Hey!
If you asked me what skill my freelance business would be dead without...the one I absolutely have to keep updated, even after 10 years in the game...it’s sales.
And for me, it’s the most challenging.
Whatever the opposite of a natural sales person is, that’s me. I believe that people should be attracted to the value I offer and naturally find their
way to me. And sometimes that actually works!
...but not often enough to keep a business running for any length of time.
So this month, we’re going to talk about exactly what you can expect from getting serious about your sales skill development.
Keep the cash flowing
A little bit of transparency. This year has been particularly rough for me in terms of cash flows. As in 2023 has been a perfect storm of industry
slowdown, clients not paying their bills, leaving me in the lurch on money I was floating them, and general bottlenecks in getting work processed).
It’s honestly been surprisingly bad...but I’m still afloat because of reserves AND doing a decent (not even good) job of keeping my pipeline going.
These past two year have been emotionally rough, with a good amount of complicated death in my family. In that time, my sales habits slipped, but I picked
them back up early this year...and just in time. The deals I closed then have meant that I’m still moving forward today and that things are finally picking up.
And that’s the point of developing sales habits and skills. It is THE most reliable way to keep business flowing AND maintain the quality of clients you’re looking for.
Looking to up your sales abilities? Check out the Sales Resources page here.
Featured Freelancer
Emulation is a powerful tool for new freelancers. Spend the month checking out this featured freelancer to review their niche, services, website layout, and overall marketing. Full list here
This month, we’re looking at travel and food copywriter, Megan Hill. Megan lives in Seattle and has a focus on the outdoors. You can check out her site and
work here.
Megan
Academy preview: This month we’re covering production. It’s a great month to try your free trial month at the BlackFreelance
Academy!
P.S. A quick reminder…