March 4, 2025 • 23 mins
Struggling to set your Online Business Management (OBM) rates with confidence? You’re not alone. Pricing can feel intimidating, but it’s one of the biggest factors that determines the quality of clients you attract, the income you generate, and the way your expertise is valued.
In this episode of The OBM Show, I’m breaking down exactly how to price your Online Business Management services without second-guessing yourself. From shifting your mindset around pricing to creating premium packages and handling objections like a pro, this episode will give you the confidence to stop undercharging and start owning your worth.
What you’ll learn in this episode:
- Why pricing feels so challenging (and how to shift your mindset)
- The biggest mistakes OBMs make when setting their rates
- How to package your services for premium pricing (no more hourly rates!)
- The scripts you need to communicate pricing clearly and confidently
- How OBM Week can help you take your pricing strategy to the next level
Thanks for tuning in to The OBM Show — your go-to podcast for Online Business Managers and entrepreneurs who want to scale strategically and sustainably.
If this episode resonated with you, be sure to follow the show and leave a review. It helps more aspiring and established Online Business Managers find this content and grow their businesses with confidence.
✨ Ready to take the next step?
Grab your free OBM Starter Kit → obmschool.com/starter
Explore more tools and trainings → obmschool.com/resources
Learn about becoming a CPD-certified Accredited Online Business Manager → obmaccreditation.com
📺 Prefer to watch?
Subscribe to our Youtube Channel and hit the bell icon to get notified when we drop a new video → youtube.com/@SarahNokedOBM
Until next time—keep building the business behind the business.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Hey there, OBM besties.
Welcome back to the OBM show.
And today we are talking about atopic that is something that we
all face, we all think about allthe time, and that is pricing
your services.
And I don't care if you're justgetting started or you are years
into it.
This is something that we alwayskind of grapple with.
(00:22):
We think of different things,different kind of schemes.
And in this episode, we arebreaking it Thank you so much.
(00:49):
once or twice a year and it is areally, really great opportunity
for you to show up live foryourself and work on your
business.
So you can learn more over atobmschool.com forward slash obm
dash week.
Welcome to the OBM show, thepodcast that pulls back the
curtain on what it really takesto thrive as an online business
(01:11):
manager and help businessesscale without burning out.
I'm your host, Sarah Noked,agency owner, OBM mentor and
founder of OBM School.
I've been working in the backend of online businesses since
2009, building systems, managingremote teams and mentoring OBMs
who make businesses run likeclockwork.
(01:33):
Now, I've seen what works, whatdoesn't, and the messy middle
that no one talks about.
Here, we get real about thetools, strategies, and stories
that drive sustainable success,plus the tech mishaps, growing
pains, and lessons learned alongthe way.
If you're ready to stop spinningyour wheels, step into your
(01:55):
leadership role, and see whatactually happens behind the
scenes of thriving businesses,you're in the right place.
Let's get started.
Let's get started.
So let's start by really divinginto this idea of why pricing is
so challenging for us, right?
And oftentimes it really comesdown to a few basic things
(02:17):
around fear and mindset, right?
Fear of pricing yourself, maybeout of opportunities, the fear
of being judged by potentialclients or, you know, hearing a
no.
And of course, this fear Loomingimposter syndrome, sneaking in
with thoughts like, who am I tobe charging this month?
(02:38):
So I have definitely been inthese shoes.
And when I first started out asan OBM, naturally, I
undercharged.
I undercharged because I was sofocused on landing clients.
And I really thought that if myrates were low, I would get more
clients.
But here's what I ultimatelylearned is that underpricing
(03:00):
doesn't just hurt your income.
It really affects how clientsperceive your value.
And this is something that tookme many years to understand.
And it wasn't really fullyunderstood until I believe that
I started to really scale my ownbusiness and start to bring on
team.
And I recognized what it meansto be an entrepreneur who
(03:24):
doesn't have any As onlinebusiness managers, I don't think
that from the get-go as businessowners, we necessarily get that
concept.
So I really want you to rememberthat when you underprice, it
(03:47):
impacts how clients perceiveyour value because as OBMs, we
provide a premium value.
We're not just getting thingsdone.
I mean, we are getting a lotdone, but we are more than that,
the strategic partner who helpsbusinesses scale.
and achieve massive results.
(04:09):
And when we give our clientsback time, that is the only
commodity you can't get more of,ultimately, you will have a
happy client who is able to thentake that time and use it places
to scale, make more money, havea better work-life balance, and
that is the value that weprovide.
(04:30):
So I want you to really thinkabout, and if this is resonating
with you and you were like,yeah, Sarah, I get it, but it's
still feeling like it's notlanding, I want you to just
trust me on this.
