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Client Outreach: Creating A Network And Developing Your Customer-Base - Kyle Carpenter

Client Outreach: Creating A Network And Developing Your Customer-Base - Kyle Carpenter

Creative Pulse

November 18, 2017
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  1. Client: A whole week to finish? That’s not good enough!

    Me: I’m going as fast as I can. Client: Well how about I kick your ass. Will THAT speed things up? Me: I’m afraid not.
  2. START PART TIME • It’s tough to get started as

    a freelancer – you don’t want to survive on freelance income as you get started. • Starting when you already have another income source means you can pick and choose who you work with (AKA Qualifying Clients – more on this later) • This is how you avoid CLIENTS FROM HELL • Transition your full time employer into a part time client if you can! • Take this time to build your professional portfolio, a stable of regular clients, and a better sense of what you WANT to do.
  3. Me: So what’s your budget for this project?
 
 Client:

    ACAP.
 
 Me: ACAP?
 
 Client: As Cheap As Possible. Also, I need it ASAP.
  4. HOW TO DETERMINE YOUR RATE • You want to charge

    exactly enough that your client has to think about it, but still says yes. • An unfortunate reminder: the paygap exists in the freelancing world. That means you have to fight to earn what you deserve. • Rule of thumb: think of how much you want to earn a year, and drop three zeroes. That’s your hourly rate. • Want to make $25000 a year? Charge $25 an hour. $60000 a year? $60 an hour.
  5. WAIT, HOW DOES THAT MATH WORK? • You only have

    so many billable hours in a year: 40 hours a week x 50 weeks (52 – 2 weeks vacation) = 2000 hours • Half your time is going to go to unpaid work: outreach, hustle, and bookkeeping. • So 2000/2 = 1000 billable hours. • 1000 billable hours * your hourly wage = your yearly income • Want to make 100K a year? Charge $100 an hour. 

  6. WHY YOU CHARGE SO MUCH • It might feel weird

    to ask for that much an hour, but you HAVE TO. • You charge more as a freelancer because you spend more time on unpaid work (emails etc). You need to reflect that time in your rates. • Also, as a contract worker, your client doesn’t need to train you, pay for your benefits, your taxes, etc. • Therefore, even if you charge more, you’re STILL CHEAPER THAN A FULL TIME EMPLOYEE.
  7. OTHER CHARGING OPTIONS • Hourly wages disincentive you from working

    FAST. • There are other ways to charge, though! • TIMED wages: hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, • PRODUCT wages: deliverable, project, and value • There are lots of resources on all of these options out there. Research!
  8. MARKETING FOR FREELANCERS • When you’re marketing yourself as a

    freelancer, you’re not just selling a product: you’re selling yourself, and you’re selling a working relationship. • That means rather than thinking in terms of marketing and sales, you should think in terms of OUTREACH, followed by CLIENT QUALIFICATION and EDUCATION
  9. HOW TO GET CLIENTS (OUTREACH) • Network (Congrats! You’ve already

    started) • Some clients just come to you via your network. Others you have to work for. • DON’T JUST WORK ON YOUR PORTFOLIO! That’s passive outreach. Get active. • As a creative, working on your portfolio feels like self improvement. However, you will get more out of active outreach than you will passive marketing. • Use this method to make sure you have steady opportunities to avoid the feast/famine cycle.
  10. BASIC OUTREACH • Sign up to every QUALITY job posting

    site you can. NOTE: Upwork is NOT one of them • Start a bookmark folder and add any jobs you are interested in • set a goal for every week, whether it’s 10, 15, 20… whatever. • DO YOUR RESEARCH • Know WHO you are contacting • Know what the company does • Be ready to communicate how YOU can solve their problem(s) • Send an email that shows your research. • There are so many quality templates out for outreach emails. • TAILOR YOUR RESUME/PORTFOLIO TO THAT CLIENT • Follow up twice – more than that and you’re bothering them. Let it go.
  11. ON SELLING EXPERTISE • You are good at what you

    do. • The Dunning Kruger Effect is a psychological paradox that relates to expertise. In short: • Novices tend to overestimate their skill at something, because they don’t know what they don’t know. • People who are trained in a field underestimate their skills because they know what they don’t know, and compare themselves unfavourably to those who can do what they can’t. • DON’T SELL YOURSELF SHORT BECAUSE YOU ARE GOOD AT WHAT YOU DO! • At the same time, your client doesn’t understand how skilled you are at what you do. What they understand is what you can do for them. • Pitch to them in those terms: SOLUTIONS, not skills.
  12. QUALIFY YOUR CLIENTS • A lot of clients suck. There’s

    a reason Clients From Hell Exists. • You have to interview your clients as much as they interview you. • Listen to their problems. Find out their pain points. Determine if you CAN help them. • The interview process is where you qualify your clients, determine the scope of the project, and start to educate your client. • Ask yourself: “is this someone I WANT to work with?” You have the power to say “no.” USE IT. • Interviewing the client changes the power dynamic: they aren’t just judging you, you’re finding out more about them.
  13. GET BANT: Keep this acronym in mind when interviewing a

    potential client: • BUDGET: What is your client’s budget for this project? Does it match their goals? • AUTHORITY: Does the person you are talking to have the authority to make budgetary decisions for your project? If not, who should you talk to? • NEED: What do they need from you? DO they need you? Do they really need what they think they need, or can you correct them? • TIMING: How urgent is this project? Is their enough time to accomplish what they need?
  14. WHEN INTERVIEWING A CLIENT • BE CLEAR: Ask questions. Make

    sure you’re both on the same page. • BE CONFIDENT: You are the expert on what you do in the room. Reflect that. • QUANTIFY: What do you need to accommodate them in terms of time and budget? • COMMUNICATE COSTS: Remind the client that you’re working with available information and note what may change as time goes on. • FIT TO BUDGET: This may require trimming part of the scope or shifting deadlines, but either way, involving the client is crucial. Again, this is all about managing expectations. • OVERESTIMATE: This protects you against all the variables associated with estimates. Worst case scenario: you finish early and under budget, and the client is happier for it.
  15. EDUCATE YOUR CLIENTS • You’re the expert in the room.

    Make sure that’s clear. • Communicate WHY you made the decisions you did, and what purpose it serves. This takes practice. Start now. • If you’re a designer, you might have to have a better answer than “because it looks right.” • Continue to communicate timelines, requirements, and achievements • We all want to avoid Clients From Hell, but we need to accept our own responsibility in PRODUCING them. Client Education is how you do that.
  16. Client: I want the link to be a hockey puck

    that flies around the screen, and your cursor is a hockey stick and you have to CHASE IT! Me: I am going to do everything in my power to talk you out of this.
  17. FURTHER RESOURCES • Clients From Hell! • https://clientsfromhell.net • https://school.clientsfromhell.net/

    • Twitter: @clientsfh • Slack: The CFHWatercooler! • Brennan Dunn at https://doubleyourfreelancing.com/ • Kai Davis at https://doubleyouraudience.com/ • http://freeoutreachcourse.com/ • https://www.freelancersunion.org/ • Bonsai: https://www.hellobonsai.com • Useful for invoicing, contract generation, and more! • Creative Pulse!