Ask Rezzz

Bands tend to spend money on beer, food, and travel - they really don’t spend it in their design elements.

So you may want to re-visit that niche a bit.

Small family owned businesses is interesting though because you are putting “family” into that niche.

Which means that the business may have been passed down for generations, or that only family members work in the businesses. This may be a tough nut to crack if that’s the case.

But if you are targeting small family owned businesses, you know exactly what’s important to them. Their family! The support of that family remaining viable through the business.

Knowing and understanding those two aspects in that area, you can put together a marketing plan that speaks directly to the understand of family values and legacy.

You can show past clients that have benefitted from your services showing them how your designs have increased their business.

And if you are in business for yourself because you want to be available to be there for your family, that’s a personal touch that you can add to the mix in your marketing.

To answer your pricing portion, that’s a bit more complex because I’m uncertain about exactly what you are providing as a service.

As you explore your plan, you’ll want to anchor your prices for your services to the end results your clients, and the benefits they receive.

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For full show notes, downloads, and bonus material, head on over here for it all. 

With that in mind, you obviously want to get it into the hands of your target market, if you haven’t done so already, with a free trial or some other kind of offer.

WHO IS IT SPECIFICALLY FOR?
Yes, you say freelancers, but are they aspiring freelancers, have they just started freelancing, or are they experienced freelancers.

Each of these 3 types of freelancers have a different need for their business. They also have a much different view on spending money.

IN THE IDEA STAGE?
EARLY / PRE-LAUNCH STAGE?
POST LAUNCH STAGE?

In this episode I dive into some examples you can use try based on where they are in this space.
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For full show notes, downloads, and bonus material, head on over here for it all.

Before someone reaches out to you to potentially work with them, they’ve made 70% of the decision. That’s what all that education and being visible is about.

After they reach out, that’s where more specifics about budget, timeline, goals, what sort of business they are, what they sell, who they are as people, and a number of other factors that can determine whether or not I’m a fit for their project.

I point every single prospect to a Project Brief.

The Project Brief does a few things for me.

1. Shows me that they’ve thought a bit about the project.
2. Prospect doesn’t mind using electronic means for communication.
3. Get the basics out of the way.
4. Makes sure that I’m talking with the decision maker.
5. It gets their project down in writing in their own words.

This allows for the sales call to be as productive as possible.

By specializing, learning who I serve, the common questions leads would ask, the aspects of what my business can provide for successful projects, and understanding the problems I help people solve, the educational content and Project Brief has been the point of entry for my services to not just help me determine the quality of a prospect, but also help the prospect the quality of me for them.
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For full show notes, downloads, and bonus material, head on over here for it all. 

So here’s the scenario.

I will bring you $100,000 in new revenue, what we would offer to the customers?

Assuming that I had the customers and you have the service and/or product to sell, what is it that we are selling them?

I want you to think about it for a minute, then share on Twitter or post on Facebook your response with the hashtag #AskRezzz 

But before you do, I don’t want to see tweets like:
“Web development” or “WordPress theme building” or “SEO”

Think about this $100,000 in revenue and what it represents to the customers and to your business.

Think about who these customers are.

Think about what problems you are solving for them.

Be specific!

For me, my response would be “I help freelancers, especially web developers and designers, through coaching and community looking to specialize or niche their businesses and build recurring revenue so that they can live the kind of life they want.”

The response should say:

• Who it is for
• Identifies with their goals
• What it is that you do
• What the outcome they can expect

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For full show notes, downloads, and bonus material, head on over here for it all. 

This question comes with sense of imposter syndrome. This is where you get in your own way. You are inside your head and that is what is limiting you.

How you pitch them is all about confidence. If you pitch with this self-doubt, it’ll show.

That self-doubt needs to carry through the follow-up as well.

If the pitch dies on the vine and you don’t hear back, then move on. 

Put them into a past lead followup sequence that keeps you front of mind.

In this episode, you will learn:

• The first impression is now the last
• What to include in your follow-up sequence after the pitch
• How to remain front of mind for when the next opportunity araises
• Why having them pass on you the first time isn't a bad thing after all

For full show notes, downloads, and bonus material, head on over here for it all. 

When you ask for a testimonial you should do so not with the intention of having it up on your website, it should be with a focus around improving your business and the experience you customers have with you.