And I want you to really, intoday's session on the podcast,
I want you to really help yousee pricing as an opportunity to
showcase your value and attractthe clients that you really want
(04:53):
to work with.
And yes, I know, when you'rejust getting started, you're
really, really...
want to get those clients andyou may feel like you're coming
from a place of scarcity and youjust need to land the client but
as somebody who has trainedonline business managers for
almost a decade and somebody whohas run an agency it's you're
(05:15):
better off taking it slow andbuilding a retainer of and
building just um suite ofclients on retention that are
the right clients for you,rather than kind of taking on
everybody and then having tosort of weed out the clients
(05:35):
that really don't need thispremium kind of service.
And that's what I find a lotwhen we are making the shift
from VA to OBM.
And that's totally fine.
Last week on the podcast, wewere talking about making the
transition.
So you can definitely check thatout.
if you are in the position oftransitioning from virtual
(05:56):
assistant to online businessmanager.
Now back to this mindset,because it really all does come
down to mindset.
And before I dive into anystrategies or numbers, I want to
really talk about how pricingisn't just math.
It really is about confidence.
And I talk a lot aboutconfidence.
(06:17):
I do believe that confidencecomes from doing.
So you might feel like whenyou're getting started, you have
a lot stacked up against you.
And we're going to talk aboutsome strategies in just a
moment.
So stick with me.
But I want to really just divefirst into these mindsets, these
powerful mindsets.
So again, you're sellingoutcomes, not hours.
(06:40):
I really, I got like a dog witha bone on this one.
But I am Truly, guys, you got tobelieve me on this one.
You're not just completing tasksas an online business manager.
We know that.
You are creating outcomes thattransform businesses.
And when you think aboutpricing, you can't focus on the
hours.
(07:00):
It's really about the resultsthat you're delivering, right?
So, for example, we had a clientinside of our agency recently
who was barely keeping her teamafloat to launch her business.
products and There was just notenough time in the day for her
to like manage the launch plan,get the team on board.
(07:22):
And as a result, she couldn'treally achieve the goals.
I mean, her launches weren'tflopping by any means, like
things were still getting done,but it wasn't smooth.
It wasn't organized.
She didn't feel like she hadtime to do the Facebook lives
and to do all the things inbetween.
So when we came on her team andan accredited OBM took over,
(07:42):
what happened was she went frommanaging her team to delegating
that to the online businessmanager and then just being able
to focus on her zone of genius,which was showing up for her
community, doing her salescalls.
And as a result, her launch was150% better than it was the
(08:04):
launch before without an onlinebusiness manager.
Now, a lot of the times when Italk to online business
managers, it's really obvious,myself included, like 100%.
I'm not a salesperson.
I know a lot of us are behindthe scenes people.
But when we can organize and getthe right people in place to
make that implementation andstrategy a reality, in turn, we
(08:27):
give our clients back being inthe driver's seat of the things
that only they can do in thebusiness, right?
I talked about my client beingable to show up for Facebook
Lives, to show up for salescalls, instead of being bogged
down with managing her own lawn.
So again, clients are paying foroutcomes to manage the bits and
(08:49):
pieces at a premium because theyvalue your expertise and respect
your boundaries and want you tostick around.
They are invested.
And when they are paying for aservice and at a premium, it
means that they are more likelyto trust you to take the lead.
(09:10):
They know that you're not goinganywhere.
And I know that this is Maybenot something you've considered,
but as somebody who's been inthis field for a while and who's
talked to a lot of clients, Iknow a big fear a lot of these
clients have is that you are afly-by-night service support
professional, meaning you mightdisappear tomorrow.
But when you charge...
(09:30):
Those premium rates, and likeI've been talking all along, you
have all the other parts andpieces with you, like your
website, your social media isbuttoned up, and you know you're
not going anywhere.
They will trust you.
They will be more likely totrust you to take the lead and
pay those rates because theywant to retain you long-term on
(09:50):
their team because they arelooking at you like an
investment.
You are an investment, not anexpense.
When you set higher rates, youare essentially telling your
clients, I know my value and Ideliver results, okay?
Now, if you are feeling, afterI've said this, that you're
(10:11):
like, Sarah, I get it, I hearyou, but I don't believe it, I
really invite you to join us forOBM Week.
You'll find all the details atobmschool.com forward slash
obm-week.
This is an event that we runonce in a while, a few times a
year, and it is an opportunityfor you to just take some time,
(10:32):
be among other online businessmanagers who are making it
happen for themselves, and Andjust get into this whole mindset
shift.
