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Validation Module
Step 1. Validate
Here’s a quick step you need to take right away. Don’t put it off till tomorrow. Do it now! It supersedes the creating your service assignment. Both are important but this is more urgent.
Good
Make a least of at least 40 people that you know, that fits the demography of your ideal client.
(Again, remember who our ideal client is: Refer to Ideal Client Profile, Ideal Client Problem & Outcome)
Now you are going to use their help to validate your business idea. This is a very essential step. It can’t be done in your head, you MUST talk to real people that have the problem you help people solve.
1. Pause Now! Make the list. Am watching you
2. Send them a simply email, message via text, WhatsApp or messenger, don’t call yet. It’s best to have them reply to you because the information they will send to you is GOLD!
Below is your sample message. Use your natural voice to talk to them, they are friends so let the greetings be in your natural tone. However, don’t change the question.
Hello Firstname,
I’m currently working with a biz consultant to kickstart my home/office cleaning services (use your own service here) pretty soon and I’ld love to pick your brain for a moment pls-quick question for you;
With regard to having a top nudge home or office cleaning (use your service here) service provider, what’s your number #1 goal?
I’ld really appreciate your inputs. A simple reply to this will do. Thanks always
Your Name!
Go ahead. Not everyone would respond and that why you must send to at least 40 of your ideal clients.
Go for it!
Step 2. Create Your Service
Step 3. Price Your Service
Here’s where your goal in Phase 1 going to come in. Do your research to know how much is your MVP worth in the market. ($1-$99)
Your Minimum Viable Product price is?
Step 4. Create Your Irresistible Offer
Use Irresistible offer formula:
- Main Offer – This is the transformation or the destination you plan to take people. Your main dish must state 90% of the transformation and only 10% of your delivery style. Olu’s Example: We work together to create a detailed Road Map identifying your most lucrative idea and a clear road map to your income projection to make sure its worth your while and the action steps to take now. For 12 weeks you work with me, online and on the phone, you get all the Support, Training and Accountability to build your own Profitable Side Business, so that you can start doing what you love.
- Bonuses – You can think of a few bonuses that you can add but make sure they are tightly related to the transformation they want. This is optional at this stage but not bad to have. What this is for is to give your prospects a Fast Action Bonus. Olu’s Example: Get this by a deadline (or pay in full and I will add…) and I will add 1 extra Month of my $5k Month Club Mastermind Membership, So you have an extra 30 days with me and other exciting entrepreneurs on their journey to making 5k Monthly in their Side Business. This is a $2999 value club. Another of Olu’s bonuses will be The You Promo. Video or blog post-show-casing you. An interview with me. $549
- Limiter (add some extra urgency with time and quantity). If necessary you can also use this style. For example, I am doing a 20% off for the next 2 weeks. Take advantage. Or say when you are in an event, I will be giving away 3 Pedometers for the first 3 people who sign up to work with me. So see me after the meeting.
Step 5. Test Your Offer & Tweak As You Go
My 5 Favourite Selling Strategies
1. The Direct Method: The direct method is the simplest method of all: Reach out to the people you want to work for and pitch them your service directly. Find clients on Facebook, Yellowpages, Google, blog posts…
2. The Middleman: One of the hardest things about being a new freelancer isn’t just selling to clients – it’s locating them in the first place. You can have an easier time with both if you use a middleman and “piggyback” your success off of their own. Here’s how to do it: Identify who your end clients are. Then identify businesses that are ALREADY selling to them that are complementary to, but not directly competitive with your own. Now pitch your services to the middleman, rather than going direct to the end client. Examples: Wedding planners · Florists · Caterers · Bands · Wedding dress companies, and much more.
3. The Internship: What if you’re not even good at what you do yet? What if all you are is interested, but you still need an opportunity to learn the ropes and prove yourself ? Well, you can sell that too! Regular companies hire interns all the time for this exact reason. Interns get value in the form of experience, and in some cases, money. Companies get value from the work itself, but more importantly, from the opportunity to evaluate which candidates they’ll want to hire full-time. The same concept can apply to freelancing. You don’t need to be an expert. Instead, position yourself as a smart, eager and capable beginner and give them an offer they’d be foolish to refuse. Clients are often more than willing to give you a chance – if you give them a good reason to.
4. The Free Trial: To many experienced freelancers think, “free” is a bad word. Never ever work for free, they say. After all, you wouldn’t ever ask a dentist to fix your teeth for free, would you? No. But there are plenty of legitimate ways businesses use free, such as:
- A lawyer who gives free initial consultations.
- A membership website with a free 30-day trial.
- A food stand that gives away free samples.
- A blogs with hundreds of free articles, plus free personalized advice given in the comments.
Working for free is risky because there’s always a chance a bad client could take advantage of you. But when done carefully, it can be a great way to get your business up and running fast. To avoid trouble, approach free work with these 2 caveats:
- Only offer it to people you approach. If someone approaches you and asks you to work for free, I would turn them down.
- Always ask for something in return. That can be referrals, mentorship, or a promise to start paying after 2 weeks if they’re satisfied with the work. Compensation can take many forms, so think about what’s most valuable to you. A little free work, even 30 minutes, can go a long way.
5. The Barter System: Bartering is such an old-school system of exchange that it’s easy to forget we still use it all the time. For example, when a blogger and I agree to exchange guest posts, that’s barter. When a book author offers my readers a special discount in exchange for me writing a review, that’s barter. In both cases, we’re giving each other what the other person wants, and it’s not money. You can apply this to your freelancing business as long as you know:
- What you have that others want
- What others have that you want
Example: Neil Patel became one of the most respected SEO consultants in the world in his early 20s, and he built his business using the barter system. He approached some of the biggest names in the blogosphere he could find and offered to do SEO on their websites. In exchange, they would agree to write a blog post promoting his service, but only if they were happy with the results. A few said yes, including Tech Crunch, Guy Kawasaki and Mashable, and Neil’s business took off overnight.
Example: Here’s another example might apply to you. Let’s say you design great websites, but you suck at writing. Well, there are probably tons of great writers out there who suck at designing websites. Why not reach out to one and offer an exchange of services? You’d both end up with beautiful, well-written websites, and no money changed hands. And guess what? You’ve just got your first client! You can both add the work to your portfolio and even refer new business to each other right away. Who cares if your first job was unpaid? Your future clients won’t.
Example: Andrew Howard used a combination of the Barter model and the Middleman model to get his first client. He wanted to provide computer security consulting for very high net worth people (think athletes, movie stars, etc.), but didn’t have a good way to get “in” with these people. But he did know that they usually worked with wealth managers to handle all their assets. So Andrew reached out to a wealth manager and offered to do a very small, but valuable computer project for him. In exchange, the wealth manager would agree to recommend Andrew’s security services to his high net worth clients. One such client agreed, and that was that.
ACTION: Pick 2 Selling strategies you will start implementing right away.
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