As a virtual assistant, your clients are the heartbeat of your business. Though it’s tempting to say yes to every single client when you first start out, you want to be selective. This will save you time, money, and energy in the long run and set your business up for success from the beginning. Your goal is to work with long-term clients. If they aren’t compatible with you, it might create an undesirable working relationship. Finding the right clients is where the magic truly happens and creates a business model you can be proud of. I’m sharing 3 warning signs to look for when a prospective client isn’t right for you.
To learn my tips on how to get the biggest bloggers as clients, you’ll love this post here.
3 Signs a Potential Client Isn’t Right For You
Questions Your Pricing
Most virtual assistants create their product or service pricing based on their experience, the tasks they offer, and the overall scope of work they offer in the virtual assistant market as a whole. It’s a strategic process, based on a variety of factors. So when someone isn’t confident in the pricing you’re offering, it’s a bit of a red flag for me. In the creator industry, you typically get what you pay for. If you’re getting the feeling the potential client doesn’t have a budget for this type of service, it might not be a great fit. That’s a sign right there to cut your losses.
Remember, your goal is to work with ideal clients long-term. This helps you get to know them on a deeper level and truly build a strong client relationship. You’ll learn more about each other as you work together longer, which helps you be two steps ahead of your client. This makes life a lot easier for them and you. Not to mention, this will lead to them giving you raving testimonials and referrals. Which will, in turn, help your business grow! To see how I built my business on referrals, check out this post.
Doesn’t Respect Your Boundaries
As a virtual assistant to someone, you should lay out clear boundaries for your business. You can’t say yes to every single thing they ask of you because that’s the easiest way to burn out. At the beginning of your working relationship, it’s important to specifically list tasks that you can complete for them. These should be listed in a contract. If those tasks aren’t listed and you aren’t signing contracts with clients, then you simply don’t have the structure you need in place for a healthy client relationship. This allows your workload to be planned out strategically. Plus it creates a manageable work-life balance for you. Isn’t that why we run our own business in the first place?
It’s also a good idea to set boundaries with communication. If you don’t want to receive texts and phone calls 24 hours a day, it’s important to discuss how you’d like to communicate with your client throughout the week. You can let them know that you can receive texts at certain times each day. After that time, you kindly ask your client to email you after hours. Of course, there are always exceptions. But for the most part, it’s good to lay out your availability. Again, it’s all about that work-life balance. So we aren’t easily burnt out.
Has No Clear Direction for Their Business
Your potential client should have a clear picture of their brand and the direction they want to take in their business. You’ll learn a lot during your discovery call with them. They should know what areas they want to focus on, and what tasks they need to delegate. It’s your job to explain how you can help them achieve those goals. Remember most people that have “bad clients”, probably just didn’t ask the right questions and set clear boundaries, which led to a poor working relationship.
Virtual assistants are great at taking over tasks that are repeatedly done, like writing blog posts, publishing Pinterest pins, managing inboxes, or creating emails. That way the client can focus on more strategic tasks to bring their business to the next level. If they seem like they don’t want to let go of those tasks that are easily done by someone like a virtual assistant, they might not be a great fit to work with a virtual assistant.
Sometimes you have to live and learn before you create your dream list of clients. I know I have, and that’s okay! Hopefully, these tips will give you the courage you need to say no to some clients in the beginning.
Are you able to see the signs that a potential client isn’t right for you?
It’s all about being able to discern what types of clients are and aren’t a good fit for you. Don’t be afraid of going with your gut when it comes to choosing if a client is in fact, your ideal client. Do you have a client that you know isn’t right, but don’t know how to let them go? Stay tuned for our next blog post where we’ll talk about how to let a client go and how to notify them.
