Reason Number 1:

Necessity, as they say, is the mother of invention.  The biggest barrier to starting a freelance career is usually the fear and uncertainty of leaving a steady, well-paying corporate job.  If you’re one of the millions of professionals who was down-sized, laid off, or otherwise rendered unemployed in the last 24 months, then that barrier has been, shall we say, removed.

Reason Number 2:

Organizations large and small all over the world have been forced to lay off employees, encourage early retirements and wait to hire replacements.

Reason Number 3:

These reductions in headcount mean that thousands of corporate projects have been placed on hold or assigned to overworked employees.  Many of these projects will never be completed, even though successful completion would save money, increase productivity and boost profits for the organizations involved.

Reason Number 4:

The show must go on.  When corporations cut back their internal workforce to save money, the work doesn’t go away.  In fact, corporations regularly turn to freelancers and independent contractors to complete this work during a recession in order to avoid the ongoing overhead, liability, and burden of full-time employees.

Reason Number 5:

Less competition.  It seems counterintuitive to think that a recession is the perfect time to start a freelance career – so much so, that many people who might otherwise consider doing so – don’t.  What does that mean for you?  You guessed it – less competition for available work.

That’s right, you can now download Freelancing – The First 30 days – the most comprehensive book ever written on freelancing – to your Kindle reader, wirelessly, in under a minute, from anywhere in the world. Low, low Kindle price of $19.95.

Order today, and start enjoying the freedom, flexibility, and financial rewards of a successful freelance career.

Order online at Amazon.com or browse the Kindle store directly from your device, and search for “Freelancing The First 30 Days”

Join me as I walk out of a brand new client’s offices. During the next sixty days I will perform some work for the client on an outside-contract basis. The scope of work has been agreed upon, the rate of pay has been negotiated, and I’ve collected a check.

How did I get here?

I followed the simple five step process that every successful freelancer must follow to find clients, win assignments, and negotiate profitable fees:

Step Number 1: Initiating Contact

You quit your job, hung out your shingle, and notified family and friends. What now? You can’t wait for clients to call you. You’ve got to call them. This is where most newcomers fail, because hard work is no substitute for the proper techniques. Here are ten painless prospecting tips on how to get through to decision makers and what to say to them when you do.

Step Number 2: Spilling the Clients Guts

You made the calls and setup the meetings. You’re sitting across the desk from your prospect, staring at his shelf full of softball trophies. What now? You’ve got to get the client talking. Chances are, you already think of yourself as a good listener. But if you’re going to succeed as a freelancer, you’ve got to be better than good. You’ve got to be great. Here’s a strategy you can use whenever you introduce yourself to a new prospect.

Step Number 3: Writing a Proposal

You just concluded your first prospect meeting, and you learned a lot. Not only is your prospect a three-time-regional fast-pitch-softball MVP, he also has a serious problem with employee training. What now? You’re ready to write a formal proposal to address the client’s problem. Writing a formal proposal is easy, and your clients will love you for it. That is, they will if you do it right. Here’s a helpful guide to overcoming the eight most common proposal objections.

Step Number 4: Getting the Details

You just finished a draft of your first formal proposal, but you’re concerned that you may have overestimated the client’s appetite for investment in a new training program. What now? It’s time to call the client back, and get the details. If you’re skipping this step, you’re working too hard. Here’s a strategy for how to get your prospect to finish your proposal for you, so you’re sure it’s right on the mark the first time.

Step Number 5: Presenting

You called your client back, and got the details. You put the finishing touches on your proposal, and you’re confident that it will meet the client’s objectives. What now? It’s time to present. Here’s a guide to delivering presentations that yield a commitment on the spot. Anyone can do it.

That’s it. Those are the five simple steps every successful freelancer must follow to find clients, win assignments, and negotiate profitable fees. If you’ve read the associated guides, tips, and tricks, then you’re already way ahead of most beginning freelancers.

When you get in front of a client who wants to give you an assignment, will you know what to say and do?  You may not be comfortable (at first) using the techniques presented in this article, but you’d better use them anyway.  Walking out with an assignment may require some finesse.  It will certainly require some backbone.

