As a freelance copywriter putting yourself out into the world, you’ll meet different kinds of prospects and clients.
Not all of them will be in the same state of need.
Some will be ready to hire you right away. Others will need more time, for a variety of reasons.
Some relationships will be promising and have strong potential. Others will require some more patience to develop.
And at times, you might find yourself offering up creative solutions and advice to further a relationship, with the hopes your generosity will lead to what you really want — which is to work with them.
The more you spend time with prospects, the more you’ll realize potential clients tend to land in just a few buckets.
Some are pretty much plug-and-play — they know your value and are ready to work with you now.
Others may know the value of a good copywriter, but may still be getting to know you. Or they may clearly see your value, but just not have a need in the moment.
Still others may not be a good fit for your service, but you could benefit from having them in your network!
Learning how to navigate your way through each kind of relationship will make you a better professional and a more successful copywriter…
Because success as a copywriter isn’t solely based on your skills and mastery of your craft.
It has a lot to do with being able to understand and manage relationships well. And making the best use of opportunities as they come.
In this article, you will learn more about the different kinds of prospects you’ll encounter and how to skillfully nurture the relationships to bring about the best results.
Ready?
Prospects Who Are Still Getting to Know You
A good portion of your best prospects understand the value of a copywriter, but they need to get to know you better before they feel confident hiring you. Here are a few things to keep in mind when you encounter this kind of prospect…
Be open and honest — If you want a prospect to hire you, you need to help them to know, like and trust you. You have to be willing to share relevant details about yourself.
Let’s say they’re looking for a talented email-writing copywriter who knows the cooking industry, and they ask you, “Would you consider yourself a master-level email copywriter?” If you’re a novice, don’t tell them you’re an expert in an effort to impress or land the project.
If you do, and then they give you a project, and the results are poor, you’ll have hurt your reputation.
So, if they’re looking for a master-level email writer and you’re a novice, the best path forward is to be honest and to focus on your strengths. Some things you might say could be:
“I enjoy writing emails. It’s my favorite project.”
“I’m passionate about the cooking industry.”
“I dedicate time to quality research on my projects.”
You could also show them some of your work samples and testimonials of clients who have worked with you.
Be professional — Being open and friendly is important, but so is being professional in your approach.
You may develop good rapport with them. But always make sure you remember it’s a professional relationship and give them the respect they deserve.
For example, if you’re writing to an executive who you have developed a good level of personal relationship with… a person who you usually address as “Dear Mike,”… but on a whim, you open your email by saying “Mikey!!!!”…
That may not go over well. Maintain your decorum throughout your professional relationships at all stages.
Show kindness at every opportunity — Don’t miss an opportunity to genuinely show kindness and make an impact with a positive attitude.
Let them see your desire to add value to their business. If you see that they post a question on LinkedIn, take pains to answer it. If you see an opportunity to strengthen their homepage, pass along your ideas. If you find an article you think would be helpful to them, send it their way.
If you do this genuinely without expecting anything in return, it makes you a real asset to your prospect. You show them before they ever hire you, that you’re someone who is going to be of immense value to them.
If you’re patient, open, professional, and generous as you nurture these relationships, there’s a good chance that, eventually, these prospects will decide to become your clients.
Those Inexperienced With Freelancers, But Who Have Valuable Connections
Sometimes you’ll encounter a prospect who’s a good fit for your business, but who just doesn’t see the advantage of working with freelancers. In this case, it can still be fruitful to nurture a relationship, because they may have connections who do see the value of a freelancer, and you could earn referrals.
Help to meet their needs — The fastest way to cement your relationship with people in this situation is to pay attention to their needs and pain points, and to help them solve their problem. You could do this by connecting them to someone with the answers they need, by sharing valuable and helpful resources, or by making easy-to-implement suggestions.
For example, imagine you meet a person from a company that sells kitchen equipment. You sign up for their list, and you see their emails are really poorly written.
You could ask how their emails are working for them, and if they say, “Not well,” you could offer to make a few helpful suggestions.
Give them something for free and show them how it works — Or you could offer to write an email for them to test.
You could write the message for free and encourage them to test it. If they use it and compare it with the one produced by their in-house staff, and your results are much better, you’ve opened the door to being considered for email-copywriting projects. And, even if they don’t hire you, they may pass your name along to others.
You can also ask them to share the results your email produced and use those numbers in your own marketing copy for landing future clients.
Ask for a referral — Once you’ve gotten to know and test different types of prospects a bit, and you’ve generated some goodwill, consider asking them for referrals.
This makes the most sense for prospects who continue to say they don’t work with freelancers. Keep it simple. You can just send them a short note saying, “I have a small favor to ask. If you have connections who need an email copywriter, can you send them my way?”
This is one way that nurturing these kinds of relationships can lead to paying projects.
One-Sided Relationships
Sometimes, you’ll encounter prospects who seem only to want to benefit from you and the free knowledge you’re willing to share. And it’s okay to nurture those relationships, as long as you see a potential upside. Here’s how to approach that situation:
Place value on your time — These types of prospects may come to you for advice or ask for a quick call to pick your brain.
Be sure to put clear limits on what you offer for free. Show them you value your time!
For example, if you’re upfront, that you do one 30-minute discovery call for free, and then you charge after that, you make it harder for them to take advantage of your kindness.
Know your priorities — Get clear on your priorities and how you want to dedicate your time during your day. This also means determining how much time you make available for helping prospects who may or may not become clients.
Make sure, when you do offer support and help to a prospect you’ve identified as one-sided, that it aligns with your priorities. For example, they may work in an industry you want to break into, and so doing a small project with them for free could give you a valuable work sample going forward.
Don’t burn bridges — Even if you decide not to invest any more time in nurturing a one-sided relationship, it’s still wise not to burn bridges.
Continue to behave like a professional. Maintain your positivity. And you may find, in the course of your regular marketing activity, that you can still interact with them in a helpful way — responding to a LinkedIn post they made that you enjoyed, for example.
Be Patient and Stick With It!
As you go out to prospect, you’ll find most people aren’t ready to hire you on the spot. You’ll meet different kinds of clients and find yourself at different stages of relationships, and it may take time before they decide to work with you.
Your ability to understand them and manage the relationship is key to your success and growth, both personally and professionally.
Ultimately, as you meet new potential clients, be ready to make a positive mark on their business. Do it from your heart and let your enthusiasm shine through.
And most of all, don’t stop being kind and generous, because life will pay you back one way or the other.
What are your thoughts or questions about prospecting? Share them in the comments!
