301: How To Set Yourself Apart From The Other 500,000,000 Freelancers In The World | Part 2
Summary
TLDRIn this podcast episode, the host Brian Hood emphasizes the importance of differentiation for freelancers offering creative services. He argues that while passion is the starting point, it's crucial to identify and communicate what sets one apart from competitors. Hood outlines five 'Brute Force' differentiators: being better than competitors, having superior gear or facilities, being more efficient, having a larger network, and maintaining longevity in the industry. He advises against using price as a differentiator and stresses the need for freelancers to stand out through unique, tangible factors that add value for clients.
Takeaways
- 🎯 Passion is the starting point for freelancing, but to succeed professionally, one must go beyond and consider additional important factors.
- 💡 The cornerstone question for freelancers is 'Why should someone hire you instead of others offering similar creative services?' It's crucial to have a compelling answer.
- 🚫 Lowering prices should not be a freelancer's strategy for differentiation; it's not a sustainable or effective way to attract clients.
- 🌟 Differentiators should be apparent to potential clients before they hire you, not revealed only after the working relationship has begun.
- 📌 Focus on one differentiator at a time to effectively stand out from the competition and not overwhelm yourself with too many strategies.
- 🔨 Brute force differentiators include being better than competitors, having superior gear or facilities, being more efficient, having a larger network, and maintaining longevity in the industry.
- 💼 Building a larger network through word of mouth, referrals, and community engagement can significantly impact a freelancer's success.
- ⏱️ Being faster and more efficient in your work process can lead to competitive pricing and a strong differentiator in a crowded market.
- 📈 Having a long-term presence and staying top of mind with potential clients can lead to more opportunities and hires over time.
- 🛠️ Utilizing tools like CRM systems can help in staying organized and consistent with follow-ups, leading to increased client acquisition.
Q & A
What is the main focus of the Six Figure Creative Podcast?
-The main focus of the Six Figure Creative Podcast is to help freelancers offering creative services to make more money without compromising their values or passion.
What is the significance of the custom neon sign mentioned in the podcast?
-The custom neon sign signifies the importance of going beyond just passion in the freelancing profession. It serves as a reminder that success in freelancing requires more than just being passionate about one's work.
What is the 'Cornerstone question' that freelancers should be able to answer?
-The 'Cornerstone question' is 'Why should someone hire you instead of all the other options they have?' It challenges freelancers to identify and communicate their unique value proposition to potential clients.
Why is it important for freelancers to have a good answer to the 'Cornerstone question'?
-Having a good answer to the 'Cornerstone question' is crucial because it helps freelancers stand out from their competition. Without a clear differentiator, freelancers risk being overlooked in favor of others who can better articulate their unique value.
What are the three differentiation rules mentioned in the podcast?
-The three differentiation rules are: 1) Lowering price will never be your differentiator, 2) Differentiators need to be apparent before they hire you, and 3) Choose one at a time to focus on.
Why should freelancers avoid using price as a differentiator?
-Using price as a differentiator is discouraged because it can lead to a race to the bottom, where freelancers underbid each other, reducing their income and potentially devaluing their services.
What is the 'E8 framework' mentioned in the context of efficiency?
-The 'E8 framework' stands for Eliminate, Automate, Delegate, and Mitigate. It is a strategy to improve efficiency by reducing or eliminating unnecessary tasks, automating processes, delegating tasks to others, and mitigating the impact of time-consuming activities.
How can freelancers expand their network and increase their surface area?
-Freelancers can expand their network and increase their surface area by attending community events, social gatherings, and entrepreneurial meetups. They can also build a referral network with professionals offering different services to the same client base.
What is the significance of staying top of mind for a long time in the context of freelancing?
-Staying top of mind for a long time ensures that freelancers remain in the consideration set of potential clients. Over time, they may become the only option that clients remember, increasing the likelihood of being hired once the need arises.
How can freelancers implement an effective follow-up process?
