A client and friend of mine wrote a book called Being a Starving Artist Sucks. He heard from one of his readers recently asking for help. The reader said “I suck at selling.”
The Author asked me how best to help him, which inspired this email replay and post. Here it is:
I suck at selling is his problem. He needs to close the doors; he doesn’t have a prayer UNLESS he gets his selling head on straight.
The only way he can ever succeed at any business is to be able to sell what he creates.
SO
What is the Unique proposition he is selling (USP) what makes him so darn special? If he answered “design” he doesn’t know what he has to offer.
Who does he work with most effectively? Who buys into his vision of design most readily? Pick 1 or 2 groups. Make a decision.
What do they (or would they) say about his work and service? Establish the value they receive
Can he find a list of people like those he best serves? Try the Yellow Pages, it’s free! Try Linked In, it’s free to look at least.
Check out Spoke
Check out Press Releases in the newspaper, look for companies making relevant announcements in industries he works with. Google the industries he serves and see who might need help.
If he could stand in front of a room full of those people what would he tell them?
Take the message from point #5 and make it a letter.
Desk Top Publish the letter and send it to 100 of the people on that list per week or month.
Gamble $42 ONLY if he’s going to call each person he sent the letter to every day. That would be roughly 25 letter follow up calls per day. Yes, always leave a message using the script below. It's a marketing touch.
Here's the call script after sending the letter. “Hey I work with people just like you, helping them with [Value he offers]. I thought you might need that kind of help too, so I thought I’d call and introduce myself. Can I stop over and show you examples that have earned business owners [RESULTS] in your industry?
Go show them examples of the work.
Ask them what they think and how they make a decision to use design services. Get a clear and focused next step at this meeting. Don’t leave with out a next step that all parties agree to.
Follow up to either make the sale or pull them from the list because they said NO NEVER GO AWAY. Keep calling until you get YES or that answer.
Once he gets to YES, sign a contract, deposit the check in the bank and do the best job he is humanly capable of doing.
When the job is complete ask the new client; " Did I keep all my promises, did I exceed your expectations?"
When the new client says YES, you are great, ask for a referral. If they don't say that, redo the job.
Repeat for the next 20-years.
This fellow needs to make a choice:
1. Get selling today
2. Starve to death and get a divorce (his wife is angry at his lack of success)
3. or get a government job where he never has to sell ANYTHING and retire one day with a low dollar per month pension, wishing his life was more fulfilling.
I know it’s harsh, but if you suck at selling you cannot be a freelance anything. All he’ll ever do is fail. So it’s better to know that now rather than struggle and eventually lose everything.
Selling is the challenge that is keeping him poor
