Today is going to be all about a process that I put into my business years ago that I reap the benefits from over and over again. That's onboarding for new clients. If you want to get my own Onboarding Email Sequence which is 8 emails with the delays I put in between. Along with instructions on how to use them too, head to rezzz.com/a263 and pick them up. What is onboarding Onboarding is a term that's thrown around quite often and it has a few different meanings. In the context of this show I'm ...
Mar 19, 2019•8 min•Ep. 263
As we embark on the second year of Ask Rezzz, the format will change up slightly. The reason for this is so that you can take action. I'm all about that action taking as you know. Having a show each and every single day without a doubt can be overwhelming. You may already have a backlog of shows that you want to listen to. Maybe there's a bunch that you don't have any interest in hearing as well. With that, the new format will be this. Every Friday, you'll be a fly on the wall for a one-on-one c...
Mar 13, 2019•7 min•Ep. 262
Chris Bintliff from Not Really Rocket Science , is someone who I met through Twitter, but someone I consider a friend. Chris appeared on Live In The Feast and we geeked out about marketing and creating delight for clients. Not only that, but if you want to know anything about home automation, he's the guy to talk with. During a conversation one day, Chris mentioned that if there was ever an opportunity in which I myself could be interviewed, rather than me doing the interviewing, he wanted it. T...
Mar 11, 2019•19 min•Ep. 261
I was introduced to Chris Martin through a friend of mine Joe Workman. How do I know Chris? I've heard a few of his shows before in the past and when Joe mentioned that I should reach out to Chris to be on his podcast, Getting Work to Work , for me it was a no brainer. Chris was a great interviewer, genuinely curious, asking things that to be honest, I hadn't been asked about before. One topic that we talked about most was personalization and delight. I talk about personalization a lot, it is wh...
Mar 08, 2019•7 min•Ep. 260
Janelle Allen of zencourses.co is an Instructional Designer who specialized in custom online course that improve student results invited me to her podcast. I thought that I'd share an answer to a question that she asked me on the show. ------------------- 👉 For full show notes to this episode & more resources for you. ------------------- She asks all her guests this question. "The zombie apocalypse has hit. You have 6 minutes to grab 3 essential items and your family is fine. What do you gr...
Mar 07, 2019•5 min•Ep. 259
Inside of the Sustainable Freelancer someone asked a question that I've never answered directly in the previous 257 episodes of the show. This is a great question for a lot of people thinking about how to use social media for their business. Simply put, I don't like saying this, but it applies. The answer is, it depends. I'm going to put aside the paid ads on the platform because that's a different game altogether and really just stick to answering the question in the context of organic engageme...
Mar 06, 2019•10 min•Ep. 258
In A256 - Where do you find freelance clients? we talked about the watering holes, those places where your clients come together to talk business. Today's episode goes a little deeper into that topic to talk about the context and intent of your client at these watering holes. ------------------- 👉 For full show notes to this episode & more resources for you. ------------------- The human behavior part of this equation is what I'm fascinated most with. I'm not the first, nor the last person ...
Mar 05, 2019•9 min•Ep. 257
Where you find your clients out in the world is a big question. I held an open door session inside the Sustainable Freelancer FB Group last Friday where I put the webcam on and anyone could pop in to talk about anything they want. ------------------- 👉 For full show notes to this episode & more resources for you. ------------------- Resulting from that was a conversation around location of potential clients. Not necessarily any strategy about getting them, but more of where to look for plac...
Mar 04, 2019•8 min•Ep. 256
I'm continuing here today with the eleventh and final lesson in the "Finding clients" series. This is the no-nonsense series of lessons that work in today's market to find clients you want to be working with on a consistent basis. Group coaching for leads. WHAT?!? 🤔 ------------------- 👉 For full show notes to this episode & more resources for you. ------------------- You've heard about group coaching before in the context for your business. I met Lauren Pawell, founder of BixaMedia, a mar...
Mar 01, 2019•8 min•Ep. 255
I'm continuing here today with the tenth lesson in the "Finding clients" series. This is the no-nonsense series of lessons that work in today's market to find clients you want to be working with on a consistent basis. Who are you surrounding yourself with? Who do you hang with? And I'm not talking about your family and friends either. That you are on your own (although support matters so choose wisely). What I mean is the group of business colleagues and friends you can trust. That you can bounc...