-Freelancers can implement an effective follow-up process by using a CRM system to set reminders and structure their outreach. They should maintain consistent, non-intrusive communication with potential clients, providing value and checking in on their needs over an extended period.
Outlines
🎤 Introduction and the Importance of Differentiation
The podcast begins with host Brian Hood welcoming listeners, particularly freelancers offering creative services who aim to increase their income without compromising their integrity. He emphasizes the significance of differentiating oneself in a crowded market, posing the 'Cornerstone question': Why should someone hire you over others? Brian highlights that having a clear, compelling answer to this question is crucial for attracting clients and standing out from the competition.
📝 Differentiation Rules and Categories
Brian outlines three 'differentiation rules' for the episode: lowering price is not a valid differentiator, differentiators must be apparent before hiring, and focusing on one differentiator at a time. He introduces four categories of differentiators: Brute Force, Credibility & Trust, Specialization, and Goldilocks Pricing. Each category is briefly explained, setting the stage for a deeper dive into each in the series.
💪 Brute Force Differentiators: Effort and Investment
The first category of differentiators discussed is Brute Force, which involves significant effort, energy, and sometimes money. Brian explains that being the best in one's field or having superior gear and facilities can be differentiators, but they come with challenges such as high costs and increased competition. He also touches on the importance of efficiency and network building, emphasizing that these factors can significantly impact a freelancer's success.
🚀 Enhancing Efficiency and Client Delivery
Brian delves into the third Brute Force differentiator: being faster and more efficient. He discusses the importance of managing client expectations and pricing strategies, suggesting the E8 framework (eliminate, automate, delegate, and mitigate) to improve efficiency. By enhancing these aspects, freelancers can offer competitive pricing without sacrificing their income, thus differentiating themselves in the market.
🌐 Network and Longevity as Differentiators
The final Brute Force differentiator is having a larger network, which can lead to more referrals and clients. Brian also discusses the power of longevity, sharing his personal experience of following up with potential clients over 18 months, which ultimately led to success. He emphasizes the importance of staying top of mind and maintaining long-term relationships with clients to ensure a steady stream of work.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Freelancer
💡Differentiation
💡Passion
💡Epiphany
💡Client Experience
💡Portfolio
💡Pricing
💡Referral Network
💡Efficiency
💡Longevity
Highlights
The podcast is aimed at freelancers offering creative services who want to make more money without compromising their integrity.
The host emphasizes that passion is the starting point for freelancing, but it's not enough to sustain a business.
Freelancers need to identify their unique differentiators to stand out from the competition.
The 'Cornerstone question' is critical for freelancers to answer: 'Why should someone hire you instead of all the other options?'
Differentiators should be apparent before a client hires you, not discovered after the fact.
Lowering your price is not a sustainable differentiator and is discouraged.
Freelancers should focus on one differentiator at a time to avoid spreading efforts too thin.
Brute Force differentiators involve significant effort, energy, and sometimes money to achieve.
Being the best at your craft is a common but challenging differentiator to achieve.
Investing in better or more expensive gear and facilities can set you apart in gear-centric industries.
Efficiency in delivery can be a powerful differentiator, especially in competitive markets.
Having a larger network can lead to more referrals and clients through word of mouth.
Longevity in the industry can give you an advantage by staying top of mind for clients over time.
The host shares personal strategies for staying top of mind, such as consistent follow-ups over 18 months.
Differentiation is less important without awareness; clients must first know you exist.
The podcast offers coaching services to help freelancers build a sustainable client acquisition system.
