Lesson 3 of 4:
“How a Book And a 30-Minute Video, Allowed Me To Get Premium Clients Without Being Salesy…”
Plus 3 Client-Getting Strategies Including The “Value-First Cold Email Approach”
From : John Pagulayan
San Pedro, Laguna
So where were we?
Ah… right.
On lesson #1, we talked about how having experience, portfolio, and credentials have very little to do with your ability to get high-paying clients and what does.
On lesson #2, we took a quick tour of the PROCESS that enables our freelance business to run like a well-oiled, client-getting machine.
In this lesson, however, we’re going to be a little more ‘teachy’… if ever there’s such a word.
You’ll see what I mean inside this page and on the Lesson 3 PDF Download you’ll find at the bottom.
With that said…
Are you ready?
Let’s go
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It was early 2014 when I was exposed to a book entitled “The Go-Giver” by my mentor who shall remain unnamed (his request).
One thing in particular from that short read hit me hard, like a punch in the gut.
It’s a truth of life that I’ve been glossing over for almost half a decade.
“Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.”
The essence of this philosophy is that, to create stratospheric success in your life, and in business (like freelancing), the value you provide should always be greater than what you take in payment.
Read that again. Let it sink in.
As simple as that statement is, it caused a huge shift in how I do business.
And I’m forever grateful for that.
WEIRD TRIVIA:
I’ve read the book from cover to cover for over 10 times now since I’ve owned it. And everytime I do, I somehow get clients the very same day I’m reading it.
Coincidence? Maybe.
Who knows, it might work for you too. 🙂
On the very same year, I was also exposed to another strategic philosophy called the Strategy of Preeminence by a guy named Jay Abraham.
And if you’re wondering what the whole philosophy is about, you can watch this short video of Jay himself explaining it…
(Click the video above to watch it. I assure you, it’s time well spent) 😉
Here’s a quick excerpt…
“The way that you change is you start mentally by seeing yourself as the trusted advisor.
And as such you will never ever ever ever allow your client to purchase less than they should…
In less quantity and less combination than they should…
In less quality than they should…
And less frequently than they should.
Because to allow them to do that is to breach your fiduciary responsibility as their trusted advisor.
If you know, with certainty, that doing something one way, one combination, one level is gonna produce 4 or 5 or 10 the result for them, then doing a lesser way or not doing it when you’re wearing the hat as their trusted advisor is going to be a disservice to your clients.”
Powerful, isn’t it?
The essence of this philosophy is that you’re not going to wait for money to exchange hands before you start contributing, guiding, counseling, advising, and protecting your would-be clients.
Which is contrary to how most of us Filipinos think.
And what I figured out is that I can use the epiphany I had reading the book as the backbone of my newly found principle and combine it with Jay’s strategy.
Meaning…
”I’m going to give more value than what I take in payment…
And I’m not gonna wait for money to change hands before I give it to my would-be clients.”
As a result…
I experimented with different ways of implementing this newly found principle.
And one method that ‘worked’ for me early on was what I called “Leading with the problem.”
‘What’s that’ you say?
It’s about sending cold emails each day to business owners whom I think fits my target market.
The email goes like this…
Hey [NAME],
I was wondering if you could take a second to answer 3 quick questions:
- This is something I've learned early on from Dr. Glenn Livingston who's also an awesome marketer.
1. When it comes to selling products via email, what’s your #1 biggest struggle?
2. Out of every 100 people you get to your newsletter, how many end up buying your course? Just a straight up number will do.
3. Is your list getting you $1/subscriber as expected? Yes or No.
I know you’ll find this email a bit surprising but I really appreciate your time and want to say again that I love what you do.
Thanks,
John
Reread the bit that I’ve bolded and highlighted.
Think about what that means.
Notice how it changes the whole “freelancer — business owner” dynamic?
How the focus isn’t about me, how great I think I am, nor how I’m the most skillful motherfucker around?
Because before I can figure out how I could start contributing, guiding, counseling, advising, and protecting my would-be clients…
I need to find out what I can help them with – so I started by finding out what their problems are.
And each time I send a batch of 20 emails, I get at least one or two (sometimes crickets) replies giving me more insight to my target market.
But here’s where it gets interesting…
Although, I wasn’t selling my services, it has directly resulted in over millions of revenue for my freelance business.
Let that sink in.
No selling.
No pitching.
There was literally nothing for sale if you re-read the email.
Yet it resulted to multiple clients — one of which I’m still working with up to this very day.
And quickly, this “leading with the problem” emails that I’ve been sending became my new secret weapon.
It completely changed how I attracted new clients into acquiring my services.
It became method of creating a ton of value before you’re even paid a single cent.
And that right there is a client-focused process.
All I really did is ask my target market what problems they have.
Once they reply back with the answers, I reply back with something like…
Simple.
Straightforward.
And just the way they like it.
After that, I’ll then go and craft something that may help them solve their problem without expecting anything in return
Now make sure you didn’t miss this bit…
“Without expecting anything in return”
The moment you start acting ‘needy’ things will go south – that’s a guarantee.
