Hey guys today’s blog is a more in depth look at some of the ways we can reach the customers we want to reach, Figuring out Who that is, and Ways to stand out from the competition in all aspects of business.
Most of what you are going to read is transcribed notes I took from dialog of a webinar hosted by Ramit Sethi and Chase Jarvis. I took all the notes, and will try to explain the concepts they covered.
We tend to have a problem selling ourselves, and our work.
You have to be able to talk about it, and know what the other person wants to hear.
When you do it right, the other person WANTS to work with you, and price becomes irrelevant.
Well how do I do that, and what’s the problem with what I do now?
It’s all about understanding the other person,
Most people want to talk about themselves, using what’s called “I, I, I” language. ( I did this,I think, I want...)
They go to a job interview, or meet with a new contact and soon enough they start pitching how great they are, telling you how they did this and that, and they react to questions and don’t have any themselves.
Another thing most people do wrong in interviews is, they give off Low Status Performer Ques But more on that later.
What is the #1 reason people want to make money on the side?
People want to have the OPTION to eventually quit their jobs
So where to start, how about:
Why are Creative People Incapable of Marketing Themselves?
What makes Creative people so terrible at representing themselves?
-Peer group problems.
One reason among artists is the social stigma “If you’ve made
money, you've sold out and therefore you have lost desirability.”
-An over focus on the craft,
Craft matters, but it’s easy to get comfortable with what we do.
Does the average client understand the detail of the work? Could you theoretically spend a little less time in the details and still produce a Technically sound product?
You should execute Technically, Keep practicing if your skill levels not quite there.
What I’m trying to portray is;
If the Average consumer wouldn't notice the subtle differences that’s portrayed in high level craft,
and Unless you are marketing to those select markets, your level of work will not be appreciated,
and The time you spent working on it when you could have been done earlier, would have been better served elsewhere.
Look at the business, Who EXACTLY is the customer?
* The person with the money is usually the real customer. However, in some cases, such as marriage planning and similar events, the true customer is not the person paying, but rather the person whom the event orchestrates around.
Utilize the Pay certainty technique to determine your Customer base.
(Who has the ability to pay? Who has the willingness to pay?)
Understand what is it these customers actually want;
YES they want X but WHY?
Refocus the advertising towards this new Customer base.
What do they want, what do they fear?
an Advertising manager for example;
Want: Exceptional photographs for use in Magazine promotion for Makeup product.
Fear: Failure to produce results, failure to reach certain markets, won’t produce results needed to make goals.)
How most people attend client meetings/ interviews.
Walk in, Hand the portfolio over, let them decide if they are qualified.
This is the wrong way to present yourself.
It presents such an uninterested unrelatable, totally bland image.
Even if your work is excellent, Presentation is the real determining factor!
What makes this so wrong?
Mistake #1
Expecting this other person to recognize your brilliance without communicating why it is so.
You need to teach them to Revere what you give them!
So you tell them
“Here is my portfolio, let me take 60 seconds if you don’t mind, and explain some of the thought that went into this.”
You explain why they should revere you, and what makes you different.
Don’t expect them to recognize your Brilliance.
Don’t try and be better, Try and be Different.
Tell a story about what you went through to produce the work, and why you did it.
Mistake #2
Trying to appeal to everybody.
Pretend for a moment, you’re a New mother, and you want a photo of your newborn son.
You just got home 2-3 days after giving birth.
You've decided to have a professional photographer take the pictures.
Who would you rather hire?
John Doe,
Portfolio includes: Horses, Kids, Barns, Doves, Flowers, and Skylines
or
Richard Billinghouse,
Who specifically photographs Kids between 0-3 months
When deciding the professional that she wants to hire, Do you really think its Price that matters to this Woman?
Perhaps in a literal sense it still matters, but it becomes FAR LESS important compared to getting the product that they want.
We obsess over price,
How can I charge this much when this guy over here only charges this much?
When you can Really hit on What your clients want, and what their dream is. Price becomes irrelevant.
For instance Richard Billinghouse might say,
“There are plenty of other photographers out there, I’d be happy to recommend some, if you’d like. I happen to be the only one who focuses on Infant Photography, By the way, here are some of my photos that I’ve done. And here’s why their different from some of the stuff you’ll find.”
Notice I haven’t been adversarial or defensive, I'm friendly, and price is kept distant, and unimportant.
The narrower your focused market, especially when you begin in your business, the more your client will be willing to pay to get what they want.
Know your customer.
While this seems straightforward, this is what allows you to seperate yourself, and charge what your worth.
