I made the mistake of listening to them and never offered a discount for my services.

I was “too good” for that.

And plus, should you really have to offer a discount if your marketing is good enough to attract high quality prospects?

That’s what all the marketing experts will tell you.

But in my experience, it’s not nearly so black and white.

I’ve found that using discounts in a smart way can produce a huge boost for your business. And it all has to do with a very important 8 letter word.

How to Get the Money Fast

That word is C-A-S-H-F-L-O-W…

In my experience, the only thing worse than not making a nice income is booking a ton of business but not actually having the money in your pocket.

That really stinks.

After all, you can’t buy food with money coming later…

You can’t make house payments either…

And that’s why it’s become my mantra that “every day you wait to get payment in full from your client increases the chances that it will never happen.”

And THAT’S the reason you offer a discount for your services.

Now those same chest pounding experts will probably tell you that you should ALWAYS get payment in full… upfront… before you begin any work.

Have you tried that recently?

Sometimes it works fine… sometimes it doesn’t.

Now I don’t know about you, but I don’t really have the luxury of a big reputation and ego that brings clients to my door with eyes glazed over… willing to pay me whatever it takes to work with me.

I’m not a rock star and have no intention of becoming one. I DO have an intention of building a stable business that doesn’t fizzle out after people begin to see past the “rock-star” front.

So here’s how to increase your chances of getting full payment in advance:

Reward your client for doing it.

Which is more valuable to your business? A $13,500 project payable over three months… or a $13,500 project with a 10% discount for payment in advance?

I know which one I take each and every time.

The GOB Technique

I had a client once in the furniture business.

In that world, there are companies that do nothing more than travel from city to city staging “Going Out of Business” sales for furniture retailers.

They come in and create a BUNCH of hoopla (with cars driving around the city, signs everywhere, a lot of marketing noise, etc.) and announce the Big Going Out of Business Sale at Furniture Retailer X. They invite everyone over for unbelievable savings, yada, yada, yada…

Oh yeah, and they often inflate the prices of the merchandise so that the unbelievable “discount” they offer is little more than a marketing gimmick.

So how can you apply this technique to your copywriting business in a way that you can still sleep at night?

Well, I’m not suggesting you inflate your prices simply to offer a discount to your prospects and clients.

That’s pretty transparent and not a good long term strategy at all.

But I AM suggesting you inflate the value of the services you provide by actually delivering MORE value to your client and charging accordingly.

We’re selling intangible stuff here. Often the main thing we’re selling is ideas.

And just because your client ASKS for something doesn’t mean that’s what you have to sell them. After all, is the [insert name of service] really all they want?

Of course not…

They want what they think the service will create for them.

And that is sales, revenue and growth.

So how many other ways can you help them get to their real goal?

There are a TON of ways. And the only limit is your creativity.

That’s why you should be offering OPTIONS in the proposals you create for your prospects.

It’s a quick and powerful way to give yourself a raise AND help your clients.

Almost every time I go against my gut and take on a client that’s a startup… I end up being sorry.

Today, I’d like to talk about why.

And I’d like to (hopefully) save you a bit of frustration. Plus give you some tips about finding more profitable waters to fish in for YOUR next client.

Oops, I Did It Again

In my experience, (unless you’re lucky) here’s the arc that things often take with a startup:

1. New startup client comes on. They think you are the answer to their prayers. In an effort to sell your services, you try to temper their fantasy expectations a bit, WITHOUT sending them running…

2. The marketing campaign starts. The campaign doesn’t take off. The startup begins to get frustrated. Cashflow is tight. Stress sets in. You are the only one standing around. The spotlight falls squarely on you.

3. Startup calls. Asks why things aren’t working. Everyone else seems to be selling this stuff successfully. You try to explain that there could be a lot of problems.

The problem could be the copy…

The problem could be the product…

The problem could be the market…

The startup doesn’t understand why things need to be so complicated. The startup explains they need a change. The startup goes back to Step 1 with a new copywriter.

Rinse and repeat.

Playing the Market Research Department Stinks

So here’s the biggest problem you have working with a startup company:

You end up being more of a market research department WHILE you’re trying to sell their stuff.

The big challenge with a startup is that (unless they are extremely savvy), they are coming at you with a product THEY love (which hasn’t been tested for viability in a market) but don’t know how to sell.

