Lesson five, this lesson is called the power of the phone, and it will show you how to leverage the
supercomputer that's sitting right in your pocket.
The reason this lesson is important is because once you know how to harness the power of a phone, you
will become a much more successful and profitable freelancer.
Once you tap into the device that everyone has on them at all times.
That is when you're going to start to differentiate yourself from the competition.
There are more phones on this planet than there actually are human beings.
So what does that tell us?
It tells us this is a huge opportunity to capitalize on because as a freelancer, as you know, all
you really need for success is your skill set.
A computer with a connection.
And access to a phone now in this lesson.
I'm going to break down.
What power the phone has, as well as how you can harness that?
The first thing to understand is that the phone never leaves people side.
That goes for everyone, especially your clients.
So when you're running a business, your phone is even more important than ever.
Not only is it where you get notifications, but it's also where potential deals come through, where
you make money.
So the incentive for business people to check their phones is even higher.
So remember this device, this smartphone, iPhone, Samsung, whatever it is.
Is glued to people, it's probably right next to you right now or within five feet.
Studies show that the majority of people never leave their phone more than five feet away from them
for longer than a few hours in their day, even when they're sleeping.
So even when you're sleeping, I'm sure your phone is probably right on your nightstand next to you.
It's probably the first thing you touch in the morning, the last thing you touch before you go to sleep.
And that's important to remember, because that is a direct line right into your clients and potential
clients.
People also trust their phones.
So here are some stats for you.
Two percent of all interactions take place on a telephone, and 85 percent of people report being dissatisfied
with their interactions on the phone.
So that means the people that are speaking with the businesses, they're speaking with the companies,
no matter what it is.
Most people are using a phone to communicate, and most people aren't having that good of an experience,
especially when it comes to the business world.
People trust their phones and they trust what they can see.
That's why you need to use this to your advantage.
So how can you use this to your advantage going to show you in the upcoming slides?
It also opens the door to more sales.
This is a major secret because if you speak to someone long enough on their cell phone, eventually
the customer will tell you how to sell them.
They will tell you what you need to hear in order to handle their objections.
You just have to ask the right questions and make sure you get answers to the questions.
So controlling the call, having a call script and role playing so you're experienced enough to handle
those questions and objections is going to help you use that power of the phone.
So ask questions like Why did you take this call now?
Why are you designed to hire a freelancer?
What freelancer have you hired in the past and how have they helped you?
And as they start to answer this, listen, ask them to explain things further, to elaborate, take
notes and write them down.
I guarantee you once you start doing this and harnessing the power of the phone, it will open the door
to more sales.
The phone also is an amazing tool to qualify leads.
Remember this because when you're looking for a client, it's a two way street.
You also want to make sure that they're a good fit for you so you can get that five star review so you
can get a good testimonial.
And you can get referrals.
You don't want to have a bad experience with a client.
Not only will that hurt your reputation, but it's also not going to help you get better at freelancing
because every time you do something.
The whole goal is to learn and to get better.
So one of the big things that I learned is that you need to qualify leads.
So qualifying basically means is the person you're speaking with actually willing and able to buy the
services they're asking for.
So you can do this once again by asking questions and listen to the nonverbal clues as well.
You can pick up so much on a phone and even a screen shared that you can never over text or email where
there's no tone, there's no inflection.
There's no clues for you to pick up on.
The phone also helps you build relationships.
So because people never leave their phone, if you're able to communicate with them effectively through
it, that helps them become more trustworthy towards you.
So when you get on the phone with a potential client, you already showing them you're interested and
you're willing to give them the time and you're not scared to get on the phone and speak with them.
Once you have them on the call, now's the time to do everything you can to show how much value you
want to provide them and that you can provide them, make it all about them and how you can help.
Focus on being genuine, and that's when relationships get formed, not just focusing on the price,
not just focusing on small talk.
People can see right through that be genuine build relationships and the phone will open the gates to
your profitable freelancing career.
Now, let's look at ways to profit over the phone.
This is where we are looking at how to harness the power of the phone actions you can take.
To make the most out of this smartphone computer in everyone's pocket.
The first is to learn to communicate well, this doesn't happen overnight, and you're also not born
with this.
Some people are better speakers than others, but in reality it takes hard work, it takes practice,
but you will get better.
When I first started out my first job, I was not good on the phone.
I answered the phone.
I didn't have a greeting down.
I didn't have a script.
