Get Inbound Leads with These 4 Factors
I am a freelance writer for startups and venture capitalists. If you were to ask me what else I do, I would say that I edit, I do content strategy, I work occasionally with large corporations and governments, and more. But my “unique phrase” when I introduce myself is simply that I am a freelance writer for startups and venture capitalists.
This is the essence of the phrase “good enough.”
When you present yourself, you want to make sure that what you say meets two criteria:
1. It is easy to understand.
2. It is easy to repeat.
If you want to create an input funnel, criterion number two is the most important. If I started all my presentations with everything I do, people would be less confused and understand. But more importantly, they would repeat it less or repeat it incorrectly.
The point of a “good enough” phrase is that other people talk about you the way you want them to talk about you. When you focus on making it easy to understand and easy to repeat, you give people the language you want them to use. This alone has generated a lot of clients for me, who come up and say they found out that I wrote on my own and wondering if I could help them.
Try everything and stick with what you like
Freelancers often work remotely, and unfortunately, that comes with a lot of hurdles, particularly when it comes to the mental health of freelancers. Obviously, selling more is a critical element of mental health — making money can not only address money anxiety but also pay for resources and help out if needed.
The way I approach the pitfalls of remote self-employment and outselling is to try everything, but stick with what you love. You try everything because you never know what might work or what you might like. When you only stick with what you like, you are more likely to engage on a genuine level and more likely to have fun. Win-win.
In my case, I tried all the social media platforms I could find, attended hundreds of events and conferences, and even took a cultural exchange holiday in France to help a family restore their old castle. If the platforms or experiences didn’t bring me, customers, directly, they provided stories that fulfilled me as a human and freelancer, resulting in more sales.
Ask for references the right way
Asking someone if they will recommend a business is asking a favor. Even if you pay them a commission, you’re still asking them to use mental energy to remember your sales pitch and then leverage their social capital to send customers your way.
Instead, make them the hero.
Is that how it works:
Step 1: Instead of asking for referrals, remind them that it is easy to repeat and let them know that if they know someone who is facing the challenges you solve, they will be happy to help.
Step 2: When that person interacts with someone who is facing a challenge, they can mention it as a solution to the problem.
Step 3: The presentations you receive from that person will be of higher quality because now you are presented as the solution to a problem, and the person who referred you is the hero who made the presentation. The third person solves your problem, you get an inbound customer, and your friend gets more social capital for being a problem solver.
Step 4: create associations
If you are trying to grow your customer base without direct sales, partnerships are a great way to go. However, when doing them, you need to be clear about the value you bring to both the end-user (your potential customer) and the partner. In short, you have to make your partner the hero to open their networks for you.
Here’s an example of what I did: I was working with a venture capitalist on their content, then we talked about a partnership. We agreed on some pieces of content that I would offer at a discount to any portfolio company that had the VC. In turn, VC would market me as the solution for any portfolio company that needs content.
It was a triple win:
Startups have limited time and resources to grow and to get quality leads, but they need good content. The partnership meant discounted rates and a high-quality writer.
Venture capitalists want to solve the problems of their portfolio companies. The partnership meant that they got an “exclusive” deal for their startups that no one else could get.
He didn’t want to chase clients. The partnership meant a discount rate, but I still benefited because I didn’t have to spend time selling to those customers.
