Aug 26 2008
Carpal tunnel- not just a ride at Disney anymore.
Holy cow am I busy. There is a good reason that I am so busy- and it’s not because I am a better writer than one who is not busy. Part of the reason I am so busy is that I run my freelancing business like…well…a business. Since I am from the insurance/ finance world, I know a little about sales. I know, follow, live and breathe a couple of important sales tenets. Let me share them with you:
1) The 80/20 rule is true. The 80/20 rule is also called the Pareto principle. In sales, it means that 80% of your revenue comes from just 20% of your clients. This is important to remember when prospecting and following up with prospects. Periodically, you should figure out who your 20% are, cut down your contact and marketing work on the other 80% and move on to step 2.
2) ABP- Always Be Prospecting. Let’s say you have 100 clients. Chances are, only 20 of those clients are giving you consistent work. The other 80 you call every month, spend time on, and come up next to empty. So, prospect- add another 20 potential clients to your list. When you do, 20% of those prospects will probably turn out to be consistent sources of revenue. This is how you grow a business.
I know it seems like dry fare. We are writers after all. We are right-brained, imaginative, free spirits. Business/schmizzness. Okay, no. Not if you want to be independent. Not if you want to pay the mortgage. Not if you want to afford NWU group insurance rates.
Tomorrow I’m going to give you a new prospect, Textbroker LLC. It is a marketplace of writers that allows you to choose a job, write it, and get paid by the word. You’ll need a nice resume’ for this one.
Thanks Brady- yours is always read-worthy too!