That’s a big challenge for even the world’s top marketers.

Plus, you’re working with a company where cash is often so tight that the clock is ticking (loudly) for you to produce results FAST.

That can be a problem when the deck is already stacked against you.

What to Do Instead

This might sound cynical…

So be it.

My simple rule is to stay away from startups as a primary way to earn your living.

If you want to work with them, that’s one thing. But if you’re looking for profitable clients who you can count on to come back time and time again, chances are, a startup company is NOT the place to look.

The most profitable clients…

1. Are already selling their products and services. They aren’t looking for the pieces of the puzzle to make that first sale.

2. Have enough cash so they aren’t looking to YOU for a constant supply of home runs just to pay their bills.

3. Understand that the majority of marketing promotions don’t return huge dollars, and they’re willing to keep getting up to bat for those times when home runs DO happen.

Now if I could just take my own advice

Getting Your Prospect to Make a Decision

I’m sure you’ve had it happen. You get the proposal together, you submit it… and then:

NOTHING but silence.

You call, you write, STILL nothing. No response.

More times than not, the silence speaks volumes. No deal. But can you really ever be sure?
Wouldn’t it be nice to just get a simple decision so you can move on?

Frankly, when this happens, it annoys the hell out of me. Mainly because I know I could have (should have) kept this situation from ever occurring.

So today’s issue is about how to make sure it doesn’t happen to you.

If You Just Give Them the Ball,They Might NOT Give It Back

So how do you know that just because you give a prospect a proposal that you’re going to get a decision in return?

You think that’s the deal right?

Have you asked your prospect about that?

Believe it or not, the problem with an unresponsive prospect usually has little to do with your proposal.

The problem actually occurs much, much earlier in the selling process.

Not getting a response to your proposal is simply a symptom of the larger problem.

Here’s the problem:

You never had a real prospect to begin with. Because you didn’t make it clear to that prospect exactly what was expected of them.

And that needs to happen before you ever actually write words on the page. The REAL proposal happens while you are talking with your prospect face-to-face or on the phone.

The real proposal happens…

…while you are uncovering his pain

…while you are hearing HIS definition of a successful project (in dollars and cents)

…while you are making it clear your fees are not low, but your services ARE valuable

…while you are making it clear that you expect a timely decision-that you can accept a yes, or a no, but what you will not accept is a “maybe”

…while you make it clear exactly what he needs to do and when

The actual proposal you submit is nothing more than a summary of what the prospect has already agreed to. Pretty much the only thing he won’t know until he reads the proposal is the fee information.

How Easily We Forget

If I told you just how many times I’ve repeated this same mistake over and over, you’d probably fall off your chair laughing.

But that doesn’t mean you need to suffer the same fate.
As a savvy marketer, giving your prospect a deadline for a response is pretty much direct marketing 101, right?

So why is it so hard to remember that when it’s YOUR prospect?

Because when it’s YOUR prospect, you’ve got a partner to deal with. Your “partner” is your emotions.

Emotions mess up a lot of things.

Emotions say you NEED the money.

Emotions tell you that you MUST get the business.

Over the past 2 years, my emotions have been responsible for botching more deals than just about anything else.

So it’s best to deal with them as quickly as possible.

It’s Not About the Business, It’s About the Decision

Once you get your emotions out of the way, you’ll realize that all you really need from a prospect is a decision in a timely manner.

Who cares if it’s yes or no? If your lead generation systems are working, there WILL be other prospects.

So next time you’re on the phone with a prospect, make sure you get clear on exactly what is going to happen once you submit that proposal.

You do that simply by asking for small commitments from your prospect as you go along.

You can say something like:

“Mr. Prospect, I’m happy to prepare a proposal for you and get it to you within 24 hours. There’s just one thing… I always put an expiration date on my proposals. Not so much because I won’t be available after that time, but mainly so that we can decide whether or not to move forward in a timely manner.”

“If this is not a good fit, I’m sure we’d both like to know as soon as possible. So once you receive the proposal, will 4 days be enough to go through the information, get your questions answered and make your decision? Do you see any reason why you would not be able to work within that schedule?”

Try this next time. It’ll keep you moving forward and help stop time wasters from driving you crazy.

