Close the Sale Bootcamp

Question 1

What should I get out of every meeting? (2 things)

Answer 1

Leave the meeting ready to send in a bid and be in a strong position to get the assignment.

Question 2

What 4 things should I do before the meeting?

Answer 2

1) Gathered some basic information about the company and the possible assignment.
2) Learn who the decider is on this and ask that they be at the meeting.
3) Prepare a list of questions.
4) Prepare one or two free useful tips or story ideas you want to pitch, like blog post headlines, case study ideas, or whatever is appropriate to the situation.

Question 3

Describe the persona you should bring to meetings (5 elements)

Answer 3

1) I am confident that we are going to work together
2) I know It’s going to be a terrific experience on both sides.
3) I am a happy, super-confident writer,
4) I find their company fascinating.
5) I can relieve your stress

Question 4

What should the message or undertone of the entire meeting be? (3 things)

Answer 4

1) Working with me is going to be easy
2) It is going to be enjoyable for both of us
3) Your goals are going to be achieved.

Question 5

How convinced are most prospects that they want to hire you before you go into the meeting?

Answer 5

75%

Question 6

Is it OK to take a lighthearted attitude? Why or why not?

Answer 6

Yes, this recommended. Having a lightness to your attitude helps. Even though this is business, it’s about building a relationship as well, and people buy from people they like, so think about how you can make the client feel comfortable with you, just break the ice and have some fun.

Question 7

What 5 things make a client a “dream” client?

Answer 7

1) At least a mid-sized company.
2) Ten employees or more.
3) They understand their marketing needs
4) They’re making money
5) They’ve usually hired freelance writers before.

Question 8

What happens during the first 5 minutes of the meeting?

Answer 8

Getting to know each other and building rapport.

Question 9

What do I say when prospects ask me, “So, what do you want to know?” or, “How does this process work?”

Answer 9

“I am mostly here to listen and learn about your writing needs and how I can help. Tell me about why you reached out to me”

Question 10

If after the building rapport phase (first 5 minutes) if the client goes silent, what should I say?

Answer 10

Ready to talk about your project? I am interested to hear about what you’ve got going on?

Question 11

What is my primary job in the meeting?

Answer 11

Listening.

Question 12

What usually happens as you move into the 5+ minute stage of the meeting? What is this stage called?

Answer 12

The prospect is going to start throwing a lot of information at you and the catch is often that it’s not the information you want or the information you need. This is called the TMI stage.

Question 13

Why should you listen for recurring phrases while they’re talking?

Answer 13

It will help you capture the company’s tone in whatever you end up writing for them.

Question 14

What 6 things should you be doing during the TMI phase?

Answer 14

1) Mention whatever shows you’re the ideal writer for this company and this project.
2) Talk about relevant past experience.
3) Show them, “Oh, I’ve done this before, and look at all the value I provided.”
4) Put the client at ease and help them in any way you can.
5) Take notes, smile, and nod.
6) Show them you are loving every moment of this meeting.

Question 15

What is your objective when talking about PAST EXPERIENCE in the TMI stage?

Answer 15

Build confidence in them that you will be turning in something they’re going to love.

Question 16

Why should you cut off the TMI segment if it goes too long? (2 reasons)

Answer 16

1) To be efficient and not waste their time

2) To look professional like you’ve taken lots of meetings and you know how they should go.

Question 17

What can you 1) do and 2) say to take control of the meeting if the TMI section goes too long? (You already know what project they want to talk about).

Answer 17

Look for when they take a breath or if you really have to raise your hand, even with a big smile on your face if they are one of those continuous talkers that never seem to breathe and say:

“This is great. Totally fascinating. Really looking forward to learning all about what you do.

“Right now though, I’d like to talk about the writing project you have in mind. I have some basic questions I always need to ask to make sure I get what I need to get started on a project. I ask these questions upfront so I can be more efficient. Does that sound okay?”

They’re going to say, “Sure, sure, fine, fine, please go ahead.” Often, they really don’t know how to organize this. They have a million ideas bouncing around in their brains and it’s hard to boil it down. That’s your job – to run the meeting, to bring the focus if they aren’t organized especially.

Question 18

15 minutes into the meeting, at the end of the TMI section, you should be getting to the details of a defined project. What do you ask to start this conversation, if it hasn’t started already?

Answer 18

It sounds like you have a lot of great initiatives going. I think it would be a good idea to find a first small project to work on so we can see if we all like working together. Sound good to you?

I love that statement because it conveys that you, as we said before, are not desperate.

Question 19

15+++ into the meeting, you’ll want to recap what the client has said they need, and identify what might be the top project they’ll want you to work on. How do you word this?

Answer 19

“So it sounds like XXX is the top priority, is that right?

Question 20

Having identified the top project, what 7 questions do you need to ask?

Answer 20

1) Audience?
2) Length?
3) Materials provided?
4) Research?
5) Style of writing? (Ask for samples)
6) Reporting to?
7) Deadline?

Question 21

What are 2 good questions to ask marketing managers to build your authority?

Answer 21

1) What did you like or not like about your recent marketing?
2) What’s your unique selling proposition?

Question 22

What 2-3 questions should you ask them to find out the style and quality they are looking for?

Answer 22

1) Do you have a sample of a publication/marketing piece that you admire? I need to see how what I am creating fits with the rest of your marketing.

