Building a Lead Gen Agency: Part 5

Today, I’m going to share with you an unconventional point of view… It goes against what a lot of “experts” out there teach. And frankly, I might lose some subscribers with this one. But I’d rather be honest with you: Even though I’m a BIG fan of selling “cold outreach as a service” (i.e. cold email and LinkedIn messages) to get leads for businesses, I don’t think cold email is the best way for you to get your clients. At least not when you’re starting out. A lot of experts talk about sending out cold emails, Facebook messages, LinkedIn messages, etc to local businesses to get them on the phone with you, then sell them on working with you through an aggressive sales script. But there’s a problem: 1) When you’re starting out, your clients know more about their challenges than you do. 2) Aggressive sales tactics don’t work when you’re selling high priced services to smart people (i.e. lawyers). and 3) Having one sales script is not enough. You need a proven salesprocess. And if you don't have a proven sales process, then you won't be able to predictably, reliably close the leads you get from cold outreach. (This is why your clients can still get return on investment by hiring you to get leads for them, but you won't always get results doing it for yourself. It's because your clients already have a sales process, and you don't). For example… do you know how many calls you should have with a client before you close them? How will you “push” them in an ethical, non-aggressive way when they say something like “I have to talk to my partner”? How many times will you follow up, and what will you say in your follow up messages? Do you know the right answers to those questions? In my advanced training, I show you frameworks of how to go from "sales noob" to closing $2k / month - $5k / month deals in a matter of hours (including 1-on-1 role-plays) -- without over-the-top hype or high pressure. I'll let you steal my agency's proprietary sales process. But today, I want to talk about another strategy: There’s another method to closing high value monthly retainers that can work like magic -- especially when you're starting out. A strategy that doesn't even involve sales calls. A strategy that doesn't involve selling to cold leads. A strategy that works even if you don't have a sales process. The easiest, fastest way to land top-tier clients that pay you on monthly retainer is by going on the right job boards, and sending out pitches that separate you from other candidates. “Why job boards?” One example of a job board I used a lot when I was starting out is Upwork. If you know how to filter for the right companies and jobs, you’ll be able to uncover high-value clients that most candidates miss. The ones that are able and willing to drop wads of cash in your bank account every month.

(For example… here are just a few of the retainers that pay me upwards of $1k, $3k, even $6k / month):

Why I love job boards is that prospects who post there are ALREADY looking to hire a lead gen expert. And they’re ready to pay a consultant (like you) on retainer. They’re further down the “buyer’s journey” than prospects you reach out to cold — so they’re easier to close, even if you’re not master-closer already. You don’t have to convince them why they need to pay to get more leads. You don’t have to convince them why cold outreach works better than other channels (i.e. no ad spend). You don’t have to convince them to put money aside in their budget for you. You don’t need to sell them on why they should hire a consultant on retainer. They’re already sold. You just have to do one thing: Convince them that you’re different from everyone else who applied. If you can do that, you can win big ticket clients from job boards — even if you’re bidding the highest rates. Even if you don’t have a lot of experience. “Sounds exciting. But aren’t there other consultants applying who have more experience? How can I beat them?” Look: I’m not talking about Googling “lead gen freelancer jobs” and spamming out generic cover letters to every job you see. That’s a great way to get ignored, or land crappy clients that pay peanuts. I’m talking about going on the right websites, uncovering quality clients, and putting together a quick video proposal showing them how you’re different (through your personality, or ideas of how you can add value for them). If you do that, you'll separate yourself from every other candidate. And prospects will choose to talk to you because you stood out the most. In this video, I give you a quick “primer” on how you can uncover the right prospects, and put together standout proposals to get their attention — even if you have zero experience and no sales skills. It's how I used Upwork to close high-value monthly retainers in the early days. Check out the 19-minute video here. Set aside some time and watch it from start-to-finish if you haven’t already. It’s an important one. Talk soon, Deepak

Building Your Lead Gen Agency: Part 5

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