Most freelancers are reactive — they wait for new leads to come to them.
The problem is that getting leads reactively depends on luck. Will you get a new client when you need them? Or will you instead need to start looking for a job?
Our in-depth articles and guides on sales and marketing will help you generate high-quality project leads on your own terms, and allow you to eliminate uncertainty and doubt.
Whether through 4+ years of in-depth articles, premium courses, the conferences and events I host, or my podcast, my #1 goal is to help you become a more successful freelancer.
There are plenty of ways for freelancers to get project leads: job marketplaces like oDesk or Elance, referrals from past clients, people finding your website through a Google search, and so on.
But we all know these acquisition channels vary in quality. Given the choice, I think we’d all prefer a strong referral from a wonderful past client over competing with potentially hundreds of others for a gig on a job board.
So with that said, this article is about referrals — the holy grail of project leads. One of the best things you can do as the owner of your freelancing business is to increase the amount of referral sources you have. The more people you have to refer you, the more direct leads you’re able to get.
But most of us don’t do much to proactively get more referrals or to expand our referral network. We each have a “sphere of influence” — people who know what we provide, and are able to recommend us to others (or just hire us outright). Let’s talk about how you can both grow your sphere of influence, and condition those in it to become prime referral sources for you.
Back when I was jumpstarting my fledging agency, I used to attend a lot of events. Between what I could find on Meetup.com and the events hosted by the Chamber of Commerce and our local technology council, I spent at least a night a week chatting (and usually drinking) with local business owners.
Most nights I’d come home and the first thing my wife would ask was, “So… did you get any clients tonight?”
“Maybe,” I’d say as I deposited that night’s loot of business cards into my sock drawer. “These things take time.”
These events almost always yielded no fruit. I’d show up, make small talk, do my best to maintain eye contact, and would swap business cards with whoever I was talking to. And then I’d repeat the ritual again with whoever was next.
When I attended my first Chamber of Commerce meeting, I really felt like I was a fish out of water. I came in shorts… and a t-shirt. I didn’t have any business cards, nor did I have any idea what I was doing.
And everyone was in suits. Talk about embarassing!
But I eventually figured out how to “play the game” and make the most of these events. If you’ve never been to a networking mixer, or have but with little results to show, I’m going to outline how I’ve leveraged these events while growing my consultancy.
This is a guest post by Josiah Choy from KickoffLabs. KickoffLabs provides landing page and email marketing solutions.
The hardest part for many freelancers and consultants is generating new business. Most freelancers would rather focus on perfecting their craft than go out and get new leads. Unfortunately, how good you are doesn’t matter if no one’s heard about you. After all, you only get paid if you make the sale. Take, for example, the New York Times bestsellers list – a list of books that sell the best. If it were a list for the best writers, it might be called the best-writer list.
If you’re a freelancer, here are 5 techniques to connect with your customers to generate more business.
