Month: March 2014

Leverage: the action of a lever or the mechanical advantage gained by it.

You just never know where your assignments will come from, or when.  I am often surprised by the networking connection that led to a particular assignment.  The results can be so unpredictable.  Bottom line, you must be in the game, which means developing personal connections, in person!

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Jim Weber

Sounds easy enough, right?  The idea of networking and making new friends without cold calling, but how do I do that?  Most freelancers I know are using LinkedIn, which is an excellent place to start.  Make sure your profile is complete and fully describes your services.   This simple point is so often neglected.  Many LinkedIn users have incomplete profiles which tends to work against their goals.  Spend the extra money to have a paid subscription.  The added benefits will be very useful, especially the ease of direct contact to prospects, and the search engine optimization feature.  When I perform a Google search of my name or brand name, my LinkedIn page shows up before my website.  This LinkedIn benefit  makes it easier for people to find you.  Generate more exposure and contacts by participating in LinkedIn groups that parallel your interests.  Another small but often over-looked technique is to place a link to your LinkedIn page in all of your correspondence, usually in the signature section.  Simple, right?

Speaking of websites, you need one of those too!  But, don’t go out and pay big-bucks to a web designer.  There are many hosting services like Go-Daddy or Web.com that offer affordable rates for template-driven, do-it-yourself websites.  The important point about LikedIn and your website is to use both as communication vehicles to your network, a/k/a your Business Development Team.  Let people know what you are working on; new assignments you have landed; and assignments you have completed.  I learned the last technique from Wall-Street Merchant Bankers.  I cannot begin to tell you how many new searches I have signed from this simple tactic.  

When I began my business, internet marketing was in its infancy.  I began using email blasts to keep my network and prospects up to date on my work.  I would even profile interesting candidates.  It was an excellent way to generate interest and new business.   To become more efficient and effective, I have migrated over to Constant Contact to help manage my email marking efforts.  I use Mail Chimp to support similar efforts in my role as Vice President for my Alumni Chapter.  Today there is a vast array of tools to use, including Face Book, Twitter, and Blogs to help promote your brand.  These are low cost ways to grow your network by communicating the benefits of your brand.  They allow you to remind people that you are still in business, that you are landing new contracts and that you are successfully completing your work.  These tools help keep your brand top-of-mind so that when the need arises your clients and prospects know to call you.  You must use them however, by budgeting time to talk to your network.

If your clients are agreeable, identify them alongside your completed contracts.  Ask then for references and referrals.  This is the time-tested “Band Wagon Strategy.”   When you complete an assignment, assuming it was successful, remember to ask the client for a reference and for referrals.  Put clients on your team and encourage him to support your business development efforts. This is one way to leverage your relationship.  I have a friend who refuses to even consider this technique.  He views it as an ethical violation.  Unfortunately, his business suffers frequent famines from his failure to put his clients on his team.   LinkedIn provides your clients the ability to give you recommendations.  I like to place their quotes on my brand’s website as well.  Make it easy for them by writing your own reference. They can edit to their liking and then cut and paste the reference into your LinkedIn page.  

So far, what has been discussed here has been low-cost, low-time commitment activities that will yield big results.  I am amazed that these simple techniques are not more widely used.  The number of new contacts I have made from people who have been forwarded my announcements from my primary network contacts is equally impressive.  Sometimes the responses I receive are the result of my emails that have been forwarded three or more times.  Talk about the power of networking!  Updating your network via LinkedIn/Face Book/Twitter, etc., is something that can be done before breakfast requiring minimal time.  It is a great place to start!

For the past few weeks, I have been talking with marketing professionals in my network, getting background information for a consulting project I am beginning.  Many are independent consultants (freelancers) while the rest are working for major brands.   A secondary line of conversation is about the health of the economy from their vantage point.  I am particularly interested in learning about the volume of their business and how freelancers promote their services.   One common thread I hear is that the “feast or famine cycle” is still in play.

Feast or famine cycle, really?   What are you talking about, Jim?  Well, for most independent consultants or freelancers (some people even call us solo-preneurs) there is a significant gap between the end of one project and the beginning of the next.  In fact, it is quite common that there is no contract ready to execute when the current assignment ends.  This gap is the period without cash flow or famine.  When one is working on an assignment, there is total dedication to the project while lining up the next project doesn’t seem to be a priority.  This is the period when the cash flow is good, the “feast.”  Cash flow equals “feast” no cash flow equals “famine.”    This is a frustrating cycle for freelancers which often causes them to return to regular employment.   The issue is that while on an assignment they do not make time to promote their business.  They stop selling.

Most of the freelancers I talked with rely almost exclusively on word-of-mouth marketing, or WOM.  Now don’t misunderstand, I am a firm believer in WOM as it is a powerful way to build a business.  I endorse it completely, however, when you drill-down on one’s WOM efforts it is actually quite small.  When most freelancers tell me they get their contracts via WOM promotion they are actually saying that they are not actively promoting their businesses.  In fact, they are hoping their clients will say good things about them which will lead to new business.  You cannot be more passive.  Even WOM promotion must be proactively managed.

Executive search is as close to pure marketing as I have seen.  There may be better examples, like direct mail marketing or network marketing but few business seem to come close.   Everyone I talk with is either a prospective client, a prospective candidate, a referral source, or all of the above.  Everyone!  My work is all about talking to people, so every point of contact is brand building and selling in one form or another.  Even so, I still experience downtime every now and then.  Now, more than any time in history, we have powerful tools to promote our businesses as independents.  Email marketing, social media marketing; blogging; and webinars, for example, have been game changers.   So, with all of these resources, why do we still go through famines?

How does one break the feast or famine cycle?  First, let’s understand that the cause is a failure to budget time to promote your business.   When on assignment, the focus is 100% on the project to the exclusion of selling new assignments.  Most freelancers will freely admit to this.  It is natural to assume that business will fall off when the selling activity stops.  The first step to breaking the cycle is to devote a certain amount of time every week to pitch your business.  Make a commitment and put it on the calendar.  I will discuss specific selling techniques to consider later in Part 2 of this article, but the first point to remember is that promoting your business must be a regular part of your schedule.

Let’s face it, selling is not easy and for many freelancers, it is dreaded, especially dealing with the rejection that comes from pitching your product or service.  Rejection can be painful, so naturally, people will avoid the pain and devote less time to selling.  Cold calling is the worst.  Forget about it!  But we must sell to avoid the famine!

How does one sell their services if they dread the selling process and are busy working on a project?  The good news is that for most of us selling our services, we are not so much selling a product as we are building relationships.  We are not selling commodities that are easily evaluated, we are selling trust, an intangible.  The prospective client must become comfortable that we will get the job done for her and that problems will be resolved in a predictable way.  Isn’t that what solid relationships are about, really?  In effect, our sales efforts are about making friends.

If you have made it to the point where you are ready to become a freelancer you have already established many relationships, your network.  That is your principle asset base.  The goal is to leverage those relationships into business, both immediately and into the future.  It is about maintaining top-of-mind awareness for your brand that will lead to referrals to build your network and client base.  By growing and managing your network you are in fact, building a Business Development Department for your brand.  Freelancers I know have good networks which they tap during the famine.  My point is about minimizing or eliminating the famine!

Sounds easy enough, right?  I like the idea of making new friends without cold calling, and leveraging my network, but how do I do that?   I will discuss some tools and techniques in Part 2.  For now, the key point to remember is that you must budget time every week to build your brand and promote your business.