Welcome to another episode of the podcast that teaches you how to be a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
Today I want to talk about something that can shift your VA business into the next level – package pricing.
Today’s Quote: “Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.” – Warren Buffett
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Connect with Tracey D’Aviero, VA Coach and Trainer
Episode Notes:
Today we are talking about package pricing.
Packages can completely change your VA business – your confidence, and even the type of clients you attract.
Now, if you’ve been following me for any length of time, you’ll know I’m a huge believer in charging by the package instead of by the hour. It’s one of those mindset shifts that can feel scary, but once you make the transition, it’s very hard to imagine going back.
When most VAs think about package pricing, they only think about how it benefits them. They think about making more money, avoiding timesheets, or not feeling guilty when they work efficiently.
Those are all great reasons.
But today I want to flip the conversation around.
Let’s talk about why your clients actually benefit from working with a VA who charges by the package.
Because when you understand the client’s perspective, selling packages becomes a whole lot easier.
Why Clients Hesitate
Let’s talk first about the biggest question I get around packages: what if the client wants to know how many hours they get, and they don’t want a package.
Well, in short, it doesn’t matter what they want.
What you offer is what you offer. They either buy it or they don’t.
That might sound harsh, but it is exactly the mindset shift you need to make when you shift your pricing model to something other than hourly.
But let’s go back a bit first.
Many business owners have never hired a virtual assistant before. They are already taking a leap of faith, spending money in an area they have never spent before.
Now imagine telling them you’ll charge by the hour.
Immediately, a few questions pop into their mind.
How long will this take? Will I get a huge invoice? What if they work slower than I expect? or than I do? How do I know they’re actually working when they say they are?
Even if they’d never admit it, those questions are there.
Maybe they ask you exactly those questions.
Hourly pricing, although it seems straightforward, can create uncertainty.
Packages remove that. Here’s why:
Reason #1: Clients Know How Much They Will Pay
One of the biggest advantages of package pricing (for both the VA and the client) is predictability.
Business owners like budgets. They budget for software, for payroll, for advertising, rent and all of their other expenses.
When your services come with a fixed monthly investment, they can budget for you too.
Instead of wondering whether this month will cost $420 or $690, they know exactly what they’re investing.
That creates trust.
It also makes renewing your services much easier because there aren’t any surprises.
Imagine going to a restaurant where the menu doesn’t have prices.
The food might be incredible, but you’d probably feel a little uncomfortable ordering.
Billing by the hour can create that same feeling.
Package pricing tells them, “This is exactly what you receive, and this is exactly what it costs.”
People appreciate certainty. They can decide ahead of time with certainty whether they want to pay for the service you offer.
I used to have a client that I billed by the hour. Well, I billed all of my clients by the hour. I had a minimum charge of 15 minutes for anything I did for my clients, and I provided them all with detailed billing every month when I billed them.
Yes, it was more admin for me to track, but I felt like I was being honest and forthright about their billing.
But this one client was a large client so I did a lot for her. She got a lot of 15 minute charges, but again I felt like it was open and clear.
When I changed to charging by package, I explained that I would still track the work we did, but her invoice would just show her the monthly package price that we agreed on from now on.
She said the funniest thing – she said ‘I’m so glad I don’t have to see those 15 minute charges on my invoice anymore, it gave me so much anxiety!’
I was so surprised. She had never said anything before but I was actually creating anxiety for her by doing what I thought was open and forthright.
So, the way you do things doesn’t always have to stay the same way. Sometimes, the change makes everyone happier!
Packages made my client’s admin simpler, and although I continued to track my time, I didn’t have to provide it to them anymore – removing many discussions about how long things would take.
I had no idea my clients would love packages as much as I did!
Reason #2: Clients Are Buying Results, Not Time
This is one of my favourite mindset shifts, and it’s one I end up teaching over and over again because VAs are often all about time.
Think about hiring a plumber. Do you really care whether they fix your leak in twenty minutes or two hours? No. You care that the leak is fixed. And you care how much it costs.
Business owners think the same way. They don’t wake up thinking, “I hope my VA spends six hours in my inbox today.”
They wake up thinking, “I hope my inbox is organized today.”
The outcome is the thing that matters.
Package pricing naturally shifts the conversation away from time and toward results… and that’s exactly where you want it.
