Still Not Getting Leads or Clients? It’s NOT Your Website, Funnels, or Ads…

378. Not a funnel problem

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[00:00:00]

Brian: Most freelancers think their legion is broken because they don't have the right funnel, they don't have the right ads, they don't have the right content, they don't have the right, AI miracle that's gonna save their business. But the real reason that they're not getting clients is usually one of two issues.

Brian: The first issue is they're usually saying something that nobody really cares about, and that's usually a, positioning problem. Sometimes messaging, but usually a positioning problem if it's something that people just don't care about. The second issue is they are saying something that people do care about.

Brian: No one is listening to you because you have zero evidence to back what you're saying. So the funnel's not the issue. AI's not the issue. The ads aren't the issue. The content's not the issue. The website's not the issue. It is what's going into the funnel, into the ads, into the website, into the ai that is the actual issue here.

Brian: So in this episode, I'm gonna break down how you can fix both of those issues with better positioning and better proof.

Brian: And I am qualified to talk about this because we've brought in over 150 new clients this year alone. It's only August so far. And I'm only mentioning this because this has been a long and winding road for me to get there. And I've learned a lot of lessons the hard way, and I don't want you to have to learn the lessons the hard way either.

Brian: So this [00:01:00] episode, I'll break down thelessons I learned the hard way. So you can take the easy road.

Brian: and one of the things I'd really like you to pay attention to is a super simple nine word positioning test that will help you know your positioning, powerful stuff. So if you've never heard of us before.

Brian: Hi, I'm Brian Hood.This is the six Figure Creative podcast. This is a podcast for creative freelancers who want to earn more money from their creative skills without selling their souls.

Brian: I take my experience from multiple businesses and my background, including a decade freelancing real estate, software courses, coaching, consulting, as well as the experience of my team of now 11 people from all over the world. and from the other industries that I look up to who are doing things better than, no offense, simple freelancers, they're more sophisticated businesses that we can take and adapt for your business.

Brian: that is, what this podcast is for. So if that sounds good, you're in the right spot. So I've got this episode broken into kind of a few different sections here, and the first one I wanna talk about is kinda smashing that funnel. Objection. I can already kind of address this a little bit, but.

Brian: Some of the common complaints that I've seen from clients that we start working with or people that listen to this podcast or just people that I'm talking to that are freelancers that want my ear or eye on something is that my website's not converting, [00:02:00] or I've posted, let's just say 20 times and no one's booked a call, or no one's DMed me or no one's reached out.

Brian: I have no leads coming through this thing or that thing. I've got a funnel, I've got the offer, I've got the emails, I've got the ads running, but why isn't it working?

Brian: And the answer is simple. None of that matters if you are still vague, vanilla and unproven. A megaphone does not fix the message that no one wants to hear and no one believes.

Brian: So if you're building a funnel around a weak offer, if you're launching ads around a weak offer, if you're building content around a weak offer, it's like duct taping and megaphone to a toddler's mumbling face. They're just saying gibberish. They're not saying anything important. They're not saying anything that anyone really wants to hear.

Brian: It might be cute for a minute, but like. Past that point, it's just loud and annoying and it definitely doesn't really mean anything. I don't think I've ever heard a two or 3-year-old say something profound that I needed to hear. I love my two or 3-year-old nieces and nephews, but they're not saying things that I need a megaphone to hear.

Brian: a quick diagnostic for you. If no one clicks. Whether you have an ad or content or you're posting something somewhere, if no one clicks, you probably have a positioning problem. If people click [00:03:00] but they never opt in, you likely have a proof problem. If people book, they don't buy, you likely have proof and or an offer problem.

Brian: Either way, it's not a funnel problem. It's not just the ad problem. You can have all the technical parts of the ads done right. It is not a social media problem. It's not an algorithm problem. I don't know how many other ways to say it. So second thing we're gonna talk about today is the positioning problem.

Brian: That is like the main thing that freelancers tend to mess up, which is why I'm gonna cover it first. And that is they make offers like websites that convert. We make custom websites that convert or we brand a businesses in a way that connects people or We build brands that connect with other human beings, or I offer professional copywriting services, or I do mixes that slap for my auto people.

Brian: You know what that means? But then you wonder why nobody gives a shit. Nobody responds, nobody reacts. Nobody likes, nobody comments. Nobody shares. Nobody opts in. Nobody buys.

Brian: and I wanna walk you through kind of this nine word positioning test. quickly walk you through who you help, what you help 'em with, and to what clear outcome. So a template is something [00:04:00] like this. I help specific buyer do specific jobs so they get specific result.

Brian: Lemme give you some examples to,drive this home So one would be for like web design. I help solo consultants. That's the specific buyer upgrade, DIOI sites, that's the specific job.

Brian: So they've stopped losing 5K offers on first impression. That's a specific result, meaning if you are a solo consultant and you have a DIY site you made on Squarespace and it's likely not getting your results and you're losing $5,000, consulting offers, it's likely because low trust. So the pain is, there's a credibility gap.