Transcripts
hello and welcome to the six figure
creative podcast I am your host Brian
Hood if this is your first time
listening to the show first of all so
glad to have you here welcome I'm two
hand waving if you're watching on
YouTube I don't know why this podcast is
for you if you are a freelancer you
offer creative services and you want to
make more money from those creative
skills without selling your soul if that
sounds like you you're in the right spot
from my returning listeners this is a
continuation of the series we started
last week now you don't really have to
go back and listen to that episode if
you're new or you missed last week this
episode will Standalone value all in
itself but I want to kind of back up a
little bit and set the stage for what
we're going to talk about today because
this is something that every single
person listening to the show should
absolutely be thinking about it should
be top of mind for you right now this
should be a burning pain for you right
now and I'm going to back up and say the
sign behind me says it takes more than
passion pointing at it back behind me
it's this custom little neon sign I made
I spent like $1,000 Dollar on it I think
maybe 6 or 800 maybe a thousand I don't
remember I spent a lot of money on it
because I had like one of those Epiphany
moments where I was just on a walk and I
was thinking through people that listen
to this show I'm thinking through what
is like the universal message that I
want to send to anyone that listen to
this show and that phrase just came into
my mind because so many of us came into
this profession freelancing by accident
we were passionate about something and
we started realizing we can monetize it
in some way and then we started getting
a few clients and then it became maybe
more than just a hobby it became an
actual side gig or side hustle and then
it became maybe even a full-time thing
for some people and then became a
legitimate business and maybe you have
Freelancers to work under you becoming
more of an agency the path can go so
many different directions but it all
starts with passion we are passionate
about something but it doesn't end there
so the second we decide to become a
professional freelancer AKA we're
accepting money for our services now we
have so many other things that we need
to think about and one of those very
important things probably one of the
most important things that you should be
thinking about right now a thing that
should be top of Mind burning pain for
you right now if you don't have an
answer for this is answering this
question we call it the Cornerstone
question you've heard me talk about this
on the show if you're a longtime
listener to this podcast but it's having
a great answer for the Cornerstone
question of why should someone hire you
instead of all the other options that
they have it doesn't matter what you do
if you were offering creative Services
freelance services for money then most
of the time 99.99% of the time there are
other options out there besides you so
if you're a music producer there are
other music producers if you're a
graphic designer there are other graphic
designers if you're a videographer there
are other videographers if you're a
copyri there's other copywriters if
you're an illustrator there's other
illustrators if you're a photographer
there's other photographers out there so
why should they hire you instead of all
the other people that are out there I'll
pause and let you think about that for
just like 5
Seconds now do you have a good answer
for that CH are if you're like most
people that I've ever talked to about
this they do not have a great answer for
this you'll have some surface level
things I have the great customer
experience or we have a great portfolio
or our quality is better than everyone
else and those might be true but if you
can't point to specific things specific
differentiators very tangible things
many of them very measurable things if
you can't point to those immediately and
say that's what separates me then I
guarantee your clients or actually the
people that are not your clients your
leads your potential clients prospects
all those other people out there you
want to hire you they don't have an
answer for that either for why they
should hire you over all their other
options and so you lose the gig they go
with someone else for various reasons
pricing whatever your leads those people
you want to hire you they will always
know less about you than you do so if
you do not know this about yourself what
your differentiators are guaranteed that
they don't know them either and even if
you do know them doesn't mean that they
know them either because you may not be
communicating those differentiators to
them so this episode we'll talk through
a bunch of differentiators help you find
an answer for that Cor own question a
way to actually be different and then
maybe not this episode but maybe a
future episode we'll talk about how we
actually communicate that to our clients
so that they do know because it's one
thing for you to know complet different
thing for them to know but it starts
with you knowing first what those
differentiators are so that you can have
a true reason for them to hire you over
their other options and that's what we
all want starts with passion we got
really passionate about this but we have
to have a reason for them to hire us
