The Freelancer's New Client Primer

Other Ways to Sell

The Sales Letter

Sometimes, you might decide to approach certain potential clients via direct mail, to generate new business leads. A successful mailing of only a hundred letters can often yield five to 10 highly qualified new prospects, so it can be worth your while. The secret is in hitting the mark with your letter, so when you're drafting it, be sure to include:

1. Sell Benefits and Past Successes

Remember to sell the benefits of your service, not the features. Mention, too, the huge response client ABC got once you completed their new Website was completed.

"We can show you the secret of increasing business 150% as we did for client ABC!"

"Finding the time to manage a business effectively is one of the biggest problems facing business people today. If you're like most people, you don't have enough hours in the day to get all your work done. That can lead to jobs half done, frustrated customers and even lost sales.

Using a consultative approach, DonTino identifies your specific needs and provides quality Web design services that meet your business goals, giving you one less thing to do and more time to do it. Increasing your business success..."

2. Include a Guarantee

Any kind of guarantee can help decrease the perceived risk your target customer might feel as they read through your letter. Guarantees help set their mind at ease:

"No risk, no-hassle!"

"100% money back if you are not completely satisfied."

3. Letter Essentials

Finally, make sure your letter demonstrates that you understand the client. How? Well, there are 3 things all clients have in common:

1. Clients want something for free,


2. they want to save money and


3. they feel pressed for time.

Incorporate all that into your letter and you're on a winner!

4. The Follow-Up

Follow up each sales letter you mail with a phone call. Don't wait for the client to contact you -- the likelihood of that happening is slim! Instead, show them that you really are interested in their business. Call them up, ask to speak to the person you sent the letter to, and get talking!

The Media Strategy

Plan a media strategy. It may sounds tricky, but you can start by sending off regular media releases to newspapers, radio and TV. They're often desperate for stories and run most things that have a human interest element to them. Always include:

1. a great photo (one that includes people),


2. a great quote ("We won the award because we are the best damn designers in the world!"), and/or


3. some great vision (i.e. TV footage).

Media coverage can provide an enormous amount of credibility and can work very well to spark the interest of potential clients. People will beat your door down if you are mentioned in the local newspaper! Give it a try!

Paid advertisements, used judiciously, can also have a great impact. Advertise in whatever media -- magazines, papers, tv stations, radio stations and more -- your target market frequent (information you should have obtained through your client survey).

Try also to track the success of your media strategy. One obvious way is to ask potential clients who contact you how they heard about your business. This will help you identify which communications tools are generating the best ROI, and, over time, help you optimise the overall effectiveness of your campaign.

Top 10 Sales Hints

10. Don't Tell them You're Not Busy!

Never tell anyone that you aren't busy, or that you're looking for work. Clients want to hire those who are successful, not those who are hungry. They don't care that you "badly need money." You have to show them why and how (and by how much) they will benefit by using you.

9. Include Your Details

Always put your name, address, and phone number on every piece of promotional material you produce. This makes it easy for potential new business to reach you.

8. Use Sales Literature

Create a package of literature describing your services, background, fees, methods, and so forth. Mail the package to people who request more information in response to your ads and mailings.

7. Produce a Newsletter

Newsletters help build recognition and establish credibility with a select audience (those who receive the newsletter) over an extended period of time. I started doing mine on Microsoft Publisher -- and it worked a treat.

6. Make Yourself Known

Offer to speak and give seminars before trade associations and professional groups. Make sure potential clients will be among those in attendance.