This is Day 10 in the 31 Days to Become a More Efficient Virtual Assistant Series
Previous post: Email Management Tips
As a business owner, you want to make sure all pertinent information is available on your website to make it easy for prospective clients to know what you have to offer. Two important pieces of information to consider including are your phone number and your rates to make it easier for prospective clients to contact you and to know what your services cost. Not all virtual assistants, however, will want to make their pricing and phone numbers so readily available to the public. If you are in the virtual assistant business and still unsure about whether to include your contact information, here are some pros and cons to help you decide. Let’s start with pricing.
Pros for adding your rates:
- Budget concerns are addressed right away: Most clients have limited budgets to consider as well as time constraints before they make any decision to buy or hire. They want to know if they can afford your rates in advance. They will probably not want to waste their time meeting with you only to find out later that your services are out of their price range. Including your rates on your site can make it easier your prospective clients to decide schedule a time to meet with you.
- Assumptions are minimized: There will be prospective clients who will make the assumption you must be too expensive since your rates are not listed on your website. By publicizing your rates up front, you eliminate false assumptions.
- You attract serious clients: If your asking price is on the higher end, adding your rates on your website will tend to attract higher end clients with larger budgets. When you are a leader in your field and charge higher rates, people who are in need of higher end services will appreciate that you included your rates on your site.
Cons for adding your rates:
- You offer customized service: For some, publicizing rates is simply not feasible. This is particularly true if your service is customized to a clients’s particular needs that require individual quotes.
- The competition will know your rates: You maybe afraid your competitors will know your rates if you add them to your website. The reality is that they probably already know. Nowadays, it is so easy to gather data on competition through online sources such as social networks. People will talk so it’s difficult to keep secrets. (I really hate to consider others in our industry as “competition”. There is more than enough work for everyone and we all have different skill sets and value we bring to our clients.)
- Still unsure of the value of what you are offering: Sad to say, most virtual assistants are still unsure of how to value the services they offer (myself included). It’s a good idea to do plenty of research to get a better idea what the prevailing rates are for similar services before deciding on what to charge. The other part to consider is if your website copy adequately displays your value to prospective clients.)
Pros and Cons For Listing Your Phone Number
The biggest advantage of adding your phone number on your website is easy accessibility to reach out to you. The downside of adding your number is security. I know it’s ironic but the accessibility granted to prospective clients is also available to stalkers, online trolls and potential data thieves. There are also prospective clients who may feel you’re not trustworthy if your phone number is excluded from from your site.
Final Thoughts
There is really no wrong or right strategy. This is one of those scenarios where you do what works for you. You can always experiment with both for a period of time.
Do you have your rates and your contact number on your website? Has it been helpful? Did you generate more leads? Tell me about your experience in the comments below.