For instance, perhaps your audience doesn't care so much about getting the Perfect angle or shading.
They still want an excellent picture, but they are more interested in the communication between the business and the artist.
Approaching the prospect incorrectly could lose you the sale.
If your Client is thinking
“Give me testimonials on how you have communicated with your other clients,”
And you’re talking about your devotion,
“...And over here you’ll notice how I spent 3 hours with a flashlight attached to a stick duct taped to my shoulder to get this perfect shot.”
Yes, this shows dedication to perfection,
However it’s not relevant to what the Customer is looking for.
Give them what they want!
At that point price is out the window.
But Andrew, How do you Know what they are looking for?
Simply put,
Research.
This is the “Secret Sauce” to what lets people charge 100x what others can, and how people get “Cool” projects vs. the other people who scrape by for the rest of their lives.
Let’s say you’re a wedding photographer, you have a small portfolio, Mostly friends and family weddings.
The First step is to say, “Who am I targeting?”
You think hard and come up with the answer,
“My customer is the Bride.”
The second step is what Ramit Sethi calls 5 minute straitjacket planning.
Basically, turn off all other distractions, close your eyes and force yourself to think about the needs of your customers. It’s ok to think stereotypically.
Ask yourself:
What do the people that actually want to hire me want?
What do they NOT want?
(I.E. They want punctual professional courteous photographer, skilled in their work, and they want the security of knowing they are getting excellent content for their friends and photo books.
They do NOT want, sloppy work, Impolite or unprofessional manner, tardiness, or to be at all concerned about the work performed.)
Now you got the ideas, go test them out.
To continue the Wedding photographer idea,
Go find recently married brides and Say,
“Hey would you mind if we go for coffee for 15 minutes, I'm trying to get into this profession, I’m doing some homework. I'm not trying to sell you anything, I’m just curious about your experience, and would like a moment of your time.”
Send them an email through a warm friend if you can, if not use social media like Facebook, and leave a polite message.
Once you’re actually sitting down with your Guest,
It’s time to ask questions that will help you market more efficiently.
These questions determine the content of new marketing ideas, and also you can use them to pre-emptively address any concerns your own clients might have in the future.
Some helpful questions could include:
How did you choose your photographer?
What would you have changed?
If price was no object, what would you have gotten?
Ask their feelings:
How did you feel with the photographer?
Why this over that?
Do this with 5-10 people, and you’ll start to hear certain key-words/ phrases.
(My friend referred him, He brought me a coffee, I thought that was thoughtful, I wish I could have had Theme options)
You should now go back and PUT these words in your Marketing material.
You shouldn't be trying to FOOL these people, just accurately represent yourself.
So let’s talk a moment about your Image. It’s not just the way you look or talk, at the core, your image is the Perception of other people.
The easiest way to Make it or Break it is to improve the quality of the Perception that others get from you.
Perception
For a moment think of Men, Women and attraction.
If I were to go to a bar, and I was looking for a girlfriend and I walked up to every girl in the room and said “Please, please, please go out with me. Please, please, please.”
How do you think most women would react?
By the way the answer is you would not be getting the attention you are looking for,
And those that DID pay you attention would be highly annoyed with the way you approached them.
This is the equivalent of going into a job, begging for the position.
However, If I go in to the bar, and I’m smiling, drinking with my buddies, and generally, I’m just being confident that I don’t NEED anything that night. How different does that appear?
The perception is totally different!
Don’t go in to a meeting begging for the work no matter how hard a place your in.
Go in with the attitude of “I can do an extraordinary job, not for everybody, but for the few I want to work with, and that want to work with me.”And “I’m here to help figure out what YOU need!”
This is not being arrogant! It’s stating things in a matter of fact.It is OK to be confident about what your good at.
However be confident and assertive, WITHOUT being presumptuous, or cocky!
Remember what you’re offering is not for everybody!Your goal is not to make 300 jobs a month doing everything from cleaning floors, to filing reports, and building desks.
Your goal is to get hired by 10-20 High Quality, Targeted Clients a year!
Don’t try to appeal to everybody.
When you try to appeal to everyone, you appeal to no-one.
This what your putting on the table,
You are focused in your work and excellent in your craft.
You are looking for a client who demands an excellent product in the field you’re working in.
You’re not trying to trick someone, you are trying to attract and target a specific customer.
You want to present your best front and explain why you’re the best fit for this project.
Remember the Pay certainty technique!
Who am I targeting?
Do they have the ability to pay?
Do they have the willingness to pay?