Feb 28, 2019•6 min•Ep. 254
I'm continuing here today with the eighth lesson in the "Finding clients" series. This is the no-nonsense series of lessons that work in today's market to find clients you want to be working with on a consistent basis. Today's lesson will introduce the phrase "You get what you're paid for." Yes, I said "you're paid" not "you pay". ------------------- 👉 For full show notes to this episode & more resources for you ------------------- I walked to the office every single day back in 1999-2001 f...
Feb 27, 2019•7 min•Ep. 253
I'm continuing here today with the eighth lesson in the "Finding clients" series. This is the no-nonsense series of lessons that work in today's market to find clients you want to be working with on a consistent basis. Today's lesson will help leads relate to your existing clients. It will also give your clients a boost. Can I share with you 2 ways to do this so easily and so effectively that doesn't require you to build out a new page on your site or take hours to put together? ----------------...
Feb 26, 2019•8 min•Ep. 252
I'm continuing here today with the seventh lesson in the "Finding Clients" series. This is the no-nonsense series of lessons that work in today's market to find clients you want to be working with on a consistent basis. Today's lesson will help you work with clients you had in the past with things that you now know because it's the future. ------------------- 👉 For full show notes to this episode & more resources for you. ------------------- In lesson #4, you learned about the Sneak Peek . ...
Feb 25, 2019•6 min•Ep. 251
I'm continuing here today with the sixth lesson in the "How to Find Clients" series. This is the no nonsense series of lessons that work in today's market to find clients you want to be working with on a consistent basis. Today's lesson is something that will have you stand out above all others to your market by going onto a podcast that has the ears of your potential clients. ------------------- 👉 For full show notes to this episode & more resources for you. ------------------- Podcasting ...
Feb 22, 2019•7 min•Ep. 250
I'm continuing here today with the fifth lesson in the "How to Find Clients" series. This is the no-nonsense series of lessons that work in today's market to find clients you want to be working with on a consistent basis. Today's lesson will help you stay front of mind 2 different ways. ------------------- 👉 For full show notes to this episode & more resources for you. ------------------- We are all busy and there's only so much time in any given day. Business though is all about the people...
Feb 21, 2019•5 min•Ep. 249
I'm continuing here today with the fourth lesson in the "How to Find Clients" series. This is the no-nonsense series of lessons that work in today's market to find clients you want to be working with on a consistent basis. Today's lesson will help you position yourself and share insight into what problems you are solving. ------------------- 👉 For full show notes to this episode & more resources for you. ------------------- You are smart and I know that you are constantly learning and evolv...
Feb 20, 2019•5 min•Ep. 248
I'm continuing here today with the third lesson in the "How to Find Clients" series. This is the no-nonsense series of lessons that work in today's market to find clients you want to be working with on a consistent basis. Today's lesson will help you build a pipeline of high quality leads into the business of people and businesses that you want to work with. ------------------- 👉 For full show notes to this episode & more resources for you. ------------------- You know I'm not a fan of disc...
Feb 19, 2019•6 min•Ep. 247
I'm continuing here today with the second lesson in the "How to Find Clients" series. This is the no-nonsense series of lessons that work in today's market to find clients you want to be working with on a consistent basis. Today's lesson is solely targeted toward getting repeat clients by you adding in a built-in opportunity in your existing projects. ------------------- 👉 For full show notes to this episode & more resources for you. ------------------- With any project you have, no doubt y...
Feb 18, 2019•6 min•Ep. 246
If you are like most service business owners I know, then referrals is where you get most of your work from. Yet you can't figure out how to make those more predictable. Today I'm going to share with you a process that I've developed and used based on business practices that have been in the wild for decades, if not longer. Whether you are just starting out or been in business for a little while, you have a network. ------------------- 👉 For full show notes to this episode & more resources ...
Feb 15, 2019•8 min•Ep. 245
You are selling a service or product and want to have a system that continuously attracts clients and customers in a predictable way, right? Can I share with you 11 of my top lessons to do so? These aren't tips and strategies that are overplayed. These are pretty unique and work amazingly well. ------------------- 👉 For full show notes to this episode & more resources for you. ------------------- As you know we are coming up on the magical episode 261 here on Ask Rezzz. And as such, over th...
