Filling Your Freelance Pipeline

Michael Fellows

Broadway Lab, Inc.

@mafellows

And Keeping It Full

iOSLeads.comAndroidleads.net

Being a Freelancer: Pros

• Work Freedom

• Time Freedom

• High Earning Potential

Being a Freelancer: Cons

• Cash Flow Management

• Bad Client Relationships

• Inconsistent Work (Our Focus)

My Pipeline Has Run Dry…

How do we fill it up?

And keep it full…

Focus On Four Channels

• Local Business Owners

• Local Developers

• Remote Business Owners

• Remote Developers

Local Business Owners

• Meetup.com entrepreneurship groups.

• Grab lunch three times a week with local entrepreneurs.

• Knock on doors! Introduce yourself and help solve problems.

Local Developers

• Meetup.com. Seriously. This is the best site ever.

• Don’t work in your bedroom.

• Join co-working spaces or start a

co-working group.

• Learn other technologies. Meet developers in other fields.

Remote Business Owners

• Search for online opportunities. • There’s a few services to automate this process.

• Engage with startup founders online.

• What are your favorite products, books, or podcasts?

• Reach out to the influencers.

Remote Developers

• Find the best. Follow them on Twitter.

• Help People

• Download Screen Hero for code reviews and debugging.

• Give. Share their blog posts. Congratulate their success. Be helpful.

Seasonality

There’s no place like home for the Holidays…

November & December

• End of the year can be slow.

• Prospects winding down and preparing for next year.

• Time for massive action.

Seize Opportunity

Know Your Pipeline

How many people do you need to contact to get a deal closed?

Send Out A Proposal

• Every interested prospect gets a proposal.

• Closing rate goes up dramatically.

• Detail your process and set expectations.

Be Enthusiastic About The Project

Look Sharp In Person

• Beat your client’s expectations.

• Startups: Button down. Nice jeans. Leather shoes.

• Corporate clients: Suit up when making the sale.

You’re a Consultancy. Not a Freelancer

• You’re not just a coder.

• You solve business problems and add value.

• Coders have low switching cost & low value. Consultants have higher value.

Deliver as much value as possible!

Follow Up!

• “They didn’t get back to me.”

• Prospects are busy. Don’t expect them to respond after one message!

• If you can help their business, follow up relentlessly.

The Connection Trifecta

• Follow on Twitter

• Connect on LinkedIn

• Send an email

Give Clients A Gift

• A book to help their business.

• What’s their favorite drink?

• Take them to celebratory dinner.

Project Finished?

• Follow up!

• What’s next?

• Build, measure, learn cycle.

• What do we need to change on the project. How can we make it better?

Questions?

Twitter: @mafellows

Email: michael@broadwaylab.com

Lessons learned working with developers through iOSLeads.com and AndroidLeads.net.