I’m a Hidden Brain junkie.
No surprise then that this idea comes from a Hidden Brain podcast. The episode talked about hidden obstacles: why consumers don’t buy, why people aren’t convinced of facts, etc.
It’s all about friction. More to the point, it’s about removing friction.
Friction is that thing that stops you from acting. It’s the mental or physical roadblock to following through. Suppose you want to renew your magazine subscription, but you keep forgetting. Why? Because it’s not foremost in your mind. So, until that last issue shows up announcing boldly on the cover that it’s your last issue, you put it off. I know. I’ve done that for years with one magazine that I love reading. But loving reading it doesn’t make me move any faster. I need that big reminder to move me.
Friction is like wanting to buy that one car you love. Everything about it is perfect, but you don’t buy. Why? Because you don’t want the hassle of applying for a car loan, and you’re afraid you won’t get a competitive interest rate.
Or it’s like that new restaurant that has gotten fantastic reviews, but you don’t book a table because they have lousy parking.
Each of these can be fixed pretty easily. The car dealer could offer on-the-spot financing options. The restaurant could offer valet parking and collaborate with a local lot to make sure your car is parked.
There are easy fixes to friction sometimes. Even on that you think is complicated. This one involves you:
You send out countless letters of introduction, tweet out plenty of “I’m available” tweets, and ask friends to refer you to clients. But most of those attempts fall flat.
You don’t get it — you have the experience they’re looking for, you can write what they need, and you’re good at what you do. Why aren’t they hiring you?
Maybe because you haven’t made it easy enough.
Yea, it could be that simple. You introduced yourself, told them why they need to hire you, and thanked them for their time. But did you ask them if they had time next week for a follow-up call? Did you even follow up on your email? Did you show them why they’re crazy not to hire you? Did you ask them how you can help them get to that first step?
[bctt tweet=”Is the reason your #freelancewriting clients aren’t hiring you an easy fix?” username=”LoriWidmer”]
As the Hidden Brain episode recounts, often the problem getting people to buy is that there’s a problem you don’t know about. For example, sure. you’d love to attend those civic club meetings. But dammit, you work during the day, so a 1 p.m. meeting doesn’t fit. The club hasn’t realized that your barrier to “yes’ is the time. Because they never asked. They assumed a time good for the organizers is good for everyone.
So how you can apply this to landing more freelance clients:
- Consider the company’s possible roadblocks: Are they a small shop? Are they loaded with marketing and writing staff already? Have they had enough profit in recent years to spend on outside help? (This info is easy to find via press releases, company reports, websites, articles they may have authored …)
- Do your best to open the door: Look at how you buy things. Are you going to buy from the person pressuring you or the person who presents an easy path to purchasing? Create a dialogue with your prospective freelance client. Talk over not just their needs, but their potential reasons not to get started.
- Ask: Damn. Why didn’t you think to just ask them? Because we assume the reason is us. We don’t assume it’s actually something outside our control, like a marketing budget that’s all spent for the year (great opportunity to suggest projects for the next year, though). Ask the client what’s getting in the way — “No pressure. Just wondered if there’s something getting in the way of our working together.”
So how are you removing friction? How do you bring clients to yes?