You need to learn how to get compensated for the VALUE you deliver to your clients.

You can be the best copywriter in the world, but no matter how many homeruns you hit (by luck or by skill), you’ll most likely struggle if you don’t get the VALUE thing down pat.

So let’s jump in…

Who Pays This Kind of
Money for Copywriting?

When I got started in freelance copywriting, I always wondered how the heck people were charging $10,000… $20,000 and more for a salesletter.

“What type of client PAYS that kind of money? And where are they hiding?”

And then things even got weirder…

Because I started running into those same clients. Clients who’d tell me they paid a well known copywriter $20,000 or so… the promotion FLOPPED and the copywriter blamed the client.

“How are they getting away with this?” That was my next question…

The answer to BOTH questions is the little secret not too many people seem to be preaching. And it’s the whole reason I started this business.

It’s just like my former life as a musician.

The best players didn’t get the best jobs. The best “players of the political game” did.

I hated it. And that’s why I left. Not because I couldn’t play the game (OK… I couldn’t at first.), but more because I hated HAVING to play the game.

I either learned how to play the system or I’d spend my life getting PLAYED by the system.

Well this copywriting business is DIFFERENT. One of the greatest things about it is that YOU can create your OWN system. And in your system, people play by YOUR rules.

I like that

But there are certain rules that will raise your income and certain rules that will keep it low.

And the biggest rule for MAXIMIZING your income is to develop your skill at communicating the VALUE of your services to your clients.

This Isn’t Smoke and Mirrors

I’m not talking about learning how to milk your clients for a big one-time payday.

You might make some money, but that’s hardly a way to build a stable copywriting business.

You need clients who come back again and again. You need clients who hire you 10, 20 or even 30 times…

To do that you need to DELIVER consistently.

That’s how you create wealth in this business.

BUT… what I’m talking about here is getting that FIRST sale. The FIRST time you get hired by a client (unless you’re a big name), something extra is required.

That something is your SELLING skills.

You use those skills to build value.

Because your fees will depend DIRECTLY on your ability to build the value of what you offer in the MIND of your prospects.

If Someone Dropped Gold on Your
Doorstep, Would You Know?

Would you know if someone dropped an ounce or two of gold on YOUR doorstep?

What if that gold was in the shape of a bottle cap… and what if it was covered with DIRT?

Would you know just how valuable that little piece of gold really is?

Probably not.

In this case, the “gold” is YOU… a copywriter.

It’s your responsibility to communicate the VALUE you’re delivering to your client.

If you don’t do it, no one else well. And you’ll end up getting peanuts for your gold.

So how do you communicate value?

Take my “special offer” up at the beginning of this letter. I could have just said, “Look… you buy my book, you get free mentoring. That IS in fact what you’re getting.

And a lot of copywriters say that very thing to their clients. “I’ll write a salesletter for you for $X and I’ll even throw in an extra ______.”

But that’s really shortchanging yourself and your clients.

Back to my example…

You want value… and a return on your money.

So to communicate that, I put the value details in black and white.

You invest $47… you get an IMMEDIATE return on your money of $400 because THAT’S the market value of the complimentary mentoring.

(Not to mention the pay raise you’re going to get when you start selling VALUE.)

But to start talking with your clients in VALUE terms, you need to get the right information to make your case.

For starters… you need to know where they are now in their business (in dollars and cents) and where they’re going (in dollars and cents).

You’re part of how they’re going to get to their goal. But you have to communicate just how VALUABLE the role you play really is.

That takes practice and creativity.

So who pays $25,000 to a copywriter WITHOUT a big name… WITHOUT any controls?

The client who perceives that his investment of $25,000 has a good chance of returning many times that investment.

Where does that perception come from?

It comes from YOU.

Will you know it when you get there?

What’s it going to look like?

What’s it going to feel like?

A Ship Without a Harbor

As the old saying goes, “When a person does not know what harbor he or she is making for, any wind will do.”

Even though I’ve only been freelancing a short while, I’ve run my business “without a harbor” for way too long.

I’ve let my client projects grow far too large in my mind… so large that making the project a success became my #1 goal.

Now I’m all for wowing your clients with great work and results… but I went further than that.

I lost track of the reality that any one client of mine is really only a stepping stone for me to reach my REAL goals. The BIG goals I’ve set for me, my business and my life.

