Lesson # 16 Confessions of a Reluctant Elancer who Soared ... · A Barefoot Consultant Lesson:...

Lesson # 16

Confessions of a Reluctant Elancer who

Soared to the Top Part 2 of 2

By

Winton Churchill Barefoot Consultants

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A Barefoot Consultant Lesson: “Overcoming Bidding Anxiety: Confessions of a Reluctant Elancer who Soared to the Top"

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Overcomming Bidding Roadblocks I started getting over the fear of bidding, just by walking through the fear and bidding anyway on projects where I felt I could probably do an adequate job. I started slowly and gathered speed and courage as the feedback came in stating that I was exceptional. It’s client feedback that finally convinced me to stop being afraid. Now, I have a handful of reliable clients who tap me often (but not full-time) to do work for them. I also have scores of one-time, short-term projects. Nearly all of them end up getting me additional work because businesspeople I work with know other people who need good writers, so I get a lot referral business. I try to keep all my work going through Elance. I do have my own website, but it directs visitors right back to Elance because I like the fact that Elance does all the accounting. I do work with some clients directly after I’ve worked with them via Elance for a year. When that happens, we use PayPal for payment and PayPal keeps an account, too.

Sticking with what works What I’m doing now is working well for me at last and I’m loving it. That’s where I am right now and I don’t plan on splitting my focus by trying out a dozen different job boards or changing my working style….and you know the old saying: ―If it ain’t broke, don’t fix

it.‖ I have done numerous proofreading and editing jobs but I don’t recommend it unless you want to hang



your shingle as a proofreader or editor. Some people do quite well in those niches alone but it’s important to realize that no one will hire you to be a copywriter based on your proofreading or editing skills.

Keeping a high score I only bid on or accept projects that I know I can ace and that I have passion for subject-wise. I know

a lot of providers also look at the feedback that prospective clients have given to other providers before they bid, because if a client is chronically unhappy or dissatisfied with providers, the prospect isn’t great for them, either. I rarely do that extra background check before bidding a job, but it’s certainly an option.

If I do run into problems with a client, I generally stick to my guns with humor, understanding and grace. I have been fortunate; haven’t had many difficult clients because I can usually spot them in advance (before committing to them) during the bidding process or in the way a project description is written. There are several different types of ―difficult‖ clients: Some don’t know what they want, so there is an educational process that has to happen, which takes longer; so you have to remember to charge for the time you think it will take you to elicit what you need from them. There are buyers who don’t know what talking points are, what

their unique selling proposition is, what the features and benefits are of what they’re trying to sell.



In other words, they’re not sales-oriented – they haven’t put themselves into the shoes of their prospective buyers to find out what it is about what they’re offering that is of value to them.

A lot of these folks will claim ―bragging rights‖ about what they’ve done (e.g. ―35 years in business,‖ Third-ranked Realtor in the real estate region I serve‖) so I will translate their statements into features and benefits that their

prospective clients will resonate with, like: “We’ve been here for two generations; we’re not fly-by-night – if something isn’t right, we’ll be here to fix it.” Or… “Because I sell more homes and

properties than most other Realtors, the sale of your property will more likely happen if you’re with me.”

Then I suggest that instead of bragging on themselves, they find customers or clients of theirs to brag for them, and I’ll turn those into certifiable testimonials. It always blows them away, because they really don’t think about it: absolutely NOBODY says: ―You’re great‖ as believably as a satisfied customer! Instead of the ubiquitous—and to me very off-putting— “We pride ourselves on…” a testimonial can tout them to the moon and back without it coming across sounding self-serving and conceited.



Bidders Beware Then there is the (thank God) rare-as-hens’-teeth difficult buyer who won’t tell you they’re dissatisfied with your first or second draft and will just pay you off, then give you a low rating because you’re not psychic and they don’t let you know what they want. That has happened to me only once and I was flabbergasted, hurt, and pretty livid all at once. A single, uncommunicative buyer screwed up my 100% positive rating for six months. It was a wound that took a long time to heal because I don’t consider a project complete until a buyer is 110% happy. I’ll stay with a project long after it has stopped being a moneymaker for me just to make sure the client is happy.

Again, this has only happened once and I know I could have made her happy, but she didn’t give me the chance. Most clients love my first draft – or, I should say the first draft I send out, not the actual first draft, which they never see because what I send out has to pass MY OWN critical standards before it reaches a client’s eyeballs.



Keeping my ducks in a row Most of the projects I work on are between 500 and 2000 words, so juggling them has rarely been an issue for me. One of my USPs is ―fast turnaround‖ so I usually limit myself to projects I can complete in a few hours or a day or two.

