"Harvard Business Review published a study that showed an average of 391% increase in sales when businesses called leads within 60 seconds of them opting in." - Alex Hormozi Quick response time is also something that my friend Harlan, (@TheFiverrGuy_ on Twitter) noted as one of the core elements to his success, earning over $1M on Fiverr. Unless he's sleeping, he responds to all his leads within 5 minutes. This became crystal clear to me a few months ago when I was hiring a graphic designer. I reached out to 3-5 designers and 1 of them replied within 3 minutes. He gave me a price, a timeline, and a plan for the project, and I hired him on the spot. We had an entire conversation within 10 minutes, before most of the other designers replied. EVERYONE here can contact leads quicker and close more clients. This is even more important if your clients often need projects completed on short timelines, or if you offer services that are less expensive (graphic design, video editing, etc) as some clients will hire you without getting on a call. This means you can close deals within 15 minutes via text... IF you respond quickly. TLDR: Focus on contacting leads ASAP and I guarantee you'll close more deals. The easiest way to do this is to have the Upwork app on your phone and turn notifications on. That's all for today's post. Cheers, Nico

I’ve submitted over 5,000 Upwork proposals. Here are 4 core principles of every winning proposal: 1. Social proof  2. Personalization  3. CTA  4. Portfolio (depends)   1. Social proof Social proof is defined as “a psychological and social phenomenon wherein people copy the actions of others in choosing how to behave in a given situation." And since we want these clients to message us and hire us, we want to give examples of other people who have hired us! Social proof could include: - Testimonials - Your years of experience  - # of projects you've completed - Any awards, or recognitions you've received - Big clients you work for (If Google is your client, mention it!!)  2. Personalization Every proposal you submit NEEDS to be personalized. Do this in 2 ways: 1. Mention the client’s first name 2. Write 1 - 5 personalized sentences at the beginning of the proposal referencing details in their job description.  3. CTA If you get on calls with clients before they hire you, this CTA should ask the client if they are free for a call. If you offer services such as graphic design, many clients won’t want to get on a call with you. So instead, ask them to message you. 4. Portfolio If you offer a visually stimulating service like Graphic design, Video editing, or Web design, you NEED to have examples of your work in your proposals. It’s absolutely crucial. Just make sure not to break any of Upwork’s TOS (don't include any of your contact info). If you implement these proposal principles you'll enjoy the results that follow. Cheers, Nico P.S. If you want access to our Done-For-You, proven proposal templates, join our premium community here: https://www.skool.com/upwork-outbound/about

Hey Everybody, Hope you've all had an awesome week thus far. Liana Henry, the founder of Black Dog Marcom, a boutique marketing and communications management agency, recently invited me in for a discussion on entrepreneurship. During the podcast we talk about: - How I got started in entrepreneurship - Why belief is such an important aspect - Why I love Upwork so much and chose to help others with it Huge shoutout to Liana for having me on!!! You can check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwMqd7X4unc

Hey Everybody, In today’s post I want to address those of you who lack social proof. It’s possible to sign high paying clients on Upwork without social proof, and in this email I'll show you how. You see, proposals have 4 main components: - Social proof  - Personalization  - Portfolios  - CTAs Social proof includes: - Big clients you work with  - Years of experience (if 3+) - Any impressive stats (if you spent $100M on Ads) - Any other experience that builds trust with clients  If you lack social proof, you can make up for it with extreme personalization. The less social proof you have, the more personalized your proposals need to be. If you have no social proof, I recommend writing 5+ sentences that are personalized in each proposal. You can still use a template, just be sure to personalize it. Reference details mentioned in the job description and explain in-depth how you will help the client accomplish their goals. That’s all for today’s post. Cheers, Nico P.S. Don’t forget to attend our FREE webinar tomorrow!! 

Hey Everybody, I hope you all enjoyed the webinar. If you did, make sure to leave a comment down below so we know. If everyone is getting value from these we'll continue to host them. You can access the recording, including the 15 minute Q&A here: https://youtu.be/auy-muNTl8o Cheers, Nico Links mentioned in video: Free course: https://www.skool.com/upwork-outbound-free-9857/classroom/01ce27ad?md=3eda5c94264d463895c9a2f06001fee8 YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@NicoHessel/videos Premium community: https://www.skool.com/upwork-outbound/about