posted by Randy Roedl on Dec 17
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This morning I was pleasantly surprised to find a review copy of FreelanceSwitch’s new book on my email inbox. It is titled “How to be a Rockstar Freelancer,” and it was written by the two founders of the site, Collis and Cyan (Collis was featured on last week’s Bloggers Face-Off by the way).
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I spent two hours reading through it, and the content is solid and well structured. The book is basically covering all the angles of freelancing, from quitting your job to setting up and a home office and managing clients.
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The interesting thing is that the information can be applied not only to freelancers but also to small entrepreneurs. In fact I think about myself more of the latter, and I will be using some of the concepts described in the book nonetheless. For example, here is a part where they cover the importance of how to get other people referring work and clients to you:
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“There are only three reasons someone will refer work to you:
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- They want to help you,
- They want to help the person they are referring, or
- They want to help themselves.
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If you want more referrals, you need to encourage these motivations
\nand make it EASY to refer you. Here’s how:
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Incentives
\nA gift, commission or discount can be incentives for clients to refer you. Adding an incentive alone is often not enough, since whatever you offer is unlikely to make up for the possible risks involved. Incentives will only encourage a referee to move from thinking about referring you to actually referring you.
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If you do offer incentives, it’s important to do it with tact and care. You don’t want your clients to get the impression that you are trying to buy them. Neither do you want their referrals to believe they were referred for some other reason than the quality of your service.
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Ask and you shall receive
\nIt can be difficult, but if you want more referrals you often need to ask for them! Many freelancers feel this will seem pushy, but there is nothing wrong with asking if a client can advocate you if they are happy with your service.
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If you don’t like asking in person, you could send an email to your current clients, or include a note and business card with your next invoice.
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Make sure they have the tools they need
\nEnsuring your referees have an simple point of contact - whether it’s a website or just a business card to give out - means you are removing one more obstacle to getting those referrals. Always make sure that the phone gets answered, emails get responses and you follow up on those referral leads. Don’t let them go to waste or you are unlikely to get referred by that person again.”
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The book runs for 212 pages, and here is the table of contents:
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- Getting Started
- Your Brand
- The Working Day
- Getting Your First Jobs
- Scoping & Timeframes
- Pricing Yourself
- Doing the Job
- Clients
- Getting Paid
- Marketing Yourself
- Building a Business
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Currently the book is only available in digital format, and it costs $29. If you are trying to get your freelancing career off the ground I am sure it will be a good acquisition. (Notice that the links to the book are affiliate ones.)\n
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