Explain Like I'm 5: How do I find clients as a newb?

Is it that you don't know how to convert a potential client over the phone, or is it that you get too anxious when speaking with prospects?

Alex

Ever hear the term "doctor, heal thyself"?

If you can't write compelling enough copy to win clients (or at least warmed up leads) for yourself, that should be ringing a bell in your head that you are not ready to do it for others.

Out-of-control anxiety is not an attractive quality in a salesperson (which is what you are, for yourself).

Time to find another way to use your talents. Maybe affiliate marketing would be more appropriate while you hone your skills.

Can you be a bit more specific what your exact issue is? Is the issue with asking the sale (and taking their money) or closing the sale?

Sometimes its best to work for somebody that has the clients.
While you do their work, you'll go learning the ropes of client acquisition and retention along the way. Then, on your own time, slowly build up a portfolio of clients for yourself. Many freelancers start like this and leave a company with a solid foundation of clients.

I disagree very much with the posters above. I'm someone who is terribly shy, and am a natural introvert. This is what I did to sell despite my 'handicap':

1) I built a system that causes prospects to seek me out... and make them close me instead

I've got one book that's currently being sold in bookstores right now, consistently post on my FB profile success stories & content pieces that causes clients to come to me... instead of going to them.

I also make prospective clients 'jump through hoops' to get to me by getting them to call my personal assistant to book an appointment with me (when I was starting out, I got my friends to help).

2) I made sure that my marketing pre-sold clients on using me

When I send out direct mailers (advertising snail mail sent through postal services), I would stuff it with testimonials from very well-known clients, a book PLUS the free report.

3) I changed the offer

Whether it's copywriting or investment, changing the offer is one of the biggest key to 'effortless selling'. I use a 'try before you buy' offer where the prospective client essentially gets a smaller sized deposit. I also use a 'I'll outconvert your copywriter' guarantee. I've found 'try before you buys' and 'I'll outconvert your current copy' guarantee really helps to lubricate the sale.

If you do all of this, the close comes naturally

Hi Joshua,

Thanks for posting that! I will be in touch about your #1 and #2 strategies. I've been asked to give a talk on "Marketing for Introverts" at the next AWAI Copywriting Bootcamp.

Glad you put the word "handicap" in scare quotes, because in many ways being an introvert is an advantage in marketing. We introverts tend to be better listeners, for one thing... and there are other advantages.

Marcia Yudkin

Here's the thing.

If you can write copy that sells.

Clients tend not to care a jot what you look like, or how you speak, or if you don't ever speak.

And if you never, ever meet them.

They really don't mind.

Because all they want you to do...

Is keep making them boatloads of money.


Steve


P.S. So how do you get these clients in the first place?

Write to them.

Try pitching to clients that are actively seeking your type of service. Half the battle is won right there.

The other half is beating the competition that will be pitching to that same client. Your copywriting skills, if strong enough, should help you to win the second half of the battle.

Once you get on a roll you'll wonder how you found it so difficult in the beginning. The competition in copywriting game is stiff These Days but if you work on your craft and persevere you can succeed.

Don't give up!

A- Low hanging fruit- 1) Here at WF Where is your WSO or Classified Ad which you can link to in your sig file? A very low cost way to reach prospective clients, albeit, low cost ones...BUT useful as testimonials on your web site

And speaking of, where is your web site? How long you going to take to build it? A simple ONE page site is better than nothing, yet time has continued ticking.

2) Local low hanging fruit. Type in your ZIP code or area at Google, look on maps, see what businesses you are surrounded by. How do they advertise?

Who could benefit from your copy, how about a giant postcard with a story on it? If in USA, you could sell them the postcard and let an EDDM company fulfill it.

Who is running newspaper ads? Do you still have a daily? or Weekly? WHO is spending money right now?
Who is listed in local BBB or CoC magazines and on their websites?

Send a personal letter with your business ideas, or create a sample postcard, or a mock up ad, so they can easily grasp your ad concept.

B) Higher hanging fruit; who do you want as a client? What does she look like, where is she online, what does she currently spend money on?

So, here is what a 5 year old could actually do if he was serious about becoming a copywriter. Run a WSO or Classified.

Have a simple Web Site which shows the services offered.

Identify via ads already being run, who in your area is running advertisements, who is using the newspapers.

Collect every piece of "junk" mail you get and have everyone you know save theirs too. Once a month go through and see who is spending money to get their names, offers and products in front of people.