We have a lot of exercisesaround pricing, including how to
set your rates, which I'm goingto get into right now.
So let's get into the nittygritty.
It is a four-step process, andit starts with defining your
(10:53):
financial goals, okay?
You want to think about how muchmoney you want.
want or need to earn each month,and how many clients you can
realistically manage.
Now, I hear this a lot.
I have people asking me all thetime, hey, I work in my
corporate nine to five, can Itake on a part time OBM client?
Absolutely.
(11:13):
OBM client minimum retainer is20 hours a month.
That's one hour a day, right?
So whether you are getting homefrom work or waking up early to
do that hour of client work, ormaybe you're jamming it all into
one day, it could be like likeeven a weekend.
So you can absolutely considerhow many clients that you want
(11:34):
to work with and what it lookslike financially, right?
And then you want to look atyour monthly income goal by the
number of clients or hours, andthat is your baseline rate.
So when you can think about howmuch you want to make and then
look at how many clients aregoing to be bringing in that
amount, then that's yourbaseline rate.
(11:57):
Naturally, step number two isresearch.
What are other people charging?
I'd like to be able to say thatthis doesn't have to happen, but
we do look at what other OBMsare charging.
The average OBM retainer isbetween$1,500 to$3,000 per month
for that minimum 20 hours.
(12:21):
And it really depends on yourexperience and on your service
and other factors like what'sthe size of the client's team,
how many funnels do they havegoing, and so on.
But the average OBM retainerstarts at$1,500.
So if your goal is to make$3,000or$6,000 or more, you're looking
(12:43):
at between two to four clientsto start.
And then some of those retainerswill scale up and some of
them...
you know, might scale down alittle bit.
So that's why it's reallyimportant to note that, you
know, a full-time OBM usuallyhas four or five clients on
their roster on retainer andthen maybe some projects on the
(13:05):
side.
And that's what allows you tohit that five-figure-a-month,
you know, goal, right?
That 10K goal or more.
And for the record, a lot of ourOBMs are hitting$15,000,$20,000
a month once they have the rightclients in place and they're
charging at a premium.
(13:26):
Now, the other piece of this isyou really need to look at the
outcome-based packages.
So I always recommend, and it'snever...
I know this isn't what a lot ofyou want to hear, but I'm always
very truthful.
And when you start, you alwayswant to start hourly for the
first three to six monthsworking with a client.
(13:49):
After that, you can focus onoutcome-based packages where
you're not trading time forhours.
Perhaps you've worked with aclient for three to six months
and you're like, wow, it'sreally clear to me what goes on
in this person's business.
They launch every quarter.
They have three team members.
There's five products.
We have weekly calls.
I'm I'm responsible foroverseeing X, Y, and Z.
(14:11):
And then you can really focus onthose outcome-based packages or
scope-based packages, whateveryou want to call it.
So instead of doing the hourlything, you can move to these
scope-based packages.
Again, I only recommend doingthis with clients that you've
been working with.
It never in my mind in anysituation does it make sense to
(14:33):
start with a scope-basedretainer when you first hit the
ground running with a client.
I have seen this happen.
I've not done this myself, but Ihave seen this happen from quite
a few OBMs in our community whounfortunately make the mistake
of creating a scope basedpackage before really
(14:54):
understanding what happens onthe back end of that business
and what they find is that theyare completely overwhelmed by
all the things happening in thatclient's business and it just
sets such a bad expectation andsuch poor boundaries with that
client that usually after amonth of you know feeling like
(15:15):
you are at their every beck andcall because you've priced a
three or four thousand dollar amonth retainer and you're like
I'll just whatever you need.
And they're like, okay, I'm justgoing to dump everything on you
and feel like, you know, I canreach out to you 24-7 because
it's scope-based, right?
There's no context around time.
It's very loosey-goosey.
(15:35):
And clients do try, you know,they will take advantage in
those situations because ontheir end, they're like, I'm
paying big bucks.
This person's got to deliver.
And on your end, you're like, ohmy God, what did I get myself
into?
There's so much that needs tohappen here.
So that is why, as I mentionedearlier, I always recommend
starting with a 20- or30-hour-a-month retainer at a
(15:55):
max, and then you can pricethat, right?
OBMs start at between$65 to$150an hour, price it to start with,
and then move from there.
Now, the other thing is that youwant to also leave some room for
growth, right?
(16:16):
AKA under promise over deliver.
That is why it's reallyimportant to start small.
Could you start with a 60 or 80hour a month retainer?
Absolutely.
But what is that going to do?
It's going to make you neurotic.
