In today’s blog post, I’m going to show you a very simple process that I use to generate clients on demand without having to pick up a phone, without spending money on ads, and without having to take on clients that I know in my gut I shouldn’t.
I call this method the “Client Getting Faucet” because, like a faucet, once you set it up as an asset in your business you can turn it “on” and turn it “off” whenever you need.
Want clients? Turn it “on”.
Want to go on vacation? Turn it “off”.
DISCLAIMER: This method is incredibly simple. It’s also very easy if you follow the steps outlined in this blog post, but…
… As Jim Rohn says, “if something is easy to do, it’s easy NOT to do”.
I’ve been freelancing for more than 7 years. I have found time and time again that simple and easy is better than complex and hard.
Not just because I’m lazy, but if it’s simple enough for you to do, you’ll actually do it.
If you do it (aka: take action), you get to live the consequences of those actions.
In this case, the consequences of those actions are you getting clients.
There is a flipside to simplicity that directly benefits the client (and makes them more attracted to you), but we can save that discussion for another time.
Let’s just focus on getting you clients right now.
How To Get Clients Whenever The Heck You Want
The Client Getting Faucet can be broken down into 3 simple steps:
Step 1. Find an easy way to get traffic
Step 2. Sift through that traffic to find your ideal client
Step 3. Communicate daily at scale
That’s all you have to remember in order to make this work.
Let’s dive into each step now:
Step 1. Find An Easy Way To Get Traffic
Now, before you start feeling anxious/start doubting yourself because “traffic” sounds like a big and scary thing…
… Let’s take a look at some numbers:
If you want to earn $120,000 per year as a freelancer (in my opinion, the bare minimum Freelancers should make considering tax implications, healthcare etc. etc.), then you must bill $10,000 of work each month.
For many Freelancers, that sounds like crazy talk.
It really isn’t though, especially when you have a Client Getting Faucet.
To get to $10,000 per month billed, all you need are 5 people in this great wide world who are willing to give you about $2000 per month worth of work.
One way they could give you that work is through retainers, but a lot of my clients just keep me busy enough at more than $2000 per month without a retainer, so that isn’t a requirement either.
Struggling to see how you could even charge $2,000 a month to a single client? It’s probably because you are underbidding your own value. Read this post to see if you’re making pricing mistakes that’s keeping you from meeting your goals.
Hopefully, understanding that you only need 5 — not hundreds — of clients should help you understand the scale of how much traffic you actually need to be successful here.
I’m not suggesting that you go out and start a blog that generates 30,000 views per month. That is NOT our goal here.
Instead of scale and large numbers, you simply need a steady, consistent opportunity to bring your value to the attention of maybe 100 people per day.
No, I’m not saying to go cold call 100 people per day.
Instead, I recommend 1 of 3 traffic sources that you can use starting today (One will cost you money, the other two will be free):
Traffic Source 1. Facebook advertising
It’s no secret that Facebook advertising is incredibly effective at a very low budget.
I built a $300,000 per year freelancing business using less than $10 per day in Facebook ad spend.
The strategy is simple:
Step 1. Create something free to give away that adds value to someone’s life (solves a problem)
Step 2. Create an opt in page that allows people to exchange their email for the free gift you would like to give away
Step 3. Collect emails
What I like about Facebook ads:
- They are the true “set it and forget it” marketing method. Build it once, tweak it until it works, let it ride.
- It is truly the “lazy way” of getting my stuff in front of more than 100 people per day
- It is very, very cheap and attracts really good clients if the free gift/opt in is quality
What I don’t like about Facebook ads:
- If you’ve never used Facebook ads before, the learning curve is steep
- When you make mistakes, it costs money
- People on the interwebs think that Facebook ads are their private platform for voicing personal vendettas (the troll game is strong in the Facebook ad comment section)
If you don’t want to learn complicated marketing platform (which really isn’t that complicated), or if you simply don’t have the budget to get started with Facebook ads, then I recommend one of the next 2 traffic steps:
Traffic Source 2. Facebook Groups
This is probably one of my favorite methods for exposing myself and my offers to 20-100 people per day.
It’s this simple:
Step 1. Find a Facebook group where your dream clients congregate
Step 2. Comment, interact and generally try to be Internet Friends with as many people in the group as possible
Step 3. Occasionally, drop Power Posts into the Facebook group demonstrating your awesomeness and ability to solve other people’s problems
How do you write a Power Post?
