Authenticity is a buzzword that you may get sick of hearing yet it’s a really strong concept wrapped into one single word. I think it’s a powerful exercise to do a bit of an Authenticity Checkin with yourself and ask “Are You Delivering What You Promise or Just Pretending To?”
That one word “Authenticity” describes the level of honesty and truthfulness associated with a person, brand or a business. If one is truly authentic, their true personality will shine through their marketing materials; their business practices will match their core values and mission statement. They will live this life.
Authentic business people deliver what they promise instead of filling their customers with false hope and empty promises.
So, how does one become authentic?
As a Virtual Assistant, it really shouldn’t be hard to let your unique personality shine through – and that’s a great starting point in my opinion.
When you show your true colours, you will naturally attract clients who relate to you and who will hang on your every word, ready to delegate their administrative support to you because they know you will do, what you say you can do and will be honest about what you cannot do. Simple!
Once your audience knows more about you and likes what you represent, they will become loyal customers (provided you deliver what you promise).
Let’s check your authenticity levels:
Do you prefer to be honest or to spin a story?
No one likes to find themselves in the center of a scandal or on the receiving end of a tongue-lashing from an irate client but your level of honesty will greatly dictate how customers react. If you’re honest about a mistake, customers will likely understand whereas if you start spinning a story and seem to distance yourself from the problem, they may see you as uncaring and only out to make money.Which is the real you? Let that shine through, even if you have to take a hit because a mistake was your fault.
True Story: I once sent a client a text message with just a 4 letter swear word on it, after managing to send 30 emails to 30 people in 30 seconds – and not one of the emails in the series was finished! My client responded with a laugh and then asked me what I was going to do about it. I replied with I had sent a 31st email apologising and taking the blame. My client laughed some more and told me it was a great way of making an impact!
Do you truly care about your audience or do you just want to make money?
Customers are smart; they will know and will call you out on bad experiences related to your support.
Caring about your customers means you will make their buying process as easy as possible in addition to offering support that solves their problems. This adds a human (aka authentic) touch to their experience which can lead them to becoming loyal customers.
Have you identified your core values and mission statement?
Both of these items are important cornerstones to your business. Who do you want to help and how do you plan to do that? What core values are most important to you? How will you express those core values to your clients and customers? Incorporating these values into your business will attract your tribe to you and will contribute to the heartfelt experience I mentioned above. I share my core values on the About page as I want people to either feel aligned with me and want to work with me or not.
In the end, authenticity involves being your true self, not developing a persona that you think your ideal clients want to see. You’re not an actor taking on different roles nor are you a politician spinning stories to gain votes.
You’re a business owner developing a business based on truthfulness and by earning your clients’ trust. The quickest way to do that is to be your authentic self by sharing the good and the bad with your ideal audience.
If you’re in a funk with your business and wondering why you’re working so hard when people are ungrateful or not buying, it’s time for a Mindset Reset. As part of the VA Membership we have a number of trainings designed to give you a bit of a mindset reset, in addition to having a community where we support one another.
The VA Membership is the only UK VA business accelerator that’s designed specifically to help you build and grow your VA business, to help you create recurring revenue and consistent growth through regular and consistent action. With over 100+ hours of courses, weekly co-working sessions, weekly group coaching calls, a private support group and the ability to pay as you go – when you’re ready to grow or scale your business online come and join us in the VA Membership.
The VA Membership has the option to upgrade to more one to one coaching and mentoring support – this is perfect if you are looking to really scale your business. If you would like to see / learn more about our one to one coaching and mentoring then you need to check out the new One to One Mentoring page.