But to reach those goals, I have to actually set some.

You see, for a while, my number one goal was to “get clients.”

But the longer I kept doing that, the less satisfied I felt.

Because “getting clients” really isn’t a goal. There’s no way to measure it and there’s no destination to arrive at. It never ends.

It’s just a continuous rat race for MORE.

I finally realized one day that I would NEVER reach that goal. And if I didn’t readjust, I’d spend my days chasing after something that really didn’t exist.

I’d keep running to get to a destination that wasn’t real.

“More Clients” ISN’T a destination.

Bugs on the Windshield

So I started setting some real goals. Not goals for the rest of my life, but goals for NOW. For the next 12 months. For the next 24 months.

This took time. And it took a lot of thought. Figuring out exactly what you REALLY want isn’t the easiest thing in the world.

But as I did that work, I realized there was another HUGE benefit to actually having some real goals:

The HUGE size of my real goals made all of my challenges, roadblocks and problems with my clients seem a whole lot smaller.

It made them seem like bugs on the windshield.

I saw them for what they were and I kept on trucking towards what I really wanted to achieve.

Goals Aren’t Forever

Here’s the best part about setting clear goals in your business:

You can always change them… at any time.

But specific goals give you structure. And they give you a VERY easy defense system to stay away from clients you shouldn’t be working with.

Here’s how it works:

For every client or new project that shows up on your doorstep, you just ask yourself this question:

“Will working with this client move me closer to my goal or farther from it?”

All you have to do is listen to your gut. It will tell you the right answer every time.

How Do I Get Clients?

Now I’m not sure what the “marketing gurus” would say about disappointing your readers so early in a letter, but I’ve never been one to go with the flow… so here’s my answer to that question:

There is no good answer to that question.

Here’s the reason.

I know how I get clients.

But I don’t know how you should get clients. Not without talking with you and/or working with you one on one.

And despite the fact that there are people out there happy to have you pay thousands of dollars to learn the “latest way” to get clients, there’s a good chance that their “system” simply won’t work… for you.

(But you won’t know that till after you spend the money.)

So instead of learning how to get clients, invest your resources to discover how you should do it for your business.

Some strategies I use to get clients simply won’t work for you. And vice versa…

Take posting on web forums as an example. I’ve never once gotten a client from any of the forums that I’ve ever visited or posted on.

For me, it’s just not effective.

Same with seminars.

I’ve only ever been to one. Probably won’t go to another one. Just not interested.

But that doesn’t mean it won’t be profitable for you to do those very same things.

You just have to find out… quickly.

And that brings us to the subject of today’s letter. It’s a subject that is responsible for more of my success than absolutely any other.

That subject is:

S-P-E-E-D

How Much Does It Cost
to Wait for Success?

I’m not talking about the drug. I’m talking about how fast you go from idea to action to proof that your idea is a winner or a dud.

How fast can you go through that process and how many times can you go through it at once?

Success is very expensive if you sit around waiting for it. But start your engine, particularly your marketing engine, and you can bring it to you a whole lot faster.

If it’s not happening for you online… if the clients aren’t calling, then get offline.

There’s a huge world outside of this little internet thing. A huge world filled with clients who wouldn’t know an internet guru if they slammed into one in broad daylight.

And these folks have businesses. REAL businesses. By that I mean they have more than a big list that they use to sell their friend’s cutting edge (recycled with a pretty face) marketing junk.

And these people are successful too. Often times far more successful (in money terms) than a “million dollar marketer” making 5 Million a year.

A lot of business owners in the “real world” make that amount of money without working… People like real estate investors, etc.

Different strokes for different folks.

The point is you’ve got to find what works for you and stop listening to the noise around you.

So here’s an example of SPEED from my own world:

A Day in the Life of a Speed Addict

I admit it.

I’m addicted to speed. I like to do a lot of things quickly. The only requirement is that I also have to do them well. No shoddy work for the sake of speed.

Here’s just one example.

(If you think I’m trying to impress you here, you haven’t been on this list long enough. Stick around… you’ll discover that’s not my style

The goal here is to open your mind and get it moving faster. Do that and your results will come… faster and BIGGER.

Take a minute to download this:

Small Business Big Results

This is my monthly newsletter I send out to prospective clients. Every month it’s something different.

