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Left my job to grow a Google Ads business (and overcome my anxiety)

A detailed account of a Fastlane process...

Fid

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Hey there,

A long time lurker of the FLF here. I'm starting my progress thread after being encouraged by other web-designers and digital marketers (especially @GuitarManDan - I'm also a member of @Fox 's group).

The backstory:
I've been growing my business for almost a year now: webdesign as the core + SEO, Google Ads and copywriting. Most of the time as a side hustle, but two months ago I decided to go all in and left my job as an AI developer.

Biggest external problem: lead generation
Biggest internal problem: fear
Secondary internal problem: digital addiction

I've finished several projects so far, all with great results, such as:
  • 10x'd my client's sales,
  • generated leads in winter (100% dry season for the business),
  • improved lead quality → decreased time spent per lead,
  • reached municipal projects,
  • found business partners,
  • "stolen" customers from competitors.

While getting this type of results, it's really hard for me to get more sales.

I feel super confident talking with (and closing) inbound prospects. I just don't have many people to talk to.

What has worked best so far:
1) Crafting my LinkedIn profile
2) Inviting CEOs, founders, directors to my LinkedIn network
3) Writing articles in a theme of 'marketing for CEOs', then sharing them on my LinkedIn wall

What else I've tried:

4) Purchasing a business related FB group
5) Recording weekly 'free website reviews' for group members. It didn't even spark interest.
6) Running weekly live videos with guests in the group
7) SEO for my own site
8) Local SEO with GMB profile
9) IG profile – posting micro-takeaways from other forms of content
10) YT channel
11) Asking clients for referrals
12) Letting everyone around know what I do and asking for referrals
13) Upwork

What I'm about to do:
14) Networking - finally found a BNI-like local group
15) Cold outreach - calling, mailing, DMs

And here comes my biggest internal problem: fear.

100% of what I've been doing was focused on inbound lead generation. While it may sound reasonable to focus on inbound for the long term, deep inside I know I need outbound for now. I'm just trying to avoid it at any cost (=action faking?).

The plan:
I have great value to offer. I just need to get before people's eyes.
Generating inbound leads requires lots of time and energy and has not worked great so far. I need to start outbound now.

I'll be attending networking events - the group I found has meetings biweekly, and there's another one my friend will introduce me to soon.

I also want to go with some type of cold outreach. I'm thinking of:
a) cold mailing, then following up with a call.
b) DMing people on LinkedIn with value (a link to my article they might find useful) then asking for a referral.
 
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Fid

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I also mentioned digital addiction as my secondary problem.

What I mean by that is that I'm addicted to 'checking things'. Checking Facebook. Checking email. Checking the weather online. WTF.

I realized how often I get distracted by various services, mostly Facebook. So I deleted the app from my phone.

... and I quickly found a replacement - email.

So I kept deleting stuff. Gmail app. Tinder. WhatsApp. Youtube app. FREAKING WEATHER APP.
Each time I found a replacement, a reason to take my phone out and check something.

It's better on my mobile now, but still severe on my PC. I have software that prevents me from accessing particular websites or apps (switched to freedom.to from Cold Turkey), but it's not 100% effective, e.g. when I forget to set the blocker up.

Bottom line it eats up lots of my time and kills my attention span. I find it hard to focus on one task for long time.
 

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welcome @Fid !
you are in the same boat as most that get started w/ a service skillset / business.

will suggest 2 books ..... the first part of Ready, Fire, Aim and Traction
those have helped me greatly in the areas you need help

short version, you cannot grow / exist w/o outbound. create a system, automate it, hire it out, whatever. it is ALWAYS on. doesn't matter if you want to do it. do it. chop chop!
 

Fid

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Note: it's a copy of my recent post in Fox's FB group. I thought someone here might find it valuable.

###############

Just closed a $3k sale yesterday.
Is that a fortune? Not really. Is it remarkable? Maybe...

It is the biggest sale I've made so far, though. (And a new Minimum Level of Engagement for me, ha!)

Why do I even want to tell you about that?
Because it's twice as much as the client was willing to pay.

