Video Transcription:
Hello Wanderlusters!
This is a little live about trusting your instincts and really having confidence in your place of authority as a virtual assistant.
I had a Laptop Freedom Babe go back and forth with a potential client who was just kind of vague on what they wanted. Then they were just hoping that the virtual assistant would just send the packages and let her know the price right away for really vague projects.
It was like “Hey, how many hours is it going to take for you to run my social media account?” and then the Laptop Freedom Babe came back to me and she’s like “I’m trying to get this client on a phone call or a Zoom call, so we can discuss and hash out more, but they’re really just pressuring me to send my prices and send a proposal, and I don’t I don’t know what to do.”
So I really want to speak into is trust your instincts that you need more information from them.
You need to know:
- What kind of social media assistant do they need?
- How many posts?
- How long are the posts?
- Are you doing the content research?
- Are you finding the images or are they doing that?
- Are you repurposing pre-made content
- How long are you supporting them for
- How many platforms?
There’s all these questions that you need to know in order to give a proper package and set up a good proposal to support them. You have to remember that a lot of these clients are solopreneurs – they are business owners on their own – and doing everything on their own. You’re their first hire, so this might be a first-time process for them. This is really your opportunity as a virtual assistant, owning your own business, stepping into your power, and having your confidence to really help them along the way with the process.
I always encourage everyone to get on a call with a potential client so that you can connect face-to-face, you have their focus, there is that designated time where you are discussing potential projects, and you can discuss packages – all the important details when you are kicking off a relationship with a client – so always get on the call! Then if they have any kind of resistance, and they’re like “Look, I just need to know if you can run my social media and how much is that going to cost,” trust your instinct that you need more information. Don’t think to yourself, “I’m only starting out so does a normal VA normally know all the answers to these questions?” Every client is different. Every relationship is different. All the work that VAs do varies from client to client, so
trust that you need more information.
Email the client back and say,
“Hey, it’s really important that we get on a call so that we can really hash out how I can best support you. We can discuss and plan out a clearer project plan for how I can handle your social media. Then from there, we can talk packages, and I can give you a good estimate to kick-start our relationship on a strong foundation.”
I really just want to speak into trusting that you need more information. It’s not because you are new at being a virtual assistant. You are coming from a place of authority. This is your opportunity as well to help the clients with their first hire. Remember this could be their first time with a virtual assistant. It’s definitely their first time with you and how you can best support them.
So…
Hop back in.
Respond to that email. Trust that you need to know it. This is not a reflection of you being new to Virtual Assisting. There’s not some kind of magical VA out there who can read minds and can tell what kind of details you need in a project, so make sure you get these clients on the call. Set up a zoom call, schedule it, and really hash out what they need from you, a really clear plan, so that you set your relationship up with a strong foundation. Then from there you both feel really good about the package that you agree on, how many hours, and the type of communication you’re going to do. Really setting up your relationship, getting those boundaries set, and again, I can say it over and over again, trust your instincts. If you think you need more information, you probably do.