Welcome to another episode of the podcast that teaches you how to be a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
Today I want to talk about what clients really think about when we talk about our rates.
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:
This is our second episode in our four part series about your rates.
Today, I want to talk about what clients really think about your rates, and why so many virtual assistants are worrying about the wrong things when it comes to pricing.
The Story VAs Tell Themselves
Most VAs tell themselves stories – maybe not out loud, but they are there, in the back of their minds. Clients are worried about price. Clients want the cheapest option. If I charge more, they will say no. If they hesitate, that means my rate is too high.
We are always so worried about the client and what they think, and we don’t want to ask them what they think. People tell us not to worry about what they think. It’s this carousel of thoughts, and they aren’t really based in anything real.
These stories feel logical. They feel protective. They feel like they are helping you avoid rejection. But most of the time, they are assumptions, not facts. If this sounds familiar to you, these assumptions are probably shaping how you show up in your conversations about pricing.
What Clients Are Actually Evaluating
When a client hears your rate, they are not immediately deciding if you are “worth it.” Even if you’ve had conversations like that before – remember we always want to be talking about your ideal clients. Not just any client.
So yes some clients are looking for best price, I don’t want you to think I’m telling you any lies here. But the good clients who actually need help and are willing to invest in it think differently.
They are asking themselves do I trust this person? Do they understand my business? Do they sound confident in what they offer? Do I feel relieved knowing this will be handled?
Does this feel like a professional decision?
Notice what is missing from that list. Clients are rarely sitting there doing math in their heads or comparing you to every VA on the internet.
They are responding to how grounded you sound and how clearly you communicate the value of your work.
Why Hesitation Is Not Rejection
So what happens next? When a client pauses, asks a question, or says they need to think about it, a lot of VAs immediately assume the rate is the problem.
So they start filling the silence. Explaining more. Justifying the price. Offering flexibility or discounts.
Have you done this before? I sure have. Many, many times.
But hesitation usually means the client is processing a decision, not rejecting you. It’s important to preserve that silence.
Confident providers allow space. They don’t chase approval or look for the yes. They make sure that they have answered the client’s questions. They remain calm. And that calmness does more to reassure a client than any rambling explanation ever could.
What Clients Feel When You Undervalue Yourself
Here is something that might surprise you – when you undercharge or sound unsure about your rate, it does not make clients feel lucky. Or excited. It actually makes them feel uncertain.
Clients can sense when someone does not fully stand behind their pricing. And that uncertainty can show up by them asking more questions, sounding like they are micromanaging, maybe even scope creep. Definitely a little less trust.
We try to get our clients not to treat us like employees, but if we leave the decisions or control in the pricing conversations to them, that’s the beginning of that type of relationship.
On the other hand, when you state your rate clearly and concisely, kind of matter of fact like, clients will feel like they are dealing with a professional – even if your rate is higher than they expected.
Clients Are Buying Certainty, Not Perfection
Why do clients hire VAs?
They need stuff done, yes. But they often don’t want to manage that stuff. They want us to manage it. They want fewer decisions to make, not more decisions.
They want someone who can take care of their stuff. Take ownership, solve problems, follow through, and communicate status clearly.
Communicating your rate is part of that ownership. It tells your clients how you see your role. How seriously you take your work. And it tells them whether you are operating as a thriving business or just as someone hoping to be chosen or hired.
Confidence Is A Loop
Confidence actually works in kind of a loop. It looks something like this: When you can talk about your rate or money confidently, clients trust you more -> When clients trust you more, conversations feels easier. -> When conversations feel easier, your confidence grows. And you don’t shy away from conversations because they feel easier.
The opposite is also true: When you doubt your rate, clients sense that doubt. -> When clients feel that doubt, they ask more questions. -> When they ask more questions, you doubt yourself even more. -> That’s when the explaining picks up again and you will either bomb your discovery calls or you will shy away from even doing them.
Breaking that loop starts internally, not externally.
I talk to a lot of VAs who want to post their prices on their website and then have people just contact them if they need help.
That’s a great idea, but you have to think about what your kind of business is. You are a support professional – and often it’s just you and the client working together. So you have to be able to communicate with them.
So even if it feels hard, it’s something you need to practice and get good at, if you are going to have a successful VA business.
And I tell you often that it only takes one client to say yes for that confidence to emerge – and that is really true.
I got some really good advice a long time ago from my colleague and coach Diana Lidstone (sidenote: I saw her this summer at an event and she told me it was one of her coaches that gave that advice to her, but I will still credit her because she taught it to me!)
The advice is this: Detach yourself from the outcome of the conversation. Any conversation, actually. Instead of looking for the YES, which can be really stressful, detach yourself from that outcome.
Instead, look to see if you are a good fit. Look to see if you can actually help this person. Look to see if they have the budget to work with you. But don’t look for a result – a YES.
You might not get a yes, especially in your first conversation with someone.
In a networking conversation, don’t try to get a sales conversation or an add to your email list.
In a discovery call, don’t try to get a sale.
When I started doing this – detaching from the outcome and just letting the conversation happen, it was a really incredible shift.
I felt lighter. I didn’t feel like I had to handle objections and get to a yes. I just needed to talk and see if I liked them. If I could help them. If they had a budget that I needed them to have to pay me. And you can talk about all of those things without saying ‘so, what do you think?’
You can still say that of course if the conversation warrants it, but you don’t have to every time.
It’s really liberating, and it made all the difference for me. It was okay to have a conversation that didn’t finish up with a sale. It was okay for me to say, I don’t think I can help you (because you can say that too!). And it just felt better.
A Better Question to Ask Yourself
Instead of asking: Will clients pay this? Try asking: Do I stand behind my rate? Because your clients will trust you when you do.
Pricing is not about convincing someone that they need you or they need to work with you. It’s about agreeing that you can help them with what they need done and inviting them to say yes.
Let’s circle back to today’s quote: “Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.” If your pricing conversations feel heavy, awkward, or stressful, it is not because clients are unreasonable. It is because something inside you does not fully believe in the value you provide yet.
You have to believe in your value before anyone else will. So what do you need to do to believe it?
You need to do the math, you need to write it down and see it. You need to know why you are charging what you are charging and be able to stand behind that.
You can build that. I can help. It’s the only reason I’m here at all is to help you become a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
In the next episode of this mini series, we are going to talk about the hidden cost of undercharging, and why staying at “safe” rates may be costing you far more than you realize.
Do You Need Help?
If pricing has been coming up for you as you listen to this mini series, that’s not an accident.
Most VAs don’t struggle with rates because they’re doing something wrong. They struggle because their pricing no longer matches the level of work they’re actually doing.
If that’s you, check out my Packages Workshop that I’m running in February.
In this workshop, we’re going to focus on turning your services into clear, confident packages that make pricing easier to communicate and easier for clients to say yes to. This is a hands-on workshop with your actual services – not templates.
Together we will create packages that reflect your experience, set clear work scope and boundaries, and help you stop feeling awkward around price discussions.
If you’re ready for your pricing to feel simpler and more aligned, I’d love to support you inside that workshop.
Check out the details and register here: YourVAMentor.com/va-packages. Or send me a DM and we can chat about it.
That’s all I’ve got for you this week, I’ll see you next time!