---

The story:
  • A co-founder of a local business reached out to me via email. We jumped on a call, where I asked several questions, 100% sales oriented: why do you need a new website and why now, how are sales going, what are your goals for 2019... I learned that 90% of sales come through their website which is 7 years old, they want it to "look more professional" (whatever it means).
  • I quoted a range $3k-$5k which they stated was "a little bit too much for them". Whatever, you know where to find me.
  • Later, they got back to me saying they need a breakdown of what they're getting for the price. They attached an email from another agency that quoted them $600. It was all about the technical details.
  • We arranged a meeting (which I called 'the Diagnosis Stage', fancy names FTW). It lasted almost 3 hours, and we went into more details on their current pain points, ideas, and goals.
  • It turned out I WAS WRONG. This was enlightenment for both parties. They DON'T want to sell more. They're clogged with low quality of inquiries, they spend a lot of time answering questions, a sale comes months later. The competition is catching up, they're gonna be in big trouble in 1-2 years if they don't act now.
  • I quoted $3700. 3 days later I got an email that they can't afford that. Their total budget is $2500, they need to spend $1000+ on the photographer and other expenses. Which would leave less than $1500 for me.
  • They also played a couple of dirty "trap cards". "This is gonna be a great portfolio piece, we know many businesses, we will have more work for you later on."

So, how did I manage to get a sign-off within 30 minutes for $3000 if their budget was $1500?

---

It's nothing that hasn't been stated here before: provide value and stay in charge.

This would not be possible if they didn't see the value. After all the talks we had, I was 100% sure they saw it and wanted to work with me. They just wanted to get it cheaper. You know that feeling – you want something badly but it turns out more expensive than you expected... You can't stop thinking about it.

I wanted to ensure them I'm there to help them, but it's me who makes the rules.

Usually, the one with the bigger need is not the one in charge. That's why you can sniff desperation miles away. I was willing to lose the project and I was willing to walk away. Actually, I was heading to the doorway already.

I was not gonna justify anything. This is my price, you want it or not?
You're right, it's expensive, you want it or not?

I was not going to convince or prove anything. I've actually eradicated 'argument' from my vocabulary. Arguments tend to derail your conversations into a mental ping-pong game of "yeah, but...". There's no right or wrong price. The price is this, you want it or not?

At the same time, I'm not trying to be a jerk or show how angry they made me. I'm really there to help them. I want to show some goodwill and keep their eyes on the value.

I wanted to show I still care but not with a lengthy email. Long email = commitment. Short email = this is nothing for me, I'm just about to walk away.

I ended up writing something like this:

I understand your limited budget, that's perfectly fine. My price is still $3700. I can cut out this and that part of the project which would lower the price to $3000.

We can split the payment to 40/30/30 instead of 50/50. This won't make the price lower, but will probably make it easier to process over time.


These are the pricing options I can provide if we are to work on your goals of X, Y, and Z.
[remember the value!]

The remaining parts are essential and narrowing the scope or lowering the budget will significantly reduce its effectiveness. My policy is to never agree to half-measures, I would need to resign then.

I understand it's still way over your budget and it's fine if you choose someone else.

---

30 minutes later I got a response they're in for the $3000 option.
 
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Fid

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welcome @Fid !
you are in the same boat as most that get started w/ a service skillset / business.

will suggest 2 books ..... the first part of Ready, Fire, Aim and Traction
those have helped me greatly in the areas you need help

short version, you cannot grow / exist w/o outbound. create a system, automate it, hire it out, whatever. it is ALWAYS on. doesn't matter if you want to do it. do it. chop chop!

Thanks, man. I read quite a lot but never heard of these two.
Just placed an order.
 

HG123

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Note: it's a copy of my recent post in Fox's FB group. I thought someone here might find it valuable.

###############

Just closed a $3k sale yesterday.
Is that a fortune? Not really. Is it remarkable? Maybe...

It is the biggest sale I've made so far, though. (And a new Minimum Level of Engagement for me, ha!)

Why do I even want to tell you about that?
Because it's twice as much as the client was willing to pay.

---

The story:
  • A co-founder of a local business reached out to me via email. We jumped on a call, where I asked several questions, 100% sales oriented: why do you need a new website and why now, how are sales going, what are your goals for 2019... I learned that 90% of sales come through their website which is 7 years old, they want it to "look more professional" (whatever it means).
  • I quoted a range $3k-$5k which they stated was "a little bit too much for them". Whatever, you know where to find me.
  • Later, they got back to me saying they need a breakdown of what they're getting for the price. They attached an email from another agency that quoted them $600. It was all about the technical details.
  • We arranged a meeting (which I called 'the Diagnosis Stage', fancy names FTW). It lasted almost 3 hours, and we went into more details on their current pain points, ideas, and goals.
  • It turned out I WAS WRONG. This was enlightenment for both parties. They DON'T want to sell more. They're clogged with low quality of inquiries, they spend a lot of time answering questions, a sale comes months later. The competition is catching up, they're gonna be in big trouble in 1-2 years if they don't act now.
  • I quoted $3700. 3 days later I got an email that they can't afford that. Their total budget is $2500, they need to spend $1000+ on the photographer and other expenses. Which would leave less than $1500 for me.
  • They also played a couple of dirty "trap cards". "This is gonna be a great portfolio piece, we know many businesses, we will have more work for you later on."

