Comments on: How Serious is Your New Prospective Client? Four Easy Questions Help You Figure It Out.

By: Gavin Allinson

Gavin Allinson — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 09:23:24 +0000

Hi Tom,

Thanks for the post and the comments too. It’s amazing how devalued copywriting as a skill actually is. I only meet up with someone if I know it’s going to result in business. I’m learning to be a bit more brash like James Brausch is LOL. As much as I admire his products and success, I don’t think I could ever be as obnoxious as he is.

Gavin

By: What Happens When the Elephant in the Room Walks Out? | Freelance Parent

What Happens When the Elephant in the Room Walks Out? | Freelance Parent — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 21:35:26 +0000

[...] Make sure the client is “for real.” If you’re on a bidding site, check and see if they have received feedback from other freelancers. Ask them some questions to determine how serious they are. [...]

By: Freelance Advice from the Blogosphere, Part 6 | Freelance Parent

Freelance Advice from the Blogosphere, Part 6 | Freelance Parent — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 18:33:39 +0000

[...] This post is a little older, but it’s a new-to-me blog, and I thought Tom from The Copywriter Underground had some good advice for figuring out “How Serious Is Your Perspective Client?” [...]

By: Gabriel Goldenberg

Gabriel Goldenberg — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 21:11:51 +0000

Hey,

Don’t know why I thought you were called Graham! Sorry about that. Thanks for sharing your opinion. I was thinking about the same.

Cheers
Gab
p.s. I’ve passed this on to my colleague in the Montreal Internet marketing scene, Michel Leblanc, who has a similar post: I am not free! (French) If you’re bilingual, it’s here:
http://www.michelleblanc.com/2007/10/29/je-ne-suis-pas-gratuit/

By: Tom Chandler

Tom Chandler — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 20:45:51 +0000

Gab;

New businesses are tough; there’s always the hope you can make a big impact, but the resources are often thin.

I’d say check back on this lead, but move ahead with something else. These customers can turn up again later, but the key is not to let them soak up too much of your time.

By: Gabriel Goldenberg

Gabriel Goldenberg — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 20:10:46 +0000

Hi Graham,

Just found your blog indirectly through Sphinn (you should post this there, I’m sure it would be popular!) and am loving it. I get these “leads” fairly often too and have tried to put an “about my clients” page as well as a “pricing” page on my site to reduce the number of them. Obviously, it’s hard to track that though (no thankyou for not contacting me page ;) !), especially as I have a low volume of business to begin with.

I recently had a lead from someone asking me for price and he wouldn’t disclose a budget. His site looks like it was made by a wannabe designer and my proposal included installing a CMS. On the other hand, he kept asking me for a price and has been in business 3 years – I find newer people are more likely to want free stuff being cash-strapped…. Any thoughts? Good lead? Bad lead? Haven’t heard back since sending the proposal and am wondering if it’s worth my time.

Cheers
Gab
p.s. Keep up the great blogging!

By: Tom Chandler

Tom Chandler — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 18:59:36 +0000

Graham: Everybody finds their own method for qualifying prospects (they better), and the phone concept is a good one.

As for the “more work down the line” argument, I can’t help but hear the old saw playing back in my head: “Sure, we’re losing money on each unit, but we’ll make it up on volume.”

Only so much time, so if a client wants a deal, there’d better be something pretty substantial in it for a copywriter beyond more sub-living wage work…

By: Graham Strong

Graham Strong — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 14:33:36 +0000

Like all things on the business side of copywriting, this is one of the things I’ve struggled with. Specifically, when do I invest the time and effort to craft a carefully thought-out proposal, and when do I summarize costs in a quick e-mail (and get on with all the other things on my desk)?

I think you eventually get a feel for it. But I’ve found one fairly reliable indicator. On my contact form, “name” and “e-mail” are mandatory, while “phone number” is optional. The ones who do fill in their phone numbers tend to be more serious.

As for the whole almost-pro-bono-today-with-promises-of-riches-tomorrow thing, my favourite are the people who promise to sign an “exclusivity” contract with me for their future work. If I was to actually accept the rates they were offering, I’m sure they would keep coming back to me anyway…!

~Graham

By: Tom Chandler

Tom Chandler — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 16:03:53 +0000

The “can we get together to talk…” has long been my downfall. I’ll do it, but it’s the next step — the written plan — that I’ve largely stopped doing for free.

Instead, they get an overview and an estimate ready for their signature…

By: Cathy Goodwin

Cathy Goodwin — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 18:31:20 +0000

I LOVE this post.

Here are my favorite lines:

“How about you write my website for free and I will introduce you to lots of rich, potential clients?”

“I am a very good massage therapist (healer, psychic, dispenser of wonder formulas). I can give you a massage in return for a website overhaul.”

“Can we get together for coffee and talk about my website?”

I just asked what value they expect to get from the copy. And I explained that I charge for diagnosing and recommending (we can go for coffee if they want – I haven’t figured out who should pay for the coffee). The serious ones stuck around.