Challenge: how to get new clients in 72 hours or less

Pick up the phone. You should get at least one and usually more. Don't need samples or testimonials. Guts and determination will put bread on the table.

For the challenge as you set it up, I would simply ask them if they need a copywriter right now. As in today. There is a slice of the market that is looking for a copywriter right now as you read these words. Might be 1% or .5%. But if you put a gun to my head and said I needed to find a client in 72 hours, I would burn the phones as fast as possible to find those businesses that are in desperate need for a copywriter.

You would not have time to educate them--they would have to know what a copywriter is and how they can help, so a major success factor would be picking the right list of businesses. Then it is a matter of pig-headed discipline and determination.

So, after 250 calls with no luck, it might go like this:

"Hello, Bob's Dry Cleaners, this is Mary. How can I help you?"

"Mary, this is Top Gun. I'm a freelance copywriter helping businesses like yours with advertising and marketing. Do you need a copywriter for any current projects?"

"Hold, please." Muffled sounds as she covers the phone to talk to Bob. You hear the words "writer" and "ads." There is a slight pause as she hands the phone to Bob. He clears the tuna sandwich out of his mouth and coughs.

"This is Bob. What can I do for you?"

"Bob, this is Top Gun. I'm a direct response copywriter that helps local businesses with their marketing and advertising. Are you working on anything right now that I can help with?"

"Well, my regular gal quit and moved to Florida with her deadbeat boyfriend, and I need to get an ad done for the Local Yokel Weekly. Can you take a look?"

"I'm sure I can, let me ask you, how soon do you need it finished and can you write a check in advance?"

"Hell, I need it tomorrow! If you can clean it up, I'll cut you a check."

"Great, Bob, I'll stop by first thing tomorrow and take care of it for you."

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With more time, I would use better positioning, and set up a marketing funnel to consistently drive suspects to me. Also, I would target clients in the $5 million to $100 million annual revenue range, or roughly 25-50 employees. For B2B clients, I also try to find businesses that sell products and systems where one sale is worth at least $250,000 to them. That level of sales justifies my high fees for white papers and case studies.

LinkedIn.

Two caveats:
(i) The 72 hours must fall during weekdays
(ii) The work is not limited to sales letters.

When I foresee a dry period, I always spend several hours sharing insights, tips and opinions to carefully targeted groups - preferably active Invite Only groups with a decent number of members (not too large, or your message will get buried fast - unless you are a LinkedIn Influencer).

You should not join copywriting/marketing/IM groups. Instead, seek out business groups. Naturally, it would make a lot of sense to only join groups that you are familiar with. I dare say, trying to bluff your way in a, say, theoretical physics group, is a bad idea (and misses the target group).

Do not make any pitches; do not be condescending; do not be a know-it-all. Be helpful, be courteous and be professional. Remember, your audience will mostly be comprised of experienced, successful and confident business executives/owners. Let them come to you.

FAQs/ LAQs (Likely Asked Questions)

Does this work? Hell, yeah. My biggest whale came from LinkedIn two years ago - and said person has since referred seven new clients to me.

Can I join your group? Unfortunately, no. The Ghostwriter is a little mental about his privacy. That said, with just a little research, you can come up with your own list of groups/subgroups (perhaps an even better list!). Also, it bears reminding that reputations can take a while to be built.

How fast can you seal a deal? Depends, but three days is very achievable.

Linkedin is slow. People outside of IM log into their email accounts once a week or even less often. It's hard for us to understand, but that is the case.

Can you get lucky? Of course.

Getting on the phone and calling targeted companies that are likely to have projects to write about topics you like to write about will get much faster results. Screen for that.

LinkedIn for sure:

- Find a group with your target people in it.
- Join the group
- INDIVIDUALLY email 50-100 group members with an offer/free review
- Wait for responses.

I have done this many times and 50-100 emails take 90 mins max if you copy and paste. If the emailed is worded properly, response rates are usually 10%+, so you should get 5-10 responses. As soon as you get a favourable response, phone them so they can hear your voice!!