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 book out your VA business – by raising (doubling!) your rates.
Today’s Quote: If the only reason your clients come to you is your price, you need to evaluate your business. – Jessica Zeinstra
Click the play button above to tune in, or choose your favourite podcast player below:
Connect with Tracey D’Aviero, VA Coach and Trainer
Episode Notes:
Building an amazing Virtual Assistant business is not technically a difficult thing to do.
You find a client, you do great work, they tell their friends about you, and you get more clients. Right?
That’s the dream – we don’t have to market our business, we don’t really have to network, we just keep getting referrals.
This is what happened to me in my VA business. But it didn’t happen ‘just because’.
I made strategic decisions and moves to get my business to that point.
And you can too. Here’s how I did it.
In order for your business to become the go-to referral in your community, you first need to be a part of a community filled with clients who need your services.
Finding a place to spend your time while networking and marketing is one of the keys to growing your business a lot more easily.
Choosing a target market is the first step. Deciding who, above all else, you will work with, is essential.
In the beginning stages of our business we say; yes to everyone. But there comes a time when that doesn’t work anymore.
Not if you want to have a sustainable business that you get paid well to run.
You need to find your BEST clients, not just any client.
You need to find a whole bunch of them.
For me, that was a community of business coaches that was being coached by a higher level coach.
These business coaches were paying $25K a year to get coaching for their business. They were serious business owners.
They were being taught strategy, but they needed someone to implement their plan.
Enter me.
I worked with a number of them and got referrals all the time.
I even got to turn down some of those referrals.
But let me back up just a bit here.
I told you I doubled my rates … and we are way past that right now!
When I first started my VA business, I didn’t know a thing about business. Or marketing. Or networking.
If that sounds like you, I’m glad you’re here.
I learned the basics of business. Okay, nailed it.
I learned a bit about marketing. But I didn’t do it very well.
I learned very little about networking. I was very busy hiding behind my computer and telling clients I worked from home so I couldn’t go into their office to do anything.
And I struggled to find great clients for my VA business.
I got clients. It was really hard work and they were okay clients.
I bartered my services.
I discounted my already low rates.
I didn’t know how to find the people that really needed me.
This is the key right here.
When we start to associate ourselves with high level business owners, they are the ones who actually value what we do, and have the money to pay us.
When you find the community that really needs your services, you are in demand.
I connected with my first business coach through a client I was working with.
Not only did they need my services, but boy, did I ever need theirs.
At first we bartered – they coached me while I did their work.
It worked at first, but soon we started paying each other because we each needed to have some skin in the game to make our work relationship valuable.
So, I had a coach. The first thing we did was talk about my goals.
I was not reaching any goals as it was, and when this person came along and told me I needed to increase my rates drastically, I was nervous.
I was charging $25/hr … after almost 10 years of being a VA.
I had started lower than that (this was 25 years ago, but still!).
I struggled to find my own value. I struggled to find great clients. My clients ran me. They nickeled and dimed me at every stop.
I still loved working from home but make no mistake, I had started a business that became a JOB for me.
So here I am sitting with my business coach and he tells me I am charging wayyyyy too little for the expertise I have and the experience I bring to the table.
He told me I should be charging $50/hr.
I choked. I couldn’t even get great clients at $25, how would I ever get them for double that?
But you know what? They were there, in his community. He knew what they would value. And he could see my value better than I could.
We never see ourselves the way others see us.
So … we did it.
I doubled my rates. Big breath in. I went from $25/hr to $50/hr overnight.
My next sales conversations were scary as hell.
I worked on my confidence with my business coach before I started talking to clients but I was still pretty nervous to get to the money part.
But you know what? The first person I talked to said YES.
And then the second person did too.
They became GREAT clients of mine.
Let’s check out today’s quote: If the only reason your clients come to you is your price, you need to evaluate your business. – Jessica Zeinstra
I did this, I feel this. I always asked the client how much they could pay, and then I agreed to it in a lot of cases.