So, how did I manage to get a sign-off within 30 minutes for $3000 if their budget was $1500?

---

It's nothing that hasn't been stated here before: provide value and stay in charge.

This would not be possible if they didn't see the value. After all the talks we had, I was 100% sure they saw it and wanted to work with me. They just wanted to get it cheaper. You know that feeling – you want something badly but it turns out more expensive than you expected... You can't stop thinking about it.

I wanted to ensure them I'm there to help them, but it's me who makes the rules.

Usually, the one with the bigger need is not the one in charge. That's why you can sniff desperation miles away. I was willing to lose the project and I was willing to walk away. Actually, I was heading to the doorway already.

I was not gonna justify anything. This is my price, you want it or not?
You're right, it's expensive, you want it or not?

I was not going to convince or prove anything. I've actually eradicated 'argument' from my vocabulary. Arguments tend to derail your conversations into a mental ping-pong game of "yeah, but...". There's no right or wrong price. The price is this, you want it or not?

At the same time, I'm not trying to be a jerk or show how angry they made me. I'm really there to help them. I want to show some goodwill and keep their eyes on the value.

I wanted to show I still care but not with a lengthy email. Long email = commitment. Short email = this is nothing for me, I'm just about to walk away.

I ended up writing something like this:

I understand your limited budget, that's perfectly fine. My price is still $3700. I can cut out this and that part of the project which would lower the price to $3000.

We can split the payment to 40/30/30 instead of 50/50. This won't make the price lower, but will probably make it easier to process over time.


These are the pricing options I can provide if we are to work on your goals of X, Y, and Z.
[remember the value!]

The remaining parts are essential and narrowing the scope or lowering the budget will significantly reduce its effectiveness. My policy is to never agree to half-measures, I would need to resign then.

I understand it's still way over your budget and it's fine if you choose someone else.

---

30 minutes later I got a response they're in for the $3000 option.

Awesome post Fid. You've reaffirmed one of the key equations thrown around the forum "Action + Value + SALES = Success"

Fear of selling being the most challenging part of the equation.

Congrats and good luck with even larger sales.
 

Andy Black

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I also mentioned digital addiction as my secondary problem.

What I mean by that is that I'm addicted to 'checking things'. Checking Facebook. Checking email. Checking the weather online. WTF.

I realized how often I get distracted by various services, mostly Facebook. So I deleted the app from my phone.

... and I quickly found a replacement - email.

So I kept deleting stuff. Gmail app. Tinder. WhatsApp. Youtube app. FREAKING WEATHER APP.
Each time I found a replacement, a reason to take my phone out and check something.

It's better on my mobile now, but still severe on my PC. I have software that prevents me from accessing particular websites or apps (switched to freedom.to from Cold Turkey), but it's not 100% effective, e.g. when I forget to set the blocker up.

Bottom line it eats up lots of my time and kills my attention span. I find it hard to focus on one task for long time.
There’s a part of you that fears change. Let’s call it your Lizard Brain.

It’s dumber than you because it wants to keep the status quo, even if it’s not the best in the long-term.

It’s smarter than you because it knows what will change the status quo.

When you have the sudden urge to do something else then see that as a message from your Lizard Brain that what you were about to do will make a difference to your future - hence the desperate attempts to distract you.

Smile to yourself and thank your Lizard Brain for letting you know it’s an important task. Then knuckle down.
 
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MakeItHappen

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I watched the thread. Good kuck!

I need to start outbound now
As someone that had/has the same challenge with outbound sales here is my suggestion:
Start with what is most uncomfortable to you.
And take massive action until the fear is done.
So don't quit after 5 networking events because you haven't made a sale. Make it a priority to visit 50 events before you will consider quitting the method for lead generation.
And of course try to get better and better at networking.
Who knows... maybe it takes 20 events before you get good at it and start to see good results.
 

Fid

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A little update.

I did NOT make the cold calls.
I was super hyped during the weekend but then got totally wrecked (physically and emotionally) when I was about to call on Monday. That's my social anxiety at its finest. It took me 2 weeks to recover.

I did some cold emails though, but with no results. Sent 100 highly personalized emails offering value. With 60-70% open rate I got only 2 replies - 2x no.

Networking went MUCH better than that.
I attended 3 meetings so far. Results?
  1. Two potential partnerships with other online marketers
  2. One deal closed today for $6k
  3. Dozens of new connections
  4. A new business opportunity
I met two guys who do online marketing. They're just about to start something like a business incubator. We instantly liked each other, they like my mindset and my corporate experience in data science and want me to join them.

We'd be running business workshops for fresh entrepreneurs to help them land the business foundation and take off. Can't say too much yet, but some of them would be offered to exchange equity for us taking care of their marketing and blowing their sales through the roof.

