This morning, I was reading Nigel Thomas’ newsletter – David To Goliath.
And guess what? He is a big fan of the Age of Empire game like me.
Reading his newsletter today brought back so many memories. And we both agree on one thing.
Playing real-time strategy games helps you improve your strategy skills.
This skill is one of the most important skills for a businessman. Doesn’t matter if you are a freelancer or an agency owner.
You need to strategize your resources (time, money and people) effectively and efficiently. Otherwise, you will perish.
A good strategy will turn the odds in your favor.
For example, my strategy to land clients (either from Upwork or LinkedIn) is to provide value upfront.
Why?
This is how you influence your potential clients to give you work.
When you do something nice for someone, they feel compelled to return the offer.
Most outreach campaigns are built on this principle.
It’s based on the first principle of persuasion in the book “Influencer – The Psychology of Persuasion”
The Law of Reciprocation.
As a freelancer, this means offering something valuable without expecting immediate returns can build strong client relationships.
FREE Framework
Here are my 3 favorite ways to use this law to turn the odds in my favor when trying to land new clients:
Free Consultations
This is a no-brainer for marketing guys.
Everyone in marketing offers Free Consultation to clients including me.
This 30-minute consultations are meant to help clients with a roadmap.
During this session, I understand their needs, problems and challenges and set out a roadmap. They can use that roadmap to address those needs, problems and challenges.
If they need my help implementing that roadmap, I charge them for it.
Which is usually 90% of the scene.
Resource Sharing
This daily newsletter is a live example.
I publish this newsletter daily and give away free resources in the form of Notion templates or workbooks.
I do not ask my audience for anything in return.
Honestly, this daily resource sharing has gotten me lots of inbound leads.
Expert Education
I give away a lot of free advice in DMs. Anyone who has DMed me asking for advice, I am always up for it.
(Sorry for replying late guys, my DM is swamped with messages)
This newsletter is also an example of giving away advice.
Every creator on LinkedIn is offering advice in their content.
You should too.
Offer actionable advice backed by strategic advice. This will showcase your expertise and willingness to help.
People love that and want that.
Question, does this work?
In the past 3 years, I have experienced the following benefits of providing value upfront.
- Builds trust and shows your commitment
- Allows you to prove your skills and knowledge
- Clients are more likely to reciprocate by hiring or referring you
And a ton of inbound leads.
Now, a theory won’t do you much good.
You need to implement the framework to get benefits in real-time.
That is all from my side.
Now, I need to work on a funnel that will keep my sales pipeline filled for the whole year.
I am calling this The Golden Funnel. I will keep you posted about how it goes.
Until then, stay tuned for more updates.
Adios,
Talha X
Dreamer & Founder @ The Notion Millionaire.
