Admit it: if you’re a freelancer or online business consultant, sometimes you let prospective clients fall through the cracks. Let’s say, for example, that a friend of a friend contacts you with a vague request for your services. You mean to reply and ask them to be clearer on their needs. But time slips away and before you know it their email is at the bottom of the heap along with that Cialis spam that you meant to delete two months ago.

Even if you always manage to snap up the hot prospects… forgetting, procrastinating or blatantly ignoring the less than stellar ones is bad policy. It lets others know that you’re not walking the talk you spout regularly on your blog… and it’s just an un-smart way to do business.

Let’s review some possible reasons why you’re not answering every query that comes your way:

• Sometimes you’re physically unable to respond within 2 business days… so you just let go of the ones you can’t get to.

• Some people don’t bother to type any information into the box - they just ask you to call them, and that’s annoying.

• Some of the requests are out of your realm of expertise, or over your head.

• Some requests are just too unchallenging or unappealing, i.e. “How much do you charge to write real estate MLS listings?”

• Your current month is all booked up, and therefore your brain is unable to accommodate further requests.

Here are some reasons why you’re foolish to ignore hungry prospects who solicit your services:

• The person who you never wrote back to might just be ready to offer you the creative project of your dreams.

• The guy who only left a phone number could easily become a steady client for the next 12 months… and he’s got plenty of friends who are also in dire need of assistance.

• The requests that are out of your bandwidth range can always be referred or outsourced to other freelancers, so that you can make at least a small if not respectable profit from them (and if no profit, at least you’re keeping it in the family so to speak).

• The “booked” month that you’re having now could quickly bottom out due to unforseen circumstances (clients cancel, clients delay projects indefinitely, clients experience computer troubles, etc.)

If you’re dropping leads like hot potatoes, one thing is clear: your business is missing an operational strategy. What are you so caught up in that you can’t field customer queries like a proper business owner should?

• Are you spending too much time on your own marketing?

• Can you use help screening potential clients and responding to queries by email?

• Should someone besides you be handling the billing?

If the above scenario is one that you’re well-familiar with, I have one solution for you:

Outsource.

Recognize that if you continue to let leads slip away, you’re erecting a glass ceiling over your own head. This is the EXACT reason why you continue to take home the same amount every year. Lots of freelance professionals broadcast that they can help you bump up your bottom line. They can! Why? “Bump up your bottom line” means getting more done in less time because you’ve sought the help of other experts besides yourself.

Projects you can easily outsource for an affordable rate, and save time while retaining quality:

Branding: having a design and copywriting team come up with a great logo, tagline, company mission, newsletter name, features and masthead, website banner, and all the creative elements that embody the look and feel of your business.

Website development: working with an SEO expert who will help you be discovered by Google searchers who already want what you have.

Copywriting: hiring someone else (dina@wordfeeder.com, for example) to write your articles, press releases, monthly newsletter, blog posts, website content and print collateral.

Administrative tasks: having a VA (virtual assistant) respond to queries by email, field phone calls, schedule your client meetings and appointments, update your contact list, submit your articles and PR around the web, tweak the back end of your blog, etc.

E-commerce and communication: hiring a tech to manage your online sign-up form and contact list; setting up your shopping cart; uploading online products for automated download; troubleshooting issues with orders.

The first thing you’ll need to do is seek out the people who can help you manage your business more efficiently. Then, you can work out a plan that utilizes their strengths without breaking your budget. Figure out how much you’d like to spend, then design your weekly business operation around that.

Once you have a system in place, start practicing how to NOT let go of the biggest revenue-producing facet of your business: the customers.

Copyright 2008 Dina Giolitto, Wordfeeder.com Copywriting and Marketing. All rights reserved.

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Email Dina@Wordfeeder.com for a copywriting or website marketing quote today.

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