Feb 14, 2019•5 min•Ep. 244
First let me say that if you are still working your full-time job or have less than 2 years under your belt as a business owner, this may not be the ideal opportunity for you to try and sell strategy. Simply because you don't have that experience yet. No doubt you have the skills, but to differentiate yourself as a consultant rather than a developer or designer comes with a proven track record of success. I'm not saying that you can't sell strategy, in fact, I would suggest selling discovery pha...
Feb 13, 2019•7 min•Ep. 243
Are you providing a solution that allows a potential client to work with you at a lower risk? Custom work is often times a big ask. It's a big investment for someone to not just pay, but also to spend time on. Here's why I like having a smaller, more productized option. Reduces the risk for the lead Reduces the risk for you Allows both you and the client to get quick results This especially works nicely if you are just starting out. ------------------- 👉 For full show notes to this episode &...
Feb 12, 2019•9 min•Ep. 242
I want to thank Sara Dunn for asking this question. In her video, she on her YouTube Channel she talks about how she's setting goals for the year over 12-week periods based on the 12-Week Year. This year, I created themes for myself and the business. The reasoning behind this is simple. If I have a project, decision, or question where I'm suddenly faced with the option to go one way or another, the theme will highlight the right choice. I've created each theme based on who I want to be and the p...
Feb 11, 2019•6 min•Ep. 241
The features of what the application has are exactly what I need for myself and clients. Yes, I have some [e-commerce clients](https://rezzz.com/services) who may fit better with Drip as their platform, but I have other clients who are non-profits, service-based businesses, coach, and other individuals who are selling only a handful of products that ConvertKit is a perfect fit for. ------------------- 👉 For full show notes to this episode & more resources for you. ------------------- I can ...
Feb 08, 2019•16 min•Ep. 240
Over the years, I've been known to specialize in a few different platforms, Ruby on Rails, PHP, WordPress, WooCommerce (and a few other plugins), and Drip. Anytime I switch from one to the next, I get asked a lot of questions. "Why did you switch?" "What happened with X that made the decision for you?" "Did you switch because of Y?" For myself and my clients, I try and look at platforms as a tool. ------------------- 👉 For full show notes to this episode & more resources for you. ----------...
Feb 07, 2019•14 min•Ep. 239
I was talking with my new neighbor over the summer about cutting the grass since he saw me out there cutting the grass with my brand new battery powered mower. He shared this with me. "If you are looking for a landscaper, I'd be happy to give you my guys' number. He's a bit expensive, but I haven't paid him in 14 months and he's still showing up every week." Now whether that's the fault of my neighbor or the landscaper, in the end, the landscaper is sending the wrong message here. Before it gets...
Feb 06, 2019•6 min•Ep. 238
Bottom line is that you don't. You can't convince anyone of anything if they don't have an open mind about it. To be honest, it's actually better for you to refer the project off than to spend the energy working at someone who has already decided not to work with you. With that being said, sales are all about helping someone make a decision. If you are looking for someone to do something that they don't really want to do (and that's to spend money), you need to find a legit reason that is big en...
Feb 05, 2019•6 min•Ep. 237
All too often a client will ask you for something that you are skeptical about. They are convinced that it will work for whatever you are trying to accomplish, but you have some doubts. Your doubts come from 2 places. The first is your experience and the second is from your ego. ------------------- 👉 For full show notes to this episode & more resources for you. ------------------- Your ego may be in the way Let me tackle the ego part first. By ego, I mean that little voice inside you that i...
Feb 04, 2019•5 min•Ep. 236
In episode 233 you learned about how to make a productized service. It makes sense that the next question is how do you sell it. To be perfectly honest, knowing how to sell the productized service really should come before you make it, and here's why. ------------------- 👉 For full show notes to this episode & more resources for you. ------------------- When you have a productized service, it's super focused and solves a big enough pain that someone has. That someone has already raised thei...
Feb 01, 2019•8 min•Ep. 235
How are those goals, those habits for your business working out for 2019? Are you still focused on them or has the reality of 2019 and life, in general, pushed them aside and you are no longer as focused as you were 4 weeks ago, now that it's Feb 1? ------------------- 👉 For full show notes to this episode & more resources for you. ------------------- Before I share with you some ways to make your business habits stick, I want to share with you something that happened to me the other day th...
Jan 31, 2019•10 min•Ep. 234
