Hi everyone,

I have a client for whom I am making warm lead sales calls to nudge leads to a closed sale. The work involves a bit of internet research familiarizing myself with the lead's website/business and follow-up emails. I have about 60 leads to chase down and will likely spend about 2-1/2 days in total on the project, including phone and email contact with the client. The client has indicated that all the related time is billable and is expecting to pay hourly.

My question to you all: what is a fair rate for this kind of work? Do I charge my normal billable rate or discount it? What would you charge per hour for this kind of work.

thanks in advance for the help

Daniela

__________________
Your Administrative Asset,
Daniela Chase

Daniela,

We don't really discuss rates here on VAF.

I would charge your normal rate. I don't see why you would charge any differently.

If I am missing something here please let me know.

Janine

__________________
WRITE FAB RFP PROPOSALS & land THE VA job. WinningRFP unveils soon! SignUp www.WinningRFP.com

Thanks, Janine, and no, you're not missing anything. I'm still a newbie and am uncertain in the area of pricing policies. (I'll check out that topic when I've posted this.)

Without getting into specific dollars and cents, I want to know whether the general practice is to go with an established hourly rate, or to have a variable pricing structure that depends on the complexity of the task. It makes sense to charge based on time - other professionals do! - but I guess I'm still working on building the confidence to justify my rate. I've done a lot of "free" work over the years, helping people and causes just because I can, so I think I undervalue my skill set just a bit.

I've done my costing a pricing exercises, and have an hourly rate, but wondered about discounting it initially, say for the first 10 hours with a new client, so they have a chance to satisfy themselves that my time and quality of service is worth it to them. Then, if they're happy and want to continue, the discount goes away and we continue at my established rate. Does that sound reasonable?

Thanks for your input!

Daniela

ps Sorry for the faux pas! I didn't mean to breach protocol.

__________________
Your Administrative Asset,
Daniela Chase

Hi Daniela,
I would charge your normal rate. I too, in the beginning, gave some people discounted rates and wish I hadn't. You and your client know you are providing them with a valuable service and you should get paid what your worth...always!

Another thing to consider is hopefully, this client will refer you to another and you don't want client "A" telling client "B" that you will work for a lesser rate.

You make some good points. I appreciate the feedback.

__________________
Your Administrative Asset,
Daniela Chase

charge your standard rate, no discounts. I too use to offer discounted rates, but I've changed and instead offer bonuses to my services to build value rather than a discount. This type of work is unpredictable to it's best to charge on an hourly basis.

Now, you could always say to the client that you believe it will take x amount of hours, but depending how things it might take longer and add that once you get close to the predicted amount of hours you'll touch base with the client to see if they want you to continue. This gives the client a sense of how much it's going to cost and also show that you're being conscientious of their time and money.

__________________
Renee Shupe, Become a Techie Virtual Assistant
eMail Marketing & Aweber Training Starts May 15! - Save 50% using VAFAweber

Good advice. Thanks, Renee.

Can you give me an example of a value-added bonus?

much appreciated,
Daniela

__________________
Your Administrative Asset,
Daniela Chase

I don't do sales types calls so it's hard for me to provide a direct example, but for me I do a lot of wordpress customization and I have different packages for doing a wordpress install and so what I might do is offer add in a few extra plugins or create a customized header for them which will be included in the price.

I always make sure that the service or bonus I'm adding won't be too time consuming, but will provide the perceived value for the client.

Always make sure that you let them know that....such and such service normally costs - $$$$, but I'll throw that in for you as well.

What I often do is include the rate on my invoice, but show it with a 100% discount so the client will see the value they are receiving.

Hope that helps some...

__________________
Renee Shupe, Become a Techie Virtual Assistant
eMail Marketing & Aweber Training Starts May 15! - Save 50% using VAFAweber

Thanks, Renee. That`s a really helpful illustration.

__________________
Your Administrative Asset,
Daniela Chase

Nicely stated, Renee...great explanation about adding a perceived added bonus.

Janine

__________________
WRITE FAB RFP PROPOSALS & land THE VA job. WinningRFP unveils soon! SignUp www.WinningRFP.com