Welcome to another episode of the podcast that teaches you how to be a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
Today I want to talk about finding high paying clients for your VA business and what that entails.
Today’s Quote: Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out. – Robert Collier
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Connect with Tracey D’Aviero, VA Coach and Trainer
Episode Notes:
Finding high paying clients.
It’s what we all dream of when we think about starting our Virtual Assistant business.
I know I did, when I first got started.
You probably did too.
We have these dreams of getting paid well, doing things we love, being in charge of our own schedule, being there for whatever our family needs.
So we start our VA business.
Then the other shoe drops.
It’s harder than we thought.
We face a growing lack of confidence as we realize we don’t know everything, and things aren’t so easy.
I’ve been there.
If you’re there too, I want to help you get out of it.
I promise you can!
Let’s start over at the beginning.
We want all that stuff.
The getting paid well.
The doing what we love.
The being in charge of our own schedule.
The being there for our family.
How can we have that?
It’s simple. Much simpler than you think.
Let’s break it all down in today’s episode.
To build the VA business that you dreamed of, what do you need?
You need to have a plan.
AND you need to have the confidence that your can execute that plan.
I actually think the confidence issue is a huge one – it’s the thing I see VAs struggle with every single day.
So let’s dive into that a little.
Why do we lose our confidence so quickly? and so often?
Because every day we are faced with things that are challenging that we haven’t done before.
It takes its toll.
The dream seems simple. It is really, but at first it really seems simple.
So when it doesn’t go according to what we expected, we shoulder all the fault ourselves.
What was I thinking?
Who am I to be doing this?
If you look up imposter syndrome, you probably relate to it.
I did a few episodes on imposter syndrome because so many of us struggle with it.
Confidence is at its root – when we have confidence, we move forward.
When we lack confidence we get stuck. Paralyzed even.
Have you been there?
Are you there right now?
Whether you are consciously thinking about it or not, it’s there.
Trying something but maybe not even believing it’s going to work.
And then surprise, it doesn’t work.
So we try something else.
If you don’t have a solid strategy to get great clients for your business, you can’t build that confidence.
I want to help you build that confidence – because I know you can do it.
Last episode I told you how amazed I am every day that most VAs I talk to never bother learning how to find clients.
And then they wonder why they struggle to find clients.
If you learn anything as a business owner it needs to be this … how to find great clients.
Sure, you can eek through finding small clients, one off project clients, low paying clients, but that will make you struggle so often in your business.
Why not learn how to finally find the high paying clients that you know are out there?
What do you say?
YES!
So let’s talk about how to finally do that.
What did Seth say in today’s quote?
He said don’t find customers for your products.
And that’s what you have been doing till now, right?
You have skills. You are trying to find clients who need those services.
You are hunting high and low. You are networking your butt off, or at least it feels like you are.
You are creating all kinds of content that you are sharing on every social media platform you have.
And you are still struggling to get clients.
Why is that?
Because you are in sales mode. You are looking to sell what you do to anyone who will buy it.
It’s desperate. It’s salesy. It’s icky.
You may not even see that that is what you are putting out there, but I can promise you clients see it from a mile away.
I see it.
Take a quick look back at the previous week.
What have you posted? What have you messaged people? What have you told yourself? How have you talked to yourself or others about your business?
If it’s not about helping people, then it’s exactly the opposite of what you should be saying, doing, or sharing.
Seth says to find products for your customers.
And THAT is the key to finding high paying clients.
(I bet you thought I wouldn’t get there today didn’t you? )
The key to finding high paying clients is to figure out who your skills can best support, and then create an irresistible package of services that they value and will happily pay you for.
You can do it!
Here is what you need to consider:
>>> Who is already using your services?
Not yours particularly, but VA services.
One of the huge mistakes that VAs make when trying to find clients is settling in to a market that doesn’t use VAs, and then they spend all of their time educating the client on why they should be using a VA.
If the client doesn’t already place a lot of value on getting support, they will often start with a small budget and it can be very hard to build that client into the one you know you want.
Now consider the conversations you will have with those clients. You will often be trying to pull your client in the direction you want them to go, instead of walking alongside them.
Finding clients that are already using VAs is so much easier. They know that getting support in their business is necessary so they can earn what they want too, and they will invest in good support.
>>> What do they place value on?
So many VAs get stuck on trying to convince clients what they need help with, instead of asking them what they think.
Yes we are the admin experts, but a client will only invest in support when they feel that it’s what they need.
