Ayush Wadhwa, freelancer-turned-founder of Owled Media, has revealed some hidden truths about the world of freelancing and agency-building.
In a recent episode of Aleena Dissects, when asked about how to maintain a consistent amount of money and value in the project-based freelancing industry, Ayush highlighted that there were two important things to keep in mind.
“Most freelancers – and in fact agencies also – they focus too much on client-acquisition,” he revealed. After getting a project, far too many of them are only focused on getting another one.
According to Ayush, “Very few agencies and freelancers actually focus on, ‘Okay, I’ve gotten a project, let me just take a backstep: Can I dive deeper into the same client, am I delivering the best service, can I look at retaining them further, can I upsell them something?”
“People don’t focus too much on delivery, they focus too much on client acquisition,” he added. He highlighted how 9 out of 10 of videos on “Freelancing” on YouTube primarily revolve around client acquisition.
“Everyone continues to talk about what happens before you get a client,” he said. “The actual work starts after you get a client.”
Thus, if one truly wants a long freelance and agency career, Ayush’s first advice would be to focus on client retention.
“Just make sure you’re delivering the best experience,” he concluded. Rather than repeatedly pitching to new clients every month, make sure you understand what it means to provide services and build a relationship of trust with the client you currently have.
Ayush’s second piece of advice was to focus on more personable client acquisition methods which go beyond the norm, particularly referral marketing.
“Most freelancers compete with each other, not even realizing that a writer does not need to compete with a social media manager,” he explained. “There are lots of partnerships which can be formed which people don’t form in the freelance ecosystem.”
“Another way to crack business and not be in the rut of ‘How many emails I’ve sent? How many LinkedIn messages I’ve written? How many people I’ve done cold calls to?’ is to try to do more behind-the-scenes, B2B partnerships.”
In an industry that is primarily run by collaborations, freelancers should do the same in order to gain maximum benefits. Thus, Ayush advised freelancers to take a more unconventional approach by talking to their fellow freelancers, allowing them to tap into their client networks, and highlighted that one should be open sharing a percentage of their income to ensure long-term security.
However, this was not Ayush Wadhwa’s only revelation in the episode. Sitting down with Aleena, founder and CEO of Social Media Dissect, he shared invaluable insights about growing as a freelancer and the need to consistently hone your skills to succeed. He also opened up about his journey towards founding his own top-tier agency, from the importance of personal branding and strong work ethics to the client-oriented nature of agency culture.
For more details, watch the full Aleena Dissects podcast episode here:
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