Giving Away Free Hours in Your Virtual Assistance ...

Dear VA Coach:

I am a new virtual assistant and I am trying to launch and expand my virtual assistance business.  I have seen other VAs offer free hours for new clients so that they can test drive their services.  Do you recommend this?

- S.L.

No – absolutely not.  I don’t recommend giving away free hours, discounting your hours for a ‘trial run’ or any other reduction in your fees.  As business owners, we must recognize the importance of keeping our value in tact.

If you are worried about potential clients running for the hills when they hear your prices, here is some good advice.

Remove your rates and fee structure from your website.

Let people contact you, learn a little more about you and figure out how you’ll improve their lives before you give up what you charge.  In my experience, the people who have scheduled a complimentary phone call to discuss their needs first convert into clients.  If you just tell someone, “My rates are $40 per hour” they are not going to recognize the value in what that hourly rate represents.

Part of being your own marketer and salesperson requires you to do a bit of ‘pitching’ when you talk to potential clients.  Tell them what your hourly rate includes, how you track your time, what services you offer, what value-added services or products you add to that hourly rate (ie: Basecamp project management software or an e-book that will help them with working with you) and anything else that makes the $40 per hour seem worth it.

If someone e-mails you and says, “How much do you charge?” don’t respond with your rate info.

Instead, tell them that in order for you to properly quote a rate, you need to learn more about what it is they need in their business.  You can say that every single client has different needs and you like to learn more about them, their company and their anticipated needs for a virtual assistant.

Once you are on the phone with them and you’ve had a good conversation, they’ll more than likely ask for your rates and at this time it’s appropriate to offer them that information.

Just by doing those two things, you won’t feel like you have to throw your hours at someone to entice them to be your client.  Do good work, get referrals and build your business through word of mouth and you won’t have a need to do that.

Client Relations – How Do You Deal With Bad ...

As a business owner for the last three years, I have had my fair share of wonderful clients and a few not-so-wonderful clients. This happens in business and although some of us would prefer not to think that those bad apples exist, they do.

Looking back over the years got me thinking about how bad apples creep into virtual assistance client rosters and I think that it happens more often in a business that is setup like ours is. I have some great friends who are also virtual assistants and I’ve seen it happen to them as well. They have clients who aren’t treating them in an appropriate way and therefore, they either suffer or they fire them and move on.

I often wonder why this happens in the business of a virtual assistant. I think it boils down to differences in personality or working style and the perception of the assistant / “boss” role. When a business owners makes a decision to hire a virtual assistant, if they do not approach it the right way they could easily believe they are hiring someone who will work under them. They treat the working relationship like they are back in the corporate world and dismiss the VA as being a real business owner.

If a situation arises in my business where a client acts unprofessionally (that happens too!) and does something that goes against my beliefs as a business owner, I let them know that I can not work with someone who doesn’t view the value of our relationship. I strive to build teams with each of my clients to help move their business’ forward. To do that, I need to know that we have reciprocal trust, respect and excitement for what is ahead in their business.

If you are a virtual assistant, how do you deal with clients who happen to fall in the ‘bad apple’ category? If you are a client of a virtual assistant, how do you value your virtual assistant and what perceptions do you think some business owners have about virtual assistants? Lastly, if you are a business owner in general, what do you do to ensure you have a mutually happy relationship with your clients or customers?

Following Up With Inquiries in Your Business...

Dear Erin, The VA Coach:

I was wondering how to follow up by e-mail with potential clients? I had a potential client e-mail to say he would follow up with me in the next few days but he hasn’t and I’m not sure how to proceed. Should I call to follow up with this? Or you do have any suggestions on a good contact email to send?

Thanks!

- A.W.

Following up is one of the biggest ways to make potential clients into REAL clients. If you leave the inquiries to fend for themselves, they’ll get lost in the sea of other virtual assistants and might never make it back to your part of the sea! To make sure you turn these questions into YES’ES, follow these steps:

1. Send a thank you card. Yes, this really works! I use a service called Send VA Cards. This service allows me to send thank you cards (and other cards) to potential clients to thank them for their time and to let them know that if they have any questions, I am happy to answer them.
2. Send a brief e-mail thanking them for the opportunity to meet with them in regards to their business’ needs and ask them if there is anything else they need clarification on to make a decision.
3. Send them a resource, a blog posting or some other valuable piece of information that is related to their needs. If you discussed blog design, send them a blog post that compares the different types of blogging software on the web. If you talked about administrative services, send them a tool that you find useful in that area of your business.

The thing is, most business owners will appreciate your knowledge and expertise and will think of that as a reflection on your services as a whole. The first impression you give them is often the way your working relationship will go so impress them on the onset!

Have a question you want to ask The VA Coach?  E-mail Erin at info@thevacoach.com.