Managing Quotes

When quoting for a client, don’t just write a reply and give a price in an email, that’s not professional. Prepare a typed quotation and attach it to an email. Include with your quotation your terms and conditions and a client/VA agreement form for signature by the client. Be professional even when giving a client a quotation. Everything you do reflects your professionalism and your company.
More Information:

• Never be afraid to discuss information with your client, suggest things like maybe skype would be great to use for telephone calls and send your client a link to skype so that they can go and look. Look at VOIP or VOX phones, ‘pay as you go’ cell phones they can also be good alternatives if a client requires telephone services or a dedicated line for you to use for their businesses, with these services you can also provide itemized billing if required.
• Before you quote on a job, get as much information from your client. Basic copy typing is not always, most of the time basic copy. It often includes flows, graphics etc. To do anything extra is time consuming.
• When a client says VA tasks, ask them to break it down, be more specific of what tasks they want, this will help you when pricing. Sometimes work can be done on your hourly rate, others the rate per task. You look at each job individually.
• Never offer a service that you can not do or perform, a client will know by the quality of the work you do if you can do a service well or not.

I get the feeling from lots of Vas and Transcriptionists that they are scared their clients will not pay so therefore lower the price, this should not be the case, if you project yourself well to your client and the client has confidence in you, they will pay for the service they are getting. I have never been scared to give a client a price, if I was I would not be in this business.

Owning your own business is a great confidence builder.

If you are concerned that a client will not pay for a service you are doing for them, ask for a deposit up front. I have never done this as I have confidence in my clients that they will pay. But it is a safe guard method to use especially with new clients and for newbies starting out.

Learn about your clients, ask them for a company brochure or company website address and go and check these out. These can be helpful when quoting, it gives you a feel of what the client/company is about.

Follow up on your quotes, ask the client do they require more information etc.

Communication in the beginning stages of working with a new client is very important.

Charging low rates to get the client/job!

Charging low rates to get the client/job

What actually do you achieve by doing this?
1. You can get the job, YES
2. Is it worth your while doing the job at the low rate?, NO

No it is not. With each job you do you need to know that job is worthwhile to do, you need to have proper rates set up and remember you are running a business.
If this is just a game to you and you are doing this just to earn a little extra, it’s still not worth it to you as you are not being paid for your worth, you are seeing money, but what can that money buy for you from that task. What about your skill, experience and time you have spent doing the job, is that worth nothing to you. Going in at the lowest rate is not going to make money for your business, it sure want make profits. You will be running your business at a loss and is that the way to do business, not really, every good business person will tell you there is a need to make money to run your business.

Even if you charge low and take in job after job you are still losing out with your expenses that it takes to do the job. A VA should know with each job they do exactly what is involved. How long the job will take, what costs are involved as no matter what job you do there is a cost to you involved, be it your time, printer ink, electricity etc, there is a cost, these issue have to be looked at with your rates.

Wouldn’t it be better to win a job on your skills, attributes, knowledge, experience than to win because you put in a low bid for that job… Surely you have confidence in yourself to know what your skills are worth… Are they really worth that low rate! Interesting eh…