I didn't even really know what I was saying.
But once I had more practice, once I started writing down exactly what I needed to say and the common
questions people asked.
That's when I started communicating better because when used correctly, the phone also saves time and
is a multiplier because you can reach out to way more people than you can from a physical standpoint.
If you were to just go cold, call and physically visit people or go to networking events, let's say.
So the phone also gives you the ability not only to communicate better, but also it multiplies that
communication.
Asking the right questions is also extremely important.
So these questions help you qualify the buyer.
And they also help you move the sales process forward.
Don't babble on about things that aren't important.
Always remember there's more questions you can ask to either qualify the lead or once they're already
qualified, more questions you can use to move them further down the journey.
So remember this when you're on the phone, because that's the other thing clients and I'm sure yourself
are comfortable on the phone, so it's easy to get distracted and not make sure that the process is
moving forward, which is your ultimate goal.
Next, use my profitable tools and apps.
Build a HubSpot CRM account and start taking detailed tabs on your clients.
I do this with every call I have coming up, and it works two ways number one.
Having a call script lets you know what questions you want to ask and make sure that you have the right
information down for the client.
And it helps you move the call forward when you forget what to say, or you don't know what to say next.
But it also works the other way around.
Because then you can take notes on everything set and you can have those for the future, and you can
use that to follow up over text, over email, over calls, over videos.
This is how you can profit from the phone.
Start thinking of it creatively.
Have your call script pulled up.
Ask them questions, and you can write these down in your call scripts so you don't forget them.
For example, you can write down the questions I said before, such as Why did you take my call?
Why are you deciding to hire a freelancer now?
What have you done in the past?
That hasn't worked.
So whenever a client has a problem, make sure you also don't move past that.
So in your call script, if you're asking them things and then they bring up, they had a problem in
the past, let's say, with a freelancer or what's currently going on.
Make sure you put your attention in that because remember you were getting paid to help them solve their
problem.
So once you understand what the problem is, that's when you can use the phone to help solve it.
And that is how you're going to profit over the phone even more.
You can also use texting to increase your conversions.
So texting is proven to increase conversions by up to 300 percent as opposed to just emailing alone.
Texting is that direct link with clients because it might even be a better way to get in touch with
them than a voicemail.
Sometimes people's voicemail boxes are full, sometimes they don't even check them, but a text message
will always go right to their phone and now will get their attention and help you close deals over the
phone sharing information and text and links.
That's my favorite thing to do, because that lets the client know not only are you thinking about them,
but you're trying to close the deal by providing value.
You're not just following up and saying the same things.
You're following up in creative ways, you're reaching out with ideas and with value.
That is also what's going to separate you from other freelancers.
Moving right into following up in other creative ways.
So don't stop just with texting and just with calling.
You really need to get creative here because the stats show that 80 percent of people convert on the
fifth to 12th touchpoint.
That means you have to keep following up.
They might have seen your proposal messaged a couple of times, emailed back and forth, but you have
to keep that line of communication open and stay creative throughout the whole process because commitment
is persistence.
So if you're committed, you have to keep persisting.
The higher the level of your commitment, the higher your persistence needs to be.
Because that is when the client is going to realize you were the one they should hire.
That all of the other freelancers they're working with stopped following up, stopped answering their
questions, stop providing value.
But you're the one that keeps following up in creative ways.
That's what wins you deals because the only way you can fail is if you quit.
So if you decide to just give up, that's the only way you can fail.
But if you keep doing the work, you keep following up in creative ways.
Eventually, if you're offering a service that's very valuable, the client will make a decision.
And that's how you can use follow up.
So don't be afraid to follow up.
Don't be afraid to keep the line of communication open in different ways and creative ways.
Maybe that means sending a selfie video of yourself or a screen chair of you walking through a new way.
You thought you can help the client get creative with this.
It will help separate you from the pack.
Texting clients third party data is another way to build credibility and to follow up in another creative
way because you can always tell the client how great you are, the good results you've had.
But once you use third party data from a reputable source that they know from an online publication
that is trusted, that is when you offer other ways for the client to trust you.
Clients don't remember what you say, so you need to send them things and writing some then text, send
them emails and also send them third party data that proves your claims and then backs up the service
that you were going to provide for them.
They won't remember the specifics, but once they look through their messages and they see that you've
been providing nonstop value and third party data, they're very likely to lean in your direction as
opposed to someone else.
