Menu
My hands were sweating as I pounded on the keyboard, writing my proposal.
I knew that what I was trying to do was close to impossible.
But at the back of my mind, I saw other people pull off this kind of maneuver…
…and they succeeded.
There’s this guy who charges $2,000 for seven (7) pieces of marketing emails!
I also remember this writer who gets $500 for a 1,000-word blog post.
And there’s this lady who makes $300 a month for working two hours in social media management every day.
My heart beat fast as I double-checked my proposal. It beat even faster when I was about to hit send.
I said to myself, “What the heck? Screw it, just do it.”
And with closed eyes, I hit the send button – not knowing what will happen.
I waited for a couple of minutes… Nothing.
One hour passed and still nothing.
Two hours, five, seven, ten. Nothing.
I thought, “Perhaps, the client thinks that I’m ridiculous for asking for a fee like that.”
I must admit that I was a bit disappointed. But maybe, I was being overly ambitious.
I just slept and retired to the thought, “Not now, Rom. Not now.”
The next morning, I was surprised to see a notification that I received a message from the client.
And being the “Pessimistic Me,” I thought, “Oh, I better prepare myself. I’m about to get humiliated.”
But what happened was totally not what I expected.
The client replied.
He said, “Please explain more about Option 1, especially the ‘Initial Estimate.’ I just would like to compare the initial upfront costs.”
I was dumbfounded.
Man, the client was not mad!
In fact, he wanted to know more about the proposal that I sent him.
After a couple of exchanges and clarifications, he agreed to give me the project.
It’s unbelievable. Why?
…Because I successfully charged $1,000 for a $100 project.
You see, I’ve been working on Upwork for quite a while now and had similar projects before.
In fact, the first project that I had was an $83 book writing project.
The project that I was negotiating in this instance was also a book writing project.
As I have said, the fixed-price budget of the client was $100.
Yet, I was able to multiply that budget by 10x.
How did I do that? And how you can do it too?
Read on as I share the secret with you…
One of the things that I did to create an impression was to state EXACTLY what I could do.
In other words, I knew who I wanted to help, what kind of services I'd offer, and what benefits I'd give my clients.
In the beginning of my initial proposal, I said…
“I help coaches build their credibility and get more leads by ghostwriting books for them.”
When it comes to freelancing, your ability to be different matters.
This is true especially if you’re searching for new projects in platforms like Upwork.
Think about this: “Out of the thousands of freelancers competing, how can I be different?”
Stop the urge to sell yourself by stating all your qualifications.
Instead, state your offer.
Here’s a simple formula you can use:
Use this format to state your offer...
And if you provide the services and benefits needed by the client, then you’ll be rewarded.
When trying to get a new project, what’s your primary concern?
If you’re like most freelancers, then your answer would be to get the project.
And to do that, all you do is prove that you’re the right person for the job.
So you flaunt all your excellent qualities, experience and professional work ethics.
…You sell yourself hard.
Yet, if it still didn’t occur to you, that’s exactly what other freelancers are also doing.
It’s common sense.
So I tried a different approach.
As much as possible, I didn’t try sell myself. Instead, I invited him for a short chat.
When he obliged, that’s when I showed him that I cared for him and the project.
How?
By asking a lot of questions.
With that, let me ask you: Do you care enough to ask questions to gain a deeper understanding about the needs of your client? Or all you care about is to get the job?
Whether you believe it or not, I never sold him my services during our short chat.
I didn’t even try to close the sale right there.
When the client saw my sincerity and care by trying to learn more about him and his project, that sealed the deal for me.
Here are some questions you can ask your client to show you care…
1. What exactly do you need for this project?
2. What is the main problem that you’re currently facing in business? And how will this project help you to solve it?
3. If we will proceed to do this, how can you say that we are successful?
And now, to put the nail in the coffin, here’s what you have to do.
Like what I said earlier, I didn’t try to close the sale right then and there.
Instead, I told him that after the chat, I’d send him a short strategy document.
Now, your turn.
Inside the strategy document, you should include the following:
1. The problems identified during your call or conversation
In other words, what specific need did your client have?
2. The strategy that you will execute to ensure success of the project
First, this will show your client that you care. Second, this will show that you really know what you're doing.
3. Additional services you can provide
I knew that my client wanted to have a book written.
But I also knew that he wanted to sell it. So I did some sort of over-delivering on my services.
I promised to give him a 30-day marketing plan that he can use to market and promote his book.
All of these three should be written in a short strategy document to be sent to the client a few days after the call.
Also, this approach will make you look professional and an expert at what you do.
Use this short template to format your Strategy Document:
1. Identify the problems and goals of your client with regards to the project.
2. Identify the step-by-step strategy in order to solve the problem or achieve the goal (also include a timeline).
3. List down the deliverables. Highlight your “Over-Delivery Item” by including the word: BONUS. This will increase the perceived value of your services.
If you read between the lines, you’ll see that the success of my approach was largely due to common sense business wisdom.
And if you’re serious in building your freelancing business, then you shouldn’t miss those three things.
That’s the best way to go if you want to charge more for your projects.
In fact, after this first client, I immediately landed another project for $1,200 using exactly the same approach.
That's $2,200 worth of freelance projects!
Not bad for someone who’s just starting to understand how these things work.
And I’m pretty sure you can do it, too.
Believe me, it’s possible.
If you want to learn more on how to score $1,000 projects through Online Freelancing, check out this free guide that I created…
Check this link for more details: Six-Figure Freelancer Blueprint
