how I landed my first client

The Beadle Newsletter
Monday, 15th April 2024
Read the online version here.

On January 7th, someone I’d never met paid me $1,500 to work for them.

I was fucking astounded.

A random bloke, on the other side of the world, had just sent me fifteen hundred dollars to write some tweets and emails for him (I’m actually now good friends with this guy, which is nice haha).

My mind was blown.

Not just because it was a lot of money.

But because for the past 4 weeks I’d been trying desperately to land my first client.

I had over 2,000 followers.

I was writing good content (in my opinion).

And I was commenting like a madman trying to find some leads.

But nothing seemed to work.

And it was only until I fixed a few key details in my offer that I was finally able to land my first client.

It was nothing groundbreaking.

It's stuff anyone can learn to do.

But fixing these few basic problems with my approach made the world of difference.

And that’s what I’m going to share with you today.

So if you're struggling to land your first client right now (or want to land higher-ticket clients easily), then these 4 things have helped me more than any other.

So, let’s dive in.

Here’s the 4 key things I fixed in my offer that helped me land my first client…

1) I had a “phantom” offer

This was my biggest problem.

I was sat there, stressing about all the details in my offer - the headline, how I’d written the copy, all the bonuses and that shit.

And then one day I got a DM on Twitter.

I can’t remember the details and I’m far too lazy to actually go and dig it out, but the gist of it was this:

“Hey Harry. Just wondering - do you do coaching or anything? Because I really like your stuff and I’m looking for someone to help me out with my own journey. PS. You’re an absolute lad and have some fucking class dance moves.” (OK, I made that last bit up).

But that’s when it hit me.

I’m spending all this time “perfecting” my offer.

But people don't even know it exists.

Here was this guy asking if I had a high-ticket offer and clearly looking to buy - which was great.

But imagine how many more leads I could be getting if I simply made my offer known to the world.

And the worst part?

If I was being totally honest with myself, I already knew this.

I'd heard it before:

“If you want to make more money, make more offers”.

And deep down I knew I wasn't putting myself out there enough.

I think what was holding me back was a fear of rejection.

I was scared that if I put my offer out there and no-one took me up on it, then I’d be the laughing stock of Twitter.

This, obviously, is complete bollocks.

It’s main character syndrome at its finest.

Because, in reality, no-one gives a fuck about anything you do online.

And if you’re scared to put your own offer out there, I want you to remember this too:

No-one is watching.

No-one cares if your offer sucks.

No-one is sat there waiting to jump in with an “I told you so”.

And the ones who are are probably Cheeto-gobbling sloths locked in their parents’ basement, with a physique that's starting to look more and more like a melted ice cream on a hot summer’s day. Ignore them. They’re only moody because they’ve seen less sun than Dracula in the past 4 years.

So send those DMs.

Write that tweet announcing your offer.

Shout about it in your newsletter and start getting some real-world feedback so you can ACTUALLY start to figure out how to improve it.

Right.

Let’s move onto the second problem I had…

2) I was selling a service, not an outcome

When you go out to dinner and look at the menu, what does it show you?

Does it talk about all the work the chefs do in the kitchen?

Does it talk about how all the ingredients get delivered to the restaurant?

Does it talk about all the walking around the waiters do between tables?

OR

Does it just show you what you want: the delicious food on offer that’s a result of all this work?

Obviously, they just show you the food.

No-one cares about what goes on in the kitchen behind the scenes (i.e. the service).

They just want to know “am I gonna get a banging pizza or not?” (i.e. the outcome).

And it’s exactly the same with YOUR offer.

Because let’s say you’re a ghostwriter.

Well, then ghostwriting is your SERVICE.

And that’s great.

But remember:

People don’t want a ghostwriter.

They want what a ghostwriter gives them: more free time.

So your OFFER (read: outcome) would be something like this:

“I’ll free up 4 hours of your day by (ghost)writing all your Twitter content and engaging with your audience so you can focus on building the backend of your business.”

See the difference?

