Behold this quote from comedian Dante Nero:
“A woman falls in love with you for what you are, spends the rest of the relationship trying to change you into something you’re not, and then leaves you for a man who is what you were.”
He’s obviously talking to spurned guys in that quote.
(His podcast is all about that.)
But, in business, it applies to both men and women.
And, it especially applies to freelance copywriters, coaches, and consultants — where there are certain clients who hire you for what you’ve done/are known for, spend all their time getting you to change everything you know works (based on raw experience and 100-years of direct marketing history) to what they think will work (based on some cool ninja-sounding bright shiny object theory they learned at a seminar or on Flakebook). Then, when you give in just to “get along”, they say what you did didn’t work and hire someone else who does what you were originally doing.
That certainly happened to me back in the day.
It’s also happened to many others who tell similar tales of woe.
And you know what?
If that happens to you (just like when it happened to me), it’s all your fault — not the client’s. Chances are, the clients are good people and mean well, but are being led astray.
You simply don’t know how to manage them.
And, thus, you both got hurt as a result.
That’s the bad news.
The good news is, this is one of many such things I teach in the February “Email Players” issue. I show you not only how to avoid having the above happen to you… but I also show you how to never get “friend zoned” by a client, either, where someone gladly takes your best ideas, your time, and your knowledge… only to turn around and hire someone else who gave them hardly any of their time or ideas or knowledge, and probably aren’t even as good as you at whatever it is you do/sell.
This happens all the time to copywriters especially.
And, it also happens to anyone who doesn’t know how to sell.
(i.e. people who only know how to pitch “benefits.”)
And you know what else?
Maybe I’m just old fashioned like this.
But, in my way of thinking, if you truly care about the clients you want to help, and if you truly want their business long term, then it behooves (how’s that for a word?) you to know how this bizarre game works, so they’ll fall in love with you instead of someone else, and so you can save them from making the mistake of hiring/buying from someone inferior.
More:
Don’t think this doesn’t apply to selling other kinds of products.
It ain’t just service providers that make this mistake. Info publishers (especially those who stubbornly insist on “moving the free line” farther and farther), people who sell health-related products, sales reps for big ticket products, etc — everyone who has anything to sell is potentially at risk of making these kinds of mistakes. And, when you apply what I show in the February issue in your emails, chances are it simply won’t be an issue for you henceforth.
Anyway, more about this in the February “Email Players” issue.
She goes to the printer tomorrow.
Subscribe in time to get it today here:
Ben Settle
