Beers and clients. A good mix?

Today, I’m going to introduce you to a new idea.

It’s new because, well…

I just made it up about 5 minutes ago.

But I can promise you this:

If you’re able to appreciate the depth behind it, carefully consider the underlying principles, and apply them to your own personal brand, you will absolutely, and unequivocally, have a higher chance of attracting higher quality customers and clientele to your offers (and also dramatically increase your chances of them signing on with you, once you pitch them your services).

It might even get you a job, if that’s still your “thing”.

Got your ears piqued? Nice.

Before I share the idea with you, I’m going to tell you a quick story which will allow you to better appreciate the nuances behind all this….

Back in my hedge fund days, I was pretty good mates with one of the traders on the “distressed debt” desks (which is a fancy way of saying “we buy companies which look like they’re in the shitter, but we think they might turn around and make us a lot of money”).

And to this day, I am yet to meet a less professional employee than him.

Tuesday pints? He was there til 3AM.

Christmas party? You can be sure he’d be the first one up on the table accidentally dipping his shoes in the cranberry sauce.

And although I’m not a gambler, if I had to place a bet on who would NOT be sat in their chair at 9AM on a Friday morning (and who would instead be sat in a the canteen inhaling a big greasy bacon and egg muffin with eye bags the size of bin liners, and a complexion that made Dracula look like Mr Hawaian Tropics), it would be this guy.

In fact, he seemed to take the piss SO much that one day I felt compelled to ask him how the hell he got the job in the first place.

To which, he shared this absolute belter about his interview with the CEO:

“[Redacted] asked me what I thought my greatest talent was. I couldn’t think of anything. So I just went… well, I can carry 5 pints at the same time.”

**It’s a bold move, Cotton. Let’s see if it pays off for him**

Nowwww…..

I’m sure there were other far more… “relevant” questions which were ultimately used to determine whether he was fit for the job.  

And, having once tried to pick up 3 pints at a bar myself, only to realise the cups were squeezy plastic (not glass) and watch them cascade onto the barmaid stood right infront of me, I’m a little dubious of his claim.

But it illustrates the idea (which I’ve been a big believer in for a LONG time now) that what people ACTUALLY want from the people they work with, is the ability to….

Have a laugh.

To be fun.

And to be someone they don’t DREAD hopping on calls with each week.

BUT (and this is a big but).

It’s clearly NOT enough just to be “fun”.

And as much as I’ve just railed on this guy as the poster boy for ineptitude…

He was undeniably GOOD at his job.

It was honestly comical to watch him, on a daily basis, flip flop between telling stories of “last night’s antics at the pub”, to swivelling in his chair and successfully executing multi-million dollar trades about 20 times a day.

And it’s at this point I’d like to introduce you to the idea I alluded to at the start of this email.

And that is the idea of…

“The competent unprofessional”.

This is the guy who, on the front end, can let people’s guard down with humour, wit and genuinely just bringing positive vibes to the table.

But who can SIMULTANEOUSLY demonstrate that he is capable of delivering results.

That is the art.

And, if your goal is to build a powerful personal brand, capable of attracting high-level people who you genuinely ENJOY working with….

That is what you must perfect.

Unprofessionalism lets people’s guard down.

Unprofessionalism associates positive feelings with your brand.

Unprofessionalism shortens the timeframe for your audience to feel comfortable around you.

And unprofessionalism gets your foot in the door with people you actually WANT to work with.

But competence closes the deal.

And, if you can do both – act with unprofessionalism, under the umbrella of ALSO being highly competent at your craft, then you, my friend, are onto a winner.

Which brings me onto the following…

There is ABSOLUTELY a time to be nothing but professional.

And one time in particular when I would advise you NOT to piss around is when you’re writing a proposal for your services.

At this point, the person on the other end of the internet is SERIOUSLY considering handing you thousands of dollars over the internet. The time for playing is over. And your ONLY job is to pull together something that unequivocally shows…

You can get the job done. Period.

And that’s the hard part.

Anyone can be fun and “unprofessional”.

Not everyone can write a winning proposal which shows people, undeniably, that you are the right man for the job.

And if you’re an aspiring freelancer who is getting a bit of interest in his services but struggling to close the deal (or feeling like you’re stuck charging lower prices than you’d like), then you might be interested in seeing (with your own eyes) how I write MY proposals to secure deals for my services.

In fact…

Aside from teaching you everything about how to write lead generating content in the first place…

One of the bonus modules inside my flagship course, Client Creator, gives you direct access to the freelancing proposals I’ve ACTUALLY used to land high-ticket (as in, $3,000+) deals, even back when I had ZERO case studies or results.

In fact, I spent 4+ hours hand-annotating the proposal in such excruciating detail that, if after reading it, you are unable to close your next freelancing client… I don’t know what else to offer you.

So, that’s what you’re getting.

Best of both worlds —

You’ll learn how to get the leads knocking on your door.

And then you’ll know exactly how to close them.

Keen?

You can find more details about it here