Welcome to another episode of the podcast that teaches you how to be a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
Today I want to talk about how to confidently close high ticket VA clients.
Today’s Quote: You don’t close a sale; you open a relationship if you want to build a long-term, successful enterprise. – Patricia Fripp
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Connect with Tracey D’Aviero, VA Coach and Trainer
Episode Notes:
The title of this episode really says everything most of you talk to me about in your VA business.
Confidence – you might not have this, either you feel it or I can tell when we talk
Close – getting the client is often one of the biggest struggles you tell me you are experiencing. Sales feels icky. Closing a client feels icky.
High-Ticket – everyone wants clients who pay well, somehow it seems easier to book out your business when the clients pay you more
Clients – any size, we al want and need clients, or we have no business
So imagine my delight at being able to talk to you about all of these things in one episode!
Let me tell you about how I doubled my rates overnight and then booked out my VA business. There. I just did.
I started working with my very first business coach and when I told him what I charged he was alarmed.
Note that this was 2008 or 2009 and I was charging $25/hr.
Yes, that was too low more than 15 years ago. And it’s too low now!
I was offering coaching support and my clients were charging $200/hr and up. They were signing clients to $10K and $25K coaching programs. Like people were paying them that much for coaching.
And I was charging them $25/hr. That meant a 10 hour a month client was $250. A 20 hour a month client was $500.
They were running groups with people paying them $1500 to $3000 a month.
They needed high level support and I was short changing what I could do for them because I lacked confidence.
So long story short he made me double my rates. Ack. And guess what?
People took me more seriously. Immediately.
I signed on 3 more clients and raised my current client rates, and within a couple of months I had a waiting list.
That went on for quite a while. I brought on team members to handle the extra workload.
But I didn’t mind because I could afford to pay them. At $25 I could not have.
Understanding the Value of High-Ticket Clients
High paying clients are obviously very valued in any industry. When we have clients who pay us more each month that’s a good thing in business.
But for a VA it impacts our daily schedule too. You can work with fewer clients when you have high-paying ones. Fewer clients means less juggling of expectations.
I worked with clients of all sizes but it sure was easier to work with the big ones.
When you are doing tasks for someone every day your work flow is better, and you can create good routines with your schedule.
Networking with clients is key to working with them. Getting the confidence to be a part of the communities they are is also key.
Sometimes the confidence comes with experience.
My clients were 6 and 7 figure business coaches. I was not making 6 or 7 figures, so how was I confident that I belonged in their community?
For one thing, I knew they needed me. They needed my skills, my experience, my personality. They literally needed me to run their business successfully.
When you are in a community that is striving for success, you uplevel your mindset too. You strive for success. You talk about success. You measure success.
It’s not a cut throat kind of thing, it’s more like encouragement. It’s a positive place to be.
In a successful and positive environment, good things happen. People are happy and that’s infectious.
It really is true that what you put out there comes back to you. When you are putting out negative energy, that’s what comes back to you. When you are putting out positive energy, guess what?
Negotiating with Big Clients
No matter who you are networking with, you need to make sure you are very clear on the services you offer, the services you don’t offer, and how you help the client.
Doing some research on the client’s business is always a very good idea. You should look for clients who have a solid online footprint – Google them. Look up their website, their social media channels. What do they do? Who do they work with? How do they work with their clients?
When you know the kinds of things they do in their business it makes it much easier to understand just exactly how you will be helping them. And it also shows you the value you will bring to their team.
Remember when I mentioned that my clients were working with clients who were paying them 10K to 25K for coaching? One of the responsibilities I had was to monitor the monthly payments that were being made, and to follow up with the clients whose payments did not go through properly.
That’s significant. I wasn’t a collection agency by any means, but it was essential for my client to get paid in order to continue working with their clients. It was an important piece of their business that I was looking after, and often it just meant filling in a spreadsheet with a successful payment.
This is why I always lean on the value with you when we talk about getting clients. When you understand your value, your worth, you can confidently command higher rates as a VA.
Effective Communication
When you are negotiating with high level clients, communication is key. They will tell you what they need, and what they are concerned about.
Always ask the right questions on your discovery calls so you are both on the same page in terms of the scope of work needed. But also the questions will help you uncover any objections the client might have to working with you before they mention them.
It’s not about being salesy, it’s about making sure that you are a good fit to work together. If someone is going to pay you $1000 or more every month, they have the right to be cautious. Your job is to make them feel confident that you are the right choice for them.
Prepare yourself to handle the common objections like price or budget, service doubts, and so on. One very common objection of a high ticket client is that they have been burned by a VA before. If that hasn’t happened to you then you need to figure out how to answer that when it comes up.
Trust is something that is earned and you will always be at the mercy of the VA that came before you, unfortunately.
One of my clients came to me after 2 failed VA relationships. She told me that her husband said he thought she must be the issue – but then she worked with me for 8 years. Not her at all.
It doesn’t always work that way, but know that whatever their previous experience was comes into play with you, even if you have never let them down.
Communicate clearly always and working together will be much easier for both of you. And that starts with your discovery call.
I hope I’ve given you some good tips on how to talk to high ticket clients today. When you become a part of their community, the trust builds quickly.
They are often busy people – and in fact, rely on referrals to find their VAs and other service providers as a time saver. So being a part of a community they are in is even more important at this level.
The key is for you to be prepared to talk about how great you are at supporting them. It’s really the main point you want to get across, without being salesy and icky.
I’m going to leave it here for today but let’s circle back to today’s quote: You don’t close a sale; you open a relationship if you want to build a long-term, successful enterprise.
When you prepare yourself to be a part of the community that your target clients are in, and you always focus on helping them and making sure that you are a good fit for each other, the sale just happens.
It’s not just the sale. It’s the relationship. Focus on that, and VA success will follow so easily. I promise!
I hope you have started thinking about the possibilities that lie before you for creating the VA business that you dream of.
If you want more information about the program, drop me a PM. I’ll share more info in the coming weeks across all of my social channels, but I’m available to answer any questions you have right now too.
Thank you again for trusting me to teach you and to guide you. I truly love to be here for you every week.
If I could ask you a favour – to subscribe to the podcast or leave me a review if you haven’t already. That’s something I should say every week and I never really do. But it matters and it will make sure that I know you are finding value in what I create just for you every week.
Do You Need Help?
If you are looking to build the kind of business I’m talking about – a 50K and beyond VA business, that’s where I can help. I am here to help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving through private coaching, group coaching, and live and self study trainings. If you want to talk about how we can work together, let’s connect on a Cut to the Chase call. You can book yours at YourVAMentor.com/chase
Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
What You Need to Do Next:
PRIVATE COACHING: Let’s work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It’s the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
GROUP COACHING MASTERMIND: The Virtual Circle is a group coaching mastermind option that costs less than private coaching, and can help you achieve the goals you set for yourself. . Check it out here: The Virtual Circle Group Coaching Mastermind for Virtual Assistants . We’d love to have you join us!
50K VA GROUP COACHING PROGRAM: If you have been struggling to build your VA business, get in on this live coaching program where we will help you create the framework for a business that can earn you 50K a year and beyond. LAUNCHING FALL 2024, stay tuned!
MONTHLY EMAIL MEMBERSHIP: I also have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business – and it doesn’t require you to be on social media! It’s an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you’ll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. Get more details and sign up here now!
SELF STUDY PROGRAM: My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
COMPLIMENTARY CONSULT: Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.