It's going to make your clientneurotic.
And it will probably not createthe best relationship moving
(16:37):
forward because naturally...
when you're an online businessmanager and I can best compare
this to like starting off inlike any kind of nine to five or
a corporate job is that there'salways a learning curve, right?
When you're getting intosomebody's business, you're
learning how they work, you'relearning how they work with
their team, you're learningabout their funnels and the
(16:57):
products that they sell.
Remember that it takes time tounderstand how a client's
business works.
That's why you want to startsmall and build up your hours or
build up to a scope-basedretainer.
But also remember that As yourskills grow, your rates grow as
(17:18):
well, right?
So don't be afraid to raise yourprices every, you know, 12
months.
This will, you know, this isimportant, especially if you're
investing in things like our OBMaccreditation or some other, you
know, professional designationsin your business.
When you invest in yourself,it's an opportunity to have that
(17:38):
conversation with your client.
A lot of our OBMs who step intoour certification program, which
is over at obmacreditation.com.
they find that it's a reallygreat opportunity to have that
conversation with the clientaround, especially if they're
making the transition from VA orfrom other service support
professional role to talk about,hey, this is what I'm doing now.
(18:01):
I'm investing in my career.
We're going to be moving moreinto the OBM space.
So I want to definitely behelping you more with the
managerial aspects of yourbusiness.
And you can really take it fromthere and start to really lead
the client because it really isall about leadership.
Now, the other pieces of wisdomI have around struggling with
(18:25):
pricing and just Getting betterat this, and it is something
that you get better at.
It's so funny because when Ifirst started as an online
business manager, a lot like youguys, I didn't like sales
conversations.
I didn't like talking about it.
And now that I'm sort of comingfrom this place of abundancy and
we have clients in our agencyand I feel more secure with
(18:48):
myself as an OBM, I like enjoythese sales conversations and I
enjoy talking about pricing andspeaking about it confidently
because I know the value that weprovide.
And for me, it then becomes lessabout the nervous angst of
(19:08):
having a sales call.
And it just flips into, wow, I'mjust so excited to be able to
chat with you about what youhave going on in your business
and really understanding if ouragency, if our accredited OBMs
can support you.
And when you get to that point,there are a few things that
happen.
You feel like you are moredirect and clear about your
(19:31):
pricing okay so there's no moreyou know making excuses for what
your pricing is at or you knowgiving reasons why it is the way
it is you just say it like it ismy rate for this package is
$3,000 per month and then youshut your mouth and you pause
(19:53):
and if need be you count backfrom 10 9 10 I'm not going to go
there because– but you know whatI'm saying.
Like you have to have thatawkward pause after you say your
pricing and it is painful.
And that's why I think I'm beinga little bit funny here because
I really want you to know thatthis isn't something that is
(20:16):
going to feel comfortable.
When you say your rates, youjust need to shut your mouth and
then not say anything becauseAnd then maybe after you've
paused for five seconds or 10seconds, you can say to the
client, hey, do you have anyquestions?
So the next piece is reallyfocusing on the outcomes.
And I will say that inside ofOBM School, specifically inside
(20:37):
of our accelerator, which isalso a part of our accreditation
program, but that flagshipprogram really gets into the
framework of the sales call, ofthe dating project, and really
What I can say here is that itfocuses on outcomes, okay?
The outcome being what yourclient is going to look like,
(20:59):
what their life will look likewhen they have more time, more
time to focus on their business,more time to do the things that
they want to do in life and inbusiness, right?
So saying things like thispackage ensures that your team
is aligned, projects aredelivered on time, and your
business really runs smoothly,right?
Because that's what they want.
(21:19):
They want the outcome havingback more time and just having
that peace of mind knowing thattheir business is in the hands
of somebody who cares andsomebody who's focused on
driving results and giving themback more of what they need.
And then the other piece is youneed to handle objections with
grace.
So if the client is like, Afteryou ask them, hey, do you have
(21:43):
any questions?
They're like, well, I don'tknow.
You know, I'm not sure I canafford$3,000 a month.
Instead of, you know, loweringyour rates or being like, okay,
fine, you know, let's do it for$2,500.
I want you to instead say, Iunderstand that budget may be a
(22:04):
concern.
But the level of service that Iprovide is really designed to
drive significant growth.
And this investment reflects thevalue.
And then, my friends, again, youpause.
You pause there.
Right?
So I know that the sales call isdifficult and pricing your
(22:29):
services can be difficult.
But the good news is, is insideof OBM School, we have got you
covered.
And better yet...
Don't miss OBM Week.
