Freelance prospecting results 11/29 - 12/20:
315 LinkedIn messages sent
7 leads
0 sales (so far)
= 2.2% lead rate
Feels low, but this is also my first real attempt at cold business development. Some additional thoughts...
Benchmarking:
Trying to put a 2.2% lead rate in perspective, two tweets that help me keep a positive attitude. First @FurkYuce ...
Second, @joelrandyblake...
Both of these are in the SMB space, but the point is that sales don't come easily. Starting out, my sales rate will be very low ( < 1%), but hopefully that improves over time. Here's my plan going forward...
Tweaking Messaging:
I personalized messages as much as I could, but some were mundane. The last few days, I made changes to my subject lines and the first sentence of my messages. Those seemed to grab attention, so I'll continue with that and see what happens.
Offerings:
I'm trying to think of what micro offerings I can put together that would be valuable without having any context on people I'm reaching out to. As I have more conversations with leads, I'm hoping some common themes come up that I can focus on.
Content:
More tweeting and more writing. I need to figure out what platforms work the best. I'll also use common themes I hear in conversations as inspiration for content material.
Value Prop:
It feels counter intuitive when trying to make sales because you're more open to different things, but I need to make my offerings more concrete. I have ideas, and this thread from @jackbutcher is great advice on how to present them...
Random Thoughts:
I'm envious of creative freelancers. They can see the improvements they can make (new website, etc) and pitch to potential clients. Other than inspecting a website to see if tagging is installed, knowing what a company does for analytics is nearly impossible.
Next Update:
I'll resume prospecting the first week of January. In my next update, I'll share the changes that I make, as well as go into some of the geographical aspects of what I'm doing.