One of my most popular posts is about the fear of approaching prospects. I get it, because I lived it. The fear of rejection is real.
What if I reframe this for you?
Instead of thinking of prospecting as asking for something (i.e. work), what if you made prospecting about giving something?
What if your emails actually provide value to prospective clients?
Quite a different story.
Three Emails Prospects Love Receiving
I never email prospects to sell myself and my services. Instead, I provide them with something that might be interesting/relevant to their work.
My call to action in these emails is almost non-existent. They know who I am and what I do. I consider this a little poke that tells them “if you need me, I’m available.”
And it works. I’ve had several clients tell me they thought to reach out to me with work because I had recently emailed.
So, what should you send? Here’s three suggestions:
- A relevant article – if you’ve spent any time speaking with someone, or you know their industry, it’s likely you can find a recent article that will provide relevant information for them. Even better if it’s your own blog post, so they can get to know you and experience your knowledge first-hand. Be sure to include a little note telling them that the article made you think of them.
- A training opportunity – one of the ways I bring in clients is through training. In the days of Zoom, it’s easy to get people in a digital room to learn together if (BIG IF!) the topic is of interest to them. If you can teach on an important topic, send your prospects an invitation to a lunch and learn free of charge. It’s a great way to get in front of people
- Samples of your work that may be of interest – whenever I do work that is in the public domain, I send it out to prospects for inspiration or because it may be informative
You’re always going to be uncomfortable prospecting when it means asking for something. Find a way to give instead, and prospecting will be much easier, and much more successful.
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