Your offer is the outcome.

The tangible, real-world benefits that someone gets from working with you.

More time.
More money.
Less stress and anxiety.

The list goes on.

As soon as I got clear on this distinction, people started biting my hand off for my offer.

First, I showed them the outcome.

Only then, did I explain how my service would deliver this outcome.

And that simple switch in framing made the world of difference.

Next, let’s talk about the language in your offer…‍

3) I wasn’t talking the same “language” as my leads

Take a look at what ChatGPT gave me when I asked it to write me an offer for my high-ticket coaching business:

It sounds fucking ridiculous.

“Gain exclusive access to a wealth of resources…”

“Connect with like-minded individuals…”

If someone talked to you like that in real life you’d think they were an absolute gimp.

And that’s exactly my point.

Because while my offer was nowhere near that bad, I realised I still wasn't talking the same language as my prospects.

I had phrases like “I’ll get you leads on autopilot” and “get ready to wake up each morning with your DMs flooded with new clients”.

And sure, that sounds "cool".

But come on, man.

It’s such bollocks.

It’s marketing jargon.

No-one talks like that in real life.

And people can see straight through it.

As soon as I realised this, I changed my whole approach.

Now, I’m just straight up.

I tell people:

“Look, I’ll get you [outcome]. Here’s how I’ll do it. Want that for yourself? Cool. Don’t want it? Fine - there’s about 20 other people knocking at my door that do.”

Honestly, my offers nowadays look like a WhatsApp message you’d send to a mate.

Because while Dickie Bush and Nicolas Cole have popularised “Clear, not clever”, I think they’re only 50% right.

I think a more accurate description should be:

“Clear and casual, not clever.”

Keep it chill.

Don’t be needy.

Don’t make it feel like a sales pitch.

Ever since I started writing my offers just like I write these emails (casual AF), people seem much more interested in reading them.

Now, onto the final (and most important) point…

4) I was focused on convincing, not persuading

People work hard for their money.

And if you’ve ever been down the pub and had an argument over whose round it is, you’ll know it’s pretty damn hard to convince someone to give it up…

But it wasn't until I watched a YouTube video explaining the difference between convincing and persuading that I actually started to appreciate this point.

(I can’t find the video now but, to be honest, even though the bloke was helpful, his voice drove me up the fucking wall so I’m probably doing you a favour by summarising it here).

Basically, here’s the difference:

Convincing someone involves trying to get them to do something they don’t want to do.

For example, giving you money (lol).

And that’s where persuasion comes in.

Because persuading is subtly, but crucially different to convincing.

Persuading is about showing someone something they ALREADY want (i.e. to land a client), explaining how to get there, and then presenting yourself as the path to achieving this.

Understanding this subtle difference made the world of difference on my sales calls.

I switched my focus.

Instead of trying to get them to pay me, I switch the focus.

I led with the outcome.

I asked them if they wanted that for themselves (they did).

And then I laid out all the “mini-steps” of how I would take them there, and made sure to show them that each of these steps had its own “mini-outcome” that they also wanted (e.g. building authority on Twitter = people actually listening to them),

And then I showed them how I'd already done this for myself or someone else.

Suddenly, they stopped see paying me as a cost.

And they started see paying me as the way to get what they wanted.

I'd reframed the whole situation and now closing the deal was just a formality.

And those, my friend, are the 4 things I fixed in my offers that not only allowed me to land my first client, but have allowed me to land dozens of clients both for myself and the clients I work for (and it ain't showing no signs of stopping haha!)

I hope you find that useful.

And I hope this post helps you to land more clients of your own.

Oh, and one last thing:

Tomorrow I’m dropping a giveaway to show you EXACTLY how I scaled from $0 → $10k/month in under 4 months on Twitter.

I’ll send an email reminder.

But in the meantime, here’s what I recommend:

Go out.

Get yourself a visor.

And make sure it’s a damn good one.

Because the heat in thing is gonna melt the eyebrows straight off your fucking face.

Talk soon,

Harry