above and beyond just the shoulder
shrugging uh you know we have best
customer experience so for this episode
I got a few rules I don't have a name
for this I could probably come up with a
name but our differentiation rules we
got three of them to follow right now
for this episode rule number one is
lowering price will never be your
differentiator I want no one listening
to this podcast no one watching this on
YouTube I want none of you to use price
as a differentiator we're not coming
down on a price to get a client we're
not advertising discounts coupon codes
any of that crap to get clients that is
a poor person's game to get in clients
we don't want that we don't do that
we're not talking about that we're not
teaching that I don't advocate for that
you won't do that either because you
listen to show and you're smarter than
the other people rule number two
differentiators need to be apparent
before they hire you so you saying you
have a better client experience you're
more likable people like you more you
just really gel well with your clients
that's all things they find out after
they hire you in most cases not all
cases but in most cases so the
differentiators I'm talking about in
this episode and the differentiators you
really need to focus your time effort
and energy on are those that are
apparent before they ever exchange their
money to you if they don't find out till
after they handed you the money that's
not what we're going to work on today
that's not what you're going to focus on
when it comes to answering your
Cornerstone question rule number three
is just choose one at a time to focus on
I'm going to cover a lot of different
shads in this episode I got four
different categories to cover and so
this might be a bit of an info dump and
maybe I even have to split this in
multiple episodes or maybe we have to do
some follow-up episodes on this because
this is a series by the way but the rule
is choose one and focus on it for now we
can stack them over time but not all of
these are created equal some of these
will take days to implement some of
these will take years to implement some
of them will keep you booked solid for
life and some will only give you a
slight Edge so it's up to you to decide
depending on your Niche depend on what
you gravitate towards I don't even use
all these by the way all these
differenti I'm talking about I don't use
them currently I had never have and some
of these but it doesn't mean they're any
less valuable just because I don't use
them doesn't mean they are not a valid
valuable differentiator I do have a lot
of these and I have used a lot of these
but everyone gravitates naturally to
certain areas and you really only need a
couple real differentiators to stand out
from your competition or your
competitors and even if you are the type
of person that says there are no
competitors there are only collaborators
sure that sounds good like on a bumper
sticker or something but realistically
if you don't get hired someone else does
and if someone else gets hired you won't
so you do have competitors doesn't mean
you can't be friends with them doesn't
mean you can't exchange leads or refer
clients to each other occasionally but
you still have competitors again not to
be rude with each other but just saying
truly you do have competition at a
certain point we have to be different
from the people around us if we want to
get the clients so let's talk about the
four categories I'm going to dive into
these and we'll get as far as we can in
this episode I'll probably get through
all of them but we'll see the first
grouping of differentiators is Brute
Force differentiators is just pure
effort and energy and sometimes money to
differentiate hard but possible the
second category is credibility trust
that whole kind of umbrella of
differentiators the third is
specialization talk more about that
that's a huge one that's one of my
favorites the fourth is goldilock
pricing and things around pricing again
lower rates are not the differentiator
but pricing does come into this
especially if you're working with broke
clients which is what my background is
in music production working with broke
clients that worked at Taco Bell so
let's start at category number one Brute
Force differentiators and I'll start
with the hardest here the most common
the one that you probably answered if
you had an answer to the Cornerstone
question at the beginning of the episode
where I paused for a few seconds to let
you answer to yourself what your
differentiator is it is just be better
than the competition be better than the
other people portfolio quality your
skills as a freelancer your talent as a
designer music producer whatever you do
you're just the best or at least the
best in your immediate area or in your
circle of competitors this is the most
common differentiator people try to
strive towards and it is by far the most
difficult to achieve someone will always
be better than you and many times those
people who are naturally more talented
to you and naturally better than you who
work less hard to get further ahead of
you in the creative space as far as the
talent side of things those people are
also rarely the most sophisticated
business owner so what you'll find is a
lot of times those people will do things
that make it really hard for you to
compete they won't charge what they
should charge and so you see that this
