I see it all the time. It’s all too common. And it’s sad, really.
But it’s time to call a ‘spade’ a ‘spade.’
Yes, I’m talking about ‘wimpy’ websites. There, I said it.
Are you ready to acknowledge that you may be having a hard time getting clients these days because your website is—dare I say it—‘WIMPY?’
If your website is your main source for getting clients for your Virtual Assistant business, then clearly you can’t allow your website to ‘wimp’ out on you, now can you?
Are you offended at the insinuation you may have a ‘wimpy’ website?
Let’s examine what elements may be missing (or SHOULD be missing) from your site…
First—and I think most important for any Virtual Assistant business—are you sharing your rates on your website?
Don’t. Remove your prices immediately!
I would venture to guess this is THE #1 reason people are clicking away.
Sure…you think it’s only fair in letting people know what you charge. I mean why keep it a secret, right?
Besides, showing your rates will help to eliminate those who can’t afford you, right?
Or maybe your thinking is that if you show off how ‘reasonable’ your rates are, people will be lining up around the block to work with you.
All quite logical, I agree.
BUT when it comes to showing prices on your website I say, Heck no! And here’s why…
People make assumptions.
IF your rates are what people consider ‘too low,’ an assumption they may make is, “This VA must not be very good, OR this VA must be just starting out. Nah, I’m just not willing to ‘risk’ putting my business needs in the hands of someone who charges so little.”
Now, before you tell me about the offshore Virtual Assistants charging just a couple bucks an hour, do not think of them for one second as competition.
There’s a need for offshore VAs and there is an even stronger need for executive-level, super-awesome, highly-paid VAs—like YOU!
Better yet, there’s a need for you to add some offshore VAs to your team so you can free up your time and make even MORE money!
But that’s a topic for another blog post (stay tuned)!
I digress.
What do you think it says to a prospect when your rates seem TOO HIGH?
In my experience, rates can easily be ‘taken out of context.’ They may be thinking, “Of all the NERVE! Does this Virtual Assistant actually believe anyone in their right mind would pay THOSE rates?”
You can hear the click of the mouse when they click right off your site in two seconds FLAT!
Let’s face it, the FIRST thing people want to know ARE your rates. So, if your rates are posted on your website—trust me—that section will be the FIRST thing they read. And that will be the page they click ‘off’ from!
At this point in the sales conversion process, it doesn’t matter how many testimonials you have, or how amazing your skills are. For them, it comes down to price. And they will seek out your rates, no doubt. They will click and click, page by page.
But if your rates aren’t there…
Then having invested so much time on your website, they’ll want to know your rates even more and they’ll be more determined to get them.
And that’s what you want. Yes, it is!
You WANT to let them find out how awesome you are.
(If your website is clear on the transformation you provide, then you already have this handled.)
You WANT them to ‘hope and pray’ they can ‘afford’ to work with you.
(Doing it the way I’m sharing will have your potential client feel like they can’t afford NOT to work with you!)
You WANT them to be excitedly anticipating speaking with you before knowing what you charge.
(I’ll share how your website can do this FOR you in a bit and how the experience is one your potential clients will appreciate).
In my opinion—from my own personal experience—your Testimonials and your amazing skills may be all they have to go on until they are fortunate enough to be able to speak with you.
And that’s how it SHOULD be.
This was my experience which changed everything I thought about posting prices on my website…
Back in 2010, I hired an SEO expert to increase my Search Engine Optimization. (That’s a fancy way of saying I wanted to have more people visit my website.)
I paid a couple of hundred dollars a month for the term of a six-month contract with this expert.
And it worked. Boy, did it work! (That expert knew what he was doing.)
My website traffic started to feel like a faucet that never stopped running, and I couldn’t find the ‘shut-off’ valve.
I should mention this was during a period where I was not posting my rates on my website, so people who visited my site surely wanted to speak with me (just as I wanted them to).
My call to action was very basic. Something to the effect of, “To discuss pricing and packaging options, click here to schedule a call with me.” (I use an automatic scheduling system).
Well, let me tell you… my calendar was JAM-PACKED, day after day, week after week! Every time slot I offered was snatched up so fast that I had to open more slots on my calendar just to accommodate all these consult calls!
Now normally, you would assume this was a great thing, right? I mean people wanted to speak to me and probably even wanted to work with me.
And it was obvious my website was doing its job, so that’s positive, right?
WRONG!