Now, generate some stereotypes in your mind,
(By this I mean, if you were a stereotypical client, i.e. bride, how would this individual think and behave)
What are these customers looking for?
What do they want?
What can I offer them that’s different?
Attend your interviews, and plan out in advance each way it could progress.
Use the words and Phrases obtained from your research.
Did you know that 80% of the negotiation is done before you even walk in the room?
They know what they are looking for, and so do you. Both of you are looking to close the deal and move on.
Illustrate the value you bring to the client.
“Don’t be “Better” Be Different!”
An excellent technique to illustrate your value and stand out from your competition, Is when you go for your Interview/ Client Meeting use the “Briefcase Technique”
The Briefcase Technique
This simple technique has generated millions of dollars.
1. When you Go into a meeting/ are talking to a client.
Ask a lot of questions:
“Tell me what you’re looking for?”
“Have you thought about X, Y, Z?”
“What are the issues you’re thinking about?”
Ask Great Questions! This is super important. You’re being hired to solve a creative problem.
2. Listen to the responses,
“Oh were looking for X”
“We are really confident about 1,2,3,”
“We are just not sure about this____” To which you respond similar to “Oh OK, I had a few thoughts, would you mind if I shared them with you?”
Asking permission to get their respect.
3. “I’ve prepared a few things, and I was wondering if you’d like to see it.”
4. Theatrically reach into your briefcase or portfolio, pull out your ideas,
“There are actually four things I would think about, take a look at this.”
“Let me walk you through it.”
“When I first looked at your Project/website/whatever, the first thing I thought about was ABC...”
At this point the person you’re talking to is really engaged. They can’t stop nodding, and they almost can’t stop smiling.
Why does this work?
1st of all, nobody does this,
People walk in and they ask stupid questions, and they just try to sell themselves.
They believe that a client meeting or interviewer negotiation is about answering questions!
WRONG!
An interview is not about answering questions!
An interview is about telling your story, and communicating your main messages.
It’s not all about answering the prospects questions;
Yes you have to do that,
Just like you have to be good at your craft.
More importantly you have to communicate your message of WHY.
2nd when you pull out your briefcase technique what it means is
“Holy Cow, this guy has done a tonne of work, outside this meeting, before he got in the room.”
This automatically separates you from everyone else.
(Other people just come in and “answer questions)
3rd the things your presenting, are the exact words you’ve learned in your research.
(When you talked to the other “Brides”/customers as previously mentioned)
Version 2 of Briefcase Technique:
One thing people love is High notions, or an outline of the things you’re talking about.
But they also like to get really tactical.
Prepare a 30, 60, and 90 day plan.
“What I will do in 30, 60 and 90 days! If employed by your company”
People look at it and go WOW!
For more of a day to day operations Project you could say,
“Days 1-15 will be spent doing research.
Days 16-30 will be used analyzing and refining the data, as well as obtaining further Information as needed.
Days 31-60 will be the creation and implementation of the results gained from the research.
Days 61-90 will be used analyzing the new processes we have instilled, and tweaking any performance issues we find."
For a creative project you could say,
“In the first week I want to do research, I want to study what other people have done. And I would deliver X to you on X day of the week.”
Then break down the second and third week, including sending the product to the customer, and following up with a review.
What this does for people, is that it totally Mitigates their Risk.
Because now they have that piece of paper, and they say,
“This is it, I can delegate this, to this person, I trust them!”
and it’s a done deal.
You’ve moved price to the 5th, or 10th concern, and they have a document.
*something about a document, It means you've prepared it on paper, and often this little bit of thought will blow their minds.
#1 trick for Successful Negotiation is who does the most talking.
The more talking you can get the Prospect, to do, the better your odds of closing a sale!
To do this you must get the idea across of
“I’m trying to solve your problems” not “I’m trying to sell you”
Why don’t most people spend more time asking questions?
Most people walk in to an interview and say “I’m here, what do you want to ask me”
This already loses you the sale because it’s no different than what most people are doing.
It doesn’t make you stand out from your competition, and doesn’t place value on your work.
You want to come in and say,
“Hey I’ve been thinking about this meeting all week, I’m excited to be here, and I Have a bunch of ideas and questions I’d love to ask you. But it’s your meeting so you take it from here.”
You don’t even have to have the answers,
Just by asking the right questions you separate yourself. They think,
“Ah this person gets it; It’s like their reading my mind.”
And when you follow it up with the briefcase technique, you have yourself a mighty 1-2 punch technique that really nails down those prospectives.