Even though a testimonial is about your business, it’s really about your client and how you helped them.

There will be emotional responses as well as facts too. Specifically, if you’ve reached very specific and measurable goals.

By “emotional” I mean that you will hear what the client felt about their experiences with you. Not necessarily that there will be tears or utter jubilation.

If so, get that celebration on video!

The easiest way to get testimonials is to just keep an eye out for them throughout the course of the project.

Watch out for those wins and thoughts of gratitude from your clients. Especially if you’ve reached a certain milestone.

Similarly, watch out for the voice of opportunities that tell you what you can be doing better.

These usually come by way of emails and you can pull them out as quick quotes that you can use in your marketing.

Those are the quickest ways.

But I also share with you my 2-step process for getting video client testimonials and the 7 must ask questions for you to ask your clients to get a great testimonials.

For full show notes, downloads, and bonus material, head on over here for it all. 

Gwen asked this during the Feast Monthly Round Up Call. And I thought that considering I don’t consider myself a great writer, that you would get something out of this answer.

The Feast Monthly Round Up Call is an open forum call inside the Feast membership website that we have each and every month.

Find out more about Feast and how it can help your freelance business define your niche, build processes and systems and get recurring revenue so that you can live your life away from the screen.

She’s been reading my content for some time and thought that it must take quite a while for me to research, write, and then publish an article. 

Since she knew that I don’t fancy myself a writer, that I must have some secret sauce to share.

Well, like I told Gwen, it does take some time, thought, and effort to publish something.

Although, there are 7 things about my process that I follow:

1. It has to provide some value to someone, otherwise it’s filler
2. Know who I’m talking to
3. Start with the end in mind
4. Make it personal at some level
5. Try and make it entertaining
6. Just write
7. Wrap it up

That’s it. It’s simple, works for me, and I do it quite often, if I don’t really consider myself a writer.

For full show notes, downloads, and bonus material, head on over here for it all. 

In episode 83, I shared my answer to a question someone ask about wanting to do web and software development along with digital marketing all at the same time.

First, find your focus, your core offering, and then branch out into the others where it fits to augment and make your core offering much better.

The same is idea applies here.

If it is a good fit, then here’s how you find a partner. 
1. Make connections at events 
2. Social Media 
3. Build relationships 
4. Ask 
5. Google 

Be careful with who you partner with, remember your name is going on the service and recommendation. If you aren’t fully confident in the job that they can do, then it’s better not to even offer it.

The partnership should be an added bonus to your services that increases the value that you are bringing to your clients and increases the value of your offerings for your business.

Today I share with you a very personal story of mine and why I do what I do.

It was something that I discovered at a very young age, but my family environment played a HUGE part in shaping me as a the person I am today.

There’s a reason behind the work we do, especially the work we choose to do as freelancers

For you that could be travel, or spending time with family like me, or work on projects that you have a close passion to.

What ever that is, if you don’t keep that why in focus, you’ll de-rail yourself and during the times of bad, you’ll feel the desire to turn back.

It’s your why that will allow you to push through hard times, allow you to celebrate the great times, and be the goals you have for the rest of your life.

I encourage you to take some time and reflect on your why, put it front in center of all the decisions you have to make and make sure as a freelancer those decisions you make align directly with your why.

Otherwise, why are you freelancing?

Take a look at the Ask Rezzz Extra from this episode over on my channel on IGTV.

There are different types of mentors though.

Virtual Mentors, Personal Coaches, Business Coaches, In-Person Mentors, Mastermind Groups.

Some you do have to pay for, some you can follow and learn from just with all the content they provide.

To answer the question though, if you really want to make an impact starting your company or your project, paying for a mentor would be the most helpful to you.

In this episode I'm going to share with you the 4 benefits of hiring a coach or mentor. Then dive into 3 things to keep in mind when looking around for one.

1. You’ll want to find someone who has experience in what you want help in.
2. You want to find someone who you mesh with at a personal level.
3. Find someone who can coach you in the way you learn from best.

There are so many awesome people who are mentors and coaches out there.

But you need to figure out what you want help on specifically and then with the steps above, find the one for you.

If you are a developer or designer who is freelancing, not looking to build a large agency, but looking to niche down and specialize your business to build recurring revenue, let’s have a chat. No strings attached, just want to learn more about you and why you do what you do.