In your virtual assistance business, do you find yourself quoting a rate and then wishing you hadn’t said that? Maybe thinking something was ‘easy’ at first but realizing you should have charged more and now being in a spot where you don’t know how to ask for what you deserve?

I’ve been there too.

Now, I’ve developed a system that helps me to continue to earn what I deserve and to deal with existing clients rates too. I wanted to share my system with all of you in case you are feeling slightly boxed in when it comes to your rate.

The first thing to remember is that you are a business owner and you decide your rates. You are not an employee asking for a raise and you certainly don’t have to set your rates according to what other people think you are worth.

The second thing to note is that you can increase your rates once you gain new experience. The best way to do this is to charge your new clients a higher rate and keep your old clients at their issued rate for at least six months to a year. When that time comes that you feel comfortable making a rate change, e-mail the client at least 30 days in advance and tell them about the rate increase and explain why you are increasing your rates.

The third thing is to feel confident about your new rate. It’s easy to feel insecure about charging a higher rate but if you don’t, other people will and you’ll be the virtual assistant doing the same work for lesser pay! So, be proud of the fact that you’ve reached a stage in your business where a rate change makes sense and honor that. Stay proud, confident and know why you are worth it.

__________________
Sincerely,

Erin Blaskie of Business Services, ETC

I was actually thinking about this yesterday in one of my marathon business planning thought sessions (they can zone me out for hours at a time I swear). I currently work for an organization supplying parts in the automotive industry, because my VA business isn't fully up and running yet. So, in my day job, I struggle with this issue of locked-in contract rates all of the time. The best way to avoid this is to always set your expectations in the quote. For my VA business, I plan to follow your approach - almost precisely (raise rates for new customers, hold prices for old customers) but any new quotes or contracts, I will have a disclaimer that the quote is valid for 1 year only and pricing will be reviewed annually at minimum.

Great post Erin
It took me a good year to get comfortable with a rate increase system that works well for me and to just stop cringing every time I did raise fees.
It's an ongoing struggle for me - but we also employ the 'leapfrog' approach where we bring in new clients at a higher rate.

__________________

Originally Posted by Tess

We also employ the 'leapfrog' approach where we bring in new clients at a higher rate.

Tess - have you run into clients saying, "I know you charge so-and-so $X" when you quote new clients a higher rate? I'm wondering if you've run into that...You have to admit it is part of being a "raving fan" - "Some one did that for me, a great job actually, and she only charged me $X!" Then, you turn around and quote the new client a higher rate.

I'm not saying you shouldn't do it, I'm asking how you handle it when the person referred by so-and-so comes back with, "But you only charged so-and-so $X!"

Sundi

Originally Posted by Sundi

Tess - have you run into clients saying, "I know you charge so-and-so $X" when you quote new clients a higher rate? I'm wondering if you've run into that...You have to admit it is part of being a "raving fan" - "Some one did that for me, a great job actually, and she only charged me $X!" Then, you turn around and quote the new client a higher rate. I'm not saying you shouldn't do it, I'm asking how you handle it when the person referred by so-and-so comes back with, "But you only charged so-and-so $X!" Sundi

The way to get around this is to say to each and every client that this rate is confidential and is for the services that we have agreed upon. This has worked for me and I continue to use it.

Gina Murray
mgmvirtualoffice

I think you just have to be honest - I'm new as a VA but I work in sales/marketing in my day job. Customers can be nasty with prices trying to haggle you to nothing. You just have to be firm in your pricing policies and don't be afraid to state that you reserve the right to review your rates to account for market changes. Once you start bending on pricing, customers are known to bend you til you break.

All the above are great questions. I currently find myself in the same corner. I often travel to clients and used to absorb Parking and Gas expenses. However, with everything go up so high, I am about to put an email out that says for Home Office requests that it is necessary for me to bill back travel expenses. My only issue is how do I figure out how to charge back gas. I mean an hour or so in traffic etc., how do I put a dollar amount to that?

My original thought was to just charge a flat fee that would equate to my hourly rate that will cover all expenses. What do you guys think?

By the way, any rate that I offer is good for only 6 months...3 months if I am giving a real deal and like Tess it is part of my agreement that my rates are confidential and should not be shared with anyone else.

__________________
Andrea Davis-Powell
Just Ask Me...I Can Do It!
www.davis-powellassociates.com

In my contract it states I'll charge back local travel expense at the government mileage rate. I don't actually list the rate but the link to which a person can look it up. When it changes, I plan to adjust accordingly on my bills. (By the way that is US...)

As far as the parking I think it would fall under this verbiage in my contract...The Consultant shall be entitled to reimbursement for the following out-of-pocket expenses and all other reasonable business costs. (Copies of all receipts will be provided to the Client.)

Make it a great day!

Sundi

Great post! I've just started, and was nervous with my initial rate (it was higher than I originally planned -- thanks to a great worksheet I found here!), but my newest client didn't flinch when I quoted it, so I'm excited. I do plan to do an increase yearly. I think that is a good habit to get into from the beginning and one that clients in the business world would respect. Thanks again!

Hi Sundi, I just ran across your reply/question - I haven't actually had that happen but we were always careful to raise our rates incrementally, even for new clients - until very recently when we made quite a large jump (for a number of reasons) and now when clients offer referrals I usually do say something up front to let the existing client know we are charging more - they're all very respectful (and appreciative) of the rates we charge exsiting clients, and don't seem to pass that info (their current rate) along.

__________________