Freelance Writing|Freelance Writer

Are you asking for the Sale?

Most freelance writers are not “natural sales people.” Early in my writing career, I continually made the same mistake of never asking for the sale. Instead, I sat back and hoped for the best. While this worked out many times, there were surely situations in which I missed the boat.

Once you have a conversation with a potential client – via phone, email, or in person – you are in position to follow-up with a variation of this question: are you ready to move forward with this project?

At first, you may be intimidated and not want to ask for the sale. However, this will become second nature after you do so a few times.

Here are several tips that will make this easier on you:

1. Be confident at all times. The worst thing that could happen is the other party saying they need more time to think about it. In this case, you can wait a few weeks (approximately) to see if the person gets back to you. If they don’t, it is time for a follow-up.

2. Ask for the sale while explaining some of the benefits of moving forward immediately. For example, you could say: Are you ready to move forward with this project so that you have the material ready by the end of the week? In this case, you are doing two things: asking for the sale and adding another benefit. When adding a benefit, try to include something that will intrigue the client – this information should be based on your initial/past conversations.

3. Don’t come across as a used car salesman. The last thing you want to do is use high pressure tactics in an attempt to receive the contract on the spot. Hearing no does not mean the deal is dead – it just means the deal is being put off for now. You should respect this.

When you get into the habit of asking for the sale, the number of jobs that you close is sure to increase.

Setting Freelance Writing Goals for the New Year

As you may have noticed, I have not posted any new content over the past few weeks. In addition to the holiday season (which slows most of us down), I have been working on setting goals for 2012.

In the weeks to come, I plan on discussing some of these goals. Along with this, I will share my plan for reaching these goals and taking my freelance writing business to the next level in the new year.

In the meantime, feel free to leave a comment or send me an email if you need help preparing your goals – both short and long term. This is a crucial step at a crucial time of the year. You don’t want to let too much time pass by before you set goals and get on the road to reaching each and every one.

Half-Price Freelance Writing Course Offer

Many freelance writers share two problems during the month of December:

• Lack of money, due to the holiday season
• The inability to develop a business plan for the new year

Like last year, I wanted to do my part in helping. If you are interested in joining my freelance writing course, it will only set you back $50 for the first month. This is half-off the normal price.

Unfortunately, I cannot offer this deal to everybody. At this time, I only have three open slots. To move forward, send me a quick email. From there, we can get started. Not only will this save you money, but you will be in position to get off to a good start when 2012 finally arrives.

Merry Christmas!