2015 was my first full year in business, after twenty-five years in the trenches of corporate America. It was a great and grand experiment, as I really had little idea of what I was getting into. But on balance, it turned out really well and I’m excited to see what 2016 will bring.
It is fun to look back at all the successes of my first year, such as signing up that first client, getting repeat business from happy clients, and hitting my income goals for the year. But not everything was pink unicorns and gluten-free lollipops, and I learned some valuable lessons along the way. I’m looking forward to sharing a few of these lessons learned with you over the course of my first few blog posts. Here are some big ones to get us started:
ABP: Always Be Prospecting. If you’ve seen the classic 1992 film Glengarry Glen Ross, you surely remember the perennial advice of heartless sales manager Blake, as played by Alec Baldwin: “A-B-C. A-Always, B-Be, C-Closing. Always be closing. ALWAYS BE CLOSING.” Despite Blake’s obvious deficiencies in the area of servant leadership, with a little tweaking this is actually very sage advice for those of us who are running our own businesses.
With the help and encouragement of my business coach, Ed Gandia, I started off the first half of 2015 with a very solid and consistent prospecting plan. It resulted in some big wins right away. Then I got busy. I stopped prospecting, and the leads dried up. The machine grinded to a halt. So when my client work wrapped up, I didn’t have a golden pipeline of new work coming in.
When it comes to what prospecting methods you use, there is no right or wrong approach. For some people, cold calling works. For others, its warm email prospecting. Or direct mail. Or attending network events. Or building your platform to generate inbound leads, through methods such as a newsletter, blog, podcast, or YouTube videos. Regardless of what method you choose, ABP – Always Be Prospecting, even when you are neck-deep in client work.
Be Professional. This is so easy to do, yet so many freelancers mess this up. In the creative services arena, the bar is pretty low, as corporate types expect writers, graphic designers, artists, and the like to be a little… how shall we say? Flaky. But you really don’t need any experience or talent to do the simple things like: respond to people in a timely manner, do what you say you’re going to do, deliver what is asked (and even a little bit more), and deliver it on (or before) the deadline!
Be easy to work with. So many freelancers miss the mark here. Don’t be a prima donna: share your expertise and don’t be afraid to suggest what you feel would be the best for your client. That is what they are paying you for. But if your client is dead set on doing something their way, that is absolutely his right. Pick your battles, and move on. Don’t get emotional. Don’t take things personally. Don’t harass your client with constant calls/emails/texts/social media posts. Listen and take notes during meetings, so you don’t have to ask them the same questions, over, and over again…
That’s enough for now. But no worries, gang. I’m just getting warmed up…
Stay tuned for next time, when I’ll share a few more lessons learned from my first year as a freelancer.