person who's better than you charges
lower rates and so now you're knocking
down your rates even though you
shouldn't or they won't have boundaries
with their clients so they let the
clients walk all over them so you feel
like you should do the same if that
person's better than me and they do that
I need to now do that or what's even
worse H this is the whole point of this
podcast the sixf figure creative exists
for this reason the worst thing is when
you look to those people who were better
than you and you use them as a model for
how you should run your business and
that model is utterly and completely
flawed other than being the best at
their talent nothing else about them
should be emulated so the whole point of
this podcast is throw Talent away as a
differentiator for now assume that you
are good enough with your current
creative skills and let's work on all
those other skills we call it the full
stack freelancer we have a whole series
on this if you want to check out that
series it's episode 235 and 236 the
first episode of that series is called
why you don't need to be a better
creative in 2023 full stack freelancer
part one so while this is a huge
differentiator if you can truly achieve
it be the best this is not the one we're
going to focus on doesn't mean you don't
improve your skill set doesn't mean you
don't get better at your skill set but
it does mean that there's likely a
laundry list of other things that you
need need to focus your time effort
energy and attention on that will get
you much better returns because the
better you get that law of diminishing
returns creeps up I work harder to get
1% better that 1% better takes me 10
times longer next time to achieve so the
next 1% better takes 10 times longer I
get 1% better and now all your time is
spent just getting that 1% bump that
your clients cannot perceive listen to
that series if this sounds like
something that you struggle with but
that's brute force method number one for
differentiation is just be the best or
at least be better than your competitors
Force differentiator number two is have
better or more expensive gear facilities
this is one of my favorites coming from
the music production background where
the big thing to do would be get a
massive loan or get investors this is
like the old school recording studio
days on Music Row in Nashville and some
of the other studios around here you get
millions of dollars together through
some way and you buy a bunch of gear
have a big expensive buildout and you
have an overhead and bills to match but
that is a true differentiator have
bigger better facilities have the best
similar to the skill side of things but
it's way more Brute Force so it's just
money just put money towards it have the
best gear have the best room facilities
again this is very common in the
recording studio world it's also pretty
common in the video videography World
photography can kind of be like that but
this is more in like gear Centric niches
so this isn't everyone I don't know of a
designer that I'm looking at their gear
list thinking oh that Designer is the
one because of their gear because of
their Cool vibe in their office that
stuff's cool to have obviously but it's
not what I'm talking about here so this
is really for my gear lust people out
there this is a way to differentiate the
problem again every single time you
spend a dime or a dollar or a $100,000
on gear it increases your overhead
meaning you have loans that you have to
pay now now you have to make more to
keep the same and that was the reality
when I was coming up as a upstart home
studio where I had less than $20,000
worth of gear and I was competing
against people with multi-million dollar
Studios and I was beating them out and
the reason being is when I had lower
overhead I could charge a much lower
rate I wasn't pricing based on low rates
it was just realistically I charged a
rate that was fair and highly profitable
for me but because they had such high
overhead and bills associated with their
Studios they had to charge way more if
they charge what I charged they would
make no money on the flip side you might
say what if I buy everything with cash I
bootstrap it I don't get loans I don't
get investors I don't have to charge as
much because I am reinvesting into my
own business that's the same problem
whenever you are bootstrapping you that
means you are taking your profit and
just reinvesting it back in the business
which me you take home less money and if
you're like most people you have bills
to pay you have mouths to feed you have
life to live and so now you are
depriving yourself of that in order to
reinvest into a business and beyond that
there's also opportunity cost so all
that money you're reinvesting in your
business could be earning money
elsewhere so if you have $100,000
invested in your business or a million
dollar invested in your business what
could that get out in the Market 7 to
10% returns when you factor that in to
what you could be earning passively it
doesn't add up not for many people now
there may be some examples out there
that make sense but I would prefer this
not to be your differentiator as better
gears and facility there's a threshold
in every industry and every Niche where
this amount of quality is the
expectation and every 1% beyond that
just like your skill set every 1% beyond
