Earning a six figure income in my spare time
Have you ever thought that you could make something better than the systems you deal with at work? Been frustrated with a clunky website, an ancient platform, or system with a terrible user experience?
I worked with terrible software for years before I developed the confidence to prove I could do better. I started a web development company in September 2012, but struggled to find opportunities. At the end of the year, I had one small, but happy client and was pitching a 5-figure deal to my next potential client. The new new client seemed ready to move forward, so I started building a prototype. They said they loved it so what happened next was almost unbelievable: they bought a low-quality competing product! I tried to salvage the deal by demonstrating that the competing product was vulnerable to an SQL injection attack and likely had other problems. They didn’t care. I was floored.
In 2013, I became determined to crack the code on sales. I was never a fan of sales or marketing tactics because I hate when people push products on me. But I just learned a time-consuming lession that many clients don’t care about the all the technical things that I’m so passionate about. Your quality of work doesn’t always speak for itself, so you have to learn to play the sales game too.
I researched online and found a several great blogs and book recommendations. At first I felt like I was just learning the basics but I kept an open mind and started developing a new framework to help me think about sales.
I started to understand that the best clients value the results of my work because they’re going to make more money. The whole sales process is just a way to build confidence and trust that you understand the desired outcomes.
As a techie, it’s easy to get in your own way because you’re afraid of being a sleazy sales guy. You want your technical skills and high quality work to stand on their own. Makes sense right? You’re doing a technical job so you tell potential clients about your technical expertise. They should put 2 and 2 together and hire you.
The trouble is, clients don’t want to hear about you or the technology involved. That stuff just goes over their head. So instead, break out your problem solving skills and ask the client about the challenges they are having. Then explain how you can solve those problems and bring them to the tomorrow they want. Omit technical details unless you can tie them directly to a benefit the client desires.
In April 2013, a chance to put this “sales 101” knowledge to work appeared on my radar. A contact in my personal network referred a local business to me. They wanted to update their website and build a project management database. We scheduled a meeting and I researched their business. I drafted an outline with a few ideas to improve their business. During the meeting, I was ready to share these ideas but as I listened to their goals I realized there was an even bigger opportunity than I thought.
I followed up with questions about what’s stopping them from reaching their goals. I asked how solving these problems will grow their business. This turned out to be a much better approach than asking about the tech details. As we discussed more ideas, I used my technical knowledge to help them think bigger. Then I explained what it will be like to work with me. I showed them how my agile development process would provide tools that solve each problem. A few minutes later: “Great, where do I sign?”
As we began working together, I let my talents loose and amazed the client. With every meeting, I kept them thinking of ways software can bring their business to the next level. After 3 months, the client signed a 1-year contract to continue the software development project. Thanks to insights from Patrick McKenzie, I worked a 4-figure per month hosting and backup plan into the deal.
In fact, I reached out to Patrick for pricing advice on the monthly plan. As I wrote the email, I could already tell he would just say “Charge more.” So I did. I doubled the first price I had in mind, which added over $10,000 to my bottom line.
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