If I accept a longer project —say, a book manuscript to edit —I let the person with the longer project know upfront that I have a number of regular clients who are my usual bread-and-butter stalwarts and that I may have to their large project aside for an hour or so a few days a week to work on a more time-sensitive project. Those who don’t want to work that way are encouraged to choose another provider. So far, none have. I haven’t frustrated anyone at all working this way. It may happen someday, but it hasn’t yet.

Communicating with Clients I use the Public Message Board at Elance to clarify the parameters of a project that I’m interested in bidding on. If the project description doesn’t contain everything I need to bid reliably, I will ask the prospective client to clarify, explain, expand the description so I develop a good grasp of its parameters and of the client’s

expectations. And because I’m selective about the types of jobs I’ll do, I often have to ask, ―What is your subject or your product or service?‖ ―Will you be providing talking points via a bulleted list or reputable website URLs,



or some other way?‖ ―Will any independent (completely undirected) research be required of me?‖ These types of questions help me decide what to bid on a project on a fixed or hourly basis.

I use the PMB (Private Message Board) to communicate after I’ve landed a project to communicate with the client and clarify matters or submit drafts. It’s within the Private Message Board that the client and I

can discuss confidential matters, ask questions back and forth, and in general establish the relationship between buyer and seller.

The PMB is the avenue of ―one-on-one‖ communication. It’s where we can exhort, seek clarification, encourage, and decide whether to add to the project in some way, or rein in the project from what was agreed to.

If something major changes within the framework of the PMB, we can then renegotiate terms and satisfy both party’s needs before we move forward again.. The PMB is also what Elance administrators will use in the event a dispute arises, so it’s important to keep all communications of importance within the PMB framework, in case Elance has to go to bat for you at some time.

Some clients will ask you to communicate via email, but if they do, I will try to defer or will tell them I will have to charge extra because I will



have to move everything that’s germane from our emails into the Elance PMB and that takes extra time. When I explain that communicating via PMB protects BOTH parties, they will usually agree to communicate that way. If not, you can charge for the time it takes you to transfer crucial emails to the PMB interface. [End Interview]

This Week’s Assignment

1. What is your unique selling proposition (USP)?

List at least 4 strengths you can feature in your profile and in your proposals. They might be something like “fast turnaround”,

“modifications made at no extra charge”, “100% client satisfaction/money back guarantee”, etc…

2. What do you want from your clients?

As evidenced in the story above, it always helps to have a clear expectation of the project on both sides before work begins. Thinking about your service category, come up with a list of 5 standard questions that you’d like to ask your clients, that will help you clarify your work.

Hint: It’s a great idea to include these questions in your proposals. It shows the buyer that you are proactive and have experience.

3. Employing the tips that you gleaned from this story and the two exercises above, bid on AT LEAST 3 jobs this week…



Stay tuned for next week’s lesson where you’ll find a bunch of resources that will help you work and communicate virtually and bring your productivity up to lightning speed! You don’t want to miss it….

Best Wishes For Your Barefoot Lifestyle,

Winton Churchill Winton Churchill

Publisher, Barefoot Consultants, Inc.

PS- If you’ve been bidding on jobs but still not getting the results you want, consider joining our inner circle to get expert reviews of your profile and proposal…

Click here to read more about our coaching services and jump on your fast track to global earning today…

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________

Click links below to download previous lessons in this course:

Lesson 1

Getting Paid For Your Skills On The Global Market in 4 Hours or Less

Lesson 2

A Quick Walk Around Your New Global Income Neighborhood

Lesson 3

How To Reveal Your Most Marketable Skills For The Global Market (Part 1 of 4)

Lesson 4


Lesson 5


Lesson 6


Lesson 7

How To Improve Your Elance Profile So You Attract Better Global Project Assignments More Easily

(Part 1 of 3)

Lesson 8


(Part 2 of 3)

Lesson 9


(Part 3 of 3)

Lesson 10

How To Bid And Win Projects On The Networks

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Lesson 11

How To Explode Your Visibility and Chances for Success Using Project Board Aggregators

Lesson 12

An Elance Pro Shares Her Secrets (Part 1 of 2)

Lesson 13

An Elance Pro Shares Her Secrets (Part 2 of 2)

Lesson 14

7 Common But Critical Mistakes New Bidders Make on Their Elance Bids and How You Can Avoid

Them

Lesson 15

Confessions of a Reluctant Elancer who Soared to the Top (Part 1 of 2)

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