I understand that this topic can be nerve-racking for you. To have this conversation with your clients might be one of the most intimidating things to do in your Virtual Assistant business.

So I want to help you make it easy.

I want to help you increase your income and inspire you to earn high dollars.

In this blog post, you will learn 5 tips to help you negotiate higher rates with clients!

These are tried and true for me over the years and I hope they will help you to achieve your goals to make more income online in your Virtual Assistant Business this year.

Disclaimer;

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1. Do Your Research Into What Other Virtual Assistants Are Charging For The Service

Take a look at VAs who are doing what you’re doing, with the same experience and skillset as you, are charging.

Are they charging more?

Figure out why you aren’t charging as much. What is holding you back? Is it picking a specialization or just a matter of being braver to charge higher? Take a look at the value you are providing. Own your value with your rates.

Then step back and take a look at the rates industry leaders are charging. Find out how much the VA you aspire to be is charging. Now, to get to that place you’re going to have to start taking steps. The best time to start in that direction is now. Go after those big goals!

PRO-TIP: Do not use the website “Fiverr” as a reference!

You want to keep yourself out of the budget category and therefore do not go to these freelance platforms to compare pricing.

What you can do is:

1. Ask around in Facebook groups,
2. Do some searches on LinkedIn
3. Browse a few websites for agencies that offer similar services and look at the pricing.

You should be charging the same for your level of experience that they are. Do not charge any less as this will cheapen the value of virtual assistants over time.

2. Communicate With Your Clients

The first step for how to execute raising your rates is to TELL your clients.

You want to communicate this strategically in a way that prepares and persuades them. You don’t want to lose clients but you don’t want to get stuck at a lower rate either.

Always be prepared to go into a conversation about raising rates with answers to common objections or questions that clients may ask. One strategy that helps with this can be to set the expectation when you first sign them that you will reevaluate rates at the very least on an annual basis.

With long-term clients, 6-months to a year into working with them take an inventory of what they hired you for and what you do for them above that work. Then simply send them an email. List the work they hired you for and list what you do for them now and also what you end up doing above that. State that effective from such and such date your rate is going to go from $X to $Y.

This can feel scary. But if you’ve been delivering quality work, keeping up with deadlines, and just being a great VA to your clients, you will be surprised to know that very few clients will be willing to let you go.

REMEMBER: The beauty of running your virtual assistant business is being able to charge your worth and raise your prices as you see fit. Your rates are not set in stone!

3. Lead With Results and Value

Just as you would in a traditional job as an employee, you want to enter the conversation about raising your rates with examples of results you’ve achieved for the client and other areas of value that you may highlight from the time you’ve worked with them so far.

Were you always on time with delivery?

Did you help them increase their revenue?

Save them time doing their books?

Build up proof of the value you provide. Have something that show’s your skillsets match up to the high-end price points you charge. Present a value-for-money deal so that clients will be more than happy to pay you higher charges.

Bonus - if you can quantify this specifically for them. I always kept a Google document with reports and analytics to be able to show some Key Performance Indicators to each client when I would request a review with them during the year.

4. Obtain New Certifications For Your Business

Are there professional certifications that you can complete to show you went the extra mile to stay on top of the latest in your area of service? Earning a certification is a great negotiating point for higher rates and most of the time my clients have been very excited about these.

VAs typically begin as generalists. They begin with providing office support similar to an executive assistant. As a general VA, perhaps you assist with calendar management, inbox management, or travel management. In essence, you are saving your clients valuable time by doing the work they detest.

Now, if you really think about upskilling and becoming a specialist VA, let me tell you it is the best way to go to negotiate higher rates with your clients. Obtaining certificates for high-paying in-demand skills is a sure-shot way of leveling up your VA business.

Your clients may occasionally mention that they could use assistance managing a social media page. Or perhaps they require assistance with editing videos for their YouTube channel. Or they struggle to keep their business website updated. You can propose doing it for them. Even if you don’t have the skills yet!

Don’t hesitate to take up new work that will help you specialize your skills. Get paid to learn. Learn on the job. Tell them I can come and update your website, I can come and edit your videos or help you grow and engage with your following on social media.

You can always take courses on how to do these things. You can even learn these skills for free on various platforms like Youtube. This is an amazing investment in yourself!

It builds authority for you as a specialist charging high-end prices. It’s a great way to go in the direction of zeroing in on a specific niche. You will also build credibility when it comes time to bring new clients.

5. Be Willing To Go The Extra Mile Sometimes

The more you can show your initiative to take something off the client’s plate, the more likely you will be able to add in some extra value that is a no-brainer for them to say ‘yes’ to your request for higher rates.

This is especially important for new Virtual Assistants. You have to undergo a bit of time to build trust with the client and do some hard work that in the long run will make you a wealthy VA in no time!

Go above and beyond with the work that you do. Be intentional while doing a task for your clients that will make their decision-making simpler. Map things out for them. Don’t just provide them with what they asked for and be done with it. Do your best to help them decide what you think fits best for their requirement.

Be genuinely helpful.

Overcommunicate.

Respond to all the emails and messages and don’t hesitate to update them often on what you are doing for them.

Suggest better ways.

Suggest ways they can increase their income and grow their business.

Help them do it.

Be in it for the long term.

Give them a premium client experience.

Get used to their ways and language to help them better represent them in the virtual world. Pay attention to the little things and work hard for them.

Build good relationships with your clients.

Here’s an Excerpt from the book The Almanack of Naval Ravikant that sums up pretty well:

Play long-term games with long-term people.

All the returns in life, whether in wealth, relationships, or knowledge, come from compound interest.

Compounding in business relationships is very important. Look at some of the top roles in society, like why someone is a CEO of a public company or managing billions of dollars. It’s because people trust them. They are trusted because of the relationships they’ve built and the work they’ve compounded. They’ve stuck with the business and shown themselves to be high-integrity people.

When you work with individuals for years and still enjoy working with them, you obviously trust them. All the negotiations in business then become simple work because you trust each other. You know it will work out.

When you find the right thing to do. when you find the right people to work with, invest deeply. Sticking with it for a long time is how you make the big bucks.

 

Another way to increase your income is to specialize by person or industry instead of a particular niche. I talk about this in detail in my new Ebook: Level Up Your Virtual Assistant Business - Show up at the right time & right place, sign dream clients, and increase your income! This ebook will help you market to ideal clients. Ideal Clients are even easier to negotiate with most of the time…

Get on the waitlist here.

Thank you for reading!