If you’re following the 5 Steps to Freelancing Success, then by the time you get to the point of presenting your proposal to a client, several things will have happened in your favor:

1. The client will have shown a certain amount of interest just by agreeing to meet with you.
2. The client will have taken the time to tell you about the organization and its problems.
3. The client will have agreed to consider a proposal from you.
4. The client may very well have participated in the development of the proposal by offering some reactions to your preliminary thoughts.

By the time you return to the client’s offices to present your proposal, you have every reason to expect that your proposal will be given careful consideration.  Indeed, you have every reason to expect it to be accepted, unless you’ve made a fundamental error in its preparation.

In delivering your presentation, you have two objectives:

1. To resolve any business issues the client may have with the proposal.
2. To resolve the emotional issues of inertia, and ask for the assignment.

Business issues that have to be resolved by the client include: Do we have a problem?  Does the freelancer understand the problem?   Does the freelancer have a good idea of how to solve it?  Is the freelancer qualified?  As the freelancer goes about solving this, will he or she remain under my control?  Can I be sure that the freelancer will be responsive to my needs throughout the process and not run off on a tangent somewhere or get stuck out in left field?  Will the freelancer get out of control or become inflexible due to an inordinate need for independence?

At the same time, you must deal with the emotional issues of inertia and fear of action.  You must get the client to move toward a commitment.  You need to provide the nudge that will move the client past the human tendency to take no action. (If you’re like most freelancers, this is the closest you will ever come to being a salesperson.)

So how do you nudge your client past the human tendency to take no action?

You have to be the one to suggest that action be taken.  You have to ask for the order.  You have to say something like, “Shall we begin on Tuesday?”  Or, “If you give me a check today, we can begin on Tuesday.”  Or, “Would you like to begin this right away tomorrow, or should we meet next week?”

Offer the client a hard choice which will force a decision, regardless of which way your question is answered.  Of course, there may be a period of silence after you ask that kind of a question.  So be prepared to wait the client out and sit through the awkward silence, while the client deals with the forces within that inhibit the making of a decision or the taking of action.  (If you’re off the mark from a business standpoint, your clients are not going to be dealing with personal forces; they will be dealing with the business issues and will reject any alternative that you propose.  They are not going to take a course of action that is against their understanding of their self-interest.)

Remember the principle of five NOs.  The client’s first reaction might be to do nothing—to just let the situation sit still for a while.  People have a built-in inertia.  They don’t want to change.  The answer to anything new is always no.  You’re doing the organization an injustice to take the first “no” seriously.  If you take a second “no” seriously, you may still be doing an injustice; you’ll probably need to give the decision maker an opportunity to turn you down at least three times, responding to each objection as it is offered.

This article covers a secret weapon that can double, triple or quadruple your success rate.  If you become a successful freelancer without using this secret weapon, you’re working too hard.

The best way to protect yourself against rejection of your proposal is to ask the client for guidance before completing the final draft of the proposal.  This technique is so powerful that it can double, triple or quadruple your success rate.  After all, if the client helps you put your proposal together, it can’t be too far off target, can it?

In order to assure that your final draft is truly on target, you are going to have to call the client at some point during the preparation of your proposal.  Fortunately, you have to call anyway, in order to confirm the meeting at which you expect to present the proposal.  Ostensibly, you’ll call to set up or to confirm the specific time at which the presentation will take place.  But as long as you have the client on the phone, you’ll reveal how you’re coming on your proposal and ask for a reaction to your preliminary thinking.

At this point, if you sound thoughtful rather than stupid or cunning, the client will be impressed that you are taking so much time to finish the proposal.  It sounds like you can’t sleep at night because you are so worried about the client’s problems.  You really want to get it right.

Your credibility with the client is going up as you describe your quandary.  At the same time, the client’s defenses are coming down.  It doesn’t occur to the client that giving you a reaction is tantamount to saying “Here’s what you have to do in order to get your proposal accepted.”

