How should I prepare for my first client call?

[Timo.]

Hey guys,

for the last 2 weeks, I contacted local businesses to get my first clients as a Google Ads freelancer. I tried cold emailing and cold calling but my first approaches failed.

Then I stumbled across @Fox free Web designer guide, which really changed how I contacted local businesses. I now focused on the potential results my service had for them instead of focusing on the details of my service. This may sound obvious to you but as I started I thought differently.

However, I now managed to find my first really interested local business. I managed to get his phone number and we will have a call on Monday afternoon. He is a big local real estate marketer.

Now I want to prepare myself for how I will approach this call.

My idea is to research whether other real estate marketers in the area are already running Google Ads. Depending on whether his competitors are already advertising, I could tell him that he is losing valuable customers and that I could help him through my work. If his competition is not advertising yet, I could tell him it would be a good way to stand out from the local competition and get many new customers.

In any case, I don't think I should approach the conversation like a sales pitch, but like a nice little chat between friends who want to help each other.

Nevertheless, I am very nervous and don't want to fail. How do you approach such phone calls? Do you deal with the details of your service? Do you mainly talk or do you want to answer his questions? Am I overthinking it?

 

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[Panos Daras]

I approach phone calls and presentations the same way in general. I think beforehand what are the WORST questions I will receive and I answer them and rehearse them beforehand. I write down (or have Chat GPT write down) bullet points of what to discuss. If the phone call or presentation is really important I rehearse beforehand in the mirror. During the presentation, I am mindful to speak SLOWER than normal because when you speak under stress you speak faster and you don't realize it. In summary, great preparation is key. In the beginning, you will suck and that is expected. But the more you do it the better you become.

 

[Nightwolf]

Nevertheless, I am very nervous and don't want to fail.

First things first, don't be afraid to fail.

In any case, I don't think I should approach the conversation like a sales pitch, but like a nice little chat between friends who want to help each other.

Indeed. The goal of the call should NOT be "I need to close a deal here!". Your goal should be to understand how the other person operates their business and whether or not you can provide any value to them. If not, walk away. If you can, then tell them how you can do so.

For my first sale, I approached the call as 2 friends talking business. I asked him about his problems. We both knew the goal of the chat was to determine whether or not I was capable of helping his business. I realized that I can indeed help his business and I explained how in terms in which he can understand. (You shouldn't use technical terms which confuses them in order to sound smart) I closed him for 200$.

So to prepare, I would suggest finding out a few problems that the business MIGHT have that you will be able to solve. Then during the call, ask the person whether or not they actually have those problems in which case you can easily close them.

 

[Fox]

Hey guys,

for the last 2 weeks, I contacted local businesses to get my first clients as a Google Ads freelancer. I tried cold emailing and cold calling but my first approaches failed.

Then I stumbled across @Fox free Web designer guide, which really changed how I contacted local businesses. I now focused on the potential results my service had for them instead of focusing on the details of my service. This may sound obvious to you but as I started I thought differently.

However, I now managed to find my first really interested local business. I managed to get his phone number and we will have a call on Monday afternoon. He is a big local real estate marketer.

Now I want to prepare myself for how I will approach this call.

My idea is to research whether other real estate marketers in the area are already running Google Ads. Depending on whether his competitors are already advertising, I could tell him that he is losing valuable customers and that I could help him through my work. If his competition is not advertising yet, I could tell him it would be a good way to stand out from the local competition and get many new customers.

In any case, I don't think I should approach the conversation like a sales pitch, but like a nice little chat between friends who want to help each other.

Nevertheless, I am very nervous and don't want to fail. How do you approach such phone calls? Do you deal with the details of your service? Do you mainly talk or do you want to answer his questions? Am I overthinking it?

When learning sales it might be easier to just follow up after the call with your pitch.

You can just start with asking questions about their business and seeing what they need (and WHY).

You want to find the problem - the later you can come back with a solution.

So for now it is 90% good questions and active listening.

This video might help - you should buy the Spin Selling book and study it.