Instead of saying, “I worked four hours this week.”
You can say, “Your newsletter was sent, your podcast was published, your calendar was organized, and your customer emails were answered.”
Which sounds more valuable? I’ll wait while you answer ha ha. Exactly. Clients don’t buy hours. They buy solutions.
Why do so many clients talk about hours? Because the VAs are telling them how many hours it will take to do their work.
When you shift how you talk about the work you do, the clients will make the same shift.
Reason #3: Experience Shouldn’t Cost You Money
This is a very common topic in the ‘should I charge by the hour’ conversations.
And it’s one of the reasons that a lot of VA trainers and coaches (yes, even me!) tell you not to charge by the hour.
The better you become at what you do, the faster you get.
You create processes. You repeat them over and over and you can do them faster.
You create templates. You automate processes. You build systems. You stop making rookie mistakes. You know exactly where to click. That makes you faster.
If you’re charging hourly, every improvement you make – the ones that speed up your time – actually reduces your income.
Think about how backwards that is.
Imagine a VA who takes 90 minutes to build a newsletter.
A year later, after doing the same client’s newsletter weekly, she can build the exact same newsletter in forty-five minutes.
Should she make less money simply because she’s become an expert? Of course not.
Clients understand this better than we often give them credit for.
Many business owners would rather pay an expert to finish something quickly than pay someone inexperienced to struggle through it.
They’re buying years of knowledge, not minutes on a clock.
This is why I tell VAs to create billable task times for every task they do.
Remember when i talked about my 15 minute tasks earlier? That’s part of what that is.
When you check a client’s inbox, you have to think about that client and why you need to check their email now, you have to set yourself up to check it, you have to log in, you have to check, and you have to handle anything that’s in there (even if there is nothing) and then you have to log out, and track your time. Sometimes there is even communication with the client before, during or after each part of this process.
Even if you only spent 5 minutes actually responding to emails for your client, there is all that other stuff that goes with it that is also billable to them. So … 15 minute minimum.
That’s why the clock is not the best way to account for your experience or for the quality of service that you are providing to your clients.
I used to take 90 minutes to do client newsletters until I built a process that allowed me to get them done in an hour.
Remember we still want to work efficiently for our clients – we don’t want to just ‘take as long as it takes’ every time we do something for them.
We also don’t want to work at a crazy speed to get things done. We want a good work pace, all the time.
So I created a process to help me with the newsletters: the client had to provide their pieces in a certain manner (personal intro, article, call to action, images) and then I would take those and file them where they needed to go for later, put them into their newsletter template, and add their ‘where I am’ info from a spreadsheet and calendar that we worked with.
Most weeks it took me about 50 minutes to do the newsletters. Sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. The client got charged an hour every time we did one.
It made it easy for them to budget when they know how much it costs to get things done.
Many newsletters are a lot simpler now, but that was the way when I was doing them, and it worked very well for me to have a process to keep everyone working efficiently.
Reason #4: Packages Encourage Real Partnerships
Hourly relationships often become transactional.
The client asks. The VA does. Repeat.
Package relationships are different, because you are thinking beyond individual tasks.
You’re looking for efficiency. You’re spotting problems before they happen. You’re making recommendations. You’re becoming part of the business.
Your clients stop asking, “Can you do this?”
Instead they start asking, “What do you think?”
That’s a huge shift, and it’s a really fun one to make.
It means you’ve moved from task-doer to trusted professional – and that’s exactly what you want to strive for, for long-term client relationships.
Some of my longest client relationships weren’t built because I answered emails faster than some other VA might.
They were built because I became someone they could rely on. I was someone who looked ahead. Someone who noticed opportunities. Someone who genuinely cared about their business.
Package pricing naturally encourages that kind of relationship. Long term clients are great, not just because you don’t have to keep finding new clients, but because they also usually provide great referrals!
Reason #5: Consistency Creates Better Results
When clients buy packages, work happens consistently.
Instead of waiting until they’re overwhelmed enough to buy another five hours, things are getting done every week.
Social media is posted. Newsletters go out. Invoices are sent. Customer inquiries are answered. Podcasts get published. Systems stay organized.
That consistency creates momentum.
Business owners love momentum.
I advise VAs to find the business owners who are busy – who need lots of help – because they are the ones that really need you.
