Skip Black Friday

Every year on Black Friday, all over social media, I see Virtual Assistants offering specials and discounts for their services. I have never understood why a serious service provider would do this.

As Virtual Assistants, we want our clients to see us as professionals, pay us well, and treat us as trusted partners.

But then the day after American Thanksgiving, many VAs act like Walmart and discount their time and expertise for anyone who will buy!

Maybe they think they’re missing an opportunity to make a bunch of money quickly. Maybe they think that people who are on the fence will jump in and work with them.

But here’s what’s actually happening when Virtual Assistants jump into the Black Friday frenzy:

1. They are acting like a commodity. Instead of creating professional relationships with people looking for a Virtual Assistant, they boil their value down to price as the differentiator, rather than skill and expertise. They are giving the impression that one VA is interchangeable with another. That’s just not true.
    
2. They are announcing to the world that their prices are negotiable. Not everyone will love your prices, but those aren’t “your people.”  So don’t worry about them. To make a good living, you must choose your hourly rate and stick to it. The last thing you want is someone monopolizing your time at $20.00 an hour.
    
3. They are creating a red flag. When a prospective client begins a conversation with me asking how much I charge, experience tells me that they are not a good fit. Usually, they either don’t value what I offer or they can’t afford to pay me. Both scenarios are stressful.

Over the years, the more I raised my hourly rate, the better clients I attracted. Today, my clients are successful business people who appreciate my value. Because I take myself seriously, they take me seriously too. 

So, skip Black Friday and charge what you’re worth. That’s how you’ll earn what you deserve.

If you’re not already a member of our Facebook Group, The Virtual Assistant Connection, and would like to join, here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com