Turn Conversations Into High-Paying Projects
If you want to turn more consulting conversations into high-paying projects...
... and never have your fees squeezed...
... then you must sell gold at a discount!
What do I mean by...
Selling Gold At A Discount?
I first learned about Selling Gold At A Discount in Perry Marshall's book: The Ultimate Guide To Google Adwords.
That book taught me more about building a consulting business, than it did about Google Adwords.
Let me be clear, that book is the Bible. If you want to learn how to run Google Ad then buy the book and set campaigns up the same way as the book describes. Set up split tests in the exact same way as the book describes.
And...
You will chisel your way to success. As the book describes.
And...
If you want to set up a Google Adwords Consulting Business then the book says you need to Sell Gold At A Discount. Here's how you do that...
You find a customer that is spending £10,000 a month and generating 500 leads. You tell the customer that for the same £10,000 spend, you will get them 1,000 a month AND THAT INCLUDES YOUR FEE!
So...
You are doubling the performance of their system... for no extra money.
Who would say No to that?
Yes, there's the question of believability. Why should they believe that you can do that. What happens if it goes wrong etc...
So you haven't crossed the finishing line yet...
What you've done is make them very excited to learn more about you and your system. You've made them very excited to learn who you've worked with and your previous results. All the things that will make the client happy to work with you.
It all starts will giving them an offer that they can't refuse. An offer that's so good that they would be a fool to say No.
How Does This Work In The Real World?
Let's return to the Google Adwords example above. The client is currently generating leads at £20 each.
If you are confident that you can generate leads at £5 each then 1,000 leads will cost £5,000. You can bank the other £5,000 as your fee!
You're happy. The client is happy.
How Do You Sell Gold At A Discount In Other Industries?
When I do consulting work, my pitch is simple. I'll monetise an asset that you already have in your business.
I run a launch to their database and they typically make 10x or 20x my fee.
Why would they say No?
Do I guarantee the result?
No.
If I'm asked to guarantee the result then I want a share of the profit. If I'm sharing the risk then it's only right that I should share the reward.
There's a problem with this business model.
In my experience, the client is never happy when the campaign explodes. When they make more in a month than they have in a year. Why? Because they have to pay you a lot of money.
It is a lot of money. And it's the agreed percentage of sales. They've made a lot of money. You've made a lot of money. What could go wrong with that relationship?
Greed.
What If You Don't Know The Value Of Your Service?
If you don't know the value of your service, then it's your job to find out!
Before you submit your proposal!
You've got to know the cost of their product or service. You've got to know how many they are currently selling. And you've got to make a prediction about the sales uplift your work will create.
You are making a prediction. So, don't worry if this is not 100% accurate.
But...
You've got to make a sales prediction!
This allows you to say that if you sell ONE more widget a month, for the next year, then you'll make 10x my fee.
The more of the sales process you control, the more confident you can be with making that prediction.
A Picture Tells 1000 Words. A Video Tells...
Let's say you're a videographer and film maker for specialist medical equipment.
You are good at showing how the ease of use. You are good at highlighting the benefits of the product. You are good at translating engineer speak into must have benefits.
What is the video worth?
That's a difficult question to answer. Especially as you will create a video and give it to the client. You are not going to tell them where to use it. You are not going to create a marketing campaign for them. You are not telling the client how to use the video to open doors for the sales team. You are "only" creating a video.
So...
You flatter the client in your proposal. You tell the client in your proposal that they already know what they are going to do with your video. You tell them how they will use the video on their website, on social media, and as an introduction for the sales team.
Massage the clients ego. Tell them that you think they are sales and marketing experts. Highlight the areas where they will use your video to make it drives sales.
Then...
You can pivot into... a picture is worth a 1,000 words. A video is worth 1,000 pictures.
Tell them what they already know... they have a revolutionary product that is difficult to show all the ways it helps the customer. That's where you come in. Their knight with shining armour. Their knight with experience telling stories of other technical products.