This went out last week.

I knew I’d be writing about this, so I timed the whole process. From idea, to layout, to printing, to folding, to stapling, to in the mail.

It took 6 hours 30 minutes (including putting on the postage). It would have been quicker, except my 3 year old son Egan went with me to the post office. And he insisted on putting the couple of hundred booklets in the box on his own. That slowed me down because he preferred to do it one at a time

All I needed for the project was this:

A pretty low-tech setup for 2008.

A printer, paper and some staples.

And out the door it went. Another “ball” that I hit up in the air to get some clients. After I was done with that, I started on another “ball.”

How many balls can you get up in the air?

The more the better, especially at the beginning. Pretty soon, you’ll notice the pattern. You’ll notice that some of your marketing efforts are easier, quicker and more effective than all the rest.

But you’ve got to try them all to figure that out.

Don’t wait. Get started today.

You see, I have this nasty habit of actually believing what people tell me. Now as a personal quality, I imagine it’s not such a bad thing. But as a business skill, it’s been a huge (and expensive) liability.

Here’s just one example…

It has to do with something I call, “The Promise.”

The Promise… and Why It’s a Lie

I’ve fallen for “the promise” time and time again.

“The Promise” is the name I’ve given to those times when you discount your services in return for “the promise” of future business.

Your client says something like, “If this works out well, I have A LOT more work to send your way. Consider that when you send me your quote.”

So you offer a discount in exchange for the future work. You feel good. Your client gets what he wants. Everyone’s happy.

But here’s the real question:

What is the value of something that doesn’t yet exist?

Just how valuable IS the “future work” that you don’t have yet? The “future projects” that don’t exist?

Can you pay your bills with that?

Can you feed your children?

And what happens when that “future work” doesn’t show up for 9 months?

Sometimes it takes that long. And other times the future work just vanishes…

Frankly, the only reason I’ve ever discounted my services is because I was SCARED. Scared of losing the business. And by doing that I violated a very important “rule of business” we’ll get to in just a moment.

But first, here’s the reason that “discounting” creates a problem that is actually much much worse than the dollar value of your discount.

What might not be obvious is that along with your agreement to accept “the promise” and provide a discount, something else ALSO happened.

Here’s what happened:

You’ve Been Framed

You’ve been framed as a discounter. Deep in the dark corner of your client’s mind, their perception of you has forever shifted.

And whether or not you realize it, you’ve set the expectation in your client’s mind about what it means to do business with you.

You’ve planted the seed in their mind that discounts are possible. That it’s possible to have you give them “free money” without offering anything in return.

And the question they’ll be asking themselves from this point forward is, “Just how low will he go?”

Once you’ve been framed, it’s very difficult to alter that perception in your client’s mind.

Now let me be clear here…

It’s not really discounting that’s the problem. Discounting CAN be a very powerful tool in your business bag of tricks. You just have to use it in a smart way.

The problem though is that many times, many professionals discount their services without getting anything CONCRETE in return. That shifts the scales and makes the overall value exchange completely lopsided. And when the value exchange is lopsided, you hurt your credibility, your bottom line and your prospects of future business.

You’re in effect moving BACKWARDS in your business.

How do you discount your services in a way that actually helps you?

How to “Discount” Your Services
and Make MORE

So what do you do the next time your client says, “How about a discount?”

The first thing you do is wake-up and realize that there are more than two answers to this question. Yes or No are NOT your only options.

A better option is to use that question as YOUR cue to get creative.

If there is future work, how about offering a 25% discount in exchange for payment for the next project NOW?

That’s a real value exchange. The client gets their discount. You get a boost to your cashflow.

The bottom line is really very simple:

Never EVER screw up the value exchange in a business relationship. If you give something, ask for something. It doesn’t always have to be dollars and cents. It could be specific payment terms (upfront payment) or it could be something else.

Where you get into trouble is when you offer a concession to your client (lower price, etc.) WITHOUT receiving anything in return. As nice as that sounds, it’s a business killer.

Here are my two mantras for EVERY client negotiation. These are the two things I repeat to myself over and over until I FEEL them.

1. I don’t need the business.
2. I don’t need the money.

I’m not playing make believe here and suggesting you go around chanting phrases like “I’m rich, unlimited money is flowing to me” even if you’re struggling to keep the lights on.

