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Ever since I had my little breakdown, which you could read more on here, I started questioning my beliefs more. Actually, I want to thank Odysseus M Jones who called me out on my bullshit in the linked post. Initially, I didn't get why he said what he said, but over time I realised he was right. So, thank you for the harsh truth, man!
After the wine has kicked in and I am finally in the mood to write, I want to share some exciting news with you. But first, I'll give you some context.
A couple of months ago (when I posted the above thread) I was in a very dark place, as I was working for money. My mindset was really focused on getting the clients' money. As a result, I wasn't making much (averaging about $700/month freelancing, which for my country is okay, but nothing spectacular). Then, I took the feedback from the thread above to heart and realised I was going very wrong about business.
Day by day I initiated my mindset transformation where I started focusing on helping my clients solve their needs. Little by little I started closing higher-price deals. However, the close still happened over chat. Then, one of my clients saw that I was doing my best to provide value to him. He gave me an advice which took my game to the next level:
He had hired me to do market research for his startup. I delivered, but he explained to me that he had also hired another freelancer who got on the phone with him. He said he was able to extract more value from him during that call. He told me that he sensed I cared about him and his needs, so he gave me the advice to offer a phone call as part of my process.
Game changer.
I implemented the phone call strategy as part of my sales process. I immediately noticed I started closing higher-ticket deals- from an average of about $400/deal it quickly jumped to about $700/deal. After several successful phone calls I realised I was good at gaining the trust of my clients. It's also something I thoroughly enjoy.
However, I still had a problem- I was a one-man army. Thus, I could only close an X amount of deals before being overbooked, so my revenue was capped. I knew I needed to do something different.
I decided to visit my hometown, which is also a seaside resort- perfect during July/August. Then, I met with an ex-colleague of mine who I hadn't seen for a while. We talked and talked and it turned out he was in a really bad financial situation. I offered to lend him some money, but he said he preferred to work for them. That was a fateful moment right there.
At that time I needed help with one of the projects I had taken. He agreed to help in exchange for payment. As we had worked together before, our workflow was pretty much flawless. I also realised how much time I saved in production and I loved it! As a result, we amazed the client. Then I got on a phone call with her and we discussed 3 more projects. She gave me 1 as a start. I was qualified to do part of the job, but the other part I didn't know how to do. However, I already knew I could hire an expert to help with the part that I didn't know.
At that point, something in me had already clicked. I had realized that I needed to spend money to make money. I just felt how interconnected everything is. So, I quickly hired someone on Fiverr to do the NLP analysis I needed help with (still waiting on that deliverable, due tomorrow).
Okay, but I kind of liked closing people on the phone. So, I kept on contacting people, providing value in my cover letter, then getting on the phone with them, gaining their trust, and earning their business. As a result, I scheduled projects for a month and a half ahead (at that point, I need to work with one more person to get more projects, which I intend to do). My largest close happened today when I upsold a client from an initial offer of $1,400 to $3,000. That is a huge achievement for me considering I was averaging $700/month. So far, I've managed to get sales worth about $5,000 (until 20 Sept) and I am not finished. However, I think I need to focus on delivering now, as I don't want to disappoint the clients.
That $3,000 client? Well, I'm going to outsource some of the work to the client I told you we amazed. She is a bit more expensive than I'd like to, but I'm making this as a bid to further gain her trust and show her that the relationship is mutual. The reasoning is she promised 2 more projects, so I want to further develop my relationship with her, as there is potential for a long-term one. Will it pay off? Pff, who knows, but I think it's worth a shot. Otherwise, it'd be a lesson worth $1,000. (Btw, is $1,000 reasonable for conducting 4 30-minute long interviews without recruiting the individuals, as she already knows what people to interview?)
In terms of profit, after I've paid everyone (incl. myself and the government), the business gets to keep about 25%. I think that number could be improved, but I think it's a nice start for now. I'll optimise it further down the line. Note, this number accounts only for the projects I've secured so far. It does not account for any projects I might get in the coming days.
Next challenges? I got all of the above business from Upwork, so now I need to find someone to help me with marketing, so I could start generating my own leads. My goal is to spend less time in production and more time selling. I also have a website, which needs a serious refreshment. However, the main goal is to deliver on the promises I've made to my current clients.
Overall, the biggest change was in my mindset. But there was something else. All of this comes naturally to me and I feel like I've been suppressing it unconsciously. I was literally self-sabotaging myself. I also have this strange feeling that this is just the beginning. I like how the universe works.
