A week ago, I had this weird and enlightening experience with one of our clients.
As you may have noticed, we’ve changed our business model (and the look of our website, too). We now concentrate on providing “marketing services” for other businesses and individuals – which puts us to the topic of our money making discussion today.
As I was saying, a week ago, the copywriter from our marketing services department took some days off.
Coincidentally, one of my clients wanted something done – fast.
Because I want to give the best experience to my clients to the best of my abilities, I contacted a copywriter friend to rush this work with me. Now, when I contacted my friend, I wasn’t expecting he’d say yes because I knew he’s busy preparing for his own product launch.
Product launches could really be toxic like that. But I took the chance and just asked anyway.
And as you may have guessed, my friend agreed to work with me on this project. You may think it’s luck… but it’s not just actually luck.
Lesson #1: Ask
Digest our first lesson here: when you want something done in your business (and in life as well), the first step to success is asking.
Back to our story.
The client did not give us much to work with. So, I knew it was going to be a challenge. My friend and I brainstormed on Facebook chat.
(Yes… don’t make things complicated when working with other people. Even a simple “chat session” can get brainstorming sessions done.)
My friend and I agreed on a marketing angle before ending our chat. A few hours later, I was surprised to receive a file from him. It’s the draft of the marketing “piece” our client needs. And from a fellow practitioner of marketing myself, I thought the copy was good and had the chance to work if we used it.
So, I showed it to our client.
But the client wasn’t very happy.
He had a “different idea” (yes, sometimes clients have a tendency to become the “expert” in the middle of a project – and that’s fine… to some extent, and we respect that). My friend and I went back to the drawing board, thought of another angle, and ended the chat.
(This time, we used the classic “Do You Make These Mistakes In English?” and Martin Conroy’s “Wall Street Journal” letter as the basis for our marketing angle.)
My friend got back to me after a day or two, and like the other draft, I thought this one was good, too. As a draft, it was not perfect, but good.
So, I showed it to the client again, and this time, he was satisfied. He gave us some of his comments for the polishing stage, and my friend and I implemented it.
In the end, the client was happy. And if the client is happy, I am happy.
Lesson #2: Create something fast
Lesson number two in this story: in your business activities, keep on mind that it’s good to have a way to create something fast… so in case the first draft doesn’t click, you can adjust quickly.
Lesson #3: Network
And lesson number three: have friends and contacts that can have your back when you need some support. Build that list as early as now.
Even better, form your own mastermind groups – just like what my friend and I had for this project. We brainstormed without ego and just thought of the work at hand. In the end, we got the job done.
And in your business, think about that – it’s important to get something done, so you know what works and what doesn’t, so you can adjust your way to the top.
Reflect on these three real world principles, apply, and make more money.
The post 3 Business Lessons From A Weird Customer Request appeared first on Carl Ocab.