Here’s the basic formula:
- Identify a problem that members of the group have
- Explain how you overcame that problem yourself
- Invite further discussion
Pro Tip: Chances are your first Power Post is going to flop. Don’t give up, keep building the relationships, keep trying to solve people’s problems.
One of my Freelancing mentors taught me something very simple which you can apply to this Free Facebook Traffic Getting Method. It goes like this:
If you are ever stuck for a solution in business, whether that’s getting more clients or creating a new service, or just trying to make your business better for yourself…
… The key is service.
If you are stuck, go spend the day trying to serve 20-30 people. Rinse and repeat that process until you have the breakthroughs you need.
I recommend following that advice with this method. Try and use Facebook groups to find 20-30 people per day that you can help, serve, make their life better.
When I say “help & serve” it’s as easy as being Internet Friends.
Literally. Just friend them, chat, see if you can help. Rinse & repeat as necessary.
DON’T OVERCOMPLICATE.
If that doesn’t interest you, then you can try the next traffic source:
Traffic Source 3. Simple LinkedIn Marketing
LinkedIn is like the wallflower who turns into the sexiest person on the cast by the end of the movie.
It might be my most favorite traffic source of all except that their paid advertising is terrible.
I use LinkedIn like this:
Step 1. Make an amazing profile
Step 2. Join LinkedIn groups where your dream client’s congregate
Step 3. Connect with those group members so that you can message them
Step 4. Send 20-100 messages per day to your new connections
Here’s the key to making this whole thing work:
When you send your message to strangers, don’t ask for ANYTHING.
Instead, use this template:
Hello [NAME],
I saw that we were both a part of [INSERT GROUP NAME], and I wanted to reach out and connect with you.
I’ve created a [FREE GUIDE/CHECKLIST/SOFTWARE] that I would love to share with you.
You can get it here: [LINK TO YOUR THING]
No obligation, just trying to make meaningful connections and build my network of superstars.
I hope you have an awesome day!
[SIGN OFF]
Fact: most of these messages will fall on dead ears.
That’s okay.
Keep doing it anyways.
You. Only. Need. 5. People. To. Say. Yes. To. Make. You. Money.
Consistency is going to be the key here, not trying to hit a homerun in the first two minutes of trying any of these traffic sources.
Pro Tip: If you’d like to multiply your efforts with LinkedIn, wait a week or two after you send the initial message and send a follow-up message asking if they know anyone that you might be able to serve.
People on LinkedIn have network egos. Meaning: they love being able to “dip into their network” and find solutions for other people. It makes them feel good.
Understanding that means you can turn LinkedIn into a powerful referral getting mechanism.
Final Thoughts On Traffic
Remember a few simple things and you’ll have all the traffic you need to build a successful Client Getting Faucet:
- You only need 5 people to say “yes”, we aren’t trying to start a world-famous blog with millions of hits per month. Scale back the expectations for yourself and celebrate each and every “traffic hit”.
- Consistency is better than perfection. Get yourself in front of 20-100 people per day using simple online technology/platforms and eventually — over time — those micro improvements will scale out to thousands of people.
- Pick at least 1 of the 3 methods I’ve provided, and do that method UNTIL it starts working. Don’t skip around, stay focused, and do it UNTIL it starts working.
- Have fun. This isn’t a funeral. Also, people are attracted to fun people.
Step 2. Sift Through That Traffic To Find Your Ideal Client
Whenever I teach new Freelancers this method at length, the question I always get is:
“Okay Mike, we are getting traffic… What do we do with it now?”
The quick answer is this:
You get them onto your email list.
The way you do this is simple:
Step 1. Go read this blog post.
Step 2. That’s all.
What’s more important than HOW you get people onto your email list is the WHY you do it.
As much as I love the traffic sources that I mentioned above, there is 1 major problem with all of those platforms…
… You don’t control them.
If someone is on LinkedIn, they are doing something other than specifically looking for you. Multiply that by 10 and you have the Facebook platform.
This means that people whose attention you want are being constantly distracted by someone else.
You want to get people on your email list so that you can do 2 things:
- Build a relationship of trust and appreciation (we will talk about that in step 3 of the Client Getting Faucet)
- Retain their attention
Like in dating, it’s beneficial if the person you want to be in a relationship with isn’t out dating other people.
