Hi Everyone!
Has anyone had the exerperience that when speaking to a potential client and when you tell them how you can help grow their business etc., the next question they immediately ask is your rate? Then for some reason, after you tell them everything that you can do, they take that, along with your rate and in their head it, one week's cost equals about $300,000!!
I try not to talk rate so quickly in the beginning because I don't want the conversation to be about me, I want it to be about them......so what does this all mean?
I started to come up with some ideas on how to redirect the inevitable expense minded people to being investment minded people. I am creating a document called "Projects and Tasks Your VA Can Do In One Hour Or Less!" The reason for this is that I have found when I start discussing projects that I have done that have taken an hour or less (when they ask about an hourly rate etc.), all of a sudden, the rate (expense) doesn't become the issue and they start to see my services as an investment. (I also tell them that real times may vary even if the projects are similar etc. and that even though most of these types of one hour or less type tasks are routine and basic in nature, the time should be used as a guideline only.)
For example, when I tell a client that yes, I can appointment set about 20 - 25 people in one hour, or that I set up an ezine, all of a sudden, eyebrows raise because to them, being on the phone or trying to learn an ezine program could take hours because of all their daily distractions!
Here is what I came up with, based on my input and two other VAs that I work with.
1. Warm call 25-30 prospects.
2. Phone a minimum of 25 clients for a specific project.
3. Mail merge 50-100 letters including stuffing and mailing.
4. Create a viable prospect list of 25-30 contacts.
5. Create an Email campaign.
6. Data Entry of a minimum of 75 contacts in an Excel spreadsheet.
7. Create correspondence for a client or prospect.
8. Edit and proof a minimum of a five page report.
9. Follow up on a minimum of 25 pending requirements. (financial services)
10. Create a PowerPoint presentation.
11. Setup the process for an ezine or newsletter.
12. Balance a monthly bank statement.
13. Research travel, hotel and meeting facilities.
14. Conduct a training seminar for a specific software program or service.
15. Update web site content.
16. Article and press release submissions.
17. Update and manage your calendar.
18. Transcribe a half hour of audio.
19. Research for a specific project.
20. Type handwritten notes from a seminar.
I'm interested in what others think? Good idea? Bad idea? Different approach?
What Can A Virtual Assistant Do In One Hour?
Lily Chambers, The Virtual Office Goddess, LLC
What a great idea! I think I'll add my own list to my blog.
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