I really hope you enjoyed reading my words and if I've inspired somebody then that is my reward.
After the wine has kicked in and I am finally in the mood to write, I want to share some exciting news with you. But first, I'll give you some context.
A couple of months ago (when I posted the above thread) I was in a very dark place, as I was working for money. My mindset was really focused on getting the clients' money. As a result, I wasn't making much (averaging about $700/month freelancing, which for my country is okay, but nothing spectacular). Then, I took the feedback from the thread above to heart and realised I was going very wrong about business.
Day by day I initiated my mindset transformation where I started focusing on helping my clients solve their needs. Little by little I started closing higher-price deals. However, the close still happened over chat. Then, one of my clients saw that I was doing my best to provide value to him. He gave me an advice which took my game to the next level:
He had hired me to do market research for his startup. I delivered, but he explained to me that he had also hired another freelancer who got on the phone with him. He said he was able to extract more value from him during that call. He told me that he sensed I cared about him and his needs, so he gave me the advice to offer a phone call as part of my process.
Game changer.
I implemented the phone call strategy as part of my sales process. I immediately noticed I started closing higher-ticket deals- from an average of about $400/deal it quickly jumped to about $700/deal. After several successful phone calls I realised I was good at gaining the trust of my clients. It's also something I thoroughly enjoy.
However, I still had a problem- I was a one-man army. Thus, I could only close an X amount of deals before being overbooked, so my revenue was capped. I knew I needed to do something different.
I decided to visit my hometown, which is also a seaside resort- perfect during July/August. Then, I met with an ex-colleague of mine who I hadn't seen for a while. We talked and talked and it turned out he was in a really bad financial situation. I offered to lend him some money, but he said he preferred to work for them. That was a fateful moment right there.
At that time I needed help with one of the projects I had taken. He agreed to help in exchange for payment. As we had worked together before, our workflow was pretty much flawless. I also realised how much time I saved in production and I loved it! As a result, we amazed the client. Then I got on a phone call with her and we discussed 3 more projects. She gave me 1 as a start. I was qualified to do part of the job, but the other part I didn't know how to do. However, I already knew I could hire an expert to help with the part that I didn't know.
At that point, something in me had already clicked. I had realized that I needed to spend money to make money. I just felt how interconnected everything is. So, I quickly hired someone on Fiverr to do the NLP analysis I needed help with (still waiting on that deliverable, due tomorrow).
Okay, but I kind of liked closing people on the phone. So, I kept on contacting people, providing value in my cover letter, then getting on the phone with them, gaining their trust, and earning their business. As a result, I scheduled projects for a month and a half ahead (at that point, I need to work with one more person to get more projects, which I intend to do). My largest close happened today when I upsold a client from an initial offer of $1,400 to $3,000. That is a huge achievement for me considering I was averaging $700/month. So far, I've managed to get sales worth about $5,000 (until 20 Sept) and I am not finished. However, I think I need to focus on delivering now, as I don't want to disappoint the clients.
That $3,000 client? Well, I'm going to outsource some of the work to the client I told you we amazed. She is a bit more expensive than I'd like to, but I'm making this as a bid to further gain her trust and show her that the relationship is mutual. The reasoning is she promised 2 more projects, so I want to further develop my relationship with her, as there is potential for a long-term one. Will it pay off? Pff, who knows, but I think it's worth a shot. Otherwise, it'd be a lesson worth $1,000. (Btw, is $1,000 reasonable for conducting 4 30-minute long interviews without recruiting the individuals, as she already knows what people to interview?)
In terms of profit, after I've paid everyone (incl. myself and the government), the business gets to keep about 25%. I think that number could be improved, but I think it's a nice start for now. I'll optimise it further down the line. Note, this number accounts only for the projects I've secured so far. It does not account for any projects I might get in the coming days.
Next challenges? I got all of the above business from Upwork, so now I need to find someone to help me with marketing, so I could start generating my own leads. My goal is to spend less time in production and more time selling. I also have a website, which needs a serious refreshment. However, the main goal is to deliver on the promises I've made to my current clients.
Overall, the biggest change was in my mindset. But there was something else. All of this comes naturally to me and I feel like I've been suppressing it unconsciously. I was literally self-sabotaging myself. I also have this strange feeling that this is just the beginning. I like how the universe works.
I really hope you enjoyed reading my words and if I've inspired somebody then that is my reward.
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