Guest Post by Tiffany Johnson
There is a HUGE weight that implementer’s carry around billing our clients. Specifically if we know our clients business isn’t making any money. There is no worse feeling then having to have the declined credit card conversation with a client that we know is working hard but simply not making the money needed to even pay our invoice.
When I worked as a virtual assistant, I worked with several start up business owners… and I remember with one of them about a year into us working together, where in that year she had not made a dime in her business yet we had changed her branding and website three times. I knew that everything she was paying me was simply debt for her. I had no way to be an asset to her company, all I could be was an expense.. and I have to say the feeling was terrible. As much as I truly cared about her and her business and saw the opportunity in front of her to be truly successful I simply couldn’t continue to be another expense at the end of the month.
At that point I made a decision if a business didn’t make money within 90 days of working with it I would not continue with that client. This was hard… it also forced me to not work with startups, and for a person who truly loves to see people reach their dreams and strive for their goals, saying no to start ups was one of the hardest decisions I had to make as a VA. But the truth was I couldn’t carry the guilt of knowing that they couldn’t truly afford to pay me.
I don’t think I am alone in my story… you, like me, may be at a point where the invoice chasing, declining cards, guilt has kicked in and either you do work you simply do not get paid for or you have to find new clients. Neither are great choices and neither leave us feeling very successful in our own businesses (although we truly have no responsibility in our client’s ability to make money in their business.)
A different choice would be simply to work with high paying clients that already have successful businesses. However, these clients as you can imagine are very sought after by all of us…
So here is the truth about what they really want and how if you can provide this, they will be seeking to work with you…
High Paying Clients Want: PROACTIVITY
We like to call this the 3 steps ahead plan. Whatever the task is now, whatever the plan is now… get 3 steps ahead of it. Successful entrepreneurs.. you know the ones who can easily afford to pay your invoices at whatever your rate is, are extremely busy folks. They can’t possibly be thinking about every detail, often not even thinking about any of TODAY’S details, they are generally thinking about next week, month, year. So for you to really prove yourself useful to them you must show them you are proactive in the tasks that are currently in front of you.
Ask questions, send reminders, follow up… don’t wait until there is a fire emergency to get the answer you need to be successful in the project you are doing. Be purposeful in staying 3 steps ahead of them and they will not only do whatever it takes to keep you around they will sing your praises to their colleagues who are generally other high paying clients 😉
High Paying Clients Want: EXPERTISE
The truth of the matter is entrepreneurs at this level are done with the bootstrapping, let’s figure it out as we go, cheapest option available. They really want folks who are experts in their specialties. Experts give strategy, problem solve, create solutions, and implement to get results.
High paying clients do not want to have to ‘tell you what to do’ they want you to know what needs to get done and get in there and do it. Bring your expertise, experience, training, to the table and stand confident on it. This is how you get respect from clients, this is how you get clients to value your work and your contribution.
High Paying Clients Want: DEPENDABILITY
To be honest with you I wish I didn’t even have to list this one here… but the truth is some folks in our community have been less than trustworthy in the space of dependability. The great Houdini’s of the virtual world, with their disappearing acts.
I get that most of us started our businesses because essentially we want freedom. However, freedom does not mean that we can be flaky with clients.
High paying clients will not hunt you down… if they have to, they will not continue to be your clients. There is very little grace around this for most successful entrepreneurs. This is actually a much bigger deal than folks realize I think. Often I hear great ‘excuses’ to why someone had to flake out on a project or didn’t hit a deadline or felt there was a miss communication. But the truth is, when you leave someone hanging on a task it leaves a bad taste in their mouth and really doesn’t matter what the reason was.
So if you want to work with High Paying Clients and you are ‘done’ with chasing money for work you have completed.. I encourage you to bring these 3 elements to the table when you have conversations with potential clients and when you are in service of high paying clients.
For more information on “How to Meet the Needs of High Paying Clients as an Online Business Manager” catch the replay of my call with Tracey at: https://obm.isrefer.com/go/
