Do you know how to sell your services as a freelancer?
Here’s the most simple formula in the world (no hype) for getting strangers to give you doubloons in exchange for the services you offer as a Freelancer:
SGTO + PWNI = Selling Without Selling
Let’s break this down, step-by-step:
How To Sell: Part 1
SGTO: Something Good To Offer
If you want to replace hype, strong-arming people, dirty used-car salesman tactics with a smooth, easy, resistance free client getting process…
… You don’t replace it with overcomplicated, 57 step marketing “funnels” from the latest Guru…
… You don’t replace it with “mind hacks”,”persuasion secrets“, or “power closes”…
… You figure out what in the heck you can do for someone that they really, really need.
Example:
You just had a lightsaber duel and got Empire-Strikes-Back-Luke-Skywalkered.
I’m a merchant dude on the cloud city of Bespin and I see you walking around missing a hand.
Would you be more excited to see me if:
A. I offered you immediate medical attention including a replacement of the hand
OR
B. I tried to get you to purchase a brand-new, top-of-the-line starship?
Obviously, you would choose A.
And I wouldn’t really have to do a lot of convincing to get you to choose that, right?
You would “get” what I was “offering” because it addressed an immediate, strong pain (literal in this case) that you were experiencing in this moment.
This is how you build Something Good To Offer.
When you have something like that, there is ZERO sales process. You don’t need to use tricks because tricks just slow the process down. You don’t need to give long drawn out proposals and presentations and have 50 phone calls because again, that just slows the process down.
If you are walking around one-handed you want to get that fixed as soon as possible.
Same with your potential clients.
When you are willing to solve their pain, their actual pain not the pain that you think they are experiencing, they want it fast. They will do everything in their power to bypass everything you hate anyways (a.k.a.: the sales process) to get what you are offering.
I won’t lie to you, you don’t just magically stumble upon this process.
You have to work at it.
You have to discover it.
You have to listen.
You have to serve.
Most of all, you have to be willing to set aside your selfishness and put the focus on the people you plan to serve.
So, if you’re struggling to get new and consistent clients, or you’re just tired of having to sell, sell, sell yourself…
… The first step to fix that problem is finding Something Good To Offer.
How To Sell: Part 2
Now that we’ve got that perfect little Something Good To Offer, let’s talk about the second and most important part of this simple equation: PWNI
But before we do that, I must warn you of something.
The reason: I’ve shared this stuff with literally thousands of people and every time that I do the reaction almost always breaks down like this…
50% of the people simply refuse to believe that success as a Freelancer is as simple as a two-part equation. There’s not much I can say to convince them otherwise because they love complexity and the appearance of “success” more than they do success itself.
Another 45% will refuse to make the changes necessary for the second part of this equation to work. You see, what I’m about to teach you requires a level of selflessness that very few are willing to live. These individuals break my heart because they know they should, but they simply refuse to do.
The final 5%, though they may struggle to implement it at first, will eventually experience tremendous ease in accomplishing what they want with their Freelancing business.
They will begin to hear from their friends and family, “Wow, you make this look so easy and effortless. How do you do it?”
When they need additional injections of income, it comes on command because they understand the fundamentals of how money moves and why people really purchase services from other humans.
Where there used to be frustration and anxiety around turning strangers into clients, they experience the joy of connecting with real people who are experiencing pain and becoming a solutions provider (respected and adored) that builds loyalty and trust in ethical ways.
Likely, this 5% will attempt to share with others exactly what I’m going to share with you…
And they too will find that most people — even with the road to success clearly laid before them — simply won’t get anything from it.
My hope today is that you are one of the 5% who “get it”.
Okay, first rant over. Let’s get to business.
PWNI: People Who Need It
In the first part of the equation we talked about creating an offer that solved someone’s pain so that you could remove the need for sales tactics and just rely on simple communication to get clients.
While that’s critically important, who you share this solution with is the real key.
Trying to sell ice cubes at the North Pole is much more difficult than selling ice cubes to a caravan of travelers in the desert.
That’s basic marketing 101, but what most people don’t realize is that the equation works both ways.
And this right here is where I lose 45% of my readers.
You see, if you are struggling to get clients, my guess is that you are being too precious about what it is you offer. You’re being too self centered about what you offer.
Likely, if I were to ask you “why are you offering that service?” you’d say one of two things:
- Because I really like doing it
- Because I think a lot of people would buy it
The correct answer — if you want to be able to sell without selling — should actually be:
Because I noticed a group of people were experiencing a certain pain so I created a solution to help them.