So if pricing is something thatyou are ready to master, don't
miss OBM Week.
It's happening March 25th to the27th.
This is a free live event packedwith actionable strategies to
(22:50):
help you grow your OBM business,including how to position
yourself as a premium serviceprovider.
And you can save your spot nowat obmschool.com forward slash
OBM Week.
Thank you for tuning in to ourOBM show.
podcast, pricing your servicesdoesn't have to feel
overwhelming.
(23:10):
Now, I hope you know that withthe right mindset and strategy,
you can confidently set ratesthat reflect your value and
attract the clients that youtruly want to work with.
If you enjoyed this episode,please subscribe, leave a review
and share it with someone whomight benefit from this content.
Your support means the world tous.
(23:31):
Until next time, keep building,keep growing and keep creating
the career and life you love.
Hey there, OBM besties.
Welcome back to the OBM show.
And today we are talking about atopic that is something that we
all face, we all think about allthe time, and that is pricing
your services.
And I don't care if you're justgetting started or you are years
into it.
This is something that we alwayskind of grapple with.
(00:22):
We think of different things,different kind of schemes.
And in this episode, we arebreaking it Thank you so much.
(00:49):
once or twice a year and it is areally, really great opportunity
for you to show up live foryourself and work on your
business.
So you can learn more over atobmschool.com forward slash obm
dash week.
Welcome to the OBM show, thepodcast that pulls back the
curtain on what it really takesto thrive as an online business
(01:11):
manager and help businessesscale without burning out.
I'm your host, Sarah Noked,agency owner, OBM mentor and
founder of OBM School.
I've been working in the backend of online businesses since
2009, building systems, managingremote teams and mentoring OBMs
who make businesses run likeclockwork.
(01:33):
Now, I've seen what works, whatdoesn't, and the messy middle
that no one talks about.
Here, we get real about thetools, strategies, and stories
that drive sustainable success,plus the tech mishaps, growing
pains, and lessons learned alongthe way.
If you're ready to stop spinningyour wheels, step into your
(01:55):
leadership role, and see whatactually happens behind the
scenes of thriving businesses,you're in the right place.
Let's get started.
Let's get started.
So let's start by really divinginto this idea of why pricing is
so challenging for us, right?
And oftentimes it really comesdown to a few basic things
(02:17):
around fear and mindset, right?
Fear of pricing yourself, maybeout of opportunities, the fear
of being judged by potentialclients or, you know, hearing a
no.
And of course, this fear Loomingimposter syndrome, sneaking in
with thoughts like, who am I tobe charging this month?
(02:38):
So I have definitely been inthese shoes.
And when I first started out asan OBM, naturally, I
undercharged.
I undercharged because I was sofocused on landing clients.
And I really thought that if myrates were low, I would get more
clients.
But here's what I ultimatelylearned is that underpricing
(03:00):
doesn't just hurt your income.
It really affects how clientsperceive your value.
And this is something that tookme many years to understand.
And it wasn't really fullyunderstood until I believe that
I started to really scale my ownbusiness and start to bring on
team.
And I recognized what it meansto be an entrepreneur who
(03:24):
doesn't have any As onlinebusiness managers, I don't think
that from the get-go as businessowners, we necessarily get that
concept.
So I really want you to rememberthat when you underprice, it
(03:47):
impacts how clients perceiveyour value because as OBMs, we
provide a premium value.
We're not just getting thingsdone.
I mean, we are getting a lotdone, but we are more than that,
the strategic partner who helpsbusinesses scale.
and achieve massive results.
(04:09):
And when we give our clientsback time, that is the only
commodity you can't get more of,ultimately, you will have a
happy client who is able to thentake that time and use it places
to scale, make more money, havea better work-life balance, and
that is the value that weprovide.
(04:30):
So I want you to really thinkabout, and if this is resonating
with you and you were like,yeah, Sarah, I get it, but it's
still feeling like it's notlanding, I want you to just
trust me on this.
And I want you to really, intoday's session on the podcast,
I want you to really help yousee pricing as an opportunity to
showcase your value and attractthe clients that you really want
(04:53):
to work with.
And yes, I know, when you'rejust getting started, you're
really, really...
want to get those clients andyou may feel like you're coming
from a place of scarcity and youjust need to land the client but
as somebody who has trainedonline business managers for
almost a decade and somebody whohas run an agency it's you're
(05:15):
better off taking it slow andbuilding a retainer of and
building just um suite ofclients on retention that are
the right clients for you,rather than kind of taking on
everybody and then having tosort of weed out the clients
(05:35):
that really don't need thispremium kind of service.
