The other day I spent some time talking to a guy who was doing all the
right things. He had an ebook that had been downloaded thousands of
times. His consultancy clients included huge names, like the BBC, and
he had traveled the world sharing his knowledge and expertise.
I quickly realized though there was one thing he was not doing that
was likely costing him a huge amount of business. He had won these
fantastic clients *despite* his sales techniques, not because of them.
How he had won any work at all was testament to his expertise, but
with one tiny change his fortunes could swing up a notch.
What was the missing piece?
He never once in all of his brilliant content mentioned that, should
anyone be interested, he had services to sell.
Look over your own writing, websites, materials. Is it obvious, not to
you, but to a casual visitor, that you have services and offers they
might like to read about?
Case studies and client success stories woven into your usual content
are the most straightforward way of getting this across. Testimonials
can also be a great boost. Sometimes though we work in areas where
clients are reticent to have their names broadcast, or perhaps you
feel a little shy about the direct approach.
You don’t have to be super obvious. It’s not about waving sales
letters in the visitors face. In fact I find it works better overall
if you mention what you do at the end of a document. Take your free
whitepaper or ebook and put at the end "If you would like advice in
implementing these suggestions contact me at …".
There are also opportunities to remind readers that you are actually
available for work in passing.
"I was talking to one of my blog coaching clients and we discovered …"
"While leaving [Big Corp] I noticed …"
"My clients often struggle with …"
Very often when writing for other people you are offered a spot where
you can talk about yourself. Rather than say "I am so and so from this
country" say what you do for other people in a beneficial way, such as
"I help people turn a love of Badgers into a profitable enterprise,
for more information …".
It’s amazing sometimes the difference just a small hint can be to prod
people into taking up your services. Try dropping mentions in
occasionally and test the reaction, you might just be surprised.
Can you think of other ways you can draw attention to your offers?
Please share in the comments …
May 9th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
You makes some great points, Chris. What you’re saying goes for electronic communication as well. As I mention on my guest post on this site today, if you’re not including your URL on your email signature and social networking profiles, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity.
May 9th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
It was only after a few months of blogging and an unsolicited offer for freelance work that I began to understand the opportunities in freelance writing. I have just recently started to think about ways I can parlay my passion for writing into a viable income, and your site will definitely help in that endeavor! Thanks for all you do.
May 9th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
One of the best things you can do is to openly remind your existing clients how much you appreciate their referrals. (Even if they have never given you one.)
One trick is to say something like, “If any of your friends or associates might be in need of my services, have them contact me and tell me you referred them. I’ll give them a XX% discount off my normal rates.”
Then, if anyone does come to you as a result of a referral, be sure to send something to your existing client - at the very least a thank you card, or even small gifts of foods or candies. Do this even if the referral doesn’t work out.
May 9th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
@ Todd: I like that one. Very professional tip.
May 9th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Hi Chris,
I agree - sometimes we become afraid of the “selling” part for fear of being pushy. You don’t have to be pushy to sell something, just couragous and opportunistic. Part of taking it to the next level is taking the “from the blimp” perspective.
You might see (like Chris saw) something you hadn’t expected. And sometimes, this perspective might come from someone outside of you
May 9th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
I noticed the same thing with other people. Someone will send a twitter announcement saying something like: click this link to vote for me. And most of the time, I do exactly what they said ! It works on me, yet I don’t do the same thing nearly enough.
May 10th, 2008 at 8:45 am
Great tips from you and comments, Chris. Sales is tough for me - I gotta get out of that!
May 10th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
I’m a freelance writer and a consultant (special events planning, PR and marketing) and I’m realizing how beneficial my PR background is coming into play as a writer. In the past few weeks (just based on interviews I’ve had with my sources/contacts for articles), I’ve managed to establish a great rapport and network with people for publicity work (and content writing for websites). I’m working out some “trades” with them (which I’m finding works GREAT for me as we are both benefiting from each other’s services).
It’s also about where you go and who you meet. I actually live in a small town where everyone knows everyone else (I recently moved back to my hometown) and already I’ve been invited to some leads/marketing meetings from local business owners and sales managers from local golf courses. I have a fundraising and development background so I think this comes naturally to me because development was all about building relationships.
I agree–don’t sell yourself short and you are your own best marketing person. You need to sell yourself and your services–they won’t sell themselves.
It’s really all about networking and meeting people and not being afraid to promote yourself (even if that person isn’t interested, they may have a friend who knows someone who may need your services).
Good luck.
May 12th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
Hi Chris,
I guess I was thinking the clients would just come of their own accord.
Thanks for the great reminder.
Loraleigh