I don't know what to think about it, though.
Looks too good to be true, which is the first red flag.
 

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What if fear plays no role in your decision making? Fear is natural, it's good. It means that you're growing.

Aaaand...

It doesn't matter.

There's a result you want to create, and a necessary required action for that to happen.

View yourself as a crazy guy with a tin foil hat running hundreds of experiments. There's no way to fail, because you're not trying to succeed! You're only trying to experiment.

I was talking with a client this morning, and this client has made incredible advances. I'm talking about tripling their revenue in two months.

The thing he does different than most clients, is that fear plays absolutely no role. He acknowledges it, embraces it, and takes the action anyway. He's always experimenting.
 
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Fid

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Six months have passed, whoa.

Basically I'm failing. I have way too few leads. They also take MONTHS to close, so I rarely make any sales.

I lost the belief that closing a deal in a couple of days is possible. I know it is, but I don't believe it any more.

I must be doing something wrong, but I don't know what.

I've done many things for lead generation in 2019, but none of these really worked.
Just to name a few:
  • Asking family, friends and past clients for referrals
  • SEO for my own website
  • Google Ads for my own services
  • Cold calling & emailing (for a split moment)
  • Running my own FB business group
So for the past few months, I've focused on building relationships (which is proven to work wonders for others here in the forums).

1 on 1 meetings (aka diesel-and-coffee): I met like 100 of other business owners in a couple of months, had lots of fun, made great connections, but got close to zero referrals.

Networking groups: similar to 1-on-1 meetings. Lots of fun, got to know great people, but no clients.

LinkedIn: it's hard for me to get through the noise – there's so much spam in there.

I get referred to agencies, not clients.
They think I'm either a graphic designer or a WordPress PHP developer (I'm none) and want to refer work to me (for peanuts - no thanks).

I must be doing something wrong.

I have some hypotheses on what that might be:
  1. Anxiety: it's my biggest challenge. It hurts my life and my business. Makes me passive, unconfident and reserved – not an effective attitude to make sales.
  2. How I sell: I know the theory – ask questions, uncover needs, find problems and show how you can help. In practice, I often get stuck or lost.
  3. What I sell: In theory "I build websites that get you more sales". In practice, I find it hard to explain how. I'm not clear about it. When asked, I say random stuff about business goals, copywriting, SEO, etc. but it's too messy.
  4. How I do NOT sell: I'm not pushy or salesy. Either they want it or not. I don't follow-up relentlessly, convince, push... If they don't see the value I move on. I hardly ever meet someone who does, though.

I'm kinda lost on what to do next. Clearly, what I do does not work.
It also hurts my mindset. I sell lead generation, but that's my own biggest challenge...

Gotta figure it out before 2020!
 

Andy Black

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1 on 1 meetings (aka diesel-and-coffee): I met like 100 of other business owners in a couple of months, had lots of fun, made great connections, but got close to zero referrals.

Networking groups: similar to 1-on-1 meetings. Lots of fun, got to know great people, but no clients.
Great that you’re meeting people face-to-face and chatting with them. Has that helped you overcome any of the fear you mentioned in your opening post?

When those 100+ people refer you on what are they referring you as?
 
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Fid

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How many cold calls have you made?
You should do atleast 1000 before being sure that this method doesn't work for you.
Nah, I've done less than 100.

It's not that cold-calls don't work for me.
I'm not ready for them. Not yet.

After a couple of days, I hit a wall – got sick (physically) and depressed (emotionally). It took me two weeks to recover.

I need to address my anxiety first, that's a long term game though (aka a process). It needs baby-steps, not force.

Great that you’re meeting people face-to-face and chatting with them. Has that helped you overcome any of the fear you mentioned in your opening post?

Yes, it has, a lot!
I used to dread it but now love it.

When those 100+ people refer you on what are they referring you as?

That's a good question. A web designer / WordPress designer, I guess. I get referred to many agencies who need 'someone good with WordPress', but that's not something I want to do.

I never told anybody what I want to be referred as, though.
 

Andy Black

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Nah, I've done less than 100.

It's not that cold-calls don't work for me.
I'm not ready for them. Not yet.

After a couple of days, I hit a wall – got sick (physically) and depressed (emotionally). It took me two weeks to recover.

I need to address my anxiety first, that's a long term game though (aka a process). It needs baby-steps, not force.



Yes, it has, a lot!
I used to dread it but now love it.



That's a good question. A web designer / WordPress designer, I guess. I get referred to many agencies who need 'someone good with WordPress', but that's not something I want to do.

I never told anybody what I want to be referred as, though.
Ok. So you love meeting and chatting to business owners. That’s great. Now maybe it’s about positioning yourself how you want to be positioned?