And that's what I find a lotwhen we are making the shift
from VA to OBM.
And that's totally fine.
Last week on the podcast, wewere talking about making the
transition.
So you can definitely check thatout.
if you are in the position oftransitioning from virtual
(05:56):
assistant to online businessmanager.
Now back to this mindset,because it really all does come
down to mindset.
And before I dive into anystrategies or numbers, I want to
really talk about how pricingisn't just math.
It really is about confidence.
And I talk a lot aboutconfidence.
(06:17):
I do believe that confidencecomes from doing.
So you might feel like whenyou're getting started, you have
a lot stacked up against you.
And we're going to talk aboutsome strategies in just a
moment.
So stick with me.
But I want to really just divefirst into these mindsets, these
powerful mindsets.
So again, you're sellingoutcomes, not hours.
(06:40):
I really, I got like a dog witha bone on this one.
But I am Truly, guys, you got tobelieve me on this one.
You're not just completing tasksas an online business manager.
We know that.
You are creating outcomes thattransform businesses.
And when you think aboutpricing, you can't focus on the
hours.
(07:00):
It's really about the resultsthat you're delivering, right?
So, for example, we had a clientinside of our agency recently
who was barely keeping her teamafloat to launch her business.
products and There was just notenough time in the day for her
to like manage the launch plan,get the team on board.
(07:22):
And as a result, she couldn'treally achieve the goals.
I mean, her launches weren'tflopping by any means, like
things were still getting done,but it wasn't smooth.
It wasn't organized.
She didn't feel like she hadtime to do the Facebook lives
and to do all the things inbetween.
So when we came on her team andan accredited OBM took over,
(07:42):
what happened was she went frommanaging her team to delegating
that to the online businessmanager and then just being able
to focus on her zone of genius,which was showing up for her
community, doing her salescalls.
And as a result, her launch was150% better than it was the
(08:04):
launch before without an onlinebusiness manager.
Now, a lot of the times when Italk to online business
managers, it's really obvious,myself included, like 100%.
I'm not a salesperson.
I know a lot of us are behindthe scenes people.
But when we can organize and getthe right people in place to
make that implementation andstrategy a reality, in turn, we
(08:27):
give our clients back being inthe driver's seat of the things
that only they can do in thebusiness, right?
I talked about my client beingable to show up for Facebook
Lives, to show up for salescalls, instead of being bogged
down with managing her own lawn.
So again, clients are paying foroutcomes to manage the bits and
(08:49):
pieces at a premium because theyvalue your expertise and respect
your boundaries and want you tostick around.
They are invested.
And when they are paying for aservice and at a premium, it
means that they are more likelyto trust you to take the lead.
(09:10):
They know that you're not goinganywhere.
And I know that this is Maybenot something you've considered,
but as somebody who's been inthis field for a while and who's
talked to a lot of clients, Iknow a big fear a lot of these
clients have is that you are afly-by-night service support
professional, meaning you mightdisappear tomorrow.
But when you charge...
(09:30):
Those premium rates, and likeI've been talking all along, you
have all the other parts andpieces with you, like your
website, your social media isbuttoned up, and you know you're
not going anywhere.
They will trust you.
They will be more likely totrust you to take the lead and
pay those rates because theywant to retain you long-term on
(09:50):
their team because they arelooking at you like an
investment.
You are an investment, not anexpense.
When you set higher rates, youare essentially telling your
clients, I know my value and Ideliver results, okay?
Now, if you are feeling, afterI've said this, that you're
(10:11):
like, Sarah, I get it, I hearyou, but I don't believe it, I
really invite you to join us forOBM Week.
You'll find all the details atobmschool.com forward slash
obm-week.
This is an event that we runonce in a while, a few times a
year, and it is an opportunityfor you to just take some time,
(10:32):
be among other online businessmanagers who are making it
happen for themselves, and Andjust get into this whole mindset
shift.
We have a lot of exercisesaround pricing, including how to
set your rates, which I'm goingto get into right now.
So let's get into the nittygritty.
It is a four-step process, andit starts with defining your
(10:53):
financial goals, okay?
You want to think about how muchmoney you want.
want or need to earn each month,and how many clients you can
realistically manage.
Now, I hear this a lot.
I have people asking me all thetime, hey, I work in my
corporate nine to five, can Itake on a part time OBM client?
Absolutely.
(11:13):
OBM client minimum retainer is20 hours a month.
That's one hour a day, right?
So whether you are getting homefrom work or waking up early to
do that hour of client work, ormaybe you're jamming it all into
one day, it could be like likeeven a weekend.
