How can I find clients as a freelancer without going to freelance sites?
Stop going out to find clients.
Make them find you instead.
How do you make clients find you?
Marketing Gravity:
2 Steps:
- Create thought-leadership, intellectual property, case studies, articles, videos, courses, etc — that provide values to your potential clients.
- Promote it relentlessly.
“There is a profound difference between beating on prospects’ doors, trying to convince them of how good you are, and prospects coming to you, saying they’ve heard of your value and are curious as to how they can work with you.”
—Alan Weiss, Million Dollar Web Presence
Freelance sites are one of many marketing channels.
Like any other marketing channel, there are pros and cons to using them.
Their primary con is that you are relying on someone else’s platform to bring in new business.
That’s a dealbreaker.
Why not use your own platform — your website — to bring in new business?
You’ll use your website to host your Marketing Gravity.
And you’ll build a habit out of promoting it.
Then, clients will start coming to you.
In the short-term, it’s harder.
But in the long-term, it’s easier.
How do you get noticed among hundreds of companies offering the same service?
Offer your service for a specific industry.
I wouldn’t stand out to anybody if I offered “websites.”
So, I offer “websites for consultants.”
Just by adding the industry that I serve, I stand out among the hundreds of companies that offer websites.
This is an aspect of marketing strategy known as positioning.
You are positioning your business in the mind of your buyer for something specific — something that you want to be known for.
I like positioning towards a specific industry.
But you can also position towards…
- Your insane money-back guarantee
- Your polarizing worldview that only 2% of people agree with
- Your exclusive, luxury brand and it’s storied history
No matter how you position your service, it’s important that your positioning makes you meaningfully different.
You’ll stand out if everyone at your company has pink hair.
But that point of differentiation won’t make buyers more likely to hire you.
So, if you want to get noticed among hundreds of companies offering the same service, niche down.
Get specific.
Exclude parts of the market.
Position yourself in the mind of your buyer.
You’ll have to avoid being a generalist. It can be scary to say you only serve certain people.
But in return, you’ll stand out.
How do I optimize my LinkedIn page and generate more B2B leads?
If you want to generate more B2B leads through LinkedIn, don’t structure and write it like a resume.
You’re not a job seeker. You’re seeking new clients.
So, you want to structure and write it like an advertisement.
Here’s my LinkedIn profile template which works great for B2B service providers, like consultants:
It works because…
- It talks to your potential buyer instead of just talking about yourself
- It lists the results and outcomes you’ve created instead of generic buzzwords
- It prompts them to take the action you want them to take — to reach out to you to learn more
LinkedIn can be an excellent source for B2B lead s— but only if you use it to market your business instead of hunting for jobs.
Why is personal branding important?
Why is dressing well important?
Because first impressions are everything.
Like it or not, people judge and categorize you by the way you look.
And it’s the same in business.
Personal branding is important because it allows you to craft people’s perception of you.
Just like choosing to dress well, you can choose how you’d like to be perceived.
But there’s something deeper going on with personal branding.
It’s not just about creating an image to others…
…it’s about creating an image for yourself.
“You have to dress for the job you want, not the job you have.”
When you wear your best pair of clothes, you feel more confident.
You walk with a little extra “pep in your step.”
It’s almost like you’re playing a character.
That character is a better version of yourself.
There’s a link between personal branding and personal development.
Create a personal brand that pushes you to be the best version of yourself, and eventually, you’ll become that person.
Personal branding is about choice.
And choice gives you freedom.