Find the companies who are using ONLINE, and offering products or services you might like to write on. Identify their market, draft a mock up proposal, offer your services.

Someone like you, with no samples, history or background should seriously go after the low hanging fruit, and do so quickly to get some work out there, get some testimonials, and use your copy skills to solicit more work.

As for your talk, use a script. Write it out, put little junctions, such as

if the client says this, I will say ___________

If you can't handle in person, don't do it. Call about 25 people you could care less about, and perfect your script. Develop a flow chart, practice and record your responses, until you have them down and can make them sound spontaneous, like an actor in a play. The first few don't know you are reading them and if you don't care if they become clients or not, it is all just "batting practice".

Do you have a current list of potential clients? Yes? Great. NO? Why not? What and who would you want to write for, in what media, for what type of promotion?

If you suck at sales, quit selling, and like some have suggested, without telling you how, become the magnet...have them chase you.

Here is an example. I can walk into a business and close 25-50% of the time, on a one call close...BECAUSE,

I know what the business is already doing to get more business, and I have an offer of.."If not you, your nearest competitor"...You?

So, I don't care who the client is, because THEY (prospects) know if it isn't them, then it will be one of their competitors.

A five year old's plan of action:

WSO/WF Classified-Sig file link-build testys-get practice via LOW COST
Web Site (TODAY)
Google Maps LOCAL businesses.

PLAN or mock-up for them to SEE. (NOT IMAGINE, BUT SEE)
Scripting phone sales
Avoiding face to face
Superior emails, the ones you get which you act on will serve as a good model.

ACTION.

gjabiz

Explain like you are 5?

Sales is a matching game.

Match what you offer to folks who need/want what you offer.

Works for everything and in every market.

Sales is a matching game where you get cash instead of points.

Pretty sure a 5 year old could handle that explanation.



P.S. The evolution of sales kinda goes like this:

You start off instinctively knowing it's a matching game. You then work really hard to make it more complicated than that. And you come back full circle to realizing it's a matching game and anything more complicated than that?

Ain't it.

I too had anxiety issues. Instead of trying to push my fears aside, I let it linger. After 15+ minutes of this I found the intensity of my anxiety would go down several notches. Hopefully this little trick will work for you too.

Best way to handle phone anxiety is to dedicate one call a day to completely screwing up everything you're worried about.

Write down all your anxieties, dumb things you've said in the past that haunt you, etc.

Call a prospect you DO NOT want, who is NOT A FIT for you at all...

And make it the most horrendously executed call you've ever made.

First, you'll realise how utterly insignificant it is to blunder during a negotiation.

Second, you'll feel like a boss by comparison during all your other calls.

I don't get anxiety because I'm a human confidence beacon, but that might help.

DK,

Ignore the armchair psychiatrists in this thread... they don't know if the problem is medical or mindset.

Social anxiety is a serious problem... obtain professional help.

Alex

Strangely enough, I am becoming (no, I have become) an introvert, which is bizarre considering I was always an extrovert until I began exploring my writing passions.

Now, I have little to zero desire to deal with society as I once did being self-employed for most of my working life in the brick n mortar setting.

Maybe it's part of the recreation process of exploring new paths, but I had no problem crafting written proposals back in the day, negotiating prices, closing sales on the phone or in person... Now, I'm out-of-the-loop trying to figure out "how to best sell my writings"...

Regardless, the style of writing, all writing (IMHO) requires a call to action, be it thought provoking, list building, or direct response sales oriented work.

I just finished the Sons of Anarchy final season, and what I admired the most was the writers ability to make you 'jones' for the next piece...

I think the same process applies to landing new clients, a mix of value, powerful communication, and never giving them everything in one serving... perpetuate and/or provoke their curiousity, so they want more.

Scarcity works too, as to imply; if you don't take this offer now, someone else will... Kind of how the low paying slave drivers hire employees, eh?

Would help if we had more info on what you will do for these clients?

When I was younger, I made plans to ask a cute girl that I liked out. I felt anxious for the entire day leading up to it.

Better schedule a cat scan. It's probably a serious medical issue.

P.S. I'm not mocking true anxiety. I just find the notion that being nervous to make a sales call is cause to seek professional help pretty extreme.

Again, not mocking sufferers of true anxiety.

I am, however, having a light-hearted dig at your suggestion that being nervous to make a sales call means you should seek professional help because you probably suffer from a serious condition.