So you can absolutely considerhow many clients that you want
(11:34):
to work with and what it lookslike financially, right?
And then you want to look atyour monthly income goal by the
number of clients or hours, andthat is your baseline rate.
So when you can think about howmuch you want to make and then
look at how many clients aregoing to be bringing in that
amount, then that's yourbaseline rate.
(11:57):
Naturally, step number two isresearch.
What are other people charging?
I'd like to be able to say thatthis doesn't have to happen, but
we do look at what other OBMsare charging.
The average OBM retainer isbetween$1,500 to$3,000 per month
for that minimum 20 hours.
(12:21):
And it really depends on yourexperience and on your service
and other factors like what'sthe size of the client's team,
how many funnels do they havegoing, and so on.
But the average OBM retainerstarts at$1,500.
So if your goal is to make$3,000or$6,000 or more, you're looking
(12:43):
at between two to four clientsto start.
And then some of those retainerswill scale up and some of
them...
you know, might scale down alittle bit.
So that's why it's reallyimportant to note that, you
know, a full-time OBM usuallyhas four or five clients on
their roster on retainer andthen maybe some projects on the
(13:05):
side.
And that's what allows you tohit that five-figure-a-month,
you know, goal, right?
That 10K goal or more.
And for the record, a lot of ourOBMs are hitting$15,000,$20,000
a month once they have the rightclients in place and they're
charging at a premium.
(13:26):
Now, the other piece of this isyou really need to look at the
outcome-based packages.
So I always recommend, and it'snever...
I know this isn't what a lot ofyou want to hear, but I'm always
very truthful.
And when you start, you alwayswant to start hourly for the
first three to six monthsworking with a client.
(13:49):
After that, you can focus onoutcome-based packages where
you're not trading time forhours.
Perhaps you've worked with aclient for three to six months
and you're like, wow, it'sreally clear to me what goes on
in this person's business.
They launch every quarter.
They have three team members.
There's five products.
We have weekly calls.
I'm I'm responsible foroverseeing X, Y, and Z.
(14:11):
And then you can really focus onthose outcome-based packages or
scope-based packages, whateveryou want to call it.
So instead of doing the hourlything, you can move to these
scope-based packages.
Again, I only recommend doingthis with clients that you've
been working with.
It never in my mind in anysituation does it make sense to
(14:33):
start with a scope-basedretainer when you first hit the
ground running with a client.
I have seen this happen.
I've not done this myself, but Ihave seen this happen from quite
a few OBMs in our community whounfortunately make the mistake
of creating a scope basedpackage before really
(14:54):
understanding what happens onthe back end of that business
and what they find is that theyare completely overwhelmed by
all the things happening in thatclient's business and it just
sets such a bad expectation andsuch poor boundaries with that
client that usually after amonth of you know feeling like
(15:15):
you are at their every beck andcall because you've priced a
three or four thousand dollar amonth retainer and you're like
I'll just whatever you need.
And they're like, okay, I'm justgoing to dump everything on you
and feel like, you know, I canreach out to you 24-7 because
it's scope-based, right?
There's no context around time.
It's very loosey-goosey.
(15:35):
And clients do try, you know,they will take advantage in
those situations because ontheir end, they're like, I'm
paying big bucks.
This person's got to deliver.
And on your end, you're like, ohmy God, what did I get myself
into?
There's so much that needs tohappen here.
So that is why, as I mentionedearlier, I always recommend
starting with a 20- or30-hour-a-month retainer at a
(15:55):
max, and then you can pricethat, right?
OBMs start at between$65 to$150an hour, price it to start with,
and then move from there.
Now, the other thing is that youwant to also leave some room for
growth, right?
(16:16):
AKA under promise over deliver.
That is why it's reallyimportant to start small.
Could you start with a 60 or 80hour a month retainer?
Absolutely.
But what is that going to do?
It's going to make you neurotic.
It's going to make your clientneurotic.
And it will probably not createthe best relationship moving
(16:37):
forward because naturally...
when you're an online businessmanager and I can best compare
this to like starting off inlike any kind of nine to five or
a corporate job is that there'salways a learning curve, right?
When you're getting intosomebody's business, you're
learning how they work, you'relearning how they work with
their team, you're learningabout their funnels and the
(16:57):
products that they sell.
Remember that it takes time tounderstand how a client's
business works.
That's why you want to startsmall and build up your hours or
build up to a scope-basedretainer.
But also remember that As yourskills grow, your rates grow as
(17:18):
well, right?
So don't be afraid to raise yourprices every, you know, 12
months.
This will, you know, this isimportant, especially if you're
investing in things like our OBMaccreditation or some other, you
know, professional designationsin your business.