You offer a clue to your thinking.  You indicate in a broad sense what direction your proposal is taking.  You say, “Decision Maker, I’m pretty solid on a lot of this, as you know, but I’m kind of torn between two things in one area.  One possibility is to go with a large-scale, in-depth approach where we come in and talk to everybody.  Another possibility is to just talk to the department managers.  Which do you think is going to be best, given your current situation?  Give me some sense of what you think is most appropriate in this case.  Am I forgetting anything from our meeting?  Help me out.”

As soon as you say, “What do you think? . . . Help me out,” you are asking a question on a personal level.  Clients usually don’t realize, or else don’t care, that giving you a reaction will tip their hand.  Usually, they will give you a direct answer.  They may offer some general remarks of guidance, too.

Next, you’re going to alter your proposal or continue putting your proposal together in a manner that is consistent with what you’ve learned during the phone call.

If you still have questions after your first phone call, don’t be afraid to call the client back again.  If you need to do so, however, you should probably wait until just before the meeting and make it sound like a last-minute question popped up.  Otherwise your clients may think that you’re “shopping” over the phone, trying to find out what they’re willing to buy.

Writing a formal proposal may not be your idea of a picnic, but your clients will love you for it.  That is, they will if you do it right.  Here’s a helpful guide to writing proposals that get results.

Well-written proposals accomplish three objectives:

1. They show the client that problems can be solved and needs can be met.
2. They overcome any objections the client may have about committing to action.
3. They serve as a written agreement between the client and the freelancer after the client accepts the proposal.

Several years ago, I developed a standard list of objections to help one of my clients identify and reject misguided or poorly written proposals submitted by other freelancers.  Whether you’re a freelance writer, an accountant, or a management consultant, this list contains most, if not all, of the objections that you can expect your clients to raise in response to your proposals.

Common Proposal Objections ( a.k.a. The Scuttle List)

1. You don’t understand us. You don’t understand our organization.  You don’t understand organizations our size.  You don’t understand organizations that operate in this part of the country.  You don’t understand organizations in this field.  You don’t know anything about us.
2. You don’t understand our situation. You  don’t know anything about our particular problem.  You don’t understand the specific situation that we’re in right now.  You don’t know how the situation developed, or what we’ve already tried to do about it, or what pitfalls lie in the way of a solution.
3. You don’t have a solution, any more than we do. You don’t know what the solution is, any more than we do.  You haven’t spelled out your approach.  You don’t know how you’ll go about solving the problem.
4. You’re an outsider.You probably couldn’t work with our people.  They might not be able to work with you, either.  Besides, management wouldn’t have any idea of what you were up to, or what our own people were up to, as you carried out your work.  You’re an outsider, so it just wouldn’t work.
5. What you’re telling us may not be true. We have no reason to believe what you’re telling us.  We don’t know what your qualifications are.  We don’t know what other organizations you’ve worked for.  We don’t know whether you’re financially stable enough to warrant our trust.  We don’t know whether you’re honest, diligent and competent.
6. Your solution isn’t timely. You haven’t said that you will meet our needs on time.  You haven’t demonstrated that you can control your schedule and deliver the solution within a predictable amount of time.
7. Your solution costs too much. You haven’t explained how you arrived at your price.  You haven’t demonstrated that costs will be minimized through prudent management and prudent use of resources.  You haven’t even shown how you expect the costs to be allocated among the various elements of the work.  Besides, you haven’t justified the total cost. You haven’t shown that we will save money in the long run.
8. You haven’t made us feel comfortable with you. Your proposal simply didn’t strike us as appropriate in tone, detail or form.  Since you haven’t been able to discern our organizational personality and address us accordingly, we doubt that you’re the right person to solve our problem.

Your prospective clients will have a Scuttle List of their own.  It may be down on paper, or it may reside in the back of the decision maker’s mind.  Either way, if even one objection on the list seems to apply to your proposal, the whole thing may be thrown out the window, completely scuttled.

A proposal can be scuttled by a single objection.

