Jul '23 in General
A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing - (Good Intent, Bad Execution)
Kind of a dramatic title, but I want you to be mindful.
I got an email yesterday from someone whom I respect as an expert in the field (hence me being on their email list).
The email was talking about how they got their first client. They used a technique similar to something I've used and it was a smart technique. There were enough differences that I believe their approach should be less efficient in that it would take more work, but require less time on the phone, which most want to avoid (myself included).
The method was not the problem, though.
The problem I had was the next part where he talked about getting one client and never having to do outreach again. All of the rest of the clients came from inbound leads.
I can't even begin to tell you how atypical this is.
There are millions of marketing agencies in the world that want this outcome and don't get it.
I want to point out that this guy is not a bad guy. He's doing great work and helping a ton of people.
I just think he didn't realize how damaging his story could be to new (and even seasoned) marketers.
When reading his story, there were a lot of elements that would not be relevant to almost anyone else.
His first PPC job was in one of the biggest marketing agencies in his country. He worked on accounts spending multiple millions of dollars (something rarely done by even seasoned PPC vets). His first freelance account paid enough to replace his day job. He got a client from sending 10 emails.
None of these things is normal.
I have a lot of people reaching out to me to ask how to get experience or to get a job with a marketing agency.
Most of these people have never worked in a marketing agency or have only worked in one small agency for a brief time. Most do not have sales experience and have not studied the masters of sales and marketing to learn email marketing, cold calling techniques, web or landing page design, social strategy, or inbound strategies.
Many have difficulty thinking of connections they may have within their network that either own a business or could introduce them to a business owner.
The truth is that 99% of people are going to have to work really hard to get their first client. That may involve cold calling hundreds of times. It may involve sending over a thousand emails or direct messages on social. It may involve networking in local groups for months.
Very few people will get clients easily without having pre-existing relationships with potential clients.
Even fewer people will get paid much (if anything) from their first client. It's ok to do free work to learn and set a good foundation of experience and trust in yourself.
At the end of the day, I want to reiterate that this guy is the real deal. He knows what he's doing and cares about his community. He gives great advice and shares valuable knowledge.
I just don't want you to get the false idea that getting clients is easy. Even more than that, I don't want you to think that something is wrong with you when you don't experience the same success experienced by people who have atypical success.
You're doing great, just keep working, keep learning, and keep growing. Stay focused and persist.
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A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing - (Good Intent, Bad Execution)
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