At this point, you've flattered the client. You've built the need for a video. You've built the need for you to create the video.
But...
You still haven't crossed the finishing line. They can still think your fee is huge... unless... you show them the return they are likely to make. This is where you Sell Gold At A Discount.
That's why you must find out the sale price, their current sales volume, and the sales volume that they would like.
The first time you ask for these things, you will feel uncomfortable. The client will ask you why you need them. It's likely, this is the first time a freelancer has asked for these numbers.
Your response is, you want to quantify the return on investment for them. You want to know if you can make a difference to their business.
Let's face it, if you can't help them grow their business, you will work with them once and never again. That's not a good way to do business. You must know that you can help the client.
When you quantify how much you can help them client, with a money in the bank number. Then there is no reason why they would say no. As long as the return you can make for them is much higher than your fee.
What happens if the client does nothing with the video?
It's a terrible shame because they won't work with you again. But... you have already told them that they are the marketing experts. So, that is unlikely to happen.
I used to manage the marketing of 3 businesses. I know what's it's like to get a professional video created and do nothing with it.
Does that mean I wouldn't hire the videographer again if they did great work? No. It means I'd have to fight harder to get the spend approved.
And...
If the videographer has done some of that work for me in his proposal... then I'm that much more likely to use him again.
What If You're A Graphic Designer?
Look for stories where graphic design has increased sales.
I remember a story of a graphic designer who changed newspaper covers. He made the cover immediate and appealing.
What difference did that make?
Newspaper sales rose by 20%. He did the same thing for different newspapers across Europe and sales rose by 50% and in some cases by 100%.
But...
What's your graphic design story? Do you believe that design is a communication tool? Do you believe that good design will make more sales? Do you have proof that it does?
If so, then you've grabbed my attention.
As a former graphic designer, I love good design. Unfortunately, direct response results have proven that simple wins. The page that I think looks ugly, wins.
Does that mean there is no room for graphic design?
No.
I know design aids communication. And I'd love to work with a graphic designer who will make decisions based on the results of campaigns.
So, if you've got proven results that your work improves sales then shout about it.
After all, if you want to turn more client conversations into high-paying projects then you must Sell Gold At A Discount. If you can show the client that they will make 2x or 5x or 10x your fee. Then they will want to work with you.
Now It's Your Turn
If you want to grow your business. If you want to turn more client conversations into high-paying projects, then you must start selling Gold At A Discount.
You've got to show the client that they will make more money by working with you... even after they have paid your fee.
To do that, you've got to predict the sales uplift that your work will create. The first time you do this it will be a guess. The more you do it, the more it becomes a mathematical formula.
When you take the sale price and multiply it by the sales uplift, then you can see the value of your work. That number MUST be at least double your fee.
If the client is likely to get a 10x return on their investment, then a huge fee appears tiny. This is a win for you. This is a win for the client.
It's a simple process to turn client conversations into high-paying projects.
Like all simple processes. They are easy to do. And... they are easy to not do.
I hope you use this to grow your business.
If you've found this useful then please leave a comment below.
If you know a consultant that struggles to get regular work then please share this with them.
Until next time...
Carpe diem
Roland Eva
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About The Author
I’m a copywriter and business growth trainer, mentor and consultant.
For the last 5 years, I’ve helped business owners to sell products and services in many industries. The products and services have ranged in price from £5 to £12,000.
My most successful campaign made £672,989 in 9 days.
I took that result and transformed it into a simple repeatable system. A system that I teach to ambitious entrepreneurs that want to make money on demand without a sales team.
Why do I want to help other business owners? Because my marketing journey began when I lost my first business. The pain of watching my business die, motivated me to discover how to make sales on demand without a sales team.
Today my mission is to prevent every business owner from suffering through the same pain as I did. That's why I teach entrepreneurs how to use my simple system. Anyone can build their dream business when they use my proven system.