#001 Freelancing Isn’t The Field of Dreams

Freelancing Isn’t The Field of Dreams. 

Walking through his cornfield one evening, farmer Ray Kinsella hears a voice whispering, "If you build it, he will come."

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Ray plows under part of his corn crop to build a baseball field that attracts the ghosts of baseball legends past.

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Sound familiar? It should. The 1989 film ‘Field of Dreams’ popularized the now-misquoted phrase ‘If you build it, they will come.’

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The thinking goes if you build something that everybody needs and wants, they will find you rather than you having to go to them.

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Ray Kinsella was clearly never a freelancer!

As freelance marketers, we work hard to build a compelling brand and develop services to help our clients.

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But simply creating something customers need or want isn’t enough to earn their business.

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Freelancing isn’t the field of dreams. You have to go find your clients.

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Here are three simple tactics you can implement tomorrow to help you build qualified pipeline:

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1. Check in with past clients.

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How often are you speaking with your best clients? 

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A quick email to let them know you’re thinking about them, or to let them know you saw some news about their industry, or to say congrats on a funding milestone goes a long way. It’s about staying on their radar, not simply asking, “Do you have any new work for me?” 

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Tactic in action:

We did a project for a client in the eye-tracking space a few years back. Every time I see news about their industry, I send it to them by email. I don’t include an ask, only that they’re on my mind and that I hope the business is going well. Sometimes, they respond, but most often, I don’t hear a peep. When I recently found myself on a plane next to their CEO on the way home from CES (entirely by accident), I took an interest in what’s happened since we worked together and shared how my capabilities have evolved. But again, I didn’t push the sale.

Then, a funny thing happened.  I got a call two weeks ago saying they’re working on a new product launch, and they wanted to invite us to submit a proposal. They knew us, they liked us, they trusted us, and we won the business.

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2. Reach out to people who like/engage with your content.

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A lot of people post on social for the sake of posting. How are you following up with the people who interact with your content?

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If someone likes or comments on your LinkedIn post, DM them. Thank them for engaging. Ask them what resonated and why. 

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Avoid the trap of jumping right into the sales pitch. Take a genuine interest in their business, goals, and priorities before going into sales mode. 

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Tactic in action:

I recently reached out to someone who liked one of my posts by simply saying: “Hey! Thanks for liking my post on _______. How did we get connected?”. Within eight messages, we were talking about their business and where they needed help. 

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3. Add value before asking for value.

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In his book called Launch, Jeff Williams talks about the idea of reciprocity. If you give something to someone, they’re more likely to do the same in return. 

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I’m not talking about doing work for free or on spec (I have a deep personal position against that - as freelancers, we should be paid fairly for our craft). I’m talking about offering them some value before we ask for value.

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Share an observation or an insight. Teach them something about their own business, their market, or a best practice that will help them succeed.

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Tactic in action:

A healthcare organization was recently planning for a leadership change. Their C-Suite was starting to think about all the marketing and communications elements they’d need to ensure the transition was successful. Together with a few other freelancers, we put together several ideas for what they might want to consider. We didn’t give them all the answers or share any fully fleshed-out plans. What we did was help them with how to look at the problem. When it came to choosing a partner to help them build and execute a program, they came to us because we’d already demonstrated how we think we think and the quality of our ideas.

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Use these 3 strategies to help you bring your skills, abilities and talents to the clients you can serve and stop waiting for them to find your field of dreams.

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Have a great week my freelance friend.

- Jeff

PS If you read these emails, I’d love to hear what resonated and what topics you’d like to hear about.

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