Lately there has been a lot of talk, both in the professional organization I belong to, and among entrepreneurs looking to hire their first (or second, or third) virtual assistant, about overseas companies who tout VAs for only $3 an hour. My colleagues are expressing true concern about staying competitive and marketing themselves in light of such bargain basement rates.

Allow me to address their concerns with some (admittedly sarcastic) comments and questions of my own.

“Why would anyone pay $45 an hour for my service when they could get it for so much less?”

Why would you pay for a pricey filet mignon dinner when you could have a hotdog for a fraction of the price? Same thing, right? I mean you get full, both meals are beef … ish. (They say hotdogs are beef, but really, who knows?) A meal’s a meal. Riiiight?

And for the restaurant serving that pricey filet mignon: why would you spend all that time selecting the proper cut of steak and seasoning it and charring it just right and plating it in that fancy way when you could just drop a log of meat in some boiling water? Hmmmm?

Are you picking up what I’m putting down?

“But, they all have MBAs!”

Sure, that’s what their advertising says. So what? Have you checked your junk folder lately? If I wanted, I could have fifteen masters degrees by next week (and a year’s supply of Viagra). Ask where these degrees come from – I guarantee it’s not Cornell.

“How can I possibly compete with rates like those?”

If you think that the $3 VA is your competition, I strongly encourage you to:
1. Gather your marketing materials.
2. Set them aflame.
3. Start over.

Seriously, stop marketing your business on price. You don’t want to be the “best deal.” You want to offer the “best value.” When you are producing results for your clients, cost is not their concern; quality is. (Okay, they care about money, but they aren’t focused on that point alone). You don’t want to be a bargain. You want to provide excellent work at a mutually beneficial rate for you and your clients. Right? Right.

When your clients give you referrals do you want them saying, “She’s so cheap!”
Or would you rather they say something like, “She’s efficient, organized and returns amazing results!” And, “She took my project, finished it on time, on budget and gave me marketing ideas that turned a profit in record time!”

Listen. Overseas VA superstores are not your real competition. There will always be someone who is cheaper than you. Don’t let that be your focus. Charge what you know you are worth. Set your rates at a competitive level and provide room for growth for you and your company. Then, let it lie.

When it comes to marketing your company, promote yourself based on merit and quality of work. Prove to your clients that you DO get what you pay for. If someone can’t afford you, be okay with that. Besides, do you really want to work with clients who are satisfied with $.99 store work? Wouldn’t you rather have clients who understand and appreciate what you and your team bring to every project that comes across your desks? Exactly. Leave your time and talent free for clients who are looking for the results you’re providing.

I promise, they’re out there.

How many of you sit and procrastinate and procrastinate and procrastinate and … you get what I mean. Or think that you can’t get things done because you don’t move forward with a purpose? Why waste time checking emails if you are just going to leave them in your inbox to check again later? Take action people!

Not sure how to get started? Here are some tips:

Clear The Clutter
Seriously, how long has it been since you’ve seen the surface of your desk? How do you expect to get anything accomplished when it takes five minutes to find a pen? Clean up your mess and find your focus! Your workspace should be just that – a space for work. It’s not a dumping ground and, as cute as your Kid Robot figurines are, it is not a museum. Life provides plenty of distractions; you don’t need your desk to be another one.

Tackle It or Toss It
Each time you go to your email inbox, decide that you are not going to leave it until you have addressed every message. Yes, EVERY message. Thanks to subject lines, spam is easily detected with a quick scan of your inbox. Scroll through your messages, highlight the spam, hit delete. Boom – anywhere from a quarter to two-thirds of your messages … gone.

Then there are messages with subject lines like “25% off entire site!” that come from your favorite online stores. Do you really need temptation like this in your work inbox? No. You don’t. Take a little extra time and find the unsubscribe link in the message, or create a rule to send it to another folder to read it later. Most legit companies offer easy access to account settings and you can remove yourself from their mailing lists in a number of mouse clicks.

Once you’re down to your “real” emails, open each of them purposefully. Then complete the action, or file it. It’s that simple.

Organize And Prioritize
Speaking of filing … you absolutely must (You must!) have a system for organizing your information. A file full of photos named img009, img010, img011, img012, ad infinitum, is not helpful to anyone. However, if you have a photo named, “Jim Smith Headshot” in the Jim Smith Photos sub-file that is found in the Jim Smith client folder … well, do I have to say more? Having a clear filing system – and ADHERING TO IT – is imperative. Workers all over the world who don’t take the extra sixteen seconds to accurately title and file their work documents waste countless hours searching for information that should be at their fingertips. Don’t let it happen to you.

Once you’re well organized and ready to work … where do you start? Well, that depends. It depends on deadlines, the complexity of the assignment, the agreements you’ve made with your clients. Take a look at the entire scope of what’s ahead of you, make a priority list and follow it methodically. Of course, you may have to make adjustments from time to time, but knowing what you have to do and when you have to do it, lessens your stress and ups your productivity. Who doesn’t love that?

It’s true there isn’t enough time in the day to get EVERYTHING done (Ahem, that’s why Virtual Assistants exist, ahem.), but there are ways to be more productive in each task you attack.

Go get ‘em, tiger!