As to what you send them is totally up to you as long as it shows you providing value first.
In my case, I was sending them…
A plan for a short 4-day sequence that could help them sell more products.
A 10-minute audio telling them what they can do to maximize the revenue per subscriber.
An exhaustive diagnosis of their email copy and what else they can improve.
Etc…
Bottomline…
I’m doing all these before I’m even paid a single cent.
Just like what Marvin did (remember him from Lesson 1?) when he gave a quick 15-minute analysis of what his client can improve with her funnel.
And you know what happened with that one right?
He closed a deal worth $3,494 with an ongoing $997 per month.
Do you think that’s worth spending 15 minutes on?
Anyway…
After sending them the ‘stuff’ I promised, three things WILL happen…
They either like what you did and will straight up ask you…
“Can you do this for me?”
If that’s the case then ‘congratulations!’ — the prospect is almost as good as closed.
All that’s left is get them on a call to figure out some minor details and you’re good to go.
The other likely scenario is that they’ll say…
“Thank you!”
To which I reply with this very simple question…
“How’d you like if I implement it for you?”
Which more often that not… makes the client willing to talk to you regarding the details.
(Sometimes they’ll answer with a straight up ‘yes’)
But what if they said *gasp* – NO?
Well, the beautiful thing about having a client-centric approach is that it is never about you.
So whenever I receive a ‘NO’, the best thing to do is ask them ‘why’.
Because it’s your chance to improve or tweak the service you’re offering based on their feedback.
And in many cases…
Their feedback is what makes your offer stronger and much more irresistible to your next prospects.
***As an aside, it’s worthing watching this short video (highly recommended) about how you can turn those rejections into wins.***
It’s how I was able to make my offers better and make over $10,000 a month consistently (early 2016), just by writing emails for clients.
So why does this process work so well?
That’s because of what I exposed my target clients BEFORE they were ever given the opportunity to hire me.
Before they even knew I was selling anything.
I mean, imagine that?
No websites.
No portfolio.
No credentials.
No wizbang tech skills.
That’s just stupid talk, right?
Until you encounter this quote from Peter Drucker which says…
Which is exactly what I was doing.
We try to understand the prospect first that the solution we suggested fits perfectly like a missing piece to their jigsaw puzzle.
And it’s the exact same process, albeit slightly different that I still use to this day to generate this kind of income in under a week…
(September 2017 was the first month I was able to 7-fig in a week)
What I used to make in month, can now be replicated in under a week — and by working waaay less.
If those numbers impressed you, great.
But that’s not the point.
What I want to happen is for you to imagine being able to do that in your very own freelance business.
Let me ask you…
How much would your life change if you know you can predictably generate that kind of income month in and month out?
Would it allow you to live a life of freedom?
Would your family appreciate that extra time you get to spend with the kids?
Would it make your parents proud?
How much stress would it take off your shoulders knowing you could take a vacation right this instant and still have enough income to survive for a full year without worrying about next month’s bills and expenses?
I have to be honest though, all this didn’t happen instantly.
And it wasn’t like a light-bulb moment either.
It was more a gradual realization born from lots of ‘NOs’, failed projects, rejected proposals, and refunded clients fees.
But pushing through it was worth it.
I came out of the other side armed with a whole different way of operating — a very different set of beliefs from what I grew up with.
And it suddenly became crystal clear, to me at least, that by operating with the client’s needs first, I would (eventually) achieve the results I desire.
With this new mindset, it allowed me to only work with the best clients, at the rate I want, at the schedule of my choosing.
I now know that money can be exchanged based on VALUE and RESULTS — not on how skilled I am, or how long or how hard I worked.
So listen…
In Lesson #1 of this workshop we’ve already busted some freelancing myths and discovered a shortcut to getting paid your desired rates without being the best at what you do.
In Lesson #2, we talked about the the not-so-secret process for having a sustainable, predictable, and consistent freelance business.
In this lesson, we learned a whole new way of generating clients for your freelance business by leading with value first.
We also tackled the client-centric approach and how it enables you to come from a place of help every single time and not as someone who just wants to sell them stuff.
Apply this to what you’re doing now and you’ll begin to see (and feel) an immediate shift towards how you deal with clients.
PLUS, inside your Lesson #3 Advanced PDF Download, I decided to include 2 more client getting strategies that focuses on the same ‘value-first’ principle.
It’s been a jammed packed lesson so make sure you review your notes and take action immediately.
Oh, and speaking of taking action, I want you to leave a comment right below this video and tell me how your life will be different if you get everything inside this lesson to work for you.
How will life be different one year from now?
Get clear about the result and the impact it will have on your life, the lives of your family and those around you.
Let me know by leaving a comment below.
And if you found this video useful, or you have someone in your life who would benefit from this lesson…
Don’t hesitate to share this with them.
I’ll see you on the next lesson which is arguably the simplest but hands down had the most impact in my freelancing business out of all the lessons combined.
Rooting for you,
John “value first” Pagulayan