 

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[James Klymus]

@Andy Black might have some good input on this

 

[BizyDad]

When learning sales it might be easier to just follow up after the call with your pitch.

This. I am a great salesperson and I still do this in my agency. For 14 years I do a two step process.

In any case, I don't think I should approach the conversation like a sales pitch, but like a nice little chat between friends who want to help each other.

This is exactly how I approached the first meeting. It's fact-finding. It's a getting to know you chat. At some point in the meeting I tell them that I have a two-step process and that after the meeting I'm going to go back and do my research combined with knowing their goals, and at the next meeting I'll tell them what the solutions that I see are and if it makes sense to work together.

Because it might not make sense to work together. I always say that in the first meeting. Because it's true.

In your case I can promise you that other real estate investors are using Google AdWords. This is not going to be an easy thing even if you close the sale.

But there are still clever ideas you can use to help, depending on the goals.

When learning sales it might be easier to just follow up after the call with your pitch.

You can just start with asking questions about their business and seeing what they need (and WHY).

You want to find the problem - the later you can come back with a solution.

So for now it is 90% good questions and active listening.

This video might help - you should buy the Spin Selling book and study it.

The first meeting is about getting the S,P,I.

The second meeting you present the payoff.

And if you can't help him, then say so. I've turned people into excellent referral sources with my honesty that way. I wrote a post about it. If you think about it that way, this really is a no lose situation.

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[BigRomeDawg]

Really great advice here so far.

The piece I want to add:

Sales is a volume and a numbers game. Don't expect to be incredible on your first sales call.

A master of sales who has done thousands of sales calls and says all the most clever things still won't close 100% of their calls.

Go schedule your next 10 sales calls, it will take the pressure off this one tremendously.

 

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[Andy Black]

@Andy Black might have some good input on this

This might help:

MARKETING - A chat about selling marketing services

@xShepherdx posted last week about his frustrations hiring a marketing freelancer. We've never spoken but I offered to hop on a call and chat about it. If you watch then please add your notes and I'll add them to this opening post. What's your takeaways? What will you do different going...

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[Timo.]

I F*cking did it! I managed to get my first client.

We spoke for 40min. First he was sceptical because he has not had such good experiences with agencies and lost a lot of money but then I managed to convince him of my service.

I have made a new meeting with him for tomorrow, where we will set everything up. But until then I still have to research how to do it, because I haven't informed myself about that yet xd

I offer him my services as a google ads freelancer for 30 days for free. In this time I want to convince him with the results. But it will be a hard month for me because there is a lot of local competition and the real estate market is also complicated. There is not a lack of buyers, but of people who want to sell their houses. So I have to focus my advertising campaigns in that direction.

 

[DCG]

Hey guys,

for the last 2 weeks, I contacted local businesses to get my first clients as a Google Ads freelancer. I tried cold emailing and cold calling but my first approaches failed.

Then I stumbled across @Fox free Web designer guide, which really changed how I contacted local businesses. I now focused on the potential results my service had for them instead of focusing on the details of my service. This may sound obvious to you but as I started I thought differently.

However, I now managed to find my first really interested local business. I managed to get his phone number and we will have a call on Monday afternoon. He is a big local real estate marketer.

Now I want to prepare myself for how I will approach this call.

My idea is to research whether other real estate marketers in the area are already running Google Ads. Depending on whether his competitors are already advertising, I could tell him that he is losing valuable customers and that I could help him through my work. If his competition is not advertising yet, I could tell him it would be a good way to stand out from the local competition and get many new customers.

In any case, I don't think I should approach the conversation like a sales pitch, but like a nice little chat between friends who want to help each other.

Nevertheless, I am very nervous and don't want to fail. How do you approach such phone calls? Do you deal with the details of your service? Do you mainly talk or do you want to answer his questions? Am I overthinking it?

What helped me was just calling random business to ask if they had something, for example, I would call hotels if they had breakfast, pools and other things. You really just gotta keep doing it, you'll get less anxious overtime and get clients

 

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