You aren’t just waiting for them to send you a document to proofread, they are moving and shaking and they rely on you to be there to help them with all the balls they have in the air.
When work happens consistently, stress goes down and growth becomes much more predictable.
Your package isn’t just buying tasks. It’s buying peace of mind.
Peace of mind is very valuable!
Reason #6: Clients Stop Micromanaging
Second last reason that packages are better for both you and your clients.
Hourly billing often encourages clients to monitor everything.
How long did this take? Could this have been done faster? Why was this two hours instead of one?
Those conversations can become exhausting.
Package pricing changes the focus.
Instead of watching the clock, clients start watching the results.
The conversation becomes, “The work is done.”, not “How long did it take?”
That creates a healthier relationship for everyone.
It really doesn’t matter how long something takes – I mean it’s not the thing to focus on.
The outcome, the result is the thing to focus on. It’s done – properly, well, completely, efficiently.
Your clients will micromanage you when they feel uncertain or uneasy about what you are doing.
How do we help them feel more at ease working with us? Communication.
Tell them when you receive a work request. Tell them when you will complete it for them. Tell them if any snags come up during the work part. Tell them when it’s done.
When you keep them up to date, they worry less and they can free up their own brain power instead of trying to use it to keep you organized.
Reason #7: It Positions You As A Business Owner
This last reason is really about perception.
Freelancers often charge by the hour. Consultants often charge by value. Agencies typically sell packages. Businesses sell solutions.
So why do VAs not create that same perception about themselves?
It often comes down to confidence. As you know, I talk about confidence a lot!
It’ affects so many areas of your business, and this is one of them.
Your perception of you. The value you put on the work you do. The level you place yourself at, in particular to the client.
Picture a ladder. You are on the same rung on the ladder as your client. Not below it.
A lot of VAs I talk to think they are on a lower rung.
In our corporate jobs, the management ladder clearly had others above us, so it’s a natural thought.
But the moment you open your own VA business, you become their equal, not their subordinate.
You may still call yourself their assistant but that just means you assist them with stuff, not that they are above you in any way shape or form.
Remember that!
When you offer thoughtfully designed packages, clients naturally see you differently.
They see someone who has systems. Someone who understands business. Someone who has confidence in the services they provide.
Ironically, charging by the package often makes you appear more established, even if you’re relatively new.
Confidence is contagious.
When you present your pricing confidently, clients become more confident too.
Becoming confident about what you do for your clients, how much it will cost them, and how it all works – that’s what makes your confidence shine.
And your clients will hear it in your voice, in your content, in everything you do.
So you owe it to yourself to get really, really clear on all of that. The difference it will make in your business – and your client’s business – is massive.
There you go – seven great reasons that package pricing is better for you and your clients.
I hope you found that helpful.
But I can already hear you – what if my clients ASK for hourly pricing?
And without going back to what I initially said in this episode, let’s expand on this a little bit more.
I hear this question a lot.
And the answer is that sometimes clients just don’t know another option exists. They’re not trying to negotiate. They’re asking because that’s what they’ve experienced before.
Instead of immediately saying yes, it is your job educate them.
You might say something like, “I actually work on packages because it gives you predictable monthly costs and allows me to focus on delivering results rather than tracking every minute of work I do for you.”
Simple. Professional. And confident.
Most reasonable clients understand that explanation immediately.
And if they don’t? They may not be your ideal client.
Here’s where I get back to what I said off the top – it doesn’t matter what the client wants. What you offer is what you offer. They either buy it or they don’t.
That’s the mindset shift you need to make,
Do You Need Help?
If you think or talk in hours, you will have trouble selling packages.
So get all the thinking and talking about the way before you talk to clients – and you will solve that problem.
Think of it this way: If you solve a problem in fifteen minutes because you’ve spent ten years learning how, what exactly is the client paying for?
Those fifteen minutes? Or those ten years?
The answer is obvious, of course. You are selling your expertise, efficiency, peace of mind. Not minutes. The minutes don’t matter for the outcome.
At the end of the day, package pricing isn’t about charging more. It’s about creating clarity for everyone. Clients just want their problems solved, their work completed, by someone they trust.
If you need help creating your packages, go to YourVAMentor.com/links to see how we can work together. I’d love to help you make this change to your VA business!
That’s all I’ve got for you today – thanks so much for tuning in! I’ll see you next time!