Speaking of dating, here’s how you turn Step 1 and Step 2 of the CGF method into a long-term, high-paying client relationship:
Step 3. Communicate Daily At Scale
The biggest breakthrough I ever had in my business came from a guy name Ryan Lee.
Ryan teaches people how to generate income without having to be a sleazy salesperson online.
I’m a big fan of his, you should go check them out.
Anyways, the thing that I learned from him was:
Real-life relationships are built using this formula:
Frequency x Value x Time = Friendship
Think of it this way:
It’s very difficult to build a meaningful friendship with someone you never hear from.
It’s also very difficult to build a meaningful friendship in a rapid, short timeframe.
It’s also very difficult to build a meaningful friendship with someone who constantly takes, takes, takes.
Of course, there are exceptions to this formula.
You may have met someone and became “instant friends”. You may have friends that you haven’t seen in a really long time, or friends that were developed via penpal etc. etc.
You may discover that you get clients that violate every aspect of the formula above, but…
… If you build a business based off of exceptions instead of a consistent, repeatable process for getting clients…
… Your business will die on the fine within the next six months. That I can promise you.
So, the easiest way to apply the Frequency X Value X Time = Friendship formula is the Daily Email Process.
Here’s how the process works:
Step 1. You wake up
Step 2. The first thing you think about is “how can I help the people on my email list today?”
Step 3. You write an email answering that question
Step 4. You send it to your email list with an invitation at the bottom of that email to work with you
Step 5. Rinse and repeat Monday through Friday forever and ever
This is the part of the blog post where I’m going to lose more than 50% of you. I just know it having taught Freelancers for years how to become successful.
Most common objections I hear to this simple, yet highly effective process is:
- “I don’t want to be sleazy and send sales emails every day”
- “Nobody is going to want to hear from me every day”
- “Writing and sending an email per day is too pushy”
- “INSERT all Marketing GURU” told me to only send an email once per week”
- “This would never work, nobody reads emails”
- etc. etc. etc. yawn
If sending an email every day isn’t your jam, I’m not going to try to convince you.
All I will say is this:
If you can make the mental mind shift from thinking that every email someone sends HAS to be a sales email…
… You may begin to see the possibilities of this method.
You see, if you’re on my email list, I write to you like you are my friend.
I talk about my life. I talk about your problems. I offer you solutions every single day.
Like a good friend should.
At the end of my emails, I offer a clear, but not overly aggressive invitation for us to take our relationship to the next level.
That’s it.
The Daily Email Method relies on frequency NOT “tricks”.
Since I only need 5 people to EVER take me up on my offer, I don’t have to be a sleazy jerk writing overly promotional emails. I just write to my friends and some of them hire me to help grow their business.
All I have to do to make it happen is show up in your inbox every single day consistently proving that I have what it takes to solve your problem.
Clients love this.
It’s simple. They don’t have to go through a 27-step marketing funnel, get on a sleazy strategy call, or purchase something from you that they are going to regret.
Instead, they open an email from you every day, see what kind of person you are, how you can help them, and most importantly…
… See how consistent you are in your ability to deliver.
THIS is how you find 5 people to say “yes” to giving you at least $2,000 per month of work. Consistently, on time, with little to no objection going into the sales process (a conversation for another blog post).
That’s it.
These are the 3 steps that I have followed consistently for the past few years to build a six-figure freelancing business from scratch.
This is also the same method that I teach my Freelancing students to follow, step-by-step to start and build their own six-figure freelancing businesses.
If you’d like to learn more about some of the other strategies and tactics (including how finding your Super Power as of Freelancer will make all of this CGF method MUCH easier), sign up for my free training.
Some Closing Thoughts On The 3 Step Client Getting Faucet Method
If you want to make this succeed for you, remember the steps are simple:
Step 1. Find an easy way to get traffic
Step 2. Sift through that traffic to find your ideal client
Step 3. Communicate daily at scale
The key here is not to over complicate.
Trade “over analyzing” for small, consistent, daily action.
Choose one of the traffic sources, and spend 10 to 15 minutes per day trying to get in front of the 20-100 people that we talked about.
Spend 20-30 minutes per day writing your daily emails.
Set up your opt-in once, and let it ride.
That’s the whole method in a nutshell.
If what you offer as a Freelancer is valuable, this simple method can serve as your vehicle for building the freelancing business that you desire.
If you want it to work, you have to work it.