Brian: For your client, there is poor conversions for your client. There is low trust for your clients and a better website that is brought into the 21st century, the 25th year of the 21st century.

Brian: You're helping them level up. Let's do one for brand. Brand would be, I rebrand six figure coaches who still look like their year one website so they can raise rates without churn. I rebrand six figure coaches. That's the specific buyerwho still look year one.

Brian: That's the, uh, specific job

Brian: I guess rebranding is the kind of the actual, specific job, but you see it's,you can kind of mix and match the [00:05:00] order of these things. You'll see on the third example, I completely redo the order, but I rebrand six. For your coaches who still look year one so they can raise rates without churn, that's the actual, outcome or specific result.

Brian: Now we were at seven figures before we ever actually upgraded our brand and our website and all those things. the point remains. There's many, many coaches out there, or course businesses or consultants out there who still look like they did year one, even though they're at six figures, multi six figures, even seven figures, and they're willing and able to pay money to upgrade their brand or their website.

Brian: Let's do a music one now for you music producers out there. look for these things. When I say this, Look for the specific buyer. Look for the specific job. And look for the specific result. Those three things are in here, but it's reworded in a different way.

Brian: This is why temperature are a great guideline, but they don't have to be followed word for word. I produce polished songs for corporate guys who are moonlighting as songwriters so they can finally release music that sounds like it belongs on Spotify, or sounds like it belongs on the radio, whichever word you wanna use there.

Brian: Depending on the age group, if it's an older age group, you probably say radio. If it's a younger age group, you might go Spotify.

Brian: We have clients who do that [00:06:00] niche. It's a very lucrative niche. May not be the most fulfilling niche for some people. But as Moses says, solve rich people problems, they pay better. I'm not here to push one niche over another, or rich clients versus poor clients. I'm not pushing any of that stuff, although you'll have an easier time on rich clients if it matches with your values and what you wanna do.

Brian: But the point is, these are much more sticky statements. The positioning is much better. It's much clearer. It's something that people actually want.

Brian: but it's only half the equation. We have clients who will nail this stuff and then struggle on this next part because of the proof problem, and that's the third part here. It's the proof problem. Even if you nail the offer, you've got great positioning, even great messaging.

Brian: Many freelancers don't have evidence or they don't show the evidence that they do have. That's even more sinful if you don't have evidence and you gotta go get it. That's one thing. We'll talk about that. But if you have the evidence, the proof that you can do what you say you can do, and you don't show it because you don't wanna be braggadocious, you don't wanna brag about your client's results, you are shooting yourself in the foot and you are,hemorrhaging money.

Brian: Just relying on like, trust me bro. Trust me, I can get you these results. Trust me, those vibes just don't work anymore if they ever did in the first place. So this is a [00:07:00] bottleneck for you. Trust is a bottleneck. If you cannot show what happened to your past clients, you are asking strangers to gamble. And there could be people who are willing to give you a chance if they already know, like can trust you, but that is not who we're trying to get to hire you.

Brian: If you want a sustainable long-term business as a freelancer, you most almost certainly have to get strangers to hire you. Now you can be like, Hey, I'm,for 20 years I've been booked solid with referrals. If that's you, great. Go somewhere else. That's not most people, and even people who are quote, book solid with referrals, they then hit this long stagnant season because they've had to rely on it for so long that now they're starting to hemorrhage money and they're starting to freak out.

Brian: maybe that's who I'm talking to now. Or if you haven't gotten there yet, you will get there eventually. But eventually one day, the thing you have no control over referrals will let you down, and that's where we have to get strangers to hire you and to get strangers to hire you, you have to have proof that you can do what you say you can do.

Brian: Now, I talked about this to some extent back on episode 375 called Why Your Dream Clients aren't hiring you and How to fix it. It was basically just saying. Are you actually good enough for your dream clients? You [00:08:00] want all these amazing clients, but do they actually want you? Well, proof is a huge part of that.

Brian: So here's some signs that you have a proof problem if you're getting clicks, but you're not getting leads if you're getting on calls, but they're not buying. If you're posting content, but no one reaches out to you for a DM or a quote or an inquiry. If you're running ads, but the dollar dies in your funnel somewhere,

Brian: then you likely have a proof problem

Brian: when you feel like you've nailed the positioning, when you feel like you're in a very lucrative niche with a lot of money. And even when you feel like you're great at what you do, if you don't have proof to back it up, not just outcomes, but results as well, which I'll talk about the difference between those two in a second. You gotta have 'em both. You gotta have 'em all. ' cause the best fit clients, especially sophisticated ones, especially larger businesses, if you're in B two.

Brian: Those people are going to be the most picky because they have the pick of the litter when it comes to freelancers that they could work with, that they could hire. So why would they choose you? Mr. And Mrs. Freelancer who just says, trust me bro. I can make your website look amazing.

Brian: But you don't have proof. You don't have results. You don't have numbers to back it. So lemme talk about what to show instead. This is, what I call the proof ladder. It is basically from light to heavy. This is the things that you can show people. [00:09:00] From easiest to show and probably the least compelling to some of the more compelling things.

