The life of a Freelancer is never easy.
Yes, you get to be your own boss, work remotely and do what you love, however, many times it can become very stressful.
On top of doing the actual work for your clients, you need to be good at sales as well, take care of your brand and promote your work.
Not having a steady monthly income can be nerve-wracking. That is why good practice is to constantly look for new clients.
One way of finding new clients is by sending cold emails. Although cold emails are not something that everybody loves, when executed properly they can increase your chances of finding new clients faster.
Preparation For The sales pitch
Before sending a cold email, you need to understand what your prospect wants or needs.
One of the most important aspects of sending cold emails is the preparation before the email.
This involves doing research about your prospect and finding pain points that you are able to solve.
If, for example, you are a Digital Marketing Consultant, online research should help you find at least a few pain points, as there are very few companies that do an amazing job on all their channels (social media, website, etc.).
Your focus should be on branding if it is consistent across all communications, social media activity and engagement, website (design and content, UX), SEO optimization.
Also, according to the type of business that your prospect is running, you might be able to advise on using different channels that would fit better their interests.
If, for example, your prospect’s offering is B2B, most likely they will not use Facebook as a communication channel, as this fits more a B2C type of company.
Particularly because Facebook changed their algorithms and less than 3% of the number of followers a page has, get to see a post. In order to get more views, you need to pay to boost a post, which eventually might bring leads that are not even qualified.
A better channel for B2B is LinkedIn, where the cost per lead is not little, depending on your target, however you have better chances of getting qualified leads.
When pitching a prospect, the best approach is to prepare as if you are applying for a job. Your pitch is your cover letter and your CV is your portfolio.
You wouldn’t send a cover letter without including how exactly would you bring value to that company, would you?
As Benjamin Franklin once said, “Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.”
Key actions When Sending a Cold Email
Whomever you are preparing to pitch, remember to keep it short and straight to the point.
Make it more about them than about you.
One trick in sending cold emails is to always start on a positive note. Do not criticize all their work, try to find positive points to outline and afterward, move to their pain points and how you would be able to solve them.
Also, remember to always customize your cold emails.
Even if you are using my template, one of the biggest mistakes is to not customize your template. Make it feel more personal and make sure to do proper research before sending an email and pitching a potential client.
Last but not least, always follow up on a cold email.
Do it once per week for several weeks until you get closure, either a yes or a no. The power of follow up is huge.
45% of sales representatives give up after only one follow up.
Takeaways
- Research your prospect
- Find pain points
- Address how you can solve the pain points
- Keep it short
- Be positive
- Customize your email
The next email template has helped me get 5 new clients in one month, but then again, sales is a numbers game, so eventually, it’s up to you how many emails you are sending out because not all pitches turn into sales.
You might also enjoy reading:
- How to become a freelancer and where to find freelancing jobs
- How to become a freelance proofreader without experience
- How to become a freelance writer and make $5.000 per month from home
- Side hustle ideas to make extra money from home
- Remote jobs that don’t require a degree
- Lucrative part-time work from home jobs
