When you receive an email query for your services, do you respond with another email that gives a price for whatever it is the person is asking for?
I regularly get email queries, but I don’t respond with an email citing an hourly rate and project estimate. Instead, I email the person to ask if we can talk by phone. I do this for five reasons:
1. To qualify the lead – Until I talk to the person, I have no clue if he/she is someone I want to work with, if the person fits my client profile, or if the project is something I can handle.
2. To qualify the project - If you want to build your expertise – and not become mired down in projects that end up going nowhere – you must take the time to learn more about the project.
One company that called me a few years ago, for example, wanted to send an “email blast” to those people who had put business cards in a tradeshow fish bowl for an iPod drawing. They considered these “suspects” real business leads and wanted the email copy to compel people to hire them for a special service.
I declined the project for one reason: poor marketing strategy. No matter how good my copy, it wouldn’t get the results the company was looking for.
3. To ask about the budget – By asking if a budget exists, you’ll know immediately if your fee range matches the prospect’s budget or if the prospect even has a budget. (The number of queries I receive from people who have no money continually surprises me.)
For those prospects with little or no budget, you can refer the prospect to someone with lower fees, decline the project altogether – or develop a “mini” form of your service that meets people’s budgetary constraints.
4. To learn more about the prospect’s needs – I have found that people call because they think they need one thing (in my case, copywriting) but what they really need is a marketing expert – someone who can help achieve real results with a specific campaign or tactic.
A phone conversation lets you get to know the prospect, the company, the challenges faced by the prospect, which tactics have been used in the past (and the results), the current environment, technologies being used, etc. Having this detailed information allows you to propose a comprehensive plan that meets the prospect’s objectives.
5. To determine the expected outcome – Because I’m passionate about getting results for my clients, I want to know what will be considered a successful result – whether it’s more online exposure, more Website traffic, more leads / sales, etc.
Do you see the point of all this conversation? You’re better able to determine what the prospect wants and up-sell additional services (or bring on another consultant / freelancer for services you may not provide).
You’re also presenting yourself as someone who brings real value to the project – versus a “commodity service” – which in turn lends itself to higher fees. You’ll be able to escape the hourly rate trap while significantly building your income and your expertise.
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Dianna Huff, a B2B marketing communications consultant and copywriter, offers Strategic Marketing Coaching Clinics to freelancers and service professionals. To learn how to get more from your business, visit her Website at http://www.dhcommunications.com/marcom/coaching.htm
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Dianna,
These are great tips. It’s so easy just to shoot off a quick reply e-mail to a prospect because of the convenience of it. I know I do it too often.
But of course…your absolutley right on the money. In order to properly qualify asnyone, you need to spend the time with an actual conversation.
I guess there’s another New Years resolution for me to work on.
Thanks,
Merrill Clark
Crestview Marketing Services
Stratham, NH
These are great tips! I especially think it is critical to learn more about the prospects’ needs. It can be difficult to drill down to the true need vs. the presenting need (e.g. a Website, a direct-mail flier, etc.), but it makes all the difference in terms of the success of the project.
Great article, Dianna. Experience has taught me that you need to ask all of your questions BEFORE you provide pricing. At this stage the potential client wants something from you (pricing). They’re willing to answer questions and, once you know something about their requirements, you can start to differentiate yourself from competitors.