...Which I find necessary to do precisely BECAUSE there are people in my life who suffer from anxiety. If only being nervous to make sales calls was the only challenge they had to deal with.

P.S. To the original poster, please don't seek professional help unless you really feel like you need it. Being nervous to make sales calls is something everyone deals with, and there are plenty of tricks that people use to overcome them that work fine.

Yeah but it's not like I've never done cold calling. I have. I've worked as a telemarketer, door-to-door sales, and in inside sales.

I've made thousands of call calls. I suck at them. I've had plenty of practice and experience to know it's not a strength of mine.

It's really my weakest point. I'm pretty decent when the lead is warm because that conversation is natural and there are less barriers up.

That said, since my focus is on copywriting, wouldn't improving my copywriting skills be more beneficial than my cold calling skills?

After all, that IS the product I'm offering.

art72 your signature is glorious.

Try LinkedIn, if you haven't already. Join some groups on there and make your presence felt. I get a couple of job offers a week in my inbox.

You could always try selling your talent in a can.

Meaning just create a package of pre written sales copy templates or something of that nature.


Perhaps pre- written email autoresponder campaigns, just think outside the box what people need and how you can deliver it to them on a website perhaps with less contact involved.

That is a sticky position to be in when you love what you do so I hope it all works out my friend.

I nearly left this out, but the way to deal with anxiety and conversation (or sales) related issues is to have a sales script. I wrote one for myself and religiously followed it, in the beginning I literally had the script in front of me on a notebook, lol.

That, and lots of practicising. Rehearse it with a friend, and make sure that he's absolutely brutal on you- that's how real world prospects will be like.

Copywriting presents a problem? It sure does... It ain't easy.

We all know what you mean... but clients who aren't familiar with how copy is pieced together might not take that the way you think...

In case you want the truth...

You're probably not cut out to be an entrepreneur.

The one thing an entrepreneur can do better than ANYONE else, is sell whatever it is he/she is selling. If you have to depend on someone else to sell your services for you, THAT person is going to take all the action. They're going to call the shots, they're going to have all the say so over how the business is run.

I've NEVER seen it work any other way.

The few times in which I've seen people try to farm their marketing out to someone else, they always ended up either paying that person boatloads of money OR, they ended up with someone who was worse at marketing than they were.

Copywriting is about SELLING my friend. If you can't even manage to sell your own services, you need to find something you ARE good at.

That said, why are you trying to become a copywriter anyway?

If it's the money and the lifestyle you're interested in, you're in this for the wrong reasons. You need to have a passion for writing AND for selling. It seems you don't have much for the later, and since you haven't asked about how to actually BECOME a good copywriter, my guess is you're just chasing an opportunity here.

If I'm totally out of my mind on this, and you actually LOVE to sell, and you LOVE to write....AND if you got into this because you can't see yourself doing anything else, then you should:

1) Spend the first two hours of your day HAND COPYING ads by good writers. Start with Gary Halbert's letters.

http://www.thegaryhalbertletter.com/

2) Take a sales job (at least part time) and get some IN PERSON selling experience. This isn't negotiable. It's is the ONLY way to get over that over that anxiety you're talking about. An entrepreneur who is afraid to sell is like a Spartan who is afraid to fight.

3) Start working on a direct mail piece to sell your writing services. Work on it a bit every day. Take your time, refine it, ask for feedback, rewrite it as many times as you need to until you get something that gets responses. Get Bill Glazer's "Outrageous Advertising" for ideas on what to write and how to format it.

If you're still stuck in 18 months, OR, if you're too lazy, or too scared, to do these ^, you should find a new profession. Something you actually care about.

Drew,

Check this interview out....

https://failtolearn.com/ben-settle-paid-cost-boss/

Ben goes into detail regarding selling vs. copywriting... and how you can still be successful at copywriting without being a hardcore sales person.

I think you'll get some use out of the interview... has some really good info.

Specifically, in that success often comes from just being persistent, getting back up no matter how many times you get knocked down, etc...

But again, I'm posting it here because the advice Ben gives on learning how to write copy, without needing to be a "sales person".

Honestly, I've never been a great copywriter or salesman. I'm not even really good at writing. I barely finished high school so anything that I have learned over the years was self taught.

There were a few things that really got me over my anxiety and taught me how to sell people both in writing and phone sales as well as real life sales.

