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Lots of questions coming in lately so time to answer a few...
Q: "After being in this industry for quite some time, i'm pretty good at talking to a client that gets him excited about doing work for me. Like you, I have some programming experience from years ago, and quite good and talking business with a client.
The problem is i'm bad at finding the client in the first place and building a month worth of trust with the guy so I can retain them.
I never tried any methods such as direct mail, or video reviews .. I really have no idea how to get clients. I can do bread and butter cold calling, but it's painful, and not effective for me ..
What's working please?"
KT: Yup, cold calling is a painful way to get clients and not something I generally advise. If you're going to do it, either build an outbound call team or hire experts to do it for you. Don't sit there dialling numbers yourself. There are much smarter and more leveraged ways to get high value clients. For example, a few strategies we're rolling out for TIC members right now are: Direct mail, Facebook ads, speaking, running your own events, podcasting, and publishing. In my experience most people "know" these strategies, the problem is you're just not using them! There's no magic bullet strategy that works for everyone in every situation. Pick a strategy and make it work.
Q: "How to justify charging a recurring plan to prospect? I don't want to spend a whole heap of time setup email structure, create content etc only for them to cancel within a month or 2..."
KT: There are a couple of ways you can swing the recurring thing... contracts... front-loading payments... multi-stage projects... lease/rental or pay per lead deals where you keep control of the asset etc. But the main thing is that you educate them and get buy-in on the fact that their problem ain't gonna be solved in a month. You want them to WANT to work with you for 6 months... or a year... or 5 years. And that comes back to how closely you align your solution to their big problem, how well you communicate your value, and how you position and sell yourself.
Q: "I've already (pretty much) landed my first client. I have to give them a proposal with services and dollar figures on it next week... I'm trying to figure out what to charge them."
KT: First up, you haven't landed anything until the money is in the bank. In fact, something like half of all requests for a proposal have no intention of ever buying from you. Sometimes they're shopping around... sometimes they're keeping their current provider on their toes... and sometimes they're just curious to see what you've got to offer. So don't count your chickens just yet.
Next, what to charge? Depends.
What's the project worth to them?
What value have you established in their eyes?
Can you deliver that value?
How long will it take and how much will it cost you?
What's your opportunity cost for taking on the project?
Those are just a few things you should consider.
Most people don't take these type of things into account and significantly undervalue themselves so they end up undercharging and working for peanuts.
Talk soon,
Kyle Tully