First: We have to establish some workable ground rules for our actions.

Second: We have to break down as many components as we can that identify those clients in the top 20%.

Third: Once we glean those qualities we can create an algorithm that allows us to set boundaries.

Fourth: That algorithm could look something like this,

Company or organization must have sales or revenues in excess of $1M.

Have a professional marketing communications staff with whom to communicate.

Have a published Mission Statement on their website

Have an ongoing budget and a willingness to pay for professional services at my rate of $100 hr or $1K minimum per assignment.

Be in a field or industry I am knowledgeable about.

Etc, etc.

One can buy lists from list brokers that can identify most of what I’ve listed above, along with “decision makers” of record with sufficient contact information to get started.

The 7/7 rule you refer to above is great, but since you are the technician who’s engineering the product you are selling, you don’t have time to consistently use that formula and make it work. You and I need to create a formula to hit home runs every time we come to bat.

I look forward to researching your marketing ideas on previous blogs.

Chuck

When I was in real estate, we were taught what I now call the rule of seven – contact seven sellers and seven buyers every day. Okay, we can adapt that to fit the freelance writing world pretty easily – sellers become past clients, buyers become future clients. But seven? A day? Yes. Based on the idea that the more people you talk to the greater your chances are of finding work, why not?

It’s time consuming, but contact doesn’t have to be. Contact could mean an email, a brochure, a phone call.

I see the words, Craig’s List, mentioned on many occasions in this blog.

Consider this: The Paerto Principle is usually at work in most businesses. It is in mine. The 80/20 rule. 20% of our clients produce 80% of the revenue, etc, etc.

The challenge then becomes how do we increase the number of clients in that 20%?

Chuck