Last week, I introduced talked about uncovering your primary problem. Here are the 4 steps:

Step 1: Do you have an MVP level of proficiency in all 5 freelance categories?
Step 2: Rate each category.
Step 3: Tie breaker rules.
Step 4: Go with your gut.

The most common response was "Sales is my biggest weak point."

One really cool and talented freelancer (you know who you are too 😉) replied with this:

“This is great!

My primary struggle is 100% sales.

My problem is– how do I address this when I really can’t take on additional work?

I’m a full time freelancer for a single company (with goals of being hired full time).

I know that I need to work on my sales skills because everything is precarious right now, and you never know what could go south, but I also don’t want to be that person who leads clients on when I really don’t have the time, interest, or need of taking on more work.

How do you go through the motions of working on these skills without being a colossal tease?”

Love this question.

I'll boil it down to...

How do I get better at sales without talking to clients?

Talking with potential clients will give you the best sales experience, but there are ways to learn and practice BEFORE you do the real thing.

This should be beneficial for you if...

You are full time and don't have bandwidth to take on more work, but you want to get better at sales for the future.
You are nervous about trying new sales techniques on potential clients and want to practice first.

Here are some ways to get as prepared as possible so that when the time is right you can come across as a more-than-competent professional.

1. Sales training

A good starting point is to learn more about sales. And it doesn't have to be from a freelancer perspective per se.

I am in the process of learning sales, myself, and one of the best resources I've found for this is the stuff Alex Hormozi is putting out there.

Here's a simple definition of sales from Alex: C.L.O.S.E.R.

C - Clarify why they are there
L - Label them with a problem
O - Overview their past pain
S - Sell them the vacation
E - Explain away their concerns
R - Reinforce their decision

Get more details on this in 30 Minutes of sales training that will explode your business in 2022.

Another great video is The Best SALES TRAINING On The Internet.

Remember, these are not tailored to freelancers, but most of it will be extremely helpful. Grab a pen and some paper get ready to take copious notes!

2. Role playing

Once you've got a general idea of how you could run a sales call, you can roll play with another freelancer.

Side note: If you don't have anyone to sales call roll play with, consider building a small crew of motion friends. Here's how I suggest building your own crew.

3. Record your practices

You can record your role playing or just you talking to a camera and audit how you look and sound.

Step 1: Record yourself talking for 5 minutes

Step 2: Auditory review (don't watch it, just listen)

Step 3: Visual review (mute the audio, just watch)

Step 4: Transcribe the video and mark out filler words

Watch this 1 min video for more details: 4 simple steps to improve your communication skills.

4. Level up your audio and video

After your recording/audit, take note of ways that you can come across more professionally. If you look or sound bad consider:

Getting a better mic
Cleaning up your background
Getting a light for your desk

5. Taking sales calls when you're booked

You can still schedule sales conversations or discovery calls when you're booked.

Just be honest about your availability.

You can even use this as leverage for getting a potential client to put a down payment to book your time whenever it is that your availability opens up again.

You can say something like, "I have availability opening up in 6 weeks, would you like to go ahead and book my time? I take half of the project price to book my time."

If they are hesitant reply with, "That's fine, just know that I might get booked by another client, so this could push back the delivery date."

Like motion design, sales is something you can always get better at and it will take years of practice and training to amazing at it.

You will have really bad sales calls. That's ok. It's part of learning. Move on to the next one.

It will always be worth the effort to learn how to communicate in a way that makes clients feel understood. So much of this is about empathy, and active listening.

Let's go conquer the world and make it move.

Would you like to make more money with freelance motion design? Here’s how I can help.

Sign up for the $200k Freelance Newsletter and get 1 freelance tip each Sunday (sign up below)

Reply to the first email I send you with a burning question you have… I read every message and use these to write content that is tailored to what you need help with 🙌

Do this before your next potential client call [Issue 036]