VOLUME 15, ISSUE 1 – JANUARY 2016
THIS MONTH’S MENU:
I. APPETIZER: SALES—FAR MORE THAN A “NECESSARY EVIL”
Captivating Book Puts Sales in Its Rightful Place of Honor
II. “FIELD” GREENS: THE POWER OF BEING FUN & EASYGOING
WA Freelancer Reminds that Being Easy to Work With Is NOT Easy to Find
III. MAIN “MEAT” COURSE: GROW YOUR BIZ BY
ATTENDING CONFERENCES—FREE! (Part 2 of 2)
NY FLCW Writes/Speaks His Way to a Pile of Great Niche-Specific Leads!
IV. DESSERT: SWEET SUCCESS STORIES & TIPS
Solid Project Success Puts Part-time Seattle FLCW Closer to Full-Time!
TIP: Cool “Form” Tool Provides Buttoned-Up Website Feature for Little/No $!
I. APPETIZER: SALES – FAR MORE THAN A “NECESSARY EVIL”
Captivating Book Puts Sales in Its Rightful Place of Honor
Sales. The very word (along with “marketing”) is enough to make the bulk of artistic types—and a healthy chunk of FLCW’s—break out in hives. “Why can’t I just create, and leave the sales to others?” Yeah, take a number.
For better or worse, the success of any creative venture depends on sales. No longer can you just be an “artist.” And according to a wonderful book I just finished, The Art of the Sale (by Philip Delves Broughton), it not only has always been that way, but the two parts—art, and the sales of that art—are inextricably intertwined.
Having been in sales for 15 years prior to starting my writing practice, I was smitten by the following passage. Transcending the typically dismissive comments about the sales process, instead, it truly paid proper homage to this misunderstood art and science.
No great artist can thrive without also being a great salesperson—or at least having one on their side. Art and commerce do not sit at separate ends of the spectrum of values—one ethereal and noble, the other a necessary evil. At the heart of any rich artistic and cultural life are the people who sell art.
The book (suggested to me by Marcia Yudkin, incidentally) is a fascinating and colorful examination and dissection of the sales process. Yet it’s not so much a how-to manual as it is a guided tour through the compelling stories of top salespeople who employ(ed) a broad array of strategies across a delightfully diverse spectrum of professions, countries and periods of history.
The upshot? The book demystifies the whole science of sales, and you’ll likely walk away with a newfound respect (or in my case, as an old sales guy, renewed respect) for the profession. Not to mention a host of techniques and tactics that fit your temperament (and will likely be different for each reader).
Not like some “program” you have to implement, but rather, things you’ll instinctively keep in mind as you go about your business, and which can’t help but make you more effective.
Another quote addressed itself nicely to folks like us (no, marketing writing might not be our “passion,” but you get the larger point). Talking about how some sell to gain money or status, he added:
For others, selling is an act of commercializing a particular talent. A painter sells his work so he can continue to paint without going broke or hungry, so he can paint and not lead the frustrated life of a moving man, short-order cook, or accountant, his true passion relegated to evenings and weekends in the basement.
On that “great-way-to-start-2016” note, let’s eat!
II. “FIELD” GREENS: THE POWER OF BEING FUN & EASYGOING
WA Freelancer Reminds that Being Easy to Work With Is NOT Easy to Find
A great piece and welcome reminder from Ferndale, WA freelance “shape-shifter” Mike Klassen. Why “shape-shifter”? In the past 15 years or so, Mike’s gone from commercial writer to designer, and soon, to doing voiceover work. The man knows how to keep it fresh, and his advice is ALWAYS relevant to our field.
Mike’s exactly right here: I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, in my 22 years at this, clients talk about how important it is for writers to be—in addition to talented—easy to work with. This is NO small thing. Enjoy!
I received the following testimonial from a consulting client:
“We do a good bit of direct response, but find most advisors are all about ‘pretty’ and not ‘results.’ Mike, your input was dead-on. We happily adjusted our copy and graphics according to your advice, ending up with a piece that looked and performed fantastically. Plus, you were fun to work with. Looking forward to our next project!”
What always stands out to me in a testimonial like that are the comments that relate to personality. In this testimonial, it was “Plus, you were fun to work with.”
Looking back at other testimonials, there’s a similar theme: “We really enjoyed how easy it was to complete our Magalog.” “You’ve been so easy to work with.”
I’ve never prompted a client about what they should say in a testimonial. And while all have talked about being happy with the work I did, I’m most proud of the comments about being easy to work with. It can be easy to forget that your personality and how you work with a client or interact with a customer, is just as important as you being able to do the task, or the quality of the product/service you sell.
I’ve been brought in on projects where another freelancer had started the work. But there was a personality conflict of some kind and the client felt that, even though the first freelancer could do the task, the conflict wasn’t worth it. Unless no one else does what you do, you can always be tossed aside for another freelancer.
You’d think being polite, professional and responsive is a given. It’s not. You could probably give me a number of examples where your interactions with a business were less-than-ideal.
Do a quick evaluation this week. Is there room for improvement in this area? Satisfying clients isn’t only about quality service, or the best price. The feelings that people get from you, and the interactions they have with you, play a huge part in whether clients want to do business with you or not.
III. MAIN “MEAT” COURSE: GROW YOUR BIZ BY ATTENDING CONFERENCES—FREE! (Part 2 of 2)
NY FLCW Writes/Speaks His Way to a Pile of Great Niche-Specific Leads!