Brian: Now, this is not,it's like a spectrum. It's gonna be different for everybody. This may not be perfectly increasing in value for different people 'cause everyone values different things. But it starts with just kind of the micro wins, screenshots, before and after visuals. Things that are like easy to show in a screenshot and a small thing.

Brian: You can share these on stories. You can put this on your website. You can have it in your funnel. You can have it on your pages for when people are inquiring or when people have booked a call or before they get on a call. You can share in emails, things like that. Micro wins are great.

Brian: next on the proof ladder is likemini case study blurbs. It could be like two sentences problem, then outcome, things like that. Where it's just like short, kind of mini case studies. You can share these again in stories.

Brian: You can share these in little spots on your website. You don't have to have a dedicated page for these. They're just like little things you can put, all over the place. The third would be social proof. When I say social proof, I just mean aggregated things. It could be a wall of testimonials from people that are not faces and names.

Brian: It could be a list of, you know, a hundred Google reviews.

Brian: It could be, premier testimonials from more known [00:10:00] faces and names in your industry. Or it could be shout outs from premier names and faces in your industry. Recognizable people. Next on the proof ladder is video testimonials. That's where people are more using their words that in their own vibe, in their own language, talking about how much you help them.

Brian: Preferably talking about numbers and transformations and outcomes and results and those sorts of things.

Brian: And finally on the proof ladder is before and after transformations. This is where we need to talk about results and outcomes. And the difference between these two it seems subtle, but it's actually huge. Outcomes are before and afters. This is what their site looked like before. This is what it looks like. After it looks better, it's prettier. Here's the brand before. Here's the brand after.

Brian: It's better, it's prettier. Here's their music before. Here's the music. After it sounds better, it sounds more clear. Those are outcomes, results are, and it led to this result. That amazing mix, that amazing production led to 5 million streams.

Brian: That amazing website brought in 10 more $5,000 clients for my client. So amazing brand meant that they could raise their rates two x without a drop in [00:11:00] conversions.

Brian: That's the before and after transformations. So that's a proof ladder, and there's other little things you can add in there and maybe you can argue about one or other things in the, order of that.

Brian: But again, just to kind of recap, it's micro wins, mini case studies and many case blurbs, video testimonials before and after transformations.

Brian: And really that's like a full on case study. But if you can't show what happened, then you were asking people to gamble. That is called risk. like I said, some people who already know, like, and trust you, they're willing to take that gamble. They're willing to take that risk on because they like you, they trust you, they wanna believe in you, but a stranger's not gonna do that.

Brian: So if you don't have proof, the best thing you can do is get pilot results. That is where you do two or three, low risk, low pay, or no paid jobs, depending on the situation where you're getting measured outcomes. You're offering up to work with people who preferably already know. I can trust you in the industry to get some early results and outcomes that you can share with strangers so that they're willing to take the chance on you

Brian: Because I'm telling you, no $10 million a year SaaS company is going to take a chance on any freelancer for any service where you don't have proof. It will not happen unless it's your uncle. Unless it's [00:12:00] your best friend, and even then they'll probably second guessing themselves.

Brian: They may even hire another freelancer behind your back and just say, Hey, I'm gonna put these two against each other and see which one gets a better result. I do that all the time, by the way, for smaller projects, I'll hire two freelancers, three freelancers, do the same exact thing, and just figure out which one's the best and just work with that freelancer for the rest of time.

Brian: so I want you to remember this positioning gets attention. That gets people to perk up and say, oh, I'm interested, but proof gets belief. That's when people say, oh, interesting. I'm compelled now to reach out. I'm compelled to fill out the inquiry form.

Brian: I'm compelled to get on a call and see if this is a good fit for me. But please fix the offer and the proof before you spend another dollar on tools, on AI, on ads. or spend another minute creating content. Fix those two things.

Brian: Now, this is something we do with every one of our clients. If you are struggling to do this or you've tried to do this before and failed, or you want somebody to hold your hand, going through this process, not only getting your positioning and your proof and your offer and your pricing and your packaging, all that stuff, right?

Brian: But then also getting the funnel created, which can have its challenges, but it's not crazy to do it but then filling the funnel correctly. If you want our help with that, [00:13:00] here's what we will do. We will create an entire customized client acquisition strategy for you.

Brian: It'll take about 14 days, give or take. You can receive the client acquisition strategy from us. We have a whole pitch video. We create like a 45 minute, hour long pitch video going over all the details. If you don't like it. We part ways, we refund you. You don't have to pay us. We will not take a single dime from you at that point.

Brian: You are net $0 if you don't like the plan. If you like the plan, we'll work with you month to month, no long-term contracts.

Brian: and if we can't get you at least 10 k worth of new clients from the strategies that we're implementing with you, then we will stop charging you.

Brian: We will work with you for free until we hit that number. So if you want that, just go to six figure creative.com/coaching. You can fill out the short application there, see if you're a good fit. If you are, we'll go from there.

Brian: So that's all I got for you today. I'll see you next week on the six Figure Creative Podcast piece.