that is perceived by less and less
people as an improvement so you need to
look at your client's expectations what
is the expectation of quality what is
the expectation of the end result not
how we got there the end result and buy
gear and facilities and have your build
out for things according to that Ro
Force differentiator number three is to
simply be faster faster or more
efficient put these one in the same and
this is one where we're starting to get
into the realm of what I call reality
this one is highly valuable for those of
you who are in very competitive bloody
red niches where there's tons of
competitors that are out there or a
niches where people are just very money
conscious AKA broke and I was working
with a client on this exact issue when
we looked at his packaging and we did
the math on like how long it takes to
fulfill on this we kind of reverse
Engineers based on what he wants to earn
we take the client value completely out
of the equation for this specific
exercise we're just saying what do you
want to deliver to the client what do
you want to earn how many hours does it
take to fulfill and what does that mean
you have to charge in order to get there
wonderful exercise the problem is when
that number is way above the value of
what you're giving your client meaning
it's way out of their budget or it's way
outside of what other people are
charging unrealistic and once I dove
into it with the client we realized a
couple things the first is he was
offering things that he shouldn't be
offering and that was driving up the
price thing number two two is he was
taking longer than other people were
taking which was driving up the price
and when you're offering things that you
shouldn't be offering and you are taking
longer than you should be taking you are
passing that inefficiency off to your
client and the client then does not want
to pay that because other people are
doing it for cheaper this is where
pricing differentiation makes sense and
it's not that we're lowering our rates
in order to stand out we're not just oh
I'll charge less and take the hit
personally no this is a very calculated
approach we are looking at how how can
we become more efficient in our delivery
so that we are more competitive in our
pricing I'll talk about gold Delux
pricing in a later section but this is a
really important point we call it the
easy8 we have a whole episode on this
back on episode 216 how to spend less
time doing the stuff you hate the easy8
framework this isn't just doing stuff
you hate less it's just being more
efficient overall the E8 is a few
different things it is eliminate
automate delegate mitigate it's those
four things and so when we looked at his
entire delivery every single line item
that he did with this client what he was
trying to offer people and we put it
through that framework we found things
that we could eliminate from the entire
thing which drove down costs without
hurting his hourly pay we found things
that we can automate to reduce the
amount of time for delivery which means
we could lower the rates and pass those
savings on to his clients without
hurting his rates we found things that
we could delegate to somebody for much
lower fee than he's charging clients
meaning he can either pass that on to
his clients or he can profit the
difference between what he's paying the
contractor and what he's charging the
client either one as long as he has
margin he can do one of the other but in
this case because he was still above
what the market would say is valid for
his offer and his Niche we could again
pass those savings off to the client to
become more competitive and then we
found things that we could mitigate that
just means lessen the impact of spend
less time doing something and there were
a few areas where we just found that he
was taking way too much time doing
certain tasks or doing certain things
where something as simple as a tomato
timer or pomodora technique where you
have a certain set amount of time to do
tasks sped him up drastically I forget
the name of the law but the law is
something like however much time you
give something you will fill that whole
amount of time so if you have a day to
do a thing you will take that entire day
to do it if you make yourself do it in
an hour if you give yourself one hour to
do it you will find a way to get it done
in an hour there are obviously limits to
that but when you just have when you
just give yourself as much time to do
something without any real structure or
limitations in place you would take way
longer than you would if you just put
some real limitations on that so that is
an example of just being faster being
more efficient using the E8 framework E8
is Ates if you didn't get that automate
delegate mitigate eliminate but using
that to be able to drive down price a
bit to be more competitive without
hurting your pay and beyond that using
this exact same framework can help with
a lot of things it can help with
speeding up responses to clients it can
help with getting through revisions
faster it can help with the overall
delivery process being faster all these
things are differentiators but the
biggest differentiator is on delivery
because that's going to affect pricing
and rates that you have to charge and
every single thing that you do above and
beyond what is the norm for your
industry is an additional dollar or 50
or 100 or a th000 that you have to