Fortunately, you can prevent your proposals from being scuttled by making sure that they systematically address the concerns of the client.  Divide your proposal into separate sections, each devoted to overcoming one of the objections on the Scuttle List.  Include an introductory section that helps the client understand what follows:

1. Introduction. Explain how the proposal is organized.

2. Situation Review. Demonstrate that you understand the client in general terms.  Make reference to recent developments in the client’s business, summarize the client’s recent history and identify any organizational traits that influence how the client can respond to current problems.

3. Problems/Objectives. Describe the client’s current problem or problems in positive terms.  Define what the client wants or needs to accomplish in order to meet its needs or solve its problems.

4. Strategy. Explain the approach you’ll use to solve the client’s problems or meet the client’s needs.  Emphasize your approach to the problem, rather than the actual work that will be done.

5. Work Plan. Break the proposal down into a series of steps that can be scheduled, managed, and reported on by the client.  The work plan should spell out what the organization will be responsible for, what the freelancer will be responsible for and how the interaction will be managed.

6. Qualifications. Answer any questions the client might have about your background or qualifications.  Include degrees, seminar attendance or other training, past projects, and past clients.

7. Schedule. Detail the timeline for reaching critical milestones.  Demonstrate that you understand not only the broad scope of the proposed work, but the nature of the day-to-day tasks as well.

8. Budget. Provide a breakdown of anticipated costs.  Like the schedule, the budget may be broken down into two or three elements, or it may be highly detailed with dozens of separate elements.  Show the proportional relationships among various elements of the proposed work.

In cases where an eight-part proposal is likely to outweigh the client’s appetite, condense your proposal into just three or four sections.  Address two or three of the scuttle list objections in each section.  No matter how you choose to shorten the proposal, however, you must make sure that it addresses all of the objections on the Scuttle List.  Otherwise, you risk rejection from clients who need your services and want to hire you, but who can’t formulate a business justification to do so.

Chances are, you already think of yourself as a good listener.  But if you’re going to succeed as a freelancer, you’ve got to be better than good.  You’ve got to be a great listener.  You’ve got to spill the client’s guts.  And then you’ve got to know what to do next.

Keep in mind that if you’ve followed the 10 Painless Prospecting Techniques, then at this stage the prospective client has agreed to meet with you only to let you introduce yourself.  You have characterized yourself a little bit over the phone and asked for an opportunity to come in and tell the client more about you.  But the client has given no indication that your services will be needed.  There’s no commitment on the part of the client at this point.

So what should you discuss during your first meeting?  What are your objectives?

There are three things you need to accomplish in an introductory meeting in order to move the process forward:

1. You need to establish your own credibility.  Generally speaking, this means demonstrating that you’ve been able to use your expertise to help solve problems.
2. You need to get the client talking, so you can learn about what problems they’re facing. You’re not going to move any closer to getting an assignment unless you start to gather information about the client and the organization.
3. You need the client to agree to entertain your proposal for addressing those problems.  You’ve got to ask for an invitation, based upon what you hear and what you learn, to present a proposal that addresses the problems the client talked about.

So how do you accomplish these three objectives?

When you first walk in the door, your primary concern is creating a positive first impression.  After the introduction is over and you’ve shaken hands, you should be the first one to say something.  Preferably make it a question.  The important thing is to show interest and establish rapport.  Do what comes naturally to you.  If you’re sincerely interested in the client, you’ll have no problem.

As soon as a reasonable amount of small talk has taken place and you’re sitting across from the client, indicate that you’d like to approach the meeting by explaining your background and what kind of work you do.

As you talk about your past experience and qualifications, watch the client’s reaction.  If the client doesn’t offer any kind of comment, stop and ask questions.  Get a reaction.  As soon as you can see that you’ve built up some credibility, shift your focus to getting the client talking.

To minimize defensiveness, start with general questions, like “Can you tell me a little about the history of the company?”  Then gradually get more specific.  If the client balks at first, don’t be afraid to restate a question, or ask a different question.  If you don’t get the client talking, you’ll never get any closer to getting an assignment.  Listen attentively.  Let the client steer the conversation, but use questions to bring the conversation back to an area that is within your expertise.

