The challenge in getting new clients with outsourcing services

As I have already mentioned, I had a difficult time in the beginning getting new clients. Using services such as oDesk and Elance (which have now merged and are now Upwork) were especially challenging. Even though I had a solid portfolio and a decade of experience, I couldn't get a single client. Some of the challenges were the following:

  1. I didn't have any ratings or reviews. Not many clients are willing to take a risk on a developer without some type of recommendation from others.
  2. I was priced higher than the majority of other freelancers. The majority of the freelance teams marketing services on outsourcing sites are offshore. This meant that I was having to compete against developers offering to work for, at times, 90% cheaper than my rate. I charge $100 per hour, while the majority of offshore teams are charging $10-$20 per hour.
  3. I didn't have the time to pitch each potential client. In regard to marketing my freelance services, I was very streaky. I would get motivated for a few days and send out a large number of pitches. And then I would get depressed that I wasn't getting any replies and I wouldn't send any proposals for weeks.

After struggling for a few months, I knew I didn't have any control over challenges #1 or #2. However, I could do something about #3. I was working a full-time job at the time, while also attending grad school, so my time was very limited. With that in mind I came up with a marketing system. And it actually worked!

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