How I Learned To Write Better

I figure the only way that I learned how to write was constantly reading everything that I possibly could. I'm not only talking about reading copywriting related materials but literally everything. Books, Magazines, Sales Letters, How To Guides on Google/Wikipedia, etc. Just plain old reading, I don't watch videos if I have the choice, I'd read a transcript or text version instead.

After a few years of experience reading everything I started trying to write on my own while I wasn't always good and it most certainly wasn't always easy to force the writing out...eventually I gained enough confidence in myself to write what I needed.

I like to browse through all of the top selling products out there and really digest what they write. That always inspires me. Sometimes I'll start out when writing with a swipe file of sales pitch that I know works and just modify it/tweak it/add to it until it's unique and looks good.

Phone Sales

This one was always a hard one for me and still to this day is something I always try to avoid but when I need to I have no problem picking up the phone and making calls. It was something that I never thought I'd be able to do because I absolutely hate talking to people on the phone. It's hard to really read someone when they are on the other end of a telephone and you can't see their face.

The way I managed to get over my fear of this was lucky, One of my older business partners was a top notch salesman and I was able to observe him while he did his phone sales thing and really listen to what he said and how he said it.

I also started off offering free phone support for one of my older products and helping people resolve their issues with the product also helped me build confidence in selling said product.

Face To Face Sales

This was always a bit natural for me, I can talk to just about anybody in person so it's just kind of natural for me to sell anyone on anything. Basic Psychology is your best tool when it comes to this.

1) Try Adwords and other context advertising
2) Try to find a selesperson who will work for a percentage of sales
3) Try to change your own mindset that will allow you to sell

I'm chiming in kind of late here.

I'm a shy introvert. I have social anxiety. Recently I've started seeing a psychologist, and it's helping.

Also, my most recent campaign sold 7 figures.

Unfortunately, you (we) are at a disadvantage because of social anxiety. I'm not the best at talking face to face with someone. If I'm competing against someone else with identical experience and success, chances are they'll get the job, because they're better at talking themselves up.

But like I said, I'm still having a lot of success.

How?

Like you, I've worked plenty of sales jobs. I hated it at first, but got decent at it. Nobody thinks they're good at cold calling phone sales. Those jobs are awful. As to the face to face sales jobs you had - are you sure you weren't any good at them? I always worried I was doing poorly, but when I compared my numbers with my coworkers, I was usually near the top.

I got good at sales by becoming intimately familiar with the product. When I pitched it, my complete knowledge of it was a source of credibility in itself. I learned to focus on pitching the positive emotions they'll get from buying the product, rather than the features of the product. I learned to smile, all the time. (My neutral expression looks pissed.)

As to copywriting - in the first year of my career, I got a lot of jobs on elance. (Now upwork.) I'll avoid the debate as to whether it's a good source for jobs, to say that it is a fantastic practicing ground for pitching yourself. Apply to tons of jobs, telling them why they want you over the competition. I honestly think half my talent as a copywriter came from adjusting my sales pitch on elance, tweaking and testing to see what would land clients. Sean Lebrun had a great post a couple years ago about writing a proposal that I took to elance and landed some great jobs. It took me about 6 months to land a few regular clients paying more than $50/hr.

I work full time for one client now, but back when I was still seeking out new clients, what helped me get over the social anxiety was to focus hardcore on my knowledge of the product, like I did when working sales. In this case, the product is you and what you produce. Early on, I banked on my (public) ivy league education, a few small projects I'd completed, and a couple great quotes from my first clients. Once I got some more experience under my belt, my proposals/pitches focused on the ever growing successes of my previous jobs. I learned quick that potential clients don't care if you're anxious and stutter if you're showing them that your last sales letter stayed number 1 in a competitive niche on clickbank for 6 months.

So I agree with Alex Cohen to consider professional help for anxiety. If a shrink is outside your budget, check out self help books, force yourself to start conversations with strangers every day, or maybe that Joyable thing I keep getting ads for is worth it (no idea).

I think you need to shift from worrying about your lack of face-to-face salesmanship, and focus on the raw facts that will make clients choose you over the competition.

I suggest Upwork (and posting an ad here) to practice pitching yourself. But don't expect that to remain your primary way of getting clients.

I'd be happy to chat with you and help you come up with the best way to position yourself.

Have you tried any of the copywriting job board groups on Facebook?

Thanks, Benjamin, for posting your experience.

I want to add, though, that I am an introvert and have never found it to be any disadvantage at all in marketing myself as a copywriter.

