As a member of the National Speakers’ Association, I was asked to speak on November 9, 2006 at the NAPO-Ohio business luncheon in Worthington, Ohio. NAPO stands for the National Association of Professional Organizers.
I had never heard of a “professional organizer” before I met the group of 62 people today. I found out that professional organizers are utilized in a wide variety of tasks. From organizing closets in residential homes to organizing corporate operations for business customers. I was very honored the group asked me to speak.
I was scheduled to speak at 12:45 (right after lunch), so I arrived around 11:30 so I would have the chance to network and find out more about the people. This enabled me to know what level of training I could start at when speaking to the group. After talking with them for awhile, I discovered they already started their own businesses. In fact, about half of the group had been in business for 5 years or more. So, instead of talking about how to start-up a business, I could advance to other levels of running a business and marketing services.
Many of you may not realize that marketing is marketing. There is no difference whether you are marketing a professional organizing service or a virtual bankruptcy service. You use the same marketing tools over and over again. I talked about targeting your audience and I brought up major mistakes I made in the past by not following this advice. I then explained how to target the audience and think like your customer so you can provide them with the services they need.
I also covered how customer service is the most important tool in running a service business. One way to accomplish this is to send a Christmas card to all your customers and thank them for their business during the past year. Of course, many of you are not at that stage yet because you are just beginning to build your virtual bankruptcy service, but for the professional organizers who already had an established customer base, this information was important.
I even took the group to the next level by getting into the mindset of the customer regarding the reason why people buy your services. In the majority of instances, people do not buy services because they are necessary purchases to their ultimate survival. People purchase services because they believe they “need” them – not simply because they “want” them.
After speaking for about 1 hour on a variety of other topics, I opened the floor to questions. One of the professional organizers in the group was a notary. She was amazed to find out the mobile notary field existed. Another organizer in the group was an attorney. She did not practice law on a daily basis, but rather, she was a professional organizer for people who wanted to establish Wills and Trusts. She also organized their finances and advised her clients on a variety of investments and other money-building techniques.
I met with the attorney after the meeting and although she was not interested in starting a bankruptcy practice she did have a few ideas and suggested we get together for lunch. We exchanged business cards and will set up a meeting soon.
Suggestion:
I urge every one of you to seek out meetings in your area relating to bankruptcy. Here in Columbus, Ohio, the Columbus Bar holds meetings several times per month. It is easy to sign up and attend even if you are not a member. For luncheons I only paid $5 or $6 and that price included lunch. For other meetings I have paid $25 or $30 but I networked with attorneys and paralegals and normally always picked up some extra work.
I also urge you to send your resume to bankruptcy attorneys in your area. Apply to work for them on a full-time or part-time basis so you can get the experience “behind the screens.” This is the best education you can have to properly own and operate your own virtual bankruptcy business. As I have said many times before: “If you want to open a pizza shop – learn how to make pizza. If you want to open up a service business for attorneys – go work for one.” Understanding the mindset of your customer (in your case, the attorney), you can properly market your services to your customers because you understand their needs.
Like I said before … you can only sell services to people who “need” them. If you do not understand those needs, you will waste time shooting around in the dark and possibly never have any success.
Oh, by the way … the attorney told me she had recently heard about the virtual assistant industry. This is fantastic news for all of us. When the legal industry becomes more aware that virtual services exist, the faster the industry will grow. All of you starting out today will be in a position to make a great deal of money in the future and achieve great success. This is just the beginning. The future looks very bright. So hang in there.
Victoria Ring, CEO
713Training.Com
http://www.713training.com