PS: I don’t cold call or cold email. It doesn’t suit me and I don’t want to. I’m sure it can work, but if it’s not your strength then maybe focus on what comes more naturally to you and that you enjoy?
 

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Scrape phone numbers and use slybroadcast to send unique sounding voicemails for like 6 cents per successfully delivered message. Name drop whichever city they're in and send it to hundreds of businesses in that city. You'll do the work of 100 daily cold calls for like $6-$10 a day and little time commitment.

Also, craigslist has been great for web design leads. We post all around the country and have 5k in contracts in the past couple weeks from $150 in ads.
 
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SkyLake

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I must be doing something wrong, but I don't know what.

  1. Anxiety: it's my biggest challenge. It hurts my life and my business. Makes me passive, unconfident and reserved – not an effective attitude to make sales.
  2. How I sell: I know the theory – ask questions, uncover needs, find problems and show how you can help. In practice, I often get stuck or lost.
  3. What I sell: In theory "I build websites that get you more sales". In practice, I find it hard to explain how. I'm not clear about it. When asked, I say random stuff about business goals, copywriting, SEO, etc. but it's too messy.
  4. How I do NOT sell: I'm not pushy or salesy. Either they want it or not. I don't follow-up relentlessly, convince, push... If they don't see the value I move on. I hardly ever meet someone who does, though.

Yeah, that's your problem. You started a business but:

1. Have no confidence - If you are unconfident, reserved, passive.. guess what's gonna happen.. if you can't even get confidence selling your thing, why should anyone else?

2. You get stuck and lost. Practice, practice, practice, over and over again. Find someone to practice together. Be confident, explain your value, get paid.

3. You don't even know what you're doing. You don't know what you're selling and how that is going to benefit your clients. Of course you're failing.. you never say random stuff, you say clear words that light a fire within your clients to take action.
You need to sit down and find out who your customers are, not kinda who, but exactly who. Which industry? How much revenue? What are their goals? How exactly are you going to help them? If you can show someone you will make them 20% more revenue they'll pay you whatever you ask.

4. Definitely learn sales. Sales is not being pushy. It just means knowing who you want to sell to and then how to get their attention and close them. It's building relationships. It's about providing value in a clear and concise way.


You simply took random action. Figure out the basics, then take massive action again. You'll have much different results.
 

Fid

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will suggest 2 books ..... the first part of Ready, Fire, Aim and Traction
those have helped me greatly in the areas you need help

I've read Ready, Fire, Aim but can't figure out which Traction book you had in mind.


Any of these three?

Ready, Fire, Aim has been helpful – it's more about product-based businesses than service-based ones, but the rules still apply.

Key takeaway: focus on sales, then on sales, and then finally on sales. Once you got that, you can think about improving your product while you also take care of sales.
 

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this one
 
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You need to sit down and find out who your customers are, not kinda who, but exactly who. Which industry? How much revenue? What are their goals? How exactly are you going to help them? If you can show someone you will make them 20% more revenue they'll pay you whatever you ask.

This advice changed my entire business. I got almost the same sentences from a book about how to get clients for a service-based business two years ago. He took like, 5 chapters maybe in Booking Yourself Solid to say essentially this:

Until you know who your perfect client is (because that client makes you ridiculously happy) until you know what he eats, breathes, wears, loves, hates, and thinks about on a daily basis you will fail to set yourself apart from the pack. In order to roll out the red carpet for those ppl you need to be geared up and realize that because you actually care more about them, YOU are the person best in the world to help them with that particular problem.

I didn’t believe it.. but I did the stupid exercises anyway. I wrote out every single detail of what my ideal client would look like.

It gave me laser focus on how to target them as well, for instance my ideal client doesn’t use LinkedIn at all.. but they DO use Google maps. They couldn’t care less about web design but they DO care about getting a response back from me in less than ten minutes. (5 if possible) More importantly, and REALLY weird, was that I had no qualms whatsoever about referring clients to other professionals when they weren’t a perfect fit. But somehow that raised my reputation in the community more! I would send ppl away and they’d come back and CHANGE in order to work with me. It gave me authority and ease with which to communicate too, because I know how to talk to those ppl. I adore them. The really funny thing is, most of my peers HATE my favorite type of client.. so they don’t cater to that niche, at all.

If you can do lead generation but you haven’t isolated a niche who you can gel with.. I would do that as fast as humanly possible.

As for the anxiety thing.. I get that, so much. I can tell other ppl how to help their business but I have sabotaged my own success so many times it’s painful to recount. I highly recommend The Sedona Method by Hale Dwoskin. The emotional charts alone gave me clarity on how to process my emotions about 10x faster.. The book didn’t necessarily take away every negative emotion but it gave me a way of slicing through the bs and processing my negative stuff so that it didn’t take me a month (or hell even three) of emo turmoil when something stressful happened.