Part 2 of a great two-parter from Corning, NY FLCW Ted Goldwyn on being a “roving reporter” or breakout speaker at industry conferences specific to your niche, having your expenses covered in part/full, and getting access to plenty of your ideal clients. Enjoy!
Last month I shared some tactics I’ve used successfully in growing my nascent FLCW business: attending industry conferences for free by offering to write short articles, or speaking as an expert on a specific and relevant topic. In this second part, we’ll discuss some techniques to make the most of your time at the conference, and how to effectively follow up with all the great leads you make!
What do you do when you get there? It depends on your role at the conference. If you’re simply speaking at one breakout session, you’ll have plenty of time to attend other sessions, network with attendees, and work the trade show floor.
But, if you’re “on call” as the onsite roving reporter, your time will be much more limited. In this case, it’s helpful to have your specific role and assignments identified well in advance. Ask for a pre-conference meeting with organizers if possible. Then you can plan your schedule around those sessions of interest to you, and allow plenty of time to work the trade show floor during breaks in your schedule.
Bring plenty of business cards! Don’t be shy about approaching the vendor booths, but don’t be too aggressive, either. Remember: The vendors have spent a lot of money for a booth to showcase their business, and their primary goal is to demo their product and collect leads, so make your pitch brief.
Ask questions about their business and their product, and let the conversation develop naturally. When asked, explain exactly what it is you do and how you help companies like theirs increase sales leads and improve their bottom line results. By taking a humble yet confident approach, you’ll be surprised how receptive people are to learning about your writing services.
Following up: The most critical step! Congratulations! You attended a great conference, gathered all sorts of great industry insights, and met a bunch of new prospects right in your target niche. Time to follow up.
Don’t wait too long: Within 2-3 days, send a follow-up email (2-3 short paragraphs, max) to those you met. Use a short, relevant subject line such as: “Great meeting you at the ABC conference in Chicago.” Remind them where you met and what you talked about:
“Hi Joe, It was great to meet you at the ABC conference this week. I enjoyed learning about your wingding product and how it can help doctors reduce time to diagnosis. You might remember that I specialize in writing white papers and case studies for medical technology companies.”
The next paragraph should give a high-level summary of your relevant experience and background. Just a couple of sentences of why you’re qualified to help them, and make sure to include a link to your online portfolio. Then close it with a suggestion to connect by phone in the next week.
That’s it! Don’t worry if you don’t hear back right away. Sales and marketing professionals are very busy, especially if they’re on the road attending multiple conferences. If you don’t hear back, follow up with an email in a week. If you still don’t hear back, you may want to try reaching them by phone.
If you’re starting out (or even more established), looking to build your prospect list, and you enjoy travel, these are some tactics that have proven successful for me. Good luck and happy writing!
IV. DESSERT: SWEET SUCCESS STORIES & TIPS
Solid Project Success Puts Part-time Seattle FLCW Closer to Full-Time!
TIP: Cool “Form” Tool Provides Buttoned-Up Website Feature for Little/No $!
Great success story from Seattle FLCW-in-training (i.e., part-time), Robyn Conti. More successes like this one, and she’ll be part-time no more! Thanks, Robyn, and hope 2016 is THE year you make the break!
After that, a good tip from budding Los Altos, CA FLCW Diane Holcomb. I love how more and more budget-friendly tools like these are popping up to help folks have a professional-looking presence without spending much (or, in some cases, any) money.
While I’m not a full-time FLCW yet (I have a day job as an editor), I do have a client for whom I do some occasional freelance work. She’s a FLCW (who found me on LinkedIn) who passes overflow work to me a few times a year. I have a background in retirement services marketing, and I’ve been working with her on various projects for financial services firms for about four years.
Anyway, I just completed a project for her in October. It was a quarterly newsletter targeted at retirement plan sponsors, and basically, all I had to do was write some articles summarizing the results of different industry studies relevant to the audience. Well, it turned out better than I could have hoped. My client was thrilled with the way the pieces came out, and her client was over the moon.
The articles were exactly what they were looking for, and the only revision her client made was adding subheads to make them easier to read. The fee was excellent, and timely, too, as I needed to replenish my savings after paying off some unexpected medical bills. The best news of all: I was rehired to write the newsletter for that client last quarter. With any luck, it’ll be recurring revenue in 2016!
As a new kid on the FLCW block with limited funds, I’m building my own website on WordPress. I can’t tell you how many frustrating hours I spent trying to find a contact form that I could customize (trust me, I’m not tech-savvy by any means). I was considering opting out of a form altogether, like Peter does successfully on his site, but I wanted to collect some information from a possible client before communicating directly.
The solution? JotForm. They have a ton of templates to choose from. Or do what I did, and design your own. No need to know code. Just click on the fields you want. Under “Form Tools,” you can choose text boxes and edit them to add text.
I added two: “What kind of copy do you need?” and “When do you need the completed copy?” When you’re done, embed the completed form on your site. It couldn’t have been easier.
When someone fills out the contact form, you’ll receive the information via email. The information is also saved on your JotForm user account page.
I chose the free option. JotForm also has paid options that offer more services.
PB: Thanks, Diane! Just a caveat: While I’m all for using forms to capture information, I’m a firm believer in also providing visitors with a standalone email link as well, so they can communicate with you in one click if they want. When you’re building a business, and WANT people to reach out, make it easy to do so.