When the client describes a problem, ask “What do you do in a case like that?”  Or, “What have you done about that in the past?”  Throw it right back at the client.  Let the client explain the frustrations of trying and failing to solve the problem.  Let the client tell you what the solution might be.

When you’ve learned as much as you can about a client’s organization in the time that has been allotted—when you decide the client doesn’t have any additional information to volunteer—you can specifically articulate the question:  “Would you be willing to entertain a proposal to solve some of the problems that we’ve talked about today?”

Remember the principle of five NOs.  The client’s first reaction might be to do nothing—to just let the situation sit still for a while.  People have a built-in inertia.  They don’t want to change.  The answer to anything new is always no.  At least, the first answer is always no.  You’re doing the organization an injustice to take the first “no” seriously.  If you take a second “no” seriously, you may still be doing an injustice; you’ll probably need to give the decision maker an opportunity to turn you down at least three times, responding to each objection as it is offered.

If for some reason the client still doesn’t think that a proposal makes sense, by all means shift from a short-term to a long-term outlook.  Always ask yourself, “If I can’t accomplish what I first set out to accomplish, what can I accomplish?”

Prospecting is where most new freelancers fail, because hard work is no substitute for the proper techniques.  Here are ten painless prospecting tips for how to get through to decision makers and what to say to them when you do.

Number 1: The objective of a cold call is to set a meeting. Period.

Don’t try to sell yourself or describe your services in detail over the phone. Keep in mind that as a freelancer, you usually can’t convince an organization that your services are needed on the basis of a phone conversation. A meeting usually has to take place first. The purpose of a cold call is to set up a meeting, period. If you don’t keep that in mind, you can find yourself getting into technical discussions over the telephone. Such discussions almost never lead to a meeting or to an assignment, because the client feels no urge to spill his or her guts over the phone. And until the client tells you what the problem is, you can’t propose to solve it.

Number 2: Never leave a voicemail message for a prospect until you’ve spoken to them live.

Your prospects have their own set of duties and responsibilities to take care of. You should accept the burden of calling them back. What’s more, your prospects will never care as much about talking to you as you care about talking to them. When you leave a voicemail message, you climb out of the driver’s seat and into the passenger’s seat. Don’t forget that if you treat a receptionist or assistant with respect and talk to them on a personal level, they will usually be happy to tell you when you’d be most likely to get through to the decision maker.

Number 3: All you’re looking for is a chance to get in front of people. What could be easier?

The nice thing about this approach is that it allows you to relax. Sure, you’re worried about paying the bills. You’re worried about getting some quick assignments. You’re worried about generating some income. You’re worried about getting your freelance career going. But you accept as an article of faith that your career will never get going unless you get in front of people. All you care about is getting in front of people. You don’t have to do any hard selling. All you’re looking for is a chance to get in front of people. What could be easier?

Number 4: You can’t get hired until you get in front of a decision maker.

In selling freelancing, your first objective is to get in front of a decision maker. You can’t get hired until that happens, so you’ve got to discipline yourself to achieving that goal.

Number 5: Never tell the receptionist or assistant that you’re hoping for a meeting.

If the receptionist or assistant is screening the calls, your goal at this point is no longer to schedule a meeting. Your goal is to start the phone call. Your goal is to get through to the decision maker. So, by all means, don’t tell the receptionist that you want to talk to the decision maker in order to set up a meeting. The decision maker is going to think: “If I turn this phone call down, my life is going to go on as before and everything is going to be fine and I won’t have to waste my time or change my attitudes or deal with someone else’s personal needs.” You’ll never get through.

Number 6: Never assume that the person you’re talking to has no influence.

Everybody within an organization can influence how the organization feels toward you as an outsider. That goes for the receptionist, an assistant, or the president of the company. Anyone who becomes your enemy within the organization can make it harder for you to relate successfully to that organization. You want people within an organization, from bottom to top, to think favorably of you. An assistant’s chance remark about how nasty you were can have more impact than the president’s endorsement. So don’t make enemies!