FWIW I’m really proud of you. I think you’re doing a lot better than you’re giving yourself credit for. Good luck man.
 

Fid

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8 months later:
  • I've made it!
  • My monthly recurring revenue now is higher than my monthly expenses (MRR = 1.5X)
  • I keep growing my MRR as I onboard more clients weekly
  • I aim for MRR = 3X+ by the end of the year
It's been a long time and a lot of progress. Lots of failures and lots of successes.
It's gonna take a few posts to cover everything I want to share, as I believe many people will find that helpful. Especially fellow freelancers.

For now, I'll just say thank you to:

@MJ DeMarco, for writing TMF , building this community, and looking after it years later (even though you could just sit back and enjoy your freedom),
@Fox, for teaching me how to sell, how to stay motivated and focused on my goals, and for letting me work for and with him,
@Lex DeVille, for teaching me the secrets of copywriting and persuasion as well as confidence and determination in business,
@Andy Black, who makes everything look simple, for teaching me how to help others with Google Ads, and how to be a genuinely good person,
and to you, my reader, and each and every member of this forum, for being a part of this community and letting it all happen.

I would not be where I am now if not for all of you.
Thank you.

More posts to come, including my experience with:
- sales
- networking
- niching down
- anxiety
- habits and mindset
 

Fox

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8 months later:
  • I've made it!
  • My monthly recurring revenue now is higher than my monthly expenses (MRR = 1.5X)
  • I keep growing my MRR as I onboard more clients weekly
  • I aim for MRR = 3X+ by the end of the year
It's been a long time and a lot of progress. Lots of failures and lots of successes.
It's gonna take a few posts to cover everything I want to share, as I believe many people will find that helpful. Especially fellow freelancers.

For now, I'll just say thank you to:

@MJ DeMarco, for writing TMF , building this community, and looking after it years later (even though you could just sit back and enjoy your freedom),
@Fox, for teaching me how to sell, how to stay motivated and focused on my goals, and for letting me work for and with him,
@Lex DeVille, for teaching me the secrets of copywriting and persuasion as well as confidence and determination in business,
@Andy Black, who makes everything look simple, for teaching me how to help others with Google Ads, and how to be a genuinely good person,
and to you, my reader, and each and every member of this forum, for being a part of this community and letting it all happen.

I would not be where I am now if not for all of you.
Thank you.

More posts to come, including my experience with:
- sales
- networking
- niching down
- anxiety
- habits and mindset

Great work and well done - nice to know those monthly costs are covered.

Cool post to read - thanks for sharing.
 
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8 months later:
  • I've made it!
  • My monthly recurring revenue now is higher than my monthly expenses (MRR = 1.5X)
Good for you! Great work.

How does it feel to be at 1.5x?

More importantly, how does it feel to now have the toolbox to go and "kill what you eat" as MJ would put it?
 

Fid

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How does it feel to be at 1.5x?

More importantly, how does it feel to now have the toolbox to go and "kill what you eat" as MJ would put it?
Liberating!

It's been a while and a couple of clients churned:
- one was getting no results but didn't care to tell me, then asked for a refund
- one locked me out of the ads account and stole the landing page, then ghosted on me
- one is too busy with her referral work to invest in ads now
- one got his ads account suspended (=banned forever) for "circumventing systems"

I have no idea what caused the suspension.
He's furious, lost the source of his clients overnight and forever.
We sent an appeal to Google but then they changed the reason to "unacceptable business practises". We appealed again.

He blames me. And we did not have any written contract or even an email stating the scope of work.
He's furious, calls me names and if Google does not agree to unsuspend, I'm probably facing a potential lawsuit here...

Lesson learned: always sign some kind of contract. Make it an email summary, or a pdf document with Terms and Conditions. Even if it seems there's no potential risk involved - there is!

I'm trying not to think about it, but I've been super stressed the past few days. Each time the phone rings I freak out it might be him again...

---

Anyway, I'm below 1X again so I need to focus on sales for now.
My main goal for October is to get back to 1.5X or higher!
 

Fid

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- one got his ads account suspended (=banned forever) for "circumventing systems"

I have no idea what caused the suspension.
Fortunately, after 3 appeals and 2 weeks of waiting, the account got unsuspended.
It was a nice surprise, as I expected it to stay suspended. The client didn't care to fill the appeal form properly (which I advised him to) and it got rejected at first, but it went through the next time.

I'll fire him now anyway.

The way he reacted and treated me and other people who tried to help him is unacceptable.
I don't want people like that around me.