charge on your package or your pricing
that the clients may or may not be
willing to pay do not make your clients
pay for your inefficiency that's the
bottom line here best differentiator
number three in brute force
differentiators is be faster be more
efficient Brute Force differentiator
number four is have a bigger Network
this is a real differentiator when you
think about how most Freelancers get
clients it is Word of Mouth referrals
and repeat clients and how do we get
Word of Mouth referrals first having a
big Client List because your clients
will refer others to you but the other
side of things which is the Brute Force
side is just having a bigger Network
some of the most successful Freelancers
I know are just naturally outgoing
people they've developed a wide Network
a big Network so they hang out with more
friends they do more social events they
are seen by others and they see others
they attend like community events I know
a lot of Freelancers especially in the
B2B space where they're going out to
like events happening in the
entrepreneurial space makes sense as a
freelancer who's a business owner trying
to work with other business owners go
hang out of those community events or
three build a full referral Network a
referral network if you need a refresher
is the people that are serving the same
client that offer different Services
than you for example in my space in the
music production space I might be a
mixing engineer but I'm not mastering
music so I might have a mastering
engineer as part of my referral Circle
we'll refer clients back and forth to
each other we might have a videographer
who does music videos for people in my
Niche which my background is in heavy
metal production so we'd find
videographers who match that visual
style that heavy metal bands or
Deathcore bands would want so that would
be part of the referral Circle an
entertainment lawyer a booking agent
band manager all these people serve the
same types of clients especially if you
are hyper niched but this is what we
call increasing your surface area the
bigger our surface area the more bats we
have as a freelancer the more a name is
thrown around out there from different
people the mistake many Freelancers make
is we stay in our hole our very close
Circle our family and then we spend time
in a cave doing creative tasks we don't
grow our Network we don't expand our
surface area our reach as a freelancer
so it makes sense when the feast seasons
are very short and the famine seasons
are very long so that's Brute Force
differentiator number four is actually
building out a larger Network it takes
time it takes energy it's hard to do it
is Brute Force but it is a true
differentiator because in many cases
someone looking for referral or someone
who gets a referral you might be the
only person they're talking to or
looking at so just by the sheer fact
that you were referred that is a
differentiator because there's no
competition and brute force method
number five my final brute force method
here is longevity another way of saying
that is just staying top of mind for
longer this is one of my favorites for
my entire career one of my favorites I
have followed up with potential clients
for for somewhere around 18 months I
followed up for 18 months consistently
with somebody it wasn't like I'm just
emailing them endlessly for 18 months
straight begging them to work with me
it's just like a very structured with
reminders in place using a CRM reaching
out catching up seeing what's new seeing
if they have any updates sending a
reminder reach out a month or two and
repeat for 18 months until I got the gig
and the way this is a differentiator is
that although they may have had four or
five or 10 options for people they're
going to hire at the very beginning
beginning of that process I can
guarantee you I was the only person left
talking to them after 18 months no one
else is still following up no one else
is shown even remote interest I was the
only one that is a true differentiat it
takes time it takes systems it takes
process you got to have a CRM you got
have reminders all these things you got
to know what to say you got know how to
say it you got to have the right
attitude the right tonality you got to
not come across as needy but the longer
you can stay top of mind the more
clients you will get guaranteed 100%
there are a few hundred% in life but
that is one of them the longer you can
stay top of mind the more longevity you
have as a free freelancer and I guess
longevity goes more than just top of
mind when you think about it because
Freelancers who have been around a long
time naturally have a larger client pool
they naturally have more repeat clients
more referrals from their client poll so
longevity goes both ways but in this
instance I'm really just talking about
when it comes to Brute Force staying top
of mind for a long time now if you want
more on this if this is something you're
interested in it's one of the ones
you're going to focus on right now the
follow-up side of things go check out
287 it's called the follow-up process
that helped me double my freelance
business came out back in December 19th
it's not too long ago end of last year
in that episode I talk about how half of
my income came from follow-ups where if
I didn't follow up I just lost half my
income literally I essentially double my