In other words, they will pay for what they think they need help with.
And so all you have to do is get on the same page as them.
In networking this means asking questions. What do they need help with?
Not … here’s what I do. You need it.
You can’t build a business easily when you are trying to convince clients that they need you. It’s too hard.
Instead you need to find out what they need and then provide those services and charge for them.
Now … hear me out right here. I don’t mean you have to learn whatever they need. That’s not what I mean at all.
I mean you need to find out what they need relative to your skills and services.
If you offer client care services, then a podcaster probably isn’t a good client for you. They probably need more tech services than client care.
If you offer podcasting services, you probably won’t work with a real estate agent.
I talk about target markets a lot because it’s important.
You need to know who your services are best suited for – it makes everything you do in your business so much easier.
When you know who needs you, and who will value having you work with them, that’s when you find the high paying clients.
>>> What can your services look like?
Once you know who needs your services, you can easily put together packages or a combination of services that they need, value and will pay for.
And you don’t need to learn new skills to do it!
What do you love to do? That’s what you need to build your business on.
Let’s get back to podcasters for a minute.
What do they need help with?
Admin – to research episodes, to find guests, to set up recording times
Tech – to record, to edit
Marketing – to get the word out and promote their episodes
These are the three things that podcasters will place value on.
How do I know? Because I’m a podcaster! Trust me!
Producing a podcast takes time. Some time is worth it to get support for.
If you are a podcast VA who provides the specific things I need help with, that’s valuable to me. We speak the same language, you understand everything that I do and therefore need, and I might be inclined to invest more in support because you probably know more than I do.
If you are a VA who provides admin services to lots of different industries, I might only use a bit of time with you. I might not want to pay a high rate because I know more than you do about podcasting.
See the difference?
Now, you can still provide admin services – but you have to level up to reach the high paying clients.
Be the admin specialist that you know you are.
Think about all the industries you are working with or have worked with, and what they need specifically.
Some people call it niching down – and it is – but it’s really about getting laser focused on who you can help and how.
When you know who you can help, you can define exactly how, and that goes really far in marketing and networking.
>>> What about your rates?
When you are a specialist, you can charge more.
Coaches will tell you that all day long. And it’s true.
But you don’t have to suddenly tell people you charge 75/hr.
When you are seeking high paying clients, the simplest way to price your services is by the package.
You provide a list of deliverables, every month, and the client pays you to get those things done.
High paying clients will pay for results – and they don’t care how long it takes you to do it.
We talk instead about task deliverables, frequency of task. How often are you doing something for them?
In our deliverables, we quote lead times and turnaround times, and we work with deadlines. We communicate well with our clients so that we are not doing same day or last minute work when it’s not required.
I’m not going to get into the specifics of creating packages on this episode but suffice it to say that creating rate packages is the key to getting your clients to say yes.
You manage their expectations of what will get done, how often, and how much it will cost every month.
So now, let’s get back to what YOU want.
The getting paid well.
The doing what we love.
The being in charge of our own schedule.
The being there for our family.
These are the things we wanted when we started our VA business.
Before the wheels fell off.
How can we get back there?
>>> By creating products for our customers. By offering services that our customers need, and value, and want.
To get paid well doing what we love, we create packages of things that we have expertise in for people that we know need them and want them.
To be in charge of our own schedule, we offer services that allow us to offer deliverables to our clients that are well managed and scheduled.
High paying clients aren’t clients that need high volume. Not always.
They are clients who value what we do, who understand that we are not their employee and so that means that we need to communicate as peers.
They need to be busy, they need to earn more than we do, and they need to be organized, or allow us to organize them.
Scheduling is extremely important to make sure that you have enough time in your calendar to do the things they need done.
Create services for your customers.
Ding!
Create the support they need and value.
That’s the key to finally getting the high paying clients that will allow you to build the VA business of your dreams.
I’m going to leave it here for this week but you can see … that’s all it takes.
Do You Need Help?
If you are ready to create that business for yourself, that’s where I can help. I am here for one reason – 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:
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.
The Virtual Circle (TVC) is a monthly mastermind group for Virtual Assistants just like you. We get together 3 times a month for group Zoom sessions to talk about what you are struggling with, working on, or celebrating. It’s a close knit community of your VA colleagues that provides the best kind of support for your VA business. Learn more about TVC here.
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.
Click here for more tips to help you with your productivity and time management in your Virtual Assistant business.
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.