He raised some red flags from the very beginning, but I ignored them lured by the vision of closing a new client.

Lesson learned: skip clients who raise red flags.
There's plenty of people to work with. I don't need clients who are rude, get hysterical, have crazy expectations or forget to pay my invoices again and again.

Looking back at my clients, those who'd raised red flags from the very beginning ended up being a pain in the a$$ sooner or later. The money's not worth the pain.
 
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Fid

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It's been a rough week:
- I fired the hysterical client. He was disappointed but surprisingly respectful this time
- the government issued strict regulations due to the pandemic
- I took consistent daily action to get more sales, despite my anxiety

Outreach and sales have always caused lots of anxiety in me (even though I feel confident in closing clients)!
I need new clients ASAP, so I went with direct messages this week.

Looking at those figures you may say it's nothing, but I'm proud of myself anyway:
- sent 26 DMs (5 per day)
- got 14 responses
- jumped on 6 phone calls
- 3 ended up as hot, prospective clients
No sales closed so far, though.

Why only 5 messages per day?
I talked to a befriended business coach last week. He had some nice thoughts I'll share below, as someone might find these helpful too.

When you get back to the gym after an injury, you don't start where you left off. You need time to get to your peak performance. You start with 30% of what was your "normal" and you gradually increase the weights over the weeks.

Don't mistake one goal for another.
You start with "I need to get X new clients" but then quickly switch your focus to "I need to have a great relationship with everyone I reach out to". And so you procrastinate, anxious about being rejected.

I don't want to send 50 emails per day, then get burned out after 3 days (been there, done that). I'll gradually increase the number over the weeks as I gain momentum. This week it was 5 Facebook DMs per day, next week I'll add some LinkedIn messages to that.

Mods, @Andy Black, @Fox - would that be a problem to change the title of the thread?
To: "Left my job to grow a Google Ads business (and overcome my anxiety)"
 

Andy Black

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Mods, @Andy Black, @Fox - would that be a problem to change the title of the thread?
To: "Left my job to grow a Google Ads business (and overcome my anxiety)"
Done. Good luck.

Happy to jump on a call this weekend or coming week if you want.
 

Fid

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What I'd say to myself if I were starting out again - pt.1 - sales

1. There's plenty of clients around
My task is to attract the good ones, not to try and sell to anyone that comes around.

When I first started out, I was desperate to get clients.
Inquiries seemed so scarce, I felt I need to go above and beyond to close each and every possible sale.

So I:
- maniacally tried to use each and every possible way to get inquiries (see early posts in this thread)
- lowered my prices below profitability
- sent lots of follow-ups (because the money's in the follow-up, right?)
- expanded the scope of the projects, often beyond my capabilities or below profitability
- felt bad every time a client did not decide to work with me
- ...and blamed myself for that
- ...and then spent lots of time looking for a perfect sales script

Now I see most of that made little to no sense.

I get not many inquiries because I am nowhere to be found.
And the clients don't work with me, because they don't work with anyone.
Because they have no money or the need is not a big one. Not because I'm inferior or not enough.

Now I know my task is to attract good clients and screen out poor fits.

A good client:
- contacts me on their own and actively pushes things forward
- replies to my emails, answers my questions and provides all the necessary information
- understands the risk of running ads and accepts it
- understands it takes time to get results (i.e. it's a process) and accepts that
- does not ask about the price before we cover other important topics
- accepts my price and budget requirements without much hesitation
- treats me with respect and values my help
- signs the contract and pays my invoice on time

2. Skip clients who raise red flags
100% of clients that had raised red flags, became a pain in the a$$ sooner or later.
Think unpaid invoices, radio silence, phonecalls at 10 pm, phonecalls on Sundays, phonecalls 10x a day, crazy expectations, stealing my work, calling me names, etc.

Save yourself lots of trouble. The money's not worth the hassle.
Also, every bad client takes a spot reserved for a good client.

Common red flags:
- the client asks "how much?" early, often in the initial message
- wants me to charge hourly, not monthly (i.e. looks for a shortcut, not a process)
- mistakes Google Ads with Facebook Ads, a Facebook page with a website, etc. (i.e. has no clue about digital marketing)
- is rude, aggressive, or speaks about other people with contempt
- does not reply to important emails (questions, terms, invoice, ads account access, etc.)
- does not call, answer a call or show up on a meeting on time
- does not use proper grammar, spelling or punctuation

3. Inbound brings better leads than outbound
Prospects who contact me (the inbound leads):
- want...
- ...to spend money...
- ...on Google Ads

Often they have other traits of good clients.

