First, try not to talk so much. Mostly, you listen. Let the client speak. Do that, and you will ace this. Because right now, we don’t know much about the client and what they want, so what would we blather about anyway? Ourselves? Please, no. (I got this wrong for ages.) I don’t want to [...]
Getting work
Making what they like: Getting out of your own way
The quick lesson: If they ain’t buying, get over yourself and change it. A few years back, Sunday mornings at our local bagel shop, I’d hear the same amusing exchange, over and over again. A customer would point to the baskets of bagels and tell the bagel guy, “Could you pick out the darker ones, [...]
What to do after they say “We’ll call you.”
This happens a lot. You finally make contact with a juicy buyer: a heavy-using dream client who buys loads of what you do, and has a fat budget for freelancers. You have a pleasant conversation or two. They like your work. Your vibes are aligned. You’re feeling happy. Then . . . then, they say, [...]
Landing Big-Money Clients: Who they are, what they want.
Let’s say you want to earn $150,000 this year. Okay. Can do. Here’s the math: To pull in $150,000, you need to attract at least 150 clients who spend about $1,000 a year on your stuff. (Every week, you must snag three new clients. They need to arrive on a conveyor belt.) Or, you need [...]
How to finesse 156% more referrals
Yes, we want referrals. We want a plethora of referrals. A veritable parade of referrals. We want our phones to ring, two or three times a week, with calls like this: “Hi, I’m Ruth Martin. I got your name from Ted Baker who says you’re something of a genius with copy. We are revamping our [...]
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