income by following up and then the
other interesting stat from that episode
is about 20% of my income came from
followup for a grader so if I stopped at
follow-up number three I was missing out
on 20% of my income so that's a
difference between $100,000 a year and
$120,000 a year I will keep following up
for that extra 20 grand this is one of
those like it feels like a lot of work
but it's not you just need a CRM most
crms are like 100 bucks a month or less
some are as low as 25 30 bucks a month
at least the good ones are when you do
the math there depending on what your
income level is if you're already
earning 50 60 70 $80,000 a year and you
say I'm going to spend an extra 500 600
bucks a year on a CRM because that's
what's going to help you stay top of
Mind Set reminders and do manual
follow-ups you're not automating
follow-up like this one to one reach out
it might take you an hour a month of
extra time so 12 hours a year and 600
bucks a year to make an extra 20 $30,000
a year that's a pretty good trade-off to
me or for some of you who are doing no
followup to make an extra 50 $60,000 a
year with 12 hours a year and about 600
bucks a year that's a good trade-off so
those are the five brute force
differentiators from this list just to
kind of recap those it's be better than
the competition your portfolio quality
possible but hard but chances are
someone will always be better than you
number two is have better or more
expensive gear facilities this is for my
my recording studio people out there
this is for my just my gear hoarders
gear Hoarders videographers that are out
there some camera people like
photographers this is very expensive to
do and can lead to opportunity cost of
being able to invest that in better
asset classes or opportunity cost where
you have now accumulated a bunch of debt
and now you have a higher overhead and
feas or famine gets real tough when you
have a lot of overhead the third
differentiator brute force
differentiator was just be faster and
more efficient than your competitors
this one's a little easier a little more
manageable all these are difficult by
the way root force is through sheer will
and determination number four is just to
have a bigger Network so you have more
at bats more opportunities more surface
area as a freelancer and number five is
staying top of mind for longer longevity
be the only person still talking to
somebody after 18 months when they first
initially reached out I think I'm going
to wrap this episode up there we're
getting kind of lengthy here and I've
just got so much more to cover we've got
three more categories to talk through
I'll try to knock out all of them next
week's episode but we'll see how far we
get but this is a big topic and I want
to make sure we do this Justice I don't
want to Breeze through stuff I want to
be able to sit and talk about it because
it's my show and I get to do whatever I
want if you hate me let me know now one
thing before you go if if you are
working in a vacuum you're that person
that's sing in a dark cave AKA vacuum
the vacuum of space and trying to make
decisions like this and determine what
is the one thing I should be working on
what is my differentiator we're more
than happy to help you with all this
stuff but here's the thing
differentiation really only matters when
you have opportunities usually after
you've gained someone's awareness they
have heard of you they know you exist
and now they're going to look at what
are the differentiators for this person
for this specific freelancer and what I
found time and time again is most
Freelancers number one struggle is
awareness that they even exist
so if they don't even know you exist you
can be the best on Earth you can have
all the differentiation categories
ticked off and you have a wonderful
answer to your Cornerstone question of
why should someone hire you instead of
everyone else but if no one knows you
exist doesn't matter so if you want our
help differentiating any you want our
help building awareness and building
what we call a client acquisition
machine or a real actual sustainable
client acquisition system for your
business consider working with us we
will put together a full road map or a
full marketing plan for you we will
literally pitch it to you and only if
you approve it we will work together
one-on-one to coach you through
implementing every single element in
that road map if you reject it we part
ways you got no skin in the game but I
encourage you to at least see what we
would do with you go to sixf figure
creative.com coaching fill out the short
application there if it's a good fit
we'll chat and the whole goal of this is
to build a sustainable client
acquisition system for your business and
then all along the way spot those
opportunities for differentiation and
Implement those again the link is
6figure creative.com coaching if you
want to apply for that I'll see you all
next week where we'll continue our
differentiation series
浏览更多相关视频
As Airbnb Falls apart. Only these properties will Survive
The Ugly Truth About Freelancing: How To Deal With Difficult Clients
How to Get Agents with the Real Time Referral Program
4 Principles of Marketing Strategy | Brian Tracy
Mark Cuban - The #1 Reason Why Most People Fail In Business
How to write a KILLER Fiverr Gig Description | Fiverr Mastery Course Part -07
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)