Prospects I reach out to cold, usually:
- don't plan to spend any money on any ads
- don't understand internet marketing
- don't feel the need to run ads
- require lots of convincing
- are hard to work with

Often they raise lots of other red flags too.
I might get a good client this way but it's no rose garden - it requires hard work.

I'd rather attract good clients to me than convince lots of cold prospects.

4. Be easy to be found
To get inbound leads, you need to be easy to be found.
So find a channel that works and dominate it:
- linkedin
- instagram
- facebook
- craigslist or an equivalent local marketplace
- local SEO (Google My Business)
- local networking groups
- facebook groups
- organic SEO
- whatever that works

I found out YouTube works quite well for me. I've recorded just a handful of short how-to tutorials so far.
I get surprisingly many inquiries from people who:
- wanted to set up ads themselves
- realised it's that hard, then found my tutorials
- reached out to me for help

There are just a few channels with videos on Google Ads in my mother tongue = little competition.
It might be so for you as well, if you're not a native English speaker (English is crowded, sorry!)
 

Andy Black

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What I'd say to myself if I were starting out again - pt.1 - sales

1. There's plenty of clients around
My task is to attract the good ones, not to try and sell to anyone that comes around.

When I first started out, I was desperate to get clients.
Inquiries seemed so scarce, I felt I need to go above and beyond to close each and every possible sale.

So I:
- maniacally tried to use each and every possible way to get inquiries (see early posts in this thread)
- lowered my prices below profitability
- sent lots of follow-ups (because the money's in the follow-up, right?)
- expanded the scope of the projects, often beyond my capabilities or below profitability
- felt bad every time a client did not decide to work with me
- ...and blamed myself for that
- ...and then spent lots of time looking for a perfect sales script

Now I see most of that made little to no sense.

I get not many inquiries because I am nowhere to be found.
And the clients don't work with me, because they don't work with anyone.
Because they have no money or the need is not a big one. Not because I'm inferior or not enough.

Now I know my task is to attract good clients and screen out poor fits.

A good client:
- contacts me on their own and actively pushes things forward
- replies to my emails, answers my questions and provides all the necessary information
- understands the risk of running ads and accepts it
- understands it takes time to get results (i.e. it's a process) and accepts that
- does not ask about the price before we cover other important topics
- accepts my price and budget requirements without much hesitation
- treats me with respect and values my help
- signs the contract and pays my invoice on time

2. Skip clients who raise red flags
100% of clients that had raised red flags, became a pain in the a$$ sooner or later.
Think unpaid invoices, radio silence, phonecalls at 10 pm, phonecalls on Sundays, phonecalls 10x a day, crazy expectations, stealing my work, calling me names, etc.

Save yourself lots of trouble. The money's not worth the hassle.
Also, every bad client takes a spot reserved for a good client.

Common red flags:
- the client asks "how much?" early, often in the initial message
- wants me to charge hourly, not monthly (i.e. looks for a shortcut, not a process)
- mistakes Google Ads with Facebook Ads, a Facebook page with a website, etc. (i.e. has no clue about digital marketing)
- is rude, aggressive, or speaks about other people with contempt
- does not reply to important emails (questions, terms, invoice, ads account access, etc.)
- does not call, answer a call or show up on a meeting on time
- does not use proper grammar, spelling or punctuation

3. Inbound brings better leads than outbound
Prospects who contact me (the inbound leads):
- want...
- ...to spend money...
- ...on Google Ads

Often they have other traits of good clients.

Prospects I reach out to cold, usually:
- don't plan to spend any money on any ads
- don't understand internet marketing
- don't feel the need to run ads
- require lots of convincing
- are hard to work with

Often they raise lots of other red flags too.
I might get a good client this way but it's no rose garden - it requires hard work.

I'd rather attract good clients to me than convince lots of cold prospects.

4. Be easy to be found
To get inbound leads, you need to be easy to be found.
So find a channel that works and dominate it:
- linkedin
- instagram
- facebook
- craigslist or an equivalent local marketplace
- local SEO (Google My Business)
- local networking groups
- facebook groups
- organic SEO
- whatever that works

I found out YouTube works quite well for me. I've recorded just a handful of short how-to tutorials so far.
I get surprisingly many inquiries from people who:
- wanted to set up ads themselves
- realised it's that hard, then found my tutorials
- reached out to me for help

There are just a few channels with videos on Google Ads in my mother tongue = little competition.
It might be so for you as well, if you're not a native English speaker (English is crowded, sorry!)
Love this write up @Fid.

A couple of gems from Blaise Brosnan:

“Your job is to find out as soon as possible if the person in front of you sees the value in what you do or the cost.”

“Sales is a screening process.”


One I have my own interpretation of is:

“Always be closing.”

I take to mean keep moving up the road till someone bites your hand off.
 

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