That’s crazy talk.

I simply use these two ideas to keep me from making stupid decisions when I’m talking with prospects.

If those two mantras are TRUE, would you EVER find it necessary to discount ANYTHING in return for the promise of future work?

No… there’d be no logical reason to. Unless you were making a deliberate choice to do it for no other reason than to be NICE.

Those two phrases will keep you out of trouble and they’ll keep your focus in business where it should be: on the exchange of REAL value between you and your clients.

And that got me to thinking. Just how big can a professional services business grow with only 24 hours in a day?

And what happens if you actually get all the business you can handle (and more)?

What happens when a good month comes along and you close tens of thousands of dollars of business?

Sure it’s nice to pay the bills… until you start to pay the bills. Then the next hurdle isn’t about making the money, it’s about how you make the money.

But even if you’re just starting out, there’s no reason you can’t plan well from the beginning. That way, once your business starts to grow, you won’t be scrambling to figure out how to fit it all in.

So what’s your strategy for dealing with business overload (even if it’s not a reality for you yet)?

Well, you can stay up till midnight working (I did last night) and you can be up the next morning at 5 to do some more (I did that this morning).

The point of telling you that isn’t to impress you or show you how busy I am. You see…

I Don’t Really Consider That
a Badge of Honor

I kind of consider it proof that I still have growing to do when it comes to being a smart business person.

Now some folks will recommend that an overload of work means you should raise your prices until some of the business disappears. While I think that’s fine in the short term, overall it’s a pretty short sighted strategy.

You’re not really solving anything… you’re just prolonging the inevitable.

And you’re still trading time for dollars. You’re just getting more dollars.

Success in business is about leverage. It’s about accomplishing more by investing less time and effort.

That’s something I’m working on…

But I’d like to introduce you to someone who has the whole concept down pat. And someone who’s been using leverage successfully for years.

You’ll hear various gurus pop up now and then reselling his strategies that have trickled down over the years. One just popped up with a new program about this a few months ago.

But he’s where it all started.

In fact, he’s the guy that mentored Jay Abraham when he was struggling.

If you haven’t read this before, here’s a guy who knows about leverage.

His Name is Harvey Brody

He doesn’t make his money copywriting… even though he is a proven copywriter.

Harvey makes his money by working ONCE and getting paid over and over again… for years.

Well, I think he worked a few decades ago anyway.

Now he literally gets paid without working.

You can download an interview with him at the bottom of this post.

Listen to the interview, then ask yourself, “How can I apply this idea to my business?”

Be sure to write down whatever ideas come up.

Sometimes those words “work” and other times they don’t. Sometimes they create results (and sales), and many times they don’t.

And that’s why many business owners get the help of a freelance copywriter. Someone who’s skilled at taking your ideas and communicating them to your market for maximum results.

Up until now, finding a freelance copywriter can be difficult. The big names are booked months (years) in advance and are extremely expensive. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that there are thousands of copywriters out there who can do the job.

And that’s why I created the Copywriter Catalog.

A way for business owners to find the right copywriter, with the right skills, at the right price.

And the best part is, Copywriter Catalog is free for business owners searching for copywriters.

Click on the link below to take a look:

Find Freelance Copywriters at Copywriter Catalog.

The details aren’t really important, but the point is important.

And the point is that sometimes clients run their businesses in ways you would never run your own. And when you are asked to participate in something you disagree with, there’s a conflict that needs to be resolved.

In this case, the conflict created a question I had to answer: “Do I compromise my standards to make money?”

My particular situation with this client involved potentially making a lot of money.

My decision to fire my client was a judgement call on my part. It’s a judgement call about how I want to run my business. Another person might have made a different decision.

But it was the right one for me.

I can’t control how my clients run their businesses, but I can control whether or not I remain involved.

In the end, my decision is probably going to cost me upwards of a few hundred thousand dollars… this year alone. And it’s also going to cost me an equity position in a new business venture.

Fortunately, my clear conscience is a whole lot more valuable than all of that.

The moral of the story? Trust yourself. Trust your gut. You’ve got a level of intelligence that isn’t directly accessible to you, but one that gets your attention when needed.

Don’t ignore that.