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Are you a marketing consultant or copywriter still looking for clients, and often wonder how most people really get clients to hire them? If you are, this article will prove VALUABLE to you in a moment. Here's why: I came to North America from Hong Kong at the age of 14.
When I first arrived, I know not a word of English (and that's not an exaggeration). I've strived and climbed my way up here, and finally at age 19 decided that I'm going to make myself a successful copywriter no matter what it takes.
Following certain steps, I got to where I am today. Now I have a mentoring program (to increase online business owners' profits) bringing in five-figures each month—and an online information publishing business with it reaching annual revenues of ONE MILLION dollars each year.
But everything started from ZERO. You see, when I first started, I didn't even make any money working for others. And that is why I'm going to show you TWO SIDES of the story, and how you can use them to benefit your own marketing consulting or copywriting business.
The SLOW way: This was how I first got started.
To build myself a client base, I approached known names in the business industry. Instead of quoting a fee, I challenged myself to work for them—free, to prove my writing abilities (or if you're in the consulting business, your business improving abilities) worthy of their time.
Of course this would take some time, and is less within your control. However, if you can do this well as I did, you'll have a snowball of referrals in no time. Even though the slow side takes time, but as a tortoise competing with the hare, you'll reach where you want at a stable, and surely, consistent pace as you put in persistent effort.
The KEY here would be to build a relationship with who you work for.
Plus, doing this way lets you ask for testimonials from brand names, popular figures in the industry which will boost your credibility FAST. This helps market your services easier, since you'd have "borrowed credibility" and build instant trust with your prospects.
Then, there's the FAST way: As taught many times by established copywriters and marketing consultants at the present time.
To do this, you'd first prepare a self-promotion sales copy, and buy a list of potential business owners who can use your service (from the SRDS mailing list, for example). Then, send your promotion piece (remember DIRECT MAIL advertising?) to as many business owners as you can and see how well your sales copy converts.
Keep improving and testing your sales copy until more and more business owners call you up and inquire of your consulting or copywriting business. The only down side for this is: If you're not experienced with direct mail advertising, it may be costly. And even then, you'd have to invest your own money upfront to purchase a list and send them out.
On the contrary, if you are CONFIDENT with this method you could get tons of clients interested in your services, FAST. You'd have a reliable system to keep yourself booked, and have control to the "SWITCH" of clients whenever you need them.
And here's where the beauty lies: When your consulting or copywriting business gets a constant flow of clients, soon you'll have a snowball of clients knocking on your doors from all sides.
I have much more crucial secrets to CLOSING clients, but they will take one whole book to reveal by themselves. As the saying goes, "An average plan executed today is BETTER than a perfect plan executed next week." Instead of striving for perfection, get over it and FAIL OFTEN.
If you only implement either of these TWO strategies persistently each day from now—either OFFER to work for others without charge, or SEND OUT your self promotion piece to a list of potential business owners—you'll wonder at how you got your NEW CLIENT looking back one month from now...
Copyright (c) 2008 Quick Turn Marketing International, Ltd. |
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