know that one of the biggest challenges you have as a new VA is finding clients to hire you. But what if you’re finding them, and they just aren’t booking? Here’s what might be holding you back.

It’s always frustrating when you have an incredible discovery call with a potential client that you know you’d love to work with and they end up not hiring you – or worse – ghosting you completely afterwards.

Or maybe you’re struggling to book those discovery calls in the first place!

Of course, it’s unreasonable to expect every client lead or discovery call you have to turn into a paying client. So I don’t want you to think that’s what I’m saying, but if you’re finding that the majority of them aren’t leading to bookings…

The problem is probably you not your potential client. I know that’s harsh, but it’s true.

If you’ve been around here for a hot minute, you know I’m not one to beat around the bush. hehe!

The reality is that as business owners, we have to face when we’re making mistakes and fix them. So, I’m going to help you do just that today with some mistakes I see all the time from newbie VAs when they are working to book new clients.

Here’s six super common reasons that you aren’t booking Virtual Assistant Clients:

#1 You aren’t presenting yourself as a professional

One of the biggest mistakes I see newbie VA’s make is that they treat their business like a hobby rather than what it is… a business!

They don’t take the time to properly setup their backend processes for success before they start pitching clients.

Now, this doesn’t mean that you have to have everything setup perfectly from the get-go.

But you do have to present your online business in a way that portrays you as the reliable professional that you are. Someone that’s ready to partner with other established business owners to help them grow their businesses. Clients want to see that you are serious about your business!

This means that you need things like business social media pages, a headshot, and a place where people can contact you to learn more about your services.

#2 You’re not absolutely wowing clients on your discovery calls

Let’s face it: The discovery call is where your potential client gets a sense of you and whether or not they feel like they can trust you.

So it’s essential that you wow the living crap out of them when you hold that video call.

This looks like asking the right questions, making them feel heard and seen in their current challenges, and explaining clearly how working with you will benefit their business as a whole.

If you can do these few things, they’ll be waiting by their inbox to sign your contract and proposal.

#3 Your proposal isn’t strong enough

Speaking of proposals, is yours strong enough to seal the deal?

Your proposal is usually your last touch point with your potential client before they decide to work with you or not. So it has to be really engaging and convincing because it really has to count!

Simply listing out your services and attaching your invoice isn’t enough.

You have to give them even more information about what it will be like to work with you and how you’ll help their business grow. After all, working with you is an investment for them!

This is your opportunity to affirm their decision in choosing to sign on the dotted line and book you.

If you regularly not booking clients after they receive your proposal, take a look at it and see where you can improve it.

#4 You don’t understand your ideal client’s needs

Clients don’t hire Virtual Assistants just because “they need help” in their business.

They hire Virtual Assistants because they want to…

• Spend more time with their family (instead of their inbox)
• Support their clients better
• Grow + scale their business
• Gain an expert in a certain area of their company
• and so much more!

So I encourage you to really take time and consider why your ideal client would make the decision to hire you. Really get inside their head! If you truly understand the desires they have in working with a Virtual Assistant, that will come through in your communication with them.

They want someone that understands them and if you don’t – You’re going to miss out on the opportunity to work with them.

#5 You aren’t pitching enough

This is another extremely common one I see all the time.

You can’t just build a website or an instagram account and then expect clients to come to you! You have to get out into the (virtual!) world and connect with people.

Start natural conversations with your ideal clients, respond to job posts, and build relationships with others in your niche!

If you are cold pitching clients, know that only a very small percentage will actually get back to you. This does not reflect on you or your value, it’s just the reality of this kind of marketing! Plus, business owners are super busy and truly just can’t get back to every email they receive.

This means that you have to pitch to at least 10x the number of people that you actually want to work with. That isn’t a hard and fast number, but it’s a solid starting place!

If you aren’t hitting this mark, chances are you’re not going to see the response you want and be left wondering why it’s not working when you’re really just not doing enough of it.

#6 You don’t believe in or understand your value

Dun, dun, dun. Welp, there it is.

I truly feel that in your heart of hearts, you have to believe that you are bringing value into your client’s business if given the opportunity to work with them.

No, this doesn’t mean a ton of skills or experience in what you’ll be working on.

It means a desire to serve and care for your client’s business as you would your own. Trust me when I say that this is the number one thing I hear from business owners when they go to hire their first team member.

They ideally want someone with the skills to hop in and hit the ground running. But what they want even more is someone that they can trust with their business and feel confident working with.

That’s the real value that the best clients look for and if you’re reading this – I trust that you have the intention of serving your clients in this way. 🙂

Bonus: Be patient with yourself!

Seriously. It takes time!

Building your client roster is something that doesn’t just happen overnight.

Stay consistent with your marketing plan and move with your clients’ best interest in mind and I guarantee that you’ll be well on your way to success!

It gets easier and easier as time goes on, I promise!

Are you making any of these mistakes? What other mistakes have you made in the past that has caused you not to book clients consistently? I’d love to hear them!