Stop what you're doing. This can't wait.

Let's start with something controversial...

Your website can wait.

Your networking can wait.

Your asking for referrals can wait.

Your Linkedin and social efforts can wait (I expect blowback from this one).

Your SEO/PPC can wait.

Your cold calling can wait (yes people still do that).

And all the other ways you are chasing leads can wait for now.

"But Tommi! If I'm not chasing leads, where's the work gonna come from?"

Well first we have to make sure that when you collect leads, the bucket isn't leaky.

Let me explain...

Leads are like raindrops. If they land in a good bucket then they stay there and we can take a drink in no time. If they land in a leaky bucket then they vanish and we end up being thirsty.

So if leads are rain drops, what is the bucket? Simple. Everything that people can find out about us online. The more people trust us, the less leaks in our bucket. The less the bucket leaks, the less time we have to spend waiting in the rain for it to fill up, and the quicker we can get on with our lives. No bucket is perfect; there is always a leak here or there, always ways to help people trust us more, and always room to make it more secure.

At this point I might remind you that prospects will trust our clients' words on video alot more than our own. At which point you might roll your eyes in turn.

"But Tommi! First I've got to get my website revamped, my photos done, pay for this membership, spend time networking and all this other stuff that needs doing, before I get onto this video testimonial stuff".

Don't get me wrong. All that stuff matters. I network; I paid for decent photos. I'm having a fancy website built as we speak. But people demand proof, and these things are not it. They make me look more like a pro, they help people see what type of clients I work with, but they do not prove I am an expert, or dare someone say it, the market leader (hey I have humble ambitions).

So unless we can see the results in person, then the closest thing to proof we can show people is the words of our clients on camera. People will be polite to us, but for them to show us the money, then they need to see us as a sure thing, not a gamble. Only then can we convert them from leads into paying clients (if we want them).

There's a story that goes around our family, that my grandfather won and then later and lost a restaurant, on a game of cards, which for a Muslim would have been a pretty rare thing. But if even that were true he would have been an exception. But most business owners will not take such daft risks with their money, so it's better if they see us as someone they can invest in, not take a gamble on.

That's why before we spend any time or money on websites, photography, networking, social and the likes, we need to get some video feedback from our clients and make sure people can see it. Whether we do it ourselves with them over zoom, let them DIY it using sendspark / whatsapp or even get the video pros involved, we need to be doing something. Do that and we end up with a more secure lead bucket, spend less time chasing clients, we pick and choose the one's we want to work with, and have more left for doing things other than work.

(And to those who have few/no clients yet, maybe it's worth doing some gigs at low cost, but only if once happy with the work they give you some recorded video feedback).

Wait, what? Sill worried about that website? Just upload your client's video feedback to you tube, and share them a link to that. And isn't your linkedin profile not a landing page? Why not feature the videos on there, and direct people to it? Then use the income those videos bring to pay for all that website, and and all the other stuff for that matter. Sorted!

As for the obligatory "call to action", if you know this stuff needs doing but have no time to do it, you know where I am. Any questions ping me a DM.

Tommi