(This question is huge because that’s actually a big concern that a lot of companies have with adding a new freelancer is that what they write is going to stick out and not really be meshing well with the rest of their staff or with editors.)

2) Who do you admire among your competitors as far as how they market? I’d like to look at some best practices and see what you’re liking or hating.
3) if they’re not the market leader, ask: “Who is doing the best job?”

Question 23

What’s important to watch out for when asking them about their unique selling proposition (USP)?

Answer 23

Don’t let them get away with answers like, “We’re the foremost supplier of widgets in the country.” You want their actual real USP. What will make this company or this publication stand out from other widget suppliers or whatever in the customer’s eyes?

Question 24

What should you do/ask at the 25 min. mark?

Answer 24

Is there anything else you’d like to know about my process?

Question 25

Once you have the details of the project, what are the 2 ways to wrap up the meeting?

Answer 25

1) Either you know at this point what you charge and start negotiating

OR

2) You want to wait and bid after the meeting.

Question 26

If you’re bidding afterward, how do you wrap up the meeting?

Answer 26

“I’ve taken in a lot of information and want a little time to digest it and think about your bid. I’ll send your proposal within 24 hours. I’ll be in touch.”

Question 27

Under what circumstances should you bid in a meeting? (2 reasons)

Give verbiage for the second question.

Answer 27

1) If you feel confident about it
2) If you suspect you may be really far apart on price, you may want to bid in the meeting or at least throw out a ballpark range just to see if you’re wasting your time or if we’re all on a page:

“Sounds like a $3,000, $4,000 white paper to me, that sound about right?”

Question 28

How should you respond if the client is shocked or uncomfortable when you quote a price?

Answer 28

Smile and say, “I am sorry, your rate is below my floor. If anything ever changes in your budget, feel free to contact me again.”

And they just might contact you again.

Question 29

When a client makes objections to a proposal, does this mean they do not want to work with you?

Answer 29

Objections don’t mean the client is not interested in working with you. It means they are interested in working with you and they have some concerns that they want to give you a chance to address…. If the prospect 100% didn’t want to work with you you just get a flat-out rejection or you never hear back from them.

Question 30

Why is it important to respond to objections?

Answer 30

Your job is to help the prospect make the right decision and of course that’s to hire you, right? You’re not arguing, you’re helping the prospect overcome any issues that are keeping you from helping them reach their business goals.

Question 31

What four things can you do before you get to the bidding and negotiating stage to prevent objections from happening after you submit your bid, so you don’t have to handle them at all?

Answer 31

1) Be flexible on price.
2) Have the value conversation.
3) Find the decider.
4) Ask the right questions.

Question 32

If you are submitting a bid but aren’t sure you have a good sense of what you want to charge–don’t know if you’re too high or too low, what should you say to the client?

Answer 32

“If you decide to go with another writer on price alone, I’d like a chance to revisit my bid.”

And then if that happens, you can adjust what you are offering. You might be able to meet a client halfway. It indicates you really want the gig, you’re really interested in working with them and you can always say no later.

Don’t drop your prices to the floor–you’re just leaving the door open to more conversation on price. It can keep you in the game.

Question 33

What can you do in the first meeting to head off objections?

Answer 33

Ask for the prospect’s input so that you can handle any little worries that they have before they become big objections that you’re dealing with during the bidding and haggling fees.

Question 34

What might be five questions to ask in the first meeting to head off objections in the bidding stage?

Answer 34

“How does this project fit into your overall goals?”

“How important is this particular project to you for meeting your goals?”

“What are you budgeting for this project, and how can I help you stay within that budget?”

“Are there any obstacles that would stop you from hiring me for this project?”

“How high a priority is this project? Do you have any concerns about getting buy-in from your boss, or the time frame or etc.?

Ask about anything else you think they might be a little unsure about.

Question 35

If the client objects to your bid saying “Your rate is too high,” what might you have neglected to do prior to your first meeting and writing a bid?

Answer 35

Before you set a meeting and make a bid, you should have pre-qualified the prospect and found out what their budget is.

Question 36

If you pre-qualified the prospect and found out what their budget was before the initial meeting, and they still object to your bid by saying the price was too high, what have you neglected to do?

Answer 36

You did not articulate the value you’re offering in your proposal.

Question 37

When you quote a high price to a prospect, what do you need to include in the proposal?

Answer 37

Don’t just put the amount out there and just let it lie there. Let the client know exactly what you’re offering for that amount. If you kind of parse out what you’re going to be offering, it shows the work and the skill and the value that goes into it.

Question 38

What are three things you should explain to a content marketing client who is balking at your price?

Answer 38

1) The content marketing space is increasingly competitive.
2) Having a sophisticated piece that’s going to get a lot of interest is important and you need something that’s not just going to disappear in the miasma.
3) Money spent hiring mediocre writing talent is often money down a drain and they have to start the project all over again. Money spent on talented writers who know that writing format or know that company’s industry is an investment that pays off.

Question 39

Why should you never argue about your rates?

Answer 39

Your attitude should be your rates are your rates and you’re providing skills and value and results and your writing is unique. You’re not a commodity like electricity or orange juice where many people shop on price alone so don’t fall into the trap of devaluing what you have to offer.

Question 40

What is the positive side of hearing, “I am already working with vendor X.”

Answer 40

This is actually great news because it means the prospect already knows the value of what you are offering. They had a writer. They know they need to pay for writing.