The Client Letter
August 11, 2011
Sedona Arizona
A month or two ago, I hosted a paid webinar called The 5 Freelancing Mistakes That Have Cost Me at LEAST $105,000 in Lost Fees.
In advance of the webinar, I had everyone who registered submit a question to be answered. One of the most frequently asked questions was this one:
Not surprising.
Now I’m not sure what the “marketing gurus” would say about disappointing your readers so early in a newsletter, but I’ve never been one to go with the flow… so here’s my answer to that question:
There IS no one good answer to that question.
Here’s the reason.
I know how I get clients for my business.
But I don’t know how YOU should get clients. Not without talking with you and/or working with you one on one.
And despite the fact that there are people out there happy to have you pay thousands of dollars to learn the “latest way” to get clients, there’s a good chance that their “system” simply won’t work… for YOU.
(But you won’t know that till after you spend the money.)
So instead of LEARNING how to get clients, invest your resources to DISCOVER how you should do it for YOUR business.
Some strategies I use to get clients simply won’t work for you. And vice versa…
Take posting on web forums as an example. I’ve never once gotten a client from any of the forums that I’ve ever visited or posted on.
For me, it’s just not effective.
Same with seminars.
I’ve only ever been to ONE. Probably won’t go to another one.
Just not interested as it doesn’t fit into the lifestyle I want to live.
But that DOESN’T mean it won’t be profitable for you to do those very same things.
You just have to find out… quickly.
And that brings us to the main subject of today’s letter. It’s a subject that is responsible for more of my success than absolutely any other.
That subject is:
I’m not talking about the drug. I’m talking about how fast you go from idea to action to proof that your idea is a winner or a dud.
How fast can you go through that process and how many times can you go through it at once?
Success is VERY expensive if you sit around waiting for it. But start your engine, particularly your MARKETING engine, and you can bring it to you a whole lot faster.
If it’s not happening for you online… if the clients aren’t calling, then GET OFFLINE.
Different strokes for different folks.
The point is you’ve got to find what works for you and stop listening to the noise around you.
So here’s an example of SPEED from my own world:
Let’s call it:
I admit it.
I’m addicted to speed. I like to do a lot of things QUICKLY. The only requirement is that I also have to do them well. No shoddy work for the sake of speed.
Here’s just one example.
(If you think I’m trying to impress you here, you haven’t been on this list long enough. Stick around… you’ll discover that’s not my style 🙂
The goal here is to open your mind and get it moving FASTER. Do that and your results will come… FASTER and BIGGER.
Take a minute to download this:
http://www.clientssuck.net/downloads/sbbr408.pdf
This an old copy of one of the newsletters I send out to prospective clients.
It’s something different just about every time it goes out.
For some reason, while creating this issue, I timed the process. I pulled it out of the archives for today.
From idea, to layout, to printing, to folding, to stapling, to in the mail…
It took 6 hours 30 minutes (including putting on the postage).
It would have been quicker, except my 3 year old son Egan went with me to the post office. And he insisted on putting the pile of booklets in the box on his own. That slowed me down because he preferred to do it ONE at a time 🙂
All I needed for the project was a simple printer, paper and some staples.
And out the door it went. Another “ball” that I hit up in the air to get some clients.
How many balls can YOU get up in the air?
The more the better, especially at the beginning. Pretty soon, you’ll notice the pattern. You’ll notice that some of your marketing efforts are easier, quicker and more effective than all the rest.
But you’ve got to try them all to figure that out.
Don’t wait. Get started today.