The difference is subtle but critical.
Money changes hands (a.k.a.: someone will pay you) when an individual believes that the value they receive is greater then the value they provide.
Let me say that again:
The only way someone will hire you as a Freelancer is when they believe that they are getting more than what they pay for. The key word is MORE.
But be careful with this information…
More is not necessarily a measure of volume.
Offering someone 15 blog posts for the price of five blog posts is called a discount. Someone pays for five, they get 15 = getting more than what you paid for.
However, the discount model is a horrible way to get clients for a Freelancer.
The more you discount, the more you must continue discounting. The more you continue discounting, the less money you make. The less money you make the more you have constantly hustle to me ends meet. The more you hustle the less service you can provide to each client and the more you have to discount.
Therefore, measuring MORE in volume is a poor strategy.
Instead, measuring MORE in terms of value is how you convince someone to hire you without being smarmy.
But how do you actually measure value?
Well, if you happen to be qualified in a set of skills that brings positive financial returns that’s an easy one.
But even then, you have to be careful about making claims, you have to under promise and over deliver, and so much is out of your control that using positive financial ROI as a measurement is a poor strategy as well.
Here’s how I do it instead:
I measure MORE in terms of pain relief.
Who do you think would be happier to see me:
A. Someone just finishing a 100 mile ultramarathon and I’m standing at the finish line with food and drink
OR
B. Someone who just knocked over a small pile of papers and I’m there to help them pick them up
In both scenarios I am helping and offering service, but in the first scenario I am solving a much greater pain.
In fact, I am solving a NEED.
After running 100 miles you NEED food and drink. Your body screams and aches for calories and hydration.
It is a loud, pulsing, consuming need.
That is why the ultrarunner believes that I have offered them tremendous value when I feed them and give them drink.
Value is relative to the pain you rescue someone from.
The person who knocked over some papers, do they appreciate me? Sure.
But did I solve a raging need?
No.
So, to them I may have done a kindness but I can’t expect much more than a simple thank you.
The ultrarunner? They are tearful with gratitude.
And this is where 95% of Freelancers fail.
They simply don’t think about people’s needs.They aren’t asking themselves, “who is hurting right now that I can help? And how can I build a business of service around that?”
I am not saying to build a business doing what you hate.
I’m simply suggesting that until you put the needs of others first, you will need to rely on heavy-handed sales tactics to get clients.
To be frank, I might even ask you this question:
What truly makes you happy?
Notice how I didn’t ask, “what is the ONE thing that makes you happy?”
Too many Freelancers buy into the “one and only passion” myth and it blinds them from becoming truly happy, from living the rewards of a service based life.
Cal Newport does a very good job of explaining this concept in depth in So Good They Can’t Ignore You, but here’s the short version:
- What they do contributes to a greater good (a.k.a.: helps others)
- They are proficient at what they do and are therefore given autonomy/control by others who respect that proficiency (a.k.a.: others can clearly see the value they bring and respect them for it by giving them the freedom to do that thing)
- They are often able to see the effects of the work they do (a.k.a.: they receive praise and gratitude for their efforts)
Cal Newport then goes on in the book to suggest that the WHAT you do to achieve these characteristics and experiences matters less than you having these experiences.
In other words, to be truly happy with your work it is the fruits of your labor that brings the happiness not necessarily the labor itself.
If you hate what you do, it’s probably because you aren’t experiencing the above.
This is why PWNI is so critical.
By focusing less on “what is my one and only true passion”…
… Turning your focus towards, “how can I help others in a valuable way that they will appreciate me for” becomes a more critical mission for your success as a Freelancer.
Here’s how it affects the sales process:
If you love what you do, talking to others about it isn’t sales. It’s just you talking about how you help people.
No fake smiles, no memorized lines.
True, authentic, real you being you and people being magnetically attracted to the realness.
I’m not suggesting that you give up your love of whatever thing it is you do.
What I am suggesting is that if you are struggling with your Freelancing business, maybe toss aside old assumptions and try to find a need you can fill.
Find someone you can help… and help them.
Conclusion
At the end of the day business is about people.
As a creative, though you may love what you do (writing, design, photos, video, etc.) if you aren’t doing it to serve others you aren’t going to succeed as a service provider.
If you’re struggling to land clients consistently, not sure how to sell your services, or you’re fighting over low fees with other Freelancers, use this simple 2 part equation to make slight changes to your business that will yield big results.