Okay so we have talked a lot about Perception and even talked about some excellent Techniques you can use to Close those sales and stand out from a crowd.
But How do we tell if a person Seems Competent?
Competence Triggers,
What are they?
Simply, something competent people do and they way they present themselves subconsciously.
Confidence is a high Competence trigger.
One big trick prospective employers try to do in interviews is to say,
“What’s your rate, How much, What’s your expectation of salary?”
What a Low quality Performer would do
“Well I made 35k/year at my last job; So I’m hoping to make 37...”
Wrong,
What they are already thinking at this point is,
“This is a Low Status Performer, and I’m going to give them maybe 36/year,we’re done here.”
They are going to low ball you, Even if they had a budget for 60.
A High Status Performer would say this
“Well, you know, we can discuss salary later, I’m more than happy to discuss it. Right now I want to see if this is a good fit for both of us.”
What are we doing there?
We are deferring salary until later. And right now were deciding if the job is a good fit for BOTH of us.
We are BOTH deciding if we want to work with each other, it’s not just,
“I’ll take what you give me”, it’s more
“We can both help each other get what we want from this.”
The difference we have been discussing is called the Meta Message,
You’re not going in the interview begging for a job, even if you really want it.
You’re going in and explaining that you have options, you have to present that you’re good
enough and that there are other clients trying to reach you,
Even if they haven’t yet.
Remember YOU are selecting THEM as much as they are selecting you.
Your message starts with the way you present yourself.
Some Common Questions and Answers:
How to stir up those initial contacts?
The typical way, is to take a bunch of pictures, set up a twitter or Facebook group and wait.
Yeah it works, but the same way fishing without bait works.
Not dependably.
Go direct.
*In 8 weeks I challenge you to get 3 paying clients. Doesn’t matter how much, or who, just 3 clients willing to pay you for your work.
Why 3? Well the first one will probably be someone close like your mom, the
second will be somewhat close but less so, Like a cousin or friend, but the THIRD sale, that’s the one that
means you have something worth it, because this sale is usually not as closely connected with you.
While doing your initial research, be friendly and professional. Hopefully they like you,
Ask for referrals, keep it low key.
“Hey if you happened to have any friends looking to get these services done. Please Id love it if you would mention me."
Hopefully they have a friend or two they could mention, if they do, follow up with an email.
Thank them; ask if they would like to foreword the email to their friends
Another way to get Contacts is called “Thought Leader” methodology, and it’s more of a long term play.
Start by getting your name out there.
Share experience and offer expertise, Become the “Go to Guy”
And eventually people will learn to come to you for the questions they have.
How to transfer from 9-5 to freelance creative.
Prioritize,
keep your 9-5 boss happy,
do all the research on off hours,
tone your craft,
Identify your clients, who do you want to work with?
Do the work and be great at your craft.
Do what you can on weekends, and in your garage, ECT.
Once you make enough consistently, then you can leave.
How to diversify your portfolio, especially when dealing in a low economy?
When you start off your business becoming a “Jack-of-all-Trades” is ok,
but unless you want to do this forever, figure who you’re highest market is, and focus your efforts on this area. Find the clients you need, ask for referrals. Don’t get stuck by your geography.
Target your audience REGARDLESS of geography. There is tonnes of work out there, do what you can online, or fly out.
How do you turn views into sales? Especially if you have great content, and decent traffic?
Do your homework; know what your Traffic likes.
Keep delivering the content that brings them back.
You want your visitors to return to your website over and over.
You are their solution, figure out who comes to your site, and talk to them!
Biggest business mistake?
Not creating a customer contact e-mail list early enough.
Go get an Awebber account or a Getresponse account and have an area you can get the emails of customers and interested parties, even keep the emails of people who have made purchases, because you can add value onto those purchases.
When bringing in a more knowledgeable partner to handle the business aspects.
Let them do what they are good at, you brought them in for a reason.
However it is incredibly vital that the Creative partner be the one to give off the demonstrations.
The creative partner is the Vision creation and should be able to share the vision with those paying for it.
A Cautionary note to the Creative Partners:
You do not want to be the technician; you want to be the Vision.
Technicians are a dime a dozen, Visionaries are worth the investment.
Well I hope that you took away a lot from that!
I know I sure did, and be sure to follow Ramit Sethi for Tonnes of freelance Tips!
And dont forget to join My weekly Blog where I post all these press releases and Tonnes more content and training all FREE! www.fourstepstofreedom.blogspot.ca
To your Successes!
-Andrew Halliday