Here’s what I learned in the first three months of my six-month SEO expert contract…
My calendar and schedule left me with no time for the clients I was already working with;
AND…
The people who were scheduling consult calls with me ‘loved‘ me, loved the services I offered, and most importantly, they loved the potential of having my help to take their business to the next level of success;
BUT…
The vast majority of people simply could not afford my rates!
So, I spent weeks and months with a positive feeling that I had people lining up to consult with me…
Only to find out during my lengthy follow-up process with these prospects that I was doing nothing but spinning my wheels and wasting tons of time!
But I turned all of this around
—by making one simple tweak!
Keep reading to find out the small change I implemented which made a HUGE impact on my Virtual Assistant business.
As I stated earlier—people make assumptions. If you don’t provide them the opportunity to assume the WRONG thing, they can’t. It’s as simple as that.
My advice? Take your prices OFF your website. It’s a no-win situation.
It’s your website’s job to get them to a place where once they are ‘fortunate enough’ to get to speak with you… your rates will be of little (or no) consequence whatsoever.
Now, let’s talk about how you can fix your ‘wimpy’ website and ‘intrigue’ prospects into wanting to speak with you AFTER you’ve piqued their curiosity.
Hint: It’s not about your RATES. It’s about the SOLUTIONS you provide.
Now…in order to demonstrate your ‘grasp’ on the solutions you provide…
First, you need a blog on your website. A blog is your platform (your stage, if you will) for highlighting the problems you KNOW your ideal client is facing.
Next, you need to demonstrate that YOU have the specific solutions which will get them where they want to be.
Third, you need to have a clear ‘call to action’ throughout your website. Every blog article should take your prospects by the hand and direct them in the next step toward working with you.
(My experience confirms that getting prospects to become clients IS a ‘dance’ —taken in steps).
Now, here’s that one simple tweak I made which now has prospects not only curious about my rates—but has them ready to work with me before I even speak with them!
Your ‘call to action’ is to ask them to fill out a questionnaire.
Yup, told you. Simple Dimple.
(I call my questionnaire a ‘Needs Assessment’ form).
Make sure your questionnaire highlights the specific challenges they are likely dealing with in their business. It’s not hard to define what these are. Just think about all the reasons why people would hire a Virtual Assistant. Notice I said ‘reasons’—NOT services.
Reasons = what keeps them up at night?
You want the experience of filling out your questionnaire to be, “If this Virtual Assistant can help me resolve this, that, and the other thing, I am more than ready to hire this VA.” If your questionnaire / Needs Assessment gets them feeling excited to speak with you, then your consultation will be a breeze—and best of all, they will see your rates are justified and a worthwhile investment.
People (your potential clients) want transformation. They simply want to move beyond whatever is holding them back from progressing. Point out what’s holding them back and demonstrate during your consult how you will bring valuable ideas and implement effective solutions to get them from where they are now to where they want to go and…
You’ve GOT ‘em!
I KNOW that when you implement this tweak and then lead them to the next ‘dance step’ of scheduling a call with you…
You will attract exactly the right people who need exactly what you provide, AND these people will ‘magically’ have the money to pay you whatever you charge.
Let’s face it. A ‘wimpy’ website attracts ‘wimpy’ clients; clients who can’t afford you, clients who won’t stay working with you long-term, and clients who will suck up every second of your time—and your patience.
I’d like to help you to ‘un-wimp’ your website. 😊
I am going to show you exactly WHY you’re not getting the results you should be getting AND how to fix all of this FAST.
I want to help you with the ‘ins and outs’ of using your website to effectively direct visitors toward consulting–and working–with you!
During your one-to-one 60-minute private coaching call, I’m going to show you:
- What elements may be missing (or SHOULD be missing) from your site;
- How to discuss your rates on your website (without giving prices);
- How to identify whether your website visitors (prospects) are a ‘good fit’ for your business;
- How to lead prospects to get on your schedule for a consultation; and
- What simple tweak I made which now has prospects ready to work with me before I even speak with them;
Are you ready to attract the RIGHT leads who truly NEED your help and who will ‘show’ up ready to pay you to work with them?
YES. I AM READY TO ATTRACT MORE IDEAL CLIENTS!
How much is it costing you to stay where you are; NOT making the income you deserve, NOT helping the people who need your help, and NOT building the Virtual Assistant business you KNOW you can have?
Don’t wait! A year from now you’ll wish you would have jumped on this amazing opportunity!