Open Thread: How Can You Double Your Sales Per Client?
Posted March 9, 2008 in Open Thread 9 Comments »
As many of you have been following on my Freelance Smackdown! threads, I’ve been putting Christine O’Kelly’s eBook to the test – and it’s passing with flying colors. One of the gems in this book is a piece of advice that’s so simple you may have never thought of it – but it could add a whole lot of money to your bottom line and increase your steady monthly income. The tip?
The problem that draws your client to you doesn’t often completely go away after you provide your service. In fact, they probably have a whole new set of needs now that you’ve delivered your services! Why not expand your services to meet those new needs?
In other words, you sell X … but what additional ongoing monthly services related to X can you offer them at the same time to turn them into a steady gig? If you write for the web, can you sell someone on the idea of a series of articles instead of just one? (I recently did this to turn a single article job into a ten article ongoing contract.) Or if you do design work, could you sell a monthly maintenance package where you sell X hours upfront, or offer slight monthly updates to the design to keep it fresh? The possibilities are endless.
Think About It – And Stop Leaving Money On The Table
Whatever it is you do as a freelancer, whatever it is that you’re hired to take care of, there are extended / related services that you could be offering. And here’s the best part – they don’t even have to be your services. If you set up blogs for a living but can’t write, you could offer a package that includes blog setup plus X number of content-rich articles every month. You could then outsource the articles and have a revenue stream that is steady and low-maintenance, as long as you had access to some good dependable writers. If you don’t, you can get ‘em from that link. Even if some of them are in Canada. :-p
So Now It’s Your Turn To Make More Money: Brainstorm Away!
Invest five minutes right now and look at all the things you offer in your freelancing business. What other monthly ongoing services can you add onto them? Don’t limit yourself by your own skill set – you can always outsource if you need it. This may be the most important step you take for your freelancing business all year, because it takes the hardest part of business – finding new clients – and lets you make a hell of a lot more money from each one. What’s your big idea? Leave it in the comments below.
You know what to do,
Dave
About the author: Dave Navarro is a business productivity coach who loves showing freelancers how to make more money and have more time for themselves. Get more of the good stuff at Rock Your Day or follow Dave on Twitter.
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9 Comments
fc
March 10th, 2008 at 11:00 amDitto
well almost..
I had written something on the same lines as a tool to expand one’s business to make the most of existing clients.. it worked on the lines of providing additional services rather than contracting for the same service periodically ..
so some designers might want to offer web hosting as an additional service.. some might offer to introduce say a graphic designer for a token referral fee
Content writers can offer SEO as an add-on.. if you come to think of it, this is what most service providers do.. in my article I started off with an example of the bank..
they give you loans to invest..
they let you save your investments..
then they give insurance to cover for the debt you took from them in the first place..
About time we thought the same way..perhaps
Monika Mundell
March 11th, 2008 at 6:58 amEver since reading Christine’s book I have brainstormed this very idea. I have come up with a range of things I can offer and all will be revealed on my newly made over site when it is ready.
Some ideas are packaged into my writing services and others are brand new.
Tiffany K
March 14th, 2008 at 2:45 pmFirst of all let me just say thank you for giving me something to look forward to. I have been reading your blogs in an attempt to find some answers. I feel I must tell you that I’m not starting any type of online business, I’m starting a photography business. I know that in your blog you talk about online business but I truly believe that anyone with any type of business can use the piece of advice that you are talking about from in that book. In the beginning of this blog you talk about offering more services. I had never thought about it that way before. There are other things that I can offer my clients; maybe these things will help me stand apart enough from the other local photographers to increase my business. After reading a bunch of different opinions from different people about starting a small business I’ve learned that all of them will agree that standing out is what helps you get the clients attention. The first piece of advice that I was given from a fellow blogger was to have a good company logo. They gave me a long speech about corporate branding. So I followed their advice. They suggested a website called http://www.pixellogo.com. I went to the website, and picked out a logo for my company. I must admit that I never thought that a small detail like that could improve anything. But it did. It made everything from my business cards, to my letter heads look more professional. Now after reading your blog I realized that it about more than logos. I need to offer additional services to my customers. I am going to start right now!! I’m going to start making a list of things that I can offer. So thanks for the advice! You may not have meant the advice for a small business owner like me but let me assure you that this advice will help improve my business. So thanks again!!
MaggieInWCs
August 19th, 2008 at 7:09 pmMy boyfriend and I want to go on a spectuacular trip soon. We were looking for advice. Anyone have any great spots? A way to save some cash would be awesome too. Vacationing is pricey these days.
GregorySockssy
August 19th, 2008 at 7:27 pmWe traveled to Tahiti last month. It was an amazing vacation. We stayed at this nice little Bungalow called the Beach Sands. But, if your looking to save cash, it’s a very expensive plane ticket. Another option is Puerto Vallarta, I have a amazing time everytime I go. As far as saving money, I don;t know for sure, we always go with expeida or travelocity. My uncle tells me that he usually saves a ton of dough on his vacations. I’ll ask him how he does it.
Plosenoobjeve
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ErrorsGok
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Liarratty
May 28th, 2009 at 7:45 pmHi,
I am new to this forum and want to introduce myself
:)
pco
June 13th, 2009 at 8:57 amHi,
there will be website like pycomall.com , hidesale.com is a good platform to start selling online.