When you invest in yourself,it's an opportunity to have that
(17:38):
conversation with your client.
A lot of our OBMs who step intoour certification program, which
is over at obmacreditation.com.
they find that it's a reallygreat opportunity to have that
conversation with the clientaround, especially if they're
making the transition from VA orfrom other service support
professional role to talk about,hey, this is what I'm doing now.
(18:01):
I'm investing in my career.
We're going to be moving moreinto the OBM space.
So I want to definitely behelping you more with the
managerial aspects of yourbusiness.
And you can really take it fromthere and start to really lead
the client because it really isall about leadership.
Now, the other pieces of wisdomI have around struggling with
(18:25):
pricing and just Getting betterat this, and it is something
that you get better at.
It's so funny because when Ifirst started as an online
business manager, a lot like youguys, I didn't like sales
conversations.
I didn't like talking about it.
And now that I'm sort of comingfrom this place of abundancy and
we have clients in our agencyand I feel more secure with
(18:48):
myself as an OBM, I like enjoythese sales conversations and I
enjoy talking about pricing andspeaking about it confidently
because I know the value that weprovide.
And for me, it then becomes lessabout the nervous angst of
(19:08):
having a sales call.
And it just flips into, wow, I'mjust so excited to be able to
chat with you about what youhave going on in your business
and really understanding if ouragency, if our accredited OBMs
can support you.
And when you get to that point,there are a few things that
happen.
You feel like you are moredirect and clear about your
(19:31):
pricing okay so there's no moreyou know making excuses for what
your pricing is at or you knowgiving reasons why it is the way
it is you just say it like it ismy rate for this package is
$3,000 per month and then youshut your mouth and you pause
(19:53):
and if need be you count backfrom 10 9 10 I'm not going to go
there because– but you know whatI'm saying.
Like you have to have thatawkward pause after you say your
pricing and it is painful.
And that's why I think I'm beinga little bit funny here because
I really want you to know thatthis isn't something that is
(20:16):
going to feel comfortable.
When you say your rates, youjust need to shut your mouth and
then not say anything becauseAnd then maybe after you've
paused for five seconds or 10seconds, you can say to the
client, hey, do you have anyquestions?
So the next piece is reallyfocusing on the outcomes.
And I will say that inside ofOBM School, specifically inside
(20:37):
of our accelerator, which isalso a part of our accreditation
program, but that flagshipprogram really gets into the
framework of the sales call, ofthe dating project, and really
What I can say here is that itfocuses on outcomes, okay?
The outcome being what yourclient is going to look like,
(20:59):
what their life will look likewhen they have more time, more
time to focus on their business,more time to do the things that
they want to do in life and inbusiness, right?
So saying things like thispackage ensures that your team
is aligned, projects aredelivered on time, and your
business really runs smoothly,right?
Because that's what they want.
(21:19):
They want the outcome havingback more time and just having
that peace of mind knowing thattheir business is in the hands
of somebody who cares andsomebody who's focused on
driving results and giving themback more of what they need.
And then the other piece is youneed to handle objections with
grace.
So if the client is like, Afteryou ask them, hey, do you have
(21:43):
any questions?
They're like, well, I don'tknow.
You know, I'm not sure I canafford$3,000 a month.
Instead of, you know, loweringyour rates or being like, okay,
fine, you know, let's do it for$2,500.
I want you to instead say, Iunderstand that budget may be a
(22:04):
concern.
But the level of service that Iprovide is really designed to
drive significant growth.
And this investment reflects thevalue.
And then, my friends, again, youpause.
You pause there.
Right?
So I know that the sales call isdifficult and pricing your
(22:29):
services can be difficult.
But the good news is, is insideof OBM School, we have got you
covered.
And better yet...
Don't miss OBM Week.
So if pricing is something thatyou are ready to master, don't
miss OBM Week.
It's happening March 25th to the27th.
This is a free live event packedwith actionable strategies to
(22:50):
help you grow your OBM business,including how to position
yourself as a premium serviceprovider.
And you can save your spot nowat obmschool.com forward slash
OBM Week.
Thank you for tuning in to ourOBM show.
podcast, pricing your servicesdoesn't have to feel
overwhelming.
(23:10):
Now, I hope you know that withthe right mindset and strategy,
you can confidently set ratesthat reflect your value and
attract the clients that youtruly want to work with.
If you enjoyed this episode,please subscribe, leave a review
and share it with someone whomight benefit from this content.
Your support means the world tous.
(23:31):
Until next time, keep building,keep growing and keep creating
the career and life you love.
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