Hi,
I've been in corporate B2B IT sales for many years and since 3,5 years I live entirely of my own cold calling/lead generation/appointment setting business.
My specialty is helping tech companies enter new markets.
I took the decision to leave my corporate sales job because I was tired of the pressure, corporate policies, others telling me what to do, etc. and dreamed about being my own boss for a long time already.
I started this business right after my kids were born to have full control over my time and because I want to spend time with them.
I had 2 clients to start with 1 local company and 1 via Upwork. Since then I had a steady flow of customers I was selling for and also did some consulting/training projects that were really fun and paid well. Last year I increased my rates because my confidence, references and skills increased and now earn 60-70k€ per year (which is OK for where I live in EU). I never have more than 4 customers at the same time because I cannot manage timewise (3 cold calling, 1 consulting)
Where I just cared about my freedom at the beginning, I start to care about how to make more money as well now. The kids gotten a bit older and taking care of them is easier + more sleep so I got energy again.
I am just not sure which way to go and I know I can only find out by doing it but still I am always open for advice and thoughts.
Currently, I have more freedom than an employee, but I’m still changing my time for money.
I am thinking about the following options:
1) Keep the same amount of customers but expand my service portfolio and add online funnels (outsourced) to increase rates. So cold calling + leads via online.
I think this can work because all they want is new customers. Problem is their budget is always tight and if I increase my rate too much they could hire their own sales rep for the same amount.
They want guarantees. I do/can never give guarantees because it doesn't only depend on my work how the market reacts to their offer and if there is a demand for what they offer. Anyway, I’ll try to sell this “bigger package” to my next customer.
2) Hire somebody and take on more customers.
Pros:
Stop changing my time for money (not right from start obviously)
More managing than operational function.
More fun in a team.
Cons:
I’m afraid the quality of work can suffer, I see people running agencies but I also hear from customers that they had bad experiences with agencies and prefer to work with a solo guy like me.
Increased cost, I’d have to rent an office because I tried with a remote guy before and think for this kind of job it’s better to be able to communicate/coach directly.
Afraid of staffing problems, not finding the right people, people quitting and getting into a situation where I have clients who signed but no employees.
3) Keep 1-2 customers at a fixed rate and add 1-2 customers where I sell on commission basis myself.
Pros: income not capped.
Cons: Higher risk, still time for money (could find somebody to help tho)
4) Find a company with a good product and become a partner to manage sales.
I'm not creative enough to launch my own product but I know how to sell.
I had some opportunities but I never found the perfect fit, human and product wise so far.
Preferably product sales because orders keep coming more easy and steady
vs. services where a lot of consultation is required for each sale.
5) Develop the consulting business more and create consulting products. I don’t like it because there is so many already out there doing this and I am not that keen on being filmed.
Nevertheless, I’ll do 1-2 small videos for Udemy because I’m convinced they can help someone but this won’t be a huge source of income.
6) Something completely different
My situation is not too shabby but I'm hungry for more, hope to find more inspiration here.
I've been in corporate B2B IT sales for many years and since 3,5 years I live entirely of my own cold calling/lead generation/appointment setting business.
My specialty is helping tech companies enter new markets.
I took the decision to leave my corporate sales job because I was tired of the pressure, corporate policies, others telling me what to do, etc. and dreamed about being my own boss for a long time already.
I started this business right after my kids were born to have full control over my time and because I want to spend time with them.
I had 2 clients to start with 1 local company and 1 via Upwork. Since then I had a steady flow of customers I was selling for and also did some consulting/training projects that were really fun and paid well. Last year I increased my rates because my confidence, references and skills increased and now earn 60-70k€ per year (which is OK for where I live in EU). I never have more than 4 customers at the same time because I cannot manage timewise (3 cold calling, 1 consulting)
Where I just cared about my freedom at the beginning, I start to care about how to make more money as well now. The kids gotten a bit older and taking care of them is easier + more sleep so I got energy again.
I am just not sure which way to go and I know I can only find out by doing it but still I am always open for advice and thoughts.
Currently, I have more freedom than an employee, but I’m still changing my time for money.
I am thinking about the following options:
1) Keep the same amount of customers but expand my service portfolio and add online funnels (outsourced) to increase rates. So cold calling + leads via online.
I think this can work because all they want is new customers. Problem is their budget is always tight and if I increase my rate too much they could hire their own sales rep for the same amount.
They want guarantees. I do/can never give guarantees because it doesn't only depend on my work how the market reacts to their offer and if there is a demand for what they offer. Anyway, I’ll try to sell this “bigger package” to my next customer.
2) Hire somebody and take on more customers.
Pros:
Stop changing my time for money (not right from start obviously)
More managing than operational function.
More fun in a team.
Cons:
I’m afraid the quality of work can suffer, I see people running agencies but I also hear from customers that they had bad experiences with agencies and prefer to work with a solo guy like me.
Increased cost, I’d have to rent an office because I tried with a remote guy before and think for this kind of job it’s better to be able to communicate/coach directly.
Afraid of staffing problems, not finding the right people, people quitting and getting into a situation where I have clients who signed but no employees.
3) Keep 1-2 customers at a fixed rate and add 1-2 customers where I sell on commission basis myself.
Pros: income not capped.
Cons: Higher risk, still time for money (could find somebody to help tho)
4) Find a company with a good product and become a partner to manage sales.
I'm not creative enough to launch my own product but I know how to sell.
I had some opportunities but I never found the perfect fit, human and product wise so far.
Preferably product sales because orders keep coming more easy and steady
vs. services where a lot of consultation is required for each sale.
5) Develop the consulting business more and create consulting products. I don’t like it because there is so many already out there doing this and I am not that keen on being filmed.
Nevertheless, I’ll do 1-2 small videos for Udemy because I’m convinced they can help someone but this won’t be a huge source of income.
6) Something completely different
My situation is not too shabby but I'm hungry for more, hope to find more inspiration here.
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