Role playing every day is essential, and role playing is when you have to work on your craft.
This is basically just practicing so you can do it out loud by yourself and you can do it with someone
else near you.
Whatever you have, you have to make do with.
You can do it on the phone with a family member or friend.
But the moral is to practice these things.
So once you have your call scripts written down, once you start talking with clients and you understand
some of the most common questions and objections, that's when you can practice.
Those just set up a phone or call someone or sit down at a desk with someone else and dedicate that
time like we spoke about time blocking dedicate their 15 or 30 minutes every day to training and getting
better.
This is what I had to do.
So if you remember, I said when I started out, I wasn't good at the phone.
I actually have a funny story because the nine, my nine to five I was working at.
This is when I started to kind of rise through the ranks.
So I went from behind the scenes doing marketing to now I was a marketing coordinator.
I was coordinating marketing events and trade shows, and I had to speak to a lot of people.
But like I said, my muscle of communication wasn't developed yet.
I didn't work it out enough.
So what happened was one day I was waiting for a phone call from the flyer company I had that was printing
the flyers for the trade show.
We were going to and they were they were behind.
So it was a little upset at them.
And I'll never forget because I answered the phone, I didn't have the best attitude.
I didn't open it with a good greeting and it was the owner of the entire company who was the one calling,
not the flyer place I was upset at.
So what happened was I got a talking to.
But it also let me know that I needed to train.
And that's when the company also realized they didn't have a call script in place.
So that was a way that I learned I need to practice.
I need to have a script.
It doesn't mean you need to be embarrassed that you're not good at the phone or that you might even
be nervous or a little scared to get on the phone with clients because you might not know exactly what
to say.
But that fear starts to melt away, the more and the more you practice.
And eventually you'll get to a point where I'm at, where it's just second nature to hop on the phone
with any client because you're so confident in yourself and you're so confident that you can provide
value in your services that you can profit over the phone in any circumstance.
Practice handling the objection, so in that role playing you're doing, make sure you're focusing on
ways you can handle objections.
Don't pretend that you can handle it just when they come out or that objections won't come along, they're
going to come.
People are going to ask you why you're better than someone else.
They're going to ask you why you're worth five hundred more than another freelancer.
And if you don't know how to answer these, that's because you have in role played.
You have in practice, it takes a lot of practice not only to get comfortable on the phone, but to
also know how to handle those objections.
So remember to keep this a vital part of your practice and to also write down every objection you get.
So if someone just says the price is too high where someone says they don't know if this is going to
work for them, make sure you can write that down because that's how you can keep refining and optimizing
the way you communicate and profit over the phone.
Also have a big claim when you're communicating through the phone, through text, through email, whatever
it is.
Have a big claim.
What that means is when you talk to people, you need to let them know that you were offering something
big.
So what I do is I talk about big wins I've had with clients, big successful projects that I've worked
on.
So I'm in the advertising field.
So what I can talk about is having, let's say, a 300 percent return on investment for my latest e-commerce
client.
That is another way you can shift your communication towards solving problems for the client.
It's showing them that you're not just bragging about yourself and showing them a good testimonial you've
had, you're showing them how this applies to them.
And that is where the big claim really comes in, because that is what the client is hiring you for.
They want their problem solved.
So when you can come in with a big claim and offer something of big value that will do two things.
Number one, it will get the client's attention.
And number two, it will get them to interrupt the pattern and be more likely to give you a shot over
another freelancer that doesn't have a big claim.
Lastly, always and every single interaction you have with a call to action and next steps, because
this is how you also move the sales process forward.
Always make sure at the end of the call you recap what was spoken about and then you identify the next
steps.
And let's let's say you don't know what the next steps are.
You have to ask them, ask the client, say if you like the opportunity.
Let them know.
Say this was a very interesting job.
What are our next steps?
Are you still interviewing more freelancers?
Always open the door to them if you don't know what the next step is.
If you do know what the next step is.
Make sure to recap that.
So if you do know you have to, for example, put together a proposal for them or report, you can say,
OK, I'm going to get that report together for you.
I should have that to you by tonight.
Will you be able to look at that and get back to me by tomorrow?
So what that does is it gives both parties a clear cut path towards what the next step is.
You got to keep pushing for what you want.
Keep following up in creative ways, and that is how you will profit over the phone.
So now you understand the power of the phone and how to leverage it to make the most money possible,
freelancing and how to close the most deals.