Knowing what to charge and then asking for it is one of the hardest aspects of freelancing. Not only is the subject of pricing unfamiliar to new business owners, but the whole idea of talking about money seems to make most women uncomfortable. But in order to become a successful (i.e. wealthy) VA, you will need to nail your pricing strategy otherwise you will end up with a hobby and not a business.
To help you work out what to charge in order to have a flourishing business (you most certainly did not go freelance to just “get by”) and to make you feel comfortable talking to clients about your rates, I’d like to share an interview I recently held with a pricing specialist.
Pricing strategies from business coach and author Julia Chanteray
Julia Chanteray is a top business coach, ex-President of the Brighton and Hove Chamber of Commerce and author of Sweetspot Pricing; which is probably the best book on pricing I’ve ever read.
Because I know Julia personally and have always been a big admirer of both her attitude and her coaching, I asked if she would consider taking part in a live interview and Q&A session with some VAs.
And incredibly (Julia charges top whack for her services), she said yes!
Watch the interview and discover:
- Why everyone has issues about money but why it’s mainly women who undercharge.
- Why you shouldn’t compare your freelance rate with what you earn in your ‘proper’ job.
- Why you should never listen to your Mother!
- The three different levels of income (survival, reasonable and success) and how to achieve the last one.
- How much money you need to earn in order to be happy.
- The small things you can do to make a big difference to your income.
- Why VAs are in the ideal position to make more money for their clients and why they’re not taking advantage of this.
- Why you’re doing something wrong if every sales meeting ends in a “yes”.
- How to use the “Tesco Test” to determine if you’re undercharging.
Mentioned a few times in the interview, Julia has a book called Sweetspot Pricing which she wrote based on her many years of experience helping business owners set and achieve next-level income goals.
Frankly, what Julia doesn’t know about pricing isn’t worth knowing!
What I love about Julia’s book
- There are a billion ideas in it.
- The strategies aren’t just for freelance businesses but for other business models as well. This means you can pass ideas on to your clients and help them make more money.
- You learn why people buy from us and how to ensure they buy from you.
- It covers how to find out what your clients consider ‘adding value’ so you can ensure you deliver it.
- It’s full of case studies – one is even on a Virtual Assistant!
- There are exercises to complete that show you how to work out your three levels of income and what your rates should be.
- You learn why people might be hesitant to invest in a freelancer and how you can overcome those objectives.
- It also covers tax planning and how to work out what you realistically need to earn to cover all your outgoings and still grow your business.
- Julia shows you how to set measurable income targets instead of just conjuring figures out of thin air.
- It was really easy to read and the ideas were immediately actionable.
Click here to buy a digital copy of Sweetspot Pricing.
However, this post is just the start of developing a healthy mindset with regards to pricing your services and the way you think about money. It’s a continuous journey and you should swot up on as many different pricing strategies and techniques as you can.
You may feel a little uncomfortable charging more money but you probably found networking and many other aspects of running a business difficult at first too. But that was only because they were new and unfamiliar.
You soon got used to them – and it’s exactly the same with pricing.
Homework
- Grab a coffee/tea/gin and watch the video.
- Consider investing in Julia’s book. It will not only give you a plethora of ideas that will improve your own income, but you can also pass on what you’ve read to your clients and help them achieve their income goals as well. This means they’ll love you AND have more money to reinvest in you!
- Implement at least one of the actions outlined by Julia at the end of the video and in her book.
- Please read my blog post on how to set your rates, and please do not charge less than £27 an hour £30 is now the industry standard here in the UK, and if you charge less, you’ll soon be out of business.
- Read my post on how to raise your hourly rate. I even provide a customisable email template you can send your clients!
- Decide what sort of income level you want to achieve, set some targets and go make some money, doll!
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Wanna make more money?Money isn’t a dirty word and you’re not ‘being greedy’ by wanting to earn more of it. I see so many VAs undercharging for their services but there are actually loads of things you can do to earn more money – without working more hours! |
Really helpful and full of little nuggets.
Thank you
Very informative! Thank you, ladies.
That was really informative and helpful. It has given me the confidence to make sure I don’t undersell myself.
Thank you Julia and Jo, this was incredibly helpful. I am a new VA living quite a way from London and wondering how to price my business, this had some great tips and given me the confidence to charge quite a bit more than I was previously and to get rid of the ‘i’ll charge less for a year because I am new’ thoughts.