But they don’t get to decide! You have to set your rates and stick to them.
This is why I teach VAs now to ask about the client’s budget, but not how much they can pay to get whatever they want done.
A great client will tell you their budget and then ask what you can do within that budget. You need to talk about it in exactly the same way.
A great client is someone that needs the services you love to provide. They have a growing business that depends on your support to make it fantastic. They value you and your business. And you work well together. And they want you to succeed as much as you want them to succeed.
Great clients need us, appreciate us, value us, and PAY us.
Those are the clients I want you to work with.
They are out there. You have to find them.
You have to believe that your services are worth the price.
You need to find someone who can help you see it, if you can’t see it yourself.
The second thing I did was to join a high level mastermind group filled with entrepreneurs who were also growing their business.
It was one thing to have my business coach tell me how great I was, but I needed that trusted community too – it was so important to have people who were in the same boat as me, building their business, to talk to.
We created strategy, with the help and under the guidance of our business coach.
I made strides!
My confidence soared because I was surrounded by people who believed in me. And that made me believe in me too.
It took just a few short months to raise my rates with my other clients, move some clients out, and be fully booked out and on a waiting list for new clients.
It was a great feeling, and one that I believe I never would have been able to get to on my own.
If you are struggling, you need to get help. I can help guide you to what you really are worth. What you really want.
For me that was focusing only on the services I wanted to provide. It was offering prepaid retainers and packages only. It was no more hourly billing, no more rolling over unused hours. No more waiting on clients to send me work.
I was in charge. I held weekly production meetings and secured important ongoing work from my clients, so we were never trying to find things to do. I was in charge of the task list and a required part of their business. I kept all of their balls in the air.
I also created a high ticket service offering that was a project based service – online conference management. My clients referred their clients to me and I could say yes or no to every single one of them.
Before I worked with my coach, I had nothing in place in terms of strategy to build my business. Absolutely nothing. I flew by the seat of my pants every day hoping anything would stick.
Two years later, I started showing VAs like you how to do it better than I did it.
Getting Started as a VA is my self study that was born out of that experience and I still continue to sell it now because it is still basic foundational business and marketing that you need to set yourself up for success.
It’s time for you to create the business you love. Create the freedom that you are dying to have.
I can help you do it.
Let’s look at your business together and make some changes that will really impact what you do, and what your VA business does for you.
We can work together in my group coaching mastermind The Virtual Circle to get your plan in place.
It takes some honest assessment, a plan, a commitment to do the work, and then you have to show up and take the advice.
I blew the doors off my VA business when I joined a mastermind group and did the work to make changes in my business that were long overdue. And strategic.
You can do it. It’s time to evaluate your business, and make those changes. You know I can help you do it.
I’m going to leave it here for you today but first let’s circle back to today’s quote: If the only reason your clients come to you is your price, you need to evaluate your business.
Do You Need Help?
If you need help breaking through that barrier to find the great clients that really need you and value you, get in touch with me. I’m here to help.
It’s the only reason I’m here at all, as you know. 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. We have one group training call and one group coaching call each month that will help you set goals and plan and implement the action steps to achieve them. There is also a VIP level of TVC that includes a monthly private coaching call, if you want a little extra personal attention. Check it out here: https://yourvamentor.com/TVC. We’d love to have you join us!
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. I’ve created TONS of amazing resources for you – from business foundations and building resources (financial stuff, calculators, productivity, tech tips and tools, website planning guide) to marketing tools (branding worksheet, blogging templates, content calendar, client acquisition, marketing campaign planner) to advanced business skills (package planning, branding tools, onboarding checklist, seo checklist, client management) and personal growth stuff (goal setting worksheet, networking, speaking tips and tools, conflict resolution tips). All of this is available to you for just $9 a month!! You get your first resource as soon as you register, and every Monday morning after that you’ll get a fresh new one. 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.