Number 7: No matter how many times a prospect says they’re happy with their current provider, you still want to press for a meeting.

Your competitors sometimes make mistakes and blow a relationship up, but, typically, relationships fall apart over a period of time due to little things that they do wrong. Clients will put up with these things. In fact, clients usually don’t even realize how unhappy they are with their current provider, until a new provider with a fresh perspective is sitting in their office!

Number 8: The first answer to anything new is always NO.

People have a built-in inertia. They don’t want to change. The answer to anything new is always no. At least, the first answer is always no. You’re doing the organization an injustice to take the first “no” seriously. If you take a second “no” seriously, you may still be doing an injustice; you’ll probably need to give the decision maker an opportunity to turn you down at least three times, responding to each objection as it is offered.

Number 9: Very few people can say no five times.

In fact, about the only kind of person who can say no five times is a person who really means no. A person who really means no can say no all day long. You can ask such a person 10 different questions and give 100 different reasons to say yes, but the answer will always be no.

Number 10: When you know you’re not going to meet with the decision maker, shift from a short-term to a long-term strategy.

When you encounter a no based on a legitimate lack of interest in or need for your services, you should shift from a short-term to a long-term outlook. You’ve established some rapport with the decision maker over the phone, and an opportunity may arise in the future. Always ask yourself, “If I can’t accomplish what I first set out to accomplish, what can I accomplish?”

Have you put starting a freelance career on hold because you haven’t been sure how to become a freelancer profitably?  The fact is, you can enjoy the freedom, flexibility and financial rewards of a freelance career right from the beginning, if you know how to find clients, win assignments and negotiate profitable fees.

This book about freelancing takes the mystery out of starting a freelance business and explains why there’s never been a better time to become a freelancer.  Here’s a sneak peek:

Introduction – Discover the freedom, flexibility and financial rewards of a freelance career!

The Challenge – Solving client problems is how a freelancer earns his keep.  Find a problem, and you’re on your way to an a successful freelance career.

Five Steps To Success – Eavesdrop on a successful freelancer as he receives an important assignment from a new client.  Then retrace his steps to learn how he started a freelance business, earned the client’s trust, and won the assignment.  Once you understand the steps, it’s easy.

Initiating Contact – You can’t wait for clients to call you.  You’ve got to call them.  But hard work is no substitute for the proper techniques, so here’s a wealth of information on how to get through to decision makers and what to say to them when you do.

Spilling The Client’s Guts – You’ve got to make the client spill his guts.  And you’ve got to know what to do next.  Here’s a strategy you can use whenever you introduce yourself to a new prospect.

Making A Proposal – Make a formal proposal and clients will fall in love with you—if you do it right.  Look no further for tips and techniques.  You’ll find everything you need here.

Getting The Details – Here’s a secret weapon that can double, triple or quadruple the effectiveness of your proposals.  If you manage to start a successful freelance business without it, you’re working too hard.

Presentation – When you present your proposal, will you know what to say and do?  You will after you read this chapter.  Here you’ll find simple, proven strategies for how to deliver winning presentations that get assignments.

Maximizing Income – Unlock the secrets to maximizing your freelance income.  Freelancers who know these secrets earn more more while working less.

The First 30 Days – What should you do on the first day you start a freelance business?  The fifteenth day?  What if you have only a week of vacation in which to try your hand at starting a freelance business?  It’s a good thing you didn’t read this chapter first, because you wouldn’t have appreciated the ideas presented here.  Now you’re ready.  So go ahead, get started!

Taking The Leap – Listen to the experiences of other people who have successfully started a freelance business.  Now it’s your turn.

Freelancing – The First 30 Days tells you everything you need to know to start a successful freelance career, including how to find clients, win assignments, and negotiate profitable fees.  Order today, and start enjoying the freedom, flexibility, and financial rewards of a freelance career.  100% Satisfaction Guarantee.