I had to tell her no
And I don't feel guilty about it
Now, understand....
She had already agreed to my N1.2Million fee for the very marketing campaign she wanted yours truly to work on...
A pretty simple project that wouldn't have taken me more than 5-days to set in motion...
But she wanted a payment plan that didn't sit well with me
More on that shortly
But first...
I have to give it to her (I like giving credit to my fellow entrepreneurs when they've earned it...)
This babe in question is a very smart entrepreneur (she's quite popular on Social media)
For context, she was able to turn a simple idea into over N15Million in sales..... / in just 3 months!
Using the most underrated social media platform in direct marketing
And it was purely organic.
No paid ads.
Fascinating stuff yea??
But when we had our strategy session / abi na discovery call...
She told me revenue had hit a ceiling...
Sales had dipped and slowed down
And now...
She didn't see the need to keep trying to figure things out on her own
...when she could just hire an expert ...to get her bigger and better results.
Good thinking.
And she was ready to put her money where her mouth was
But see...
I like taking all of my money upfront... or at least 80% of it.
And although, she had agreed to the N1.2M fee...
The moment she proposed that payment plan.... (60% upfront....)
For some reason, I just lost my erection and said...
"Sorry, this doesn't work for me"
She wanted to know if we could come to a middle ground
But at that point, I wasn't going to budge (I still don't know why)
So I ended the conversation in a civil manner and bade her goodluck
And you know... On any other day....
I could have agreed (Afterall, what's the diff between 60% & 80%?)
And by now...
We would have launched the first round of our digital marketing campaign for her...
And probably be on track to scale conversions
Or make tweaks where necessary...
But some things (no matter how promising they seem) ... are just not meant to be (you have to understand that)
Plus the fact that:
My closing technique is NOT do or die
I don't do everything in my power to close a deal or get the sale
No matter how much is involved
In fact, it is the exact opposite
I like my Clients to do the pushing and close the deal themselves
Counterintuitive I know, but it works very well for me
Eg: Andy I really want us to work together.... I'll make the payment right away... or on so and so date... then we can kick off...
It shows they have faith in my abilities (a very important criteria for me when taking on clients...)
Anyway that's beside the point...
If there's any lesson I hope you pick from this:
It's this:
I'm not saying be rigid and turn down offers you could otherwise accept ...
Whenever you find yourself negotiating with clients,
Follow your guts and (sometimes)....
Be flexible enough to be willing to meet your clients halfway
Don't be unnecessarily strong-headed,
Like me.
Stay frosty
A.
P.S: Oh, and you know...
I've actually not pitched my services as a Copywriter to anyone in the last 2-years...
Yet, Clients keep coming to me
Even when I wasn't taking on Clients, I was still getting requests... and all I did was refer them to some of my trusted students....
How's this possible?
Well, for one, it's NOT luck
And NO, it's NOT because I pray a lot or serve a living God
It's called in-bound Client Acquisition
As in, instead of you chasing clients /Outbound Client Acquisition
Clients are coming to you ... (Inbound)
Now, don't get this wrong (because I know you)
Both can be very profitable
But in my experience (going both routes...)
Inbound Client acquisition is actually more powerful and more profitable
Many of your clients come to you already pre-sold and ready to bring you on board.... (little or no persuasion is required)
But that doesn't mean you can't combine both...
You can.... and in fact...
Some clients... due to their awareness and sophistication level...
Will respond quicker to one vs when you use the opposite approach
And once you understand which approach is best suited for a particular client...
It becomes 10x easier to create a message that resonates with them and makes them excited to work with you
Because the truth is....
You can't use one approach to attract all your clients.
O wrong nau
Your marketing message ... no matter what ye are selling...
...has to be specific to each Client's awareness level, market sophistication, and the very thing they're dying to achieve right now.
This is how things are done in my Paternal village
A place I've only been to 3 times in my entire life.
Anyway, do you want to see how my students are putting this to work to land $800, $1,000, $2,500, $5,000, $10,000 Clients in the big 5 Copywriting niches?
If yes, go here: FCI, Class of 2021