I express myself best in the written word (duh..) and have always used that to my advantage. I do not go out hunting down and cold calling potential clients. I don't sell myself over the phone. My strategy is to have clients come to me, presold. Prior to the Internet, that worked fabulously for me, and it is even easier now to implement that strategy.

By creating a blog or infoproducts that demonstrate what you know and can do, people come to you presold. Before the Internet, I did this via a column in a magazine. My "pay" was a free ad in the magazine whenever they had space. The particular magazine was not my first choice by a long shot, but it worked well nevertheless.

What is funny to realize is that extroverts often have "social anxiety" over sending out direct mail and over writing in general!

Marcia Yudkin
Copywriter since 1990 or so

Look man, nobody likes tryin' t' get new clients. Nobody be good at sales when they first get started, it takes practice and experience, for everyone.

Marcia -

That's a good point. Setting up an inbound marketing system would completely sidestep my (perceived) disadvantage. I'd probably go that route if I find myself looking for new clients again.

Thinking about it now, a lot of my outbound marketing was mostly email or Skype chat.

I had a call with a local marketing agency yesterday. It was a no-go. They want people with more experience in content strategy as I've said many times, I really think experience is key and very few people want anything to do with a newbie.

Drew,

Most prospective clients WILL want to know of your previous experience and results... only because a lot of times, it short cuts their odds of getting screwed out of money, or getting a lousy writer.

Many times, past results a copywriter produces can often be an indicator of whether or not they can do a good job in the future.

Not always, but a lot of times... a writer who has winning controls under his/her belt SHOULD be able to outperform a new writer.

Again, not always... but it does increase the odds.

If you don't have results, then I think I mentioned this to you on Facebook... write copy for your own product and sell that.

But another thing to try?

Demonstrate your ability. A lot of times, infomercials will spend a large portion of time on demonstrating the contraption.

Think of Billy Mays products... in almost every single infomercial, he demonstrated the product.

A demonstration can often SHOW the prospect that you can, in fact, do what you say you're going to do. Or that a product will do it.

A lot of apps are given away for free, simply because once the person starts playing around with the app, and enjoys using it, they will buy certain features or upgrades.

And think of Amazon. They "demonstrate" every single book they sell... with the "Look inside" option or the ability to get a free chapter sent to your kindle.

Again, demonstration.

SHOW the prospect you can do what you say.

So, why not write up a killer content piece that showcases your abilities and then
try to use Facebook ads, sponsored posts, promoted pages, etc... to get it in front of
those people most likely to hire you.

Creating a great piece of content that showcases your writing ability may be
the demonstration you need to get hired.

Again, you may be asked by a prospect if you have a proven track record, results, etc...
but many times, promoting a piece of amazing content COULD be the one thing you need
to get hired.

This demonstration of your writing ability would be seen by someone who knows what good
copy looks like, and may decide to hire you and test you.

Almost any good copywriter can look at a piece of writing and know whether or not
it was written by someone with some skill.

So, if you don't have proven results... try taking your time to craft an amazing piece
of content, or sales letter, or something that shows you have some chops.

Use Facebook or other paid means to get it in front of targeted prospects.

This demonstration could be the thing that helps you land clients, when you haven't
really had results in the past.

I'll Facebook you another tactic that is old school, but it works.

Another caveat to think about.

It's a totally different ballgame when it comes to getting leads and
people to raise their hands and say "yeah, I MAY be interested... and actually
LANDING the client and getting paid.

In other words, it's much easier to get leads, get phone calls, and
even set up a talk with prospects.

But then, you gotta land them so they hire you and pay you.

Those 2 things (getting leads interested and landing paying clients)
are very different... so just remember there are always 2 parts to
this gig.

Getting leads, and then closing the sale and getting hired.

Try the content promotion piece, as a demonstration of your skill....
that could open the doors to leads and possible clients.

Hey, DK.

Ever heard about Dale Carnegie?

Give a shot to his "How to win friends" book. You may feel more confident talking to people and much better about your social anxiety, guaranteed.

Hope this helps.

Kind Regards,

- Juan José

You can try selling via email first if you get nervous, that can build up confidence & reference experiences for other ways of selling later

Social anxiety is a major hindrance. The reality is that even when your business is online, you still have to talk to people.

The best solution is unfortunately very tough to do: go to networking events every week.

It might be months from now, but you'll suddenly get a lot more clients. Better yet, you'll realise that the things that once freaked you out, don't anymore.