Last week I fired my accountant. He wasn’t just my accountant — he’s also my father-in-law (make note I waited until AFTER the holidays.) I’m not going to get into why I let Jeff go, but I want to tell you about why I ended up hiring Jason — and how you can apply the same exact…
Recently, Margaret wrote me asking — “Brennan, what do you think about charging more for a rush job??” Have you ever seen the bill for an emergency room visit in the ol’ US of A? A few months ago, I made the mistake of shaking off a rug outback at 3am (don’t ask.) Former asthmatic…
Early last May, from a hotel room in the outskirts of Omaha, Nebraska, I decided that 2012 would be the year I severed my relationship between being somewhere and doing something with my income. At the time, I was the CEO of a ten-person consultancy. We were thriving, and it seemed like the world was…
Have you ever wondered why so few people are reaching out to you through your website? What if I told you that you’re likely too general purpose for most potential clients. Today we’ll look at how you can sell to clients through strategically positioning your services. No one makes the decision to “buy a car”,…
Like it or not, as a freelancer you shoulder the risks that come with running a business. And unlike a full-time job, there’s no guarantee of a Friday payday. Mastering cash flow — and ensuring that you can afford to pay your bills and feed your family — is critical to being a successful freelancer….
Selling your freelancing services is an example of high-touch sales. Unlike low-touch sales (like, a $29 ebook), there’s a lot of gray area between “not a customer” and “customer.” Realizing your company exists, investigating your portfolio and work history, first contact, asking for a quote, loads of meetings, contract negotiation – these are steps that usually…
1. Not all traffic is equal I think most of us know this, or at least think we know this. An organic visitor who Googles you is not the same as someone who types in your URL directly from your business card. So why are we showing them the same thing? Why do so many…
Show Notes 00:23 – Obie Fernandez Introduction Author of The Rails Way and The Rails 3 Way Hashrocket Prominent figure in the Ruby/Agile communities Professional software developer since 1995 Started a user group in Atlanta for Extreme Programming ThoughtWorks 04:11 – Importance of building a reputation and personal brand Controversial blogging Resistance against Java and then Rails 07:03 – Building a…
Show Notes 00:50 – Sales Pipeline Moving people through a series of steps to get them to be a paying customer Acquisition to qualification to scoping to clients 04:11 – Content marketing to project delivery 08:02 – Tracking leads Highrise Fat Free CRM PipelineDeals Pipedrive Whiteboard Spreadsheet 12:29 – Networking Referrals Are they a good fit? Do timelines overlap?…
Show Notes 00:10 – Content Marketing Making information available for personal gain/recognition Duct Tape Marketing: John Jantsch Getting to know you 03:51 – Getting content in front of people Blogging Screencasting Publishing eBooks/PDFs Podcasting 05:24 – Promoting and building an audience Write with the intention of appealing to a specific audience Collect email addresses Infographics 07:38 – Appealing to…