Selling creative services is SIMPLE, but not always easy…
It’s been a while since I’ve struggled with this. But I know there are many newer freelance copywriters and creative service providers who still need help here. It doesn’t matter how well you can do your work — if you can’t close deals, you still don’t have clients.
So I’m going to lay it out as simply as possible. To help you know what you need to communicate. To make sure you’re saying enough, but not too much. To make sure you’re saying the right things. And to close more deals for your services.
First: What are you selling?
I taught this in my book The Copywriter’s Guide to Getting Paid and have written about it in many other articles.
Your clients DO NOT need words. If you’re selling words, or copy, or pages of writing, you will find it hard to sell.
Yes, the copy you write (or other creative product) may be the deliverable. That may be the mechanism through which they get what they’re really buying.
But they’re not interested in the words themselves.
Your client has a problem. Not enough leads, customers, sales, or profits. They need the solution to that problem. That is what they will buy. They want to buy more leads, customers, sales, and profits. The way they buy that is by buying your copy that will be used to generate it.
Alternately, you may be selling image and ego, or any other number of solutions, delivered in the form of your creative product. Or something else.
The key is to recognize they want the OUTCOME, not the widget that will achieve it.
[SIDEBAR: When I shared my Dimensionalized Benefits article on LinkedIn, Josh Perks chimed in with this poignant observation that’s 100% relevant here. “Reminds me of the whole ‘Nobody wants the drill they want the hole.’ But taken to the real conclusion of they don’t want a hole, they want to put up a ladder for a tree house for their kids so they can play outside and have fun like they did when they were kids bringing up childhood memories they want to share and because they want to be a good parent.” Absolutely.]
So, first things first, figure out what your client really wants.
Figure out what they’re buying. Not “Facebook Ads campaigns.” They’re buying a stream of leads so big and constant that they’ll have all the business they need, and won’t have to worry about the inmates burning down the asylum when they want to take a 6-week vacation to Europe next summer.
When you talk to them about it, you can let them emphasize the Europe trip — you emphasize the leads they need to take it. But if you can figure out that it’s really about the Europe trip, you’ll know the deep reason why they’re buying and thus find it much easier to sell.
This is going to involve two big things.
Talking, and listening.
When you start to have a conversation with a potential client, the talking you should be doing is about them. Which mostly means you need to ask a lot of questions. Don’t start pitching yourself. Instead, be a detective. Find out what they want and need. Find out why they want it. What that means for their business. And tangentially, what it will mean to them personally to achieve this business success. Ask what they think they need — in terms of deliverables or work product — to achieve this success. What success will look like, and how it will be measured.
And then, shut up and listen. The longer you let them talk, the more info you’ll get from them. And the longer you let them talk, the more they’ll like you (our ego-driven brains are funny that way). Take notes, and interject infrequently, mostly to ask more leading questions.
Your ultimate goal is to understand the PAISA equation for this sale.
— Problem: What’s the deep problem they want to have solved?
— Agitation: Why is it so agitating having this problem unsolved that they need to have it solved now?
— Invalidation: Why have other attempts at solving this problem not worked?
— Solution: What does the solution to the problem need to look like and do for them?
— Ask: What offer are they ready to say yes to today, in order to solve this problem?
Once you have a firm grip on this, tell them you’re going to put together a plan for them. I don’t like the word proposal. Because that implies they get to decide what parts of the proposals make it through to the final deal.
Rather, this is more of a plan or prescription for what they need to do. A doctor does not propose a treatment to heal you. A doctor tells you what you need to do, unless you want to stay sick. You need to treat your expertise similarly and create a prescription to match.
Here’s what you need to include in your plan when you present it to the client…
First, address what they want.
Here is where you reflect back the findings from your sales detective work. This part should be about the main measurables that will define success. How will they know the project is done?
This is a description of the widget, but in the language of the outcome. And it also serves as the executive summary, in much less business gobbledygook.
They want a way to generate front-end customers at a profit, that they can use as part of their paid traffic campaigns. Great.
Second, address why they want it.
Here you can get into the more human and personal aspects of this goal. Of course, you’ll wan to tie it back to the business. But if they want this because they’re tired of having to finance customer acquisition for 60 days and want to spend that money to buy a new house… Well, you can include that.
If you’re reflecting back what they told you they want, they will be excited to read it.
Third, address what they’re actually going to get.
Here’s where you have to get into the details of what you’ll actually deliver. What are the features of the widget you’re going to sell them? What are the key deliverables in your project?
Don’t forget though that they’re not buying the widget itself. The widget is just the mechanism for the fulfillment of their desire. So as you present this, keep that in mind. Explain the benefit of each element — how it serves the greater goals already expressed.
Fourth, explain the deal and how to get started.
Here’s where you really need to think like a doctor issuing a prescription.
Tell them what they need to do. Tell them how to get started. Tell them your fee. Tell them how you expect to be paid.
Too many freelancers and “creatives” are scared of this part, but it’s absolutely critical to closing the sale. They’re hiring you for your confidence that you’re able to solve their problem. If you can’t present your own call-to-action with confidence, they won’t see the confidence they need you to show to hire you.
Be clear, direct, and unwavering. Treat it like a prescription of what they need.
Fifth, remove risk and other obstacles to moving forward.
Do you have a guarantee for your work? If not of results, of a willingness to make edits as long as they keep testing? Or are there other clear obstacles that would prevent them from moving forward? How can you overcome those?
At the very least, this is where you can work in stories and testimonials of clients like them. To help them see that they’re not the first one to trust you to solve this problem, and you’ve done it successfully for other like them.
Consider as many risks and obstacles as possible, and gently address them before a final call-to-action that both expresses your excitement about getting started and conveys a sense of scarcity, that this plan has an expiration.
How should you present this?
I’ve delivered similar plans as a written document, but I promise it’s more effective if you deliver it in-person or over a call (preferably video).
It doesn’t have to be super-long. It doesn’t have to be complex. It should be simple and direct.
Look at it with your client, explain what each section says, and be willing to answer any questions.
Emphasize that you understand their problem and you have the solution. And remember that your role is like that of a doctor prescribing a treatment. You are the expert and this plan is their prescription for the outcome they desire.
Then, tell them what they need to do to get started, and shut up to let them respond.
Sometimes, there will be a few moments of silence.
Other times, they’ll jump right on it.
Occasionally (only occasionally if you’ve done your job right) they may have a question or two that need to be answered before they say yes.
Only rarely if you’ve done your job right up to this point will you ever get a no. (You should have a rough idea of their budget and how it fits with your fee structure from the initial conversation, so if you are not a fit there you should’ve found that out already.)
Done once, this may or may not get you the deal.
Done repeatedly, this will get you many sales breakthroughs.
Yours for bigger breakthroughs,
Roy Furr
